Confessions of a Media Ho

We've got a musical motif running this week...

AMC - "Scary Monsters/Super Creeps"

The Lavery brothers are living that Bowie tune these days. Ryan's flashbacks to Patrick "He's Your Daddy" Lavery, eerily reminiscent of Tad's memories of Ray Gardner. Jonathan The Creep outed by his former fiancee. Now Jonathan's lurking around Bianca again; are TPTB going to repay Eden Riegel's decision to leave with a final "bash," not a farewell party? Two weeks left to play out this story, and I doubt that's going to be enough time. It will be interesting to see how this plays out (what an understatement).

Speaking of Ryan, wasn't that a well-choreographed and executed fight between Ryan and Zach? Thorsten Kaye has worked as a stuntman, so I guess that helped add that extra bit of realism to the scene. Great work. (I must confess that the rivulet of blood running from the corner of Zach's mouth brought back memories of Port Charles!)

When the concept of the Miranda Montgomery Center first came to light, I thought, hmm, whatever happened to Brooke English House? (Granted, that was more of a shelter in general, not targeted to women and children specifically, but...) I smiled when Brooke visited Bianca and mentioned that the Miranda Center would be a good complement to her shelter. Great save!

On the subject of Miranda, there is one small positive factor to the departure of Maggie, Bianca, and (presumably) Miranda: that means that the adorable child playing the part of the miracle baby will not be recast (until she's SORASed in a few years and comes back to PV and Granny Erica to wreak havoc or whatever). I've read various accounts of what a pleasure it is for the adult actors when they have to share a scene with the tot, and it's no wonder. That child is absolutely the sweetest baby I've ever seen, with a smile that melts even this Grinch's heart (full disclosure: babysitting is NOT my forte). I've noticed that she has the same effect on the other actors; their happy faces when looking at baby Miranda are genuine. On the other hand, it also means that we'll no longer be seeing that little charmer. Sigh.

GH - "Is That All There Is?"
That Peggy Lee classic came to mind when A.J. was found murdered after, what, day three of his return? Something tells me we haven't seen the last of him. And did you notice that the recovering alcoholic helped himself liberally to "Courtney's favorite champagne?" There's a lot more to this story. It is, after all, February sweeps.

News of A.J.'s demise brought up emotions from many of the Qs not seen since Lila's death, and far more surprising in light of the fact that A.J. ultimately betrayed the family and stole much of its fortune. However, parents Alan and Monica were grief-stricken (even Tracy patted her brother's shoulder, a major gesture for her, considering her feelings towards the deceased), with Monica sobbing to Jason her regrets over how the family treated A.J. throughout his life. Alan, flipping out and feeling the need (huh?) to inform Michael that his father had been murdered, first daring to confront Carly, then storming those "gates" at Sonny's mansion.

I'm using quotation marks to indicate sarcasm, incidentally. Those "gates" are how far from the front door, five, six feet? Not like any estate I've ever visited, and certainly not what you'd expect for Fortress Corinthos. But, then again, when you have a "bodyguard" like Max, who can't prevent Alan Quartermaine from bursting into the manse, you've got more safety concerns to deal with than a teensy gate and a shadow-wired "security" system!

Leslie Charleson and Stuart Damon gave bravura performances, as usual, when given the opportunity. I felt their pain, and cried a little during Monica's scene with Jason. Alan's histrionics didn't evoke the same response, but his agony was pure and plain to see. While confronting the Corinthos adults may not have been the wisest thing to do, or logical, considering the circumstances of the whole Michael saga (Alan and Monica didn't think A.J. would be a good father to the boy and supported his transfer to the care of Carly and Sonny), grief makes logic fly out the window, and it sure did that for Alan. Sonny's initial restraint was commendable: he recognized Alan's suffering over losing a child, always a sensitive spot for Sonny, and didn't threaten him until Alan stepped over the line and blurted out to Michael that his father was dead and that Sonny had stolen him from the Quartermaines. Even Carly managed to show compassion for her hated ex-husband before Alan's actions. Sonny's talk with Michael afterward was both honest and true to the character. Who's writing this stuff? It's good! And, as stated earlier, the GH troupe of actors steps up to the plate and hits home runs when given material like this.

To end on a more familiar note, wasn't that an interesting scene at the PCPD, with Alcazar agreeing not only to be responsible for his son, but also for Bridget? I kept thinking of that scene from "The Nutcracker," where a motherly character (played by a man due to the sheer weight of the immense costume) opens her skirts to hide and protect a number of children within. If you're familiar with this classic ballet (if not, you owe it to yourself to learn a bit about it), just picture Alcazar wearing a bonnet and a huge skirt, summoning all the troubled teens of PC to hide underneath. Priceless!