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? Isnt 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 its a
feeling. How about it seems obvious you dimwit! Ive
given lots of thought to this serial killer storyline; besides my
absolute distaste for gratuitous murder Ive been trying to make sense of
the tie in of Zachs visions and his past with the killing of the Fusion
Girls. If these two s/ls 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 its 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 hadnt been seen on screen
but what I would like to see is that Zachs visions and his notes are not
tied to the killings. I would write the killer to be young Sydney Harris. Her
character hasnt been explored other than her mother doesnt 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 hasnt found a place in Pine Valley. But Im 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. Arent 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! Whats
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, youre an adult pay a
bill would you! All though this would save money on the budget since they wouldnt
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 yesterdays 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? Wouldnt
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?! Im
scratching my head again
at this rate Ill 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.
The
Parade of Newbies
These
new characters were given front burner even though their collective storylines
either made no sense or turned into nothing. Yet almost everyday this group is
on camera. Colby hasn't received one visit from her Grandmother but Marian's been
available to show real estate.
Sean has shared his conception story with
anyone who will listen and Sydney, well the character is fluff. Annie's storyline
"Emma is Kate" has been proven practically over since Emma isn't Kate.
Her relationship with Ryan is flat at best as is the storyline. The only newcomer
who's been fun to watch is the actress who plays cute little Emma!
All
of these young people can act but the writers can't write and TPTB have force
fed us newbies with more on the way at the expense of the Characters we know and
love. |
These
Characters/Actors have no storylines
These
are good Characters that are being wasted. Because there are only a couple of
storylines going these Actors have become background.
Poor Julia has assumed
the background helper role that was Anita's until Anita left town. Sydney Penny
is above this type of Treatment! I still remember the power storyline she had
on Santa Barabara!
Erin is either Fusion Grouped or Lavery Grouped which
bothers me because Connie Fletcher is a fantastic actress who is so under utilized.
Aidan
and Jamie haven't been anything more than eye candy. How about giving these two
a storyline. Aidan's past has barely been touched and Jamie needs a serious social
storyline. Perhaps a health crisis that would bring Tad to the brink. But then
you'd need Brooke...and she's gone. |
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 |
Next
I've seen all of the advance info that's out there for the summing up of the Greg
Madden Case. Let me say this, it's stupid and extremely irresponsible. Apparently
murder is okay in Pine Valley. First Jonathan gets off twice for killing and now
Tad. Nice message to send the viewers. Also Ms. McTavish offers that David will
go out with a BANG. Great is this a veiled attempt to tell us all that they are
killing off David. People, People have you learned nothing from the horrible attempts
in the past of reviving not only Maria but also Dixie from the dead. Why not just
have him disappear without a trace?
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
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