Time to ‘fess up. Did you cry? Were you batting your eyes to keep tears from spilling? By the end of Tuesday’s New Year’s Eve episode I was entranced and when Carly cried at the end my emotions and tears welled up with hers. I could pick it apart over little details, but I don’t want to. It was good, entertaining storytelling. And isn’t that the point at the end of our daily stroll down Soap Lane? Hats off to General Hospital, especially the folks behind the scenes for creating a unique 20’s era mini-drama.
I love black and white photos - powerful, emotive.
So you know I have comments about the NYE eppy. I can’t help myself. Please understand that random thoughts run through my brain uninvited and these are observations, not criticism.
- A.J. finally became powerful, but still didn’t accomplish his mission of killing Marco/Sonny. The guy just can’t catch a break, not even when he uses machine guns.
- I just finished watching Taken in which Steve Burton had his head shaved and then died under a Hitler style surgeon’s knife. Darned if I didn’t have to watch him die again. It’s a little like John Wayne biting the bullet the few times he died in his flicks. Just not supposed to happen.
- Played to the hilt, Katherine/Carly’s inflections kept veering into southern bell.
- Priestly Edward? Whew, now that’s hard to absorb.
- Corrupt Scotty’s just crooked no matter what era in which he makes an appearance.
- Loved the dresses, jewelry and hats.
- Men’s hair parted down the middle and slicked back didn’t do anything for me but interestingly, my daughter watched a few minutes and commented that she liked the guys hair that way. Go figure.
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Some entertaining dialogue occurred this week.
Alexis and Dr. Cam in the neonatal nursery after Alexis hands him an intrusive file filled with personal history and tries to question him:
Alexis: Save your
breath I already know I’m neurotic.”
And later:
Alexis: Don’t you think you’re overreacting?
Dr. Cam: This, from
the neonatal drama queen.
Carly to Bobbie as they discuss smashing the brick wall in Kelly’s basement to see what’s on the other side: (It’s a lot like why did the chicken cross the road, don’t you think?)
Bobbie: Maybe there are things on the other side of those bricks that need to be left alone.
Carly: Mom, have you
been watching those horror movies with Lucas again?
And later, after swinging the sledgehammer and looking fine while doing it:
Ric: See, lawyers are
good for something after all.
Scotty, Sonny and Jason at the PCPD when Ida wandered in:
Ida (fearful): That’s Jason Morgan, isn’t it?
Sonny (smiling): You want to meet him?
Scotty to Jason: Knock it off Lurch, or I’ll throw you in the cage.
Borg, Lurch, what’s the diff.
Because I’ve been Jax bashing since he trashed Skye I’m going to give him this one little thing. I really liked that blue overcoat he wore on Monday, which Scotty commented upon. Having said that I now want Skye to quit drinking, Coleman to stop pouring her drinks, and a revved up kick-some-Jax-butt plan to go into action. My heart hurt with Skye as she sank, crying, to the floor clutching the divorce papers.
Jax, I like your coat, but you’re a dog for breaking Skye’s heart.
I know that Skye is far from perfect. She’s not even nice. But Jax treats her so badly that I can’t focus on her faults, I only see his. At the courthouse Skye, clearly vindictive, goaded Jax about Brenda killing Alcazar. Superiority laced his voice and stance as he responded with “C’mon Skye, you’re better than this,” and, “I hope for your sake you can turn this around.” It’s just so…so insulting. Like he cares. But no, his main concern is controlling Brenda. And now he’s upset because Brenda refused to participate in his raging jealousy and Hate-Sonny vendetta. Therefore, he must troll the waters of the legal system, not trying to exonerate the woman he nobody-leaves with, but attempting to force his will onto the legal process. Sorry. I should have stopped with I liked his blue coat on Monday.
All she did was walk down the hall of the courthouse minding her own business. First, Alexis stopped to view Gia’s interview tape with Ida that never happened. Then Ric stopped her to discuss the strategies of defense for their respective clients while Jax eavesdropped from around the corner. As soon as Ric left, Jax planted himself in front of Alexis to dictate trial strategy – save Brenda, fry Jason. As this conversation progressed Carly is seen peeking out from the official courthouse eavesdropping spot around the corner. It’s inevitable. On Monday a fuming Carly will wrathfully plant herself in Alexis’ face. Let the slapping commence. This is reassuring because that honest, mature Carly I saw talking to Sonny on Monday may take awhile to adjust to. At least this way, I know that impulsive, train wreck Carly is alive and well. And all Alexis did was walk down the hall, minding her own business.
New mature, honest Carly Old impulsive, train wreck
Carly
Try not to get them mixed up.
Ned seems to be experiencing an extended bad hair day. On Monday he had bad hair, but hot sex and a bit lip. I’m liking Ned the Fierce, gatekeeper of his own life thank you very much, and if you don’t like it Alexis, tough. I adore Alexis but she’s been alternately trashing then loving Ned and you just can’t shred people’s emotions on a regular basis without fallout. Now she’s stumped over what to do with the new take-no-prisoners Ned. Plus, my supposition that Ned did the dirty to Alcazar keeps my interest perked.
I’m wishing Ida didn’t have to die. What a great character. Sneaky, greedy, and conniving with the face of a sweet old lady, Ida’s a gonner. Ida much rather she stayed around to work for Sonny. Wouldn’t that be fun? I just loved Sonny’s warm, dimply, toothy, insincere smile and finger wave to Our Lady of the False Statement at the PCPD.
He’s cute, but I wouldn’t trust him.
Contemplating while cleaning the kitchen, I’ve concocted an Ida death theory. Seeing Ida’s shadow hanging from a noose was chilling. I don’t want A.J. to be that sick and able to murder Ida even though he has had some personal hanging experience having swung on a hook in a meat locker for an indefinite period of time. It’s appalling enough that he paid Coleman to stalk his wife. However, a RUMOR has floated by that Billy Warlock was offered a part on another soap, which means Guza and Co. would be free to vilify A.J. to their hearts content should BW accept the RUMORED offer. But, it seems too easy that Courtney’s loose tongue goaded him into murder. My most plausible thought makes Faith’s goon squad the hangmen. Faith and Posse, in partnership with Ned, were supposed to make Ida disappear (because I don’t want Ned offing little old ladies either), but instead they pulled her plug. It will look like Sonny ordered her gone so she couldn’t testify against Brenda. Thereby, blowing the case against Brenda and Jason but keeping Sonny firmly in the criminal spotlight. These are beginning conjectures and I reserve the right to change my musings at whim or the next time I do dishes.
This gave me the creeps!
It’s a little vindictive but I wish Taggert would follow through with his threats to Gia. How many times can Gia take advantage of his position as police officer for her personal benefit or for criminal activity before Taggert’s trust button stops working for her? You know the phrase, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” If the shoe fits, Taggert… At some point Gia should face a consequence, or two, so we can see more than an I’m-sorry-I-got-caught attitude. I know Gia has a fan base, power to them for finding this character likable. But for me, she’s a fast forward button. I’m willing to change my opinion should she evolve from predictable miscreant to personality with dimensions. She’s a wait and see kind of character.
Some major decorating has occurred in the loft of love. Do you think Courtney has a decorating budget? Maybe she spends her entire Kelly’s paycheck on home furnishings. She certainly owns enough coats. Now she should buy more pants. Whoever dresses that girl really loves those putty-colored, low-rise corduroys since she wears them so often.
The part of me that watches for pure entertainment perceives the promo for Jason and Courtney as hot. My analytical side can’t grasp the meaning. “So in Love” Really? Since when? “So Forbidden” Yeah? By whom? Both over 21. “So Busted” Huh? So what.
It’s hot, but it makes no sense.
Please excuse the picture quality, I’ve been playing with the digital camera again.
Even with a hot promo, Jason and Courtney together are…nice. “I’ll just have to be patient and wait for you,” Courtney said looking like a kid waiting for her best friend to return with a grape Popsicle. “Get a life” ran through my head at that point. Jason and Brenda strike sparks on screen. Not necessarily passionate, but definitely turned on in their scenes together with dialogue that jumps and snares my attention. “You could be nice to me,” Brenda demanded. Jason tried for a second to moderate his tone while Brenda looked at him like he’d grown horns. “No, forget it. Don’t be nice to me,” Brenda responded. They leave the penthouse on their way to the courthouse bickering about clothing choices. I look forward to their screen time.
Jason woke Courtney at the loft to lay down the inflexible MOB Girlfriend Rules wearing slacks, black t-shirt and sport coat. He arrived at the penthouse to change wearing jeans, gray t-shirt and leather jacket. He and Brenda leave for the courthouse and he’s back in the slacks, black t-shirt and sport coat. A little bizarre.
Jason lays down the law in the newly decorated love loft.
How odd that Jason, the MOB hitman and tech nerd, doesn’t use a cell phone with a SILENT vibrating ringer. Someday it’s going to ring right in the middle of a sensitive reconnaissance mission and ruin his invisible man persona.
I am glad that real Laura continues to exist as a live character. It’s hard to latch onto a Luke/Summer connection though to me she resembles an early Genie Francis. This week, Summer became a real girl. She can repair cars, get dirty, smile, and show some vulnerability when talking about feeling loved. For the first time I thought maybe she can work with Anthony Geary not just around him.
Do you think Sonny waits outside the door of Penthouse 2 hoping to hear a noise from Brenda so he can rush in and save her? Brenda may be impulsively crazy, but Vanessa Marcil makes her real. When she’s angry, like at Jax, it shows loud and clear. Equally, her palpable terror during her nightmare about Luis sticking her with a needle was convincing.
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On New Year’s Day I caught a couple episodes on SoapNet of the Brenda,
Brenda, Brenda marathon. I enjoyed the shows and laughed at myself as I
realized that I was sitting there waiting for Luke’s scenes. That man was
cool! I await the return of that adventurous,
take-it-on-the-chin-and-do-it-again guy.
On Monday, a bad thing happened on my way to General Hospital. Its name was All My Children, which ordinarily doesn’t catch my interest. Occasionally, I catch a few moments at lunch so I can connect some names with faces, but I truly do not have time to invest in another soap. While packing Christmas decorations it aired and then the bad thing happened. My attention was caught and held. I watched the whole show in which eight women revealed their innermost dreams. I liked it. Somebody stop me!
A great truth was revealed to me this week. It involves scandal of soap proportions and it happened in my own family. My Grandma is staying with me for a few days and the girl has some stories to tell! I’m sharing because this is the stuff from which daytime evolves and since I never knew these folks, I am not particularly affected.
Here’s the short, scoopy version. My great, great Southern Belle Grandmother married a French Canadian. They produced three children. When a fourth child appeared her French Canadian jumped the family ship. Feeling she was unable to care for another, the fourth child, my great Grandmother, was raised in a convent. Apparently she possessed a rebellious spirit and was not convent material (other good stories there). She ended up in a house of ill-repute doing the love boogie for cash. My great Grandfather had cash at least once. He visited, left his deposit, and as you can probably guess one lucky sperm won the dance competition. There was love, there was mating and then there was breaking up. Temper overpowered passion and my great Grandmother married someone else. My great Uncle arrived. But, as we soap watchers know, love conquers all and so then there was more love. Only now, the Husband kept getting in the way so mating meant quickies in the afternoon and at least once hiding in the bedroom closet and sneaking down the stairs when Hubby unexpectedly came home. My Grandmother never learned how exactly the married-to-the-wrong-guy triangle was resolved, or if it legally was, but four additional children were born of which she was the second.
I wish you could meet my Grandma. She’s an amazing lady with an awesome sense of humor. The summary of her story was that she has reached the great age of 80 something and doesn’t know whether or not she’s an illegitimate child. And here I always thought we were just your average, boring family. Apparently not, and the skeletons are rattling because she also passed along some convent adventures and whisky in the bathtub stories! I’m tellin’ ya, it’s the stuff soaps are made of.
The lady in the gray slacks and white blouse is my Grandma.
In the summer of 2001 she went to see A. Martinez with me.
She read for a soap scene and was hysterically funny. The guys on stage loved
her.
Quick Note: I related this little tale with permission from my Grandma.
And just in case you’re feeling some leftover holiday blues:
January 6 – Organize Your Home Day – Pfft! sounds like housework to me.
January 13 – National Clean Off Your Desk Day – OK, but only if I don’t have to dust once I find the desk.
January 22 – National Compliment Day – I’m liking this one.
January 27 – Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day – Yeah, let’s make this an official holiday.
Have a great week everyone. Thanks for reading.
Thanks and photo credit for this week: http://groups.msn.com/GHWorld2
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