Lee’s Top 5 GH Moments of 2012

Lee’s Top 5 GH Moments of 2012

What a difference a year makes. Had someone tried to convince me last year that anemic, running-on-fumes General Hospital would be experiencing a stunning creative renaissance at the talented hands of OLTL dream team Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati, I’d have laughed and written some fan fiction. But since their work started airing early in the year, GH has been must-see TV. Not every “Cartini” move was a stroke of brilliance - has there been a more obvious blunder than the “love story” of Kristina and Trey? - but from the moment Johnny shot out Anthony’s tires, leading to a car crash that took the lives of an innocent young man and his daughter (One Life to Live’s Cole and Hope), I’ve been hooked. Here are five moments I felt really stood out among the many stellar stories.

#5 - Sam Meets With Heather Webber, Opens Pandora’s Box
It seemed like a one-off guest appearance: Sam met with mental patient/legendary Port Charles psycho Heather Webber to discuss Jason’s biological mother Susan Moore and learned that Susan gave birth to twins. Heather asked Sam to deliver a letter to estranged son Steven Lars, but Sam was horrified to learn that Jason and serial killer Franco were twins and ran out without the letter. When Heather was declared mentally fit enough to come home and live with Steven, she immediately began a new reign of terror that, in the end, all came down to Sam not following through on delivering the letter. By the time Heather was thrown back into the loony bin, she’d already murdered Steve’s ex-girlfriend Maggie, goaded Todd into switching Tea and Sam’s babies, kidnapped Luke and attempted to throw a baby off a cliff. Sam may have gotten her baby back in the end, but all this could have been avoided if she’d simply kept up her side of the bargain!

#4 - Patrick Scatters Robin’s Ashes As We See Her Alive
I had trouble choosing just one great moment that stemmed from Robin’s presumed death, but the revelation that she was alive - a reveal that hadn’t been spoiled beforehand! - was shocking and signaled the return of the true soap cliffhanger. The viewers were given renewed hope for the beloved character and immediately began to theorize: How did Robin survive the explosion, and who was behind whole scheme?

#3 - John Ingle’s Final Appearance
The campiness of the “poisoned water” saga delivered a surprisingly poignant and sobering climax. As Sonny and Co. rushed to get the cure from Jerry, a very ill Edward offered the only available serum to Emma. “I love you too,” he told Tracy, who then delivered a quiet yet powerful speech about family and love. Edward’s appearance, which was reportedly at the request of a very ill John Ingle, would be his last, as Ingle passed away not long after. The image of Edward giving a “thumbs up” to Patrick and Emma will give me goosebumps for years.

#2 - Elizabeth Confesses All To Jason
Carlivati silenced months of fans complaining that he didn’t like or “get” the character of Nurse Elizabeth Webber with one immensely moving scene that showcased the talent of portrayer Rebecca Herbst and finally opened the character up for redemption. After confessing that she switched the DNA results of Sam’s baby, Elizabeth broke down and admitted to Jason that she’d been slowly falling apart since Jake’s death. No longer hiding her pain with self-righteousness and judgment, Elizabeth was finally able to explain how angry she was with Sam, with Jason, with everyone. With rumors of an exciting new year for Elizabeth, this scene was simply perfect.

#1 - Fondue Foils Faison’s Fun
Was there a more satisfying moment this year than John and Robert hurling fondue in “Duke’s” face, melting his mask and ruining Faison’s dastardly plans? The scenes showcased the talents of GH favorites Finola Hughes, Tristan Rogers, Ian Buchanan and Anders Hove, with OLTL transplant Michael Easton fitting in seamlessly. There were a ton of “OMG!” moments this year, but this moment was a creative and brilliant payoff to viewers who were screaming and throwing things at their TVs for months for Anna to come to her senses.

What were your favorite GH moments this year? Sound off in the comments or on Twitter @dayplayerdish or @leemeyer26, and have a happy holiday!

You're a weak man, Charlie Banks

Hey, remember when ONE LIFE TO LIVE was must-watch soap and every day had you on the edge of your seat? Yeah, it was a long time ago. I thought things would be different this year, but so far, 2011 has not been kind to my favorite show. There are plenty things going wrong right now - the continued focus on the Ford family, the dumbing down of characters for plot purposes, recycled plot devices - but the thing that's disappointing me the most is the complete ruination of one of my favorite characters, Charlie Banks.

Back in 2007, OLTL was focused on revitalizing the iconic Viki Lord and the results were nothing short of magical. Viki found herself waiting tables in small town Paris, TX, becoming a mother figure to Gigi Morasco and most importantly, falling in love with fellow lost soul Charlie B. Free of the baggage left behind in Llanview, Viki was able to start anew with Charlie, who was also looking for redemption by searching for the son he abandoned when his alcoholism was at its worst. The early Viki/Charlie scenes were some of the most romantic scenes I've ever seen on a soap. (Watch the above clip to see what I mean) Eventually, Viki and Charlie found their way back to Llanview and, despite some rocky moments, have remained in love and there for each other.

Thanksgiving 2008 was my favorite Viki and Charlie moment of all time. As Viki broke down at her evil father's grave blaming him for her family's constant struggles with mental illness and abuse, Charlie rushed in and promises her things would change and that he'd never leave her or hurt her the way so many others had in the past. He solidified his promise by showing her the redesigned diner in Angel Square, now identical to the diner where they met in Texas. Beautiful stuff...

...Which is why I'm SO upset with how pathetic Charlie's become. Losing his son Jared after only a few happy years with him devastated Charlie and sent him back to the bottle. After finally letting himself grieve the healthy way, he and Viki reconciled and things looked to be back to normal. Unfortunately, the writers seem to love using Charlie as the show's resident victim and put him through the wringer thinking Rex was his son, only to learn Clint had set it all up. His constant emotional flirtation with former drinking buddy Echo DiSavoy was completely out of character. That he actually SLEPT WITH ECHO SOBER was absolute character assassination, and spoilers indicate that things are about to get much worse in Charlie and Viki's marriage, with Charlie doing something completely unforgivable in the coming days and weeks.

Those of you who frequent twitter and the other soap websites know that the fantastic Brian Kerwin has been let go from the show. This comes as no surprise, but why do the writers insist on ruining of all their male characters before shipping them out of town (think Schuyler, Eli and Cole)? If it was time to end the beautiful love story of Charlie and Viki, why do it this way? And why ignore all the great buildup and payoff the characters have had over the past four years? It's such a shame, and unfortunately other stories on OLTL seem to be headed in the same, odd (mis)direction.
-Lee

OLTL Just Got Kate Howard'ed

It's been a bad week for soaps, mainly One Life to Live. In case you haven't heard, notorious show-killer Jean Passanante has been hired as Associate Head Writer of the show. Ron Carlivati will continue as head writer but rumor has it that he'll be out when his contract is up in June. This is particularly bad news for the show, which has been going through a lot of negative changes the past few weeks. As the entire soap world knows, OLTL has seen a casting bloodbath the past month, with fan favorites Brett Claywell, Scott Evans and Scott Clifton being fired, and talented newcomer Amanda Setton quitting. What is going ON over there?

Some people have blamed Ron Carlivati for the show's sudden nose-dive in quality the past few weeks; I am going to disagree and blame it on the "higher-ups" at ABC. The ratings have been low, the budgets are getting smaller, and rumors of the show's cancellation have gotten louder and louder. What I can't understand, though, is the decision to bring on JEAN PASSANANTE, known for her sub-par work on a variety of soaps and known for being the head writer of Another World when it was cancelled. Passanante's had a long run on As The World Turns, the end result being... CANCELLATION. I'd say someone should prepare the death knell for OLTL, as this cannot be a good thing.

Listen to next week's Dayplayer Dish for our thoughts on the show's sorry state, in addition to the sinking ship that is the entire soap industry. Be sure to leave us some comments about what your thoughts on all the latest soap crises.

--Lee

The rainbow just hit the fan.

Warning: This blog entry contains major spoilers regarding a major story on One Life to Live. While Dayplayer Dish is not the first to break the story, it is advised you stop reading here if you don't want to be spoiled.

Here's what you do when you don't find the rainbow's end: write off the most groundbreaking and realistically written couple on the show. In what has got to be the most ridiculous and pathetic move made by the executives at ABC Daytime in a good long while, One Life to Live has announced that at the conclusion of the Sierra Rose saga, Oliver Fish and Kyle Lewis will be written off the show.

Devastated? Wait until you hear the reasoning: the ratings were down in November, when Dorian orchestrated a mass gay wedding. Because of the low ratings, Frank Valentini believes that Kyle and Fish never really caught on with the "mainstream audience" and need to be written off.

According to Valentini, "Kish" will get a happy ending as Fish claims Sierra Rose as his own and starts a family with Kyle. Part of me is glad that the show isn't backpedaling and making Rex the true father of the little girl, but this development reminds me of last year's baby switch resolution in which Marcie and Michael left the show after returning baby Hope to Starr and Cole. Marcie, a beautiful but overweight woman, could be considered a "minority" in the world of soaps, and once her story wrapped up she and her husband left town with little fanfare. Now in Ron Carlivati's THIRD baby saga (first with Tommy/Sam, then Chloe/Hope and now Sierra Rose), the minority couple will actually get the baby but also fade in the background so more "important" characters like self-involved Rex and Gigi can once again claim the front burner.

And let's face it - Fish and Kyle were never actually front burner characters. At the height of their story we got maybe three episodes of them a week. Clearly they couldn't have been the ONLY reason the ratings were so low in November. Are we forgetting Mitch Lawrence's umpteenth return? Jared dying a horrible and cruel death? Endless episodes of Nigel and Neville on the phone with one another? Nope, it must have been the offensive and immoral reconciliation of two college lovers who just happened to both be guys.

I'm not being unrealistic here; I know that middle America is still behind the times when it comes to gay visibility, or any visibility for that matter. But in the past, soaps were used to educate audiences on topics that were otherwise taboo or considered untouchable; let's not forget Carla Gray turning out to be the black Clara, Wanda Wolek leading a second life as a prostitute, Marty overcoming a brutal and cruel gang rape at the hands of three fraternity brothers, or even Reverend Andrew forcing Llanview to face their own homophobia by helping Billy Douglas come out of the closet and bringing the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to town.

With Kyle and Fish off the show, the producers are not only letting two talented young men go (both Brett Claywell and Scott Evans have Emmy pre-nominations) but are taking away a piece of Llanview's colorful and diverse community. Last year, we were introduced to several new minority characters, including the return of Nora Buchanan's biracial daughter Rachel. With recent confirmation of Rachel's exit, along with Kyle and Fish fading into the background, the show is sadly closing off the Llanview community to anyone whose name isn't Buchanan, Lord or Morasco.

What are your thoughts on Kyle and Fish exiting the show? Let us know in the comments section, and please keep it respectful and calm.

Since when do we really only have One Life to Live?

--Lee

Soap Discussion #1 Week ending 12/19/2009

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 :)