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Showing posts from June, 2010

37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards

After watching tonight's Daytime Emmy Awards I would have to say that this year's broadcast was not much better than last year's. The extent that soaps are acknowledged on these shows continues to decrease and I fear it will only get worse. I remember when a clip of every actor's nominated performance was shown when their category was announced, now fans barely get a glimpse of the nominees and see nothing of their performances. The only exception is when the category for Outstanding Drama Series is announced and those clips do little to showcase the actors. The red carpet pre-show was noticeably missing from tonight's broadcast. Last year's show on the CW at least had one of the those. I remember because it seemed like it served as more of a platform for the new fall shows than it actually celebrated the Emmys, but at least it aired. I thought the Vegas acts tonight were a little distracting. I know that is where the Emmys were located but I didn't really s

In Memory Of: DOOL

In the past few weeks Days of Our Lives brought back much of their beloved cast to pay tribute to the late Frances Reid and Alice Horton, the character she portrayed for over 40 years. Almost every episode featured clips of the actress as various characters remembered special moments with Alice. Friday's episode was especially touching when everyone gathered for a final goodbye at Alice's funeral. Kristian Alfonso's (Hope) performance literally made me cry. Her grief seemed genuine, which isn't surprising considering that she and Reid shared the screen for many years. That's not to take anything away from Alfonso's abilities as an actress, but she achieved such a high level of sincerity during her performance it would be difficult to describe it as anything other than authentic. If I have one complaint about the way Days handled the memorialization of Reid and her character it would be the way Mike missed his chance to say goodbye. Obviously this sort of thing h

It's Not Me, It's You: GH

Over the past few months I have been waiting in vain for something to happen on General Hospital that would captivate my attention or at least give me the impression that something was about to happen to hold my interest. As it turns out that was an exercise in futility because everything I have seen these past few months has convinced me that the show is in a slump, not a "please-be-patient-while-the-storylines-are-building" slump, but a real honest-to-goodness slump, the kind that makes every episode seem exactly the same. I can't even really find anything constructive to say about the show anymore because it feels like the storylines never change. They all involve the same players doing exactly the same thing. Even the dialogue is being recycled from one day to the next. I can't remember a time before Sonny said something that didn't involve some variation of the lines "Johnny's gonna die", "I would never hit a woman", "I wouldn'

The Vicious Cycle: GH

Ever since Kristina witnessed Sonny's verbal attack on Claudia at the Metro Court, I have wondered how, if at all, this incident would impact her thoughts on abuse. With Kristina now learning so much more about the complexities of abuse it seems only natural that she would find similarities in the way Sonny is with women and the way Kiefer was with her. Granted, Sonny is not likely to ever hit a woman. He is careful not to cross that line after seeing the way his mother was beaten while he was growing up. His upbringing obviously left him with the impression that abuse only exists in the physical form. Perhaps the physical pain he and his mother endured was so bad that any other forms of abuse went unnoticed. Kiefer didn't start hitting Kristina right away, and I doubt if Deke hit Sonny's mother right away either. Like most abusive situations, there was undoubtedly some mental and emotional abuse that occurred throughout, only Sonny was either too young or ill-equipped to r

I Fall Down An Elevator Shaft? : DOOL

Even though Chloe appears to be losing her mind, I'm glad Days didn't go overboard by making her snap and send Carly to her death. I did love the fact that a rigged elevator was involved in all of this though. That was textbook soap opera 101, and I love soaps that aren't afraid to look, feel, and sound like soaps. In fact I think many soaps, in their efforts to attract a broader audience, have lost the essence of the genre. Scenes that may seem cheesy or contrived in other genres sometimes work well in soaps. As long as these scenes don't compromise the integrity of the characters or the show itself, soaps shouldn't feel the need to completely shy away from them. The whole idea is for them to be entertaining while pushing the storylines forward. If they can accomplish those two things and still maintain plausibility within the show's context they have served a valuable purpose indeed. [no copyright infringement intended] Okay so Chloe didn't literally fall

Port Charles Cupid: GH's Most Unlikely Romances

With all the things that General Hospital has gotten wrong lately, they seem to have an uncanny ability of making successful matches out of the most unlikely couples. Before Georgie died, and Maxie was at her most selfish, no one would have ever thought about a Spinelli and Maxie romance, let alone a non-wedding, but somehow it worked and the audience loved it. And even though this lovable pair has seen less screen time lately and are likely headed for turmoil, I suspect they will follow the same necessary pattern of break-ups and reconciliations that most soap supercouples do. When Olivia Falconeri landed in Port Charles, I never would have predicted she would be involved with Johnny Zacchara. Olivia was not one to keep her opinions to herself, especially when it pertained to the mob lifestyle, so a relationship with a Zacchara seemed like a long shot at best. Moreover, Johnny is roughly the same age as Dante, so a pairing between him and Olivia wasn't even on anyone's radar