Paula's Soapbox

In honor of Thanksgiving I thought it would be appropriate to make a top ten list of the soap-related things I am thankful for. Please feel free to share your own! This year I am thankful... 1.) For Days of Our Lives - It gives me a break from the Brenda drama over on GH. 2.) That Maggie isn't going to stay in that sarcophagus much longer, oh and maybe people on        that show will stop saying sarcophagus. 3.) That it has been a while since there has been any mention of Helena and the train wreck        that would have been the Cassadine storyline. 4.) For the break-up of Sonny and Claire - seriously who could have stood that much        longer? 5.) For Natalia Livingston going to DOOL - because I love seeing soapy favorites on shows        I'm already watching. 6.) That Lucky has a storyline outside of all the Liz drama even if it is only te...

Once upon a time there was a young man of barely eighteen, who was imprisoned after slaying his stepmother to protect his mother and baby sister. This young man was called Michael and his newfound captivity held more danger than all the ports in Port Charles.   Shortly after his imprisonment began, Michael became the victim of a sinister plot in which he was forced to submit to the sexual advances of a fellow inmate. Michael's spirit was broken and it seemed like he might never recover from the harsh realities of prison even after he was freed. Then one day fair maiden Samantha offered Michael a helping hand. It seemed she had come across a lovely lady called Candy who routinely abandoned her clothes in the presence of men for monetary compensation. As luck would have it this lady was willing to offer herself to Michael as a way of helping him overcome his fears of intimacy; but alas young Michael was too inexperienced, too broken to appreciate Candy's kind ...

Just when I thought a storyline could not possibly get any worse than the prison rape of a barely eighteen year old kid it does. A casual observer might ask how a prison rape storyline could get any worse. Well, General Hospital answered that question on Tuesday by having Sam take it upon herself to get Michael an escort so he could learn about sex. I might be able to forgive Michael for a momentary lapse in judgment where he thought it would be beneficial to get his first real sexual experience out of the way. After all Michael has a lot of issues for someone so young and for the last few weeks he has been repeatedly confronted with images of couples having sex. Taking this into account it would be understandable for Michael to think that obtaining a sense of "normal" intimacy with someone would solve all his problems. Like I said Michael is a confused, young kid who is prone to poor decision making. I do think it was a little presumptuous, if not a litt...

Like many of you I have thoroughly enjoyed Lisa's descent into madness. Of course now that Patrick has found Robin, and Lisa has essentially laid all her cards on the table, this storyline will have to come to some sort of conclusion. First of all, someone will likely get shot so hopefully Steve will make his way to the cabin where he can help out the injured party, assuming no one gets killed. If, in fact, someone does get shot I hope it is Lisa, but not for the reasons you might think. If Lisa gets shot, accidentally of course while she and Patrick are fighting over the gun, the bullet may hit her in the head. Since she is a soap character a bullet in the head will not necessarily be fatal, just ask DOOL's E.J. Dimera. If he can be shot in the head and make it through a whole night without medical attention, then Lisa should be fine with three doctors surrounding her immediately after it happens. Of course Lisa's subsequent surgery to remove the bullet will be a tri...

Brenda has been back on General Hospital for a while now and I have yet to say much of her return. This is primarily because I was waiting to see how everything would play out. In addition, a theory has been swirling around in my mind about the people in her life and I thought it necessary to watch a little more of the show to see if this theory would take shape. The first day I saw Murphy's interaction with Brenda I thought "what if this guy isn't the nice guy he appears to be?" "what if he were responsible for the attempts on Brenda's life?" It would certainly add dimension to this character and provide an excuse for Brenda to leave him for good; but as I continued to watch the show I also thought "what if Murphy wasn't acting alone in placing Brenda in danger?" "what if Suzanne were somehow involved?" Both Murphy and Suzanne seem almost obsessive about Brenda's safety to the point of controlling her more than protecting h...

In about a week the 'World' will stop turning over on CBS. Even as I write these words it's difficult to believe that "As the World Turns" will no longer be a part of the daytime line-up, as this was one of many soaps I grew up watching. I must admit, however, that I haven't followed the show all that closely in quite a while. In my opinion the quality of the storylines and overall tone of the show deteriorated to a point where the characters I had grown to love became virtually unrecognizable. Unfortunately this seems to be a growing trend shared by many of today's soaps and I suspect this may at least partially explain the steady decline in ratings. However, I'm not writing this post as an evaluation of ATWT's shortcomings. That would be like kicking an old friend while they were down. And of course any problems the show has had doesn't negate the many years of great storytelling and superior acting that will surely be the hallmark of its leg...

It seems redundant and rather unimaginative that all my blog posts regarding the storylines on Days of Our Lives should be about how enjoyable the show is right now and how much it reminds me of how soaps used to be; but what else can be said about a show that not only continues to surprise me but keeps me entertained in a way that doesn't compromise the integrity of the characters?  The fallout regarding EJ's involvement in Sydney's kidnapping has been especially riveting, which only proves that this fallout should have come much sooner than it has. Of course if yesterday's episode is any indication it might have just been worth the wait. As predicted the show has crafted this storyline in such a way that EJ is almost as much a victim to his actions as anyone else. I tried to resist feeling any sympathy toward him for a long time, but after James Scott's (EJ) emotionally complex scenes the past few days I can't help but be unapologeti...