Paula's Soapbox

Ever since Kristina's boyfriend Kiefer picked a fight with Michael at Jake's I have wondered what his presence would mean for the show. This week it became clear that he would become Kristina's abusive boyfriend. While this is certainly a disturbing subject that I am sure many are not looking forward to viewing, it is a subject that needs to have more light shed on it because it is all too common for teenagers to find themselves in abusive relationships. And even though this storyline has just started and it is too soon to predict how it will unfold, GH needs to be commended for tackling this subject, particularly during the summer when teenage viewership is likely to be up. Teenagers need to know where they can go for help if they find themselves in an abusive relationship and they also need to know the warning signs, subtle as they may be. I like the fact that Kristina is so intelligent and seems to have a lot going for her. This illustrates the fact that anyone can becom...

A funny thing happened as I was walking around in my stripper shoes in my hunky ex-boyfriend's apartment. I started up the stairs and fell backwards after I twisted my ankle. Fortunately he was there to catch me and offer first aid. Wait a minute, that wasn't me, that was Sam on GH. I remember now I did twist my ankle about a week ago but I am sure my experience was not nearly as easy to get through as Sam's was, nor was I walking around in stripper shoes, more like tennis shoes that were untied. Get the picture? I guess that's why people love watching soaps. They offer us an escape from the little fumbles in our own lives, even if it is just for a moment. By the way, that particular scene I just described between Sam and her ex-boyfriend Jason is no doubt a prelude to their long awaited reunion. It was pretty obvious during that entire scene, particularly when Maxie and Spinelli showed up following their memorable evening at Jake's, that they were still drawn to ea...

On Tuesday's GH, viewers finally got to see Spinelli serenade Maxie in what can only be described as one of the sweetest, most sincere moments in daytime supercouple history. After having received a special microphone from Patrick that would enhance his voice, Spinelli was ready to sing his heart out at Jake's in the name of courtly love. Upon arriving at Jake's, Spinelli accidentally dropped the mic in a pitcher of beer causing it to malfunction. Fearing that he would embarrass Maxie as well as himself, Spinelli put off performing as long as possible, but in the end his fears proved to be unfounded as he belted out the ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is," by Foreigner. Shortly before Spinelli's performance it was obvious he was nervous, almost to the point of being ill. This sight did not escape anyone's attention, least of all Nicholas and Lucky's, who were holding back laughter and throwing up their hands in confusion. Quite frankly, I felt like sm...

I cannot say enough positive things about the last two episodes of GH. I think the Karoke night at Jake's was just what this show needed to liven things up a little bit while they are trying to build up their storylines, which seem to be picking up some momentum. With the introduction of the Dante character and his persistence in infiltrating Sonny's organization I am anxious to see how the show reveals that he is Sonny's son. I have been wondering if it is possible that Dante already knows that Sonny is his father, but just hasn't told his mother he knows. That may be why he is so desperate to get inside Sonny's inner circle. I have to say though that I was somewhat taken aback by the kiss that Sonny and Olivia shared on Monday's episode. Obviously Olivia has had Sonny on her mind for a while now, but I just have not seen Sonny being pulled in her direction the same way. I think there probably should have been a little more build up to this reunion of sorts. Th...

In recent weeks I have stressed the importance of quality writing in soaps, what works and what does not. In this post I want to discuss the importance of quality casting. It sounds simple enough to say that every show needs talented actors in order to stay afloat, but many shows seem to struggle with this, even with the thousands and thousands of out-of-work actors looking for work. Y&R is certainly a show that I would say struggles with finding talented actors to fill their roles. The only truly great find that Y&R has had in recent months has been Billy Miller (Billy), but technically they did not find him because he was on All My Children first. I would say that Y&R got lucky in casting Billy. He has the right look and is a gifted actor who is believable as an Abbott. Y&R has not been so lucky in finding other talent. Neither of the actresses they have hired to play Eden have been suitable for that role. The first actress (Erin Sanders) seemed too inexperienced to...

Whoever said chivalry is dead never met Damian Spinelli. Leave it to GH's lovable computer nerd to inject a little romance back into the soap genre with his offers to woo his fair Maximista with courtly love and turn dive bar Jake's into a place where romance reigns. In a time where many soap characters like Y&R's Sharon are turning bed-hopping into an art form, the need for romance in soaps has never been greater. What a breath of fresh air it is to see one of soaps most beloved characters laying a jacket over a puddle for his lady, wooing her with poems, and serenading her with songs. And while this may be not be considered trendy or on the cutting edge it is nice to see soaps incorporate romantic love into their storylines, something viewers rarely ever see on soaps these days. Yesterday's episode of GH was full of romance. Spinelli even managed to inspire Maxie to copy a poem from a book for him as she awaited his much anticipated performance at Jake's, ano...

For weeks I have been complaining about the storylines on Y&R and the overall poor quality of the show, but I will soon be moving away from that topic because I am moving away from viewing Y&R. I simply cannot continue watching it because it is not the same show I grew to love years ago and the only word I can think of to describe its current state is smutty. Rather than posting yet another paragraph about what I think should be done to improve the show's quality, I have decided to post a link where people can voice their concerns to CBS. Afterall, I can blog on here until I am blue in the face about Y&R's faulty storylines, but it will not make a difference unless the appropriate people hear these concerns. So if anyone is interested in voicing their concerns about the quality of the show here is the link where those concerns can be addressed. http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php

I think it might be time for Neil to find a girlfriend that can actually hold his attention so he will stop policing his daughter's love life. Lily has been married twice now, which officially makes her an adult no matter how old she is. I understand the parental need to protect your children even when they are adults, but Neil carries his concern too far. Lily should not have to pretend to take sleeping pills to trick her father into thinking she is sleeping so she can sneak out and have a conversation with her husband. Neil acted like his prisoner escaped when he realized that Lily had left the house to see Cane and immediately ran over to Cane's to force his daughter into going back home. Enough is enough, if Lily cannot handle a broken heart better than that by now she is too immature to be getting married to anyone. Moreover, Neil really has no place judging Cane considering what he did to poor Karen.

I need to backtrack on something I touched on in an earlier post about the paternity test for Chloe's baby. I thought that it was completely unrealistic that Cane would use Phillip's blood for that test, primarily because I thought Cane was the type of guy who would take responsibility for his own child. I guess Cane was more scared of the prospect of being the father of Chloe's baby than I thought because Monday's Y&R explained that Cane used Phillip's blood to exclude him from being the father of Chloe's baby. This is without a doubt the first explanation I have heard on Y&R in months that actually makes sense. After hearing this explanation I re-read my post titled Raising Cane and it is clear that all of the DNA tests had me somewhat confused. I guess I should probably let myself off the hook for that considering that it seems like almost all of the storylines on Y&R have included multiple DNA tests with varying results. Let's hope this rev...

"If at first you don't succeed, try and try again." Apparently Y&R's Assistant DA Heather Stevens lives by these words because no matter how many times she fails she continues to try to build successful cases out of thin air. I guess almost destroying her career when she thought Victor murdered Ji Min did not teach her anything about not jumping to conclusions since she had Phyllis arrested for giving Summer peanuts, with no evidence other than a statement from Mary Jane. I am assuming that at the hospital Heather told Paul who had made her suspicious of Phyllis in the first place because he went to Mary Jane's room to question her. I am not sure why he bothered considering that he had to leave seconds after arriving, even after she told him that she would answer his questions at that moment. I guess informing Nina that there was something wrong with Cane's blood was more important, but one would think since Phillip has been off canvas for years now Nina c...

One of the most important rules of good soap opera writing is that you cannot re-write recent history, not if you want viewers to invest in the storylines. For years Y&R has set the standard for quality soap writing but lately it is as if they have forgotten the basics. It was one thing for the show to introduce us to Cane as the real Phillip Chancellor. Most viewers can suspend the reality of disbelief with a revelation like that because enough time has passed since the supposed baby switch happened that most people cannot say with absolute certainty that it did not happen. Soaps cannot, however, expect viewers to believe this type of story then completely change everything we know about it in a way that makes other stories seem less credible. This is what happened when Y&R decided that the real Phillip was actually alive and Cane was an imposter. This might have made sense if Cane had not recently taken that paternity test that did not exclude him as the father of Chloe's...

Unlike the villain Y&R has in Adam, they seem to have somehow managed to create a believable soap villain in Mary Jane Benson, aka Paul's sister Patty. Mary Jane embodies everything a soap villain should be. She is manipulative, calculating, and diabolical, but most importantly she holds the potential for future redemption. What makes Mary Jane different from Adam is the fact that she has an excuse for behaving the way she does. She had a nervous breakdown years ago and continues to suffer from mental instability, so it is not entirely beyond the realm of possibilities that she could one day receive help and be completely cured of her psychosis. It also does not hurt that her brother is perhaps the only resident of Genoa City without skeletons in his closet, making it easy to believe that there must be some good in Mary Jane as well. Moreover Victor is using Mary Jane's own weaknesses against her in order to get to Jack, which sort of makes her a victim. In fact one could a...

I know that it has been a while since my last post but I have been busy trying to wrap my mind around the sinking ship that has become known as Y&R. Granted they are still at the top of the ratings, but there are gaping holes in almost every single storyline at the moment, and that's saying a lot for a soap opera. In my opinion Chris Engen (ex-Adam) left just in time. For months I have watched Adam turn into this dark and twisted individual, completely unlike someone that was raised by Hope. The only tolerable part about watching this transformation was the way that Engen sold this character. We wanted to believe that he was capable of changing at some point, despite all evidence to the contrary because on some level Adam was still likeable. However, since Engen's replacement first showed up last week it has become much more obvious just how poorly written this storyline is. I'll admit I have never seen Michael Muhney in any other role. He may be a terrific actor, but a...