Katrina's Soap Journal

April 16, 2003 - Spoilers Discussed!!

It's been a very long time coming, but I really do think Sage has hit the nail on the head when he said that it was finally safe to come back to GH if you've been hiding from the bad writing and dumb stories of the past year or so. I was very hesitant to believe it because I really don't want to get all excited only to have it fizzle.

Things have happened lately that have given me reason to believe that things are looking up and are going to get better fast. Examine the evidence:

1) The story of Faith versus Sonny versus Ric versus Jason seems to be coming to a head. I suspect Faith is going to be killed or fake her death before long and that will begin tying up the mob story to rest for a while. We've heard spoilers that Sonny is already shaking off the hold of his depression and is on the mend. We will be moving from mob-centered Cortinthos story-telling to family centered story-telling through the Ric connection and the new baby due during November sweeps. Sage says that the Lily picture in Ric's apartment that Jason finds is a red herring to let people believe he's related to Lily, but that he's actually Sonny's half brother. That drama will be great to explore and will have a whole different flavor than the mob story. For a long time, mob life was rarely mentioned and was just a known with Jason and Benny popping up with it from time to time. I believe Sonny and Carly will definitely remain front and center, but will be sharing the limelight with 2-3 other stories going on in tandem.

2) The Spencer-Cassadine feud has been getting a lot of play lately and we got further closure on the story of Laura yesterday. I would have liked to have seen someone in a blonde wig or a flashback on Genie Francis or something beyond Luke's startled face in the doorway to her room, but it served its purpose. It didn't make story sense because no way would Luke just take a look and walk away. There would be some deep, heartfelt plea for her to come back to him, followed by some kind of ritualistic release on his part like putting his wedding ring next to her picture on his desk or such. Regardless, we got to see Luke and Laura break apart, for now at least. We got a further spark for the flames of war between Luke and Nikolas when the doctor told Luke that Nikolas had refused to contact him with Laura called his name. The Matthew mystery opens up the glorious Cassadine island for exploration in case Matt is still there. Helena, Stefan, Stavros, Mikkos? Anyone could be hanging out on that island. one thing we are guaranteed here is screen time. Knowing now that Stephen Nichols and Tyler Christopher are both returning (Bob Guza LOVES writing for the Cassadines, so we can expect good stuff here) sweetens the pot even more. When Stefan finds out that Luke has pushed Laura into catatonia, he's going to be out for Spencer blood. What if, just a thought here, Nikolas has been calling the shots for Laura... under Stefan's guidance? Would that not be SO Stefan? Don't we presume that while Stefan is following his bliss out there in the world that he would be in contact with Nikolas (even though he couldn't be bothered to attend his sister's memorial service)? Wouldn't Stefan also blame Sonny for Kristina's death? Feud time there as well. LOTS of Cassadine stuff coming up!

3) With Laura being out of reach and off the grid of reality, we can be assured that one more character is going to slide into Guza's favorite pigeon hole for him and that's Luke. He's destined, between losing Laura and the Cassadine feud, to dive right back into that dark, skulking, angry place where the writers like to send him during such times. It's always great to watch Tony Geary sink his teeth into the dark side of Luke, but it gets weary after a while, so I hope they perk him up again before it wears out. Still, more Luke is always a good thing.

4) Quartermaines, Quartermaines, Quartermaines everywhere! A whole week of Tracy is bound to open many cans of worms, including the fact that Skye is not a true Q and the story of her actual paternity will no doubt lead to more interesting stories. This leaves room for the possible pursuit of a romance between the deeply connected AJ and Skye. Rae coming back to town will (*sigh* we hope) clear up the mystery of who is really Skye's daddy. (And isn't Stuart Damon looking goood lately?)

5) Emily's return deserves it's own entry because not only did it open the door for a great Quartermaine story (her cancer and the fall out, given Monica's history with cancer and Paige's - Emily's birth mother - death from it). There is bound to be incredibly emotional work ahead for both Natalia Livingston, who is just a wunderkind as NuEmily, and Leslie Charleson, who has long since proven her worth in high drama situations. Add to that the rocky reunion of ZEm and you have the framework for OUTSTANDING soap stuff on the horizon.

6) The sloooow motion build of romance between Alexis and Cameron is a wonderfully subtle subtext behind the drama of "who's holding Baby Kristina now." Watching as Cameron struggles to redeem himself on so many levels and Alexis struggles to extricate herself from this Alcazar-killing mess she's gotten herself into. It's been great to see slight shades of the person she used to be, pre-SonnyLust and I pray that she begins the perilous climb out of the pits and back to her strong, sassy, capable self again. Stefan's return should definitely accelerate her progress! He's very... motivating.

7) My GOD Coleman looks good! Forget good. Coleman looks AWESOME!!!!

So all in all, I think we have some fantastic viewing ahead. I'm not sure what changed at ABC (did sponsor withdrawal force a covert integration of really good ghost writers or what?), but we've had a solid week of wonderful viewing and I think we are definitely on our way to having a show not only worth watching, but worth looking forward to watching with eager anticipation.

OLTL

That, of course, leads us to the current pattern for all things that make a soap great, OLTL. I am thrilled with the changes that have been made (except for Barbara Niven being let go, which was a crime). Love the return of Robin Strasser, so eagerly anticipated and totally worth the wait. Love Roscoe Born stealing the scenes as Mitch. Love Nigel and Roxy and whatever genius thought up THAT pairing. Love that Clint is coming back for a while. Love that funky puzzle box with the diamond inside. Love that Blair and Dorian are SCREAMING in that secret room and no one hears them fighting. Love RJ and Nora together and would LOVE it if they were a couple (which would eat at Bo, knowing RJ was in Matthew's life). Love that Flash the Hockster has great song lines like "Her placenta falls to the floor"). Love it all. How can you not be riveted to a show that has lines like, "I killed him once, this time I'll do it better!"?

AMC

Is what I'm not loving. I'm totally bored by it and honestly, I'm considering dropping it. Far from hot, Carlos looks to me like a scruffy, goofy, Hispanic Jeff Daniel. He just doesn't do it for me (and I'm a pretty easy 'do').

David's freaky, tyrannical obsession over Leora to the detriment of any home of bonding with her mother is getting tiresome. I also hate the cow rungs in their house and find myself looking at them instead of focusing on what's happening with them.

Seeing Erica jerk Jackson and Chris around like dogs on a leash and rant about Kendall doesn't interest me in the least (but that ring does).

Watching Kendall make an ASS of herself over the likes of Michael Cambias, while he pressures her into doing things she doesn't want to do by whining like a 3-year-old doesn't interest me any more than his drop mouthed, "I'm Ted 'Theodore' Logan and we're Wyld Stallions" stare gets me hot. He's a lame character with a changing agenda and isn't very well thought out or intriguing. He's just annoying.

The race for Maureen/Maria has worn out long ago and now I don't care who gets her. Seeing Edmund at his worst around her, watching Maddie whine and demand and bitch and seeing Aidan using his "Ozzy Osborne School of Linguistics" training makes my eyes glaze over and my spine freeze. As I write this, I realize that the things I loved about AMC are now gone and I'm left with watching hours of junk waiting for the lesbian kiss or a moment of Lyssestrata.

Maybe I will dump it after all.

Interesting point: I was switching from GH to Dr Phil a few days ago and caught the credits for "Passions." I could definitely be coaxed by a show that lists a credit for a character called "Hell Clown."

And with that, I'm adrift for another month or so. See you for the weekly spoiler commentaries!!