June 30, 2004

I go on vacation for a week and I miss all the fun!  It’s been quite a week in Port Charles, hasn’t it?  Emily managed to lie 2400 more times to a variety of people.  Mary threw herself into the raging river and nearly died.  Or she fell when she tripped on Nikolas’ pants since I’m sure he threw them out of the launch on the way across to Wyndemere, one look at Emily and he knew he wouldn’t be needing them.  Carly was strong, brave, and true…and apparently just her very presence renders grown men weak and unarmed.  Next time I bet he remembers to bring his gun *every* time he kidnaps!  Nikolas had more lifestyle remembrances (as I like to call those moments when you can just see him craving caviar) and found that he’s got a special talent for being an enforcer/bodyguard.  I’m thinking maybe Emily somehow projected some of her Jason love onto Connor/Nik when she scrumped with him and now he’s “remembering” being Sonny’s main man or something.  Yep, quite the week it was. 

On the beauty front, Skye is looking just amazing and I cannot believe they convicted her anyway!  Obviously she was dealing with a jealous jury or something.  They were probably coveting that mammoth purse she was carrying and hoping she’d drop it while being dragged off in cuffs.  No such luck though, that thing is probably taped directly to her ever growing tummy!  She looks radiant.  Our other erstwhile queen of pregnancy radiance has returned and she brought a one-year-old with her that she claims to have just given birth to.  I’m not buying it.  Baby Cameron is half as tall as Liz for goodness sakes!  Ric kind of looked pleased to see her but then went right back to business as usual so I don’t know what to think of the future there. 

Sonny experienced another miracle and survived what should have been a deadly bullet.  In his delirium he actually believed Carly when she responded to his “You found me” with “Didn’t you know I would?”  Uh…Sonny?  I’m not sure she knew you were missing and she most definitely wasn’t looking for you.  The nun did more work tracking Carly down and explaining the directions to the convent really, really slowly (probably five times) – thank her instead.  

What kind of idiot tries to sneak up beside someone with a syringe and really expects to be successful?  But then, that basic tactic worked later on when he apparently stood in the corner next to the penthouse door and won the gamble that Sam wouldn’t look to the side when she cautiously came out the door.  Then there’s the fact that Sonny and Jason couldn’t protect their underarms from moisture, forget about actual humans in the line of fire.  It cracks me up that every time anyone mob centric becomes pregnant, Dr. Meadows has to give both parties a lecture on how to keep the baby safe (uh…stop shooting around it?) if they want it to carry to term.  To make it worse, Jason actually appeared to be contemplating that confusing advice like his life depended on it.  “Oh, I’ll take Sam to the island, where it’s safe!”  Pfft.  Maybe safer for the hit men, since then they can add water to their list of escape routes.  Whatever.  

The new Lois is growing on me.  Her conversation with Courtney was fun…actually, now that I think about it, her conversations with everyone have been fun.  She and Brook definitely have the mother/daughter love/hate vibe going on.  There’s chemistry with Ned and I enjoyed her interaction with Lorenzo as well.  Frankly, I’m glad to see Lorenzo move away from Carly and back into the big leagues, as I see it.   

Dancing has returned to Port Charles!  The mean (but secretly good) minister has been foiled and there is once again, dancing in the streets!  Among the footloose of late:  Ned and Lois, twice, and how sweet were they dancing to Brook’s tape?  Alexis and Ric, Courtney and Jax…it has been really nice to see people out having a good time on occasion!   Enjoy it while it lasts because I’m not entirely convinced that Sonny and Carly won’t decide to reclaim their “only couple that dances” status and send every other couple on the dance floor flying one of these evenings.  

I love Tracy.  Watching her mug for the cameras while burying Skye had me rolling on the floor.  She’s perfect.  

Okay, it’s time to address the “stable of talent” search.  Ack.  So, apparently Sage is the most talented willing singer in Port Charles?  And the Milkshake Song (or whatever it’s called) is really a good musical choice when you’re judging vocal talent?  It sort of strikes me as more one of those “talk it” rather than “sing it” type of songs.  But who am I to question our esteemed judges?  If they want Milkshake, Milkshake they shall have and by all means, Sage is the one to give it to them.  Not “feeling” they lyrics?  In what alternate universe?  Sage is at one with the Milkshake, of that I’m certain.   

So why is it suddenly okay for Connor to wander the streets in broad daylight?  He’s doing picnics in the park, hospital visits, and meetings on the docks…wha?  And Mary knows that Emily knows it’s Nikolas but they’re both pretending the other doesn’t know?  I’m so confused.  Mary should just march Nikolas out to the town and tell them that Emily didn’t want anyone to know it was him because she was embarrassed about him not remembering her or something.  Would serve little Miss EmiLYing Quartermaine right.   I hope Lucky makes her pay for this one, because there’s no reason for her not to tell him the truth.  Mary is a complete loon, but at least her motivations are clear.  Emily’s motivations make no sense, even to crazy people.  She’s acting like a ticked off four-year-old these days, angry at a man with amnesia because he is confused about why he cheated on his “wife”.  But then, this is the woman who was angry at Zander for being upset that she cheated on him…so what can we expect?  Don’t even get me started on why she’s locking lips with Lucky all the sudden.  Apparently telling Nikolas (or at this point having someone more neutral tell him) the truth, and allowing him to have the hypnosis he’d need to remember is just much too simple.  Instead Emily will let him stay with Mary, where he’s obviously suffering at least part time since he knows something is off, and Emily knows he knows that.  I just don’t get it.  But, being a valiant (brave and strong too, of course!) fan I guess I’ll just have to keep enjoying Nik away from Emily.  He’s much less annoying that way anyway.  Long live EmiLYing.  

Hey Emily!  There is a way to wear lip-gloss without blinding upstate New York at the same time (not to mention there are ways to tell the truth, but let’s start small shall we?).  I could teach you, but I’d have to charge. 

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A Defining Moment? 

On Tuesday, I returned from grocery shopping at around 3:45pm and happened upon a scene that made me actually stop what I was doing and sit down to watch GH live.  Believe me, it’s a rare event.  I find I usually really need the comfort of the fast-forward button to rest my finger on before I venture into PC.  Watching Brook and Ned, father and daughter, sing together…something it was easy to assume would mean the world to Ned and to Brook…I was transported back to a kinder, gentler GH.  I swear I actually had tears in my eyes by the end of the song.  It wasn’t action filled, it wasn’t in-your-face soap, and it wasn’t objectifying anyone.  It was moving in its simplicity. 

I’ve always liked Wally Kurth while being so/so on Ned most of the time.  Ned’s kind of just “there” for me, he’s never really impressed me as all that important in the grand scheme.  A little known fact though, is that I really kind of love Wally’s voice (I shall NEVER ever forget Justin singing “Give Me Wings” to Adrienne on Days of our Lives…if only that wasn’t before screen caps were invented, I’d have a picture of them sitting face to face right here!) and listen to a few of his songs fairly regularly.  I love it when Ned sings; I wish he did it more often.  I’d love for them to use the actor’s (the one’s that can sing, that is) to sing some of the montage songs…of course then the singer would have to have a place in the montage and montages are really only for a select few around these parts.  Anyway, on the level of just sitting there listening to two people sing, Ned and Brook were wonderful.  

Brook has been an outstanding addition, one I’m growing to like more every second.  She’s delightfully strong-willed in ways that border on the painful (watching as a parent) yet she hits the vulnerability and pain behind it pitch perfectly every time.  Adrianne Leon is a good little actress and I’m very impressed so far.  What makes her even better is that they’ve surrounded her with characters that make sense.  She’s not taking messages to Sonny for Faith, she’s not saving Sam from turning to prostitution to support her newborn, and she’s not instantly the foil to some beloved couple.  She’s acting like a normal teenager.  She’s fighting with her parents, while wanting them to love her just the same.  She’s making a few friends in a fairly normal way and not instantly scheming to do anything, which on this show is so rare it’s not even funny.   

At first I wasn’t sure I was buying Lois in the “stage parent” type role, but I no longer see that as the point here.  Lois always did love with everything she had, and it’s doubtful that would change when she became a parent.  She truly thinks that Brook would be happier if she embraced her music.  For once the writers have done a good job of making us see that the surface isn’t all there is to the pond.  I’ve been unusually impressed with the depth of the conversations Lois has had, even while she’s being completely flashy and outspoken.  It’s wonderful to see Ned involved again in something that matters, something that makes sense.   

Ned has never really seemed all that important to me in the grand scheme of things…until yesterday.  Yesterday I saw him as a parent, something we’ve watched him try to be off and on for years to no avail.  I find myself actually excited to watch Ned matter to someone again, to see him have a place beyond bickering with the rest of the Q’s.  For once, GH is making all the right moves in a story and I cannot begin to tell you how pleasant it feels to watch.  Let’s hope they continue in the right direction and we get more and more friends, family and fun.  It was great to be reminded that it *can* still be done.

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