Alright Soap fans! Let's get this party started! This week was an interesting week, in the land of daytime. Lots of stories are heating up, lots of stories are wrapping up(Hi baby switch on DOOL) so let's get into it!
PERFORMER OF THE WEEK:
LEE:PERFORMER OF THE WEEK: STEVE BURTON (JASON, GH)I’m biting my tongue as I write this, mainly because I don’t want to encourage the powers that be at GH to continue to have the mob front and center, but it needs to be said. Steve Burton ROCKED it this week! I’ve been waiting for someone to stick it to Michael since ever since he called Kristina a babe back when he first came out of the coma. You could tell that Steve really felt the material; it’s hard to imagine the actors not frowning when they constantly see scripts glorifying violence and misogyny. As Jason TORE into Michael, I saw half a year of frustration and anger bubble to the surface of Jason’s temper and spill over! “Little bitch” is officially my favorite soap moment of December, and there have been some good ones this month. The moment was so compelling to watch; we’ve seen Jason be so gentle and good to Michael since he was a baby and you could tell this wasn't’t easy for him. Kudos go to Laura Wright as well, for totally showing the look of “oh no, Jason’s going to pull out his gun!"
LAUREN: Sigh. I didn't want to reveal my shameless fan crush on Crystal Chappell so early on because let's face it, she is freaking everywhere. It's almost overkill to talk about how awesome she is, but after careful consideration, and going back and forth between ATWT's Trent Dawson's Henry for coming alive in that ridiculous Brad/Trent Ghost story, or ATWT's Maura West's Carly, for the bachelorette party from hell, and later her scenes with Jon Lindstrom's Craig. It was a tough decision in deciding my performer of the week but, I'm going with Crystal Chappell. When Crystal announced her return to DOOL, it was a smart move, she had a history on the show, long term viewers know her, her huge and devoted fanbase, and anyone who is a fan of soap operas, knows that Carly got buried alive. However, I was less than impressed with her return. Now we all know about the horrors of Guiding Light's filming in Peapack, New Jersey, so Crystal looked like a deer in headlights, while she was trying to get readjusted to real sets! real wardrobes! and real lights! However, it was her scenes with Wally Kurth and later the ever so awesome Louise Sorel, that Chappell came alive(no pun intended) from the mocking of Justin's dimples, to sparing off with Vivian, Chappell's energy came across on the screen. I've always said Chappell is at best, when she is allowed to use her physical comedy, and facial expressions. DOOL is finally realizing that fact. Whether she was raising an eyebrow at Vivian bringing the flowers, or calling Justin out on being "passive aggressive" Chappell was on fire, a fire that I hope to continue to see on our screens. Random fact, I went to the same high school as Crystal Chappell. Shameless hometown pride plug.
HIT OF THE WEEK: MELPHINA REUNITES, OLTL
LEE: I don’t know what the OLTL writers are smoking right now, but someone get them a lifetime supply! I had read the spoilers ahead of time, but when Delphina and aMELia reunited, I was in awe of the sheer sweetness of it all. With the teens acting as the Greek chorus and Dorian trying to mediate, I suddenly cared about a couple I had never seen on-screen before. The scenes also had some hidden meaning, as now I am wondering if Delphina channels Mel and somehow places him in Amelia’s body to torture Dorian at inopportune moments. I hope the show doesn't’t drop the Amelia/Mel connection; it’s a gold mine for hilarity.
LAUREN: ROSANNA AND CRAIG'S BACHELOR/BACHELORETTE PARTIES FROM HELL:
Okay so I couldn't give Maura W, performer of the week, doesn't mean I can't talk about the excellent scenes that were given to us from ATWT this week. Of course, ATWT gets canceled just as it's becoming my can't miss soap. My second runner up is Nut!Meg but more about that later. Starting with Craig's party, the toasts to Craig were comedy gold. It provided one of those juicy soap moments, where you put all the characters who don't like each other into one setting and viola! magic appears. Same with Rosanna's party, Janet and Carly's underlying tension was surely going to come to a boil, as well as the pink elephant in the room..Craig and Carly's relationship which did not go unnoticed by Rosanna. Maura's deliciously delivered line "He ain't married to her yet" was icing on the cake. If ATWT has to leave us, then they might as well do it with a bang!
MISS OF THE WEEK: ELIZABETH RAPES THE PAST, GH
LEE: Just when I was about to commend GH for its improved writing and newfound nuance, the powers that be had to go and taint my all-time favorite soap story. I get that we’re supposed to root for Liz and Lucky to get back together, but having Elizabeth recall her rape to garner sympathy from Rebecca was downright offensive. Forgetting the fact that the show hasn't’t mentioned her rape since Megan McTavish left the show in 2002, the idea of Elizabeth using her rape as a way of diffusing a bad situation really upset me. It didn't’t just miss the point – it made me hope that when Lucky finds out about her affair with Nikolas, he dumps her on her ass. Thanks, GH – you just destroyed another piece of rich history.
ALL MY CHILDREN'S GOODBYE ON THE VIEW, AMC
LAUREN:Now I should be as happy as an actress getting her first daytime Emmy nomination, that The View devoted a whole hour to send off All My Children to California. It was cute, corny, and I loved seeing Agnes Nixon(soap goddess)on the show.I should also be happy that it brought press, which at a time when daytime is dying, soap operas need all the love that they can get. The reason why it gets my miss of the week is because I have to wonder if The View, or more importantly, ABC Daytime would share the same sentiment if the ratings challenged, but oh so good soap, One Life To Live, would get the same love. Right now One Life to Live needs our support, now more than ever. From what I heard about Brian Frons, I have to wonder, is the View going to welcome it's new neighbors once they get settled into AMC's old digs? I need to see more press and love poured into what I liked to refer OLTL as the "bastard child" of ABC daytime. I love this show, and I don't want the fans to suffer what I went through on September 18, 2009 with Guiding Light.
MOST ANTICIPATED STORY OF THE WEEK: NICK GOES GLENN CLOSE ON KYLE, OLTL
LEE: I’m half kidding here. I don’t think for one second that hate crime victim Nick is going to become a psycho stalker, but I do think that he’s going to feel the need to cling to Kyle in the aftermath of his attack. I find Nick to be a compelling character; he’s totally needy and totally a typical gay guy for his age. I find Nick to be relatable; we’ve all been where he’s been in terms of losing a boyfriend, and from his perspective it’s totally unfair for Kyle and Fish to have a storybook romance while he sits and watches the rest of gay Llanview get married from the bleachers. I am really psyched for Fish’s reaction to Nick’s schemes; I think he’s going to be the bigger person and not start trouble, but I hope he stands his ground and lays down the law. Figuratively. Maybe literally.
OH BO I KILLED MY HUSBAND AND OH, I LOVE YOU, DOOL:
LAUREN: As I said before, I am a big Bo and Hope shipper, but I am also a big Carly fan. Damn the plot(really Carly calm your ass down, you just came back to Salem)I want to see Peter and Crystal recreate that magic from the past. We all know Crystal can deliver on a love confession(graveyards anyone?) but to see it with Peter is going to be something. I know Bo and Hope are endgame or a OTP(one true pairing) but with Carly's arrival, Justin's I'm Hope's ride or die boy, and problems in their marriage(real legit stuff, not Billie round 3,402)the Bo and Hope storyline looks promising for the first time in a few years. For a minute there, I was scared Bo and Hope were quickly becoming Tom and Alice Horton of DOOL. I saw the previews on NBC.COM for Monday's show, and like a good little shipper girl, I went "awwww" when Bo called Carly "princess". This is good soapy stuff because Hope is Bo's one true love, but Carly showed Bo that there can be love after someone dies, or an adult love as Peter referred to it in a interview. Can't wait to see all of this unfold.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
LEE: Well, it’s finally time to address the elephant in the room. And no, I’m not talking about Danielle aging at twice the speed of Jack despite him being born first. I’m talking about the cancellation of As the World Turns. Soaps are officially an endangered species, folks. Proctor and Gamble seem to be out of the game completely, leaving the Bell soaps, DAYS, and the Agnes Nixon shows. DAYS seems to be on an upswing, the Bell soaps are pretty stable (barring the schizophrenic storytelling on Y&R), and the ABC soaps are creatively unstable. AMC is in a major transition, both physically and creatively, and will hopefully return to its former glory. GH is an anorexic skeleton of its former self. OLTL is like a pink rose in the middle of a landfill, but it’s the lowest-rated soap on the air. TUNE IN TO YOUR SHOWS, people! It doesn’t matter if Rianca or Zendall aren’t featured five days a week; if you don’t tune in, someday they’ll disappear forever!
It’s been swell getting all my soap thoughts out for you guys to read. Feel free to comment, email me, flame me, praise me, ask me on a date, etc. Until next time,
Lee <3
LAUREN: And then there were six. When the cancellation of ATWT was announced, I was shocked and saddened, but not surprised. Proctor and Gamble seemed like they wanted to be out of the soap business completely, and ATWT just didn't stand a chance. I also had a realization that soap operas might not be around for the next generation, and that makes me sad. My household is a three generation soap watching household, and I hate the fact that it's ultimately going to stop with me watching the last soaps standing. Although we have modern technology of DVR'S, watching soaps online, and youtube, Daytime is still being counted by an old fashioned, needs to be updated ASAP ratings system. I know for a fact that 1/2 my college class watch soaps online, but yet we are still using the Nielsen ratings system. I concur with Lee, we as fans, are the ones that's going to keep the genre alive. So please try your hardest to watch your soap at least once, seriously! So what if GH's Sonny is running the same, tired game on Olivia, that he has ran on Kate, Carly, Brenda, Angel, Reece, etc, just keep tuning in. I'm not saying this to give the writer's a pass, but as a fan who loves the genre no matter what and wants to see it survive, shitty storytelling or not. Until next time. Thanks for reading, and comment please :)
No comments:
Post a Comment