Old Greenlee/nuGreenlee
December 21, 2007

So it's official...the buzz is true...Rebecca Budig is back as Greenlee. Forgive me if I'm the only one in all of Soapdom not jumping up and down doing the hoochie-coochie!

Here's why...Sabine Singh never really got a chance to shine. The Writers had her come back with vengeance and then nuGreenlee steals "her" son and drives off of a cliff and is stuck in this pit for like 2 weeks...now let us fast forward...nuGreenlee is stuck in a pit with Zach. So what does this mean if anything...well friends I'll tell you what it means...THE WRITING ON THE SHOW SUCKS!!

Is it Sabine's fault that the character had issues from day one? The answer is no. And what about all of us that loved Greenlee/Aidan? This chemistry was between Sabine and Aiden Turner do TPTB think you can just stick a whole new person in there and we are going to "it's exactly the sam!".

My gripe continues. The show has had unprecedented dive in rating numbers and the scramble continues!!! So TPTB have decided to...Bring Jesse Hubbard back from the dead...bring Angie Hubbard back to town and swap Greenlees. I know many of you are jumping up and down about having one time fan favs come back to the show but before you get all excited I think caution is advised.

Lest we forget the Dixie back from the Dead only to slaughter her later with banana pancakes no less. Dixie was written horribly from day one and don't forget during this whole crash and burn scenario the writers turned the once hero Tad the Cad into the cruelest of socio-paths. For those of you who blacked out all of last year it was Tad who buried the twisted Dr. Greg Madden alive. What made this particularly cruel was he dug him up and reburied him with new supplies. Sure it was an earthquake that did in Dr. Madden but what kind of human being buries a person alive. Not to worry kiddies...Dixie forgave Tad's lack of humanity just before she died. As Tad told it recently...that he and his ex were on the way to getting married again right before Dixie died. Last I saw they hadn't even gone on that first date they were talking about!...I digress.

My point to this diatribe is that although there are great intentions where the show is concerned to bring back the Hubbard's and what not, if the writing doesn't exist these characters will go the way of frustration as so many other storylines have gone. I offer you poor Julia as an example.

Now for the biggest thorn in my side. They have money to hire endless actors on the show who have or had contracts and weren't utilized at all. e.g. Sydney was on contract and they didn't use her for 6 months before ending the contract. They've brought on so many new faces and yet if they had just pulled those salaries together they would have been able to afford Julia Barr's contract and had they written for Julia in a Jackson/Erica/Brooke story we would have been happier. Instead they don't offer her a contract and Erica leaves Jackson for the silliest of reasons and the show went from a slow slide into a free fall as the writing got worse.

I guess my point is you could bring Phoebe back from the dead and it wouldn't change the fact that the writers have lost their way. Daytime of old was about character based storylines. Not Characters supporting Storylines. If they really want to see an improvement in the ratings it's time take a moment and re-evaluate the show. Give us living stories..no more murder and mayhem...save that for GH. Give us families, love, hardship, back stabbing and romance. And all the obstacles that their lives would face. This is what will bring us back and watching.

For Christmas this year I want my AMC to get it's soul back!

Saving The Show
November 15, 2007

So All My Children has sunk so low there is nowhere to go but up...or so we hope. Here's the thing, the show can be saved but only if TPTB stop fiddling around with gimmicks and silliness and really want to do it.

Right now there is a writers strike so we all know that what ever garbage is in the can is in the can. They are going to continue along this dangerous path. So when the strike is over will things change...only if they fire the new head writers because in the six months-ish that they have been writing the show there have been only moments of anything tolerable to watch. No consistency in the writing. Mostly we've been treated to Flashbacks, Re-created Flashbacks and music montages. The show has been drowning in the baby story from Hell, the Kenlee, we'll force this storyline even if it's not working story, and my favorite fiasco Ryan/Richie/Annie weirdness. All of these topics I have Ranted about in nauseaum.

What makes the top shows top? As The World Turns has bolted up the ratings ladder for several reasons. First, Luke's relationship with Noah has brought viewers who have been looking for a connection to a character. That group of viewers is the GLBT group. Everyone has always discounted this group and yet historically they have gravitated to any gay storyline on the soaps. When Bianca came out or even this last round when Maggie came back the viewers also tuned in. Lucas came out on GH and they tuned in. Second, this show like the other top shows integrate their cast with ease. It doesn't seem forced. It's not a one shot deal it's consistent. Y&R have Kay Chancellor interacting with her newly found Grandson. Even the dead John Abbott plays a central place in the life of his son Jack. On ATWT it's Emma, Lucinda, Barbara and of course the grand Dame herself Nancy who have scenes with different characters for different reasons. They are a part of the ensemble and all of these people help move story. Emma's not in the thick of it but she's there when Jack and Carly's wedding falls apart expressing her disappointment in Carly and concern for Jack. This works for all of the audience not just the older viewers. It gives a sense of comfort and it is reasonable to believe that Emma should be there.

AMC doesn't have this comfort for the viewers. They piece together scenes that look like puzzle pieces that don't fit the puzzle. There are one or two people in each scene and when they try to incorporate more of the cast it completely over done. Why would you put eight people in a scene where only 2 or maybe 3 characters have anything to say or add to the scene? It's very uncomfortable to watch. The only time this device has worked for AMC was Jenny's Christening on the beach or Tad's Birthday. It was plausible why all of them would be together.

General Hospital is reusing a plot device that has scored them an Emmy in the past and that's the "24" theme. What works is not the 24ness of it but the fact that a great part of the cast is involved in the storyline. Each has a reason to be at the ball and all of this is wrapped around the crazy loon Zacharra running around killing people for fun. Although I'm not sure why they had Alexis have appendicitis at the same time Ric was fighting for his life. GH has reveled secrets and given extreme drama all while utilizing everyone. Tracy and Luke…Luke's heart attack…Luke and Scotty's feud…Logan/Lulu/Johnny…Jason/Elizabeth/Sam/Lucky and so many others have fueled little vignettes of their own. It is all Emmy worthy material.

OLTL gives us the cast involved in their own plots but all revolves around two plot drivers…Marcie's on the run and Asa's will. Viki's little hideaway got smaller by the second when she saw Dorian. David and Alex's wedding gave so much humor it makes me wish Tuc Watkins would stay forever! Again the cast is widely used.

Today's show is a perfect example of what's wrong with AMC. The acting is as always superb but the writing lacks everything a lead into sweeps should have. Every scene has had two or three people in. Jack and Julia…Kendall and Josh…Zach and his new friend…Rich and JR's Car…and Babe and Annie…and last but not least Ryan who I'm trying to figure out why he had to be on today…I'm still scratching my head on this one.

It's all stiff. There's nothing to it. Do I care where Zach is going? No I don't. Do I care if Richie is crazy…not really and Babe going to Annie to talk about Richie after everything they discussed…hmmm…nothing. And least I forget JR…who's drunk again. The most confusing of all is Greenlee and Aidan on the run.

If I were fixing this mess I'd start with fixing the Baby Kate fiasco. Now that Cady McClain is wrapping up her stint at ATWT I would have Dixie come back as a ghost for a short-term gig. I'd have her bring the truth out about Kathy being Kate to Tad. She could give spiritual guidance to Tad or how about help Adam give Tad back his daughter. Perhaps this would move that impasse that is Krystal/Adam/Tad story. Dre would end up being William Hubbard who ran away from his adoptive parents when he discovered the truth about them. His search for his biological parents has lead him to Pine Valley. It's time for bringing Joe and Ruth back into the fold. It's time for the replenishing of the classic families, the Tylers and Martins. Why not cast Joe's grandson JT Jefferson (Tara's son, Kelsey's brother)? Or how about some Tyler's, give Chuck an illegitimate son Chaz? What about bringing Brooke back from Siberia? So many wasted possibilities. I see that having flashbacks is so much better.

And as for those flashbacks…they only help people who've never watched the show get acquainted with the characters and the ratings are telling us two things…there aren't any new viewers and the ones they had have tuned out.

Here Endth My Rant!

Lost Chances
November 9, 2007

Kendall's scheme to send Greenlee away is an okay storyline but with Aidan and Greenlee on the verge of busting free from the law takes it to a stupid level. If I had written this silly bit of storyline I would have written that Greenlee (who has no criminal past to speak off and who's father was a former DA) was offered a plea deal with two months jail time with a plea of guilty. This could have sparked the outrage of Kendall, Zach and Erica. Wouldn't it have better served the story that Greenlee actually, yet indirectly, serves time for her crimes against Spike and still she gets the better of the unhappy trio? And there is no potential of a writing the story into a corner. The writers could build from this on the side of the couples and it would finally put an end to this baby story fiasco! I think this could have been played much more interestingly.

Hey GH is "borrowing" format to tell stories from 24 why can't AMC "borrow" format from Law & Order? What I found very odd about this tale of two crazies storyline is Jackson's indignation. His daughter confessed to him not once but twice that she kidnapped Spike. What did this officer of the court do? Kept it to himself. Sure he's a parent who wants to protect his daughter but he did it at the cost of others and now he wants those others "to pay" for putting his guilty daughter behind bars. See how that makes no sense! How about Ryan's reaction to this fiasco? He's all in Kendall and Zach's face about what's right and yet he just kidnapped a man and handcuffed him to a plane. Yep...he's the voice of the moral majority. Why does everyone on this show have to be indignant?

Right now on the show they are paying the salaries for so many characters they aren't using. Why, because lack of direction. Write for the characters and not the story I say. If you have good character development the story will come so easily but this isn't what they do. Instead they start a story with some blocks and then add to it each day...not unlike a pile of blocks once the pile gets high enough it just falls apart and what are you left with...a pile of mess. But if you give that stack structure and fortify it you can build on each every day with no fear of collapse.

Here's a solid story...Tad who's been searching for himself (aka flirting with Hannah) starts to see his life is beginning to spin out of control. With Krystal trying figure out her life with Adam, Tad is left angry, suspicious and falling into his old trappings when he murdered Greg Madden. So this should all sound familiar right about now. Here's my part. Tad finds help in the most unlikely place...Julia. The two spend more and more time together with the the girls (Kathy and Jenny). As Tad's depression is temporarily lifted by Julia and the girls distraction he's still tempted by Hannah who he knows is not good for him but he can't resist. Julia finds herself falling in love with Tad but hides it. She remembers their past as friends, Jamie and also Noah and wonders where or what this thing is that is happening to her. She also realizes that Tad could hurt her and worse her daughter Kathy if things do not work out. Hannah wants Tad and will work on Julia and Tad to get what she wants. But she doesn't give up her flings with Josh. Hannah doesn't see it at first but she actually is falling for Tad as well, but will Josh give her up?

The twist to this story is Adam. Arch rival of Tad's who wants Krystal and Jenny for himself discovers the box of papers that Amanda gave him so many months ago. He's about to toss them when he notices Kathy's adoption papers and wonders if Kathy could be Kate. It's a stretch but Adam's on the trail. When he learns the truth Adam starts to plot how to get what he wants and whether he should break Tad. If he gives Tad his daughter back he can have Krystal and Jenny in his life, if he chooses revenge against Tad he could lose what he wants most of all. Could Adam suddenly be a different man and walk away from revenge? Not to mention what this story could do to JR? He and his father have always had a rocky path what if JR had to choose between his father or the man that raised him? What if JR tries to woo Julia and finds himself the victim of his own plotting when he losses his heart not only to Julia but to Kathy as well.

All of this is driven from story already told. It's not hard to connect the dots. I'm not a professional writer...I'm a fan. If I could come up with story for just these character I could come up with stories across the board. Why can't the people who get paid good money do the same?

Here Endth My Rant!


A Time of Quiet Desperation
November 5, 2007


Why won't TPTB actually listen to the fans? I'm looking at this from a business point of view because even though it entertains us AMC is a business. It is a division of a conglomerate. So here I go.

If I was working in another business that say, had a product like plain chocolate bars and historically it was my number seller would it be in the best interest of my company to suddenly stop making plain chocolate bars in order to bring in a newer, hipper concept of say chocolate bars with peanuts? The answer would be no, it would be ludicrous and if my business failed it would be easy to point to the one thing that went wrong. It would be that I thought the public who buys my chocolate should want to have peanuts in their chocolate whether or not they actually do.

So now you have my analogy to apply the same concept to AMC. With their continuing slide in the ratings TPTB still won't listen to its consumer...The Viewers. TPTB have taken it to themselves to decide what we should WANT to watch not what we WOULD want to watch. Here in lies the issue with the show. It's management has taken a viable product and made it unrecognizable to the clientele that have historically reached for said product. And TPTB continually ignore the fact that the ratings are what gauge the shows successes and failures and right now it's failing miserably. In business, if the consumer can't find what they are looking for with you they will surely look for it in your competitor. If only Brian Frons read my Rant he would see that both he and Julie Hanan Carruthers are not up to handling of this product!

We have new head writers who have done very little since the demise of the so called McTavish Fiasco. The show is bringing on all of these new faces when really all they have to do is use the actors/characters they already have on the canvas...but they don't. The revolving door isn't going to bring new viewers unless the new actors are from other shows (e.g., Cady McClain/Roger Howarth going to ATWT). These new writers promised wonderful things but never delivered. How hard is it to write a quality storyline? This Baby mess that is just a marathon continuation of the garbage we suffered through with McT is driving the viewers away. We were given recreated Flashbacks to force us all to accept nuGreenlee, when we would have accepted her if she just had a storyline worth accepting. The truth, Sabine Singh can act...so let her.

In the matter of a few short months Wes became Richie who then got the same hair cut as Ryan as all the world revolves around Ryan. Just a note...when you screw around with something as simple as the character's name it just shows lack of direction! The women on canvas have become weak at the knees victims instead of Stand up, Kick you in the Rear, Taking control of the situation, tough women. Hannah was this strong but vulnerable woman when she first came to town. She had a hole in here heart from losing her son for the second time. Now Hannah is a shell of her former self. She left town with a secret of did she or didn't she sleep with Zach but what happened, the story fell flat (we all knew it wouldn't be like Zach to cheat on Kendall) and that confident and strong woman was reduced to being Adam's lapdog. Please! I would like to see her turn the tide on both Zach and Adam and become the "Scarlett O'Hara of Pine Valley".

If Kendall is supposed to be the heir apparent to Erica the character is fallen on her face. I would have preferred if being forced to watch something, have her experience post-pardum depression. It would have been a social storyline and given her a chance to go crazy with an end to the craziness built into the storyline. We call that treatment IRW. But no...what we got was her acting like mother of the year all the while she's got a gun (loaded or not) in her son's diaper bag. She's spends so little time with Ian it's amazing she remembers she has another child but then again he's not Ryan's child so he gets no storyline of his own, as all things must revolve around Ryan.

I love JR with Babe...they are two peas from the same pod. They should be in a storyline together...with Amanda would be cool too because poor Chrishell has been in desperate need of a storyline. It's amazing to me how JR/Babe I can watch but JR/Ava is like watching porn...very skeevey and icky!

The hardest part for me right now is that with the writers strike on and who knows how long it will last we will be force to watch all of the who-ha for the next several months. I've got an idea for February Sweeps gimmick...they have viewers offer their ideas for storylines and scripts and the winner's script gets aired!

So to sum up...I beg TPTB to see that their horrid decision as far as storylines and direction of the show are only hurting the show. It's time to step up and step out...go to SSW and see what fans really want for their favorite characters...I can guarantee it's not what they are seeing on screen now!

Here Endth My Rant

Lost My Lunch
October 30, 2007

The latest incarnation of JR is this swarthy, icky gross person. I never thought I'd say this but I miss the mean version of JR. His lusting after Ava is ludicrous. Ava…as everyone who reads my Rants knows that she is a thorn in my viewing side. So what I don't get is JR's lusting after this gross version of Lily? I can only hope the saving grace in this disgusting storyline is Amanda gets a spine and kicks some A!

The show continues to slide in the ratings. My assessment is much the same as Carolyn Hinsey of SOD…character driven storylines. The Soaps that do well, like Y&R do not let the plot swallow the cast whole. They just had a car park collapse in which the characters drove the storyline. Even on GH with their entire Mobster related who-ha it's the characters that drive the storyline. Lulu and Logan vs. their father's long time feud. Spinelli is a hoot as usual and Sonny's sparing with Zacharra while dealing with the murder of Leticia. These two shows also give us characters we know. Whether they are recasts or veterans we know them. Even though Logan is a new character we know Scotty and love to hate him.

AMC is a mess. Instead of bringing back Reggie and have him in a relationship with say…Colby…we have Dre, Corina and Ren. Three new faces on the scene with no connection to anyone (or not that we know of yet). I would have preferred the show not hire three new actors and just brought Brooke back. Simone was killed off but yet she's coming back again as a flashback? Or a ghost? Who knows…I'm just glad she's here. The show is so far adrift and I'm left scratching my head. Remember the promises made by the new head writers…um they lied! We are in this silly quagmire of a storyline of Greenlee's eggs. On the message boards they referred to them as Greenlee's green eggs and ham. Let me get this straight…She's dating Aidan but she's obsessed with having Ryan's child? Why…what could possibly be the motivation for this? Not to mention she still would have to find a surrogate to carry her child. If the HW's wanted to tell this silly tale the least they could have done was give us all a reason to believe there was a reason to tell this story. Still the stories revolve around Ryan…please give this man a vacation. I like Cameron Mathison…but what I'd like more is to have him go on a vacation.

They took Annie and made her spineless, but now she's a brunette jellyfish, I'm sure this makes all the difference. Kendall is nuts and I feel nothing for her. Why is she nuts? There's no reason for any of this garbage. Hellow she had a gun in her child's diaper bag...yep that's Mother of the Year material! The only story that makes any sense is Adam and Krystal's love. Sure he's done some despicable things but Krystal doesn't want to forgive him even if she's in love with him. The character that should have been recast wasn't Babe (no offence to Amanda Baker, she's a good actress), but the character that should have been recast was Jamie…he's got more to do with the Valley than Babe Carey.

Here's what I want to see. Strong women who aren't victims. I like Richie and would prefer him to go back to being called Wes. I would like to see Annie be as crazy as Richie and that their mind games go back a long time. Richie as the potential to be a great bad guy. You know the kind that never actually gets caught but always has a reason he's plotting and evil. David Hayward had those qualities. But still neither of these characters has history on the show.

I'd like to see the Tyler family represented on the show. The core of the show was Martin/Tyler with Myrtle as a balanced outsider. There are so many characters from the past they could bring back but instead they give us characters who marginally interesting and the HW's need to write stories that encompass the cast. Right now it's a like a puzzle that the pieces do not fit.

Let's just say I'm not sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for November Sweeps to knock me over.

Here Endth My Rant!

Brunette is the new Blonde
October 25, 2007

So now we have too many blondes on the show…how do we fix this? Oh easy, lets just dye the hair of two of the characters for no reason and then throw it in and explanation for one of the blondes. So let me get this straight…Annie dyed her hair because of this whole mess with her brother Ritchie. Okay…what ever you say!

Um also…this guy is like 20-something…you'd think he tell everyone he doesn't want to be called Ritchie any more…Let's go back to his grown up name of Wes. Of all the new characters that have been introduced he's got the most potential. The only thing I could wish for is Ritchie to kidnap Ryan for a while. I would prefer this story to only involve Annie and her brother. MC Egan is a good actress but she seems to be taking acting lessons from Cam Mathison right now…WAY OVER THE TOP. For a character who managed to keep it together long enough to have her brother sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit she's awfully whine and dependent. Why can't they just tell this story from a brother/sister point of view? Why does Ryan have to be the center of the story?

So the HW have been on board for several months and the show in my opinion is no better. The only shows I've liked so far are the ones where Ruth, Joe and Opal have been on like Tad's birthday. I want to see faces I recognize not a splattering of people I have no connection with in storylines where everyone just seems to be freaking out all the time. I'm not sure how many times I can complain about this, but since it's my website I'll complain one more time…WHERE'S THE ROMANCE!!!!

I know some folks would say it's Ryan and Annie but I'm so burned out on these two the only think I see is…two people having sex in the living room in the middle of the morning. I'm not rooting for this couple at all. I know I should be but why? Because Annie had to dye her hair or because her brother's back in town?

Oh and yesterday's twist…Hannah slept with Alexander makes no difference to the storyline at all. How is this a big secret? Okay so Ethan turns out to be Alex's son not Zach's after the two seconds of Zach being angry for being lied too then what? Not to mention Zach had a DNA test done back in 2004. Ethan's not on the show, Alex is not on the show so why would this storyline make any difference? Well, it doesn't. It would only make a difference if Hannah and Zach were in love…it would be the ultimate emotional crime…but he's in love with Kendall. And other than having one emotional scene with Zach at the cemetery pouring out his heart over Ethan's grave the story is over.

Here's what the show needs. Character driven storylines…not plot driven! The plots tend to be lame or just plain stupid and in the course of their shelf life sometimes they just start straying from the original plot and take on a monstrous life of their own. I'm a believer that if it's not working don't be ashamed to try something new.

So to sum up…YAWN!

Here Endth My Rant!

Hair Today...
October 13, 2007

So I'm not going to Rant about the usual stuff because it's boring. To sum up my past rants...The Character of Ryan is in desperate need of a vacation. Ava and JR's romp this past week in the bushes made me up chuck my lunch. I'm liking Wes/Richie right now but my fervent wish for this character is for him to kidnap Ryan during sweeps weeks and hold him hostage with Duct Tape over his mouth so he can't utter one word for two weeks...ah I can dream can't I. I used to love Annie but Ryan has taken over her storyline. It's amazing to me how the writers manage to make everything about Ryan. Don't even get me started on Kendall's Revenge story. Let's just say LAMO! Why bring on new characters if you have no use for them...stop the madness!

Moving on...There has been much chatter on the boards lately about JR's Hair. I personally like that fact that Jacob changes his style all the time. Good or bad he gives JR a freshness that he just can't get from the writing...sorry that was not nice of me but...it's true, lol. I offer this glimpse of the many stylings of JR Chandler.

JR's not the only one to change their style...check out Erica:

I've got the Kendall and Ava Blues...
October 3, 2007

I'm just not buying Kendall's "attempt" at revenge against Greenlee. Let's face it Kendall hasn't been a conniver in a long time so this attempt to give her a bit of an edge seems very contrived to me. Here's my issue...TPTB spent years turning Kendall from malicious brat to a somewhat tarnished heroine.

First off, I'm not really buying into Kendall's anger at Greenlee. Second, the Kendall of old wasn't good at sneaky. Everything she did was an impromptu lashing out. That was what was good about Kendall's dastardly deeds...she was usually the only one who got hurt. She was the wounded child who wanted attention from Erica. What then made the Rendall story work was that Ryan saw something in Kendall that she didn't. He saw beyond her pain and anger at Erica for denying her. But this story isn't working for me. It's very flat. I do not see the passion that is Kendall in this storyline. And the Kendall/Erica conversation about making Greenlee pay was kind of ...well...lame! I'll stick with this storyline but frankly right now it has me snoozing. Stop trying to recapture the old days and write some thing new. If Greenlee was still played by Rebecca Budig I think some of this would work but she's not so it's time to give Sabine Singh her own Kenlee experience.

Moving on to my #1 aggravation with the show...AVA be thy name!!!! Okay here I go...How old is Ava? Is she 19, 20, almost 21...is she younger or older than Lily??? Is she the same age as Lily??? Do I care at all about her? The answer is a resounding NO! But that said I'm tired of the age game....just say...I'm 20 or whatever age TPTB assign her. So far with Amanda she's been almost 21 then with Jonathan she's around 19...make up your mind already!

What is so odd for me is that I love the character of Lily and Rambin does such a wonderful job at playing her but when she plays Ava it's like nails on the chalkboard. It is my fervent hope that they can fix this annoying character just as they did Colby. Although I'd like Colby to be a little feistier.

What I loved was yesterday's Hannah and Tad...these two oozed chemistry. Fun, Feisty and Sexy all while playing pool! Stacy Haiduk has amazing chemistry with anyone they pair her with. I say dump Ava and lets see more Hannah!

Enough of Annie's whining about Richie...it's very old. I didn't enjoy Colby's whining...I didn't enjoy Ava's whining, I didn't enjoy Greenlee's whining so how's about TPTB write LESS WHINING in the storylines!!!

So to sum up the summer of my discontent...Enough of Ava...do something about Kendall's revenge story...More Tad and Hannah...or Hannah with anybody!

Here Endeth My Rant!

Yo Denial Boy...aka John Ryan Curry...aka Ryan Lavery
September 17, 2007

The show made reference after reference about who's to blame concerning everything that happened between Kendall and Greenlee. So I gathered my clips and everything that happened resulted from Ryan. Let me start with this little ditty from 2004. Ryan tells Greenlee he wants her to have his baby. Sure it was a really long time ago and definitely before Jonny Boy and his magic tumor. I feel this is the beginning of Rylee's baby issues.

Then Jonny came to town and Ryan's maximum denial set in as can be see here, here, here oh and...here. So then Ryan finally realizes that Jonathan is a psychotic Killer and gosh feels guilty he shot and "killed" his little brother. Ryan of course at this point turns not to his wife or friends but to fight club because of his inner demons...like whatever! So then Ryan finds out Greenlee's pregnant and he's sooooo happy that he almost punches her and when that doesn't work out he goes on a motorcycle "Death" ride...Which of course he really didn't die because the Lavery's seem to have 9 lives.

So Ryan having just learned Jonny's alive and so is Erin and has all warm and fuzzies because "they cut the bad out" of Jonny's head so he wasn't culpable for all of the murdering he did that he decides crashing his Memorial Service is a great idea even if Zach doesn't. Fast forward to the present and Ryan's all in Zach's face about who is really to blame. I think I've established that a lot happend way before Zach decided to save Kendall with the black out and that indeed this fiasco with Greenlee is his fault. Rylee had major issues even before he drove off that cliff.

Just once I'd like this guy to actually realized that SOMETHING was really his fault! But for now I'll just tag him with the moniker of DENIAL BOY!

Here endth My Rant!

Someone Wake Me When It Gets Interesting
August 28, 2007

I can't put my finger on exactly why I find the show slightly snoozy but I do. I feel like I'm watching the folks all standing around with really nothing to do. They are talking to each other but about what? Tad and Adam were arch rivals but in the 7/31 show all I saw was two guy chatting about stuff while Adam looked over his shoulder every five minutes to look at Colby. What happened to the passion?

Jack and Erica are bickering about nothing but it apparently is enough to make them not reconcile. I'm not sure why Erica wants Jackson to do another TV show so much but that scene when he gets the contract was as lame as them doing the "New Divorce". Of course this is JMHO.

I feel like I'm watching a box with all round holes and all of the characters are square pegs. There's nothing riveting going on...I would prefer if they are just going to spout lame dialogue day after day that they eat glazed donuts while doing it.

New HW's and still the same old problems. No Romance, Children's storylines, Boring storylines (Ava's busting of the Drug Dealer) and the lack of any passion in anything. Where are the rivalries? Where are the intense moments of angst? No where to be found. The closest we got to passion was Babe's talk with Greenlee about stealing Spike from Kendall.

Come on folks...you've dropped the ball and it's rolling down hill!!!!

Here Endth my Rant!

Aidan and Greenlee...A Pair Made In Boredemville
August 21, 2007

Yesterday I watched this couple chat it up at Confusion and thought to myself that I wasn't really sure why they were drinking together. Is it because they are friends? Nope, they aren't friends. Is it because he's got something on her, maybe? But what these two doves are missing is an enormous amount of something I like to call CHEMISTRY! It is true that Annie and Ryan started out on their way to Yawn City but things turned around and they aren't that bad anymore but I attribute this directly to Melissa Egan. She kind of kicked it up a notch.

Why I'm confusioned is the fact that the pairing of Josh and Greenlee worked so well. It had all of the factors needed. First Greenlee's the town pariah and secondly Sabine and Colin have CHEMISTRY! They were playful and fun together so why this sudden shift I'll never know.

There seemed to be so much promise when the New HW's started but now I just see more of the same. Another Baby Storyline...No Romance...and for some very odd reason the Teen Summer Storyline was Erica and Jackson's New Divorce and their secret getaways. Weird is all I can say...Um these characters are like almost 60 or something...grow up already!

If it were me I would have had Erica or Kendall in a Breast Cancer scare storyline. Least we forget that Mona had Breast Cancer. Maybe have had Joe have a heart attack and had Jamie or Josh the one who saved him with CPR. But what we are getting are Baby storylines. I would love to see the Cochlear Implant storyline because it could be a powerful story but they way it is going it's mared in this weird Charlatan story.

Anyway my original point before I got off topic was Dump the Greenlee and Aidan Pairing...pair him with Annie it would put a fire in the storyline and pair Greenlee and Josh.

Here Endth My Rant!

Goodbye Jamie and Babe
August 19, 2007

I will miss Jamie and Babe...yes I said I'd miss Babe too. I love the acting of Alexa Havins and really it wasn't her fault that the writing on the show was garbage and that that McT's idea was to overexpose Babe to the point we all got burnt out.

Babe was one of those characters that had her hand in alot of different pots and that's shows the strength and endurance of the character in the long run. I loved the character of Di (when she wasn't a doormat) and because she was strictly linked to Dixie she kind of floundered once her storyline was over and now, well I'll miss her too. Whereas Babe was infused in so many different storylines...her front burner stories and those of Krystal and that of the Martin's with her affairs with Jamie and Josh. Because of this she had the staying power to have sustained the less than creative mind of McT.

Jamie is another character that I liked from the start. Justin Bruening brought alot of likeablity to the character after the character was aged. Justin proved he wasn't just another hottie but a hottie how could act. And his acting got better as he was on the show.

I've no doubt we'll see Alexa and Justin again soon but until then farewell my lonesome prairie doves....

Here Endth My Rant!

Jack and Erica...The Merry-go-round
August 14, 2007

This couple gives me a headache. Don't get me wrong I love them together but what's with their lack of trying. Jackson's attention is directed toward the children so of course Erica should move out of the house. Jackson's natural reaction to Erica's moving out is to send all her stuff to her at the Valley Inn. She then sleeps with Jeff and he sleeps with Barbara and then they play the game show of "The New Divorce". And only while playing this game they find a connection that jump starts their romance. Now their daughters are at war once again and of course that is cause to get that nasty old divorce.

First let me say that I've been wondering why this ADULT couple have been acting as though they are still in Junior High? Secondly, how come they don't go to counseling or fight for each other? Their love story has been billed as the love that took 20 years to make and how easily they have been written to just give up. Is this a viral love?

The scary thing is that Jack and Erica seem to have been the Teen storyline this summer. Did TPTB poll the 18-34 demo about this?

Okay now my last kick of the day. Why is it Aidan seems to only fall for women that need to be saved? Di's being written off and that leaves Aidan without a love interest so of course yesterday has Aidan hanging out with the Destructo-girl Greenlee. Thumbs down on this pairing and thumbs up with Josh and Greenlee. Erica has hated Greenlee for years and Kendall's not thrilled with her right now either. This tension that is already built into the storyline...so why not run with it? Plus they have loads of chemistry. I just hope that the HW's get a clue and dump any ideas of a Greenlee and Aidan pairing.

Here Endth my Rant!

Jonathan...Love Sick Puppy or Scary Stalker
August 3, 2007

No secret here that I am not a fan of Jonathan and Ava. Let's knock out my obvious reason for not liking the couple. Jonny is like 30 years old and Ava is like 20 or younger. Let's move on to Ava is identical to the love of Jonathan's life Lily...who he was way too old for as well. Or maybe I've never warmed to Jonny because he murdered Edmund and got off Scott free because of his "tumor". And then he had the audacity to move into Edmund's house. Where was Ryan dispensing the great advice when this was happening? Do the Lavery's have any sense of decorum? I'll say no, they don't.

Jonny is sounding more obsessed these days and less in love. In fact he sounds just like the Jonathan that was smacking Maggie around in 2005. I'm not feeling the love, I feel repulsed by these two as a couple. Just yesterday Jonny had this line to Ava..."When I'm not with you I wanna be. When I am with you I want all of you.". That's kind of scary. Unless this is what is intended for the character I wouldn't call what he's dispensing love as much as obsession. He keeps telling Ava he's not with her because she looks like Lily which of course is an obvious crock. Ava looks and sounds like Lily but she can be touched and be sassy. She's the direct opposite to Lily. When Jonny looks at Ava he couldn't possibly not see Lily. He explanations are ridiculous. Any way you get the picture. I Do No Like This Pairing!

On a side Rant...Ian is Zach's son's name...is his middle name Thornhart? So much for the new HW's not giving us the same old song from their previous work. Will little Ian turn out to be a mini-vampire?

Here Endeth My Rant!

Reality vs. Soapality
July 31, 2007

Before I start my usual Rant I want to acknowledge the positive changes on AMC right now. I love the PVH exterior shots. The camera work should get the MOST IMPROVED award because things are much better.

That said I'm having the reality vs. soapality clash. Greenlee was involved in a major car accident and she signs out AMA from the hospital. I've had a collapsed lung and let me tell you the pain alone would have you begging for demoral. Then there is the fiasco I like to call Fusion. They are trying to salvage the companies campaign because they weren't able to pimp it out at the launch in New York. Hello I think the issues isn't with missing the launch as much as it is with the fact that a co-owner and founding member was plastered city, county and state wide on the television regarding an AMBER ALERT. The insinuation of kidnapping a baby would be, at least in my opinion, more of a major blow than missing a launch in New York.

Also what bugged me was Kendall's brother goes to Greenlee to make sure she's okay? I suppose it makes some sense in Soaplity and I know it's to help move this pairing along but I've got issues with it...I just chalk it up to his once being an unaborted fetus.

Over all I'm really happy with the show. I know it's in flux and there will be many bumps in the road starting with the exit of Kelli Giddish/Di Henry. She's always been a favorite of mine but I have no doubt that Kelli will do well in her next endeavor. She's very talented.

My wishes and dreams list for the show would be less Fusion; this company should have gone under a long time ago. I'd like to see them develop a place where everyone can hang out...sort of like BJ's and have one of them main cast members being the proprietor of the establishment. I like that Krystal owns the bar in town so I'd like to see a restaurant too. No more Ava...Babe begging her to be the face of Fusion was beyond annoying and I'm sorry she's not that great. What's worse is Ava/Jon or Lily/Jon...enough with these pairings. I'd like to see Jonathan faced with dealing with his murdering past. Least we forget that he killed Terry McDermott way after the tumor was removed. I think the viewers would like to see him understand that living at Edmund's house is wrong. Maybe have some scenes where Jon goes to the mausoleum and talks to Edmund's grave. It's time to incorporate more of the romance into the daily shows. I didn't like Ryan and Annie together at first because they are boring but I really feel like Melissa Egan has stepped it up a bit and Ryan is being toned down a bit and I'd like to see him not be so whispery and grabbing his chest so much. The over acting can kill a scene so quickly that it turns off the viewer for longer than just that one scene. One last thing...enough of the music montages for a while. I love the MM as much as the next gal but AMC has been saturated with them. I'm not saying get rid of them...just give it a rest.

Anyway...I'm happier with the show than I have been in a long time. Here Endth My Rant!

A New Dawn in the Valley
July 27, 2007

So the new head writers are now getting credit on screen which is good because we were all wondering when this would happen.

First let me say that while watching yesterday's show (7/26) I was happy to see that they finally figured out what the steady cam was supposed to be used for. Before the only movement in the scene was the shaky cameras. But alas they finally figured out what movement in a scene is about. Joe working, moving about the floor with Erica following behind him dogging him with questions about Kendall. Kendall on her way to surgery to give birth to her baby and seeing Spike brought into the ER after the accident. All moving the scene, sweeping us along while the action takes place. I was so happy seeing these scenes because it gave me hope that the show (especially on the technical side) is also moving in the right direction.

Although I'd like to see no more baby storylines I know that this B/S had to play out. Hopefully this won't be the focus of the next 13 weeks, hopefully.

When I was on the boards everyone was going on about the over the top performances by Kendall (Alicia) and Ryan (Cameron) but I just want to say that this direction comes from…well the director. Over the top, sure was but that's why the call it Daytime DRAMA, lol.

Ryan's heartache is Ryan's to own because he set everything in motion from the conception of Spike to Greenlee taking off and the accident. I hope they play on this more because Ryan has been King of Denial since coming back to Pine Valley in 2003. From Greenlee's messing with Ryan and Kendall's relationship during the trial, to Jonathan's rampage to Greenlee's greed storm when she returned to PV all has been because of Ryan's actions. I'd love to see him finally understand that this entire centrifugal mess was his doing and that he finally understands that his actions have a series of consequences. I think this would be the perfect time to fix the Ryan character and give him back his layers.

When Ryan first came to town he was a con man and it was Liza's blackmail of Ryan that got him to marry Gillian who became the greatest love of Ryan's life. I'd like to see a little more of Ryan's early vulnerability and less of Ryan's Hero Complex. Or explain his Hero Complex as something he developed because he couldn't save Gillian. Melissa Egan's Annie would play wonderfully into this storyline and Annie would get to learn something new about Ryan.

Honestly, I hope that all the episodes are as good as 7/26's show because to got to the root of the show and played into the title of the show no matter which generation. Jack worried for Greenlee, Erica worried for Kendall who worries about her boys, Zach and Ryan worrying about their children. Well Done!

So what don't I like you ask…well thanks for asking…I'm upset with the dismissal of Kelli Giddish. I always liked Di Henry and unfortunately she got caught up in the lack of imagination of the HW. I'm really bummed out thought. Maybe they will send her to LA to hang out with Mia…apparently LA is the place one sends old Fusion employees, lol.

The New Improved Colby Marian Chandler
July 19, 2007

Finally Colby has evolved. I'm hoping that some of the other characters will become more than one dimensional. Colby went from a whining teenager who believed she was entitled to everything to a person who can see the other side of the street. And this people is a good thing. It shows the character can change and evolve and well be human and not a plastic version of a teenager.

I'd like see Colby keep her edge but so far she's headed in the right direction. What I like is this is the woman Liza would have raised. She's still Adam's daughter and should of course get into trouble but I'd like to see that trouble be for all the right reasons. Remember Simone was always doing something wrong but not to be malicious. Maybe Colby can have a melt down for something she thinks happened. Actually I'd like to see Colby and JR go at it and not for some lame reason like "you wife is having an affair". There are lots of possibilities for this character now that she's stopped shrieking.

I'm not thrilled with the Ava character. Do we need to constantly be reminded she's the whore version of Lily?

I'm looking for the romance...where's the romance kids? Also where is the teen storyline...Hello the kiddies are headed back to school in a couple of weeks and frankly I'm not looking forward to the Teen storyline starting in late august. My philosophy is when the summers over it's adult swim time.

I must say this...this is the first time I've ever heard of a head writer being fired and no one hired for weeks after the firing. You've got to love that Hierarchy...I personally believe it's time that one of those focus groups surveys the Management...now that would be an interesting read.

Here Endeth My Rant!

I'm Not Fusioned...just unhinged
July 18, 2007

Where are the new writers? So far the on the show I have seen an entire storyline wrapped around a company that should have gone out of business a long time ago. I mean seriously did anyone see that latest promo they all watched at Kendall's? If they were selling themselves fine but HELLO there were no cosmetics in that add...If my company was floundering as theirs is, you know with being taken over like 3 times in three years I would be hocking the goods. Also of interest is that Erica had Chemist Boyd Laraby develop her products but it's Kendall and Greenlee developing their products in the kitchen of a condo...I'm confusioned!

So summer sweeps is being wrapped around yet another Baby storyline...oops 2 baby storylines. Spike's injured because of Greenlee and Kendall's bun-in-the oven is having issues and Fusion's trip to New York. YAWN!!!!!

Erica, Erica, Erica...Dear Erica...you are not 20 but the writers didn't get that memo. I love the bringing Jack and Erica back together (considering I'm not really sure why they were even getting a divorce?) but I would have preferred them coming together over something tragic or insightful instead of Erica's "New Divorce" scheme. The reconciliation is as lame as Erica's reasons for separating from Jackson!

So far all I've loved about the show this summer was seeing Ruth...hey everybody she's back from the cruise! And this clip of the Fusion Girls actually having fun. Watching Melissa Egan dancing around having fun was a wonderful change from her whining about Greenpea and Ryan.

Oh and last but not least...Jonathan has sex with Lily...oops...Ava and can't figure out what is wrong with her...he needs Di to point it out for him. Sure being clueless is a Lavery trait but I've had it with this entire storyline...it's disgusting and not the least bit interesting! Jonny was better off with Amanda or Annie but to bring a Lily look-a-like to town for him to use as a stand in for his autistic ex-wife is gross!

Here Endeth My Rant!

Why Jonny Boy Bugs Me?
July 11, 2007

I have to get this out because it's been building up inside. I love, love, love Jeff Branson I think he's a wonderful actor but the writing for Jonathan drives me crazy. First he's a mass murder who gets off because of diminished capacity. Then he's married to Lily who is too young for him. Followed by moving into Edmund's house...you know the Edmund that was part of his murdering spree and now he's having sex with a Lily look-a-like who according to Del carding Ava she's not even 21 yet. So besides looking like Lily she's also too young for him. I want to rally around Jonathan because of Jeff's incredible acting but the ick factor just keeps me away!

Speaking of Ava's age. So how old is she? Lily's 19 so what's Ava 20? Just wondering and looking for clarity.

Here endth my Rant!

Filling in Time…
July 5, 2007

I have to comment on yesterday's episode. Instead of a picnic in the park and fireworks we were treated to Fusion's version of a fun holiday. Honestly I zoned out right about the time they were on the yoga mats meditating. I will say this though; the dialogue at times was funny.

As the ratings slide again I wonder what TPTB will do to stop the tied. Perhaps they will throw more mass murders at us. It brought the viewers back to see which of their favorite characters/actors were getting the boot.

Why can't they write a storyline like Tad getting drunk and waking up naked with Amanda? Then going to his newest gal pal Julia (whom he's been getting close to over some time). It would be a flirt fest for Tad and Amanda much to the dismay of the town's folks. JR would be angry of course and Julia would wonder what was up with this midlife crisis of Tad's. It would bring Tad back to his roots as a womanizer. The real romance though would be that of Tad and Julia. As Julia tries to save Tad from himself and JR the two grow closer and closer. And what seals the deal for the two in the romance department is when someone comes to town to lay claim to Kathy. Tad starts investigating for Julia and discovers the Greg Madden connection to Kathy and out of desperation has a DNA test run on the girl with his own discovering that Kathy is his child. Tad elated in discovering his long lost child proceeds slowly not sure what to do next since he loves Julia and has seen her torment at losing her "child". He saves Kathy from the claims of her long lost aunt, who is less than a model citizen, with the help of Livia who forms a law firm with her pal Jack Montgomery.

A storyline like this would have us hating Tad because Amanda is old enough to be his daughter and cheering on Julia and Tad's relationship. Tad and Julia would have a big payoff. Friends who become lovers…eventually. Tad wanting his child but not wanting to destroy the lives of Julia and Kathy. Tad living with the relief his daughter is alive and well cared for and living in Pine Valley where he can see her every day is enough to sustain him for the moment. Also not sharing his wonderful news at finding his daughter "Kate" with anyone has it's own toll. Not to mention the second part of the storyline where he proposes to Julia and she discovers the truth on her own and feels used and betrayed. Love can win over all the adversity but look at the road. Not to mention Amanda, the wildcard in all of this storyline. Will she be happy to give up the security Tad offers? Would she give up JR during this whole escapade? What would she do to get what she wants? Amanda comes from a shattered family so this "father complex" lover would make total sense.

I can think of lots of storylines for the show as can ever soap fan out there but what we are offered by TPTB are focus group suggestions on the garbage that is already shot and in some cases already aired. As Carolyn Hinsey has been lamenting for, oh about two years now, get back to telling compelling storylines. Go back to the families and tell stories that use the cast and do not sacrifice the older actors completely.
Most people will tell you that they have fond memories of watching the shows or "Stories" with their grandmothers after school or their mothers or in the case of my family their brothers and sisters. We all started watching with our mother and one of my aunts. I have a brother who follows Y&R and one that watches GH. I remember watching Luke and Laura's wedding, Chris Brooks' (Y&R) Rape, ATWT going to Almalfi, Edmund kidnap Erica, a pregnant Vicki kneeling at Joe Riley's grave (OLTL) and Stone Cate's dying of AIDS on (GH), and Brent as the cross dressing killer on GL. So lets get back to the basics kiddies!

Here Endth My Rant!

Raindrops on Roses…
June 26, 2007

I've been feeling odd about the show lately. It's kind of weird for me to keep watching even though I'm not really into it. Over the weekend I was watching old shows. Sure, McT wrote them, but it was early McT and it must have been her best work on the show. Right now I'm not sure what's going on with the show. All hail Greenpea the "new" Babe. I feel bad for Sabine Singh because she's a great actress but TPTB are doing everything in their power to SHOVE the nuGreenlee down our throats. Complete with remade scenes for flashbacks. I'm not sure why those were important. Why tell that story again? What did we gain? It couldn't have been for the benefit of all those "NEW" viewers because AMC slipped again in last week's ratings. And yesterday's "All Hail nuGreenlee" was too much. Kendall worships her; Babe thanks her for destroying her…um color it stupid!

Why is it that TPTB won't listen to the people who watch the show? Or how about listening to the Writers of the Soap Mags? Romance, Old time favorite characters and interesting storyline will get the old fans back and hopefully some of them well bring friends. Instead (I know we are seeing shows between HW's) it's a Blah.

I've wondered for months, if not longer, what the show would be like under another Executive Producer? I've been watching GH for the last couple of months and this show is consistently good. They don't fill in with the bi-weekly music montage they just tell compelling storyline. Like ATWT they use a lot of their cast. Old or young they make it work by integrating the characters in fun, and dramatic storyline. When they added Spinelli to the cast they added me as viewer. I love humor on shows to balance out the drama and how balanced does Spinelli make the "Innocent One's" kidnapping storyline…um way. Why can't AMC do this? And when the heck are we going to see what the nuHead Writers are writing?

Moving on…I've had issues (I know you're shocked!) with certain things. Like Di inviting Ava (admitted criminal) to move into Wildwind. Let's just get past the fact that Julia's sister Maria doesn't own the house. Here children do and Brooke (remember her) is executor of Edmund's estate. Also get past the fact that Julia invited Edmund's murderer to live in his house. What I can't get past is Jon talking about the mausoleum to Ava when describing the grounds (see clip). So how come Jonny Boy didn't mention to Ava that a man he murdered is buried in said mausoleum?

I have to mention that I love how natural Alexa Havins is with the babies on the set. When everyone was awkward with Baby Jenny Alexa was so naturally able. You can see how sweet she is just by how she treats Little A and Baby Jenny.

So what happened to Ryan and Annie? Since when did these two get chemistry? Perhaps it was when Annie got a spine. Their honeymoon scenes were very fun and sexy and it's like night and day from where they were. Way to go Melissa and Cameron, good for you.

Why I Love Zach
June 19, 2007

So I'm watching yesterday's show and it hit me that Zach is the only one with a working brain. Greenlee has been wrecking havoc on the lives of Kendall and Ryan since returning to Pine Valley after her 18 month sabbatical. So of course it makes proper sense to integrate the crazy person into your lives out of guilt.

Ryan goes to hand Spike over to Greenlee, you know to make her feel better. Kendall stops him and gives the baby to Greenlee herself and of course miss thing goes into overload data dump. How come Zach is the only voice of reason in this scenario? He questioned Ryan as to why he would make Kendall do this and of course Kendall defends Ryan's decision as her own. But Zach was correct when he told Ryan that they need to give Greenlee her own life not theirs. Ah the voice of reason.

I also liked that Annie is not laying down and being a floor mat. So far since Melissa Egan has come on board she's been a victim. This is the Annie that I can get behind, the new Annie, the you can't have my man Annie!

The scenes with Amanda and JR were great too. The writing is better but the storylines are lack luster. I'm hoping things with get better once the new head writers are in place. But as I've said before, when you spend years waiting for it to get better, one isn't inclined to just hand over ones trust so easily.

What I'd like to see from the new HW's is sort of what they do over at ATWT. In Oakdale we see all generations with all kinds of problems. Lucinda talks to Bob about losing her company and is comforted by Lisa. These two do not like each other. And the children (and these are children playing children) have their own real storylines Faith has an eating disorder, Luke is gay, Parker and JJ's parents are screwing them up. Every day we see different characters on screen. On AMC we've been handed day after day Ryan Lavery and Babe Chandler. I went from liking these characters to being severely annoyed by them. The entire cast of AMC seems to be supporting 3 characters, Ryan, Babe and Erica. So if you weren't fans of any of these characters why would you watch? Just throwing that out there for the new HW's to take a look out.

The word is diversify. AMC has one of the most talented casts in any venue (Primetime or Daytime) so how about using them in compelling stories?

Here Endth My Rant!

Jackson's Fatherly Approach
June 14, 2007

What's with Jackson's laid-back Daddy bit? I'm very confused. Clearly his daughter is on a bender that could have possible BAD repercussions for not only other people but for Greenlee herself. She's on a one-way destructive ride and Jack seems to be on his laid back, California tye-dyed t-shirt mode of Fathering.

I get it…mostly because that's all anyone talks about…Greenlee's hurt, Greenlee's feeling betrayed...blah, blah, blah. So the answer to getting Greenlee to grow up and act older than five is for her ex-husband and her father to give in to her tyrannical demands?

Here's what I'm thinking…the MASTER PLAN went boom…how about moving forward instead of backward. As a viewer I'd like to see the end to a story that was over 18 months ago and to know why exactly is it important to revisit what was a lame storyline to begin with. And they aren't just revisiting they are shoving it down our throats with a shovel!

Throw in yesterday's Fusion bonding over the possible distributor pull out and I'm even less inclined to care about this storyline. Kendall could really take a page from Babe because nothing stood between her and her children (Bess and Adam). She was the master manipulator. Instead Fusion is comprised with Kendall (betrayed Greenlee), Babe (The baby stealer), Di (The con artist) and Greenlee (they psychopathic brat). It sure makes me want to buy cosmetics from this mutant crew!

In short…Greenlee and Ryan never had true love (Ryan and Gillian did) and Annie needs to put a hold on her man. Mostly because he's so puffed up by his own ego that he might float away. Kendall needs to let Zach take care of Greenlee!

Ps. Did anyone see the Fusion Green Promo? There wasn't one cosmetic in that ad…but there was a lot of green. They wonder why the company is going belly up!

Here endth my Rant!

Spike lives in a Commune!
June 13, 2007

Okay so Ryan's got a great idea to announce to the warring Kendall and Greenlee. His genius plan? To share Spike with a woman who is using his son as a WEAPON! A Woman who has done nothing but strike out at him and Kendall since coming back to town after an 18 months absence! A woman who's central theme in life is "It's All About Me". This is such a great plan…if you're brain dead! I'm not really all that sure that Ryan has a brain. For me he's much like that Scarecrow fella from the Wizard of Oz.

Thankfully there are voices of reason in this storyline (Annie and Di). First let me say. I have never, ever, ever liked AMC's approach to baby storylines and well…still loathe it. Now moving on, Ryan's great plan is to allow Greenlee to be another mother to Spike. Kendall points out that Spike has two mommies. Annie, RYAN'S WIFE is Spike's step-mom as it should be just like Zach is Spike's step-dad. What's next Ryan builds a commune for them all to live in?

Ryan goes on and on about if it weren't for Greenlee we wouldn't have Spike. Funny I thought Spike was a child not a possession to be passed about at a whim of guilt. Ryan shouldn't have anything to do with this child either, in my opinion!

Moving on to Ava/Lily…First, Jonathan is now sniffing around Ava because she's the sexual version of Lily. ICK FACTOR 10! I still have the same issue I had before…Ava is what 20 and Jonny is like 30ish…Go back to Amanda already! And then on the Ava/Sean side she's like 20 and he's like 17 or 18. Maybe they are going for The Mass Murderer and his Dame! It's all just giving me a headache. Also…who is paying Ava's cell phone bill?

On the upside…I like Colby a lot more every day. Once the toned down the shrill I felt we all got to see that Ambyr had a lot to offer the character of Colby. Good Job!

When is Cameron Mathison going on vacation? No offense to the actor but I'm soooo tired of seeing Ryan on the canvas every day. Enough already.

Here Endth My Rant!

GH You Never Looked So Good!
June 11, 2007

So here's my breakdown because I'm just not all that into the show anymore; The nuGreenlee, Sabine Singh is a wonderful actress and like poor Ambyr Childs is being directed and the character written to shrill like a dentist's drill. I get that Greenlee is hurt and frankly the storyline of what Greenlee is doing is direct of the character but I just can't takes weeks on end of WHINING!!! Poor Greenlee has no baby, poor Greenlee has no friends or husband or family that loves her as much as her friend/sister Kendall. Get over it already.

My second discontent is that historically AMC has not been good at introducing characters onto the landscape. Dixie skulked around in PUBLIC yet told everyone she came into contact with she didn't want to be seen. As was the issue with her death. Her last dying words to her beloved son were give Tad his baby, Krystal's baby or something to that ilk. Pleazzzze!

Moving on, I've never liked the "Baby" storylines on AMC and lets face it the canvas has been littered with them over and over. I guess for every person slaughtered by a mass murderer we got 2 unknown paternity/maternity. Of course who could forget the 2004 fiasco of Miranda's dead long live Bess, 2006 Kendall's Baby not Greenlee, 2006 Emma's a Lavery (Miraculously since Annie lived in NY at the time the clinic she used was in PV), Kathy Mershon is Kate Martin, now Julia's pregnant (which I actually like) and Spikey in the Air who's my parent now! (Don't forget Julia wanted to adopt the lad at one time too).

So what's my point? My point is these baby storylines are just opportunities for Characters to spew dialogue. They are NOT character driven. Other than feeling this is something Greenlee would actually do as a character by suing for Spike for me there's nothing beyond that.

I wish that first, JHC would LEAVE but beyond that how come AMC can't write characters we would weep over, worry about or just plain care about. For me I have no connect to any of the characters on screen other than Zach and Kendall. They have an amazing group of Actors on the show but the writing is so BLAH! Over at GH they have fun, intense and interesting stories being told. I love Spinelli…he's smart and stupid at the same time…silly and has his own language. He gives me a laugh dead smack in the middle of a serious storyline, Comic Relief! But they also use the history of the show to give us a child's (Lulu) devastation at learning the father she loved had at one time raped her mother. The exchange was perfect. It gets to the route of the Spencer's.

AMC has characters that have either been so front burner that I'm tired of seeing them or some newby that makes no sense why they are front burner. I know there are new writers in place and I should be patient but TPTB have been asking for my patience for about 3 years now and I'm tired of being patient.

All I want are characters with substance (existing characters), family interaction and LOVE/ROMANCE. Is it too much to ask or hope for?

The last of my issues is Hannah Nichols…I thought there would be great things from her and no ooner had she arrived than she left town after a crying jag and a possible snog with Zach. Wham, Bam thank you ma'am! See ya.

Here Endth my Rant!

HELP ME…I'M IN OVERLOAD!!!
June 3, 2007

Okay…I'm fuming…My head is on fire!!!! I saw the clues while watching the show but I thought TPTB would never in a million years run the same crappy (and I hate to use that word) but yes CRAPPY! Storyline that is going on over at Days of Our Lives! That was until I saw the promo for next week on SoapNet just now. I couldn't believe it…I'm still in shock. Why, oh WHY would TPTB have the writers write this stupid storyline over here at AMC that by the way is so stupid, useless and most of all ridiculous! The storyline I mention is Greenlee suing for custody of Spike. This storyline just ran and is still in the throws of running on Days, which by the way is second to last in the Ratings!

Was it not bad enough that we suffered through the transplanted aborted fetus garbage, Now THIS!

We all know the outcome of this silly escapade. Kendall and Greenlee had a contract verbal or otherwise. Still no court in reality or otherwise would take a biological child from his biological mother after one year of living together because of a "contract". Also lets not forget that Ryan was not part of this fiasco so he would have rights. Let's just say that this forces another DNA test that proves that Ryan isn't Spike's father and it's either Greg or Zach. Let just say that this is brought out in court (ugh another court case of lameness proportion) reality is Greenlee abandoned the child when she left and as custodial not to mention biological parent of Spike CASE DISMISSED!!!!

The First thing I want to know is, is this kind of storytelling we will have from our new team of writers? Please tell me it's not so?!?

I've got one last question to put out into the void that is the internet…why do they want to make us all stop watching our soaps?

Here Endth My Rant!

What Really Happened….
May 29, 2007

Okay so I decided to do the research on this whole Greenlee's back in down. It seems I was wrong about Simone's shares going to Miranda. As you can see by this clip what Miranda got was a trust fund that Ethan had given Simone with no mention of stock. The same goes for the clip of Babe becoming Fusion's newest partner. No mention of clauses or iron clad or anything like that.

This was part of the "recaps" on the AMC website which I think started all of the confusion about Simone's shares. "12/12/06 - Ryan informs Bianca that Simone left her shares of Fusion to Miranda." Yet there wasn't any actual mention of the shares.

So the writers didn't rewrite storyline but that said why would Simone leave Greenlee her shares of Fusion? Simone was really angry about being screwed over by Greens as seen in this clip. It's also kind of lame that Greenlee put in that clause about stop loss since that was the point of giving her shares of Fusion to Babe. It was in the letter to be read out loud.

So I was wrong and I admit it but regardless of being wrong it was a lame introduction. Sure not as lame as Dixie's return but still lame notwithstanding.

Greenlee's History Lesson.
May 25, 2007

Do I really need Greenlee to give me a history lesson on what has happened on AMC in the last 2-3 years? It was horrible enough watching it the first time I think. She went on...and on about everyone's faults in town at Confusion and then asked why she's not forgiven. Hello...forgiven for stealing Fusion? Forgiven for being so sneaky that you had your husband arrested at his wedding. The wedding that he tought was legal but wasn't. And what now you want everyone to love you. Buzz off little butterfly because I watched this garbage with Colby just a year ago and I didn't like her much then either.

And enough of the remade flashbacks...they are horrible.

Why is it so difficult for this writing team to write a good bad guy? It seems they only time they can craft a bad guy is when his a mass murderer.

The only thing I liked yesterday was Tad, Opal, Jamie, Joe and Krystal at the bar. It was great to see a lot more of Opal these days. The show can use her balance!

Here Endth My Rant!

Rewriting the Rewritten?
May 23, 2007

So nuGreenlee is a spitfire with little aces up her sleeves and we are all just stupid and never watch the show!

My first portion of this Rant about yesterday's show is going to be the fact that Simone's shares were left to Miranda because Ethan loved her so. Second of course would be nuGreenlee's sudden stop loss clause in her contract to give Babe her shares. What makes this stupid is the fact that Greenlee's whole point of giving Babe the shares was that she would tank Fusion and Kendall would be left with nothing. So to have a stop loss clause would defeat the entire purpose of giving Babe the shares of the company to begin with! Third, Palmer Cortlandt still owns the building that Fusion is in and I would think he would side with Kendall and not nuGreelee. But this I'm sure is just assumed with the "Revisionists".

You know what just gets my craw? The fact that the writers are so lazy as to not do any research for the stories they are writing. Whether the writers are new or have just been medicating themselves doesn't sway me in the least because I know they are putting in very little effort into the show. Have they been zap of all creativity? It reminds me of the Dixie storyline when she came back to town...this long drawn out, far fetched evil doer plot that was silly at best and at worst was about everything the character would have never done. Or the horrible Bianca and Maggie breakup which could have been written to have them amicably separating but no the writers destroy the couple that fans came to invest in.

What also bugs me is that nuGreenlee hasn't evolved at all in 2 years. She's annoying...alot like Colby was when she first came to town!

Here Endth My Rant!

New Writers...Same Bad Storytelling?
May 22, 2007

So today it was announced by the Destroyer Brian Frons the new head writers will be Barbara J. Esensten and James Harmon Brown. One would think I would be thrilled by the announcement of a new Head Writer but after suffering with they horrendous writing of Megan McTavish for years on end I'm leery of anything that Mr. Frons offers as a wonderful event!

"We're thrilled to welcome this talented team back to ABC," Disney-ABC honcho Brian Scott Frons said in a statement. "They're known for telling compelling stories that take characters and viewers on a great emotional ride, and their creative vision promises to continue the show's tradition of cutting-edge storylines. Fans can expect an exciting summer in Pine Valley and can look forward to even more of the romance and intrigue they have come to love and look for on All My Children."

"Combined with their ability to take creative and emotional risks, Barbara and Jim write with commitment to character integrity and honesty," added AMC executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers. "I look forward to working with them again and welcome them to All My Children."

I'm going to start with this quote. "Fans can expect an exciting summer in Pine Valley and can look forward to even more of the romance and intrigue they have come to love and look for on All My Children." Umm...well...there hasn't been any romance on AMC in years. In 2005 Erica and Jackson got married and then started to implode almost immediately. Babe and JR as a romance? Well these too are Mata Hari and Jack the Ripper. Aidan and Di only have sex there is zero romance and the same goes for practically all of the other couplings over the last several years. Mr. Frons would have us believe that Ryan and Annie are the end all and be all of Romance...I raise my hand an say Nay to this. They are a cute couple but I can't say I care one way or another if they are together. In fact I would prefer to see Annie with someone like Tad Martin than to see her with Ryan. JMHO. So that leaves us with one Couple. Zendall....always Zendall. So from his royal crappiness I'm to expect...the same crap as when Megan McTavish was at the helm?

So once the news broke on the new HWers I immediately started to Google. Here's what I came up with:

I'm thinking that JHC put this dynamic duo up for the gig and I'm not a big fan of hers. I've got no choice in the matter as to who they put in as Head Writer but having survived a boycott of several months of the show I know that if things go from bad to worse I'll survive the loss of my favorite hobby and show All My Children. So I wait to see what this new writing team will come up with and hope and pray it's not more of the same violent garbage we've been berated with.

Here Endth My Rant!

A New Dawn in the Valley
May 10, 2007

So now that my boycott is officially over can I say I'm actually liking the material that's been airing the last week.

At first I wasn't a big fan of Ryan and Annie. I thought they lacked chemistry and their romance seemed extremely unbelievable and unappealing. But in the end I was won over by Melissa Clare Egan's wonderful acting. Her scenes with Lucy (aka Emma) are priceless and she seems to have connected with Alicia (aka Kendall) which allows us to see another side of Kendall instead of the nut case who didn't want Ryan to be with anyone.

I really gave it some thought as to why I wasn't happy with the coupling of Ryan and Annie at first and it came to me...They had no angst. There was nothing to deride their romance, which of course, is typical soap fashion. And this is what makes this couple even more special. Sure now that Green Pea is back with her little green butterfly pin and Dynamite Kiddo Ring there will be trouble ahead for this couple but how about that a wedding that was just filled with love and...dare I say it....ROMANCE!!!

Hannah and Josh are two characters that have chemistry. Hot and bothered, these two have issues beyond issues and the fact they had steamy sex at the office just adds to those issues. How classic was it when after Hannah has sex with Josh she buttons her shirt and is all business? And Josh's response was even better. I do believe the Game is afoot ladies and gentlemen! This should be very entertaining.

Ava, Ava, Ava well she's causing complications but I'm not so sure we really needed a slutty version of Lily. Having said that, something needs to happen between Colby and Sean. I love that Colby has stopped whining and she and Sean have this great bond. Sean is...well, he's a typical guy so to be shocked he slept with Ava...umm...not! Now we wait to see the fall out of Colby Marian Chandler's response to Ms. Thing herself, Ava Benton.

I'm giving the NuGreenlee a chance to shine before I comment on her but I will say this...they say we all have doubles out there...well this girl comes very close to Rebecca's double. Nice Casting! And I actually fibbed I do have one comment but it's not about the actress it's about the dialogue. Why was it important to use the "Kenlee" term more than once. We get it they are friends but what's next Kendall will run around referring to she and Zach and Zendall and NuGreenlee will embrace Ryan and try to make him remember the days when they were the incredible Rylee?

Janet how I will missed you. Kate Collins his just a blast of fresh air. She's wonderful to watch and I actually felt bad for her over the Jenny Kidnapping and was even more touched when a seemingly angry Tad turned to Janet and thanked her for giving him his daughter back and keeping her from the strangers that would have taken her away forever. That's the Tad I miss and was hoping would come back one day!

You know what else was just groovey? I love the scene yesterday with Zach in a baseball cap and Kendall stressing over Greenlee in the kitchen over coffee. It was natural. It's how couples actually dialogue IRL. Over breakfast, over dinner, in the car on the way to the mall or the children's baseball game. This was an air of reality that was fun to watch. The term Super Couple is the perfect title for Zach and Kendall!!!

There has been one itch that I just can't scratch and it's the fact that Megan McTavish's scripts are still airing long after her dismissal. It's been over two months and I haven't heard of a new head writer being named. Perhaps I missed it but I haven't seen anything on the net and you would think it would rate a page in Soap Opera Digest or Soap Opera Weekly? I'll tell you what my fear is here...that McT's ghost writing the show. It's been done before on other shows and there has even been a time when the head writers name appeared and someone completely different has been writing the show. Either way I like to know who's writing the material. Any way I wish Mr. Frons and Ms JHC would let the fans in on what's going on.

So to close I'm happier than I've been in months, nay over a year so I'm just going to ride the wave and enjoy the moment!

Here Endth My Rant!


I'm back……
April 23, 2007

I stretch and yawn and am now ready to begin another Rant! This week marks the end of the Bianca and Zoë fiasco. To quote another disgruntled fan…"goodbye and good riddance!" And shortly behind these two I'm hoping to see the end of Megan's scripts. I do realize that Management will continue to use all the scripts she had in the hopper but really they should just burn the hopper with her scripts in it!

Everyone knows how I feel about the destruction of the character of Bianca, as if making her a bi-sexual wasn't enough she was the Zen Master of Pine Valley. Second only by her spiritually enlightened child! * Pause * Sorry I had to go be sick!

It's too bad that the writers didn't just focus on Zoë's storyline and not link it to this absurd romance with Binx. Heck Binx's wake up call should have been her mother's acceptance of her relationship. And how come Kendall is the only one who was concerned that her sister was getting in way over her head? Okay…moving on!

I'm a fan of the sets, wardrobe and the such and every once in awhile I wonder if they are drinking…I offer exhibit A and B.

And for my Next Song...D.I.V.O.R.C.E....

Color is BAD...Down with Color...

Why is it that Erica has suddenly morphed into Tammy Wynette? And since when did Fusion take on the Puritan line. The Monochromatic world of Fusion is just plain scary….Be afraid, be very afraid!

Okay…Colby…Finally they've given Ambyr Childs a chance to act not whine! The whole delivering Krystal's baby was a fresh move (I'm glad it wasn't another rain storm cabin delivery). Colby never had anyone believe in her abilities until that defining moment. This S/L was well executed right down to giving the baby Colby as a middle name. In fact the whole stripping of Adam was well done. It was plausible and believable. Adam has always been vindictive but in the scene where he abandons Krystal he leaves her with his cell phone. So it wasn't completely heartless. And when his children abandoned him, well it was a perfect sequence. Adam has always defined his life by his family and family loyalty. It brings back the memories of when Adam though Stuart was dead (he wasn't he was living in a trailer with Ester).

Hey look at that…I actually praised the show!

I'm grouchy about the scene where Jonny rants about Justice for Erin at the hearing for Alexander. Dude you are a serial killer who got off because of deminished capacity...can you say KARMA! Oh and poorly written. They should have gone the LAW & ORDER route instead of someone trying to Kill Alexander because does anyone really care if Alexander bites the dust? That whole story was lame and violent and I wish it would just stop already!

So here's my last bit…and it has to do with Ambyr Childs. Why are they starving this poor child? She looked healthy when she first joined the show and now they've slimmed her down.

BEFORE

AFTER

Why to promote Bulimia and Anorexia to the viewers? I apologize if this was Ambyr's decision to lose weight for her own reasons but I suspect it was some focus group…you know that same type of group that told Korean-American Actress Margaret Cho that her face was to round. Like she can do anything about that! Anyway, I thought Ambyr looked fine the way she was and that the dislike of the character had nothing to do with Ambyr's appearance as much as the crappy writing.

Here Endth My Rant!
You Look So Familiar...
April 13, 2007

So my boycott is slowly coming to and end now that Bianca and Zoë are leaving Pine Valley at the end of the month. I'm not 100% watching the show right now…mostly just FF through until I find something of interest.

I'm in search of a reason to watch the show. Well I've decided to find characters that I like to watch and just FF to them. Di is one, Amanda is another and I love Janet from another Planet. And Colby isn't as annoying to me since it seems they have her doing things other than whining. Which I always thought that if they actually gave Ambyr something to work with she's could show she is a good actress.

Another character that I like right now is Hannah Nichols (Stacy Haiduk). When I was watching her work from the end of March yesterday I thought to myself…self I said…where do I know this gal from? So I did an IMDB search of her work and realized it was from one of my favorite shows…Kindred the Embrace. If you missed her as Lily on that show Click Here and Here.

So I'll give the show another chance. Honestly I wouldn't have stopped watching if they had tried to romantically pair Zoë and Babe. It made more sense those two would be a couple than Bianca. I thought the telling of Zoë's story very important but to have Bianca fall in love with her crossed into very dangerous territory. And although they wrote Kendall as the voice of reason…I had enough of "I love your soul" and "I see into your soul" garbage. Bianca went from one of my favorite characters to one of my least favorite characters in the course of only a few months. Goodbye and Good Riddance!

I'm still not happy with the direction of Tad's character and hello James…have you been taking steroids lately and that's what's making you crazy? Just wondering.

What I am thrilled about is Kate Collins coming back again to play Janet! Wahoo!!! And I'm happy to see Livia again. She's been a fav of mine too.

Now that McT's out of the picture I have a slim glimmer of hope. Time will tell!

And so it goes…and so do I…
March 17, 2007

So I Ranted that if they make Bianca and Zoë a couple I would stop watching the show. Well after Friday's little foray into almost kissing I've decided to save myself the angst and just give up the show for a while. Sure I'll tape it like I did the last time I gave up the show over the Babyswitch and the time before that when they raped Bianca but I just couldn't watch them make Bianca not gay anymore. And lets face it boys and girls this is what they hope to accomplish by pairing Bianca with Zoë the Transgender Lesbian.

But really this isn't the only reason I'm giving up the show for a while. Frankly I can't stand to watch Tad anymore. He's not fun anymore. He's angry, bitter and yes…a murderer. I miss the show of yester year and thanks to the marvels of videotape I can watch the old shows instead of they CRAP that is airing now.

I'm tired of Ryan, I'm Tired of Babe and mostly I'm just tired of the horrid writing, lack of character development in a positive way and I really do not believe that hiring a new head writer will help for a real long time! Ryan is not GOD...stop the insanity now. Every episode doesn't have to include Ryan or Babe because of all the characters on the show these characters haven't changed much in a long time if ever. How about you give Di a storyline!?!

I'm going to try other soaps on for a bit and see if I can find one that fits me. I know I'm a hopeless Soap Addict so I know I can't give up all soaps so I'll come back to AMC when it's less horrible and painful to watch.

Really the only thing worth watching right now is Zach and Kendall…or my favorite…Zach and Myrtle…those two flirting with each other is so cute!

So I'm signing off now. Who knows perhaps the show will start to make enough sense to me to start watching faithfully again but for now I'm hanging the GONE FISHING sign in the window!

March 5…Or The Episode I Waited A Week To Fast Forward Through…
March 12, 2007

Well I really wasn't all that interested in AMC last week. I think I'm just burned out. I've gotten to the point of who cares what happened today. I had other things that held my interests more than the finally of the Satin Slayer Storyline. Yep…I've been wanting to alphabetize my CD's.

So I'm watching some of last Monday's show and I'm wondering two things: 1) Kendall's hands are tied together and to the chair with satin (slipery) ribbon so when AC and Zach were rolling around on the ground fighting over the detonator how come Kendall didn't just like…you know…pull that silly thing off her neck? Or how come she didn't even try to pull it off when AC was going all mindfreak on Zach and was otherwise not paying attention to her? 2) Zach is a strapping young…well middle-aged lad so how come he couldn't take the old guy? True AC must be super human to have killed all those people but still…we've all seen Zach with not shirt…I'm thinking Muscle boy could have taken that Sexagenarian but alas poor Zachary is week and unable to fight off big bad back from the dead Alexander.

My Two favorite scene for the entire SS Storyline was Zach punching out Ryan and Tad Telling Ryan to shut up. Oh and Ryan's insight into Alexander Cambias Sr. because he was with him when he died and he was able to make Ryan believe he was dead. Um...let me take you all back to when everyone in town thought Jonathan evil...Like this one, this one or this one? Please!!!

On another front…why was my primary facial reaction to watching the show any more is rolling my eyes? I do it every time Babe and Ryan are on the show…oh wait that means I do it every day Monday thru Friday! Enough of these two already. Babe is knee deep in a redo storyline from 2004. Josh wants her to run off with him and they'll kidnap Little A on the way! Gosh what a great plan…cause it worked out so well back in 2004!

Ryan is on practically every day and I'm left wondering one thing…WHY? He adds nothing to the over all storyline. I'm sorry I've seen a picture of God and She looks nothing like Ryan Lavery!!! Enough Ryan already. From his excruciatingly boring romance with Annie to him populating the country side with his frozen swimmers (Is it me or is it odd that none of his children were conceived via sex?) Hey this man had his pluming stop so he wouldn't be able to scar the world with more little Lavery's (a hope that All My Lavery's was coming to an end) but alas…through stupid and mostly lame storytelling there could be literally hundreds of Lavery's running around Pennsylvania…look out Llanview!

Hey Erica…you're life is in the toilet sweetie…you might want to take stock of it before you run after you're 30 year old fetus and play Mommie Dearest!!!

Alexander Cambias, Sr. is playing madman and mind games with Zach and Ryan and well everyone but I think that once Senior was outted as Alive and oh…a SERIAL KILLER the matter of Cambias Industries would pretty much be a mote point. That stock would have taken a dive like you can't believe. It wouldn't be worth the paper it's printed on. But we are supposed to believe that none of this happened. That's why Senior is able to wheeled Cambias like a sword. He announced today that if Zach didn't take over Cambias he would sell everything and make a foundation in Michael's name. Really now…The board of directors…of which Erica is one (oops…writers forgot that scene from 2003) where Senior made Erica a board member. Personally I've had enough of the Cambias, their legacy, their curse and this stupid storyline!!! Someone lock Senior away already!!!

If I seem angry and sarcastic…well it's cause I am. Every time I give in to that voice inside me that just won't let me give up AMC all together I'm beaten down but pathetic dribble every day!!!

Yes I liked the Transgender Support Group meeting. It was well done. What I do not like and for the life of me can't understand is Bianca's WE thing with Zoë. It's my greatest fear that they are going to de-lesbianize Bianca just like they unaborted Josh. If they pair these two…it will kill that inner voice.

Can I just say that thank goodness there is Guiding Light otherwise I would be soapless. Wondering a drift in a sea of non-daytime drama.

Oh and Carolyn Hinsey…as usual your column is on the mark! You Go Girl!

Here Endth My Rant!

A New Dawn Is Breaking…we hope
March 4, 2007

I had to let the firing of Megan McTavish slowly sink in before I made any comments. The first thing I would like to say is I kind of feel sorry for her (kind of). No one likes getting fire. What I do not get is why not walk off into the sunset on your on merits? Did she not notice the state of the show? She could have left saying the old creative differences and it would have left her with the ability to get a decent writing job. Not that there isn't some fool who would hire her now I just wonder why she waited to be unceremoniously dethroned by that bobblehead Brian Frons?

Any way moving on…There are rumors abounding the internet as to who will take over this mess. John Reilly of Days/Passion, Claire Labine of Ryan's Hope or perhaps Jack and Kay who are in the advisory positions at ABC Daytime might be taking over the show. My guess would be that it is the latter of the suggestions but one thing we know for sure is only President Bobblehead knows who it will be.

I fear that things might not become better with the ouster of Megan McTavish. Perhaps I'm a conspiracy theorist but bear with me. Yes, we all agree that Megan isn't the most talented or creative writer out there but I also feel that on some occasions she was told what to write as far as storyline. (Murder, Focus on Babe and Ryan, etc.). This comes from the top EP, Julie Carruthers and on top of her Brian Frons (yes, I know what that sounds like…interpret what you will, lol). Anyway, it occurred to me that Brian has thrown McT as a sacrificially lamb so to speak.

Why you ask do I think this? Well I read something from SOD…a little line that the show will continue to focus on the young storylines. You know the storylines that haven't worked thus far. Only a strong head writer can fight for their product and I wonder if such a person exists.

If the item about Greenlee coming back to town (not with Rebecca Budig in the part) is true this is a first miss step. The only way fans would accept a new Greenlee is if she is exceptional. I've seen very few recasts that have actually worked out. (Carly Carrinthos, GH and Todd Manning, OLTL being the few exceptions).

This show that I love may be holding it's own in the ratings game but mostly because it's a horrible accident you can't take your eyes away from and not because of quality. So far the only things I loved about the show is Tad telling Ryan to SHUT UP, Zach PUNCHING Ryan in the face and Jeff telling Erica to SHUT UP. This is just sad that my greatest hope is that someone duct tape Ryan's mouth shut and tie him to Erica Kane and lock them in a glass case that reads let out only for Christmas special episode.

I went from liking Ryan, Erica and Babe as characters to HATING THEM!!!! Every episode has either Ryan or Babe in it. Why? There's a lot of cast left that you tried to trim down with this horrible gratuitous and might I add extremely lame storyline of the Satin Slayer.

I hope that the new HW will write for these characters, Di, Amanda and Julia. If they write the teen storyline, please make them seem like teens from 2007 not teens from 1983, Fer Sure…BFF's. This last trip down teen alley was insipid and painful to watch. Teens in today's society are plagued with issues like drugs, relationships, poor self esteem, eating disorders, gambling, family issues, and that all important what am I going to do with my future?

I hope the new HW brings back Reggie because it's time for Sean to have something more to do than convert air to oxygen. If they need to make room for the new folks then I say get rid of Del and Sydney. Neither of the characters was actually given anything to work with and are loose ends. I would love to see Brooke come back but after the way the treated Julia Barr I do not see Julia coming back anytime soon.

I'll wait it out like I always do hoping that things will get better. Now we wait to see who the new Head Writer is going to be.

Here Endth My Rant!

And The Killer Is...Some Old Dead Guy?
February 27, 2007

The Satin Slayer Revealed...ooooooohhhhh...NOT! How implausible is it that Alexander Cambias Sr. is the killer? I'd say very implausible. Lets start with the fact that this 65 year old man has super human strength. Then move on to the fact he faked his death for the dumbest of reasons, his family's name disgraced by Michael. So I'm to believe that a man who ran an international multibillion dollar conglomerate was so weak as to be influenced by his rapist son's actions? All he would have to do would be cut Michael off and cut him off from the money. Especially since he thought at the time Michael had been responsible for Alex, Jr's death. Nope instead the writers would have us believe this lame story of him faking his death. Then when Zach/Alex resurfaced he dug up his coffin 3 years ago (not sure why there was a burial site seeing as AC, Sr was cremated, per Ryan Lavery) put a note to a 5 year old Alex, Jr. He then ignored his two grand children Miranda and Ethan during their trials and tribulations (A man who was supposedly about control and family). Then 4 years after his "death" he decides this is the time to give Young Alex a lesson of a life time. The lesson is brought about by killing women who have very little connection to Young Alex. AC, Sr. sends little notes to Ryan Lavery to warn him off. Yet for some reason AC,Sr. decided that killing Erin Lavery, Ryan's innocent sister was in the cards. Why was this a lesson for Ryan? I thought AC,Sr. liked his savior in the desert. After all he gave him his fortune? I'm stumped.

The murder spree started back in December with Simone Torres. This was probably the worst time for a serial killing. Christmas is a time of forgiveness and family love; instead we were treated to a double funeral. Were the writers trying to use the Agatha Christie story of Ten Little Indians as it's template? Anyway this killing storyline was better suited for a spring/summer fair. Moving on. The writers lost a lot of their momentum when they offered red herring after red herring in order to drag out the storyline which was by mid-January becoming very stale. Victim after Victim with absolutely no movement and very little clues. I get they wanted to have a BIG reveal but instead the viewers became bored with the whole affair. I for one wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat.

I give the writers credit for trying to incorporate as much of the cast into this storyline as possible. That said the whole storyline became a patch work quilt. Little made sense and people where crowding the screen with very little to do. Here's a list of issues I've had with this storyline:

1. Alex Cambias, Sr. as the serial killer
2. The death of Dixie Cooney before the resolution of her already on going storyline "The Search For Kate".
3. Zach keeping any information he remembers to himself while begging Kendall to trust him.
4. The Body count of people who had very little connection to Alexander Cambias Senior or Junior.
5. Everyone conducting their own investigations and not contacting Derek or Jackson regarding evidence or sudden knowledge of something.
Zach and Kendall investigate in Vegas, Tad, Ryan and the boys head off to Vegas when Jack asks where they are going Tad informs him he'll get back to him on that. Bianca gives vital evidence to Ryan instead of giving it to Jackson and relaying her suspicions of Cambias
Connections.
6. Making Derek Frye a bigot (Zoë). What is that about?
7. Turning Josh into a Misery type of crazy concerning Babe.
8. The senseless violence and mass murder. It was gratuitous and offered no movement in the storyline.
(When scenes are written that people die it is usually to leave us with the feeling of valuing life more. The message was lost here.)

I'm sure I could come up with literally hundreds of issues but I'm not looking to write a book about the failings of the Satin Slayer Storyline. It's true I would have preferred Hannah Nichols as the murderess (it would have been revenge on Zach for Ethan's death) but I'm not writing the show.

All I can say is I'm excited that this storyline is finally coming to an end. Well at least I hope it is!

Here endth my Rant!

The Bad the Good and the VERY Ugly
February 21, 2007

I'm going to start off with what I've liked recently on the show. I'm loving Barbara Montgomery. I do believe I'm in the minority with this love fest right now but I think people will warm up to her. She's fresh and sassy and she sure does get under Erica's crawl. Jackson hasn't seen that much action for months. And it adds some kind of life to the really insipid S/L of Jeff/Erica/Jackson. It just is lame. Erica moved out because of Sean and his partying ways prevented her from working. But the real reason seemed to be Josh and Jeff. Either way the demise of Jack and Erica's relationship was disservice to the fans that put 20 years of viewing into their trials and love. Babs is going to be an asset at this point.

Why is Binx all over the place? From her split with Maggie to the conversation of with her mother where Erica feels Bianca isn't as gay as she first though because she's attracted to Zoë who is "decidedly a man". Bianca got angry with Erica for what she said but I'm still scratching my head over the Bianca/Zoë S/L. Why couldn't the writers have made Zoë's budding lesbian relationship be with Babe? They have a past and chemistry so why did they have to blur Bianca's sexual identity with Zoë's transgender lesbianism?

I over all liked the Valentine's episode. I'm not quite sure why they had three music montages in two days though. The only thing that bothered me was Ryan and Annie's angry sex in the barn. First…isn't that unsanitary…. second I think they were going for passion but it looked more like a wrestling match to me than love.

I think it's cute that all the kids on the show are friends. It will play out later on when they are all SORASed. Which leads me to another hitch…. why did they not write in Petey? Instead they force us to watch 3 of the most out of touch teenagers I've ever seen. They wrote them as entitled and somewhere along the line poor Sydney dropped off the face of the planet. Perhaps she's visiting Reggie, Frank or Brooke? Bringing Petey into the fold would have given the storyline another layer. Instead the writers are trying everything to salvage their beloved Colby and Sean. Suddenly Colby isn't one-dimensional and she's caring and loving. The writers sure do know how to write anger, vengeance, murder, rape and any number of horrid storylines but compassionate, loving characters…it's sorely lost on them!

What was with Zoë's attack? What is the motivation for the attack? Because she may have seen the killer in the cemetery? All I know is it was completely brutal and gratuitous. The violence on this show is becoming horrifying to watch. The brutality of the murder after murder and the attack on Zoë is not what daytime is about as far as I'm concerned.

The other thing that didn't work for me was JR's tirade and anger. There are times when I feel for JR and just as this happens the writers demonize him further. When Jonathan Bennett was in the role he played a sensitive teenager who was plagued by the lives of the adults around him. He turned to drugs and alcohol to help sooth his inner voice that wanted to cry out but didn't know how. Fast-forward a couple of years and JR comes back to town still a seemingly nice kid who is now a man. It is true that Babe and all of her lies help create the JR we see before us today and the influence of Adam as the little devil on his shoulder crafted the destructive shell of a person JR has become. Why can't the writers pull the medium on this character? When he was bad he was very bad but when he was good he was pathetic? JR going to the Casino to talk to Kendall and running into Josh was a lazy plot point. Very predictable and totally useless.

If JR were a credible character he would either go into the bottle (been done) or use his rage to track down the killer and thus put his life in danger unknowingly. Instead he cries and whines about losing his mother and wife. I don't even believe the dialogue between JR and Josh it was that lame. Yesterday JR is crying at the cemetery over his losses and Zoë grabs his leg…his compassion is none existent. Why?

Moving on to Tad…How come very little tears for the love of his life? His north star, his soul mate, his everything died (for real this time) and he's looking like he just returned a book to the library.

I'm guessing the flashbacks to Alex Sr. was to replace the Tuesday Music Montage. It appears that if they can find a way not to write some scenes they will use any device.

I did love Jack and Kendall. I've always been a fan of characters that do not spend time together but have chemistry. Alicia has always just clicked with anyone she's been paired with which is amazing! We love Zendall because they are fun and playful and we want love to be just like that. I've always liked how Jackson reacted to his children and even his stepchildren. Walt has that sweetness about him that envelops the scene.

One last thing: Erica talking about Josh. "He thinks I didn't want him." Hmm…I'm guessing that's a fair deduction on his part. You did try to abort him you know!

Here Endth my very long Rant!

A Day In The Park
February 15, 2007

Hello Kiddies! As you know I’ve been getting a nervous rash every time I watch the show…Oh you didn’t know. Well I’m glad to share.

In my self righteous, my way or the highway feelings about the show I’ve decided to take a stab at writing a scene that I would have like to see in the show. Feel free to click away if you are not into self-indulgence…but her it goes:

[INSET: PARK – Ryan and Kendall]

Ryan: Why did you want to see me?

Kendall: I want to see my son!

Ryan: It’s not safe…when it’s safe. I will… [Kendall cuts him off]

Kendall: Yada, yada, yada…I gave you parental rights not to use them against me but to show I can trust you. I could have denied you those rights…if only based on the fact you decidedly never wanted children. Remember the snip and the fight with Greenlee?

Ryan: That was a long time ago and things have changed. I’m Spike’s father and I will do what is best for him and if means being away from you then I will keep him away from you!

Kendall: Really now…well you want to take me to court you do that but I will win! I will not have you setting up house with my child and that woman!

Ryan: That Woman! Kendall we’ve been over this before…and I’m getting really tired of your intrusion in my personal life. We share a child…that’s all. For the last time stay out life! If this is because you still love me…might I remind you of your declarations of love for Zach? You remember him…your husband!

Kendall: I love Zach and this isn’t about me and you…or even Zach this is about Annie and her trying to steal my son and his father!

Ryan: Do you hear yourself? I’m not your property Kendall. You love your husband go be with him and leave me alone.

Kendall: No…I can’t leave you alone when you are being such and idiot! Yes! You are an IDIOT!!!

Ryan: This conversation is over! Period. Spike stays with me until I know you are not a threat to him and my relationship with Annie is off limits for now on! I do not want you to even mention her name! Period! The End! GOT IT!

Kendall: First...I am not a threat to my son!!! And secondly…I won’t mention her name but I will mention the one name that is the only name that matters in all of this…Greenlee.

Ryan: [Silence – scowling at her angrily]

Kendall: You want to know why I do not like Annie, why I would do anything to keep you two apart…well it’s Greenlee. You remember her Ryan? The woman you promised you would love forever.

Ryan: [turns his back to Kendall still listening]

Kendall: We both had a hand in destroying my sister, my best friend, your wife. Your reasons were more selfish than mine but I admit I screwed up. When we thought you were dead I would have done anything to save her. I loved her that much and still do. What I did was wrong but I had a second to make the decision and I made it. She may never forgive me and I can live with that. But you Ryan…

Ryan: [turning to face Kendall - softening]

Kendall: [Kendall grabbing hold of Ryan's sleeve] You were supposed to love her forever. The two of you were supposed to get past the pain and back to your love. This whole time…me and you…it’s been about Greenlee…it will always be about Greenlee with us…how don’t you see it?

Ryan: Greenlee divorced me. She doesn’t want me any longer and I have to move on.

Kendall: [Angrily stepping away from Ryan] You've moved on? Don’t you think it’s odd that the woman you've move on with looks like the love of your life? You are living the life you wanted with Greenlee with Annie. Your daughter, our son and the woman who looks just like the woman we both love and miss every day. It’s weird...and a little creepy but it’s right there staring you in the face.

Ryan: You are crazy…. I’m leaving [Kendall stops his exit]

Kendall: Think about it Ryan…think about why you really are with Annie. And think about this too…you try and take my son from me…the hell you went through when Greenlee left us…well that will be just a drop of water in the ocean! [Kendall starts to exit the scene but turns to him before leaving] When this mess is over I will be bringing Spike home with me and Zach and if you try to stop me…well….just don’t try and stop me. No one will ever keep me from my child again! [Kendall turns and leaves]

END SCENE

Okay…I’m not a writer but this how I feel the scene that would at least give a reason why Kendall is so possessive of Ryan and in love with Zach. I think when watching that one scene between Ryan and Kendall fighting about Annie there was no clear reason why Kendall was being crazy. It's obvious she loves Zach...like bunches and bunches but why hang on to Ryan? Why the obsession? I get she could still love Ryan with their history but I do not sense this was their relationship anymore. That ship sailed a long time ago.

It’s odd that I sit around either writing scenes for the show in my little book or re-writing how I thought a scene should have been written. I’m quite proud of my version of the Bianca/Maggie split and Maggie’s trip back to Paris. Who knows maybe I’ll post all the scenes I write in Head Writer for A Day (HWFAD). But for now I will wonder why the current HD has so much difficulty writing for the characters?

Here Endth My Rant!

Frustration Thy Name Is Megan McTavish

February 13, 2007

I want to start out today by thanking Carolyn Hinsey for her recent column in SOD. I’ve just been so frustrated with the show and all of the changes (supposedly for the good) that it has been driving me bonkey. Carolyn watches the show just as we do but from a different perspective. I give her credit for writing about what we all have been feeling and feeling bad for us all having to watch such garbage. She is right when she says Dixie could easily be brought back from the dead in any one of a hundred ways but this is one viewer who doesn’t see that happening. But it’s nice that someone is listening to our pain and anxiety!

I am a BAM fan. Yes it’s true…obviously. I am also a fan of Bianca. She is the first really identified Lesbian on daytime so you can see why I’m upset with the whole Zoë thing and why I go on and on about it. I knew that Liz Henderickson’s Maggie was only a short time gig. I also knew that because it was only short time gig that she was just being brought back to add closure to the BAM story. This I had no issue with…that is until what we actually got to see what was written. Has Megan McTavish ever been in love? Heck you do not have to be gay to write about this story…love is love and it doesn’t matter if it’s hetero or GLBT…it’s still love! These two women have been through every horrible thing together from the death of Frankie, Psycho Vanessa, the death of Leo, Bianca’s rape, Bianca’s pregnancy, Miranda’s “Death”, Bianca’s break-up with Lena and of course Psycho Jonathan and his violent form of love. So why is it at the end of the day Bianca was treating baby stealing Babe better than the one woman who would die for her? Infidelity is not a worse crime than what Babe did yet Bianca’s reaction to Maggie was far more criminalizing. Betrayal is bad but in this case could have been about something more than lusting after the French girl Cecelia.

If I had written this story’s end I would have had the two women holding each other, realizing that the only thing that would work for them is space. It would have been mutual and not so angry and hateful. I would have had the boathouse scene not be so filled with anger but understanding that for their friendship to survive they would need to not be lovers. Thus not sacrificing the entire relationship. I would have had the scene in the park be about the last day of love for these two. Maggie not having a choice but to go back to school so she could fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor and Bianca being the one to enforce this decision so that her best friend and former lover could have the future she deserves. This relationship had been all over the map for years so to have it end in anger and frustration was a disservice to the time BAM fans put into it. Maggie should have explained what happened with Cecilia and Bianca should have listened. But this isn’t what we got. It was a cold shove off cheater girl…screw our history together. What a lost opportunity for resolution and maturity. As Colby would spew…I guess they are no longer BFF’s! Forever got a whole lot closer to today.

There are so many reasons I need a break from watching the show every day, besides the usual. Mostly it’s the writing. When you have a team of actors that are as talented as this bunch it is almost criminal to have hack writers writing their characters. I’ve read and heard phrases lately about how McT and JHC have felt that some of the recently departed characters were taken as far as they could go…nothing else could be written for them. Only someone who has no vision could have said anything like that. Every day I could come up with a storyline for any or all of the characters. This is daytime where reality and making sense is no barrier to a good story. Dear Head Writer of All My Children…if you are so lacking in creativity do me a favor…step down!

I love that Susan Pratt is back. I think she is what the story needs right now. How long can we watch a weak storyline like that of Jeff/Erica/Jackson go on? It needed to be defibrillated and I believe Barbara Montgomery might just do the trick. Susan has that snappy feel about her when she delivers her lines and I loved, loved, loved her outfit yesterday. I’m feeling like she dressed herself because lately the outfits have been borderline Vivian Westwood! Loved Tad in the dark turtleneck but me thinks that is because he’s worn the same tired brown jacket/green shirt combo over and over. And yes it is February in PA…how about some sleeves on those ever skinny arms!

In my picky, picky, picky…how come no one noticed it was Binx’s birthday on Friday (Continuation to Monday’s show)? Did the writers forget that 2/9 is the big day? For years Bianca’s birthday signified something in her life, even when she left town for Paris. Well all she got for her birthday this time was a murdered ex-friend. Dag…you can’t even return that!

If I could get to see one immediate change on the show it would be to fix the character of Ryan Lavery. When Ryan came back in 2003 after hitting the road and then inheriting billions of dollars from a guy he picked up in the Nevada Desert, he came back an A-hole! (See the story doesn’t need to have any basis in reality). And since then (most especially since 2005) he’s gotten worse. “Where’s my son?” he bellows at the child’s mother. Dude you were a sperm donor in both cases of your children, nothing more. It was only by the good graces of the women who gave birth to your little donation that you even have a connection to them. He even bellowed at Kendall that he would take her to court if he has too. Well isn’t that swell. This I’d like to see…R: Judge I’m abusing the trust that my baby mama put in me and taking our child to keep him safe. K: Your honor, his brother is a serial killer and will have open access to my child. I miss the poor young man with the crappy childhood that wooed Gillian Andrassy. The man who became a grifter to survive. Now Ryan is a self-righteous empty character. He’s got no redeeming qualities. He’s as hollow as Tad right now. Each of these characters has brought death to someone through their actions and neither has had real remorse for their actions. Other than Tad’s little chat with Dixie, he’s never felt bad about what he did to Greg, except he couldn’t find Kate. Ryan’s sister died and everytime he talks about poor dead Erin it’s in reference to himself. It is true…he’s the male version of ERICA KANE!

I feel since they are trying all kinds of gimmicks to pump some life in the show they might want to try a new head writer and EP. You know just for kicks…at this point it can’t hurt because these two haven’t a creative bone between them. It doesn’t take creative genius to write about murder and slaughter everyday…it just takes a pen and some paper.

Here Endeth My Rant!

Continuity...me thinks not!
February 6, 2007

Something has been driving me nuts about that whole Ryan is Emma's Daddy thing and so I went back and watched some of the past episodes and now I know what it is...Greg Madden told Erica on the June 10, 2005 show that he had only owned the clinic in Pine Valley a short time. So how is it that Annie's doctor, Greg Madden was able to acquire a sperm donation from a clinic in Pine Valley, PA that wasn't his for his patient Annie McDermott in New York? Oops...shouldn't someone have remembered what they wrote??? This is just sad...I mean this isn't a new writing team…this is the same writer that wrote the show in June 2005! I've already covered the topic that if Annie was using a donor sperm she would have chosen someone who closely matched her husband's make up…Not Annie…she went with someone completely different!

Also bugging me was today's show. JR was talking about what a judge would say and mentioned something about Babe being crazy. Hello…you jumped out a 4th story window??? I'm sure a judge would deem that much worse than Babe's "crazy" behavior. Oh and Babe should have reminded JR why he signed over custody of Little A in the first place…how quickly the writers forget what they've written in the past. I'd love to see this court case come to fruition. JR is a homicidal maniac and Babe could call witnesses. She could call a mental health expert to testify on JR's mental status when he jumped out the window. She might be a lying ho but at least she's not a physical threat to her son.

So it's been a smidge over two months since poor Simone bit the dust and I'm so over this storyline. It feels like they've been telling this story for 8 months instead of 8 weeks. There is just nothing compelling about it. It could have been a great and gripping storyline but instead it's flat. The police are bumbling fools, Ryan's running around playing Dynamite Kiddoo and Zach has been tormented by his past. He was 5 what could he possible remember about all of this. I guess my issue is other than the murders nothing has happened in 8 weeks. Jonathan has attacked Zarf, Kenny and Raymond…not bad for a serial killer. Apparently it will be up to Janet to crack this case. Hmm…Janet wasn't a serial killer (Jonathan was) and how is it she has all this insight in her drug induced state? Bianca and Miranda are gifted with insight too…maybe one of them knows who the killer is.

If I were writing this storyline I would have kept the principles of the murders. But I would have the killer leaving the ribbon and the flower but then some other little clue. Or those notes everyone was receiving. These clues would move the story along. I can't really see why someone who wanted to get back at Zach would kill off people who weren't really close to him. If you wanted to torment Zach you would kidnap Spike or Kendall or Miranda or Bianca…killing people who Zach kind of knew isn't very powerful.

How come everyone is over Dixie's death? Is she to have no funeral? The only one sad and angry was Di…JR was like Mom's dead. Maybe he believes she's coming back again?

Here Endth My Rant!

The Big Sweeps...that are not that big!
February 4, 2007

"Bianca's feelings become very deep for this woman (Zoe) even though this woman is still in a male body." Please cut me a break! I see a man, Maggie sees a man, but Bianca, Tad, Jamie, Babe and Josh all see a woman? How is this possible...because they are more sensitive than the rest of the world that they can see into a person's soul? (Me Rolling my eyes!!!). Again this is very dangerous territory and borders on damaging the character of Bianca. How is it she can see past the male parts. It's one thing to have empathy for Zarf/Zoe but to have romantic feelings is another thing. So what if they romantically pair up Bianca and Zarf/Zoe...as a couple will they make love? And if they do Bianca is not a lesbian...she's a bisexual woman and this is confusing to the audience. I remember watching when Bianca told everyone that she was only attracted to women! I would have less trouble with this storyline if Bianca fell for a woman who was inside actually a man. It would have been more dramatic and more believable. I love Jeffrey Carlson and would have preferred to see his character be a gay man and best bud to Bianca than what is being written right now. I'm rather surprised that there isn't more outrage by the Lesbian community?

And yes I'm obsessed with BAM right now. Bianca in the Sweeps Previews "Finally forgives Babe". Oh really...well since she's been seen everywhere with Ms. Thing I assumed this had already happened. Which of course leads me to the bigger question...why? And how come Bianca can forgive the worst of humanity but she can't forgive her lover and best friend for her betrayal which was far less criminal. Maggie was there always for Bianca. From the time she learned she was pregnant to the time they decided to live together to the time they left for Paris. Bianca was hoping for more but would understand if Maggie didn't want more. So of course it makes perfect sense to the brainless that these two who have a past and a connection and a child wouln't be able to get past Maggie's infidelity. Child stealing is so much easier to forgive. See the Lameness here!!!

So Erica is the voice of the moral majority these days? Since when has this woman who by the way is cheating on her current husband with her former husband is holier than thou? When Erica was trashing Maggie and Babe to Bianca and Josh I was wondering why. Especially trashing Maggie. I get that she's angry that Maggie broke Bianca's heart but of all people, Maggie has always been the pillar of strength for Bianca so to assault her verbally was over the top.

I'm sorry I'm going over the same topics but these things are just irking me so much I want to scream at my television.

I was right about TIIC dragging this murder mystery out through sweeps. So much for the promise. Silly fools do not realize they have lost the interest of the viewers by dragging out this murderfest. Oh and the crazies promise that big things will happen on Valentine's day for several romances. Umm....what romances...there are couples but there is certainly no romance going on in Pine Valley!!!! So they've what...set aside one day in the calendar year to have some romance...yeah...good luck with that!

Here Endth My Rant!!

Round Hole…Square Peg…
February 3, 2007

This is how I feel about the show right now. The Writers and Producers are forcing a square peg into that hole regardless of how painful it looks and is. My question is why? I'm frustrated and confused most of the time when I watch.

Like…Dixie has died. This time really died and it seems no one in town is really all that sad. Angry maybe, but sad not too much and it makes no sense to me. Okay I get if Tad is running on fumes and only wants to find the justice for Dixie but JR's odd take on his mother's death isn't what I expected at all. JR is destructive and has always been written as destructive but now all of the sudden he has insight and control of himself? Yeah…thanks for the continuity. And what was with Dixie's last words to JR that Krystal is carrying Tad's baby? Wouldn't it have served the scene much more if she told him she loved him and that she's never giving up on her sunshine? Nope her primary thought is Krystal's baby.

It was mentioned by the head writer and EP of the show that Dixie's death was the right character at the right time and I just don't get the reasoning behind the decision. Let's say it's budgetary reasons; let's just say it. If this were the case than wouldn't it have made more sense to have had the payoff for the fans before you make the decision to kill Dixie off? Instead we were treated to…well…I'm not sure what one would call it but payoff isn't the word. Dixie's ghost found her daughter Kate in the park with Tad. The last kiss Dixie and Tad shared wasn't one of passion but of reconciliation which means they weren't even a couple yet. For over a year Tad and Dixie have been at each other because of Kate and by killing Dixie off now and in this manner only left me wondering what the last year was about.

So it's been two days since Dixie's demise, a beloved member of the community with ties to practically everyone and instead of a funeral of love and remembrance what do the characters do…they have a party. This to me is odd and completely out of place. Oh sure it's to "trap" the murderer and thus put an end to the killing but couldn't they have buried poor Dixie first? This is almost as stupid as the Christmas funeral celebration or the introduction of Father Clarence as he now will always be for me, a creepy harbinger of death and despair! The scene with Julia, Kathy and Father Clarence left me very uneasy and the fact that Julia just stood there while this man she has never met before tells her that he knows Kathy very well. Visions of child molester went through my mind and left me very uneasy. It wasn't a sweet scene for me…it was disturbing, very disturbing!

Moving on to yesterday's show and Zoë the supposed transgender. Zoë came to return a doll that Miranda had given her. Bianca presses for more information and Zoë tells Miranda's mommy that she just knew what Zoë always wanted for Christmas and that was what she whispered in then Zarf's ear at Fusion. Zoë tells Bianca that Miranda just knew what she wanted. WOW! That is one amazing 3-1/2 year old. How insightful a child she is…practically psychic. Miranda, like her mother can see past everything physical and miraculously understand what it is that Zarf/Zoë needs from a first encounter. That's AMAZING…. and incredibly unbelievable and lame! You see most of us have come in contact with 3-1/2 year old children at one time or another and they aren't soul searchers…they are children! Really Miranda and Bianca should be on Ripley's Believe It Or Not! They are that amazing! Again…Round Hole…Square Peg!

I've been watching Guiding Light a lot recently. Perhaps it's because I'm sick of AMC and they writing from hell but part of it is that the show is now 70 years strong. This little 15-minute radio show has evolved throughout the years and even adapted to the new medium of television. What is so wonderful about the show is they've had budget issues as well and even though they made very difficult choices and unpopular choices the writing is strong. What I love is the integration of the older cast members with the younger ones. They have a villain in Alan Spaulding as well as social storylines in Daisy's drug use. GL has great actors and good writing. Its quality at it's best. I really think they could do better in the ratings if they had better time slots for airing. But regardless it's pure quality.

AMC's got great actors and you can see they are just aching for something of quality to sink their teeth into but what's going on right now is fragmented story telling, no social storylines, a murder storyline that is hollow and empty and only offers death as the pay off without any sadness or soul. They threw people in scenes for the sake of having them in the scene but the add nothing to the scene or the storyline. In one scene at Fusion there were no less than ten people in the scene…four of them were the eunuch bodyguards. Ryan was the super hero and the bodyguards just pull their guns like they know anything. They are props nothing more. Would it have killed the writers to have had some sort of interaction with Carl, Bruno, George or Bob? Winifred is an extra (but member of the cast) and she has interaction and Colleen Hulteen does so much with the few lines she's given. She's memorable and lights up the scene. Why can't other day players do the same thing? No instead we get to see Ryan running around like a lunatic. Dude…where's your cap and can we test that theory you are indestructible…please?

Babe, Josh and JR and that merry-go-round they are on for the last year! Babe tells Josh, oh I don't know, 1 million times she's staying with her husband and he of course hears…I love you Josh. Josh has become a mentally unbalance stalker where Babe is concerned and has had to regurgitate the same dialogue over and over! JR is back on the same old path of retribution and why is it every time Babe and Josh say goodbye for the last time they kiss. Hey Babe, you know you might be the target of a murderer so when you disappear someone is going to go look for you and that someone might be your husband so of course you kiss your former lover goodbye (again!) in a glass house. I know if she thinks if she closes her eyes no one can see her. End this story now!!!

Hey Jamie…I thought your life long dream was to be a doctor? Oh no…not so much a doctor as a detective at your father's agency? Maybe it's just the lot of the Martin men (Josh and Jamie) to go from career to career until they find something they like? Maybe these two guys are actually the children of Chris Stamp…that would make sense how they are so versatile!

My head hurts…

Here Endth My Rant!

Zoë…the Man…Zoë…The Woman
February 1, 2007

Something has been bothering me about our dear suspected murder the artist formerly known as Zarf, aka Zoë…once known as Freddie…can you guess what it is??

Well if you guessed that Zoë has jumped out and has told pretty much everyone in Pine Valley that she is a she even though she has the body of a he…so why does SHE still dress like a he? Most everyone is supportive of this newest incarnation of Freddie and they are all using the preferred pronoun of She but it seems to me that if she was a she and not a he than she would be dressing as a her and not a him…right? Today I watched Fredzaroe put on her coat to leave Binx and Joshie to talk about Zoë and when she did I noticed she was wearing boxer shorts. How am I to believe this whole storyline of Zarf being Zoë and a Lesbian no less when the character has done nothing to live the life of a woman? Oh I must believe Zoë is a woman by the way she femininely sports her shawl scarf thingy…Umm…NO!

I just love Jeffrey Carlson's acting. He is very talented and heck he can sing too but the writers are doing exactly what I thought they'd do and that's cluck up the storyline. No therapist is helping Zoë adjust to coming out. Zoë has only worn women's cloths once and that was more for shock than for anything else. The whole NYE episode left me pondering why they would write a scene like that where Zarf comes out as Zoë with absolutely no attempt to give Bianca a clue as to the fact that Zoë exists and then blurts out that Zarf is Zoë, a woman trapped in a man's body, and oh…she's a lesbian. Bianca should have wanted nothing more to do with this person and moved Leslie in to her apartment but no she's all about embracing Zoë and understanding her.

Here's my other plight with this pair, and I've covered it before so sorry if I'm being redundant, how can Bianca see past the physical and into Freddie's soul? How can all of the town's people that have blindly accepted Zoë do so without connecting to the feminine being that she is supposed to be? Tad, Josh, Dixie…everyone, well except Frosty and Junior are all calling Freddie by his female name even though he's not actually committed to being female. I would have thought that the second Zoë was released from her secret she would start dressing like a woman and acting like a woman. Wearing make up doesn't make you a woman…look at Marilyn Manson or the guys from Duran Duran…they all wear make up and they are all heterosexual males.

It's time to let Bianca find a nice lesbian woman. If not Maggie than someone else, heck…Leslie's kind of cute, but they need to not wrap Binx around Zoë's storyline. When I look at Zoë on screen I see a man…just as anyone else who saw Zoë would see a man who is wearing make-up. IRL I know someone who is transgender and although I know what she looks like as a man (she showed me a picture) I have never seen her dressed as a man. She lives her life as a woman. It's difficult for her and when she talks about it I see the pain in her eyes because people just do not understand. If they want Zoë to be a serious character than they need to be true to the character.

The story of Zoë isn't bold because TIIC introduce a man to the show and then have everyone refer to him as her because she says she's transgender. I can't figure out why Zoë even came out to anyone if she never really wanted to live as a woman.

It's just my humble opinion.

Here Endth My Rant!

Murder, She Wrote...well sort of
January 30, 2007

Okay I admit I have watched a plethora of Murder, She Wrote over the years and I'm hooked on the re-runs so that said I might just be a bit picky where this "murder mystery" is concerned. Before I start my actual RANT I want to point out that this storyline is in contradiction to Megan McTavish's statements it was going to be over before February Sweeps, that it would be wrapped up!

Moving on. I have big problems with the latest plot point of how Dixie died. First, as I pointed out before, I thought all food and beverages that Babe, Kendall and Bianca was to consume had to be tested first. So how was it that Winifred could make Peanut Butter Pancakes and serve them up to Babe? While you are chewing on that one here's another, how come Winifred was allowed to go food shopping without a bodyguard to watch the food at all times? Oh, I'm not done yet...How did the killer know that the peanut butter that Winifred was buying was going to be used only for the pancakes? (Having seen the spoilers I know how it is possible the killer knew about Winnie making the comfort food for Ms. Babe). With a child in the house (Little Adam) it is conceivable that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts cut off could have been served to the lad thus killing the child.

While you are absorbing that, I have a dilemma...with the demise of Fusion does this mean Enchantment goes under too? After all the companies were merged. Oops...did the writers forget that? Things that make you go hmmm.

I really think it's time for a body count since Christmas Eve 12/24/06. Julia's friends Jim and Linda, Simone, Erin and Dixie becomes Number 5. Let's not forget the next victim...will it be Babe or Kendall. Please this is just becoming stupid and contrived. It's almost as silly as the sudden 180 that Colby has done. I was a selfish nightmare who now is a compassionate understanding teen when it come to Zoë. I've said it 100 times before...they ruined the character for me and I do not care how many times the revise the character I gave up on her a long time ago. As I also gave up on the character of Sean Montgomery.

Yes I'm going to revisit the Dixie's death dilemma. So Dixie and Tad's final moments were "together...forever". Oops...not so much. Unless of course they mean to have Tad be a lonesome dove like he was for the 5 years before her return from the "dead". Sure Tad had some romances and one night stands (My favorite was Tad and Simone...they were sexy and fun) but for the most part he spent his 5 years mourning and wishing on his special star. Let's not even get into the homicidal maniac JR became because of his mother's first "death".

Hey how about Father Clarence going from the messenger of Hope at Christmas time to the Messenger of Death. It's amazing what happens in a month. Which takes me to the fact that when they drag out Father Clarence for next years Christmas Miracle how will I be able to have that warm fuzzy feeling knowing that he's really the messenger of death? Oh wait perhaps his just filling in for the Grim Reaper who was on vacation in Fiji that day? Who knows but I can tell you this patchy storytelling is giving me a migraine!

I give up...

Here Endth My Rant!

BAM: The Romance That Was All Off Screen...
January 29, 2007

I have to begin with something that is bothering me and I've written about a lot over the last few weeks. It is the suggestion of SOD, SID and the show's head writer Megan McTavish that Bianca's future love interest is Zarf/Zoë. In SOD the first line set me into space of their article about Maggie's return. "Bianca's complicated love life becomes even more stress-filled this week on AMC when her cheating lover Maggie shows up on her doorstep while her potential romantic interest Zarf comes out to Pine Valley as transgender." Of all the people they could have paired Zarf with they chose the only lesbian in town. What irks me and apparently Carolyn Hinsey of SOD agrees with me, Zarf was introduced to Bianca as a man. She even told 'him' she was a lesbian but some how deep down inside our mystic and deep Bianca can sense that Zarf is a woman. Well, isn't that spectacular...how come this genius couldn't "sense" that BESS was her DAUGHTER? Even after a series of clues and suggestions that Bess was really Miranda, Binx wouldn't entertain the idea because she thought it was all in her head. Miraculously though Binx is able to hone in on the soul of a person and see what others can't. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

I have no issue with Zoë the Transgender storyline. I do feel that it sets Bianca's being a lesbian on a precarious path. For those who do not understand being gay as something you are born to be not a choice having Bianca fall for a man...who has man parts and has only lived his life as a man is sending the message to those who do not fully understand, that Bianca did in fact make a choice to be a lesbian when it was never a choice but who she is. Not only that but it is a cop out to the phrase "ground breaking story". I know I should be shocked at what the writers have done to the show at this point (you know with that whole walking fetus thing) but I feel that if the show wanted to make a ground breaking character, Zoë would not be a "lesbian woman" trapped in a man's body but a just a "woman" trapped in a man's body who is attracted to men. The whole story is a major COP OUT! If you want to see a better depiction of a Transgender Lesbian watch the movie "Better Than Chocolate". The character of Judy is wonderful. She suffers from being ostracized by her family, non-acceptance in the lesbian community and totally acceptance by her friends. She's in love with Frances a lesbian who isn't comfortable with Judy's transgender ness but eventually falls for her. Throughout the film Judy lives as a woman waiting to have her gender reassignment surgery. There is a specific scene that stands out and that's when Maggie's mother who is now friends with Judy discovers she's still legally Jeremy. Never having realized Judy was once a man. It is far more realistic depiction than the Zarf/Zoë story thus far on AMC. And as I've stated before if Bianca is paired romantically with Zarf/Zoë I will no longer watch the show.

Moving on to Maggie and Bianca and the romance we never saw. Bianca's feeling betrayed is one thing but not being able to forgive Maggie is ridiculous. Here's a little history lesson. Maggie had only dated men the entire time she was on the show. She began to realize she had feeling for Bianca and was rejected and then destroyed when she saw Bianca in bed "naked" with Babe after having rejected her not knowing it was an act. This led her to the very abusive relationship she had with another man, Jonathan Lavery. After Bianca managed to talk Maggie into leaving Jon boy she invited her to move to Paris with her and start a new life. She offers her friendship hoping for more but Maggie wasn't sure she could ever be Bianca's lover. Fast-forward to Christmas 2005 and Binx is telling Zach all about her relationship moving forward and the fact she and Maggie were now lovers (all off screen). Fast forward some more and it's now present day and Maggie realizes she made a huge mistake and wants Bianca and Miranda to come back to Paris and wants their life back. I get Bianca would at first be hurt and lash out at Maggie but the fact that Mags worried about her friend/lover so much that it woke her up and made her fly 2000 miles to be with Bianca should have said something about Maggie's intentions. When Maggie pointed out that Babe stole her child and Bianca is at least civil towards her Bianca was all over her. I can't see how the writers can have Bianca hanging out with Babe who stole her child and JR who tried to killer by pushing her off a balcony but she can't muster one moment to seriously consider that perhaps Maggie was wondering if she was gay or was she only attracted to Bianca?

Also I've got to mention, Erica and her craziness. She's calling Maggie all kinds of names and comparing her to Babe because she cheated on Bianca. Please…first Ms. Kane you are living in a HUGE glass house…and hello…when Bianca was raped who was it that stood by her and gave her the strength and the security to tell the police what happened to her…MAGGIE! When Bianca found out she was pregnant and wanted to keep it a secret after letting her mother think she had an abortion who was it who protected her, nurtured her and loved her? Oh that would be Maggie. That whole scene with Erica attacking Maggie was completely out of place. Sort of like Erica's speech to Ryan at Erin's funeral.

Why won't the writers let someone be happy on this show? Why does everyone have to be depressed or in angst all of the time. Death every day on the screen is horrible. I can watch it on my evening news. I want to be entertained. I want romance and love. I like complications in the relationship but Maggie and Bianca's relationship was all off screen. They should have had Maggie working hard at being a doctor and Bianca feeling deserted and coming to Pine Valley to see her family but really she wanted to see if Maggie would even notice she was gone. Instead the writers have treated us to a huge pile of CRAP! (Sorry but that's how I feel). Instead of getting to see Bianca and Maggie fall into each others arms I get to see Bianca kiss Babe's butt, lash out at Maggie and fall for a woman trapped in a man's body who is right now a MAN. There is nothing about looking at "Zoë" that says woman!!

Here Endth My Rant!

One Fans Frustration is another lost percentage point…
January 28, 2007

So on Friday our beloved heroine Dixie ate the poisoned pancakes that will lead to her ultimate demise. Okay this is where I get picky!

First off, I thought that all the food and drink Babe (Kendall and Bianca) was to consume had to be tested first. So poor Winnie could go shopping without a bodyguard who would watch the food while she shopped? NO CONTINUITY!

Secondly, I'm not thrilled with the demise of Dixie. I think that if the budget is so tight that they need to fire people I say fire Julie Hanan Carruthers the Executive Producer of AMC. Frankly I can't see why she makes the decisions that she does. I used to put so much of the blame on Megan McTavish but now I wonder if JHC was largely at fault for destroying All My Children.

If you get a chance to read Carolyn Hinsey's column in the 2/6/07 Soap Opera Digest it's a must read. I think she sums up the frustration of many fans and unfortunately I do not think TIIC care much what the press has to say any more than the fans!

Back to my feelings about JHC and the fact that she's guiding the Titanic straight for an iceberg! I wonder if this captain is drunk at the helm? Anyway, McT is the head writer but I see other outside influences surrounding the show. My guess would be that Frons is the boob responsible for so many of the really awful changes we see on all of the Daytime shows on ABC. Is it desperation that leads this man to the path of hell? This is where I blame JHC because instead of being a yes lady for Frons she should be doing her job and that is nurturing quality programming and program content. That's her job and yet we are instead fed junk after junk each day. If I read one more quote that reads "Most Exciting…Can't Miss show" blah, blah, blah I'm going to pull all my hair out! Murder that is drawn out the way this silly serial killing has been handled is not entertaining its frustrating, odd and most of all too violent for my taste.

JHC has being guiding the show in a decidedly bad direction. Although the ratings have rebounded because of Bianca coming back and the new character of Zarf/Zoë those ratings won't hold forever. The novelty of Zarf/Zoë will eventually begin to fade as Zoë's story becomes more depressing and the only thing really holding this story together is the incredibly talented Jeffrey Carlson! His talent just shines through the crappy dialogue. Kudos for bringing him back but I'm not really on board with this Zoë character. Mostly because I know someone who is transgender and Zoë's coming out just didn't mesh for me. Mostly because if she was trying to hide for so long why did she go to such lengths to alienate Bianca the one person she thought who would understand her. That whole speech to Bianca when she was in jail that she had envisioned what their life would be like together. Umm…this is where Bianca should run in another direction! But no instead Bianca finds insight into her new friends bizarre behavior. Crazy!

What's crazier is Bianca's inability to forgive a mixed up Maggie but she will embrace Babe and JR. Both people have physically or emotionally hurt Bianca in such a way that I can't believe she would stay in the same room with them let alone "befriend" or listen to them. But there was Bianca talking to JR about relationships and forgiveness! JR's not sure he can forgive Babe for cheating. Hmmm…lets weigh this out…Babe forgave JR for trying to killer her TWICE!!! But he can't forgive adultery…yeah because it's so far worse!

This is the type of tripe that is giving me an ulcer. Plus Ryan's caveman routine. Yes it's acceptable to physically assault someone if you have a good enough reason and Ryan and Josh thought they had the best reason. Because Ryan wanted answers…oh that's right Ryan didn't get any of the answers he was looking for. And the point of this scene? Right it will lead to BIG payoffs. I'm sorry this violent act left me upset!

Here's my advice for the entire management staff at AMC. Get your head out of Brian Frons' butt. Your stories are fragmented and in some cases last longer than their shelf life. They make no sense and leave me more times than not wondering why I wasted an hour of my day.

All I want is Romance, Continuity and at least one social storyline to give the show a soul. Oh and I would like to see a lot less Babe and Ryan because in my humble opinion these two characters have been ruined!

I feel like I'm watching the last days of Loving. Any moment I expect to see that the serial killer is none other than ERICA KANE!!!

I'm tired of the headaches…write something of quality…please I beg you!!!

Here endth my Rant!

JR…Rise and walk my son…
January 24, 2007

Does anyone know when JR is going to walk? And is there anything wrong with his arms? Wow this guy, besides being a homicidal maniac, is L A Z Y! I guess being angry and abusive robs him of all his energy. Poor Guy. Oh wait; Jonathan Lavery should be in a coma by now based on those standards!!!

So it appears that Tad has been spending some time at Wildwood lately. How do I know you ask? Well cause he's using Edmund's magic portal, that's how. Tad seemingly was everywhere at once last week. I'm just happy that the portal is being used. I wouldn't want to see it go into magic disrepair.

Hey Bianca, forgive Maggie already. Sure Maggie shouldn't have pointed out that you treat Babe (the flake who made you believe your child was dead while she raised your daughter as her own so her homicidal husband could have a child and not be sad) better than you treat her. She made a mistake. Really, Binx you dragged poor Mags out of the closet against her will. And really it was your fault Mags got smacked around by Jonathan because if you hadn't rejected her because of your make believe relationship with Lena who was 3,000 miles away (Yeah cause that always works out). Maggie was prime after the rejection for Jonathan's abusive ways. Saint Bianca have you met Our HERO Ryan Lavery who got Maggie to drop the assault charges against poor little Hockett who went on to murder two more people! So in short Binx…get off your high horse the woman loves you in spite of her obvious confusion concerning her sexuality.

So much for the Killer to be revealed before Sweeps Week. I knew it wouldn't happen, I knew TIIC lied and this would be dragged out. You see they aren't finished decimating the cast yet. Sweeps I believe starts the second week of February so they have a little over two weeks to close this up. I haven't much faith that will happen.

Hey did anyone see last weeks SOD? EP, JHC said that the week Dixie bites and "It's and absolute, absolute can't miss week. It's the sweeps before the sweeps." Well forgive me if I do not feel that it really is "can't miss". Oh, and don't forget all those "surprises" that are promised as well. Sorry Poodle, I've been down this block with you guys. I'm jaded and angry and well you never live up to your own hype.

They axed Danielle Frye (who is routed in the community with a family and well sort of a job) in favor of casting a new character supposedly named Monica. Okay, I'll ask the obvious question you are all thinking….WHY?

Yo Ryan and Josh you might want to know that stabbing someone in the back with a needle is ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON. And if I were Zach when I come out of my fuzzy, hazy place I'd have Ryan Whacked…mostly because he believes he's some kind of god-like person. I've gotten to the point that Ryan annoys me more and more. When he jumped off the adjoining roof at Kendall I was hoping he missed her and fell. I do not want to feel this way about my show. It's just I'm frustrated as are Millions of other fans!

And last on my Rant-a-polooza for the day how come Zach is turned into a whiner? I want everyone to find out who the killer is but I offer absolutely nothing to help Tad or Super Hero Ryan or the police or even Kendall about the things I remember and the clues I come across. Nope I instead destroy the evidence, hide what I find and whine about how no one has any new answers. WHY are the TIIC reducing Zach to a sniveling mess?

Here endth my Rant!

Farwell Dixie…see ya when you come back from the dead AGAIN…
January 22, 2007

It was announced last week that TIIC (The Idiots In Charge) have off'd Dixie Cooney Martin…Again. Let me start with the obvious bit of confusion for me. What was the point of bringing Dixie back from the dead to begin with if all you were going to do was murder her in the end? TIIC went to great lengths to woo Cady McClain back to Pine Valley…why what was the point? And how about that horrible storyline we were force fed from day one. The entire fiasco of Dixie's return was the fault of one person…Megan McTavish. She's the head writer it is her responsibility to write a plausible storyline but she didn't.

I had mentioned in several of my Rants that I felt bad for Cady McClain, that she came back to waste her talents on a show that was written like two chimps at a keyboard. Waste is exactly what TIIC did. Dixie's homecoming should have been dramatic and poignant but it was reduced to Jerry Springer fodder! When JR saw his mother alive for the first time it should have been a powerful reunion, it wasn't! TIIC should have written a story that goes along these lines…[Tad while investigating Dr. Greg Madden and his connection to Erica discovers a shocking truth…that the love of his life just might be alive! Tad discovers Dixie still recovering from her injuries and the "loss" of her child and the two have an emotional reunion where Dixie tells her ex that their baby survived but Dr. Madden told her that her baby died. Dixie now well enough to leave Europe begs Tad to help prove what she knew all along…that their daughter was alive and that she's not crazy.]

See how easy this was? It didn't demonize Dixie…it wouldn't have frustrated Tad into becoming a murderer. The former couple could have sought out ways to gain the truth from Dr. Madden and in the pursuit of discovering the truth could have been the people who discover Josh's true identity and rebuilt their love and relationship.

But none of that happened. Tad became a murderer; Dixie was thrust into an insanely written relationship with Zach and put on trial for murdering Dr. Madden. Tad and Dixie never got the reunion the fans were looking for. Tad and Dixie falling into each other's arms. At best they are on friendly terms now. In the next two weeks TIIC will try to have Dixie seemingly reconcile all of her damaged relationships. First it starts with cookies with Jamie and JR and next it will be her newest understanding with Tad and so on. I honestly thought when TIIC wrote that Dixie moves into Adam's home to help JR I would loose it and switch off! But have since found other reasons to stop watching AMC.

So the body count is continuing and with no movement in the storyline other than the dead people. The storyline is over a month into it and all we've gained from this tripe is Zach was a child when his mother died. Amelia Cambias had an affair. Someone wants to get at Zach and is using the murders of the Fusion girls as a way to get his attention. Besides the obvious…what doesn't work for me is the killer would have just killed Kendall, PERIOD…or kidnapped Spike or Miranda. Why kill people who aren't really that close to Kendall. Simone's only relationship with Kendall is because of Fusion. They rarely socialize together and her relationship with Erin was even less. If someone wanted Fusion closed there would be other ways to do it and if they wanted to kill someone close to Zach it would be easy to kill Kendall. TIIC have completely lost the ability to tell a good story. I could use their base stories they've got now and write better than these dorks!

Bianca and Maggie…Let me get this straight (no pun intended) Bianca will work side by side with the woman who let her believe her baby was dead. Made her godmother to her own child and kept the baby for herself and only gave back the baby once she realized her own child was alive! But she can't forgive Maggie who had been sexually confused for the better part of 3 years and had a brief affair with some woman in Paris. Who knows maybe Maggie was trying to figure out whether she's gay or is Bianca the only woman she's attracted too? So Bianca not being able to give her a chance to explain and apologize is ridiculous storytelling!!!

THE KANE WOMEN are strong! No they aren't they are moronic and stupid! Kendall knows someone wants to kill her so of course she has her bodyguard wait outside while she's on the roof. Ryan makes his point but jumping at her and taking her by surprise. She's angry with him for scaring her….I say scaring is better than dead! If this killer can't off Kendall he/she are as dumb as the KANE WOMEN. Here's one…Bianca and Kendall have children…so it makes sense they would save their company and possibly forfeit their lives in the process thus making their children orphans. Nice writing. Instead of powerful female influence we get the Kane Women and Babe. Probably the dumbest and least strong women I've ever seen portrayed! TIIC should be ashamed of themselves!

ROMANCE…what is that? I know TIIC have no idea. There is currently only a handful of couples on screen that are couples, Julia and Jamie, Krystal and Adam, Zendall, and Di and Aidan. They are couples but there is absolutely no Romance. I don't even count Krystal and Adam as a couple since she's pregnant with someone else's child.

TIIC write plotline driven story, which is nothing more than hollow dialogue. I could be a writer for the show and I have no writing experience. It's time to firer or replace or whatever you want to call it but the people who need to go are Megan McTavish and Julie Caruthers.

Each day brings me to the brink of giving up on the show and moving on to some other show. I'm loyal as are millions of others but when you slap us in the face day after day and support hacks like TIIC you insult all the millions of viewers who love the show!

Here Endth My Rant!

And The Body Count Continues…
January 17, 2007

Today SOD Magazine posted an article about Cady McClain leaving AMC. I hope it was her decision to leave and not those whackos who are in charge. What was the point of the last year of Tad/Dixie/Kate saga? So what happens if they kill off Dixie? Well besides having died once already it will make TIIC write JR as the psycho he's been written because of his mother "death". Not to mention poor Kathy/Kate loses the woman (Linda) she thought was her real mother only to lose her biological mother as well. How about the effect it would have on Tad, haven't we watched him mope around enough this year? The other side is what if Dixie just leaves town the questions would be raise why would she leave JR and Kathy/Kate? I really believe there is no way the writers can pull off an explanation that would satisfy this long time disgruntled viewer. Just like they couldn't explain Dixie's missing 5 years and why all of the sudden she came back to Pine Valley!

Also written out is Tanisha Lynn (Danielle Frye). Why because having any black people in Pine Valley is bad? I will Miss Danielle!

The rumor mill also has Walt Wiley (Jackson) and James Mitchell (Palmer) leaving the canvas fairly soon. When will the destruction of AMC stop?!!! How much can the viewers endure?

Dixie came back with fanfare. She did the classic (and annoying) skulking about town and then in a weird twist managed to help turn her ex-husband Tad into a murder. The writers were never able to adequately explain her 5 year absence. We discovered in the horrible writing that while on the hunt for the elusive Dr. Greg Madden (who wasn't that elusive) she managed to prostitute herself out for money to help in the search of Kate (or as the writers called it…got herself a wealthy man to foot the bill). She then had an odd storyline with David and Zach. Tad was angry and abusive over and over and just as she berates Krystal into exposing the father of her baby and recapturing her lost life with son JR she's now being written off. Why?

How come no one fires the obvious problem? The Executive Producer and the Head Writer are to blame for all of this fiasco. Daytime executives, who never valued the large viewership that Daytime television had years ago, are also responsible for the decline in ratings. They assumed that after the OJ trial the viewers would just come back but the viewers either tuned out or moved on. The fan faithful stayed on and have been dismissed as sexed crazed people by the current President of Daytime Brian Frons. We have endured the last year of horrible writing, newbies that are more annoying than intriguing, The Babe and Ryan Show, the destruction of Jack and Erica for the flimsiest of storylines,The revisionist storytelling of the abortion that was transplanted, new camera techniques that left viewers tuning out due to seasickness and the worst offense of all…the slaughtering of the cast. Long time characters dismissed, long time players dropped, and the loss of good story for the plotline driven drivel! Brooke just disappeared…Reggie just disappeared…Jamal…just disappeared…Simone and Erin are dead…Ruth…disappeared…Joe is practically missing and the list goes on!

I've said before if Bianca's new love interest is Zarf/Zoe I will no longer watch the show. I mean that. Maggie is back for a three week run and if I do not get to see this couple that I followed for 4 years have some happy time before the end of Liz Henderickson's run I will be even grumpier than I am now.

Another thing floating around the boards is that the executive genius' at ABC Daytime use focus groups to judge future and current storylines and this is why some of the stupid decision were made. Clearly they didn't poll people who actually watch either television or daytime television if this is the case.

I'm tired of this murder/serial killer storyline because it's not intriguing…it's not riveting and it's hollow! TIIC think that murder is what sells. This from a bunch of people who didn't want to see a same sex kiss years ago but think rape, murder, and child stealing is so much less controversial than love.

Brian Frons and the nuts in the Executive office couldn't leave AMC alone…nope…Look out GHers because your show is next! With their "new storytelling technique"! They bring back Scotty Baldwin to woo you but really what they plan to do is hit you over the head and defile you!

It's just makes me so sad it's like watching your home burn down to the ground and you can't save it or any of your pictures or mementos. In the end all you have are your memories of the past.

Here Endth My Angry, Angry Rant!

The Three Stooges…and Zarf
January 16, 2007

Wow what a brain trust Zach, Ryan and Tad are…NOT. So Zach gets another clue from the killer and the first thing he does is share it with his buddies. Funny I would have given it to the Police Forensic team. Nope these geniuses pass it around like it's a school project. Oh and they are going to find the killer before the police because…because…Well good golly if I could just finish this sentence! I'm already bored with the "Satin Slayer" storyline. I believe that if I didn't know this was just a lame attempt to whittle the cast down I might be slightly interested. Well, if the killing didn't take place over Christmas. You know when every other show was having their families bond together and remember what was really important in life. Ah…death, murder, poisoning, lying, cheating, stealing….Nope just on AMC…the other shows were FAMILY, LOVE, HOPE, and FORGIVENESS! Anyway back to the three stooges. Ryan lives in denial always. Why is no one investigating the only real murderer flying about town…Jonathan? And before you tell me that he would never kill is sister…I remind the readers that he murdered his brother and shot Ryan point blank. I know, I know…it was the tumor that made him do it. To which I offer this. The tumor blocked his rational to distinguish between right and wrong. But the BEHAVIOR was there to begin with. So what if dear Hockett is slipping again. With just a bit of research he could pin it on Zach…you know like he did before with the Edmund case. Well with the help of Ethan. Just throwing that out there.

Zarf/Zoë and Babe are cute as friends…how come Zoë didn't fall for her. I would have gotten on board with that story but no they tie Zoë to Bianca because she's gay and she will understand. They villainize Bianca because she sees a man and feels he did all of this to mock or conquest her. Hello who declares their love the first 5 seconds they know someone and expect anyone to take them seriously. Babe is the savior again. Okay.

If I could change a couple of things about the show I would do the following:

I know I've been very critical this Rant but when these things build up in me I just have to let it all out! LOL.

Here Endth My Rant!

"Madness, Madness, Madness…"

January 11, 2007

I watched today and wondered why a got my hopes up that the writing is improving. It's like the writers take one step forward and two steps back and it's driving me crazy!

First, Yeah JR got his lazy but out of that stupid bed and wow is he a lazy bum..What's with the powered wheelchair? Moving on, Jamie's strange alliance with JR has always unsettled me but never as much as of late. Jamie…your brother tried to kill you…THREE TIMES!!!! (Stabbing by Seth, Lead Pipe to the head and dropping a motorcycle on you). He also had you arrested and on one occasion because JR framed him. Babe (not a saint) set it up for you to dump her so you could inherit Phoebe's fortune and thus pursue your alleged passion for medicine. You know she gave you up so you could have a future. So I can see why you hate Babe so much. She's a slut. But let's be truthful here being a liar and a whore is so much less a crime than someone who thinks murder and attempted murder are acceptable on a daily basis! Maybe JR is really Jonathan's lost twin brother. Neither of these men have a moral compass!

I've always been uneasy about how JR is written. He's a criminal who skates by all the time because there is always someone to cover for him. Now he's going to USE his son AGAIN to get back at Babe because she's unfaithful. Can you imagine that custody hearing? Your honor my wife has cheated on me and she is an unfit mother. She's lied and she's a whore who is incapable of fidelity. She STOLE my son once before and I got custody of him during the last proceedings because I paid off the judge.

Your Honor, my husband tried to kill me and accidentally almost killed my business partner and her child. I covered for him because he's an alcoholic. You see he also ran over a woman while driving drunk and I covered for him so the father of my son wouldn't go to jail. Oh he tried to kill or have his brother killed several times and of course when we got married again he gave me full custody of our son (see documents) because if our marriage fell apart I wanted to protect my son from harm since my husband feels he's a possession and not a child. So what do you think judge? I know I'm a whore but I never tried to assault, kill, bribe or manipulate anyone. Oh and before I forget…my husband is mentally deranged…he jumped out a 4th story window a couple of weeks ago. I believe he is suicidal and shouldn't be around our son! But you decide.

This storyline needs to end NOW! Babe and JR have become boring. And the fact that Jamie would kidnap her child and go on the run because they loved each other and put up with JR trying to destroy them at ever turn I find it difficult that he's now JR's greatest champion no matter what issues he has with Babe. They're brothers…you know what happened to Abel, right???

In short I loath watching the Chandlers…all of them from Colby who complains and whines to JR who complains, plots and whines to Adam who believes his children have the right to be horrible despicable people who get revenge and torment/torture and get a kick out of hurting people. All I have to say is I must Fast Forward this crap!

I'm so over this murderfest. It's not interesting in the least. No one has answers other than Zarf did it and Zach's mother is a connection. They have cops and bodyguards who are useless (how come they never get killed…well except poor Steve) And the formula is the same…Killed…Babe runs around yelling come get me…killed….Kendall runs around saying we'll stand strong!…Almost Killed…Babe runs around scream come get me!…
B O R I N G!!!! And the thought of having to sustain 3 to 4 more weeks of this deathfest…I can see murder on my evening news. Not to mentions this is not the writers strong suit. How about you write a nice love story? Oops you can't write those either. Oh and Babe are you ever going home to see your son?

I'm just so frustrated!!!

Here Endth My Rant!

Bob The Incompetent Troublemaker?
January 9, 2007

Okay what was with Babe's bodyguard Bob? He goes to JR and tells him all about the kiss at midnight between Babe and Josh and how Josh was around all night. Interestingly enough Bodyguard Bob leaves out the most important part that if Josh hadn't been stalking Babe she may have been hurt by an out of control Jonathan. Or the fact that Bob left out the part where Babe told Josh several times to leave her alone. BB was standing in the wings listening to most of their conversations throughout the evening so this omission is amazing to me! Sure the plot point is JR's usual behavior to call his lawyer, get the divorce and steal Little A away from his mother forever! Which I answer YAWN! I'm really hoping the writers come up with something different because we've been watching that scene since 2003!

It is time to stop the merry-go-round Babe/JR/Josh (or insert other J named man)! I do not enjoy fast forwarding through the show so if TPTB could stop with the same old JR and have him hook up with someone else or commit him to Babe I would be greatly appreciative! Thanks.

Here endeth my Rant!


The Difference A Day Makes
January 7, 2007

I couldn't believe my own reaction to the show of late. I guess having been dragged down to the point of I don't care has left me kind of beaten down and dreading watching the show. So how shocked was I when Bianca wasn't moping around on NYE and actually found someone to kiss. I felt sorry for Zarf/Zoe and loved that her champion was Babe. And of course Zendall rocked as usual but my greatest shock is my newest favorite character who is Dr. Josh Madden. I am sooooo digging Colin Egglesfield. When I saw him at SSW this year a thought he was as cute as a button. I love chemistry that he has with everyone he works with. His relationship with "siblings" Bianca and Kendall is first rate. I loved that Josh was ready to fight for Bianca when he thought that Zarf had hurt her. His plotting with Kendall is fun and light and Josh's relationship with his parents is first rate. Colin has taken a character that was derived from one of the worst storylines ever on television to a level of acceptance. Kudos to Colin for winning over this very disgruntled long time viewer!

I love that we get to see alot of Myrtle because she's one of my favorites of the last 37 years and what is the greatest are the scenes with Zach. She's Zach's true confidant and he trusts her as much if not more than Kendall. How great was their tea time that consisted not of tea but whiskey in tea cups? Classic and I loved it!!

Zoe, Zoe, Zoe...my love whom I thought I wouldn't be able to warm up to but has shocked me. Not only is Jeff Carlson (aka Zarf/Zoe) a fantastic actor that can play crazy eccentric rock star one moment and then the emotionally fragile Transgender Zoe the next, but he can also sing! Zarf's impromptu song was amazing and fun. I'm loving this character and I hope that they do not drag Zoe to the mopey/crying/annoying place as they have with so many characters last year. I understand the intense storyline that is to come but if they allow Jeff to just be quirky while trying to win over the townies while being under suspicion of being a serial killer all will be well with me.

I know I'm not the only one who thought Leslie and Bianca made a great couple because I was on the boards and it's been mostly a thumbs up from the masses. Kelli O'Hara (Leslie) gave us an amazing portrayal of a strong and confident Lesbian Woman. I would love to see Bianca and Leslie together when Maggie comes back to town and I hope that TPTB at AMC make her a contract role. Kelli and Eden had amazing chemistry not seen for Bianca since Liz Henderickson's Maggie. If the writers were smart they would have Leslie and Bianca as a couple. Even if it's for a short time I think that these two characters (actors) were so comfortable that so much storyline could surround the two. Leslie has no back story other than being one of the "old gang" so there is much to explore as well as being that thorn in the side of Zoe's want of acceptance and Bianca's need to "love the world".

I admit I am one of those fans burned out by the Josh/Babe/JR triangle. This story needs to come to a close. I love Alexa but they have her character of Babe walking around in a circle. Josh, JR, Josh, JR...blah, blah, blah. This is why I love that Babe is Zoe's champion. It has nothing to do with Josh or JR. Yeah!

Now to the one thing that has bothered me beyond bother! Jonathan the mass murderer and my lack of sympathy for the Lavery Boys over Erin's death. I loved the character of Erin and felt that she was extremely under utilized but I wish that the writers would explore the story of Jonathan being faced with the pain and torment of his serial killing spree and feeling some kind of connection of guilt. Maybe if Jonathan felt that Erin's death was payback from the fates for his past crimes I would feel comfortable with the storyline. And it is the STORYLINE, not the actors I take issue with because I love, love, love Jeff Branson, especially when his a little dark. Not only does Jonny have no guilt over killing Edmund and his own brother but he's living in Edmund's house! The writers really need to review some of their own work before writing horrid stuff like this. I offer these clips to show the inconsistancy that I feel exists with Jonathan and Ryan. The first is Sam and his friends tormenting the person who murdered his father. Aidan basically tells him he's wrong. Then Sam pulls a gun on Jonathan and Julia talks the lad down explaining it's not the way and here Jonathan actually feels if it helps Sam to move on than he'll die. Jonathan goes after Zarf because he's SURE that Zarf is the killer and everyone is like Zarf's the bad guy (with no evidence) and then Jonny goes on a rant with Annie talking about the police (who by the way let him off the hook) and Zarf's guilt. How soon Jonathan forgets when he was falsely accused of Janet's crimes. I love the intensity that Jeff plays Jonathan but I just need to feel for him and I don't. It's like Ryan telling Annie that Tad's a good guy. Which Tad...the murderer...the man who took no responsiblity after Annie's daughter Emma was taken from her by social services? Just wondering? Over all I've enjoyed the show last week and I hope my lovefest continues well into this week!

My very last annoyance is when is JR going to get out of that stupid bed. I had major surgery and they got me out of bed hooked to a bunch of tubes but I still got up...he's such a light weight! Oh and keep trying with Colby and Sean...eventually they might be written to be liked by someone. It's really a shame because Ambyr and Brent can act to bad they aren't given anything decent to work with.
Here endeth my Rant!

The New Year Brings…Annoyance!
January 3, 2007

Let me start with Erica and Jackson, exactly how old is Erica? Well I'm thinking she's old enough to grow the hell up! This storyline is so annoying for two reasons. First, Erica acted the same exact way when she was with Chris Stamp. Remember him? Erica feeling oh so neglected seduced Jackson, slept with him and then pushed him away, all the while letting Chris know just how much Jackson meant to her. Chris ended up hiring a guy to spy on the two "Love Birds" who in the very end murdered Chris. Erica One, Lover Zero! So this storyline is recycled from 2003. Secondly, Erica and Jeff have no chemistry. At least Erica and Chris were smokin'! When Jeff kisses Erica it looks like he's kissing his sister Tara. And let me also point out that these aren't teens or 20 something's acting this way…this group consists of Grandparents. Sure they are sexy grandparents but the point is grow up already.

The facts are these, Erica moved out of her home with Jackson because Sean moved in. She found out her abortion lived and Jeff came to town and the three resided at the Valley Inn like one big science project family. Sure Erica's weak excuse was "work" but her moving out made no sense. Especially since she has a penthouse at Enchantment she could have lived at. Skipping that, Erica became angry with Jack because he wouldn't send his abandoned teenaged nephew away, thus taking some of Jack's attention away from her. Later when Sean talked to Erica about leaving because he knew it was his fault that Jack and she were apart Ms. Kane told him it was not because of him that she and Jack had problems. Oh, that problem was Jack needing to help his autistic traumatized daughter who had been menaced by a child molester. Again, Erica became distant because Jack's attention was elsewhere. Note to Miss Kane, you are a selfish wench who never put anyone before herself, no matter what she says about her beloved Bianca. So again, Erica makes the smallest reasons her excuse to magnify so she can do whatever she wants because lets face it she's bored now because it's not all about her. PleaZZZZe!

This triangle is boring and predictable (been done in 2003). There were so many other ways to have had Jack and Erica dealing with things that would upset their domestic bliss and the writers chose to go the route of selfish whore. Nice.

The childishness of today's episode where Erica gets back at Jackson for not being the gift giver instead of seeing what came from Colby and Sean's hope of the two reconciling. And then calling Jeff who like and eager 15-year-old boy rushes to Erica. At that point Jackson should have just said to Jeff…you can have her I'm done torturing myself. I gave her twenty years and she gave me nothing but twenty years of grief…good luck with her! Nope…Jack will stew a bit…get some advice from Myrtle and then go and fight for his true love! If it were true love she wouldn't be so easily dismissing it!

Moving on to everything else. I did like the more vulnerable Zach, that is, as long as it is only temporary. I do not want to see Zach as a pathetic shell of his former self. You know like what they did to Tad.

Did anyone else notice that this NYE was kind of lame? Since there is no romance going on in Pine Valley it was light on the kissing at midnight moment. The only couples together are all off screen. Tom and Livia and Ruth and Joe. I do not count Adam and Krystal because they are tied up in that recycled baby drama and their love is going to crash any second. Jamie and Julia are to busy with their new child and before that there was no romance…just sex. Which of course is what Brian Frons, President of ABC Daytime was quoted as saying, that's the viewers actually want. Dude, you must be completely out of your gourd. Women want romance…men want sex. Nice Freudian slip.

Was that Simone's Kenny at the bar today? Just wondering. And since when has Di become a Fusion Girl? I think I missed something? But with this writing I probably didn't.

Here endth my Rant!