Who Does #2 Work For? Not Me! : DOOL

For those of you who were undoubtedly worried about my sanity after reading my first blog post about Rafe 2.0, worry no more, because after this week's episodes I am officially disenchanted with him. Just as I predicted DOOL has gone too far with the evil twin thing, although much sooner than I expected. Rafe 2.0 was pretty good at providing some comic relief the first few days he was on, but this storyline keeps getting progressively worse and Rafe 2.0 keeps getting more evil. In short...I hate him.




I never liked the fact that Stefano and EJ were threatening to take Ally away from Sami, but I thought, or perhaps hoped these were just empty threats designed to make Rafe cooperate. I never really expected them to risk raising suspicion by following through. Granted EJ had a change of heart, but he didn't put forth much of an effort to ensure Ally's safety. I'm sure Stefano would never be able to reach her in Hong Kong if he wanted to.




At this point I'm not even sure what EJ and Stefano's plan is. I originally thought it was to drive Sami crazy so she would be unable to take care of the kids, but if that is the case it makes no sense for them to try so hard to make Rafe 2 exactly like Rafe 1. Now it seems like it's really more about Sami divorcing Rafe, then not killing EJ once she is alone. I know, that sentence is devoid of all logic and reasoning because one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. This is how EJ explained it to Stefano:

EJ: Look, I want Rafe in the picture just until our man has been able to alienate Johnny and Sydney. Then you see we'll work on Samantha. You see she'll divorce him like that. At which point I'll be married to Nicole. Now Samantha will know that if anything happens to me Nicole will inherit all the legal rights to my children.

Stefano: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. You've
got it all thought out...

Huh? I don't think so. First of all why does Rafe 1 need to be kept alive just so Rafe 2 can alienate the children? And if they're worried about Sami becoming suspicious because Rafe 2 "forgets" things every now and then, they have the car accident as a cover. Moreover if the goal is for Rafe 2 to alienate the children and eventually Sami why are they trying so hard to make him like Rafe 1? It's not like Sami is going to wake up one morning and say "I'm on to you pal, you're Rafe's evil twin!"

It seems to me that if a storyline had to be concocted that separated Sami from her kids once again, it would have made much more sense and been slightly less disturbing for Stefano and EJ to have kidnapped Sami. They could have made everyone think that she lost her mind and left her family. Then EJ and Nicole would have gotten sole custody of the kids and of course Sami would have been forced to watch the whole thing on a monitor. Then at some point Nicole could have found Sami and been faced with the choice between helping her escape or keeping quiet and continuing to play pretend mommy to Johnny and Sydney. To be clear I'm not advocating this as a possible storyline I'm just saying it would have been a much more effective way for EJ to keep his kids and ensure his safety. In addition it would have been much more believable and it would have spared the viewers from seeing another plot that involved the potential kidnapping of a child. And perhaps most importantly it would have spared them from being introduced to Rafe 2.0!

Just When You Thought She Was Out...(GH)

Never underestimate the power of a fan campaign! I know I never will again after Friday's announcement that Rebecca Herbst (Liz) is indeed staying on GH. The buzz started early Friday morning that Herbst would be staying on the show when ABC Soaps in Depth tweeted the following: "Breaking news: Becky Herbst (Liz) NOT leaving #GH? You heard it here first! Details soon...." Then later in the day soapoperadigest.com confirmed the decision reversal.

I've seen a lot of soap opera fan campaigns come and go and most are unsuccessful, so the fact that one appears to have succeeded is quite shocking. However it renews hope for the future of this genre that fans still have a voice, at least given the right circumstances. It also proves that fans must provide feedback for their shows, both positive and negative. It can't all be left up to the ratings because as we all know once ratings drop past a certain point it is very difficult for them to recover and soaps get cancelled. In addition, fans must demand quality storytelling not just more screen time for their faves. Although feedback must certainly be provided about that as well or favorites may be cut out of storylines altogether. Herbst's near departure proves that.

The reaction from fans that Herbst is now staying on GH hasn't all been positive. Some worry that since she is staying someone else will be let go. Depending on your perspective I suppose this could either be a good or a bad thing. Just remember that in the future if one of your favorites gets cut you have nothing to lose by speaking up. And who knows, you just might win!

Taylor Made: DOOL

Like a lot of viewers I looked forward to Natalia Livingston's debut on Days as Nicole's sister, Taylor. I was already a fan, having seen her play both Emily and Rebecca on GH. And she seemed like she would be a good addition to the Days cast.

When her first scenes aired a few weeks ago I initially thought that Taylor would make a good love interest for Brady, until I saw Natalia's scenes with James Scott. Then I became enchanted with the whole idea of an EJ and Taylor pairing. On the surface their meet-cute probably seemed a little cheesy to some, the whole idea of them falling in love at first sight. However, this is something that we haven't seen on soaps in a while. There was something very sweet and sort of old-fashioned about their first meeting, a complete contradiction to EJ at the moment. And I liked the idea of him being paired with someone who brings out his best qualities, as Taylor likely would have. Regardless of how much chemistry he might have with Nicole or Sami, this is something that neither one of them has managed to do successfully.



EJ and Taylor's Meet-Cute[no copyright infringement intended]



I thought, perhaps prematurely, that the stage had been set for EJ to fall in love with someone who would help him become a more compassionate person, until the announcement last Tuesday that Natalia was being replaced by Tamara Braun. According to soapoperadigest.com the show is taking the character in a different direction. That seems apparent given the casting change. I thought Braun was terrific as Carly on GH and as Ava on Days a few years ago, but these characters are incredibly different from the Taylor character viewers have been introduced to. I don't want to typecast Braun because of the roles I have seen her in, but she is a master at bringing the necessary edge to a role, which makes me wonder if she will bring that same edge to the Taylor character. If so this might be a difficult adjustment, particularly since her first air date is not until April. The fact that she was just on Days a few years ago might also present a problem for viewers, especially considering the type of character she played and the fact that she won an Emmy for her performance. These are not exactly hallmarks of a forgettable soap appearance. Unfortunately Days has a history of reusing its actors for completely different roles so it will interesting to see how this latest casting move works out and what effect it will have on the chemistry of the characters.

Soap Stars Are 'Hot in Cleveland'

I've been a fan of "Hot in Cleveland" since before it started airing on TVLand last year. I mean Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli, and Betty White, what's not to love? Then to find out that Wendie Malick's character was a former soap star, well, that was just icing on the cake. I assumed that this would be the extent of the soap opera references though. I thought there would probably be running jokes about Victoria Chase's glory days as a soap actress and that would be it. I certainly never anticipated a crossover event that would bring AMC's Susan Lucci, Michael E. Knight, and Darnell Williams to this show and would bring Wendie Malick to AMC.

The beginning of this crossover happened last Wednesday when Malick's Victoria Chase went to L.A. to tape a guest spot for AMC alongside her longtime rival Susan Lucci. Obviously the purpose of this event is to boost ratings since soaps are relevant to the character, but it also proves that soaps are still relevant to television. In fact many of the jokes that were included in Wednesday's broadcast never could have been written if it weren't for soaps, particularly the one about the evil twin. However it never felt as if the show was having a laugh at the expense of the soap genre or its viewers, instead there was an undertone of respect. Perhaps this was mostly about respect for the background of a principle character, but I like to think it had more to do with the fact that 'Cleveland' airs on a network that showcases classic television. Whatever the case I have become a fan of this show all over again.

Catch part 2 of "Hot in Cleveland's" "I Love Lucci" episode Wednesday, Feb. 23rd at 10/9c. Then watch Wendie Malick on AMC on Feb. 24th! And if you missed part 1 of "I Love Lucci" or just want to see it again go to tvland.com where you can watch full episodes of the hit show!

A Dish Best Served Cold: GH

I must admit that I feel kind of validated because two of my GH predictions have proven correct this week and that almost never happens. As you might recall I have suspected that Suzanne was somehow connected to the Balkan ever since she and Brenda were in Rome. As a result it was relatively easy to make the assumption that she was the one who cut up Brenda's wedding dress. So since these predictions turned out to be correct I thought I would press my luck and try for a few more.





For about the past month or so Carly has been planning to destroy Brenda and Dante with the information she has about "their" baby. I have never actually thought that Brenda and Dante conceived a child together. I think Carly was quick to jump to that conclusion because she wants it to be true. I also do not believe that Brenda's child is dead. I think Suzanne and Theo are keeping him somewhere for one of two reasons. First, either the baby was Alexander's or they believe it was Alexander's and are raising him as their grandchild, or the baby belongs to someone else and they stole him to exact revenge on Brenda for taking their son. If this is true and Alexander was not the father, it is likely that the father is someone from Brenda's past in Port Charles. Personally I think Jax might be the father of Brenda's baby. This is because of Luke's ominous warning to Carly on Tuesday in which he said, "You know Caroline I completely understand what you're doing here because let's face it I've spent half my life plotting revenge against the Cassadine clan and revenge is sweet but there's always collateral damage and you never know when or who it's gonna hit. You might wanna consider that."




I'm not sure if the timing makes sense for this prediction, but that doesn't seem to matter with this show. It's kind of a stretch to think that Dante was old enough to provide protection for Brenda too, but yet here we are. I know one thing for certain though, the potential fallout for a Brenda/Jax child would be endless. To begin with, Carly would be destroyed if she discovered that Jax and Brenda had a baby and so would Sonny for that matter. In addition this would undoubtedly add another layer of complexity to the Jax/Sonny rivalry and would likely spark a reunion at some point between Sonny and Carly.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore Thursday starring Kim Zimmer

Want to see Kim Zimmer (Echo, OLTL, Reva, GL) in the new Off-Broadway show "Love, Loss, and What I Wore Thursday"? Well, here's your chance! Michele Dargan over at Soapbox1 has all the information on how you can get tickets at discount prices! So head on over to Soapbox1 right now for all the details!

Rafe 2.0 Attack of the Clone: DOOL

If you are like me and grew up watching Stefano manipulate and otherwise destroy the Bradys in various science fiction inspired plots, it wasn't too difficult to see the Rafe double coming. Once I realized that Stefano and EJ were planning to bring in a Rafe replacement I thought "great, here we go again, the evil twin plot." While this plot device is another soap staple it is also often used by critics of this genre to point out the absurdity of it. And since DOOL has a tendency to go overboard with this sort of thing that opinion becomes difficult to refute.



I can still recall each of Eileen Davidson's 5 simultaneous roles on the show and I was not looking forward to the prospect of Galen Gering repeating that history. I have to admit though that after seeing this "evil twin" in action I am cautiously optimistic about this additional Rafe. I'm not thrilled with the fact that Stefano and EJ are using Ally as a pawn, in fact I hate it. I'm tired of them using any of Sami's kids in that way. Having said that, I am enjoying Rafe 2.0's interactions with everyone, probably more than I should be. Maybe I'm starved for entertainment or my standards for daytime have drastically decreased after one too many disappointments, but I actually find myself looking forward to seeing how this plays out. I think this is at least partially due to the fact that Stefano did not clone Rafe, but rather gave someone one of his infamous face-altering plastic surgeries. Even though that's strange enough in and of itself, it's still a better plot than having Stefano create a clone. I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea of there being no technology that could save Johnny's eye, while Stefano was across town cloning Rafes.



I know Rafe 2.0 is supposed to be an eeevil twin but he really doesn't seem all that evil. He's more like a cross between #2 and #4 from that Michael Keaton movie "Multiplicity." If you've never seen this movie rent it and you'll know what I'm talking about. This second Rafe actually seems like kind of an innocent, except for the fact that he wasted no time in breaking rule #1 (another "Multiplicity" reference, seriously go rent the movie). One has to wonder where Stefano found this person and what his life was like before he was summoned to take over Rafe's. I hope he is not going to turn out to be a long lost relative since EJ said that he resembled Rafe even before the plastic surgery. As much fun as I'm having right now, I don't think I could stand to see this become something long-term. Although I did enjoy seeing Martha Byrne play both Lily and Rose on ATWT. She consistently gave such stellar performances in both roles that I actually began to see them as two separate individuals and not just one actress. I know DOOL's history though and I know that more than likely they will go too far with this twin thing. I suppose it's possible that Rafe 2.0 could at some point have a sort of reverse plastic surgery to return his face to its original form. Then a new actor could be brought on board to play this second Rafe, allowing for an entirely different character. That would be vaguely reminiscent of the whole John Black and Roman Brady thing. Drake Hogestyn had joined the show as a Roman recast but when Wayne Northrop returned to reprise that role Hogestyn's Roman became John Black, someone Stefano had apparently brainwashed into thinking he was Roman. Regardless of how this storyline turns out I think Stefano and EJ just doubled their trouble.

Soap Talk: A Behind the Scenes Look at Daytime After Dark

Those of us who spend our free time either blogging about soaps, hosting soap-themed radio shows, or operating various soap sites do much of our work behind the scenes. People see or hear our finished product but they usually know relatively little about us or the work that goes into maintaining a soap site. This occurred to me the other day when I was talking to Carly, one of the hosts of the increasingly popular blog talk radio show "Daytime After Dark." At some point during our conversation we decided it might be fun if I interviewed her. Hopefully it will offer some incite into why so many of us devote our attention to the soap opera genre.

Carly hosts "Daytime After Dark" alongside Terri and occasionally acts as co-host of "Liason Radio" and "The Rant Room. Like so many other soap sites, Carly tells me she formed "Daytime After Dark" because she felt like daytime viewers needed a voice. She's been doing the show since 2009 and says that she would like to incorporate country music into it as well. She wants to be able to talk to other fans of country music and eventually interview some of its stars. For now though she is enjoying being able to chat with the stars of daytime. She and Terri recently interviewed General Hospital's Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) and Laura Wright (Carly) and she says "that was a dream come true." At some point she would also like to interview Scott Reeves (Steve, GH) and his wife Melissa (Jennifer, DOOL), as well as Steve Burton (Jason, GH) and Rebecca Herbst (Liz, GH). In fact several "Daytime After Dark" shows have focused on keeping Rebecca Herbst on GH. Carly tells me the topic of their next show has not been determined yet, but that they will be on air as scheduled Monday night. On Wednesday night, however "Daytime After Dark" will welcome another guest, former DOOL star Jillian Clare (ex-Abby). This show is scheduled to begin at 7pm PST, however that is subject to change. Therefore everyone should visit "Daytime After Dark's" blog talk radio page to stay up to date on any last minute changes to the schedule. If you are on twitter you can also follow Carly and "Daytime After Dark" to receive timely show info. on there.






Daytime After Dark blog talk radio page
Follow Carly on twitter @daytime6976
Follow "Daytime After Dark" on twitter @DaytimeADradio









"Daytime After Dark" logo posted with permission from Carly

False Accusations: GH

When I watched Friday's GH I was positive Carly destroyed Brenda's wedding dress. She's been acting a little crazy lately anyway and I was sure that Michael's problems finally pushed her over the edge when I heard her conversation with Sonny. I'm sure there was a big part of her that thought it was in Michael's best interest to tell Sonny what happened to him. However it was clear that her primary motivation for talking to Sonny before Michael had a chance to was to make sure he blamed Dante. When that didn't happen she turned her attention to Brenda, implying that she would hurt Sonny, which would in turn hurt Michael. Of course Brenda hurting Sonny is primarily contingent on Carly telling him about Brenda's baby at the wedding. Carly is so worried about how Sonny's reaction to hearing this news will affect Michael, yet she is the one who insists on delivering it and in the worst possible way.

Obviously Carly has issues with Brenda and with seeing the consequences of her own actions, but I don't believe she destroyed the wedding dress. She is obviously being set up by someone who knows how she feels about Brenda. My guess is that Suzanne destroyed the dress. She has unlimited access to Jason's apartment and I'm still very suspicious of her. I'm sure everyone will blame Carly though, just like everyone blames Robin for the crazy things that Lisa does. In fact given everything that Robin has been through with Lisa she might want to be careful about accusing Carly without proof.

The First Step: GH

Ever since Michael got attacked in prison there was little doubt that he was actually raped. The only uncertainty, it seemed, was whether this would ever be acknowledged by any of the characters. Now that Michael has taken the brave first step of letting people know what happened to him, the question now is what effect will this have on the rest of the characters and storylines? This revelation is most certainly a pivotal moment for GH because the fallout has the potential to either make or break the show.

Fellow soap blogger Silas Kain at Soapbox1 discusses the possible ways in which GH could address Michael's rape in a new blog post titled "This is your moment, Michael Corinthos." In this post Silas also discusses what the possible ramifications could be for other core characters if this storyline unfolds the way it should. Click here to read "This is your moment, Michael Corinthos" by Silas Kain and enjoy vintage clips of the show.