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Comments through Friday, February 13, 2004 On your mark…get set…GO! Monday through Friday, GH began with a picture of the Port Charles Hotel in flames and the time, then took off into characters and couples trying to survive the inferno. I appreciated how the canvas moved and changed. Carly and Alexis, Jason and Carly, the teens and Lorenzo, Sonny and Courtney, Lorenzo and Carly – folks moved, fought, fell through floors, and jumped over flames mostly trying to make it to the roof. There definitely were a few funnies and wacky inconsistencies but I tried to overlook most of them and enjoy the efforts in front of me. Can you imagine how the actors felt returning to work each day to become grimier than the day before? Yuck. I bet the dirty clothing worn the previous day waited for them in wardrobe. Yuck, again. I knew the week was good when, on Thursday, I arrived home, rewound my tape as I changed clothes and made the mistake of pressing “Play” before I fixed dinner. About 40 minutes later, I was still standing in front of the television, half changed, watching the end and telling my kids, “Hold on, I’ll feed you in a minute.” I want to clarify my mixed feelings in one area for this week:
Adventures, Great Dialogue, Action!
No Valentine’s Day romance. Again! So what do you think? Was the Cataclysmic Event a success? I tried to watch as if I were channel surfing and happened upon a raging fire in daytime. Would I stop to check out the show? I think I would if only to see what was going on. In that perspective I think the C.E. successfully accomplished pull ‘em in viewing. Would it, as a new viewer, peak my curiosity enough about the characters to entice me into sticking around? I hope so for the sake of ratings. Measured in steadfast fan appeal (mine and many others if the e-mails I received are an indication), I think TPTB created some shake ‘em up daytime drama.
If you were surfing, would stop and watch? I think I would. A couple love flags were waved, dubiously in honor of Valentine’s Day. Tracey hugged both Dillon and Ned in her exuberance over making it to safety. Luke connected with his son Lucky and kissed Skye. Jason and Courtney said I love you. Sonny expressed his love/hate feelings for unconscious Carly. Liz ran into Ric’s arms. Emily gave the best silent scream I never heard at the final scene on Friday as bye-bye lullaby music played, the helicopter lifted off and an explosion rocked the rooftop where Nikolas was standing. Talk about your edge-of-the-seat, her-true-love’s-a-gonner scene!
It wasn’t hearts and flowers but at least the “L” word was used. When it came to drama I vote for Carly and Alexis in the elevator as they connected over children and Alexis finally revealed what I think she’s yearned to tell all along. Sonny scares her and she doesn’t want to invest in MOB life, but a part of her remains fascinated by a man opposite from her in most ways, yet as flawed and scarred as she is. That’s my take on Alexis, I’m sure there are many others. Anyway, she spilled her secret and then lived to regret her panicky loose tongue when Carly forced her out of wimpy helplessness and made her jump a few feet from the elevator to the hall. Both women played their parts true to character as adversaries reaching out in tragedy. Several other scenes stood out. Robyn Richards waved her acting stripes all week as a teenager taking one emotional hit after another. Maxie, fighting fear, panic and terror, learned of Zander’s death and had to inform Cameron, she saw Mac being wheeled out after being badly burned, she learned that Georgie was trapped in the hotel, and then had to share the news about Mac after Georgie’s rescue. Another dramatic grabber was Carly asking Jason if he ever felt anything more and why didn’t they act on their feelings. Oh, and I can’t forget Luke comforting Cameron as he drew his last breath. “I know what dying is. Hell, I should. I’ve been dying inside for years. Well that’s strange. All of a sudden, it doesn’t hurt as much.” So much great drama, such a short 38 minutes!
Would you jump already?
In the real world, the C.E. would be the event that defines the rest of her life.
He behaved like an ass at times. He never was allowed the limelight to become lovable. He died well. As a means to acquire important info, running through a burning building seems extreme, but it worked for Carly. Alexis confessed Kristina’s paternity. Jason admitted that he harbored deeper than friendship feelings for her at one point. While Sonny cradled her and told her he loves her. We know Carly will make it out alive. With three of her lovers running up and down stairwells and falling through floors to rescue her, she’s bound to make it. Jason kissed her, Lorenzo gave up his helicopter seat to search for her and Sonny expressed his feelings with a heartbreakingly real speech. “I’d give my life if you were home with the boys taking care of them. I’ve never loved or hated anyone the way I’ve loved and hated you. The way I hate and love you right now. Please wake up. Please.” Doesn’t get much better. Besides, she’s still wearing The Jacket which will ensure her safety, because The Jacket will survive to deflect bullets, fire and smoke another day. Hope it makes a trip to the cleaners first.
No matter what you think about Carly, Tamara Braun deserves a medal for sportsmanship. She’s a tragedy trooper. There’s a lot to say about Courtney this week both positive and negative. Dayna of the Fashion Police and I e-mailed back and forth, finding it extremely funny that Courtney rescued a dog named Skippy. Anyone who has zipped around the ‘net for long at GH sites knows that Courtney’s nickname is Skippy, which I guess proves that TPTB don’t pay attention to us clever, communicating ‘net fans or they wouldn’t have made Skippy run back into a burning building to save Skippy. Poor little doggy tied to a stairwell railing sucking in smoke. I was amused wondering why the heck the dog couldn’t WALK. He had a leash, four little doggy legs in working order, why didn’t Courtney and dear, rich panicky Louise just put down the dog for goodness sakes!
Told ya he could walk. Yep, it was a rough week for Courtney. Brian yelled with exasperated disbelief, “You risked your life for a dog? You should never have been in the building in the first place.” Jason turned on him, “Hey, you don’t get to talk to her that way.” Then he turned to Courtney and said what I’m sure everyone was thinking, “You know that’s crazy, don’t you?” OK, so there were a few other words in between, but that was the gist of it. She had to re-enter the building though so she could find Sonny to bicker with…I mean help, later. Like ten year olds Sonny and Courtney argued as they tried to find a way upstairs. After a week’s worth of trauma and drama, Courtney finally made it out of the building. She saw Ric holding Liz and reacted. Trapped in the burning building, most of her loved ones remained in danger and there was Ric safe and sound. Her stress and fear burst forth as she attacked him. “Isn’t this a sweet little picture? The sick freak reunited with his clueless wife and unborn child. Sonny and Carly are dead, Jason’s trapped. And here you are Ric, good ol’ Ric who tormented all of us. You son of a b**ch. It shoulda been you! I hate you!” Ric responded by not responding and absorbed her rage. He’s not far above pond scum, but I didn’t roll my eyes at him once this week, especially when he called Capelli dirty and wanted to save Sonny.
I don’t care what you say, I’m keeping the dog!
Courtney broke and let Ric know that we remember his dirty deeds. Jason and Brian made me laugh. Brian decided that the children needed water so he tried the door. Locked. He made an oh-well-we’re-screwed look so Jason took over and shot out the lock. They reached the room and Brian declared that the children must have fresh air. The window won’t open so he did the helpless-what-can-I-do look again. Jason quickly jumped to the rescue and threw a chair through the window. I guess innovation and problem solving aren’t Brian’s strong suit. Wouldn’t want to break a rule or mess up his hair in the midst of flames, death and rescuing children.
The Jacket sends little heroic neuron impulses through Jason. Someone bopped Skye on the head from behind and my first thought was, “Hey, it’s not nice to knock out pregnant women!” Luckily, Luke found her and they had tons of fun fighting fire with fire extinguishers. Luke’s cowboy persona showed up again as he took control of the panicky people trapped in the Versailles Room. He grabbed the cop’s gun, shot it in the air and laid down the law. “Hey! Life’s a gamble people. This proves it. Everyone has one chance to save his or her life. This is gonna be a lottery folks. Everybody draws a number. Low goes first, high last. The only exceptions will be the badly injured and kids under 18. They take priority.” He said more but I’m sure you watched and cheered like I did. Luke and Skye were real cheddar in a cheese whiz kind of environment.
A good cowboy always gets the girl. Where’s his hat? Faith, one of the queen b**ches, offered comic relief throughout the disaster and handled herself with dignity at the end. That she expected to die was clear and she took it like a proper wicked MOB Moll should in her final conversation and kiss with Justus.
Kiss me, before we’re burnt toast. Justus: Have a safe trip. Faith: I hope you make it, Counselor. But if you die, look at the bright side. Sooner or later, I’ll be joining you in Hell. I laughed when Faith, finding Sonny in the burning hotel, immediately presented a business proposition. She also tried with Alcazar. Covering all her bases, she used her opportunities well though to no avail. Lorenzo summed up his feelings when spotting her in the Versailles Room he sarcastically commented, “Oh joy. You made it.”
Faith tried to suck up to the two guys whom she most wants to add to her Buddy List. The ick feeling swept through me again as Sam and Jax had their little love fest when I remembered that she’d left Sonny’s bed to steal the treasure only a couple of hours previously. I know it was thought-we-were-gonna-die sex, but…ICK.
I keep forgetting, she only has ONE scruple and that has to do with being paid off to leave town. Sex can happen anytime, anywhere with anyone. Edward, oh Edward, I wish you weren’t leaving. John Ingle demonstrated why Edward retains his popularity as a lovable character even though he’s cruel, manipulative and intolerant most of the time. Informed of the problem with the electrical system only a short time before the auction began with little or no time to make a decision, he took responsibility for the inferno and seemed to age before my eyes as the tragedy grew bigger and bigger. Against Tracey’s insistent wishes, he trembled and almost gave in to tears as he admitted that the disaster was his fault. He prayed for Emily and responded to Tracey truthfully.
Carolyn said Tracey showed emotion this week. I said she was a heartless lush, until she hugged Dillon and Ned on Friday. Tracey: I love you. Why do you let everyone in but me? Edward: Because you frighten me Tracey. You always have. When I look at you, I see the worst of myself. Tracey: Well, I’ve succeeded. All I ever wanted was to be just like you. Thank you, Mr. Ingle for your magnificent portrayal of Edward Quartermaine. I’ll miss you. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll tempt me to check in with you on that other soap when it begins airing on SoapNet. Ssshhhh! Don’t tell. Supposedly, I only watch GH.
I salute you, John Ingle. How did Lucky make it from the Versailles Room to the ground when everyone else was trapped? How come the security room still had power because the monitors were working? Even with an auxiliary generator, if the electrical system fries, electronics don’t work. How did the policeman in the Versailles Room make it up there without messing up his uniform? When did Georgie acquire nursing skills?
Just a minute, he’s bleeding and I learned first aid during my hours passing out magazines at GH. How come no one noticed Helena chatting with unconscious Emily as she untied her tourniquet?
I’ll get you, My Pretty, and your little dog too! Why did Alexis feel it necessary to run home and shower before returning to the catastrophe?
I showered, washed my hair, reapplied my make up, and put on clean clothes. Standards must be kept even in a catastrophe. How come the building suffered numerous explosions but the stairs didn’t blow up? And last, but not least, was Tracey always a lush? She kept drinking and drinking and I was waiting for the falling down drunken Tracey scene but it never happened. What I saw were Tracey and Helena trading barbs in true B**ch mode and declaring the wonderfulness of their offspring to the eye rolling disgust of the other.
Free bar takes on a whole new meaning when you’re stuck in a burning building. Folks mostly tried to escape the BBQ, with the exception of a couple bad guys. Capelli shot Brian and then handcuffed Jason to a stair railing. Scotty hijacked a fireman’s uniform and snatched the treasure. And I’m wondering if Coleman’s lurking around? It’s ironic, the pariahs of Port Charles are behaving well (Sonny, Jason, Faith, Alcazar – the Mad MOB Four) while the Brothers in Blue seems to be harboring evil brethren. It’s not normal or right, but it IS General Hospital status quo. Mr. Guza and Mr. Pratt offered an interesting heads up in an interview posted at TVGuide.com. Cameron never wowed me, but I always felt his potential and wanted to see Zander and his father play out their relationship. According to the interview, secrets are being kept to the point that red herring scenes were taped. My, my, I never thought they’d be so determined to keep a secret or so clever. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, but I love a good surprise. I also enjoy that they’re forced to make big efforts to keep the storyline under wraps. It shows that we fans are a force to be reckoned with.
Photo Credit: tvguide.com Bob Guza Jr. (above) and Chuck Pratt (below) Co-Head Writers of General Hospital
Then I guess there's no way you're going to give me a
casualty list. Because I'm picking up that Zander and Cameron (Lane
Davies) are destined for toe tags.
Photo Credit: Soaptown USA For those of you who love Rick Hearst and even if you don’t, there’s a wonderful interview written up by Soapboy at Soaptown USA. Mr. Hearst offered insight on what makes Ric (GH) tick and how he feels about acting. My mistrust of Ric runs deep, but I truly admire the actor and he summed it up beautifully. “Hopefully I’ll continue to give performances that make you sit up, take notice and cause you to spit at the TV, run from the room screaming or just smile,” says Hearst.” He’s pretty darn good at what he does. Go on with your bad self, Mr. Hearst! For those of you who go spoiler free, I admire your will power and wish I had more. For those of you who read and enjoy spoilers, aren’t they fun? Ric is on a mission to pin Zander's "death" on Nikolas. (GHFF) Why? If Zander’s gone, why blame Nikolas? Liz’s close friend. Besides, Niko locked Zander, a fugitive, in the basement and then called police. It’s not like the PCPD could find Zander. Courtney decides to start a new life....without Jason. Courtney says "No" to Jason....that is when he wants to renew Sonny's leases on The Docks. She vows no illegal business on her property. (GHFF) I can’t help but think that Courtney’s goin’ psycho-Sonny on Jason trying to force him into the life she wants him to lead. Perhaps she’s hung around Carly enough and she has “a plan”. I like this twist that Courtney has some power and something to do besides show up at Kelly’s, then run out on her shift. Courtney feels responsible for Zander's death (GHH2) Courtney feels guilty. Nikolas feels guilty. Edward and the Q’s (except Tracey) feel guilty. Lots of people feel guilty over ZanMan’s crispy demise. And he’s not even dead. Emily searches through the rubble for Nikolas. (GHH2) Hope she changes out of her purple dress first. And now, something that has nothing to do with anything else. It just made me laugh. (Turn up the volume) http://beverlys.net/LJ/BuggingYou.swf I have a confession to make. This week I was a whiner. I whined because it was cold; I whined because I had to drive children around in the cold; I whined because it was wet; and I whined because I had to wear five layers of clothing to stay warm. Oh yeah, and I whined because I caught a cold. Waa, waa, waa! Thinking about how sorry for myself I felt embarrasses me now. Especially, since I live in Texas and cold for me means high 30’s. Go ahead, roll your eyes. I complained to Carolyn and she laughed at me. When I look around at my life without the waa-waa overload, I realize that without cold, I wouldn’t appreciate warmth. Without cold and wet, I wouldn’t understand the uplifting comfort of warm, dry feet. Think a pair of UGG boots could be considered a tax deductible investment? I am grateful that I have enough clothing to choose from that I can pile on several layers and return home to a warm house and a fire in the fireplace. So in the end I whined, and then I got over my pitiful self (because my husband was tired of listening to me). Besides, I had great edge-of-my-seat GH to watch, which definitely waged war with the waa-waas. This week I wish for you a few moments to look around, take stock, and appreciate your creature comforts. If you’re in a place of freezing temps, ice and snow, I also wish for you some warm socks and a pair of trendy UGG boots! Thanks for stopping by.
Hang on! Don’t whine.
http://www.internetbumperstickers.com/ A standing ovation to GH World, the best screen caps site around! http://groups.msn.com/GHWorld4
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