Comments through Friday, April 2, 2004
Dear Mr. Guza and Mr. Pratt, There seems to be some confusion over when sweeps occur. I thought the next sweeps were scheduled for May but intense scenes keep hitting my screen. Over the past few weeks, Zander was taken out by a S.W.A.T. team, Sonny shot the assassin, and Nikolas rolled his car and rearranged his brain cells causing amnesia. I am concerned that you will use up all the drama and won’t have any left for May. . . . I enjoyed my GH time this week. Sometimes I had to enjoy it at 11 p.m. when my house finally settled down, but the storylines seem to be moving right along keeping me interested and attentive. Yeah, I see silly plot turns and twisted motivations, but it’s a soap, a never ending story, so I sprinkle some sugar on the hard to swallow and appreciate the efforts in front of me. My favorite scenes this week came from ConNik as he tried to become Connor. What Nikolas’ life appears to be and what’s inside him don’t mesh and he’s trying to make them fit without hurting the kind stranger in front of him claiming to be his wife. I bought it all thanks to the realistic angst from Tyler Christopher. I loved when he apologized to Mary for hurting her and tried to be kind. Equally, I felt his pain and confusion when he couldn’t use the carving tools. “This can’t be my life,” he cried. Mary climbed into bed beside him and tentatively, quietly told him good night. ConNik accepted her peck on the cheek with an expression that said he knew he should accept it, but he really didn’t want Mary touching him. Watching Nikolas struggle this week, I realized that this could be just another character with amnesia story, but it’s so much more as ConNik makes me feel his pain and confusion. Plus, he keeps giving us shots of his glorious chest.
ConNik can’t figure out why his clothes don’t feel right and his “wife’s” kisses make him cringe. A couple e-mails hit my in-box this week regarding the waste of time of Mary. Why throw in a new character when there are so many on the canvas for Nikolas to interact with while he deals with his amnesia? Truly, Mary has floated in under the radar. She’s nonthreatening in a low key crafty, country way, except when I considered that she’s really a grieving widow who has obviously lost a few planks in her bridge between reality and insanity. Because her thought process of, “Gosh, my true love’s dead and I’m all alone, guess I’ll help myself to the life of the unconscious guy on my doorstep” proves that she’s definitely a few rows short of a full afghan. It will be interesting to see if she’s a plot device or a viable character. If ConNik connects with her under the afghan, the sky’s the limit for future story possibilities.
Let’s be honest – he’s cute and hot! Mary may be crazy but she’s not stupid. “Admit it! You’re mad at me because I’m seeing Sam.” Sonny blasted Carly for not calling him about Morgan’s 10 minute bout of Scarlet Fever. Translation, “C’mon, say you’re jealous! Go ahead, say it!” I see two people with uncontrollable emotions spilling out over anyone standing nearby and spending their emotional energy on alternate mates, Sam and Lorenzo, so they don’t have to deal with their conflicting feelings of anger, jealousy and love.
It’s true, Sonny, you look great in the off-white dinner jacket. But Lorenzo’s got the Matrix shades goin’ on.
Who are you people and why do you keep calling me Morgan? Later in the week love overrode anger when Michael called Sonny because he heard a scary noise outside his new house. Sonny charged over to protect his family and entered the house with gun drawn. Without hesitation he shot the intruder. I loved Carly’s reaction. “Did you even know who you were shooting at or did you just come in here and open fire?” Yeah, Sonny, cause you might have accidentally shot her in her sex brain again and how would you explain that one to your vindictive D.A. brother?
You’re not messin’ with my sex brain again! I am almost at the fast forward point when Ric appears with his sneer face. However, I truly enjoyed when Ric dragged Sonny down to the police station purely to rag on him, ahem, question him regarding the assassin’s death. He and Sonny held completely separate conversations in the same scene.
The Brother’s Grimm - no fairy tale ending for them. Ric (serious, intense): I want to know the reasoning here, Sonny. Was it another accident? (Referring to the shooting) Sonny (smiling, cocky): Do you think maybe that it’s time to stop whining about the past and grow up? And maybe, I don’t know, take responsibility for your own actions. Ric (sarcastic): I think maybe it was a little too dark for you to aim properly. See, you tried to take out your wife’s lover once before. Maybe you were trying to shoot Alcazar and you missed. Sonny (clearly goading): If you didn’t have me to hate, you’d have nothing at all. You’ve built your life around trying to get something you’re never gonna get. Our mother’s not going to come back, say she’s sorry and choose you instead. She already chose me and she never regretted it. I’m sorry. Ric finally broke and angrily played into Sonny’s conversation and the digs went down and dirty. Of course, Liz was listening in the hall as Ric lost his composure and vindictively compared Sonny to violent Deke and selfish Mike.
Ric gloats to Sonny, “You may have better suits, but I’m taller.” It’s hard for me to find any likable qualities about Ric even when he’s kind to Elizabeth, though a part of me empathizes with Ric’s uncontrollable hatred towards Sonny. Ric grew up with the perception that Sonny was evil and responsible for his lack of mother’s love. Childhood impressions meld deep inside and are painfully hard to address much less change. Ric’s arrogance prevents him from seeing that perhaps the faulty behavior lies within him. He can suppress the hate for a while, but he can’t make it go away because he refuses to think that he needs to change. This sounds like I agree with Sonny’s behavior, but I don’t. Sonny also absorbed painful, untouched lessons during childhood which make him complicated and unreasonable. And we all know Sonny doesn’t change! It’s good storytelling for the two brothers to bump heads, bash egos, and struggle for power; however, it would be great storytelling to see them learn some painful life lessons and (*gasp*) mature so they could find, if not love for each other, perhaps a few threads of empathy and respect. If you want to avoid a murder charge, threaten bad publicity for the D.A. Don’t worry about truth or circumstances; just threaten to make the D.A. look bad in the press. It’s allll about the ego. At least that’s how it works in Port Rampant-Crime Charles. Sonny shot a man, Ric immediately began to arrest him, and Carly informed Ric that she’s gonna tell on him. “I can see the headlines now, Ric. D.A. Arrests Corinthos. Mom Liked You Better.” Ah well, the lines were good for a laugh.
In true soap tradition, the good guys are the bad guys prosecuting the bad guys who are really the good guys doing bad things for good reason. Got it? Poor, delusional Liz was my immediate thought when she reassured Ric that she believed in him. I tend to become disgusted because Liz makes the same mistakes over and over. She decides to believe in a person and then she goes blind to bad habits, lies, and character flaws, except with Jason who never sugar coated his life for her. Then, when the other person shows their true stripes she reacts by running full force in the opposite direction. No middle ground with that girl. At some point she’ll cry on a bench on the docks and explain her woes and self blame to Jason. There, I bet I just described the next phase of her storyline which is actually constructed so Rebecca Herbst can take her beautifully pregnant self off canvas for some well deserved maternity leave.
Ric reassures Liz of his love. Liz reassures Emily of Ric’s goodness. Then for good measure she taps her heels three times and makes a wish. Oh where to start… Sam apparently feels no qualms about jumping out of her clothes in front of Jason. But then I must remind myself of what we know about Sam. She only has one scruple and that has to do with being paid to leave town so it flows that undressing in front of a relative stranger poses no problem for her. Who knew Jason worried about décor? Maybe he was angry because Sam spilled wine on Carly’s rug. Sam’s lines were on target though when she accused Courtney of jealousy. And there goes Courtney with her snit face again, as usual. I know she has other faces, I’ve seen them. I wish she’d be given the opportunity to use one or two different expressions.
“Oh no,” wailed Sam, “I’ve spilled red wine on my blue designer dress.” “Well darn,” exclaimed Jason, “you messed up the rug.” “No way,” spat Courtney, “are you seducing my man.” I’m sure that Kelly Monaco didn’t sign on to be a Brenda clone but when Jason told her that yes he can think for himself and he wished she’d shut up, she turned into Brenda right before my eyes. “Well, you know what, if Sonny were here, that’s probably exactly what I would do. Because he would ask me. Politely. But when people give me orders I do the exact opposite of what they want. Which means…I am staying right here for as long as you can stand to guard me. Just like I’m staying in Sonny’s life for as long as I can.” Close your eyes and imagine those lines in Brenda’s voice. Yep, she may have begun her run on General Hospital as Sam the tough salvage chick, but now she’s Brenda. Pfft!
I always thought this mirror was so Sonny and Jason could see if Carly was eavesdropping on the stairs. Turns out it’s the magic Turn-A-Character-Into-Brenda mirror. Don’t you wonder if Sonny pays Jason extra to babysit his women? Brenda, Hannah, Carly and now Sam have all experienced Jason’s personal attention, not to mention Courtney when she was stripping, Michael and Morgan. “Throwback? Is it necessary to be rude? A simple civil no would have answered a perfectly reasonable question. What kind of simplistic, one size fits all world do you live in where nobody smokes anymore? If God hadn’t intended man to smoke, He wouldn’t have created Zippo lighters. So you take your pink, pretty, pristine tar free little lungs back to the no smoking sector before I call those plain clothesmen that hang out here. Hey, Officer!” On Monday, Luke spat his monologue at Sam’s would be assassin to save her behind. Really, he saved her so he could use the information as leverage with Sonny.
Yep, Sam, I’m tellin’ cause I know you keep running to the hospital bothering Carly. How come Luke commits crime at whim, admits to it and can’t get arrested? It’s an amazing phenomenon. This week he admitted to money laundering with Faith straight to the crooked D.A.’s face. Ric was willing and eager to send Faith up the river but Luke couldn’t get handcuffed if he paid the cops. Skye should have paid attention so she wouldn’t be so afraid of a little mobster mayhem in her casino. The only time she’s tough anymore is when Tracey insults her.
I had to watch these scenes a couple times because it’s so hard to catch all the nuances with three scene grabbers in front of me. More Dillon, please. I like Dillon with Georgie. I laughed at Dillon scarfing food and running from the Q’s. My favorite Dillon occurred this week as he tried to tactfully leave when Skye and Luke were practicing a unique concept called talking about their differences and ordered Dillon to stay as a witness. It’s not his lines so much as his expressions and body language which seem to convey more than anyone around him. He’s a lot like Edward (John Ingle) in that even when he’s in the background, I watch to see what he’s doing and how he’s reacting. I think that’s called stealing the scene.
Poor starving boy. I’m a spoiler girl, in a spoiler world. A couple entertaining tidbits hit the net waves. Sam agrees that she will move into Sonny's Penthouse. (GHFF) Does this mean she’s going to bring her beaded pillows off the boat and redecorate? Since she’s already parked with Sonny in the penthouse of passion I’m not feelin’ any big booyahs. Baby Kristina's paternity becomes known to .................... (GHFF) I guess/hope Ric! May Sweeps! May Sweeps! May Sweeps! Faith advises Sam how to hold onto Sonny, and Sam follows through. (GHH2) Now this is genuinely funny. Faith offering relationship advice about Sonny? The kicker is that Sam takes it. It’s ugly but I may be forced to get out the Duh Bunny again. Liz confides her divorce plans to Jason before she advises Ric of them. (GHH2) Liz confiding in Jason should be viewed as natural as rain rain or morning dew because Jason knows all, especially regarding relationships in the Port of Dysfunctional Chuck. Sam and Carly get down and dirty. Catfight! Catfight! (GHH2) I say bring it on! I love a good catfight. Catfight dead ahead! This week I had a really great idea on how to boost GH’s spot in television ratings. I thought I’d write to the Nielsen Company, requesting the magical little black box for my television which quite naturally tunes into ABC soaps and SoapNet most days. Thinking, rather patriotically, that I would be participating in a good way to boost ratings, I actually went searching for the Nielsen Media Research web page thinking I would post their address and encourage others to apply also. The more the merrier in our pool of afternoon drama. The first thing I learned is that I cannot apply for a little black “People Meter” box. I have to be randomly selected. Bummer. I read a lot about how viewing markets are divided and calculated. Also, I learned that sweeps months are the brain child of Nielsen. In February, May, July and November they utilize people meters, set meters and TV diaries to gauge who is watching which programs. They compile the massive amounts of info gathered to decipher show popularity and trends. It was interesting in an explanatory kind of way for why shows are willing to put out bucks for big productions at certain times of the year, like a hotel fire in February. Also, I read this week in the New York Daily News (courtesy of wubs.net who posted a link to the info) that the FCC has noticed our daytime playtime. “Daytime soap operas, long a haven of scantily clad bodies in steamy sex situations, could pick up some new viewers - members of the FCC. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps hinted yesterday that the agency would expand its efforts to clean up the airwaves to cover the racy TV daytime dramas, TV Week reported on its Web site yesterday.” I don’t know whether I should laugh or be scared, but I do know I don’t want the FCC messing with my show. Let them go monitor MTV which tends to freak me out or offend me every time I happen to catch a glimpse of their programming. My favorite holiday, Easter, rolls through this week. I love Easter. It’s meaningful, not commercialized (except by chocolate and candy companies), and low stress. Church services begin at my church on Maundy Thursday and go through Sunday moving from somber to joyful. Plus, I love decorating Easter eggs with my kids. Have a wonderful week. May all your eggs hardboil without cracking. Thanks for stopping by.
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The secret life of chocolate bunnies. It’s so much harder than we thought. If I were a screen cap, I’d live at GH World! http://groups.msn.com/GHWorld4
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