Murder the owner…live in his house!
December 29, 2006

I was watching some of the episodes from this week earlier today and it hit me as majorly bizarre that Jonathan is living in Edmund's house. You know…the Edmund that Jonathan murdered in his own barn and then set the barn on fire thus burning down the barn as well as murdering Edmund Grey. I'd like to see the ghost of Edmund past haunt Jonny for an episode or two. Here is poor Tad who is the fruit of a psychopath's loins and he's so tormented with burying Dr. Madden alive and thus causing his demise that he's sulked about the Valley searching for forgiveness. Which he got from Father Clarence, but Jonathan Lavery murders a bunch of people and his guilt seems to be as gone as the tumor that caused his behavior, or so we've been force-fed. Now Jonny is living at Wildwind…umm…perhaps I stand alone on this but I feel the writers have lost their collective minds. Perhaps, while being obsessed with killing they've lost the ability to write tasteful episodes. Just wondering aloud. I wonder if dear, dear Auntie Julia mentioned to Sam and Maddie that the man who murdered their father is residing in THEIR house? I digress.

Well this whole Zarf/Bianca thing has me on the edge of switching channels for a while. This is what I do when I just can't deal with the stories on AMC. I take a time out. Again, I'm not sure this was the desired result for this storyline. I get the whole complexity that is Zarf but to tie Bianca's whole life's identity to him is unrealistic and uncomfortable to watch. I find it hard to believe that Bianca is drawn to a MAN. I really, really find it hard to believe that she can sense his inner woman. Heck I can't even sense my inner woman and I am a woman! I really enjoy Jeffrey Carlson's Zarf because he's weird and quirky and something that's been sorely lacking on AMC for a long, long time…he's FUN! I love that he and Binx are great pals but I think this storyline, in as much as linking Bianca to it is dangerous and confusing for straight people to understand. It took 3 years for the general public to become comfortable with Bianca as a lesbian and now the writers (who aren't up to the challenge of this complex storyline) have tied Zarf's real self of Zoë to Bianca's questioning her own sexuality and the fact she's conflicted because she's attracted to a man. Kendall seemed as confused as the viewers must be. I'll watch for a little bit longer before I take my sabbatical, because I just love the holiday episodes.

How cute is Josh, Kendall and Bianca together? Way Cute!!! I love these three together and I hope they have lots more scenes.

And last on my list of oddities…I've noticed in the last couple of days the writers have thrown in patch work fixes for all of the complaints that the viewers have had in the last few months. Like how come Liza hasn't talked to Colby? How come Marian has time to sell houses but doesn't have a moment for her only grand daughter? Weird but welcomed. Was anyone else confused by Tad and Zach's entire conversation today? I was…Tad told Zach he wants him to tell him all he knows about the ribbon and the flower…Zach's response that's why I hired you…you figure it out. This is just plain stupid…as Tad pointed out that if another person is murdered because Zach is playing some stupid game it's on his head. Zach's tormented by stuff but won't tell anyone. This crap is as bad as Dixie slinking around Pine Valley all the while saying, "I don't want anyone to see me yet." That is of course why I'm walking all over town in public areas and showing up at crowded events my loved ones are at. This tripe is just stupid.

Here Endth My Rant!

Megan McTavish…THE RECYCLER
December 28, 2006

Okay so I'm watching yesterday's show and wondered why I wasted an hour of my time. I love AMC so much that I watch under direst. I love the Zarf/Bianca friendship. Again this comes with a disclaimer of, as long as they are not paired as a couple, but I'm really reaching the end of my tether with the recycled storylines.

Remember the baby fiasco that was Bianca/JR/Babe with Little A and Bess/Miranda well apparently that little ditty is back again. This time it's Tad/Dixie/Krystal/Adam and baby Charlotte. What is with the McTette's and their need to recycle storyline? If, you are that burned out please take a break and there by giving us all one! When I was watching I was cringing when Adam asked Tad and Dixie to be "his" daughter's godparents. Hello Bianca/Babe! I didn't like the story the first time what makes McT think I'll like it the second time. And what's worse is the fact that these aren't young people these are 40 something's playing this game. End this crap before it gets out of hand….please I beg you. We all know what comes after Adam finds out the truth about Charlotte. He turns ugly and vengeful…you know like JR became after discovering the truth about "Bess" and Little A. Yawn…been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and threw it out!

I'm also upset with the killing of people to satisfy plot points, like killing off Linda and Jim (day players) so that Tad and Dixie can eventually get Kate back. You know what would have been more interesting? Tad and Dixie discovering their child and than a battle to get her back. Instead what we are going to be served is Julia getting her heart broken in her desperate need for a child and putting Jamie in a difficult position of the love of his life or his father. Riveting…hardly. It's amazing that Tad and Dixie get their Christmas Miracle at the expense of someone else's life. Very Christmassy for sure! Death as a Miracle…I'm not hopping on board…thanks.

Moving on to the flawed storyline that is Emma's DNA and her father being Ryan. Um…If the writers would remember…cause they wrote it…Dr. Madden was Donor #1 so why would Dr. Madden have used Ryan's 'sample' for Annie McDermott? Wouldn't it make more sense that Dr. Madden used his own in his mad pursuit to populate the world with little Madden's? Heck, I even recall a scene between Bianca and Josh about this very topic and Josh wanting to tell all those happy couples who gave birth that his father was their child's biological father. Maybe I'm just being picky here but I need more information to make me understand why Dr. Madden chose Annie to change his evil plan and use Ryan's contribution. I love that little Emma has a family connection to Pine Valley but the story is beyond weak and I personally need some semblance of continuity!

My last irk is…how come Ryan and Jonathan didn't wear ties to Erin's funeral? Was it so difficult to look your best for the one person who actually loved each of you in spite of they men you became? Apparently it was to great an effort…you know Josh wore a tie and he only knew them for a couple of months. Oh well…I'll file it under mysteries of the earth!

Here endth my Rant!


Yes Tad There Really Is A Santa Claus
December 19, 2006

Why does Dixie need to be a buttinsky? I liked the Dixie/Tad scene right up until her obsession about Krystal's baby popped up. No matter how much Tad tells her Krystal said the baby wasn't his Dixie 'has a feeling'. I'm waiting for Dixie to be standing posed at the delivery room ready to rip the child from Krystal's arms and give the child to Tad. And all the while I'm watching these scenes the only thing to flash through my head is "I want this child to be Adam's"! How come Dixie's only reason for being in town these days is to obsess about Krystal's baby. Can't the writers actually come up with a storyline that is intriguing? Just for an FYI Dixie has siblings in Pine Valley. Sure they change their names about as often as they change their underwear but they are fun and young and hickish. Although I'm confused by the name game with this crew. Dixie's a Cooney who uses her ex-husband's last name. Del is a Hunkle who changed his name to Henry when he became a writer but decided to use Hunkle on his draft story of Zach the murderer of Madden story (see here). And last but not least Di who was raised with the name Kirby but is really a Hunkle that now goes by Henry. Clearly the writers have no idea that those of us that are obsessed fans actually follow along and when the continuity is shattered like the example above it's annoying!

Which leads me to the recycled storyline of Babe and Krystal playing baby keepaway. Again no character development...let's just play the same storyline that wasn't a big hit and dragged on way to long of babynapping and lies. But don't you worry because Babe announced today they are doing the right thing by lying. You know cause it's worked out so well in the past for them.

I'm actually liking dear Mr. Zarf. Jeffrey Carlson is fun to watch and as long as he's not Bianca's new love interest I'm running along with this new character of Zarf. They will make a great friend duo.

I'm also in like with the Ryan, Annie and Emma storyline. Sure it's weird that Kendall wants to keep Ryan from his daughter but you know...that's Kendall. She doesn't share well. There's really no chemistry between Annie and Ryan but hey I'll give it a whirl...who knows maybe I believe these two kids actually are capable of falling in love.

I'm thrilled by the news that Elizabeth Henderickson is reprising her role as Maggie Stone. I think it is good for BAM to have closure if that's what is in store for them. I'm not sure the writers can handle this but as always I hope.

Why was it so important for the writers to turn Tad into a pathetic soul? That whole I murdered Greg Madden and now he's done nothing but mope around for months. Sure MEK has had some powerful scenes (the court scene and the Simone scene specifically) but Tad is just so depressing anymore. If I want to be depressed I'll watch the news instead of my soap.

My Christmas wish is that things get livelier in the new year.

Here Endth my Rant!

Victim #2…Erin Lavery
December 15, 2006

First I want to say interesting new opening…Erin is killed off but yet she's still in the opening credits…color me confusioned!

I will miss Connie Fletcher and Erin Lavery in Pine Valley. Like so many fine actors before her the less than stellar writing talents of the McTetts have left Erin as dead as her storyline. What I find very unsettling is that Simone who was on the canvas for 5 years got one little snippet flashback and Erin gets everyone devastated by her death and a video montage of clips and she was on the canvas for 1-1/2 years. I like to refer to this as non-Lavery prejudice! Since all stories must revolve around either Babe or Ryan it would only make sense that Erin gets top billing over Simone.

This then leads me to Bianca's reaction to Erin's demise…odd doesn't even begin to cover it. Why you ask…well Bianca left for Paris in February of 2005 and Erin came to Pine Valley in August 2005. I do not remember them spending quality time together during Bianca's trips home. Not until Simone's death had I ever seen the two together so Bianca's devastation at the news was way over the top…sensitive soul or not!

I feel bad for not feeling bad for Ryan or Jonathan over Erin's murder. The acting was fine but I couldn't muster any sympathy for them…especially Jonathan. Perhaps if he said something like "I now know what I put those families through when I murdered their loved ones…" You see how I can't come up with any sympathy. Same goes for Ryan, he allowed Jonathan to get away with murder and slap Maggie around and drug his wife and frame Kendall and well you get the picture. All because poor little Hockett couldn't have been so bad, and oh my guilt of abandoning him and Erin. Boo Hoo! Ryan you are an adult. You ran away at 15 and didn't look back…get over it already. The only thing I was touched by was Amanda's reaction to the whole matter. How she wanted to help Jonathan through the pain she suffered when her mother murdered her father. Chrishell Stause is amazing. Amanda is capable of being shallow and soulful, sweet and wenchy all at the same time. If written correctly Amanda could be the bad girl we all want to forgive because Chrishell has the ability to be a raging b*tch and then as innocent as a child. But I do not see the McTetts giving her anything incredible to work with. Like so many characters I'm sure she's will languish as a Lavery accessory. I would love to see Amanda in a triangle with Josh and Jonathan. Friends with Josh and in love with Jonathan with the nastier side of Jonny coming out from time to time.

Here's one to mention. I'm not sure if it's true or not because I couldn't confirm it but the rumor mill is churning that Kay Alden and Jack Smith from Y&R are now story consultants for ABC. If this is true there might be hope for AMC. Still on my Christmas List is the exit of Julie Caruthers and Megan McTavish or as I'm now going to call them Smash and Crash! Fingers crossed Kay and Jack can save us all from our misery!

Okay I love Bianca and Zarf being friends…what I didn't like was the fact that the kiss with Zarf puts Bianca into questioning her sexual identity. You know the one she fought so hard to validate with her friends, family and especially her Mother. I don't care if Zarf is a woman trapped in a man's body, I find it very difficult to believe that she could hone in on his female side just because she closed her eyes. That like saying just because one of the characters sat next to the serial killer they were able to feel that the person beside them is a psychotic killer.

What have I liked? Well thanks for asking…I was thrilled today that Livia rushed home to be there for Danielle. I love that the Frye family is on the canvas once again. I've not been a fan of the totally white town of Pine Valley. Where are the Asians, Hispanics (other than Julia) and the Black families? Just because you've got a gay character doesn't mean you have diversity. I would love to see Derek, Livia, Jamal, Dani and Tom all spend the holiday together. I would like to see Julia spending a traditional Texas/Mexican Navidad. And how come Brad Carlton, Y&R (aka George Kaplan) is the only Jewish Character on the soaps right now (maybe there are more)? AMC has always had compelling stories for the African-American characters on the show. The love story of Angie and Jesse, Frank Hubbard and how about Les Baxter as the bad guy? But I guess it's too much to ask for since the McTette's are only able to write for Babe and Ryan. There is so much story for Derek, Danielle and most especially Livia. Why isn't Livia the DA of Pine Valley??? Just wondering.

Well I guess that's all I've got today. So…. here endth my Rant!

On The First Day of Christmas AMC Gave To Me….
December 13, 2006

…Bianca and Zarf kissing. I get the point of these scenes but what I do not get is the point of these characters. It's not riveting as much as annoying. Why do I feel this way you ask? Well Bianca got to kiss a woman only 5 or 6 times in her five years since outing herself. In two weeks she's kissed Zarf twice. You do the math! I get the flow of writing here but I'm not jumping on board. So here's my take on this little "lovefest" we watched today. By closing her eyes Bianca let herself feel and by doing so seemed to hone in on the true Zarf that is Female and being a Lesbian was kissing the real woman that is Zarf. Way existential of her don't ya think? This new agey spin doesn't work for me because Bianca knows she's kissing a man, as would anyone in her position. It has to do with senses. You trust what you can see unless of course you are Bianca "sensitive soul"!

What else is my AMC giving to me? Well a mass murderer's sister was…well…murdered and he's distraught. What is very odd for me is that Jonathan never really had remorse for murdering the people he did? It was because of the tumor don't ya know. This excuse was echoed by Erin, Jonny and Ryan over and over ad nausem but never was he destroyed by his guilt of murdering two men who had wives and children who were devastated by his act. Gosh even Angel the Vampire felt bad for killing all those people when he got his soul back so much so he devoted his eternity to helping the poor and down trodden victims of life. Jonathan moved through his life (as written) without a care in the world except disappointing his beloved Lily. Ryan had no guilt either which I find odd because it was Ryan who talked Maggie out of pressing charges against Jonathan for assault that led to Steve the bodyguard's murder. It's ironic that their sister is murdered don't you think. The acting was fine from both Jeff Branson and Cameron Mathison but the characters were written extremely odd. If the writers need any back-story of the past on the show please email me I'd be glad to help you! In fact I insist on it!!!!

Also odd was the fact that Erin, who never really was a front burner character got a montage of clips, but poor Simone who was on the show for 5, count them 5 years got one clip of Tad and she in bed. I'm hoping there will be a funeral or something but alas I'm not counting on this writing team to offer any kind of real tribute.

Moving on to Annie and Kendall and the non-triangle from boredville! Yes I remember last year's Christmas episodes with Kendall and Ryan in the church where Kendall explains she's not a person who can share well. So this scene with Annie makes sense from Kendall's point of view but what was with that picture of Greenlee she just pulls out and shows to Ms. McDermott? I also would like to interject that Greenlee was not Ryan's true love. The Princess was his true love and the chemistry was sweet, amazing and at times electric! Greenlee and Ryan had a love formed from the bonds of friendship but it was nothing at all like his true love Gillian. Since the Annie/Ryan love story is written very oddly (my word dujour) there's not fan connection. No one is routing for these two in fact its sort of like taking your sister to the prom. I honestly would rather see Ryan spend more time with his daughter Emma and less time with her mom.

On my weird list was watching Erica and Jeff behave like they are in there twenties. First…YUCK! Second it's just silly. I'm confused who the target audience is for these two? If anyone knows could you please email me. Thanks.

Last on my list for the first day of Christmas is to tackle the Babe/Ryan not so lovefest with the fans. Alexa and Cameron are wonderful and talented actors but these two characters have been over written for, so much so, that the fans are burnt out by them. Babe and Ryan are in practically every scene, every day. If I made a drinking game of taking a shot every time I saw either one on screen I'd be tanked every day! We all get that Ms. McT loves Cameron Mathison and the character of Ryan (it was evident in the spring and summer of 2005 when the only story really going was Ryan's rage and the All My Lavery's in Canada). I personally miss the old Ryan who was a con man. He was poor and hungry and didn't like it. He lost everything but as long as he had Gillian he didn't need anything else. When Gillian was murdered he was a broken man. Ryan never was the hero in anyone's life except Gillian and I liked that about him. He was just a man. Since coming back to Pine Valley in 2003 he's been written as the god of Pine Valley. And then there is Babe Carey. She was a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who cheats on here "husband" with his brother accidentally. When she was just that sassy trailer park gal who roared into town I liked her. She was the thorn in Adam's side. I liked her because she was sassy but then we were introduced to the baby stealer who was written as a victim. Babe supposedly did the wrong things for what she thought were the right reasons (or so Bianca told Josh). But the viewers never saw Babe as a victim. She was a liar and a cheat who kept her "BEST FRIEND'S" child from her letting said best friend mourn for said child. Yet over and over she was the victim of JR. The way Babe was written she cause all of her problems and didn't like the consequence. This writing team has destroyed the characters of Babe and JR as far as I'm concerned. Babe is over exposed and JR is just a nut. There was no development in the characters. Instead of someone stealing Little A from the other we have these two acting like idiots driven by childish passions. They make no sense, one moment they are savvy millionaire industrialists the next, one of them is jumping out a window during a drunken tirade and the other is having sex on the floor of her office and then in the very public rooftop. Yep, I know, it makes no sense.

So Santa Baby…can you throw me a bone here?

Dear Santa: All I want for Christmas…
December 10, 2006

Well I must say that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday's shows were the consecutively most improved shows in a long time! Not since the September 11th show has there been a decently written show.

As always the Acting was top notch. For me the acting is the only thing that makes me watch every day; that and the sincere hope that things will improve. I will miss the character of Simone tremendously because I'm lucky to have on tape shows where she got a chance to be an important part of the story instead of thrown into the scene oddly. I remember when Terri got to play Simone as Sexy, Sensitive, Naïve and most of all fun! Simone was a character that could have easily become front burner but was lost in the mad dash to convert the show to the Ryan Lavery and Babe Carey Show. Again the acting was on the money but the writing became tired and mundane and at several points the storyline became a merry-go-round of dialogue! So much wasted talent!!

I'm trying to move forward because I can't change the past. Simone's death kicks off a murder mystery that promises a dead person a week. Um…Just in time for Christmas??? Anyway, when the Fusion girls sat around with their Bloody Mary's telling old stories of Simone it was classic! Especially to see and hear the reactions of those characters that weren't around for the early Simone like Kendall was! Tad's tearful goodbye and the flashback to the whip cream episode were priceless. And although the writers understood Simone's presence in the community they summed up her impact nicely, reverently and in true Simone fashion. The only smudge was the inclusion of Zarf, his input could have been left off until Monday after the characters got to grieve and remember Simone! It would have been nice if they could have offered Rebecca Budig a one or two day reprisal of Greenlee Smythe to attend her once best friend's funeral. )For all those who didn't know this Greenlee and Simone were BFF (to quote the writers) back in 2002 and she was her maid of honor to her near wedding to Leo). It would have brought it all to a poetic close.

I actually also like something else from Thursday and Friday's episodes. Dixie being the Dixie we all hoped to see one day. Not whining about Kate or insisting Krystal declares her child Tad's (which she's been doing for months and weeks now). No she was Dixie who wanted to save her son's heart and life. She was strong and proud and most of all stood up for the right things for a change. She cut JR's tirade about Babe in half. Dixie lovingly but firmly confronted JR about the man he's become and the man he needs to be for Little A. I hope to see more of this strong and powerful woman and not see Dixie revert to the sad pathetic person the writers have created. Cady McClain is a talented and unique actress, how about the writers cut her a break and write something worthy of her talent!

Here endth my Rant!

Murder in Pine Valley…Again
December 6, 2006

So why is Derek so stupid? Isn’t it proper police procedure to believe foul play until it is the first thing ruled out? No immediately Derek suspects Simone being depressed and killed herself because he sees no sign of struggle or markings on the body. Yet the body is perfectly posed, complete with flower in her hair and a ribbon entwined in her fingers. And what was this talk of CSI doing their forensic search? Um you just as much as told the room full of people you think its suicide. His other suspicion is Zach, who said she had been killed. When Derek asked Zach why he thought this in an accusatory tone Zach response it’s a feeling. How about it seems obvious you dimwit!

I’ve given lots of thought to this “serial killer” storyline; besides my absolute distaste for gratuitous murder I’ve been trying to make sense of the tie in of Zach’s visions and his past with the killing of the Fusion Girls. If these two s/l’s are connected the connection at this point makes no sense. I watch a lot of Murder, She Wrote and so I like to piece things together as I watch (I know it’s sad, lol) but these early pieces are fragmented. The obvious pointing of the finger will be Zarf, which of course will be the red herring. It would make the most sense if the killer hadn’t been seen on screen but what I would like to see is that Zach’s visions and his notes are not tied to the killings. I would write the killer to be young Sydney Harris. Her character hasn’t been explored other than her mother doesn’t want to be bothered with her and it would flow that feeling abandoned causes her to act out in such extremes that thing go from bad to worse. It serves two purposes. Sydney is a character already on the canvass and secondly it would eliminate this character that really hasn’t found a place in Pine Valley. But I’m not writing the show so….moving on!

A yet another move to bring MTV to ABC…we now have the Pine Valley Real World house. Aren’t the endless Music Montage filler pieces enough…apparently not…we now have the group cohabitating together in the fun filled mansion. If you doubt the similarity of the two I offer exhibit A…Del at work talking to Amanda about meeting her in the hot tub! I rest my case! And in today's episode...shocking..Music Montage! Don't even get me started that the last guy who lived at Wildwind got murdered as did Gillian!

What’s kind of stupid about this premise is that these are not 20-somethings living together…with the exceptions of Amanda and Jamie the rest of the lot are 30-somethings. And what is this garbage that Aidan has no heat??? Um, you’re an adult pay a bill would you! All though this would save money on the budget since they wouldn’t have to incorporate as many set changes I feel this cohabitation is very much on the odd side. Living at Phoebe's place (Jamie Owns it) makes more sense than everyone living at Maddie and Sam's house.

And this brings me to yesterday’s episode in general. Who edited this show? It was extremely fragmented. Just as the Real World PV gang was in the middle of talking it was fad…commercial. Weird. And why did Derek take the Fusion group to the very much outdoors roof while his men did their investigation? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to take them to the ConFusion office? And today when the Fusion girls all migrated back to the Fusion office there wasn't any crime scene taped off. This makes no sense!

And my last bit of what the heck...Since when did Kendall become this great friend of Simone? Their relationship has been Kendall giving Simone a hard time and basically treating her like garbage. And that leads to my very last bit...now that Simone's dead with Fusion go under because she was the only one who ever did any work?!

I’m scratching my head again…at this rate I’ll be bald before Christmas! Here Endeth my Rant!

Searching for the lifeboat
November 29, 2006

When will the writers actually research the past of the show? When JR lying in his hospital bed with his broken pelvis telling Little A "daddy fell down", Adam barks a dismissal to Tad. JR asks his father since it's Thanksgiving can't the Martins and Chandlers get along? Umm…I didn't know there was such a feud between these families? Was it because Tad help save Dixie all those years ago from the mental institution that Adam had connived to send her too? Or perhaps it was when Adam stole her son from her so that he could possess his child? I see how well that worked out for the lad. Although come to think of it this early kidnapping prepared JR for his future kidnappings of which there were many.

Anyway back to my point (I'm so easily pushed off course), the writers clearly disregard the shows history. I mean we have all suffered through the Non-Aborted Miracle Baby and it was enough to set me off to the moon but lately it's like the writers just don't care what they are putting on paper. They've even revised their own s/l.

I also wondered why Julie Carruthers, the Executive Producer and Megan McTavish are so hot to purge the show and make it something completely different and new? If TPTB wanted a new show then why not start one? Nothing's worked in the 10am slot for ABC so why not throw a new soap in that slot? Instead we've been force fed new cameras, new actors/characters and a series of Music Montages. The only real story concerning the show is how awful it's become. And yet these changes began in late July early August and when they were greeted with Fan hostility TPTB ignored the Fan Base and kept on plowing over the show we all loved for 36 years!

On the horizon are two really bad stories. First the transgender storyline, which isn't in itself bad but having no faith in the HW at AMC, it will become either a travesty or a mockery. Either way what could be a good s/l will end up horrid. In the recent story by AP about the grand announcement of Zarf being transgender JHC (Julie Hanan Carruthers) said they had talked to members of GLAAD and some transgender folks. Wow…they talked to about 3 people and now they feel they can tackle this complex s/l. Good for them!

The second fiasco on the horizon is the serial killer storyline. I've never thought that glorifying murder in daytime was a good idea. And clearly it turned disastrous the last time McT gave us a killing (aka Greg Madden). So to think she's capable of this tripe is a stretch. Here's my problem…besides the obvious gratuitous killing they have not taken into account the fact that some of the characters they are killing off might be needed in the future (aka Erin Lavery). I say this because in the last two years ALL MY CHILDREN has actually meant ALL MY LAVERYS.

I never understood why every new character/actor was given a long-term contract. Why not do what they did with Liz Hendrickson, Frankie/Maggie and offer a short-term contract and if the actor is a hit with fans offer a long-term character. This is how some of the greats started on daytime. Tony Geary and Stephen Nichols got their starts this way. Day players who stood out and became icons of daytime. If TPTB at AMC took this approach they wouldn't be force to ax long time players like Julia Barr/Brooke English and Vincent Irizarry/Dr. David Hayward. They somehow got lost in the hire more people because there's nothing happening on the show. Hello…it's the writing!

I live in a major city in America and we have had more murders this year than any other year so why would the fine people at AMC think that I want to watch murder as entertainment? It's sick and disturbing to me. Perhaps I'm alone in this feeling but the world is already a violent place and instead of giving us a compelling social storyline they've chosen to slaughter the residents of Pine Valley (to cut the cast size) and attempt to tell a story about a transgender.

Where's the love, the romance….the plotting to have the man or woman of your dreams and end up sabotaging the one thing you want in life? Where is the core couple that over the years fought the odds and survived in tact to be a model couple for the townies? Where are the family get togethers at holidays? Joe and Ruth Martin who were the center of Pine Valley life were on a cruise during Thanksgiving. A Cruise???? Are you kidding me??? Their two sons lives are in disarray and their aborted grandson is destroying his life for Babe Chandler but I could see them taking a cruise instead of standing by their family!

My head hurts!!!

Here endth my Rant!

Transgender Storyline: Is it ground breaking or just sensationalism?
November 27, 2006

Today it was announced that AMC would be launching the character of Zarf who will be revealed as Transgender. This in itself could be a very moving storyline. The emotional side of a character dealing with the fact they know that they are trapped in the wrong body. This said I do not believe Ms. McT is capable of writing this important story.

When Bianca was written to be a lesbian it was a powerful story. The coming out episode was one of the best stories out there on any soap but after telling the story and the characters reactions AMC didn't continue the pace. Bianca's relationships (Sarah, Frankie, Lena and Maggie) all were limited. She did not have the same type of romantic scenes as the heterosexual couples. After her first kiss Bianca went on for the next four years and kissed a total of 4 more times (Twice with Lena and twice with Maggie). There was no real relationship just a lot of discussion about being involved in the relationship. This is what Bianca became.

I honestly believe this storyline was not for the "powerful" reasons that were mentioned in the article (see here). This has free press written all over it. The sensationalism of it all will bring in the curious viewers but they won't watch for long and AMC will be back in the same boat as before. The reality of their purging seasoned vets will hurt the show in the long run because the truth is that Soap Fans started watching because their Moms, Dads, Sisters and Grandmothers watched the show and they started to watch because of them. If you alienate the people who bring in the new viewers well you lose the base and the future of Soaps.

TPTB haven't learned yet that hypes and gimmicks are not the real answer to their problem…it's the WRITING!!! Get a new HEAD WRITER!!! What's going on with this show is indicative of the issues in entertainment. When Hollywood stands around scratching their collective heads wondering why movie ticket sales are going down and yet they are making big budget films. What they do not understand is…just because some movie mogul likes the film subject doesn't mean that America wants to shell out $10 to see some stupid crap! When will Mr. Frons, Ms. McTavish and the merry tots discover that just because they like the storyline don't mean the viewers will!!!

The letters, the emails, the boos at the fan luncheon and yet they still do not listen.

To sum up…I believe this storyline is a gimmick for free press (which they are getting…heck Matt Drudge posted a link to the story to his site today for a couple of hours). I honestly believe that the writing team is incapable of handling such a dramatic storyline and I have a feeling I will be ranting about this for a long time to come…I apologize in advance!

Here endth My Rant!

So you're back from the dead…now what?
November 26, 2006

I was thinking a lot about some of the characters in Pine Valley since so many changes are on the horizon. One character that has puzzled me is Dixie and what I'd like to see for her. Cady McClain came back to AMC with great fanfare after having had an excellent run on ATWT. But what happened to Dixie? She's done nothing but cry since she's come home…and most of the tears have been sorrow. Yes I know that it's called Daytime DRAMA but when will the writers show a different side of Dixie. It's time for Dixie (as Kendall once said) to stand up and be the hero of her own life. Why does Dixie need a man to save her? Tad, David, Mr. Dude in Switzerland Guy, Zach and JR have all rushed to save Ms. Cooney. I'd like to see Dixie kick butt and take names for a change!

What if Dixie and Di teamed up to find Kate? Two sisters united in a greater good. We all know that once little Kate Martin is discovered Tad and Dixie will fight over her custody. It's inevitable that it happen. So this is where having Di and Dixie team up would be great. To see these two women strong and it would give us a chance learn more about each of them. I would write something about Dixie's time living in Pigeon Hollow when JR was younger (pre-Jonathan Bennett). Perhaps Di had contact with Dixie and Junior when they were living there and didn't know they were sisters. What if the sisters also needed to save their brother Del from something? It would unite the Hunkles in a storyline.

Once Dixie had found her strength, then and only then would I have her reunite with Tad…of course after the custody hearing, lol!

The storylines are limitless when one has talented actors like Cady, Kelli and Michael but does AMC have the writing team to tap into all of this talent? Time will tell.

Here endth my RANT!

The Five Year Old JR Chandler, Part Two
November 23, 2006

So we are treated to yet another round of JR…victim of Babe. For those of you keeping score here's the breakdown. Babe marries JR even though she's married to Paul Cramer (Lie #1). Babe sleeps with Jamie, JR's stepbrother, when she first comes to PV (Lie #2). Babe's not sure who the father of her baby is - well this isn't exactly Lie #3 but she had to have a paternity test (Lie #2-1/2). Babe eventually discovers that her baby is Bianca's (Lie #3). Babe gets JR to marry her again (Lie #4) that actually turned into love. Babe feeling abandoned and lonely sleeps with Josh and denies it (Lie # 5). Now lets compare these lies with what JR's done over the last 3 years….

Drugs Babe and almost kills her with an over dose at SOS (2003) Jamie gets stabbed by Seth... (2003) While JR watches. (2003) JR picks up a lead pipe and bashes Jamie in the head for stealing his son... (2004) JR pushes or is directly responsible for Bianca's fall off the balcony when she went to claim her child. (2004) JR holds a Gun on Tad and even fires it because he wanted Tad to tell him where Babe and Jamie took his son. (2005) JR just for fun drops a motorcycle on Jamie. He had already destroyed Jamie's chance for a life so this was only for entertainment. (2005) A Drunk JR threatened to run off with Little A and while drunk runs over Amanda Dillon. (2005) Again Drunk a completely idiotic version of JR holds Krystal hostage. (2006) He fires the gun at Krystal but misses however unbeknownst to JR his bullet hits Dixie. (2006) In his drunkness JR believes Janet Green and sets out to kill Babe in an "accident" but almost kills Kendall and her baby.(2006)

One can see how much of a victim JR really is…NOT! I've never been comfortable with the way that the writers portray JR as a victim. And this time around everyone is upset with Babe because HER lies made him drink…HER lies made him violent….HER lies made him so irrational he jumped out a 4th story window. SHE did this to him. Funny I thought it was the fact that JR is basically mentally unbalanced. The man should be in Oakhaven but instead is running around lashing out at people because…well he's hurting. I actually believe JR and Babe are perfectly suited for each other. Not unlike Alan and Monica of General Hospital.

I watched yesterday's episode and wanted to turn off the television. When will the writers STOP recycling the dialogue and storyline????? I'm reaching the end of my tether here. There's nothing-original happening. It's the same bloody storyline from 2 years ago. The same basic dialogue again and I imagine now we will be treated to months on end of fighting over Little A. This rehash of Dixie/Adam is old…not just old but really, really, really old! I'll make it easy for TPTB and post some storyline ideas in HWFAD. Kind of help them a little.

Moving on to my least favorite character…Colby. Ahhh…I sigh to myself. The writers are desperate to keep this character and are trying to mold and reshape her. I honestly think it is in vain. My feelings on this character are pretty solid. Even with the attempt to salvage the character the writers go one step forward and two steps back. The special moment with Krystal is eclipsed the very second that Colby says…I'm a Chandler and all her entitlements there of. Like being a Chandler is the end all and be all of Pine Valley. I'm personally OD'ing on the Chandler's right now.

Speaking of Od'ing. I'm sick of the non-storyline (it's just all dialogue) of Ryan, Annie, Zach, Kendall and most of all Bianca. Did Eden Riegel really return to daytime so Bianca could be mediator for the masses? Ryan is CEO of the multinational conglomerate Cambias Industries but he can't get in touch with the Governor to help him in his time of need with Emma but Adam can drag a judge out of bed to give him temporary custody of Little A. Yeah okay… And how is it that Tad and Dixie have done nothing to save little Emma from foster care. It's becasue of them that Annie is fighting for her child but apparently they've moved on to make more messes of other peoples lives!

There is no doubt in my mind that the staff writers are capable of writing dialogue. It's their strong suit but when the HEAD WRITER is incapable of writing storyline well I suggest manning your lifeboats because eventually the ship (show) will slam into that iceberg.

And last on my list is, this is lamest Thanksgiving in the 36-year history of Pine Valley. Joe and Ruth are on a cruise!!!!! (Comment 1: So much for building up the Martin Family…Ms. McT's line about why she revised the abortion storyline). Tad and Jamie are off doing something…(see comment 1) and Amanda doesn't want to do thanksgiving. So Brooke is with Jack at the Miranda Center volunteering. Annie and Ryan go to the hospital for Test Results (Um…I think the lab would be closed on Thanksgiving for standard testing). Zach is running around trying to find a place to hold the grand event…which by the way, is airing Monday…you know the Monday AFTER Thanksgiving! Did you catch Y&R Hey they had their thanksgiving….before thanksgiving!!! Guess we know why they are #1 for all these years!

Let's face it…this Rant could go on forever…but it won't because I've got to pick up the grandparents for dinner. Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!

Here Endth my Rant!

Back from Super Soap Weekend
November 19, 2006

Well as you know I was stressing about the direction of the show before heading off to Super Soap Weekend. Then I arrived at the event and all the frustration about the show left me. I'm really glad that I went.

The actors work so hard all weekend to entertain the fans and I couldn't believe the amount of energy they all had because they were working non-stop from 9 am to 9 pm. My hat if off to all of them!

My favorite part of the weekend was the Grand Motorcade at 7:15 pm on Saturday night…The electricity and excitement created by the fans was incredible! Soap Fans Rock!!! If you would like to see my pics and vids from the event I've created a special page dedicated to just the event! (Click Here).

So I'm back and the show still makes no sense and although the ratings numbers are holding at (2.3) that's not a good thing because it puts us third from the bottom and only because A comes before O. The bottom three are AMC, OLTL and Passions. What I have noticed is that the ratings are up for all the other shows. So that's a good thing…more people are watching Soaps in general…just not AMC!

And here's why….

The body count continues…now besides Brooke (Julia Barr), David (Vincent Irizarry) and Simone (Terri Ivens) we are losing Erin (Connie Fletcher). I personally have always liked Connie's acting. It wasn't her fault that the writers can't…well…. write. Instead of creating storyline (which they historically have been weak in that department) they had Erin as a filler. She and Aiden explored each other and well that was it. The back-story of Erin was only that of her life with Ryan. Just as Jonathan had become the back-story of Ryan. Each of these characters has been written into limbo. But alas, now Erin is going to be a victim of the latest tripe handed down by Ms. McTavish and her merry band of wanna be writers.

I've read that Ms. McT is giving us yet another murder mystery. Let me put aside my absolute contempt for her lack of talent for a moment and just focus on the facts. Murder Mysteries are not her strong suit. Look at the fiasco that was Michael Cambias. Someone murdered him and the town did everything to protect whoever the culprit turned out to be. Well it turned out to be Bianca. Which of course made no sense because if I was raped by someone and found out I was pregnant by them the first thing I would do is go to their home in the dark of night to confront them. Yep…I'm sure this is what I would do. If I had written the conclusion to this storyline I would have made the murderer Myrtle and have it be an accidental shooting…a small trial and viola! Conclusion.

Moving on to the Ryan Lavery "Murder Mystery Game" shooting…turns out the person trying to kill Mr. Lavery was his mentally deranged kid brother. This storyline was fine right up until they brought back Jonathan from the dead. Instead of waiting months for this story to get cold (This is when Ryan naturally turned to fight club) they should have integrated Erin's rescue and care of Jonathan. But they didn't because they suck! (Sorry).

Next, we have the fiasco that was the Greg Madden Murder Mystery. This little trip had fans scratching their heads and wondering what they heck Ms. McT and her band of merry men were smoking. Revisionist history kicked off this mess and it only got worse with Tad Martin being the person who buried Greg Madden alive…twice! It's almost like watching a train wreck in slow motion…you know you should turn away but invariably you still want to see how it turns out.

Fast-forward to the future and the writing team is going to give it another shot. This time with a serial killer plucking off cast members left and right with Simone and Erin to be the first victims (or so I've read). I guess this is how they intend to get the younger viewers…MASS MURDER. Well they may get the younger viewers but they will lose the hard-core fans…, which I believe out way the 5 or 6 viewers they would gain.

Look at what wonderful young storyline they are playing over at OLTL. Starr and Cole are cute, young and in flux. He's a bad boy whose mom was raped by Starr's dad. He's a football hero with a secret and Starr wants to save him before he hurts himself or her. On AMC we have Colby yelling about her money and entitlement because she's a Chandler and the self-absorbed Sean Montgomery is even less appealing. These characters have turned viewers stomachs. The unfortunate thing for the show is these newbies can act but they are given horrid dialogue and even worse direction. I saw on one message board that they were asking everyone's list of whom they'd like to see knocked off by the serial killer and Colby was usually #1 on the list. The writers tried to fix the mess they've made by having Colby finally talk to Krystal but really it's too late for that where I stand. I've already formed my opinions of the character of Colby and it's thumbs down. Sorry Ambyr…you are a good actress but the character is crap.

Emma turned out not to be Kate Martin. Is this because it seemed inevitable that she would turn out to be Kate Martin so the writers switched gears? Never fear Valleyites Ms. McT promises a Christmas Miracle…Would that miracle included better storylines??? The only saving grace to that horrible storyline of Annie being a Chimera is that the little girl playing Emma is the cutest little actress in the world!!! Who didn't cry when poor little Emma was being dragged away from her Mommy? Which brings me to a sore topic. When would Child Services take a child from her mother based on illegally obtained documents that by the way were not substantiated by any authorative source? Annie should sue the judge and the department. This then segways into the promo they have out that has Ryan as Emma's biological father. Now this is miraculous. He donated is sperm in Pennsylvania…Annie was living in New York. Dr. Madden was living and working at his clinic in Switzerland taking care of Dixie. According to what the writers had already written Dr. Madden had acquired the fertility clinic in Pine Valley right before he came to town. Didn't Adam own this clinic? Anyway even if he did own the clinic 4 or 5 years ago why would he use a random sperm sample for a woman who lived in New York??? Yes that pain in your head is confusion (not the club) get used to it!!! And I know you are all wondering why Brooke didn't do an expose on Greg Madden after the big Josh Reveal or the Dixie/Tad affair. After all she was only Dixie's best friend and Tad's ex-wife…I could see why she wouldn't help out at all (said with absolute sarcasim)!

So I'm going to end this Rant because just trying to make sense of this mess is hurting my head! I'm going to post my storylines in HWFAD so if you get a chance check them out. Let me know what you think of how I would write the show.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!!

Here Endth my Rant.


The Body Count - What's Going on in the Valley?
November 8, 2006

Sure I ranted yesterday and the day before but this is more of a body count, if you will, of the state of our favorite show. I've been thinking more and more about the sorry state of affairs over at AMC since I'm getting ready to leave for Super Soap Weekend...so here it is.

I'll Screech 'Til You Turn off the TV!
November 7, 2006

As I watched the television with my mouth wide open mumbling to no one but myself I couldn't believe I was actually watching this crap! When will the writers get the message that Colby is beyond irritating. One person equated Colby to nails on a chalkboard. Which I feel is a dead on analogy. Whine, screech and blab and that is all this character is about. From the moment this character was reintroduced to the world of Pine Valley she as been written poorly. Of course that's par for the course these days with the writing but what's the point of this character. She blabbed about Krystal's connection with Tad and Babe's affair with Josh but as it was written none of what Colby had to say was of any importance to either storylines. She's like that gnat buzzing around that you swat at...annoying but not significant. I feel bad for Ambyr because the posters out there blame her and I really do not believe that it is her acting as much as the way the character is written and the direction on the character. Ambyr is just doing what she's told.

So Bianca is now Babe's greatest ally? Why?? Babe kept Miranda from Bianca and let Bianca believe her child was DEAD! So I could see how you'd want your new brother to hook up with Babe and you would council JR (who nearly killed you and your sister) on the virtues of Arabella Carey. And then for no apparent reason the writers have JR jump out the window...What in the heck was that??? I'm sure it was plot point...after all Josh stumbles upon an unconscience JR as he heads back to his hotel. So Josh gets to be his savior...boring and predictable. You know what would have worked for me...Colby finding JR's body. Wanting JR to pay for not believing her and turning Daddy against her she decided to walk away...so much drama could have been generated. But it would have been Chandler vs. Chandler with Adam stuck between a rock and a hard place. Nope we get Crap!

The rest of the show was so uneventful that I can't remember it. Apparently Brooke was on but in the moment I answered the phone and turned the volume back up she had already gone! I'll have to rewind it just for Brooke!

I've heard AMC described as mostly Fast Forward Events. Sadly I'm starting to FF.

Here endeth my Rant!

Toto We're not in Pine Valley any more!
November 6, 2006

It 's the evident that the viewer ship for this long time viewer has waned and I'm not the only one. As the rating inch down day-by-day and the disgruntled viewers flock to message boards across the internet we wonder why TPTB do not hear our pleas. Even SOD wonders why the fans are being ignored.

I try to get over to one board everyday (SoapNet message board) if I can and it's because these folks are more entertaining than the show. One poster will write,"I haven't turned on my television yet…should I bother?" This is usually followed by a barrage of don't bothers! They have cute names like McRuinoursoap. Very cleaver if you ask me and last week the post that saw the most action was about what everyone was going to use for their Thanksgiving screen name. There was even one post supposedly from SoapNetInfo that posed the question…"What was your favorite scene from 2006?" This still makes me laugh. There were only two real suggestions. One was the 9/11 episode where they wrote great scenes for Myrtle and Palmer and David and Julia. The other was the Mardi Gras Ball Explosion, way back in February. And off course there was a chorus of posts that said Babe being locked in the freezer…I'm thinking she's not a fan favorite right now! I also like that the posters use TIIC (The Idiots In Charge) rather than TPTB. Go figure.

As I sat in my recliner this weekend I was reading over some old soap magazines and I came across some articles that Agnes Nixon and Megan McTavish did together years ago. It made me think that perhaps Mrs. Nixon has retired completely from the show and this is why we are saddled with this mess! Mrs. Nixon, even when she was "retired" years ago still had her hand in the storytelling. When things would run off course she would step back in, take the reigns and put the show back on course. We need Mrs. Nixon to save our show but I do not think it's going to happen. This is where having a family franchise would serve the viewers best. When Days was having trouble you could hear the Corday's hollering 3,000 miles away. And how about those Bell's…Number one and Number two in the ratings for years on end…no problem there! So I say Captain, My Captain!!!!

I wanted to put off addressing the horrid announcements this week of not only Julia Barr (I expected as much) leaving the show after being treated so shabbily. To have offered this talented actress that had been with the show for 30 years a reoccurring status contract is an insult and a slap in the face!!! Ms. Barr is and has always been a woman of class and talent and to have treated her in this low class fashion is not only disrespectful but it shows just how low this show has gone!

The other departure is the Lovely and talented Terri Ivens. Terri had wanted to depart the show last year but signed an extension when she was promised a storyline. In fact, Ms. McT in the fall previews offered something big would happen for Simone. Yep it's big all right…she's leaving! Personally I don't blame Terri for leaving. Simone who always bordered on the verge of becoming a front burner character only to have it snatched away has frustrated me to no end. She added comic relief and her romance with Tad was hot and sexy and most of all fun. It was a welcome change to seeing Tad mope around pining for his long dead ex-wife. But now we say goodnight to such a fun character.

This just whittles down the cast to leave us with characters no one cares about with word from the workshop that more newbies are on their way…I say NOOOOOO!!!

So here I sit ready to head to Florida for Super Soap Weekend and instead of being pumped up I wonder if there will be a town lynching of TPTB when I get there. Perhaps if 60,000 people boo them at once they will get the message!

Here endth my Rant!

October 29, 2006

It's become even difficult to muster a Rant about the show anymore. The writers and producers are clearly not listening to the fans and for me the show is drowning in miss steps. It's sort of like watching the Philadelphia Eagles every Sunday. I hope they are going to win but after a few games I've become resigned to the fact they talk so much about their talent that I actually believed they had some…I was wrong.

The ratings got a little boost from Bianca returning to Pine Valley but from what I've seen of Bianca since she's returned she's more of a buttinsky and less of front burner storyline type of character. That would be reserved for the boring trio of Colby, Sean and Sydney. Had the writers written any back story and well just taken the time to develop one or all of these characters perhaps I would have grown to like them. For me, they are a waste of space and airtime. Yet the writers will devote unlimited hours to these three. Had they just developed a storyline for Reggie and Dani I think I would have been on board? Reggie had so much back-story and Dani could have been the one to bring him back from the edge. What about Bianca and Reggie's relationship? These two have always been close and were much more interesting to watch than Bianca and Sean. I have to say that I've decided to start a drinking game that every time Sean talks about his conception we do a shot…but we'd be plastered all the time. Apparently the writers think this is the most interesting part of Sean Montgomery. Now Sean Cudahey…there was a character!

That leads me to…what kind of parent tells a young child that they were only brought into this world to save the other child? When did Barbara and Travis share this little ditty with Sean…at his 5th birthday party at Chucky Cheese? Lame!

Moving on…David has had more dialogue in the last three weeks than he's had all year. It's odd that they can find a storyline for him after they fire the actor that plays him! I hope Vincent wins the Emmy and gets a job at Y&R!

As I struggle everyday to remain a true and loyal fan (especially since I've shelled out bucks for SSW) I find it difficult to embrace the "New" Tad and Dixie. Why do the writers think "Edge" means "Evil" or "Murderer"? Tad is now in my eyes…a killer. What's next for Tad…rape? Oh no…the next thing for Tad would be to drag a happy child away from the only mother she's known for his own personal satisfaction of having his child back. Tad and Dixie have run around yelling "Kate" and they've not once thought about the child "Emma". Who writers stuff like this…oh…that would be the writers at AMC! Dixie has a history of abandonment and acknowledged she signed her child away. After realized she was going to live she realized she made a mistake? Yeah no kidding and then she doesn't reach out to her family because she's was afraid they wouldn't understand why she gave away Kate. This storyline has left me angry. If I want to be angry all the time I can just watch politics on television. I watch AMC to be entertained by moving stories. Well…that's why I watch ATWT! It's crazy that AMC has pushed me to become reacquainted with As The World Turns after all these years!

So here we are again. Storyline driven but not character development and that leads to nothing but frustration. Honestly unless something major is done with All My Children it will only lead to further eroding of the viewer ship and it's poor ratings have rubbed off on One Life To Live. I hope keeping on Ms. McTavish as head writer is worth the loss of revenue.

Here endth my Rant!

October 22, 2006

I watched the show all week with sceptism which by the way is not how I like to go about watching my favorite soap. It had some good moments and some bad and there were scenes that reminded me that the writers are capable for writing something good. Adam telling Krystal that he would accept their child no matter what (click here for the video). That the writers are capable of remembering the past, David reminding Tad (Click here) of what happened the day Leora Died (Click Here). Shining moments in a sea of miss steps. I've always known that the acting is exempliary on AMC but to watch powerful scenes like these gives me hope.

Now for some of those miss steps I mentioned. Lately the writers have taken a road that I just can't go down with them. They have decided its okay to murder someone if you have a good enough reason. This type of storytelling is just wrong. I give you example A) Dixie telling a distraught Tad it's okay because he didn't think and example B) Ryan telling Jonathan (a mass murderer) he had no choice in killing Terry. In both of these killings the "Bad Guy" was in a vunerable position so it was pretty much a pigeon shoot. It would have been more understandable to me if there was a scuffle and a gun went off or a punch was thrown that caused the death of the bad guy. It would have been in a self defense response or an accident that never was thought to result in death. But the writers have made Tad (usually) a good guy a man who buried someone alive not once but twice. And Jonathan didn't have to kill Terry he could have shot him in the foot instead of in the back and Jack would have rushed in to help him stop Terry.

Now we will probably have to watch poor Emma being dragged from the only source of stablilty she's ever known, the only mother she's ever known to be given to two of the most screwed up people ever. Dramatic it will be but it will only make me like Tad and Dixie less than I do right now and let me tell you that I'm not a huge fan if you couldn't tell. Oh and Dixie has no rights to the child...she signed them away, REMEMBER! So that would leave Tad to work out a shared custody agreement with Annie.

So to sum up I realized in watching last week that the writers are good at writing dialogue but have major issues with storyline. It's time to step up and write a storyline that someone can get behind. Where's the romance (lusty sex isn't romance)? Where is that core couple that has weathered all the odds and still are together (Joe and Ruth do not count if they haven't been seen on screen)? If the writers actually cared about what they are writing we would have embraced the newbies instead of having nothing but utter distain for them. How TPTB expect anyone to embrace Colby after the quagmire they created with her is beyond me?

Here endth my Rant!

October 15, 2006

Well I apparently haven't been the only one upset with the direction of the show. Some of the complaints we've all had have been fixed. Now if TPTB could address the major concerns of the show. In their grand pursuit of the younger folks they've reduced our beloved show to an MTV special complete with music videos. All they have actually accomplished is the further eroding of viewers. I've read so many posts from people who have had it with all the changes and the flood of newbies. This cord of discontent began with the wildly unpopular storyline of Erica's non abortion and the stupid tale that followed right up until the big reveal that was "who killed Greg Madden". Unfortunately for the show each miss step was followed by another miss step. The worst of course was the firing of long term contract players and the hiring of a flood of newbies.

The constant positive with the show has always been it's gifted actors. For me it's been the one reason to watch. I'm a loyal person and I see these kids going out day after day, year after year giving it their all only to have to deal with mediocre writing at best. Add in the obvious interference from Brian Frons and what you have is a recipe for low ratings.

Business is business and I get they are trying to trim budgets on all the shows but truth be told they could have seen out the rest of the contracts on the players they had and just write good stories. But since this didn't happen and they went with plan B so will I. TPTB in the rush to get younger viewers have alienated it's base. Why? Good question. The situation that AMC is in now is not unlike when the OJ Simpson trial saturated the airwaves. They eroded their base of viewers and miscued on the fact that the viewers didn't come back after the trial. They had moved on to other shows or stopped watching. You know what I did during this time...I started watching CBS because at the time they were the only channel with soaps. I became a Huge ATWT fan which I remained today. Once the trial was over I dabbled in watching AMC but only came back full time when Bianca was revealed as being a lesbian. It was a bold story that the writers really didn't do justice. When Bianca left town I continued to watch the show and can say that now that she's back I worry they will destroy her character like they've ruined others....like Julia.

The largest weakness with the show is not utilizing the characters. We've been force fed the story of Colby...Sydney...Sean...Annie and in the months since they've arrived in town we have learn nothing new about them. Let me break down Colby for a moment. She comes to town as a runaway who stole a car. She screamed Daddy every five seconds and now her new mantra is get rid of the trailer park trash. What I find very odd is that Babe is wealthier than JR with her stocks in Fusion/ConFusion and let us not forget that Fusion and Enchantment had merged to streamline things. Oh maybe the writers forgot that. Any who Colby has been "A True Chandler" or so the writers have the other characters telling us every five minutes. She's a 16 year old Adam...yada yada yada...you get the picture. Well personally, I'm not a fan of the Chandlers. Sure they make good villains in the Soap World (mostly in the past) but the writers have them as CRIMINALS not villains. The difference is a good Villain is one that has a specific motive to strive over their adversary. Whether stealing a company or setting up their foe they have a goal. Also, if someone got physically injured it was never the intention and it then grounded the actions of the villain. The latest batch of Chandlers are soulless criminals who have resorted to attempted murder and the such for the dumbest of reasons. And the thought of Adam fathering another child to screw up (three of his 4 children have substance abuse problems) is just disturbing. What if Krystal is carrying Tad's child, well that would be just as bad. Instead of taking a week to see Tad distraught over being responsible for killing Greg Madden and write some powerful scenes of his guilt (Brooke could have been his savior) we watch Tad look for Kate and then contemplate taking his daughter away from the only mother she's ever known. What didn't work for me was that Tad's biggest problem with killing Greg was that he thought he'd never find his daughter...hey what about taking a innocent life??? He tortured a man for the weakest of reasons. And although the writers conveniently forgot the fact that Tad not only buried Greg Madden alive he dug him up and re-buried him. Every time I see Tad I think he is as soulless as JR.

So I've noticed my Rant has become a ramble which means that I should end it here. I support the actors and hope one day they will get the writing they truly deserve and I hope one day the viewers will get stories that aren't filled with holes or that they one day make sense. ATWT is great at integrating the cast and I see that OLTL is trying to do the same...now if only AMC would stop with the music montages for a moment we might actually get a storyline going.

Here endeth my Rant!


October 8, 2006

After re-watching last weeks shows I asked myself...why did you waste your time. The only exception to watching AMC is the incredible acting. Michael and Cady were phenomenal. Everyday the cast go to work and give 110% and in return the writers give them next to nothing to work with. Every week I read my SOD and they echo the frustration of the fans.

Brian Frons and Megan McTavish have yet to answer the fans. There are thumpings on the door and yet we go unanswered day after day. Why??? Why not explain to us all why you've taken our beloved show and made it almost unrecognizable. Frustration reverberates and yet still nothing from the brass except high fives for the new "look". How can you be so deaf? The cries of the fans are loud and I can hear them...heck everyone can hear them and they will be heard again during Super Soap Weekend. At the Fan Luncheon the fans who attended booed when mention was made to the new look and it took the cast to calm them back down and asked that we all give it a chance. And we did...but when you have shows like Thursday's that wasn't in focus AT ALL. Well you loose us all. So let me get this straight...you bought the equipment but don't know how to use it???? Even I know how to focus a camera!

So to recap the last six months...Greg was buried alive for his "crimes" (which amounted to not telling Dixie and Tad where their daughter was and "saving" Erica's fetus). He died because of neglect while buried alive. Zach and Dixie were tried and acquitted of the crime of murder and it turns out that Tad was responsible for Madden's burial and death. IMO, the writers should be arrested for telling stories with no moral value. Usually a story like this or JR's alcoholism would be told with moralizing at the end but not under our current leadership instead we have JR almost killing Amanda, almost shooting Krystal, shooting Dixie and almost killing Kendall with the intent to kill Babe. Fastforward...Tad buries a man alive and then lets him die. The most he can muster is "How can I live with this?" which Dixie response to 'you can'. The message that I get from these types of stories is violence is acceptable...as long as you don't get caught. Nice....very nice...why would anyone write something as horrible as this?!!!

So we get the old Tad and Dixie back...frankly I find them most unappealing. The writers have destroyed Tad in one sad storyline that never took off with the viewers but instead of wrapping it up they dragged and dragged hoping someone would care about the storyline. Only one person liked this horrid storyline and that was Brian Frons.

I watch everyday hoping things will get better. I'm not sure it will. TPTB have put a lot of stock in the return of Bianca. Personally I can't see how bringing Bianca back is going to fix what's wrong with the show. Only a new head writer and the President of Daytime keeping his nose OUT of the daily happenings of the show will do this and I do not see that anytime soon TPTB checking in on themselves! To Bad because they have the best cast in Daytime and there is only so long that they will be able to save the show.

I've done a tribute to Vincent Irizarry. To have let this tremendous talent go is the true crime on ALL MY CHILDREN! Click here to see how talented Vincent is as Dr. David Hayward!

Here Endth my Rant!

October 1, 2006

Ah…a new month. Well the trial is headed to a speedy close. And the viewers continue to not watch, according to the latest numbers AMC is still at the bottom of the heap with GL and Passions. I'm glad to see all of the shaking up, firings, new hirings and that blasted new camera work has paid off for TPTB. Well done!

I'm going to tackle the cameras first in today's Rant. They went from bad to worse with only the stationary cameras of old as the shows saving grace. First we had shaking so bad it left the viewers seasick. Now with the digital stabilization mode we get blurry images where the shaking would have been. I offer exhibit A and B. Back to the drawing board people!

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Moving on…Ms. McT also stated that after the trial (which by the way did all of the same things that Michael Cambias Trial offered) Tad and Dixie will heal and become the Tad and Dixie the viewers always loved. Well this is one viewer who feels that reviving these two as lovebirds is ridiculous at this point. Let's take a stroll down memory lane that is Tad and Dixie Martin. Yes when they were young and idealistic they were cute. He proposed in a chicken suite and he saved her child and her sanity. Fast-forward to 2000/02 and you will find a decidedly different couple. The debonair Dr. David Hayward sways Dixie and Tad has accidentally had sex with Leslie Colson. All of this generated the next two years of less than love for this pair. Right down to Tad's plotting to get even with David for the libizone fiasco and bringing Leslie Colson back to town who almost killed Dixie not once but twice, almost killed Tad and kidnapped JR. Then there was David saving the day but not her marriage because Tad and Dixie divorced. Oh and lest we forget why Dixie left town to begin with and the fact that after everything Tad really thought they could make a new start with the new baby. Denial, Denial, Denial…says I. Yeah this is a couple I want to rehash a relationship together. Frankly I'd rather see Adam and Dixie get together!

Although we've seen some incredible acting can I really believe that under all the pain these two people have caused each other there really is love? I personally do not believe that there is!

So all of the new changes have left the viewers running to other shows or just tuning out all together. The loss of the viewers of AMC seems to have trickled down to OLTL and GH. Wow…now that's a brave new move I wouldn't have seen coming. If I were in charge I would be questioning the decisions of the President of Daytime Programming right about now.

The phrase Focus Groups has come into play a lot since the firing of Dan Gauthier (Kevin, OLTL). I think they serve a purpose when you are talking about products that involve things like taste testing and what not but I can't see how a generalized group could have an accurate opinion of Soaps. Are these people in the groups specifically selected for their long time view of Daytime Dramas? Are they picked based on the fact they watch the specific show they are "focusing on"? I'm thinking the answers are no and no. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong but it seems to me that having any generalized population view our shows is kind of…well…dumb. I wonder what the focus groups think about the horrible new cameras?

And…I read in SOD that there will be more actors out at AMC, that Vincent's ouster won't be the last "Long Time Fav" to be let go or bumped to reoccurring status. How unfortunate for us. TPTB are doing a good job at telling us that money is tight (you know with gas prices being so high and all.) but when they hire six new actors (one has already jumped ship) and let go long term players like Vincent and Jill and who only knows next, to say it's because they are bringing back Eden Riegel…well these pieces don't really fit the puzzle before us. It's time for some new verbiage to explain the mess you've created. Good luck with that.

This ship is totally adrift with now land in site! If TPTB really want to help the show they didn't need to do anything flashy. All of these changes to make it hip and new, hip and exciting, hip…and…well you get the point have left the viewers fleeing the scene of the crime. All they had to do is…write! Write better stories, develop characters and write something of significance. Burying people alive is gross and horrible, murdering people is gross and horrible and frankly I get enough gross and horrible on my nightly news to want to be subjected to it in the fantasy world of Pine Valley. The only plus the show has had during these tumultuous times has been it's incredible Cast. They've saved what viewers are left. TPTB must realize that even that will not hold. So my advice is stop with the changes, reevaluate what mistakes have been made make real attempts to fix what you've broken and not try tourniquets. Perhaps if you WRITE something of value the viewers will come back.

Here endth my Rant.

September 28, 2006

Something was bugging me and I wanted to share. No it's not all of my missed spelled words from this yesterday's Rant. Although, I apologize for that. It is Tad. I might be the only one who wants to see the dark side of Thaddeus J. Martin but I wish the writers would commit to telling the story. What they have given us is Tad brooding about Dixie. He's angry all the time and I get that. The writers have shown us that Tad is angry. But they've stopped there. It's time for the writers to tells the whole story. I get that they are trying to create mystery to keep us hooked but what has been happening (for sometime) is that the same dialogue and character reactions are told and then re-told and so on. We all get it, Tad is upset with Dixie for giving away his daughter. But that's all we've seen for months. With the exception of Tad beating up Greg Madden in his hotel room there has been absolutely no growth. I feel that it's been drag, drag, drag, drag...oh yeah surprise. But what ends up happening is, instead of SURPRISE! on a grand scale the balloon is deflated. Why not show Tad planting evidence and plotting against Dixie? Why not show little bits now and again of what the suspects of "Who Killed Greg Madden" were actually doing the night he was hit on the head? Why not show Erica remembering a little of what happened before she showed up on the park bench? I know if I saw these glimpses of what actually happened that night it would build momentum for the big payola of who actually caused the death of Dr. Madden. Instead we will be treated to the acknowledgement of Greg's captor and the subsequent flashbacks of what actually happened the night he was buried alive. Yes, I know what you are thinking, didn't we see this style of story telling in the "Who Killed Michael Cambias?". I answer yes we did.

Hey it was great to see Brooke yesterday. I didn't get Sydney's need to keep Colby's secret though...she never liked her but now she's willing to help keep her secret? Is this one of those lame "Teenagers keep to the code" ideas? Oh wait that's the Pirates of the Carribean's the Pirates Code.

I've added my revised ideas for the show in my HWFAD page. Some I'm reiterating others are fresh but at least it gives me a break from my frustrations.

One other thing has be bothering me a lot lately. Why is the president of ABC Daytime so intimately involved with the shows? I do not even know what the President of CBS or NBC Daytime looks like. But thanks to SoapNet and assorted ABC Webpages I get to stare at a man whom I have absolutely no interest in. He's effectively taken over the jobs of Head Writer or Executive Producer. Isn't that weird???

Here endth my Rant!

September 27, 2006

So I've decided to call the show All My Naked Children. What is with all of the sex lately? I'm wondering if this is the response to the fans request for more romance? Okay say it is, well the writers have miss-cued again. There is an infinite difference between Romance and Sex and the writers haven't been able to ascertain the difference.

Romance is the building of feelings that have the characters wanting. We then route for the characters to be together. Ryan and Kendall are perfect example of this or Zach and Kendall. In both of the situations there is the most important ingredient, Chemistry! This is followed by usual obstacles to the obvious "should be together but can't". It is true that Alicia Minshew is oozing chemistry. Every potential love interest Kendall has been paired with has worked and so Kendall's relationships work for us. This is this the true rub for some characters/actors; they cannot be paired with just anyone because sometimes the magic doesn't happen. Like in the case of Babe and Josh. Although I found their attraction game appealing once Babe gave into Josh I was left flat. To watch the "love scene" left me thinking that someone must have eaten something smelly for lunch because they just looked uncomfortable. Hot? Not!

You know who are hot Jonathan and Amanda. Crishell and Jeff have amazing chemistry but what are the long-term chances for this pairing? Probably as good a chance as Jonathan and Lily had at being together. They are both damaged people who are drawn together for comfort but then what? He's a former serial killer and she's the daughter of a former serial killer and that's all. I do not have faith that the writers could give this couple depth and meaning, especially with all of the Music Montages and stripping off the close.

There are other couples that have been miss paired. Ryan and Annie have no chemistry what's so ever. Annie and Jamal have more chemistry then Ryan and Annie. If the writers were to have written this storyline correctly it would have made more sense to pair Annie and David. David knows the truth about Emma and if they were going to write him off the show anyway I would have given it several months and had him railroaded out of Pine Valley and thus breaking Annie's heart or having her follow the man that she loved. Don't get me wrong I think Melissa Egan is a tremendous actor but I'm not feeling the pairing with Ryan.

I like Julia and Jamie together but I think there are a lot of other things that can keep these wacky kids on the fence that have nothing to do with age. The way they are being written is he's in high school and she's the perverted teacher molesting her student. Please! Cut me a break. They are two consenting adults and they are written like children. Brooke could be investigating things but now her primary focus in life is following Jamie and disapproving of Julia. Justin and Sydney have chemistry…use it!

Now on to the Josh (Jamie)/Babe/JR storyline that the writers think is a center stage type of story. Could this be because they've already told this story before with Jamie? Sure it's been a couple of years, well more like one actually, but maybe the viewers won't notice. Babe lies, covers and JR goes psychopathic and Jamie…err…I mean Josh wants to save her from the man she torments…err...I mean loves. Maybe they will go on the run in November too. Personally if all you can do with these characters is recycle storyline it's time to move on.

What's weird for me is that while I've always thought JR was criminal not just evil and never received punishment (unless you mean living with Babe) for his crimes I was re-watching some shows from 2004 when JR wanted Bess for himself and it occurred to me that, although JR was always a little on the edge it was being married to Babe that made him crazy (with guidance from Adam). She lied and cheated from practically the first day they met (see here).

The writers have been trying to make Babe the sweet wholesome girl with a troubled past when Bianca left. She felt very bad for all of the horrible things she did and eventually with time the town's folk believed she had changed. I felt for her even though all of what happened was of her own design. Alexa Havins is that great an actress. I'm sorry I just can't behind the recycle story.

Now for my last two issues. I love a good music montage but there has been one at least once a week or more. What's wrong? Perhaps all the writers' computers are broken. And for my last issue...I positively do not want Colby to come out of the wall. I hope she stays there like Angelique was in the Merick attic for 15 years. There is nothing appealing about the character, the story, and the story how she came to Pine Valley. Same goes for Sydney, and what was with the lame story Winifred gave as to why she's staying in Pine Valley.

Here endth my Rant.

September 20, 2006

Okay, I've had some time to calm down after learning of Vincent's being cut from the cast. I still believe there is a chance we can save Dr. David Hayward so I'm not giving up on the campaign.

I also must admit that my calling for the firing of Brian Frons & Megan McTavish was kind of dumb because it will not happen but it's how I felt. My only solace at this point is I'm not alone in my frustration with the show. The ratings continued to dive according to the last set of numbers and perhaps this is a wake up call for TPTB. I think that the younger set of viewers they were shooting for even tuned out with this cast of kiddies. Honestly it's not because the newbies can't act it's because the characters were thrown at us then shoved down our throats in what can only be described as a desperate attempt at a teen storyline. It turns out the only thing it took for Colby to stop screeching was to have meaningless sex with Sean. I had no trouble with the part of the story where she crashes the yacht because that's what Chandler's do when they are upset (with the exception of Stuart). Whether buying the sperm bank or gaslighting your wife, rigging an accident to kill your wife or crashing the yacht this has been how the Chandler's deal with pain. But because of the poor handling of the introduction of these teen characters I felt no sympathy for Colby and because I didn't the scene was completely meaningless.

The show has been a little better. I've felt that Jackson's reaction to Jonathan and Lily was on the mark. But I also feel that his reaction to Jonathan killing Terry after he traumatized Lily was also on the mark. He doesn't completely trust those Lavery men but he understood at that moment that Jonathan really loved his daughter. I also liked the growth of Kendall. At first we saw the same old Kendall when Ryan was shot but the moment she actually listened to Annie's story she got it because she's now a parent too and there isn't anything she wouldn't do to protect her son.

I do think there is tremendous potential in the show but I think all of the retooling/revisionist history that is happening has been very disruptive to the viewers. Long time favorites are under utilized followed by a flood of new faces and characters that have little appe. Also, plotlines that have been recycled so many times that the viewers are bored. Instead of focusing on good storytelling the show has been about flash and show. Honestly I can't imagine why they would think burying someone alive would be appealing for the viewers to watch. It's beyond cruel no matter who the character is and then to watch Josh build his coffin was kind of dumb because it didn't make any sense how this would further the character. What makes more sense is to have him interact with his new family. He's got parents who want to forge a relationship and a cousin who wants to beat him down.

We want to see more romance too. Now that Zach is stuck in jail until his trial I know that it's going to be a long two weeks. This only mirrors the "buried coffin" episodes where we were wondering everyday when it would end. Who knows maybe the trial is next week but the fact is Zach's been in jail more times since coming to Pine Valley than I think I can count. Maybe we can make up "Free Zach" tee-shirts like those that came out when Martha Stewart was jailed.

I know about budgets and costs so I understand the thinking of TPTB but their approach has been horrid and in response to their handling of the issue they were rewarded with record low ratings. Carolyn Hinsey's column this week in SOD is about the affect that bringing favorite actors back plays on the check book and her argument is valid. I also believe that for the last two years AMC has under utilized it's Veterans and focused two much on two or three characters instead of integrating the cast more. Shows like Y&R and ATWT have done this for years with great success and it would behoove TPTB to take a page from their play books.

Here endeth my Rant!


September 18, 2006

My heart sank this morning when I read on Soapcentral.com that Vincent Irizarry who had been playing Dr. David Hayward for the last eight years was being axed from the show. I just couldn't believe it. I'm still in shock and I'm not the only one I found out when I trolled the messageboards. I want to yell at the top of my lungs WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON????!!!!!

This retooling of the show and the letting go of long term characters for what? Do they really want the show that has millions of fans to storm New York in outrage??? It's drastic but it's how everyone is feeling. We feel betrayed on the grandest scale. TPTB have said it's because of lack of storyline and the cost of keeping Vincent. Interesting because it is easy enough to fix each of these zones. First, rap up the teeny bop storyline and get rid of Colby, Sean and Sydney. They add nothing to the over all show and future storylines. Second, be truthful with the public and tells us who is really writing the show because if it's Megan McTavish then she should be fired for doing such a horrible job. Third, I feel (and I'm not the only one) that the largest obstacle in ABC Daytime is Brian Frons. He's taken our favorite shows and made them unrecognizable with what he wants to see on the show and not what the public wants to see. He was so enamored with the job he did on the Emmy's that he forgot it wasn't about HIM it was about the Actors and the Soaps.

These are the key points as to what is wrong with AMC right now:

1) Lack of story. Right now there are three stories being told. 1) Who killed Greg Madden/Josh Mad-artin and 2) Emma is the missing Kate Martin. Both of these stories were generated by the same principle Greg Madden. The issue here is that no one cared about the short term character. And when they brought back Dixie under such preposterous circumstances they lost the viewers attention from the start. 3) The kiddie's gone wild story. Again they dropped the ball with this one. If you are trying to get the younger demographic one must begin the storyline when they are out of school for the summer with lots of free time. That would be the third week of June but more importantly this storyline should begin building way before June. What we got were three very undesirable characters that repelled viewers not attract them.

2) The writing makes no sense and doesn't seem like it's being written but seasoned veterans. Who is really writing the show right now?
If money is an issue than why would TPTB fire three long term players only to hire six newbies? That makes no sense from a monetary aspect.
Clearly if the network needs to save money they need to fire Brian Frons, Megan McTavish (promote one of the other writers) and basically clear the house of all that is management. As viewers we have expressed for well over a year and more recently since the revisionist history of All My Children began that clearly they are not capable of making decision about the show that are in the best interest of the show. That also reflects that it is not in the best interest of the Network. When TPTB use words like "retooling" what's not really being said is we've lost complete control and direction and now have to fix the mess we've made. The unfortunate events that follow are what we are seeing on not only AMC but over at OLTL as well.

To say that Dr. Hayward hasn't been a part of the storyline for some time is true but it's not the actor's fault this happened. No…it's a writing issue. On Monday they ran with their 9/11 "special episode" that featured relationships. It was an amazing episode. Hey and look at that they used Vincent/Dr. Hayward. Is it really fair to penalized not only the actors but the entire 36 year viewing audience? I think not.

3) Stop firing the talented cast. They are the only asset to the show.


I know what comes next from TPTB. "It was a tough decision that had to be made and we hope that the fans will understand." How about this? I'm tired of being understanding! I want the show I loved to watch back! I want to be so excited to watch it not only once but twice (SoapNet).

I'm so frustrated right now I can't even think straight. I can't imagine the frustration of the actors who have to go to work each day wondering if I am the next to get fired because of managerial incompetence. My thoughts are with them during this tumultuous time and I hope that once we all rally together we can make good things happen for AMC and the talent cast.

So I'm asking all of you to Email, Write, Call and post on your websites and messageboards that we want our show back. Let the powers that be know we've taken all we can. Go to the sponsors of the show and let them know that you want Vincent to stay and Brian Frons to go. One person's voice might mean nothing but they can't ignore ONE MILLION VOICES! Click here for a list of address and email address.


September 12, 2006

I couldn't let yesterday's episode go unmentioned. That is what I was talking about all this time. Julia and David interacting. Jamie and Joe reconciling and Kendall and Erica bonding over Spike. It was about relationships. David giving Julia an earful not realizing he explained to her why he is the way he is and Joe apologizing to Jamie for letting him think that Josh was more important. Kendall telling her mother that she still doesn't believe she can be a good mother and going over their very complicated past.

The other plus was the integration of the new cameras with the old. Not so much shaking is a good thing.

There was only one thing that seemed odd to me and that was the placement of this episode. I was expecting to see Jesse McCartney singing to Colby but what I saw was completely off course for the storyline. It appeared that it was an episode that was shot to actually be aired at a later date but was moved up to yesterday. But if that's the least of my issues it's a good day in Mudville.

I hope to see more episodes like yesterday!

Here endth the Rant.

September 11, 2006

Wow another murder is coming up on AMC this week. This time Bad Guy Terry the molester is going to bite the dust. That's two murders in only a couple of months. Do the writers know that you can cover other types of storylines other than "teen scene" and "Bad guy dies"? I'm just wondering because the writing has become so formulaic that it's the same story told time and again <insert character's name here>. Fundamentally the writing team has problems right now. One could look to them or the brass or directors or any number of places for where the issue resides but at this point one more meeting about how the show is going won't help. I'm in business and I know that sometimes the brass over think an issue and it sometimes makes the problem worse. Perhaps this is the case here. As the shows takes the fast slide to the bottom of the ratings it is crystal clear that something positive must occur soon! The obvious place to start is the writing because lets face it, the biggest asset the show has right now is their incredibly talented group of actors.

I'm all for having the kids involved with the storyline but they need to integrate the cast more. I'll even get on board with the new cameras to help flow the scenes if that's what it takes to get this ship sailing. (They are actually a little better except the one cameraman...he's got the shakes a little and it shows up tenfold on screen). For me the greatest weakness of the show right now is there was a flush of new faces and no integration and very little in way of backstory. Colby was presented to us as an in your face brat that didn't follow any of the previous writing structure. They never took the time to create a plausible storyline that would have had Liza staying away from her child...especially with Colby celebrating her 16th birthday. This could have been easily done with a story about an illness and Marian going to tend to her daughter while against her better judgment Liza sends Colby to live with Adam. Once in the lap of luxury Colby morphs into an Alexis Carrington clone. See the flow in this little story. Instead the story of Adam ranting that Liza is to stay away or he'll see her in prison or whatever was lazy, filled with holes and made no sense and did nothing but frustrate this long time viewer. Respecting the history and the characters is important when writing a serial that's been on air for 36 years. Sydney comes on with no back story for us to sympathize with. She just kind of showed up so it leads to an indifferent audience. How about Annie? Well really this could have been accomplished with a short term contract because once Emma is revealed as Kate (not hard to figure this one out) there is no need or connection for Annie. Even her supposed "up and coming romance" with Ryan is flat. Maybe this has to do with Kendall and Spike. Too many folks going in to many different directions with absolutely no idea what they are doing or how they are getting there. It's too apparent that the writers are writing in circles at this point with Dixie/Tad/Zach/Kendall/Ryan/David/JR/Jamie and Josh. They are dragging this "Who Killed Greg Madden" storyline to reach a specific target date. I ask why? What they have actually created is an atmosphere where most fans could really care less who killed Greg Madden. This happened for two reasons. First, there was no investment in the demise of Greg Madden. He was a bad man who died from the effects of being buried and the subsequent earthquake. Secondly, he was in the hole so long that the viewers lost interest. I've covered the fact that TPTB alienated alot of long time viewers when they set out on their track of "revisionist history". It started with the abortion that lived and petered down to the "evil" doctor who played God and was punished heinously for his crimes against women. All the while the viewers lost interest. I looked at the ratings from SOD in June they were 2.8 and then again in this weeks issue they are 2.4. I know it's hard to see it kids but that's what I like to call a negative trend.

Is there hope for the show we all love so much? You betch ya! I see positive points to the show right now. The amazing chemistry between Jonathan and Amanda (Chrishell & Jeff set the screen on fire with their chemistry). These two characters have been immensely damaged by their parents so they have lots of storyline to be told. The other hot couple is Jamie and Julia...add in David and you have one complicated triangle. There is a rift in the Montgomery marriage that began practically the second they said "I Do" and it always comes back to their children so I see alot of storyline possibility there. Susan and Walt have been through so much with their characters so they can give us the performance that will continue to dazzle and amaze. There are tremendous opportunities to invoke a social storyline. You could apply any number of stories to any number of characters. I've listed a few on my (HWFAD - Head Writer For A Day) page.

AMC has one the greatest casts in all of television and they flounder with no direction. It's time for TPTB to step up and stop interfering. The fans do not want to be pushed out, heck we've devoted years of our lives to watching the show. It's time to listen. It's time to feel the future and it's time to give us all what we want to see...good storytelling! I'm hoping that TPTB listen to the fans because we are here standing on our chairs shouting at the top of our lungs.

Here endeth the Rant.


September 8, 2006

I can't believe I actually got through yesterday's episode. If Colby screeched "Daddy" one more time I thought I was going to go Postal on the TV. She's annoying and very unappealing which is a shame because Ambyr Childers can act but the direction on the character and how she is written is garbage. She's one sided. She's a brat/snob/wanna be whore. There is really nothing appealing about her. I do not hate the character because she's this or that like we hate the bad guys in town, in fact, she invokes the opposite response from me….annoyance with the urge to watch Y&R. Moving on to Poooorrrr Sydney…poor girl who's living on the fringe of Colby's life. Who didn't see Babe and Sydney bonding over being the little poor girl in the big bad rich world. YAWN!!

I'm mostly upset because while Brooke gets no storylines I'm subjected to this "kiddie" storyline so they can highlight the talents of "Jesse McCartney" who once played JR. That's okay do that if you want but did it have to be intertwined with the nut case and her maid. And as Tad pointed out at the Marti Gras Ball that he felt something bad was about to happen because it always does I'm sure some scene will play out after Jesse does his number and walks off the stage.

So here's another count. The group is really working the Musical Montage angle a lot lately. They must have a lot of product to push!

That's all I have today. I know you are cheering :) I Just couldn't let the Colby-polozza go without a comment. So to wrap up my comment is Colby's screeching is two seconds from making me Postal. Good luck with that writing. Oh right, the brass is writing the show now. I'm still trying to figure out what focus group that this was good stuff. Just a side note kids in the large offices, if you want to know what the viewers really want to see, troll the message boards you'll get an eye full!

Here endth the Rant.

September 5, 2006

Where to start. Well how about the Miracle Child Josh Madden being a tremendous Carpenter? The writers really need to read what they are writing because just a few weeks ago this genius told Babe how he never learned any of the those skills that would damage his hands. So color me amazed when I see Pseudo Dr. Josh building something in his apartment. Sure it's just a box but he really seemed to me to know how to use the old tools. Dag this guy is amazing.

According to Soap Secrets Revealed (which revealed only that Bianca's coming back) that the murder of Doctor Demento will be uncovered in October. YAWN! oops...sorry. I'm just not hooked and looking at the ratings last week I'm not the only one. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion. From the decision to use these new "steadycams" that are anything but steady, to the nothing but non-meaningful dialogue surrounded by modern music. I read that these steadycams were used on the soap "The City" to give it an updated look. Hello! That show got cancelled and I do not want the same fate for All My children. I really think the brass portion of TPTB need to get out of the kitchen, so to speak. Too many cooks spoil the pot. The more I watch the more I'm sure that this mess isn't 100% Ms. McT's fault. I base this opinion on the fact I've seen Ms. McT's prior work on not only this show but other shows and this is the worse mess I've ever seen. From hiring all of these newbees to the music video stylings designed to rope in the younger viewers. It's been one miss step after another. I haven't seen a mess like this since Richard Cullitan gave us the JR and Laurie fiasco. Oh and just for TPTB's FYI the kiddies are back to school.

UGGGH! I'm watching today's show and I'm wondering what's with everyone on this show. Babe is going to nail Josh into a coffin because it's the only way he can understand what Greg went through. How come she doesn't suggest...oh...maybe a therapist???? Tad is going to testify that he saw Dixie and Zach with Greg's body...I'm confused by this whole convoluted storyline. Oh and have I told you I can't stand it. My head spins as I watch each day. I think I figured out why. For weeks we have been watching the same storyline told, re-told, re-re-told and it's very frustrating and to break up this rut they through in the "I wanna be a drunken whore" Colby, Sydney the down trodden and Sean the abandoned by his mother group of kids. I guess what I'm getting at is there are no stories being told. There's lots and lots of dialogue about the same thing but no movement in the story. So we wait until October to have the movement. And what will that be...Another trial? Pleassseeee! Apparently all of the new kids in town have evil mothers who just made their lives miserable. I really can't figure out why Liza is staying away after all she did to save Colby. Yet this kid grows up with the aspirations of being a 16 year old whore. I'm flabbergasted! And lets all get on the Barbara's got the latest hot young stud and she's jetting off all over the world with him. Gosh that's weird because when Barbara was on the show she was a manipulator but she loved two men...Tom and Travis. She even sacrificed her happiness with Tom to save her daughter Molly's life by having sex with Travis so they could use the conceived child to help Molly. So I can see how this woman was all about abandoning her children for a gigolo. So anyway....

Ten minutes left in today's show and wow we had not 1 but 2 musical interludes....Wow how lame is that. So here's my suggestion for fixing stuff. The teen scene: We learn that good girl with the good grades Sydney is in Pine Valley not because Adam needed a good friend for Colby but because her mother (Winnie's sister) is suffering from a drug addiction and is in rehab. Things become complicated for the lass when she recognizes a man from her mother's past....Del Henry. Her world starts to spin out of control when Colby discovers that Del is Sydney's biological father and blurts it out at thanksgiving dinner with the Chandlers, thus cementing the two girls feud. Sean enrolls in PVU and starts a gambling racket using the other students to bankroll his secret underworld activities. The rich white kid from the good side of the tracks is actually a crime boss in training. Jamie and Julia continue to grow closer despite interference from Tad. When Tad becomes unhinged by all of his recent hurtful actions Julia reaches out to him. It's while spending alot of time helping Tad that Tad begins to feel something for his son's fiancé. Brooke takes on a story for Tempo about the college gambling problem and discovers Sean's backdoor dealings. Before she can share her notes with Jackson something happens to her. Bianca finds comfort in an unlikely place and is plagued by the depression of Maggie's decision to separate having never fully been comfortable with their sexual relationship. Jamal quits ConFusion and interns for Brooke while taking a journalism class at PVU. Although wanting to be a lawyer like his mother Jamal double majors in Journalism & Law. Jamal and Brooke uncover a never talked about seedy side to University life and the sudden exposure could be deadly for the investigative duo. Josh and Babe continue their friendship and when JR goes off on Babe again the two team up to give JR the justice he's never received until now. After discovering her daughter is closer than she could have imagined she and Annie talk about shared custody of Emma Kate. Tad is in no place to care for his daughter and with Krystal possibly pregnant his child his life goes from bad to worse. Krystal and Adam are thrilled to be parents again and Adam vows that with Krystal's help, to do right by this child. The attention on the new baby throws Colby into a tailspin to garner attention from anyone thus placing her very life in danger when she has unprotected sex with a one night stand who she discovers is HIV Positive. If jeopardizing her own life isn't enough Colby does the unthinkable and puts the new baby and Little A's life in the balance. When Adam discovers Colby has been exposed to HIV all of the fear that the Chandlers experienced with Cindy's death comes crashing back for not only Adam but Stuart as well. Feeling like Jackson doesn't get her Erica spends more time with Jeff in the hopes that his good relationship with Josh will extend to her but she just can't get over his connection to Babe and tries every trick in the book to get ride of the thorn in her side. I have to give more thought to the Zach and Kendall story and for Ryan he finds romance with the most unlikely of people....his brother's news girlfriend Amanda. This pits Jonathan and Ryan against each other and brings out the less than nice side of Jonathan's personality. He doesn't become murderous but he plays every bad trick he can find to keep what he feels is his. Aidan's life is in turmoil when he decides to search for his father never imagining it would lead him to Greg Madden. Aidan and Josh have friction over his discovery.

There are so many more storyline ideas rolling around in my head but I'll leave them for another day. So many other thoughts about what comes next on my storyline ideas which you can read more on (Head Writer for a Day - click here). All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for the extremely talent cast who make all of this as tolerable as possible! Keep up the awesome work!

Here endeth my Rant!
August 27, 2006

Oh what a lovely day for a Rant.

It occurred to me today while I was watching last weeks episodes that a) The show is aptly named, b) It's becoming more and more difficult to watch these hip new cameras (she says with sarcasm) that leave me with a bad taste of vomit in my mouth (from the motion sickness) and c) I'm almost at the point of I don't care anymore.

Let's start with:

a) It is aptly named All My Children because everyone and I mean everyone is written to be a petulant child. I'm not really sure why but they are. Of course I'll start with the most obvious Brat in town. That would be Tad Martin. I'm sure that the writers' intention was to have us feel for Tad and thus become sympathetic to the character but that's not what's happening for me. I want to slap him almost every time he's on screen. With Tad's hair becoming more gray he becomes more like Grandpa Simpson everyday. And that trite garbage that was Friday's show made no sense what so ever. At least the cops are a lot smarter than they used to be. But Tad has no redeeming qualities right now. He's angry, why? Who cares who Dixie's diddling? She was "dead" and you lived on, she was "alive", well, she was Di pretending to be Dixie and you lived on even after you discovered the truth and Dixie came back from the dead and suddenly you are outraged because she didn't trust you with raising your daughter. I can only hope this 13 week cycle rushes by quickly because I do not like any of the characters and what is happening on screen with the exception of Julia and Jamie. Tad could get run over tomorrow by a car driven by a dog and I would care!!!!! Frankly Emma Kate is just too good to have smacked a@@ parents like Dixie or Tad and I hope that Annie doesn't lose custody. I think those two losers need to be rewritten in a hurry.

b) ENOUGH with the trendy, cool, hip cameras! (again I say with sarcasim) They are annoying and take away from the acting. If I wanted to watch crap like this I would turn on MTV! Enough Said!

c) I really, really am frustrated with the show. Here I am upset because I want to watch. I really do. I want to be excited to turn on the TV and watch AMC and then re-watch it on SoapNet. But I can't. I watched Brooke be reduced to a Busy Body Mother! This is what's Julie Barr was waiting for as far as storyline? I watched Tad reduced to an unsympathetic troll who is a hypocrite and a creep. I watch David turned evil because Dixie rejected him (TPTB really need to remember that when Dixie left town David was in a relationship with Anna Devane and not pining over her absence!). Gosh a doctor with millions of dollars in the bank couldn't attract anyone else, Please!!! I watch as Jackson just lets a nephew he didn't even recognize run his household. I watch as Colby and Sydney get front burner dialogue with a completely stupid story of I'm a bigger whore than you. I watch as Dixie gets smacked around and unfortunately drowns in this ridiculous storyline. I watch as we go through Rendall for the 100th time. I watch as the entire storyline tanks.

I know my diatribe is long tonight but this is my only outlet for letting it all out. I watch ATWT as well as GL and AMC. I dabble in GH and OLTL but I've always come back to AMC as my primary show. Did Megan McTavish have a head injury lately? Is Brian Frons actually writing the show now? Because I've watched McT's work from the past and it's never, I MEAN NEVER been like this drivel.

I'm barely hanging on her folks. I watch ATWT every day. The young kids are as big a part of the show as Nancy Hughes (played by original cast member Helen Wagner). They have a murder mystery too. And it's one that makes sense. Imagine that? Kind of cokie isn't it? I want to care about a character on the show. I think that newcomer Melissa Claire Egan (Annie McDermott) is one heck of an actor. I read that Annie and Ryan are going to fall in love. Really, cause they have no chemistry and you know why that is…well because Ryan's running around saving Kendall? Or whatever that stupid stuff I see on screen everyday is supposed to be. And when will this miraculous love start to appear? I can only hope that when Eden returns as Bianca something of the show can be salvaged…good luck there.

My last item to really go off about is something I touched on earlier. Brooke being reduced to a busybody mom. This career gal has nothing better to do than Amanda's laundry and comment on Jamie's love life? I get Brooke wasn't thrilled to see her son having sex…I'd be disturbed too but for her to go to Julia with her detailed list of why Julia should leave her son alone tells me that the writers believe that Brooke would have been stewing on this so much that it consumed her entire day so much that she made a list. Can you hear that sound…that's my head spinning like a top! You know when Jamie was one night standing it with the local college girls that he never called back Brooke seemed okay with it.

So to sum it all up, I'M NOT HAPPY! If I was a mobster that would matter but since I'm just a chick from the suburbs nobody really cares, least of all TPTB. If they did really care I wouldn't be forced to watch this stuff every day and the quality of the show would be as bad as 2002 when we were plagued with JR & Laurie (bad acting with bad writing)!

Here endth my Rant!


August 19, 2006

I'm at a loss here. Floundering in a sea of negative newbies. I tried to give the "Me" teenyboppers a chance. Sorry it's just not working for me. And I read that Bianca's on her way back to town. Hey for us but bad for her because I think she's going to be anchored to Sean like an albatross. Bummer for her. Colby has gone from bad, to really bad to what they hell am I watching. I really gave them a shot and so far it's like nails on a chalkboard. First off, who talks to adults like this (see clip), and secondly who talks to Erica Kane like this? And the Zach/Dixie/Ryan/Kendall everyone is pretending to have an affair thing? Are you kidding me with this! You know what would have made this murder mystery tolerable. Brooke doing an investigative expose. But no instead everyone is having fake sex and then there is Colby whose whole existence seems to want to be known for being a whore. I'm sure her parents are proud. I get that TPTB are trying writing Colby as being an attention getter. I guess like the old Liza Colby from high school. But Liza didn't announce to those whom she hates she's a big slut. No she framed Jesse for rape and then fell for the seductions of Tad and lets not forget her coming between Greg and Jenny with the help of Enid. All of this is not what Colby is being written to be. Instead I want to smack these kids. I want to send them to boot camp and force them to wear non-labeled fashion. The only saving grace in the Sydney/Colby blot on the screen is Krystal. And personally if I were Winifred I would be knocking Colby down ten pegs. She's been at home 10 minutes and already she's treating the long time maid like crap. Which brings me to a totally off topic question, since when does Winifred do the cooking in the Chandler house? Since when did Lacrezia get fired? Just wondering.

The storyline is trite but the acting is amazing. Erica and Jack fighting about Lily and Jonathan. Both Jonathan and Lily destroyed by Jackson's need to control and protect his daughter all the while putting her in more harms way (Terry the child molester is back in Lily's world). Amanda befriending Jonathan and Lily's meltdown were both settler moments.

Finally Simone and the Fusion girls grow up. But it took Babe pointing out that they have become the Adult version of the Mean Girls.

Moving on. I recently got an email from someone who made the perfect observation that I think so many of us feel is missing from AMC, a Core Couple. Daytime television's core them has always been relationships. Whether the relationship is parent-child, husband-wife-lovers, friends or enemies, it's about their relationships. Right now on the show this ever-important aspect is lost and fragmented. I've read in SOD so many times quotes from Ms. McT about how they are building up the families. That was the reason that she gave us the ridiculous Josh Madden super fetus storyline…to build up the Martin family. She's added all these newbies and with the exception of Annie (who has no connection to anyone) she's built up the families. But unfortunately for us that is where it ends. Adding characters does nada for the storyline. It's all fragmented (This is my word of the Rant!). So far of the newbies the only character of worth is Jamal. He's got lots of potential, it brings the Cudahey-Frye family more to the front and lets face it he's a bit of eye candy as well. The man is handsome and Marcus Patrick can act. All I've seen with the "building of the families" has left me wonders why the ship that is AMC is moving in circles. There is never any growth with the characters. There is definitely some snappy fun dialogue (Check out the Lines Page) but that's where it ends. We have most of the storylines drifting along and going nowhere. And to top all of that off we are involved in a murder mystery, which I hate to tell TPTB is not really a murder mystery but that of an accidental death by earthquake. Carolyn Hinsey from SOD summed it up in an article from the 8/1/06 when she wrote,…"Can I ask a favor of all the writing teams? Think about telling stories we want to see instead of stories you want to tell." Amen Sister!

Here endth my Rant!

August 17, 2006

All of my years of watching Murder, She Wrote have made me look for things in other shows I watch and this is no different for AMC. Two things I've noticed watching recently are, Rachel the Nanny and her seemingly in the right place all the time and always with the Baby Monitor. What are the chances that Rachel isn't what she seems to be? And secondly Tad's odd behavior? Not that the end product would reflect it they are writing him as being the guilty person.

Anyway you look at it the killing of Greg Madden wasn't 1st degree murder. The charge is probably involuntary manslaughter, wrongful imprisonment, etc. Clearly the person who buried Greg alive never intended for him to die as a result of the earthquake. This is I think what bothers me about this "Murder Mystery". It's not really a murder, it's an act of cruelty gone bad by natural disaster. It's interesting to me that almost every year we have this formulaic "Mystery" and it's usually a let down. The end usually doesn't make sense or in the case of Jonathan Lavery TPTB realized the scope of their mistake and desperately tried to fix it. And with all of this going on we have the parade of newbies. Here's the rub with the Greg Madden storyline. Who Killed Greg? Well that will be determined as some future date when/if a major character is being written out or the writers can figure out a way around the whole "jail" thing. I'm still in the vein of I don't care.

August 15, 2006

First off, everyone knows how I've been all complaining about the new cameras/filming technique. Well, happily I am not alone in the "getting motion sickness" mode. The folks over at Soap Central have posted an article explaining the camera fiasco. Check it out here. I feel better knowing I'm not alone.

On to my rant-a-polooza! What was that party at Erica's? I have no problem with the way it was written and I loved Erica's outrage. I also was happy that the writers didn't rewrite the history here and played it just like it should be. Erica has never taken to Barbara or her and Travis' little family. She never liked that Barbara was raising Bianca all those years and her phone call and reaction to Sean was right on the money. Moving on, I think it's good that Ms. McT is writing this "Me Generation" with the rich kids who think they are owed the lifestyle they envision for themselves. It's very Paris Hilton and very now. It also picks up where JR left off with his "Daddy's Money". The idea of Colby all of the sudden spending Adam's money wildly and frivolously would be a fun thing to watch, especially when Adam gets the bill. Remember when poor Dani used Livia's credit card. I don't know how those middle class kids do it. Okay now to my RANT. Sean is in town all of five minutes and yet he knows all the people to text to have this stellar party at Erica's where the "Me" kids trash her brand new house! Call Ripley's! Oh and what is with Colby and Sydney playing the "I'm sluttier than you" game? And eww, again with the "you're hot" thing from another one of Lily's relatives! At least Reggie had common decency to be skeeved when he realized who Lily was.

I have a major complaint here! How is it that NO ONE in town knows what their relatives look like? Erica doesn't recognize Sean? Bianca never had on picture of the Brother and Sister she was raised with in her home? How about Uncle Jack? Dude you don't know what your dead brother's children look like? Some Uncle you are...I'm surprised you recognized Lily when she came back to town! The same thing happened when Colby came to town. Her family had difficulty recognizing her. Granted she left when she was like 6 but HELLO! Remember when Amanda came back to town? The only one who recognized her was Tad.

August 14, 2006 - Part 2


YEAH!! Can I tell you that I was practically doing cartwheels over today's show! I know some people will have a problem with Jack being a complete Jerk but these scenes were perfect (except that stupid camera). Jack comes off as the bad guy but after everything he went through with Greenlee and Jonathan his seemingly angry and irrational behavior makes complete sense. And how about Jonathan trying to get Jack to see how far Lily has grown as a woman since being married to him. She's less afraid and is living an adult life. And how on the mark was Jonathan's comment about the difference of love and pity to Jackson. Each man thinks he's doing what is best for the woman they love. For Jonny it's his wife and for Jackson it's his daughter. Each man is trying to protect Lily but only are hurting her with their need to control the situation. In the end Lily is the one who gets hurt. It's all very powerful and emotional.

Moving on to the David/Dixie/Zach scenes. Perfect and on the money. We've all wanted to see a little bit of the Bad Boy Doctor Hayward and when he went after Dixie verbally for choosing Zach over him it was perfect. He was wounded and did what he does when he's hurt he goes dark. Even right up to the last moment when he started to call Kendall on his cell phone to turn the screws on Dixie. This is more the bad boy than we've seen in awhile for David.

And last but not least Erica and Babe tangling over Josh. When Babe confronted Erica about forgiveness and tells her if she can't forgive anyone else how can she expect Josh to forgive her. Erica being Erica doesn't want to hear any of that, especially from Babe. And Kendall telling Josh all the horrible things she did to Erica to get her to accept her and eventually Erica did. Also the fact that Kendall constantly referred to Erica as Mom and not Erica when talking to Josh. Alicia and Colin have great chemistry and now that the long convoluted story of everyone keeping it secret is over the writers can focus on the relationships between Josh and his new family. Adding the dynamic of his bestest gal pal being Babe adds that constant friction that makes it exciting to watch. What's good here is that these friends get it on both sides, from Josh's new family and on Babe's side with JR and Jamie. I just hope that the writers keep these two as friends only. We all know how Josh feels about Babe but I think this relationship ship is better served as the best friends only variety. Just think of the length these two outsiders will go to, to protect each other's happiness.


August 14, 2006 - Part 1

Just a quick Rant. I was re-watching Friday's episode and I have to say I'm loving the use of more characters in each scene. I really hope this trend continues. I know that I won't always agree with the storyline choices but at least TPTB have started integrating the cast. To see more of the characters moving about and with dialogue to boot, well that's just stellar in my book. Now if we can do something to make those cameras not sway back and forth I'd be the happiest! It's like watching MINI DV footage of someone's Italian vacation...I have a little technical background in video and this my friends is driving me nuts not to mention the motion sickness!

August 11, 2006

I must admit I've been on a tear lately about the show. When I read the last couple of posts, although they are right on the money I thought I'd take the chance to Rant about something good. Here it goes.

In this 13-week cycle there have been some good things to rave about. Julia and Jamie are on fire! This couple has so much chemistry and they are the romance I think we have all been longing for. They are fun and complex all at the same time. I love that Julia is older than Jamie and although the school yard taunting by the "Interns" is very, very, very odd I've loved all that's going on with this couple.

What else have I liked recently…well thanks for asking! I've enjoyed the Jonathan and Lily coupling. I know in the beginning I was totally against them but now that Jonathan has his faculties back, we get to see the texture to the story I'm always ranting about. All of this is believable with that sparkle that only Soaps can do. I believe Jonny loves Lily now. I also believe Jack worries that the mass murderer in Jonny will pop out at any minute, as do we all. But what I've loved most about this couple is that the writers had built them as a team. They got jobs and even though they are living for free in Greenlee's apartment they are trying to build a life. This is classic Soap, because, when Lily learns the truth about Jonathan I look forward to the decisions this character (who has grown tremendously on screen) makes. Not to mention they took a difficult character to write for (Lily) and with the talents of Levin Rambin have made her what is considered "normal" with a twist. The twist is this totally innocent girl is married to a once serial killer. Talk about complex!

The last two things I've like a lot recently are, Babe and Josh being only friends. This is important because it adds all those elements we want to see for their relationships. JR hates Josh. Erica and Kendall hate Babe. Babe is in love with JR and yet is friends with his brother (her ex-lover) and his new girlfriend who both hate Josh. And who is to say this angle doesn't invoke a Chandler/Martin feud with JR smack in the middle since he's an honorary Martin and most assuredly a Chandler. My other like is seeing more of the actors in the scenes. It's been my argument for the longest time that if you are paying them use them, what's odd is they are using Livia more now that Tonya Pinkins is off contract than when she was on. Weird! But I'm loving it!

In my Picky, Picky category, Dani seeing Jamal at ConFusion and not recognizing him and him saying they were semi-cousins. That's odd because it seems to me right there that TPTB want these two hook up. Just because they aren't biologically related doesn't mean these two kids aren't cousins. Its like Jonathan and Tammy sleeping together on Guiding Light. Sorry, I don't care how hot they are together it's difficult to watch. Also, what is with Josh's list of amazing abilities. Not only as he pointed out is he immortal but he appears to have every ability known to man. I haven't seen such an amazingly gifted person since...well since Chris Stamp, Chauffer, FBI Agent, Lawyer and all around amazing guy!

August 9, 2006

I read that Sean Montgomery has been cast. The cavalcade of new characters has my head spinning, mostly because TPTB missed this boat by about two months. The Teen Storyline should have been kicked off in June. This mean that the casting and basic storyline ideas should be in production no later than April so that when the Teen demographic is out of school and watching the show they are experiencing "their" storyline. Annually AMC has missed this mark. Here's an example. Remember when Bianca and Maggie went to the prom together in 2002, well it aired in July. Gosh that's a long school year for the whole school. Who knows maybe next year the target can be met, this year though it would seem the teens are going to take over town and probably the storyline. So it will probably be Sydney and Colby fighting over Sean. Just a guess.

Moving on…I can't let this slide…Derek's PVPD bloodhounds found a fingerprint inside of the coffin that housed Dr. Greg Madden. Not only that it was a 10-point match. WOW!! Now that is amazing. Here is what makes that amazing to me…the coffin was at one point submerged in water. It was wood (not sure how fingerprints stand up on wood?). It was filled with Greg's physical waste not to mention he moved around a lot and had his trash and what not in it. And if that's not enough after the earthquake the said coffin filled with dirt and Greg had to claw his way to the top. Wow…that is one amazing fingerprint.

Next in line…Tad's bratty behavior where Dixie is concerned. I think TPTB were going for dark but he comes off as pathetic. MEK has the ability to play the hurt now more edgy Tad but instead he's written as a 5 year old whose sister just took his ball and won't give it back. Why…oh why??? That scene in court with his nasty out loud jabs at Dixie. Maybe the character is just upset that Dixie doesn't need him and hasn't needed Tad for a long, long, long time. Maybe he and Colby have been spending quality time together lately. And he's so sure that Dixie and Zach slept together because why? We never saw them alone long enough to have a tryst. Or was it that special unaccounted time they were both missing that is part of the "Who Killed Greg Madden" fiasco? Either way, Tad comes off not as the victim, not as the hero with a darker edge, heck he doesn't even come off as being anything remotely like Tad Martin. I think the writers can take a page from OLTL or GH where their bad boys with an edge Todd Manning and Jason Morgan have texture. I want to feel bad for Tad and I want to think he's justified in his pain and lashing out but I just can't not muster any sympathies for Tad with the way he's been written lately. It's like my discontentment with Dixie. I love, love, love Cady, she's phenomenal but Dixie hasn't evolved in her 4 years away. Even with her desperation of looking for her daughter and carrying the pain she has for all those years of secrets, the writers have her the same Dixie that left in 2002. She returned picks up with David in a way and whoever else can save her. I think the Kendall/Zach/Dixie story has been good but they need to branch out with Dixie because since she's been back she's done nothing but cry about Kate, being a bad mother to JR and oh…finding Kate. Where's Uncle Palmer in Dixie's life? Where's the interaction with brother Del and new sister Di? Developing a character is crucial on how we respond to the character and since we know so much about Dixie already exploring her other relationships (other than the men who save her) would be, I think interesting.

Here endth my rant.

August 7, 2006

A show of hands please….who is tired of Tad's whining about Dixie and her rescuers? One, 2, 3, 10, 15…okay you can put them down. Here's my issue with the ruination of Thaddeus J. Martin. He and Dixie divorced in 2002 and though very sad about it realized that it was time to move on. And before the divorce things went from bad to ugly, thanks to David's libidizone fun on the Yacht Fidelity and of course psycho Leslie's odd little obsession with Tad that led to the destruction of Tad and Dixie's marriage, the kidnapping (again) of Junior, Leslie almost dying from a fall (David's Fault) and of course the near hanging of her "future hubby" Tad. Yes I know it's a run on sentence but Shakespeare I'm not!

So anyway back to Tad. Michael Knight is a fantastic Romantic Lead or Comedic Lead so why is our hero suddenly a big baby. So what, your wife came back from the dead! Whose hasn't? You were so broken up by the way, about her death that it DIDN'T stop you for having various flings with assorted bachelorettes. And even after she's back from the dead you still have sex and lead on the waifs. What I'd like to see is Tad fire up a little of that Ray Gardner he's always bringing up. Instead of whining about Dixie and Zach I'd like to see him go after Zach with a vengeance like he did Greg Madden. When Zach threatens someone with harm I really believe he will do it or at least have a minion carry out his wishes. After all he's a Cambias…and of course Thorsten Kaye is awesome! So lets see some of the Darker Tad that's just itching to come out. He should be pushed to the brink and of course then brought back by the love of a good woman. And I would like that woman to be someone other than Dixie. That ship has set sail boys and girls it's time for some other happenings. Here's my shot at it…Krystal's pregnant but who is the father only I'd like Krystal to blow it off as onset of menopause and be truly shocked by the fact she's going to have a child with…Tad or Adam!

I'm done….here endth my rant.

August 2, 2006

Honestly I haven't really been watching lately. I like to call it 1/2 watching. But I've decided to write something nice about the show for a change. Here it goes...really...Um...well...oh yeah...I love that Livia had some scenes. Jamal's only been in town for like 3 weeks...finally HI Mom! I really love Alexa Havins acting too. She's just amazing. And Julia/Jamie is a breath of fresh air especially when being antagonized by Josh. Granted it made no sense, especially if he's got the hots for Babe, but it made things a little awkward for the love birds. You know what also works for me? The fact there are multiple people in the scenes. Finally they writers got the memo. You are paying the actors so you should use them. On the beach worried about Babe and Josh were Erica, Jeff, Adam, Krystal, Dixie, Tad, JR, Jamie and Julia with a late arrival of Derek and the boys to arrest Dixie. How about Ryan's office, Annie, Erin, Ryan and Aidan or at ConFusion with Livia, Jamal, Lily and Amanda. Yeah!

I have to make mention to two items that I can't help but Rant about. 1) That stupid new camera. I'm getting motion sickness when I do watch the show. Enough already! 2) Colby's being a major B*tch. Hello writers! Since when would Colby have had the opportunity to become this nightmare that we see on the screen. It was Liza's intention of keeping Colby away from all that would turn her into this horrid impersonator of a human being we see on screen. Colby was probably not raised in the excess of wealth for the very reason that Liza wanted the best for her daughter and that meant a life away from the trappings of privilege. So here it is...there is nothing redeeming about Colby and she is so annoying that I actually mute the TV when she's on. Don't get me wrong...the actress is fine...it's the character that needs to be toned down. I'm not sure how I feel about Sydney being Colby's maid with the way they are writing Colby. Perhaps JR can run Colby over with his car since he has so much practice.

Here endeth the Rant!

July 28, 2006

I wanted this issue to be a Rant and a Rave but I'm frustrated beyond comprehension. You see just as I like something, there waiting to lurch out at me is a something I can't stand! What pray tell could this be? Um…the new cameras or camera shoots. I get it that ConFusion (Dumbest name ever…why not name the club Over Our Heads and Drowning!) is to be a hip cool place to see and be seen but all of this was severely diminished for me by the crappy shakiness of the cameras. The overhead shakies, the close up oddities…oh and my personal favorite…the scenes that abruptly end. Good…entertaining…hardly…annoying beyond all reason…most definitely! Not only that but how bad was the lighting. This lighting was almost as bad as seeing a Matisse wedged on a wall between the ladies and men's rooms at the Museum of Art. Sorry about that I was just flashing back to that scene of horror in my head from this weeks visit to the galleries. Anyway…I can't imagine Susan "La Lucci" would be happy to hear that the disturbingly bad lighting added about 10 years to her face. And the light up bar…while cool and trendy it ended up detracting from the beauty and elegance of the actors. Jamie Martin (Justin Bruening) is a hottie. Heck he even sculpted his muscles of late for all the sack time with Julia so why would these supposed artists of media want to make him look less than the sculptured work of art he is on his own? Yep…I'm stumped too.

I was going to rave about the characters being more interacting but my high was cut short by the absolute and utter distain I have for this trite storyline of Josh's miracle birth. I have no faith that the writers will be able to maximize anything on this storyline except for continued demolition of the show beloved by millions. Should I start the wake?

No…not yet. Here's what we all love…the actors. Kelli Giddish is a favorite of mine and yet she gets so little airtime that when this week she's been teamed up with the heart broken Aidan (gosh he manages to move on so quickly…ah but he's a man!) I thought to myself…gosh it was nice to see her. With the flood of new characters I stand poised on the mountain ready to jump. Why because the only redeeming quality of the show right now for me is the acting. The garbage that they have to recite is heart wrenching for me because I know…it's a complete waste of their collective talents!

Gosh if only someone in Power could hear my plea….SAVE THE VALLEY!!!

July 21, 2006

What was with Erica using an AA meeting as a personal forum to bash someone at the meeting. HELLO!!! Are you kidding me???? MS. McTavish have you lost every button in your head. This is probably the WORST Thing you have ever done on the show. Taking a serious social storyline such as the use of AA and turning it into a joke. I suggest the next time you decide to write about something, you go and experience it, if you can, first. I'm not an alcoholic but I know enough that AA meetings are safe havens for people with drinking problems so to use this forum to have Erica chastise JR and question his rights to sobriety….well you should be ashamed. I certainly hope this is brought to TPTB. It would have been more powerful for JR to spill his guilt and guts and breakdown in tears than to have a clear miss use of this ever-important program for recovery!

Um…Yeah! Josh codes a patient. Jeff's is holding the chart that lists she took the inhaler. Julia is nowhere in the room. Josh even told Jeff that Julia was on break. Amazingly enough, he figured out that Julia and Jamie would be doing the Young Doctors in Love bit and of course be caught in the act. So later, in Joe's office, he and his dumb bucket son Jeff all anxious to "save" the boy (MAN) decide to ignore the obvious evidence and scold poor Nurse Keefer for incompetence. Yeah…righttttt! This is just stupid and I really want to sue PVH for incompetence! The two BOOBS…I'm sorry…Head Doctors know that Josh is almost at the breaking point so he could never have made the mistake that almost killed someone. So when Joshy-poo does what's their remedy for the evil doctor, oh yes, allow someone else to be blamed! I mean, these people have been talking and talking and talking and, oh yeah, talking about telling Josh. Heck everyone in town knows the truth about this bum! Okay….all I can say is aggravating and stupid.

Jeff mentioned his long dead wife Mary yesterday, give him a prize. I believe this was the opportunity to explain his wife not being there. Silly writers who never do any research. Jeff had another woman in his life or wife.

See this picture. I'm going to research it and get her name for those ever too busy writers in New York!

Moving on…So now Babe, JR and Kendall all know the truth about Josh. I think the writers have gone way past the point for this long time viewer to care so I will fast forward this crappy storyline every time I watch. The only shining moment was Erica and Kendall talking about it. Alicia and Susan have such chemistry so it was all believable. We accept the part where Josh became the super living fetus! I'm sure he has super powers…after all I have seen him bend large amounts of Bull Sh*t in a single show!

So you wonder what have I liked of late. Here it goes….Tad's REDRUM shtick in Derek's office. Priceless! Also I love that Amanda is getting some screen time. Cryshell Stause is an amazing actress and deserves some screen time with her caregiver Brooke. Not to mention some romance. I like a hook up with Jamal. But then again I like Erin with Jamal. When the two kissed there were sparks on screen!

July 7, 2006

I'm so frustrated with the show. I know there are lots of folks who love the Greg in a coffin storyline but I'm not one of them. Seriously, I find myself skimming through the show. And as I type up the synopsis for the day I wonder why I'm putting myself through this aggravation. Probably because I think about the actors on the show and how through terrible writer after terrible writer they continually perform, no matter what they are given. It's amazing for me to watch Susan Lucci or Cam Mathison or when they get a chance on screen Julia Barr or Tonya Pinkins make the screen pop in spite of the words being uttered by their characters.

Douglas Marland once gave an interview with SOD back in 1993 and the topic was "How Not To Wreck A Show". If only the writers at AMC would have read it. Here are his points listed below (I've highlighted the points I think are MOST important):
Watch the show.

• Learn the history of the show. You would be surprised at the ideas that you can get from the back story of your characters.
  
  
• Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites.
  
  
• Be objective. When I came in to ATWT, the first thing I said was, what is pleasing the audience? You have to put your own personal likes and dislikes aside and develop the characters that the audience wants to see.
  
  
• Talk to everyone; writers and actors especially. There may be something in a character's history that will work beautifully for you, and who would know better than the actor who has been playing the role?
  
  
• Don't change a core character. You can certainly give them edges they didn't have before, or give them a logical reason to change their behavior. But when the audience says, "He would never do that," then you have failed.
  
  
• Build new characters slowly. Everyone knows that it takes six months to a year for an audience to care about a new character. Tie them in to existing characters. Don't shove them down the viewers' throats.
  
  
• If you feel staff changes are in order, look within the organization first. P&G [Procter & Gamble] does a lot of promoting from within. Almost all of our producers worked their way up from staff positions, and that means they know the show.
  
  
• Don't fire anyone for six months. I feel very deeply that you should look at the show's canvas before you do anything.
  
  
• Good soap opera is good storytelling. It's very simple.

Over the last several months we have been subjected to a revised history of the show. Actually the revisions started way before the "Erica Fiasco", as I like to call it. I was sitting watching the show yesterday and all the hubbub over Greg and realized this isn't anything like the show I watched since the 1980's. I really was like, who are these people and what has happened to the show?

Then I read that Opal (Jill Larson) and Livia (Tonya Pinkins) are being either let go or bumped to reoccurring status. Why? Well it would be so that TPTB can plow a path for the bumper crop of newbies headed toward Pine Valley. Already I can't stand Colby (it has nothing to do with the actress). Why can't I stand Colby, well, Colby was raised with Liza for the last..ummm...10 SORAS'd years. Why would the character be acting Adam-ish if she hadn't had the influence of Adam during her formidable years? After all, that was the point of why Liza took Colby away. So I'm to believe that Liza, who wanted her daughter to have a bright and shining future, let her child become a selfish manipulator? Yeah...okay (she says sarcastically!). Oh, and that silly phone conversation between Adam and Liza where Adam admonishes Liza for shoddy parenting skills...TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE! TPTB could have achieve basically the same reunion with Colby having to come to Adam because Liza became extremely ill and couldn't care for her child and had no other recourse than to seek Adam's assistance. There could have been this powerful reunion between the estranged Father and Daughter when Stuart arrived with his niece in tow and it would be a viable explanation for not only Liza's non-appearance but that of Marian who goes to tend to her ailing child. What did we get...a brat who is more annoying than interesting! JR's bratty behavior always made sense. Who could forget JR's bribing the police officer or JR telling Leslie he's Adam Chandler, Jr. The Colby thing...well it's just stupid writing.

And what is with Zach's retribution kick? Has he really forgotten what happened to his brother? His brother was a psychopath but Zach remembered the kid he left behind and couldn't believe what the Valleyites did to him (Disposing of him in the PV Dump).

So Jamal's come back to town so it makes sense to drop Livia from the canvas right now. Yeah...right! If the rumors are correct this reasoning would also play in line for Petey. Opal could have played the comedic relieve in the Tad/Dixie affair but instead TPTB are more interested in FLOODING the screen with newer or SORAS'd characters.

I understand that coming up with intriguing storylines for days, weeks and years on end gets to be difficult sometimes but if the writers just stepped back and did some research they could see the fantastic opportunities the history of the show could provide them.

Just to prepare you...my next Rant will most assuredly be about Dixie and her need for a psychiatrist! The character is just plain annoying. Cady left ATWT for this??

Here endth my Rant.

June 27, 2006

Okay...I know it's a Soap but I can't be the only one thinking this...Kendall and Zach making love. I know that a woman who only a week ago had a c-setion would not be having sex. And that said woman was in a coma at the time so you would think these two would have checked with the doctor before this little romp. Sure I'm being picky but that's what I do.

I loved Dixie's line today..."David does the wrong thing for the right reasons but you do the right thing for the wrong reasons." It pretty much summed up Tad and Dixie's relationship for the year before she "Died" and how it's continued until today. Tad my friend you should remember the Shakespearian quote..."For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds, Lilies that fester smell far worst than weeds."

June 26, 2006

So I'm reading SOD (Soap Opera Digest) this weekend and I'm reading about what Ms. McT and the tribe has in store for our favorite folks of Pine Valley. Yes, you guest it with out even reading it. They promise us a "Whodunit". First off is that really a word? And second, I sometimes feel Jessica Fletcher will pop into town for a book signing and solve a murder while she's in Pine Valley. In 2003, we had the "Who Killed Michael Cambias?" and it was Bianca Montgomery. In 2004, we had two "Whodunits", first the baby swap, which the viewers knew whodidit and secondly we had the Murder Mystery Game shooting of Ryan/Psycho Jonathan. This last storyline spilled out into 2005 and then of course there was Ryan being alive not dead. Oh look…it's 2006 and it's going to be the year of Evil Dr. Greg Madden. YAWN!!! Sorry about that. I'm tired of the worn out formula. Where's the romance? Where is the couple who desperately wants to be together but can't for one reason or another? Where are the young people who should be getting into trouble at the boathouse? Where is the social storyline that will engage us as in years past? Where is the corporate back stabbing? Where is Brooke? And where in the heck is Jeff Martin's wife, last seen in 1995 at the opening of the new Martin House? Oh and please stop, I beg you TPTB, re-writing history. It's giving me a headache. Since this stupid storyline is in place and will go through the next 13 week schedule I will have nothing more to do than suck it up and hope for a better 13 weeks to follow it. Ah….the view of the valley is so much better in my head, lol.

Jun 22, 2006

I just wanted to drop a note. I forgot earlier. I love, love, love Jamie and Julia together. I've always been a fan of the older woman, younger guy dynamic. Do you remember Erica and Charlie Brent? Hot! There is just something so back door lover about it. I mean these two are consenting adults but society has frowned on Older Woman/Younger Guy that it makes the woman feel guilty and uncomfortable....paging Nurse Keefer! I hope they don't drop this because it's fun and sassy and perfect for summer. Although I'm not sure why Josh reacted the way he did I really loved the playfulness between Jamie, Julia and indirectly Josh. Yeah! Fingers crossed the writers keep it up!

June 19, 2006

So I'm sitting here watching AMC and I find myself cringing. Is that really the response I should be having? First off, what's with Josh being all jealous of Julia and Jamie? Sure he and Julia are sparing partners from time to time but when did this womanizer fall for Nurse Julia? Is this one of those Days of Our Lives moments that it all happened off camera? The only thing I enjoyed about these scenes was Jamie's playing with Josh. And what was with that scene where Joe has to scold the two boys in the lobby of the hospital? I'm continually stumped by the writers need to dumb down the characters. Is it grade school? Heck, I don't even know grade school age children who are as perennially childish as the towns folk of Pine Valley.

That brings me to my second cringe...Why are they trying to paint Erica as a victim again? This is a vivacious character who sometimes is too adventurous for her own good. Why is she's so worried about keeping Josh's biology a secret? What would be so bad about telling Josh that the man who he thought was his father (a creepy Frankenstein type) isn't. The decision would affect two people mostly, Josh and Greg. I do not see how dragging out this "secret" (everyone except Jackson Knows) is at all important to the story. Also, I find it incredibly disturbing what the writers came up with for Dr. Von Maddenstein. Burying a person alive. And then to DRAAAAAAGGGGGG out this storyline makes no sense. Please, Greg after being mentally tortured by being buried alive, is so strong that he can resist the torture. Is the where abouts of Kate Martin really worth dying for? And I find it hard to believe that Greg really is the only one who knows anything. Yes this confuses me immensely. Here's an idea....Call HAZEL!!!! His life long right hand doesn't know that Dr. Von Maddenstein is propagating the country side but she knows the truth about Josh's parents? Oh and this is the same man who only recently in a deluded state drugged and kidnapped Erica and wanted to live with her forever. Yeah...mental fortress that one.

And on to my last issue. History is what makes Soaps. The families, their past and so on but the writers on the show have been extreme revisionists. It's driving me crazy. Here's what I mean. Ryan's family name is Curry. In fact his name is John Ryan Curry and his DOB is 1/18/74. This was established by Chris Stamp. He changed his name to Gail's maiden name of Lavery. Miraculously his father went from being a Curry to Patrick Lavery and his siblings also now share the Lavery moniker. And least we forget that it was established that Chris Stamp was Ryan's biological father. After all the show only devoted years to the story and least we also forget that Gillian came down from heaven to make the introduction between Chris and Ryan. Next we have Del Henry. Di spoke of being from the Henry family even though she was raised by her Aunt who's last name was Kirby. Funny thing is that Del's last name isn't really Henry...it's Hunkle. They are the children of Seabone Hunkle thus making them Hunkles. This was established in 1994. And last but not least the grand smudge of them all. Erica had an abortion. Nope she didn't have an abortion...instead she had a fetal transplant (which isn't medically possible). It would have made more sense to have Josh be Kendall's twin from the rape than to have this silly storyline. With 36 years worth of history and the fans watching for years (some 36 years) why would the writers think that revising the past to fit their deluded views of what they want is okay? Where's the respect for the life long viewers who devote an hour a day, five days a week? After all of the "Fan" related gimmicks I would have expected more for TPTB. To quote Jurassic Park..."They were to busy asking themselves could they, they never asked themselves should they."

Here endth my rant...



June 6, 2006

I read an article in SOD (Soap Opera Digest) about Jack and Erica's big secret. I have to totally agree. Erica gave the lamest excuse as to why she didn't share with Jackson the most upsetting news that a child she thought she had aborted had become Greg Madden's science project. I would think telling him while he's drugged out of his mind would have been a great idea. It wouldn't be as shocking when he's totally cognitive. She then reminds him of what she said. Now we have Jack and Erica running around doing two separate things, he with Lily and she with Greg. So does this mean the end of Jack and Erica? After all she's is most likely to have an affair at about this point. And how is it that Erica never sought out Myrtle's advice on this little bomb that is poised to explode all over her family. So much for her secret since the only people in town that do not know the truth about Josh are the members of Erica's own family.

I'm really confused over Jonathan and Lily. Okay I'm mostly confused by Jonathan because he remembers all of the horrible things he did and he feels bad for all of the bad things he's done but yet he hasn't gotten better. He's still a shuddering "15 year old". How can this be? He has the ability of reason, he feels emotion, and he has recall of the past but yet he not progressing in his personality? They write Jonathan as being an innocent like Lily but how can this be? Innocence comes from not knowing or not fully understanding things. Yet Jonathan remembers all the violence he inflicted and at the moment he recalled all of his past he would have lost his innocence. But he didn't…kind of crazy eh? I chalk this one up to the soaps being soaps but I think it's time for Jonny Boy to evolve as a character.

In the picky, picky category….how is Lily going to get into MIT when she won't graduate due to her lack of going to class. I'm sure colleges take incompletes…right?


June 5, 2006

Can you hear that??? Yep that would be me yelling at the TV! I'm extremely frustrated with the show right now. I'm trying to figure out
if everyone is sleeping or on vacation over there at ABC Studios? May sweeps has been a total YAWNFEST!!! Did anyone see what
was going on over there at OLTL...pretty exciting stuff. Trevor St. John had better get the Emmy next year. What did we have to
watch on AMC well that would be Kendall in a coma (riveting, lol!) and Tad and Dixie put into contrived situations looking for their
long lost child Kate. Oh and JR own up to his dastardly deeds (very contrived and really I didn't believe it). The only good part of
that story was Adam fighting his instincts to save his son not matter what it takes.

Now I sit and wait for the same old storyline to unfold. "Who killed Greg Madden?" UGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! I don't know about you but
hasn't the murder mystery been crap lately. It's an over used vehicle for storyline. It's very predicable and I for one would have
written this plot sooooo differently (See my page "If I were Head Writer For A Day). Did the writers really bring Bianca back to
sit at Kendall's bedside? Apparently she's just in Pine Valley to dispense a little advice and then go back to Paris and presumably
Maggie.

What can I say I'm very frustrated with the show right now!

May 23, 2006

Memo to writers...Two week comas cause crankie viewers. Day after day for two weeks I've suffered trying just to get through
another addition of AMC. What happened...are the writers on vacation? There is absolutely nothing compelling about this story.
Instead of grabbing my interests it makes me want to watch Passions. I'm pretty sure that's not the intended reaction but
that's the one I got. Kendall's coma was good for the first three days, then it got stupid with Kendall's out of body experiences.
I enjoyed the Fusion girls stopping by because well they've been MIA for too long. And what's with the nickname of Spike...wouldn't
it have been better to give the peanut the nickname of Elvis or Elmo...later they could for fun add that as a middle name for the
child. But calling the kid Spike like Luke and Laura used their son's nickname of Lucky just won't work for me.

Here's my rub. AMC has outstanding actors but they fail in this very important area...integrating the cast. If you've seen shows like
As The World Turns they always integrate their seasoned vets with the younger newcomers. Case in point Nancy Hughes or
Lisa Gramaldi can usually be seen with Gwen, Casey & Will. Lisa owns the trendy coffee bar/acoustic club and Nancy is always
checking in on her family. AMC makes these situations seem contrived. Joe and Julia should have easily fit into the scenes with
Kendall but instead they seem more ornamental than intrinsic to the scene. And two key aggravations for this viewer are the
waifish...need to be saved by a man...women of Pine Valley. Poor Erica...Poor Dixie...Poor Julia....so easily snowed by the evil
doctor Greg Madden. Are you kidding me??? The writers should have had these three women group together in strength like the
Witches of Eastwick and done some voodoo magic on the evil doctor. Instead they are victims. Years ago Kendall had a great line that
should apply to Dixie right now..."It's about time I become the hero in my own life". I don't want to see that shell of a woman that
left PV 4 years ago...I want to see a dynamic woman would would kill for her child and would not stop until she was reunited
with her daughter. And after she finds her child there is the story of does she fight for a child that is happy? Does she leave
Kate with her "family" or does she drag the child into her dysfunctional and very unhappy home? It would have also served better
If they waited on find out that Kate was alive and had Dixie have dim memories of her child being taken away. Because they could
have SORAS'D Kate to an age where there would have been more bang to the story.

My other rub is the dragging out day to day for the exciting arrival of Bianca. And then after Bianca arrives...umm...Kendall will
still be in that stupid coma at least another week. Nothing really sweeping in this May Sweeps. I would have like to have seen
Kendall grasping for help with her decision and having Zach and Ryan pressure her plus Erica's influence and have Bianca come
and rescue her sister's mental health. Instead everyone talks to the comatose Kendall and I sit at my computer and complain
about it.

Now on to a glimpse of the future. Jeff Martin was cast. Oh goody. Personally I would like to have seen Josh's world destroyed by
an enemy that had been built up (Julia, Kendall, fill in the blank). Would it not have been more interesting if Kendall found out the
truth and then in some kind of rage tells Josh to hurt Erica? This would be something Kendall would do and then feel really bad
about it. Nope Jeff will come to town and spend weeeeeeekkkkkkkksssss agonizing over the decision to tell Josh he's his son.

Okay this rant is going on to long but you get the gist. So I end by saying....YO KENDALL.....WAKE UP ALREADY!!

April 17, 2006

The sun is shining and today day I thought instead of my usual Ranting and Raving about what I do not like on the show I would say what I do like on the show. Sort of a positive mojo to go with spring :) So here it goes....

I do really like Greg as the bad guy. The evil doctor who destroys lives because he sees himself as "God". (note: see below for my not so happy feelings about the Erica aspect of the Greg connection). I think he seems like a nice enough chap but deep down he's a nut job. He's just not as obvious as say, Janet Green. What I really loved was the scene of when Zach visits Greg in the hospital and he tries to manipulate Zach (though his emotions) as he has the women. Zach smiled that quirky way he does and informed the doctor that his evil powers won't work on him. I thought Zach was going to laugh heartily at that point. It was that little type of victory that balances out the story for me. The women have an emotional investment in what happens with Greg and Zach, well Zach he's just looking for a little redemption and the love of a good woman (AKA Kendall). I also liked Greg and Erica's exchange on Friday. It really showed how crazy Greg really is and brought in the fact that Hazel knows all of Greg's secrets. I think she could be the key to Dixie getting her child back.

I'm starting to like Ryan again. It's taken a while and I really hung with this character because of Cam Mathison. The writers had gone in a completely destructive way with the character that was beloved by many and made him unlikeable during the "fight club" debacle. Now he's softer and he wants his son and to raise him to become a good man. This is the Ryan we knew and loved. And I like the fact that the writers finally understand the show is All My Children not All My Laverys. The toning down of the Lavery clan has help improve my view of the show.

Seeing David on screen is great. And I'm hoping for more Brooke. How about Ms. English writing an expose for Tempo on Dr. Greg Madden. And unexpectantly finding out the information Erica's been trying so hard to keep secret. That would set in motion some interesting tangles.

Anyway...looking forward to Bianca's brief return soon and as always I look forward to Thorsten Kaye's portrayal of Zach Slater.

April 1, 2006

Ah a fine day for a Rant. I've been holding on to this one but as the days pass I can't hold it in any longer. David, David, David...have you been sniffing cleaning solvent to long??? I ask because it seems the mad doctor is exactly that...mad. Honestly the way that David has dismissed the 4 years of his life since Dixie left town is amazing to me. In that time he's father a daughter (Leora) and lost that child, been in love with Anna, found out he's got a grown daughter and plotted to keep Miranda from Bianca for said daughter. Watching the exchange between David and Dixie he looked like either a stalker or a love sick teenage boy...of which I believe him to be neither. The way he's talking is rapists mentality. You need me...We can have our love back again (even if you don't want it). David ditched his daughter whom he told Dixie he loved for her. First off Revisionist Writers...Dixie and David were never happy together. The were never this grand couple. He destroyed her marriage her marriage to Tad (with a little help from Tad), he destroyed her relationship with JR and now he's all "we were happy together and can be again". Umm...yeah...okay. After everything that David has done to JR and Bianca I can see Dixie wanting to run and be with him. Thankfully Dixie made a comment as much to the fact, that David's off the deep end.

Why, oh why, are the writers all of the sudden writing Kendall and Ryan as two teenagers unable to make a decision. Let's weight the facts of the case. Kendall (the product of Rape) was given up for adoption. Found her biological mother and tortured her for years before the two could work out their issues. She's had trust and abandonment issues galore so I could see why she would want her son to suffer the same fate as her. I'm sure it makes sense...to someone other than me. Now on to Ryan, a man who thought he was the son of Chris Stamp (as did we all until the writers decided to rewrite years of storyline already told...gosh this sounds so familiar!!!!). He's not and that fact threw him into such a tail spin...gosh it was awful to watch...really awful, no really. So of course Kendall would be against Ryan raising his son. Of course. It's amazing these two birds run major corporations but can't make the one sane choice to keep their child. I like to call this episode...THE DUMBING DOWN of KENDALL. This whole storyline doesn't make any sense at all! I give this storyline a double thumbs down!

Let's move on to my other issue of discontent and that would Erica/Josh/Greg/Joe Martin. Let me start with Ms. McT. Dear Head Writer while you have chosen to disregard past stories that have been told and cemented, this revision doesn't work with the VIEWERS, the actual story makes no sense and how many times in six years can Ms. Kane stand trial for murder or be a suspect of murder??? Moving on to Erica's miracle baby. Josh is supposed to be from what I've read of Ms. McT's comments a male version of Erica. WOW could you be any more wrong. He is being written to be a nut who is supposed to be taken seriously. Ummm...last month he was a television show producer and today he's on the staff of PVH. Raise your hand if you don't get this story, raise the other one if you want this story to go away? Now let's take Erica's poisoning of Greg. Understandable but I'm tired of Erica as a suspect. How many times has she been in prison. Since TPTB decided to rewrite Erica's abortion story it would make more sense to have focused solely on the fact that Josh must deal with the fact he is the abortion that lived. It's a harsh thing to write but I'm not the mensa who came up with this stupid storyline and that is in fact what Josh is. I would have written this story (Not that I would have started this storyline) from Erica destroying Dr. Greg Madden's career and when he "son" discovered what happened it would send Josh into a tailspin and it would affect Dr. Demento as well. Now on to Joe, I personally do not understand his attachment to young Josh. You know his great-grandson lived in Pine Valley all of his life but he wasn't demanding that Sam be a "Martin" or demanding to spend equal grandparent time with him. No in fact Sam only discovered his parentage after Edmund died. So Joe's need to have his "grandson" by his side living the life of a Martin is ridiculous at best. And bringing Jeff home to deal with this issue makes no sense either unless he brings his wife because Josh would be her problem too.

It's not all loathing of the storylines for me. I think a powerful story could emerge for Dixie if written correctly (probably never going to happen). So far all the pieces fit and the story is smooth. Greg playing God decided that the injured Dixie couldn't/shouldn't raise her daughter. And the fact she's been hunting him down every since (with apparently no money...good for her) is good. The Julia side of the story works as well. Even the fact that he's pressuring Kendall to give her child up is good. The fact that Kendall could really be pressured isn't good. It doesn't work.

So as I see it the only way to salvage the Ryan/Kendall story is for him to take her to court. That would work and pit Ryan against Kendall and it also gives Zach a common bond with Ryan. Zach regrets keeping his son away now that Ethan is gone so he would be able to side with Ryan on this issue.

One thing I'd like to use on this Greg Madden storyline would be for Simone to discover she's pregnant with Ethan's child and that she's having complications and he's the only one who can help her. It would bring Zach another side of the story...the welfare of his grandchild and it would link Simone to Zach.

So I'm done with today's diatribe. Let me know your thoughts.

March 29, 2006

My Rant today is not about the show. Today I am Ranting against one site http://www.xanga.com/allmychildren_****. This person has repeatedly stolen my bandwidth and pictures from MY photo gallery. And to add insult to injury this person offers others use of the hotlinked pictures to use on their sites compounding my bandwidth issue and maximizing the theft. How nice it is that he/she is passing off their site as just that, their site, when infact it hotlinked off of another person's site (MINE) and then offering it to other who wouldn't even know they are party to a theft of my bandwidth. I used to love doing this site. But when people like this person just steal it takes everything in me just to make the effort of keeping up the site. There are so many of you that are soooooo WONDERFUL and supportive and that keeps me going but it just takes one boob like this person and it zaps me of that goodwill. What's so frustrating is that I have gone to the extreme of posting a downloading disclaimer. And then it's just ignored. What is that? So now I sit and contemplate whether it's worth the hours and hours I put into the site and should I just give up and move on. It's to bad, because I was just adding a General Hospital section. Who knows maybe I'll stay. Maybe without the photo gallery...not sure but I really think that the site would be barren without the photo gallery. Anyway, thanks to those who always are respectful when using parts of my site and to all those who enjoyed visiting I thank you very much.

March 14, 2006

Today I am sooooo aggravated. So here's my Rant and forgive me if it goes on to long. Here we go...

Did anyone read the interview with Megan McTavish in Soap Opera Digest? I did and I couldn't disagree with AMC's Head Writer more. I couldn't believe that she "Respectfully disagrees with the viewers" who believe she should have never written this convoluted story with Josh & Erica. It does take away from the original "social storyline" of when Erica had her abortion. Not only that but it is medically impossible to explain how Josh survived. Ms. McT has forgotten who she is writing for and I "Respectfully disagree" with her assesment. She isn't writing for herself she is writing for the viewers, to entertain them. She failed on two counts in my book. You know what would be great...an original idea for a storyline that didn't destroy the fabric of 35 years of storytelling. Ms. McT also makes a statement of Josh being a "chip off the old block" in regards to Erica. Are you kidding me??? He's an arrogant shell of a man and has more in common with JR than Erica Kane. Erica is a Diva. She's a power house who earned everything she has in her empire. Sure sometimes she used people and sure sometimes she wasn't very nice but it was because Erica always wanted more than she had. She aspired to greatness and wouldn't be stopped. But Josh is being written as a brat who wants payback because he's father treated him like a prince. He floats from TV Show Executive to Doctor without skipping a beat and the only redeeming factors in this storyline so far are the fact Joe has gotten loads of screen time and Erica's explaining to Josh that there is really no glamour in being a doctor and him playing it out as though its one giant glamourfest!

Now on to my second issue. Dixie Cooney Martin is ALIVE! Please....Please...Please could writers in Daytime come up with on original "back from the dead" scenario? Is it too much to ask for? Dixie's aided by Zach (I like the combo). But there will be that long drawn out explanation of recovering from the accident in Switzerland and why she stayed away. You know what would be a great storyline. There was an accident but it wasn't her in the car (this has been done by Y&R) or that there was NO accident. She devised everything to allow her the chance to deliver her daughter Kate. (Or she could have had twins which would increase the size of the Martin Family.) It's a selfish and very un-Dixie like thing to do and this is the plus of writing the now Dixie. Remember when Dixie left? Well I do, she was a doormat for Tad and David and was distracted and incapable of taking care of her teenage son. I would have loved to see Dixie return and have a backbone. A women who stayed away because it was what she felt was the best thing and that she couldn't sacrifice her baby because of others. The off shoot to this type of storyline is JR's reaction to his Mother being alive, to the fact she chose his sister over him and there are so many ramifications for JR beyond that. Dixie was a fighter who the writers turned into a waifish victim by the time she left the show. I would like to see her get a backbone. I hope upon hope that they do not ruin things like they did with Edmund and Maria. Look how well that fiasco turned out. Edmund's dead and Maria's gone to California. What a waste of John Callahan's talent.

My third issue is Kendall whining about not feeling connected to her son. Ryan considering Julia as a candidate to adopt his child without consulting Kendall. Who wrote this??? Kendall thought she was going to give birth to the baby and hand him over to Greenlee to raise. This I get but everything after this point makes no sense. Kendall is all over the place with this baby. Keep him, have him adopted (but not by Julia) and constantly talks about her own experience of being an adopted child. Then she's playing tonsil hockey with Ryan and they are talking marriage and then not. These two aren't teenagers and yet they are written like they are. Ryan runs a multinational company and Kendall is part owner in a Casino and runs Fusion but the two can't make one decision concerning their son? ENOUGH ALREADY! Frankly I hope Kendall gives birth to a monkey from the zoo. The Kendall/Ryan story is a back track and it's put a fork in the Kendall/Zach story with him now tied to Dixie. How about trying something new...follow through on ONE story before you shoot it in the foot and misdirect it elsewhere.

I enjoyed the JR wrap up scenes. Everyone is forgiven and lets all move on. But more important I thought was today's scene where Babe tells Krystal that she knows that JR will become the nasty man he was before because it is inevitable. This was something that made sense in an ocean of nonsense. Well done. Also, the scene where Zach holds his gun contemplating what comes next with Ethan watching him. Priceless and perfect.

Sorry for the long Rant today but it's been building up inside.

March 10, 2006

Ah Janet...I love you, you nut! Today Ms. Green was ranting and raving about Dixie being alive and how she probably didn't tell them all she was alive because they are horrible people. When she said that the JR Branded "Little Remy" with his name was priceless. In alot of ways this crazy woman expressed alot of what I was feeling as a frustrated viewer. Then I thought...gosh I'm a crazy, lol. I'm glad the writers have figured out that it's easier to bring in a secondary criminal for the more violent/questionable storylines. When they made Jonathan the killer they almost lost a valuable asset to the show, Jeff Branson. This time around the heinous acts were done by Janet Dillon. And she really is certifiable so she can stay for a bit or even come back for another round (escape) once her storyline is completed.

How incredible was Chrishell Stause (Amanda) today? Well Done!!! I'd like to see the writers continue her connection with Brooke. They two actress have some excellent chemistry that deserves to be explored.

As I was watching Aidan today it occurred to be that his father has never been revealed. Perhaps it's time for him to have another connection to Pine Valley by having one of it's residents be his biological father. My pick would be Greg Madden, but that's just me. Or how about him being a Tyler/English? What if Ed English had an illegitimate son? It's a believable connection since Ed's been off the canvas for so long and it would give Brooke a storyline.

March 8, 2006

I think the writers are finally getting a clue where JR is concerned but I'd still like to see some payment for his crimes. So he feels bad for being not so nice...boo hoo. Everyone gives this man, the benefit of the doubt for his atrocities because his mom 'died'. Well she's not dead so what now JR? I loved the scenes between JR and Jamie but there again I'm confused because Jamie was in love with Babe from day one when he lost his virginity to her and then when he kidnapped her son and went on the lam with the boy. Oh yeah and when they came back and went through hell at JR's hands he still loved her but when Aunt Phoebe's will pops up and he clearly knows what Babe did to push him away he's all about JR having his family back together? Color me confused because I do not understand a love that spans almost 2 years is easily pushed asside.

I did like Amanda today. At least this character is written to understand and try to take responsiblity for her part in the things that have happened because of Janet. Today the character took a drug that could kill her in hopes of making a mends. How is it that the writers can write this type of scene for Amanda but they can't for JR???

March 6, 2006

I get it that some folks do not get why I've got this thing about JR. So I've put it into pictures. This is a collage of JR's illegal activities that have gone unchecked. I did not included the kidnapping of "Bess" and stashing her in Oakhaven. While morally reprehensible it wasn't assault or accessory to something.

Jamie gets stabbed by Seth... (2003) While JR watches. (2003) JR picks up a lead pipe and bashes Jamie in the head for stealing his son... (2004) JR pushes or is directly responsible for Bianca's fall off the balcony when she went to claim her child. (2004) JR holds a Gun on Tad and even fires it because he wanted Tad to tell him where Babe and Jamie took his son. (2005) JR just for fun drops a motorcycle on Jamie. He had already destroyed Jamie's chance for a life so this was only for entertainment. (2005) A Drunk JR threatened to run off with Little A and while drunk runs over Amanda Dillon. (2005) Again Drunk a completely idiotic version of JR holds Krystal hostage. (2006) He fires the gun at Krystal but misses however unbeknownst to JR his bullet hits Dixie. (2006)

So here they are with the caption as to what they are. I like JR when he's bad but I'd like to see some kind of justice for all of the horrible acts he's committed. Perhaps it's time for Dr. Dave to be mocking and hounding JR while he's mopping floors at PVH. I don't think they need to change the character at all I just wish there would be a little justice shown. Now I wait and see if he ever discovers he shot his mother or if I'm the only one who cares. He's an insecure child this much I know but I'd like to see just one of his heinous acts be challenged and followed through on the challenge.

March 4, 2006

This week had some high and some low points. Let us start with the highs. Although really sad Ethan’s funeral was a high point and to have Livia sing made the scene aces in my book. Tonya is sooooooooooo talented and I’m giving her a shout out in the Media Gallery this week. Babe’s working of Janet was on the money. Smartly written, incredibly acted one couldn’t ask for more. How about the taste of the old Jonathan when he was sitting by Jackson’s side taunting him or was he? Jeff Branson deserves an Emmy and hopefully his peers will get their act together and give him one for best supporting actor. This man has a grand career in front of him and while he’s in Pine Valley I’m going to enjoy the rest of his contract. For all the Rendall fans (I’m not one) the two crazy kids smooched this week. For the Zendall fans (I am one) there was heart wrenching scenes of love, then pain then, love then pain and I was hooked all the way.

It seems Zach makes friends easily because now he’s got a new pal in Dixie. My favorite Zach girl Myrtle Fargate was there to have a drink with Zach and I love Myrtle so I’m loving the scenes. I also liked the scenes with Adam and Tad and who’s to blame for JR being the rotten sociopath that he’s become. Although everything Adam said about Tad’s betrayal is true the real truth is that it was Adam who taught his son to be closed off, suspicious, angry and made him believe he was never responsible for his heinous acts.

So that brings me to the lows. Let’s start with Dixie who’s been skulking around the Valley unseen. I really hope this “new” Dixie is darker and less the Angel of the Valley she was when she left. Of course, though, that Angel was an adulterer. So she’s back but I’m not getting excited just yet because most of the time the writers set us all up for this WOW Cady’s returned and we’ve got a great storyline for her and I end up very disappointed. Look at what happened to Julia.

Julia’s been reduced to a side character. So much for the fanfare in bringing back the character. There needs to be a fire lit under the writers to start pairing up the people of Pine Valley. Maybe start with Ryan/Julia. I’m hoping that kiss on 3/3 was just a fluke between Kendall and Ryan because this is so not Kendall. She loves Greenlee and she was so over Ryan when she found Zach and because of Zach’s discovered scheme that changed her life she’s rushing into Ryan’s arms? Not buying it. Besides hasn’t the Rendall thing been done to death. Hey you know what else has been done to death…bratty JR breaking the law, putting people at risk and whining all the time about everyone betraying him. Perhaps he should tell himself that there is a reason people betray him. IT’S EASY TO DO! Not to mention that he sets everyone he supposedly loves up for failure. Way to go Junior! The only thing that can salvage JR’s immature personality is if when Dixie is revealed alive that she doesn’t give in to him. That she’s a different person than the one who left and that she chose Kate over him. If she comes back with no apologies for staying away and standing by her reasons, good or bad, for why she stayed away. Which brings me to…I really want Kate to be alive and well. If I were writing it I would SORAS her since there is word of Colby coming back to Pine Valley a teen this would give them revival/gal pals thing happening. And wouldn’t it be a shocker for Tad for him to learn that not only did Dixie survive but so did their daughter.

Okay, I know I was all over the place today but I’ve been swimming in thoughts all week.

February 27, 2006

I've got an issue and it's driving me nuts. When Sam Grey discovered he was Kelsey Jefferson's son and that Joe Martin was his great-grandfather and Tad was his uncle, Joe was not overly embracing of him. Now Joe discovers his grandson by Jeff and Erica is alive and he wants the boy to know all that is Martin? This doesn't make sense. Especially since Erica had thought as did he, that she had aborted the child by her ex-husband Jeff all those years ago. And let us not forget (and Tad reminded Joe) of Josh's duplicitous behavior of late. Yet Joe brushes it off as a sort of teen hijinks. This makes no sense.

Now on to the Jonathan/Lily love story. It's a beautiful and poignant story that has no shelf life. Sure the writers are SORASing Lily a year to make her almost 18 but this still doesn't work for me when the other half of this story is almost 30. Here's my issue. Jonathan is now mentally 15 (so they say), well he won't always at this point. Jonathan's mind works and he remembers his past life as well as his past relationships so it is only a matter of time when Jonathan evolves into the 30 year old man he really is and that leaves the storyline with Lily at a standstill. And least we forget she doesn't like to be touched. Makes for an interesting prom.

The writers need to get storylines in place and get over the theory of the 13 week ARC storyline method. I understand why they are what they are but I think it leaves too much time where nothing happens. Let's take Julia/Sydney Penny for example. After Julia's taking on the Dragon story the writers basically popped their bubble. Ever since then they seem to be trying to invent a situation for Julia. They spend so much time "building" the storyline that alot of boredom takes place and you lose the viewers. If I were writing it and....I'm not...but if I were I would have pushed forward the Ryan/Julia romance. That way when the Ryan/Zach/Kendall story was underway it now becomes the Julia/Ryan/Zach/Kendall story. Don't forget the David/Julia trysts. Perhaps they could have Ryan and Julia have an encounter and she becomes pregnant. It could really be David's child but she passes it off as Ryan's. Also I would have had Simone and Ethan at minimum marry on his deathbed. Then they could take Simone in a dark direction. This would give JR a break because, honey that story has been told/retold/re-retold and it's now boring. I'm tired of watching Adam egg his son on to commit criminal acts while he stands by with his mouth wide open when something bad happens (JR's drunk driving incident). Let Simone not be the nice girl for once and it would give Terri Ivens a chance to show her acting skills. Simone has a right to be angry and as the heir of all that was Ethan Cambias she would have the money and power to back her up.

February 22, 2006

Note to the Writers...Been there, done that! I'm watching the show today and I'm saying to myself I can't believe they are still on this same stupid topic with JR. He has trust issues....MOVE ON! The only reason that I continued to watch was because I've deduced that our high school drop out JR Chandler has a problem with ADD and that is why he never follows through with anything. It's amazing that while he was running Chandler Enterprises the company didn't go bankrupt!

Let's break this down. Weird things are happening to his family. He suspects Amanda but then Jamie and Babe both come to the conclusion that Amanda might not be the one behind the shenanigans at the Chandler Mansion. They both feel that Josh was responsible for the drugging of Erica but Jamie's feeling that Amanda is covering for someone and that someone might be Janet. So of course JR calls his goons to find his son and ex-wife he and as much as puts a hit on Babe when he tells them he doesn't care what happens to her just bring him his son. Ah, father of the year I'm sure...NOT. JR is written so that he constantly traumatizes his son. Remember the incident at Christmas with Santa Jonathan? Now it's whack the mother and drag the boy from his dead mother's arms. This is what I walked away from the television with, and TPTB didn't want to have a gay relationship on the airwaves but this is okay. Good call! Anyway back to the explosion. JR doesn't even concern himself with his run in with Amanda or the explosion. Apparently two plus two is difficult math. Of course Babe stole his son, it only makes sense that while she was all rational when she suggested joint custody in their new pre-nup it's better to break the law. Or lets see, she steals the child to get back at him...hello at any moment (apparently) she can change her story that JR was really driving the car that ran Amanda down and JR would go to prison and she would legally get her child by default since she is a wealthy business owner/newly model citizen.

So where's this little diatribe of mine going you ask? Well I'll sum it all up. JR needs to evolve and with Dixie back he can be mister ruthless Adam-clone with her but as far as the Babe/Little A relationship they need to get to the point because this puppy has been dragged out since 2004. JR is evil and his actions have no consequences, even Adam's actions always had a consequence. Remember Stuart "dying"? Adam's tailspin of guilt led to his drinking and marriage to Arlene. What do we have with JR? A mean criminal who gets away with everything because his mommy died when he was a teenager! I don't buy it and I'm tired of it.

February 9, 2006

Today's show worked for me on so many levels. Let me start with Kendall and Ryan. Finally a realistic performance on a soap. I was applauding Kendall when Ryan said to her "Would you have wanted to not know the truth and discover it years from now." and Kendall tells him she wished he had never said anything at all. He tries to plead with her that the truth is important and she tells him that all it did was destroy her life because she wishes she was in Paris right now getting married and that she will never forgive him. Alas, I feel that we are beginning to see the de-heroing of Ryan Lavery. Seeing the look on Ryan's face that Kendall wasn't gushing with thanks for revealing the evil doings of Zach was priceless. What mostly worked for me was that Kendall's anger and rage at Zach had nothing to do with the acts that he committed but the fact that he kept secrets from her. She told him that she only wanted him to be honest because they could be happy and she wouldn't care what his secret was but she'd been lied to in the past and she didn't want to go through that again. She wanted their relationship to be different. And I loved Zach's response that he did what he did because he loved her and that he was prepared to go their entire lives together keeping that secret. I've always been a fan of Alicia Minshew but now I'm an even bigger fan. She knows how to work the scene and has chemistry with everyone she's worked with and lets face it she has RED HOT chemistry with Thorsten Kaye (Zach).

I'm glad to see the rehabiliatation of Ryan Lavery under way. Let's face it we were all tired of Ryan and his supposed decent into madness and I wondered how the writers were going to bring him back to the level the character was before this horrid "All My Lavery" fiasco. The only part of that story worth watching was Jeff Bransen's protrayl of the evil Jonathan and then his portrayal of Jonathan after the explosion. Jeff is off the hook! Oops off topic...Back to Ryan...I loved the exchange between Ryan and Jonathan today when Jonny basically threw Ryan's words at him and he got that look on his face that was like "I Finally Get It!". Kudos.

I'm also loving the evolution of JR. They are trying to make him more mature and less the petulant child they had writen in the past. I've enjoyed Babe and JR going round the bend and back again. And then Babe realizing she really is in love with him is sweet. I enjoyed Dixie watching her son from afar finally realize that he can't control everything and that if he does love Babe and doesn't want to be alone anymore he must finally trust. Watching JR stand up to Adam was also priceless. The only draw back to the Babe/JR saga for me was when Babe tells him that she doesn't love Jamie. I'm still stumped how this could possibly be the case. Jamie broke the law for her and she's very flipish about their love. Same goes for Jamie. To me this dialogue amounts to the writers using an eraser on a pencil to erase a past storyline.

So for now I'm content...gosh I wonder how long that will last, lol!

January 26, 2006

Yikes! I'm sorry! I got some emails from the Ryan fans out there and I'm sorry I upset you. Ryan was once a favorite of mine and I think my frustration (and constant rants) concerning him are because I think that Ms. McT and the crew made Ryan a bumbling boob and that was hard for me to watch. I see that they are trying to tone him down a bit and I give the writers a "holla" for effort but I'm not at that place yet where you guys obviously are, who knows perhaps one day I'll like Ryan again but for now...I gotta rant!

Hey I know I'll rant about something else. JOSH MADDEN...how about him? I get that Josh is kind of scary and evil but here's my trouble with this storyline...why is Josh scary and evil? All of his plotting doesn't make sense. Is this an "All About Eve" moment or does he suspect, as we do that Erica is is biological mother? Or is he just nuts (like Scream 3) and that doesn't make sense because his parents weren't freaky (that we know of). I like to have a reason when I see the crazies on TV. And why bring Amanda into it (I get scapegoat but that's a weak one) and is Erica really that blind? This woman has been around the block a couple of times so I don't see her not adding up all the coincidence and at least suspecting Josh of trying to sabotage her. I'm struggling with this storyline.

January 25, 2006

Ugh! I'm on another Ryan tear! This time I'm going to through in Julia and Kendall just for fun. Where to start? Okay, how about I start with Kendall giving Ryan parental rights? Here are my issues with this little ditty. First, Ryan has already told Kendall he doesn't trust her judgment so what is to stop Ryan from making nasty with Kendall over HER son. And second, what would he need parental rights for if she gave the baby up for adoption? That brings me right into Julia. She wants to adopt Kendall and Ryan's baby. Yeah I see this happening. She seemed so excited when she approached Ryan about the possibility. Funny thing though, Kendall hates her and I find it really hard to believe she would ever give her child over to Julia for any reason. So that leaves me not really sure where they are going with this storyline. But I'm getting to the point I think I don't care.

I'm kind of bummed out because I used to like Ryan but now everytime he utters a word I'm not interested. Last Summer's Ryan-a-palozza has left me not caring about this character at all (except to complain about him). When I watch Ryan I'm so turned off by his self righteous behavior. When he, Simone and Ethan were putting the facts together concerning the power grid blueprint he made a statement that he and Greenlee would be together if it hadn't been for Zach's interference that force Kendall's impulsive decision. Please, did this really come out of his mouth? He and Greenlee stopped believing in each other when he chose his brother's lies over her truth (that Hockett drugged her). Then he faked his death. On Greenlee's side she actually thought having his child would save him. Boy was she clueless. And then she thought having Ryan's Child would save her. Wow! Really clueless. So Ryan's little escape into fantasyland that everything is always Zach's fault is kind of...well...STUPID. Again the writers show that Ryan hasn't grown from his experiences. He just spews the same dialogue over and over. And what I mean by that is, when Jonathan was wrecking havoc in the Valley he first blamed Zach...then Kendall...then Zach. He's so sure that Zach is the evil in town. Now he's sure that Zach is the bad man. Even if he did shut off the power it was because he loved his wife and worried her sacrifice wouldn't be understood. Um..Gosh...imagine that? Thanksgiving day proved his suspicions were correct. Regardless of who's egg was involved the fact is a similar out come was over the horizon.

January 19, 2006

Not unlike Janet Green I'm feeling like I'm off my meds. I found myself talking to the television while watching today's episode and you guessed it, it was because of Ryan Lavery. This sanctimonious, holier than thou, git has me at wits ends while I watch. Kendall marry me? Kendall I don't trust your judgment. Are you kidding me?? Her judgment shouldn't be in question here. Ryan has the worst track record after the last year which included faking his death which was so cruel that his wife Greenlee became so depress that it took Kendall's selfless act to bring her back. Lest we forget his unwavering faith in his psychotic brother Jonathan. He believed in his brother's innocence right up until he saw Braden's dead body. Good plan, dude. And the writers are going to have Kendall give Ryan his paternal rights back? Are you kidding me? This character knows Ryan's track record from the past when he put Greenlee before Kendall after Greenlee proved Kendall's lie about her pregnancy by Michael to protect Bianca's secret. She was justified in her reaction when Ryan defended Greens and then when he married Greenlee five minutes after almost marrying her. Oh and what a healthy, happy marriage that was for him. Then you look at all of the times he tried to destroy her romances, one with Aidan and another with Ethan and it would seem that Ryan doesn't want Kendall but then again he doesn't want Kendall with any one else.

I love Cam Mathison but I really believe that it will take a miracle for me to ever like Ryan again.

On the other side of the street what is Kendall's beef with Julia really? They hated each other years ago because of Anton but as far as I can tell Julia has more cause to hate Kendall than the other way around. After Kendall called the WPA on Julia and the took her back into protective custody.

January 17, 2006

Some things were bugging me so here I go. Anita's breakup with Aidan was kind of bland. I would have preferred to have some fireworks with this would-be triangle but instead she seeks him out and is all nice and sweet about the whole thing. Um he was snaking around and kissing other chicks behind your back sweetie. At least Ms. Lavery has an issue with Aidan duplicitous behavior. Now that takes me to…what will happen to Anita? I love this character and she had so many possibilities that were put on hold by Natalie's maternity leave but now with the winds changing on the show I'm worried that Anita will be sent to California to help Maria. It would be a huge waste of talent. Maybe she and David could hook up causing a major flux for two sisters who haven't really been a part of each other's lives for a very long time.

I was honest the shoe thing was really cool…right up until I discovered that Janet and only Janet was responsible for the deed. I'm hoping there is something else to the story involving Amanda's blackouts. Kate Collins plays crazy better than anyone I've ever seen which is great but like a lot of other folks watching I remember Robin's portrayal of the redeemed Janet. That said I do enjoy watching Kate's performance. It's too bad they killed off Natalie because she could have come back as Amanda's champion Aunt instead of her crazy mother. I'm just kind of let down a bit. I am interested to see just how Janet perceived Joe, Opal and Brooke as Amanda's enemies. Adam and Krystal are easier to understand. I do give the writers credit for listening to the fans who are upset that some of the cast is under utilized but I don't see at this point how putting them in an unconscious state is correcting that. Sure we see them but where is the dialogue. Who knows they may wake up!

I like the use of the cast right now. It was becoming lame that every scene had two or three players. It's great to see Winifred on vacation with JR and Babe, Ryan, Kendall, Julia and Zach having scenes together. David getting some air time (Hello Writers give this man back his Medical License!). Not to mention seeing Marian again, how awesome was that! I like the flow right now and hope it keeps flowing!

January 11, 2006

Ah it's a good day for a Rant. Today's Rant is a mixed bag. Let me start with David. Why is he the only one still serving community service for his part in the babynapping saga? Yeah he's back on screen but the man is still pushing that stupid mop which to me and...oh every other viewer seems stupid. They are wasting the character of David and definitely the talents of Vincent.

Moving on...

I've been trolling the boards and have noticed alot of discontent out there over the show. I get where they are coming from because we all have things we would like for our favorite characters to be involved in but like every TV production out there you can't please everyone at the same time. I have been seeing improvement in the show which is a good thing. I feel that the writers are listening to the viewers complaints about the show so going on that here's what I've liked so far.

The integration of the cast in different scenarios. The New Years Eve shows were fun to watch. Del and Opal as a couple, Brooke on screen and the fun couple that is Adam and Krystal and the powerful romance of Zach and Kendall. Kudos to the whole team at AMC. The writers, directors and entire group really put on some great TV. I've also noticed the toning down of ALL MY LAVERY's which is good because I (and alot of other people) were getting tired of Ryan defending his brother blindly and every episode being about poor, poor Jonathan. I've ranted enough about his sudden redemption do to medical malady so I'm going to leave that one alone. Moving on to today's show where Joe Martin got more air time in one show than I think he had in all of 2005 and it was AWESOME!!! Ray was on the mark Baby! I'm loving the fact that the storylines are moving along at a quicker stride. I love that there are mysterious things happening in Pine Valley with four major suspects. All have motives and opportunity for mischief. And that's not to say that there can't be someone else all together in the fray.

One note that I would have like to see would have been Dapper Aidan having to explain things to Erin after Anita pops up giving her BOYFRIEND a big smooch and stomping on his budding romance with Erin. I'll wait to see what the writers have planned for Aidan and Erin but I'd like Anita to have some input. I can't help it, I really like the character and she has alot of potential story.

And to finish up the is rant...Loving the left behind shoes thingy. It's weird and intriguing at the same time. Some might be tempted to say it's stupid but in a day where there are very little original concepts not only soaps but TV and Movies I'm wanting to see where this little eye getting story takes me.