The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Over the Last Few Weeks

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. By the time I got caught up on all my soaps after my trip, my laptop decided it wanted a nap and died on me. Anyway, everything is up and ready to go now. I thought the easiest thing to do would be go over what I’ve been loving and what I’d rather walk over hot coals than watch on each of the soaps. I think I’ve got everything covered but the Bold and the Beautiful. Sorry, nothing can make me watch that rubbish - well, nothing until Rick Hearst returns anyway -lol! Anyway, here’s what I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks...

All My Children:

Okay, this show is completely horrible right now. I so deleted this mess off my dvr. However, I am ridiculous so I have been checking in on it when I have been home to and I’d have to say the only things worth watching on this show are the Adam and Erica scenes and the Angie and Jesse scenes - everything else is completely horrid! Of all the awfulness though, these two stories are the ones driving me to never want to watch ths show again.

Completely Horrible Story #1: The Return of the Poison Pancakes

Why has Pratt brought back Alexander Cambias? Why are we re-opening the mess of the poison pancakes? If it wasn’t bad enough that poison pancakes killed my Dixie, he wants ruin the character of Adam and make us think he did it?! And then to make matters worse he might kill off Adam too? WTF?!! And I thought McTrashit was bad, he’s taking her awful and magnifying it by 1000!

Completely Horrible Story #2: The Return of Liza

Jamie Lunar as Liza. Seriously? On what planet is this woman Liza? Was I not tortured enough for the last season Profiler, when she replaced Allie Walker and the show went into the crapper and the only reason I was still watching was because of my unhealthy devotion to Julian McMahon?! No, now I get the privileged of watching her destroy one of my favourite AMC characters. I don’t know who she is supposed to be but she is not Liza Colby! Am I supposed to want to watch her in scenes with Tad or Angie or Jesse? Because I don’t. Or maybe that was the plan all along to not make me want to watch the vets. Whatever the case, I’m not interested. Someone page me when she even starts resembling Liza a little bit.


As the World Turns:

Okay this show is so inconsistent. It can be completely hit or miss. On any given day it can be fun ride or a complete waste of time. It just depends on who’s on.

What’s not Working:

I am bored out of my skull with this Katie/Brad/Henry/Vienna baby story. This story is awful and I am beyond annoyed at the fact this show is making me want to FF through anything with Katie and Henry. Back in the day they would keep me watching this show when it was awful - now they are part of the awful and I don’t like it!

I could also take or leave Allison and Casey and Jade and whatever this ridiculous new nerd is supposed to do with Emily. Zzzzzzzz.... I’m bored, I’ll pass.

Also, I don’t really know wtf Meg is doing with Paul and honestly I don’t care. All I do is scratch my head and then hit FF. All I see is Paul and Meg becoming a poor man’s James and Barbara and honestly, who wants to watch that. I’d rather go on youtube and watch the original.

What’s Working:

I am loving Craig and Carly and anything that has to do with them. I don’t know if they’re actually going to become a real couple or anything but I’m just enjoying them being in each others orbit and being friends again. I know better then to hope for something to last that isn’t a Carly and Jack coupling - so I’m just sitting back and enjoying the ride. I also can’t wait for the return of Rosanna to see how this will impact them. Hopefully, the show won’t mess up her return this time. I mean it’s easy to forget everything Craig has done to Rosanna when she’s not around - but what will happen to Craig and Carly when Rosanna is front and centre? Can’t wait to find out!!

I’m also enjoying Carly’s struggle with her drinking problem. Maura West is knocking it out of the park and the show showing how it is affecting her kids too has been great.

Another thing I’m loving - Damian’s return. Sure, we had to sit through Z & Z annoying entertainment - but since it seems to be part of a set up to a Damian/Lily/Holden triangle, I’ll take it. I was a huge Damian and Lily fan back in the day - they lured me away from Another World for while, that’s how big a fan I was, so I’m all for the re-visiting of that relationship. I’m also enjoying watching the family struggle with Luke finally deciding he wants to know his biological father. Holden sure is feeling threatened by this - despite what he keeps telling Luke. Plus, Damian’s return is leading to screen time for Lucinda and Lisa so I’ll take it!


On a side note:

Is it just me or are the writers basically giving Jack and Holden the same dialogue and then just substituting names: Damian/Craig are the root of all evil... huff and puff... Lily/Carly are stupid for falling for what Damian/Craig are saying... huff and puff... Luke/Parker is my son. Huff and puff... Well, you get the idea -lol!



Days of Our Lives:

I don’t really know where to start with this show. It is better than it was 6 months ago - but I have to admit I’m still kinda bored. Sure, I loved Sami scheming to try to stop EJ and Nicole’s wedding and all the other interruptions for the wedding - but in the end nothing stopped it. So I felt like had watched a whole lot of nothing.

I’m also finding that the DiMeras vs the Kiriakises isn’t as much fun as it could be. Really the only thing I’m enjoying is John Aniston’s portrayal of Victor. He’s kicking ass and having a fun time doing it. I think I need more of Stefano and Victor going head to head to really be enjoying this. Stefano being in a diabetic coma while Victor mocks him is not exactly my two favourite villains going toe to toe. Every time I watch I just think how much better this could be and I wish that Hogan Sheffer and his writing team was writing it because they could write this soooo much better.

Oh, and WTF is happening to my EJ? Everyday he becomes more and more pathetic. He’s helpless and useless and his terrible hair is not helping any! I know tptb will not let James Scott get a hair cut because they think it makes him look more of a bad ass but come on. Someone show them some EJ clips from late 2006 and early 2007 - he was a confident, bad boy, smart ass who was sexy as hell and much more efficient as a villain then he is now. Why don’t they worry about writing EJ like a bad ass and just let James deliver on it - because he will! And let’s not get me started on him having to flashback to playing Chess with Stefano today to figure out that Stefano would have tried to stay one step a head of Victor! I mean WTF was that? I swear it’s like Nicole gave him syphilis which has resulted in brain damage or something! Sigh. Okay end of ruining of EJ rant.

I also can’t bring myself to care about a single couple on this show. The slapping everyone together quickly and not bothering to show the build for any of them just loses me. Not to mention, all of the current couples seem to be stuck in repetitive dialogue land. Hell, I could FF through them and guess what they’re saying because it’s the same thing for all of them every day. I don’t know maybe it’s just the EJami fan in me shutting herself emotionally from this show as a self protective thing. But honestly, how many times can I watch Stephanie tell Philip she can’t do this any more and then she comes back to him 5 minutes later and all is well? Or how many times can I watch Daniel and Chloe whine about how they can’t be together because of Lucas - or watch Lucas ask Chloe what’s wrong and her not tell him? Or how many times can I watch Bo and Hope argue over a lame psychic vision? Or how about Rafe get mad at Sami and walk out when she doesn’t do something he likes? Or watch EJ and Nicole lie to each other all the while pretending all is right with world? It’s the same thing everyday - I’m bored. Or maybe I’m just jaded. Some one let me know if it’s just me!

Okay, that turned into more of a rant than I intended - I guess I’m kind of frustrated right now with Days -lol!

General Hospital:

Okay, I’m still not watching this religiously because honestly it would just drive me to drink and I do not have time for that. However, I did love Helena’s return. I made sure I watched that and I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved it when she caught Ethan trying to rob her and almost slit his throat - only complaint is that she didn’t follow through -lol! I also loved her scenes with Alexis. I was laughing the whole time. It really highlighted how much they need to use Nancy Lee Grahn more - too bad they won’t. Constance Towers breathed some life back into this show for a week and I’m sorry her return was short. However, I’m sure she’ll back since we still don’t know why she wanted that painting. Hopefully she’ll be back soon.

I’m not going to bother talking about how awful the rest of ths show is because really there’s only so many time you can say, “Claudia is terrible; NotEmily is a joke; Ethan sucks; More Qs and hospital - less mob; wtf did Kimberly McCullough do to Bob Guza to deserve this post-partum hell, etc. So let me just say Guza and Frons need to go and call it a day.

Guiding Light:

I have to say watching Guiding Light has been a joy over the last few weeks. So let’s start with the praise.

What’s Working:

Olivia and Natalia:

I’m loving the slow build up of Olivia and Natalia. It’s actually a realistic love story which is rare these days - especially for a lesbian love story. I was never really a fan of either character before but I gotta say their love story is sucking me in. The aftermath of Natalia and Frank’s non-wedding was painfully awesome to watch. It was full of soapy goodness. The guilt Natalia felt over calling it off combined with her relief of telling Olivia the truth about her feelings was fantastic. Olivia trying to be noble for once and let Natalia go if that’s what she wanted was great. I loved the moment in the church afterwards with the two of them and little Emma. Oh, and how adorable was their Spa get away last week. How fracking cute!


The Spauldings:

The there’s the awesomeness of the Spauldings! The family dinners, the location shoot at Universal Studios and even the return to Springfield - I’ve been loving it all! I’m not sure what was funnier - when everyone ditched Alan and all he had for company was a stuffed Woody Woodpecker doll for company or when he was stuck hanging out with Daisy and Ashlee and cracking comments about how both of them had tried to kill him. I also loved Rick covering for Philip’s escape to Florida and Philip starting to realize just how messed up James might be when James asked him to kill Alan for him. The whole trip was crazy fun to watch and left me wanting more.


Fun Character Moments:

I’m also enjoying the fun little character moments that the show’s been giving us lately. For example, I loved Billy trying to cheer up and distract Reva when she was stuck in the hospital. It was great when he sent Blake to sit with Reva and brought a web cam to Company with him so she wouldn’t feel left out of what was going on in town. He and Buzz were hysterical with comparing who had been a better husband and the kicker of course was when they mooned her. I was laughing so hard I was crying. It was great, it was fun and it drew on character history which is more than I can say most shows are bothering to do these days.

What’s not working:

Okay, every show has it’s flaws and this Edmund storyline is a stinker. I love Edmund but this just isn’t working for me. It’s not exactly riveting televison. However, the rest of the show is so good right now that it doesn’t bother me as much as it could. Besides, if it leads to the end of Reva and Jeffery and puts her back with Josh, it might be worth it -lol!


One Life to Live:

I don’t know what’s going with this show. Two weeks ago something happened - I started FF through more than I was watching. I’m not sure what’s going on and I don’t like it.

The Good:

Todd/Tea/RJ:
Over the last few weeks, I can safely say I have enjoyed the craziness of Todd and Tea. Sure, they’re dysfunctional as hell, but they’re fun and entertain the hell out of me and have smoking hot chemistry so what’s not to love? I’m also enjoying the brief return of RJ Gannon and the interaction with him, Todd and Tea. The three of them in the courtroom after RJ walked in after their little sexcapade had me in stitches. Now all I need is for RJ to actually share a scene with his brother and niece and I’ll be a happy girl!

Zach:
I also enjoyed the insane return of Zach. He was always such a bastard and he never apologized for it. Sometimes you just need a bad guy to be a bad guy - you know?

David Vickers:
Then, of course, we have David’s brief return too. It was bittersweet to watch him and Dorian call it quits, but as he said they’ll always be David and Dorian. I also loved him going to tell Vicki about the end of his marriage. Vicki and David scenes are always great but her reaction to his recent acting gig was priceless. I’ll be missing Tuc Watkins til his next return. It would be nice if Desperate Housewives would actually use him!

Bo and Nora:
Can I just say that this Bo and Nora fan has been waiting for them to get back together since they were lamely broken up so long ago! One of my favourite memories as a kid was Bo and Nora’s wedding with Little Richard playing the piano. Oh, good times. I’m loving the slow build up of the two them getting back together. When Marcie broke in on them almost kissing in the car because she thought they were a couple of teenagers making out, I was in stitches.

Matthew and Destiny:

Okay, I don’t know what it is but I don’t love a lot of teenage couples on soaps - never have, even when I was a teenager. They’re usually written pretty lame. However, I am really starting to enjoy Matthew and Destiny though so if they decided to go that route with them I think it could be fun. Her character is like a breath of fresh air on the teen scene and the way she sticks up for Matthew and calls him on his crap at the same time is great. Whether they keep them friends or start something more - count me in for the ride.

Jessica and Brody:

Despite how much I loved Nash, I find myself being drawn to these two on a regular basis. I hope these two crazy kids can continue to get past all the things life throws at them - like that annoying shrew Stacey.

The Bad:

Okay, for all the god, the bad seems to be starting to eat the show alive. Over the last couple of weeks the stupidness of Lola, the annoying bitchiness of Stacey and the stupid returns of Powell Lord and Rebecca Lewis seem to be pushing all the stuff I’m liking to the back burner and putting all the crap forward.

Stacey/Rex/Gigi:

Nobody’s liking this - not the viewers and heck, even the actors look bored. First of all, the character of Stacey is an annoying bitch with no rootable qualities so why should I care what happens to her. Second of all this whole story is stupid because I don’t understand why Gigi just doesn’t tell Rex the truth about Stacey and then they could pretend to be over until they’re sure they don’t need anymore of her bone marrow. Thirdly, just frakking cast Rex’s father already. If it’s Mitch, let’s just get on with it. This is getting to the point where I wouldn’t care if his father turned out to be Roxy’s talking Beaver if it meant this would be over!

Powell is the Killer and Rebecca’s his accomplice:

Say what? Okay, Powell being the killer actually doesn’t bother me that much. The guy went crazy over his guilt from raping Marty. I saw it happen, so while it seems a little far-fetched that he’s back suddenly now I can go with it. The part that bugs me is that Rebecca is his accomplice. Someone explain this to me, please. I am waiting and waiting for the why here. I know I was just a kid when Powell raped Rebecca but I remember her character vividly and she left town because she’d had enough of Todd and Powell and all this crap - so now suddenly she’s gone loopy herself, loves the guy and is helping him kill people? Miss Saintly Rebecca? Really? I’m not buying it. What is this, delayed Stockholm syndrome? I know she was a sucker for trying to redeem a guy but ths is ridiculous! Combine this with recasting Rebecca and I don’t see the point. They should have just made it crazy Powell and called it a day. Now, instead of watching this, I just scratch my head and hit FF when I see this mess come on. Especially when you know the icing on the cake will be John McPain saving the day - oh, joy, I can’t wait.

Baby Switch:

Are we there yet? Is this mess of a baby switch over yet? The Day this mess is over I will celebrate with a freaking Marching band. Someone just give Starr her kid back - please!

Lola:

Not much to say about her. Annoying teenager who just needs to go! Luckily, I hear that’s happening soon. Yay!!!


The Young and The Restless:


The Good:

I’ve been finding Y&R in a holding pattern lately. However, I celebrated the hell out of Kevin knocking the crap out of that damn chipmunk and coming back to reality. I swear, I came this close to burning my copy of Donnie Darko because of that storyline!

I’m also intrigued by the Adam gas lighting Ashley and maybe faking his blindness. This whole driving Ashley crazy using Victor’s dead wife and baby to do it is very gothic romance and I enjoy those so we’ll see how it goes, but I’m liking it so far.

I also enjoyed Victor slamming the door in Heather’s face twice in one week. It was classic Victor!

The Bad:

Sharon and her three Dads. Does any one else find this entire thing lame? The more interesting thing would be to make this baby Billy’s but you know it’s going to end up being Nick’s baby because he’s the only one she didn’t tell. And seriously, how many times does Jack have to play Sharon’s schmuck? I don’t know, I am just soooo over this mess.


All in all, it’s been a crazy few weeks in the soap world. Some good stuff and some bad. Hopefully, the stuff that’s stinking up the joint will be put out of it’s misery soon. I promise, I’ll keep this sucker more up to date from now on barring now more computer emergencies!

Ttyl!