Confessions of a Media Ho

AMC
Saint Bianca had her send-off this week, wrapped up neatly on episodes that aired Wednesday and Thursday. The requisite farewell party, hosted by Erica, was rather sweet, featuring both little-used and in-your-face cast members, capped by a lovely photo montage. Then Bianca and Miranda boarded the Cambias jet, bound for Paris, but not before a surprise guest -- Maggie -- showed up. BAM fans were then dealt a promising hand, with Maggie confessing that she wasn't sure if she was straight or gay, but she knew she loved Bianca. After honest discussion of their mutual feelings, it was decided that Maggie would stay on the plane and see what direction their lives would take in Paris. Bianca blew a kiss to Pine Valley out the window and a new chapter began in the lives of BAM.

Montages are a nice way to evoke fond memories of a character and his or her history on the show. While Eden Riegel had only been a cast member since 2000, Bianca was born, literally, in 1988 and aged with only a small amount of SORAS-ing. It prompted me to check out the character bio on ABC.com, and, boy, was there a lot of history there. The bio also confirmed that Riegel has done a damn good job through the last few years (doesn't it seem longer?), involved with a wide variety of storylines and other actors. I think a lot of viewers would agree that she was robbed of a Daytime Emmy last year. Her exit was noted by no less than The New York Times, in an excellent piece by Patrick D. Healy (2/23/05), which summed up the impact that Bianca had on the AMC audience and on the gay community. Riegel is a class act, and I wish her well.

Elizabeth Hendrickson, who played Maggie, will also be missed. Introduced originally as now-dead-twin Frankie, Hendrickson morphed into the part of Maggie Stone after ABC listened to fan reaction (wow!) and brought her back. She, too, acted well with other cast members, surviving Proteus, serious accusations of med school cheating, some jealousy-fueled catfights with Lena, sexual confusion, and a few romantic entanglements (Henry, Jamie, Jonathan, and -- perhaps -- Bianca). I'll miss Maggie, and her portrayer (doesn't she remind you of Alias' Jennifer Garner?), but know that I haven't seen the last of this fine actress.

Speaking of fine actresses, didn't Erica's reaction to Bianca's plans to move seem, well, UN-Erica? No back-and-forth, just a quick acceptance (with the promise of a professionally-decorated guest room)? I was stunned.

GH
It's been confirmed by TVGuideOnline that Tamara Braun has decided not to re-sign her contract and vacate the role of Carly. My first thought was, how much money will ABC offer Sarah Brown to return to GH? Then I wished that Faith's fate didn't seem so certain, because wouldn't THAT be an interesting love interest for Sonny? Cynthia Preston's amoral mob moll is one of those evil characters you just relish, not unlike Constance Towers' Helena. Pair her with Sonny and there would be lots of hot hate sex and broken glass.

Speaking of which, nice to see that Sonny has moved from barware to mirrors (seven years of bad luck, ya dummy) to television sets. How Elvis of him.

I was hoping that Faith's lackey would haul off and smack Mikey after turning down his generous offer of lots of his daddy's money. Sigh.

Now that Mikey's run to the best little whorehouse in Louisiana for safety, I think it would be cool if he would try to take it over as head pimp. Think how proud Daddy would be of his little mobster-in-training.