Just a few random things that I wanted to write about.
First off, I just saw the news that U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire from the Court in June, which will give President Obama his first chance to appoint someone to the Court. I'm a total geek about things like this, I have to confess now, so I'll probably write about this more as time goes on.
Whoever the President appoints, it isn't very likely to change the ideological make up of the court since Souter is one of the more liberal Justices. What I've always loved about Souter is that he was appointed by the first President Bush and was expected to be a more conservative vote than he turned out to be. This turnabout is second in my view only to Nixon appointee Harry Blackmun ending up the author of Roe v. Wade and a champion for abortion rights.
Anyway, it will be very interesting to see who President Obama chooses. I'm hoping that it will be a woman, since it is completely ridiculous that there have only ever been two women on the court in its history. The number of women currently serving dropped by 50% when Sandra Day O'Connor was replaced with Samuel Alito, which I think was an unacceptable step backwards.
Maybe the President could appoint the first ever openly LGBT Justice? Given that the never married Souter has always had rumors out there about his own sexuality, that could be an especially notable changing of the guard, as it were.
Another thing I wanted to note: I read on Towleroad that former NYC Mayor Ed Koch is all up in arms about the new documentary Outrage, which is an expose on closeted politicians who work against gay rights. Koch is apparently furious that the film depicts his record as being nonexistent when it comes to helping with gay rights issues and during the AIDS crisis.
Having just read And The Band Played On last month, I can say that Koch did fuck all (excuse the language but it's warranted) to help stop the spread of AIDS in his city (which was the hardest hit city in the world at that point) or to help those who were living with it get the support they needed, all because he was afraid of being identified as gay himself.
We all rightly lay blame at the feet of the Reagan administration for their complete failure to act on AIDS, but they are far from being the only politicians who have blood on their hands from that era. If indeed Koch is a gay man himself, he should be doubly ashamed. I have to wonder how the hell he lives with himself. Someone like Reagan obviously just didn't give a damn and had his bigoted ideology to wrap himself up in at night, but I hope Koch lays awake every night in torment thinking of all the lost lives he could have done so much to help save.
To end on a much lighter note, actress Kelly McGillis of Top Gun fame (wait, there was a woman in Top Gun? I'm drawing a blank...) has come out of the closet as a lesbian. Way to go, Kelly!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Back to 'Normal'
Luke was onscreen again today on As The World Turns, but there wasn't all that much going on story wise. The episode started with Damian running into Luke just outside of Noah's hospital room. Damian was there to see Noah, but Luke asked him to come back later since Noah had just gone to sleep. Damian asked if Luke had been there all night and Luke explained that he couldn't leave, not when he'd come so close to losing Noah.
Damian invited his son to lunch and called to invite Holden & Lily along as well when Luke explained that they were expecting him. Luke & Damian had an awkward but rather sweet conversation while waiting for the Snyders, where Damian asked Luke how he and Noah planned to celebrate when Noah got out of the hospital and Luke sort of sidestepped the question (well, I guess he can't exactly say that they won't be leaving the bedroom for a week, can he?). Damian also asked if Luke & Noah still planned on moving in together.
It was rather touching, watching Damian try to show that he was okay with Luke's sexuality while things were still feeling awkward between the two of them. It's not surprising, given that they're basically still strangers, that the conversation would be stilted.
Holden & Lily finally arrived and were expecting this to be a farewell lunch, since Luke hadn't been home to tell them that he'd asked Damian to stay. Holden, needless to say, was far from pleased when he heard the news. He stormed off and Luke went after him, catching up with him and telling him that this was in no way a rejection of Holden by Luke. Luke declared that he is a Snyder, not a Grimaldi, and explained that he felt like he really needed to get to know Damian to fully know himself. He also felt that Damian may not be as bad as they've believed he is.
Holden was understanding and told Luke that he had his back. Back in the dining room, Lily revealed to Damian that Luke had other issues (you know, besides being kidnapped by crazy cousins who want his money and his unborn child) including a drinking problem and an unfortunate tendency to rig student elections. Luke needed direction in his life, and the foundation was finally providing that, Lily explained. Damian blamed himself for Luke's problems and thought that Luke getting to know him would help.
After Holden & Lily left without eating lunch, Luke filled Damian on the news that the foundation's funds, wired to Zac & Zoe's account as ransom, would be returned but it was going to take awhile and in the meantime the foundation wouldn't be able to meet its commitments to the charities that depend on their contributions to operate.
Damian offered to support the foundation with his own money until the original funds were returned and Luke warned him that he'd have to be okay what the foundation, and Luke himself, stood for if he did that. Damian readily agreed and Luke accepted his offer.
Luke returned home and filled Holden, Lily, and Lucinda about this latest turn of events. Lily told her son that Damian's support wasn't necessary, since she'd planned to keep the foundation going with her own money, but Luke said that he felt he should take up Damian on his offer.
Once they were alone, Holden went all alpha male on Lily, telling her he thought she should quit her job as Executive Director of the foundation now that Damian was involved. Lily, of course, didn't agree and Holden basically had a tantrum about Damian wanting Lily and Luke back and tried to force Lily to choose between them. When she wouldn't, he flounced out of the room like a spoiled little brat. Yeah, I'm really not liking the way they're writing Holden at the moment.
Lucinda, meanwhile, headed for Damian's hotel room for a confrontation of her own. Finally! I've been waiting to see these two spar since Damian returned to the show, but this is the first time they've had a scene together. Lucinda warned Damian not to mess with Lily & Holden's marriage and Damian showed her the door after saying that since Lucinda is no longer his mother in law, he doesn't have to listen to her lectures any more. I hope that isn't the only time we'll see the two of them go head to head!
So, that was pretty much it. After the last few weeks of episodes crammed with plot twists that should have played out slowly over a couple of months, at least, it seemed like a very uneventful episode indeed. Hopefully Luke & Noah will have some nice scenes once Noah is out of the hospital, and I'm still looking forward to the two of them moving into their own place this summer. For now, I'm going to just pretend that the return of Colonel Mayer isn't looming on the horizon.
Damian invited his son to lunch and called to invite Holden & Lily along as well when Luke explained that they were expecting him. Luke & Damian had an awkward but rather sweet conversation while waiting for the Snyders, where Damian asked Luke how he and Noah planned to celebrate when Noah got out of the hospital and Luke sort of sidestepped the question (well, I guess he can't exactly say that they won't be leaving the bedroom for a week, can he?). Damian also asked if Luke & Noah still planned on moving in together.
It was rather touching, watching Damian try to show that he was okay with Luke's sexuality while things were still feeling awkward between the two of them. It's not surprising, given that they're basically still strangers, that the conversation would be stilted.
Holden & Lily finally arrived and were expecting this to be a farewell lunch, since Luke hadn't been home to tell them that he'd asked Damian to stay. Holden, needless to say, was far from pleased when he heard the news. He stormed off and Luke went after him, catching up with him and telling him that this was in no way a rejection of Holden by Luke. Luke declared that he is a Snyder, not a Grimaldi, and explained that he felt like he really needed to get to know Damian to fully know himself. He also felt that Damian may not be as bad as they've believed he is.
Holden was understanding and told Luke that he had his back. Back in the dining room, Lily revealed to Damian that Luke had other issues (you know, besides being kidnapped by crazy cousins who want his money and his unborn child) including a drinking problem and an unfortunate tendency to rig student elections. Luke needed direction in his life, and the foundation was finally providing that, Lily explained. Damian blamed himself for Luke's problems and thought that Luke getting to know him would help.
After Holden & Lily left without eating lunch, Luke filled Damian on the news that the foundation's funds, wired to Zac & Zoe's account as ransom, would be returned but it was going to take awhile and in the meantime the foundation wouldn't be able to meet its commitments to the charities that depend on their contributions to operate.
Damian offered to support the foundation with his own money until the original funds were returned and Luke warned him that he'd have to be okay what the foundation, and Luke himself, stood for if he did that. Damian readily agreed and Luke accepted his offer.
Luke returned home and filled Holden, Lily, and Lucinda about this latest turn of events. Lily told her son that Damian's support wasn't necessary, since she'd planned to keep the foundation going with her own money, but Luke said that he felt he should take up Damian on his offer.
Once they were alone, Holden went all alpha male on Lily, telling her he thought she should quit her job as Executive Director of the foundation now that Damian was involved. Lily, of course, didn't agree and Holden basically had a tantrum about Damian wanting Lily and Luke back and tried to force Lily to choose between them. When she wouldn't, he flounced out of the room like a spoiled little brat. Yeah, I'm really not liking the way they're writing Holden at the moment.
Lucinda, meanwhile, headed for Damian's hotel room for a confrontation of her own. Finally! I've been waiting to see these two spar since Damian returned to the show, but this is the first time they've had a scene together. Lucinda warned Damian not to mess with Lily & Holden's marriage and Damian showed her the door after saying that since Lucinda is no longer his mother in law, he doesn't have to listen to her lectures any more. I hope that isn't the only time we'll see the two of them go head to head!
So, that was pretty much it. After the last few weeks of episodes crammed with plot twists that should have played out slowly over a couple of months, at least, it seemed like a very uneventful episode indeed. Hopefully Luke & Noah will have some nice scenes once Noah is out of the hospital, and I'm still looking forward to the two of them moving into their own place this summer. For now, I'm going to just pretend that the return of Colonel Mayer isn't looming on the horizon.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wait, What Just Happened?!
I've been telling myself for weeks that if Adam Lambert was for some reason voted out of American Idol, it wouldn't really matter. After all, he's impressed enough people by this point that I don't really think he needs to win this show to have a career in the music business.
So, I told myself that if it happened, I would be disappointed not to have his weekly performances to look forward to, but it wouldn't really matter that much when you got right down to it.
Apparently, I'm a total liar, because it does matter to me more than I thought it would. I was a total mess watching tonight's show after they put Adam in the bottom three with Kris and Matt!
Luckily, Adam was not voted off this week, but for some inexplicable reason he was in the bottom two after having been completely safe every week leading up to this one.
He gave a really great performance last night (which, really, turned out to be more Classic Standards night than the nominal Rat Pack week) of the song Feeling Good. It was a very sultry, snarly, sexy performance, pure Adam Lambert, which gave a nod in the direction of the Rat Pack's Vegas prime with a hot strut down a staircase.
It was a good night for Adam, he looked and sounded great, he gave a real performance instead of just standing there doing karaoke like some other contestants do, the audience went crazy for him, and the judges all liked it.
So, I have to surmise that him being in the bottom two tonight was more about his fans becoming complacent and assuming he didn't need their votes to move on each week.
Clearly, though, he does! There are only a few weeks left, but I don't want to be deprived of watching Adam perform on a single one of the remaining shows. I've read a lot about how he'd have more freedom as an artist if he lost than he would if he actually won the show and was tied to the contract the winner gets, so I'd be fine with him coming in second (even though he clearly deserves first place). It would be completely ridiculous for the best person in the competition to be voted out before the final show of the season, though.
So, in conclusion, if you're a fan of Adam's, don't be complacent! Vote Adam and vote often!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
That's a Wrap
Everything on As the World Turns was just where we left it yesterday: one gay man about to be raped by his distant cousin of the female variety while his unconscious boyfriend, still bleeding from a gunshot wound, was tied up an inch away from him, and his biological father was just on the other side of the door, being held at gunpoint by the twin-brother-turned-boyfriend of his would be rapist. Got all that? It's okay, I don't think the writers do, either.
Zac told Damian not to worry about Luke, joking about him being in Zoe's capable hands, and telling him how she was 'making a man' out of him. Yeah, I think I want to puke. When Damian didn't start jumping for joy, Zac pointed out that he was the one who tried to send Luke to Scared Straight camp and wondered why he wasn't happy about this news.
Inside, Zoe was still all over Luke while he told her that he wasn't going to get her pregnant and pointed out that she'd be in prison anyway, she'd never be able to raise her child. Zoe voiced my own fears when she said that Luke would never turn his back on his child and would raise him himself, making sure her child got the inheritance that was her mother's birthright. That's all we need, Luke & Noah saddled with a child that would tie Luke to his rapist for life!
Zoe basically told Luke to just lie back and enjoy it and called him a 'good little baby making boy'. Yeah, I'm definitely going to puke.
Zoe sort of leaned her head down to Luke's lap and that's when Noah, not so unconscious after all, swung his legs around and grabbed her in a headlock between them. Yes!
Out in the hall, Damian and Zac heard Zoe screaming for help and rushed inside. As Damian and Zac fought over the gun, Noah's thighs were working overtime keeping Zoe in lockdown and Luke was freaking out because Noah was starting to bleed again from the strain.
Damian managed to get the gun and he was no sooner holding the twins at gunpoint than Margo and another cop burst in rather ridiculously, their own firearms drawn. You know, I feel deeply sorry for Ellen Dolan, the very talented actress who plays Margo Hughes. Once upon a time, she had stories worthy of her talent, but now she's written as a joke of a cop in these inane scripts. Yet another example of this show wasting acting talent to put bad writing on display.
Well, at least Zoe didn't get a chance to rape Luke. I was really worried about where they were going with that. He wouldn't have been the first LGBT character on daytime to become a parent through rape, after all (that would be All My Children's Bianca).
The next scenes, of Luke & Noah in Noah's hospital room, almost made this whole story seem worthwhile. That's the magic of Van Hansis & Jake Silbermann's chemistry, though. They make these sorts of quiet, sweet scenes come alive onscreen in a way that no amount of ridiculously convoluted plots, however well acted, could hope to achieve. It really makes me wish that they were in the hands of writers who didn't have them constantly battling psychos. There is so much more realistic drama that could be told with these two.
At any rate, they had some excellent scenes where, after exchanging mutual 'I love you's, Luke told Noah that he appreciated being saved from ' a fate worse than death', but that Noah shouldn't have put himself in danger like that. Noah responded that hadn't done it for Luke: "I just couldn't stand to see that psycho slut with her hands all over my boyfriend."
Noah then pointed out again that he'd been right about Damian not being involved and Luke agreed that Damian had indeed saved the day.
At the police station, Damian and Holden awkwardly apologized to each other and each accepted blame for the way things had gone down during the whole mess. I'm glad they included this scene, because they'd really been making Holden look like an ass lately and without this scene it would have seemed even worse.
Meanwhile, Zac & Zoe pinned the whole scheme on Damian, telling Margo that he'd arranged the whole kidnapping and they'd just been working for him. After learning of this, Damian stormed into the interrogation room and launched himself at Zac, who looked like he was about to wet himself, and demanded that he tell the truth.
When Holden informed Lily & Luke that the police were thinking Damian was involved with the kidnapping, Luke headed for the station and told Margo that after spending days with Zac & Zoe, neither of whom were exactly the silent type, he knew for sure that Damian hadn't been involved at all. Margo decided to take Luke's word for it.
Holden then asked Damian to leave town, for the sake of everyone, since his presence had unintentionally put the people they both loved in danger and could do so again. Damian rather morosely agreed.
Back at the hospital, Luke filled Noah in on how he'd cleared Damian but Noah was surprised that Luke hadn't actually spoken to his biological father. He suggested that maybe everything that had happened to them was a way of telling Luke that he'd never really get to know Damian unless he tried.
A very happy Holden returned to the hospital to tell Lily and Luke that Damian was leaving town and would finally be out of their lives. Luke & Lily both seemed decidedly unenthusiastic about the news, not that Holden noticed.
After Holden headed home to check on the rest of their children, Lily went to the Lakeview to say goodbye to Damian. He told her that he's very proud of their son and Lily noted that Luke would love to hear that because for all his pretending otherwise, what Damian thinks does matter to him.
When he got up to his room, Damian found the door ajar and went into defense mode, but the person waiting for him inside was Luke.
This was another great scene that really made this whole story seem almost worth it. I only wish the writers could have come up with a better way to get to this point!
Well, as much as I like Nicholas Galbraith and wish he could have played the character I imagined, one who was gay and interested in Noah, I'm glad this is all over. I hope to see more of Nicholas elsewhere, because he's a truly talented guy. He made me really like a role that was terribly written, so I can only imagine what he could do with better material.
As the World Turns introduced the so called Z Twins less than a month ago, on April 2, and their storyline seems to have come to a conclusion today, less than four weeks later. When you consider all that happened in that time, as well as the fact that Nuke were typically onscreen two or three episodes a week at the most, you'll see what I mean about everything on this show moving at warp speed. They just don't take any time to tell these stories and that, as much as the terrible ideas coming from the Head Writer, is what is ruining this show.
Yet, I find myself once again feeling optimistic now that one story has reached its conclusion. Maybe the next one will be better? That's me, the eternal optimist. Some people just never learn.
Zac told Damian not to worry about Luke, joking about him being in Zoe's capable hands, and telling him how she was 'making a man' out of him. Yeah, I think I want to puke. When Damian didn't start jumping for joy, Zac pointed out that he was the one who tried to send Luke to Scared Straight camp and wondered why he wasn't happy about this news.
Inside, Zoe was still all over Luke while he told her that he wasn't going to get her pregnant and pointed out that she'd be in prison anyway, she'd never be able to raise her child. Zoe voiced my own fears when she said that Luke would never turn his back on his child and would raise him himself, making sure her child got the inheritance that was her mother's birthright. That's all we need, Luke & Noah saddled with a child that would tie Luke to his rapist for life!
Zoe basically told Luke to just lie back and enjoy it and called him a 'good little baby making boy'. Yeah, I'm definitely going to puke.
Zoe sort of leaned her head down to Luke's lap and that's when Noah, not so unconscious after all, swung his legs around and grabbed her in a headlock between them. Yes!
Out in the hall, Damian and Zac heard Zoe screaming for help and rushed inside. As Damian and Zac fought over the gun, Noah's thighs were working overtime keeping Zoe in lockdown and Luke was freaking out because Noah was starting to bleed again from the strain.
Damian managed to get the gun and he was no sooner holding the twins at gunpoint than Margo and another cop burst in rather ridiculously, their own firearms drawn. You know, I feel deeply sorry for Ellen Dolan, the very talented actress who plays Margo Hughes. Once upon a time, she had stories worthy of her talent, but now she's written as a joke of a cop in these inane scripts. Yet another example of this show wasting acting talent to put bad writing on display.
Well, at least Zoe didn't get a chance to rape Luke. I was really worried about where they were going with that. He wouldn't have been the first LGBT character on daytime to become a parent through rape, after all (that would be All My Children's Bianca).
The next scenes, of Luke & Noah in Noah's hospital room, almost made this whole story seem worthwhile. That's the magic of Van Hansis & Jake Silbermann's chemistry, though. They make these sorts of quiet, sweet scenes come alive onscreen in a way that no amount of ridiculously convoluted plots, however well acted, could hope to achieve. It really makes me wish that they were in the hands of writers who didn't have them constantly battling psychos. There is so much more realistic drama that could be told with these two.
At any rate, they had some excellent scenes where, after exchanging mutual 'I love you's, Luke told Noah that he appreciated being saved from ' a fate worse than death', but that Noah shouldn't have put himself in danger like that. Noah responded that hadn't done it for Luke: "I just couldn't stand to see that psycho slut with her hands all over my boyfriend."
Noah then pointed out again that he'd been right about Damian not being involved and Luke agreed that Damian had indeed saved the day.
At the police station, Damian and Holden awkwardly apologized to each other and each accepted blame for the way things had gone down during the whole mess. I'm glad they included this scene, because they'd really been making Holden look like an ass lately and without this scene it would have seemed even worse.
Meanwhile, Zac & Zoe pinned the whole scheme on Damian, telling Margo that he'd arranged the whole kidnapping and they'd just been working for him. After learning of this, Damian stormed into the interrogation room and launched himself at Zac, who looked like he was about to wet himself, and demanded that he tell the truth.
When Holden informed Lily & Luke that the police were thinking Damian was involved with the kidnapping, Luke headed for the station and told Margo that after spending days with Zac & Zoe, neither of whom were exactly the silent type, he knew for sure that Damian hadn't been involved at all. Margo decided to take Luke's word for it.
Holden then asked Damian to leave town, for the sake of everyone, since his presence had unintentionally put the people they both loved in danger and could do so again. Damian rather morosely agreed.
Back at the hospital, Luke filled Noah in on how he'd cleared Damian but Noah was surprised that Luke hadn't actually spoken to his biological father. He suggested that maybe everything that had happened to them was a way of telling Luke that he'd never really get to know Damian unless he tried.
A very happy Holden returned to the hospital to tell Lily and Luke that Damian was leaving town and would finally be out of their lives. Luke & Lily both seemed decidedly unenthusiastic about the news, not that Holden noticed.
After Holden headed home to check on the rest of their children, Lily went to the Lakeview to say goodbye to Damian. He told her that he's very proud of their son and Lily noted that Luke would love to hear that because for all his pretending otherwise, what Damian thinks does matter to him.
When he got up to his room, Damian found the door ajar and went into defense mode, but the person waiting for him inside was Luke.
Damian: What can I do for you?
Luke: I don't know how to say this. I don't even know what it is I want.
Damian: Anything you need I will give you. You have only to ask.
Luke: I just realized that I don't know you. I mean, I know the DNA, I know the name, I know the history, but I don't know you.
Damian: I find myself in a similar situation where you are concerned.
Luke: And I don't know what kind of a relationship we can have, I don't know if we're even capable of one.
Damian: What is it you want?
Luke: All I know is this. I'm not ready for you to leave my life.
Damian: (smiling) Well then I won't. I'll stay here in Oakdale for as long as you like.
Luke: (smiling) Okay. Um, I should probably get back to Noah.
Damian: He's a very lucky boy.
Luke: So am I.
Luke: I don't know how to say this. I don't even know what it is I want.
Damian: Anything you need I will give you. You have only to ask.
Luke: I just realized that I don't know you. I mean, I know the DNA, I know the name, I know the history, but I don't know you.
Damian: I find myself in a similar situation where you are concerned.
Luke: And I don't know what kind of a relationship we can have, I don't know if we're even capable of one.
Damian: What is it you want?
Luke: All I know is this. I'm not ready for you to leave my life.
Damian: (smiling) Well then I won't. I'll stay here in Oakdale for as long as you like.
Luke: (smiling) Okay. Um, I should probably get back to Noah.
Damian: He's a very lucky boy.
Luke: So am I.
This was another great scene that really made this whole story seem almost worth it. I only wish the writers could have come up with a better way to get to this point!
Well, as much as I like Nicholas Galbraith and wish he could have played the character I imagined, one who was gay and interested in Noah, I'm glad this is all over. I hope to see more of Nicholas elsewhere, because he's a truly talented guy. He made me really like a role that was terribly written, so I can only imagine what he could do with better material.
As the World Turns introduced the so called Z Twins less than a month ago, on April 2, and their storyline seems to have come to a conclusion today, less than four weeks later. When you consider all that happened in that time, as well as the fact that Nuke were typically onscreen two or three episodes a week at the most, you'll see what I mean about everything on this show moving at warp speed. They just don't take any time to tell these stories and that, as much as the terrible ideas coming from the Head Writer, is what is ruining this show.
Yet, I find myself once again feeling optimistic now that one story has reached its conclusion. Maybe the next one will be better? That's me, the eternal optimist. Some people just never learn.
Simon on Adam
Simon Cowell clearly agrees with me and so many others that Adam Lambert is a star. Here's what he had to say about Adam in a TV Guide interview:
"...They’re singing to be saved rather than to be fantastic. The only person you genuinely feel is not doing that is Adam. He’s not going to compromise himself as a singer or an artist. He’s unpredictable and he’s fun, and I love that.
Adam also seems completely unfazed by the stories circulating about his sexuality. Do you think America’s finally gotten beyond that?
I think people only get bothered really when they know somebody’s hiding something. [Laughs] We’ve had that in the past! We’ve obviously never had an issue with it, and nor should anybody else. It’s a huge step forward for the show. It’s just, do you like him as a person, as a singer, full stop.
He’s taking a page from David Cook’s playbook by making each song his own.
Adam’s the only one who’s done it this year...."
From what I've read about Idol's gay contestants in the past, including season one's Jim Verraros being asked by producers to remove statements from his website that revealed him to be gay, I don't think it's obvious that the show has 'never had an issue' with it. I would agree with that part about it being a huge step forward, though.
I can't wait to see what Adam does tonight with 'Rat Pack' music. No doubt he'll surprise everyone yet again.
Monday, April 27, 2009
One Small Request
Well, today was another Nuke day on As the World Turns. It was also a very unusual episode in that the whole hour was devoted to the Luke & Noah storyline. I'm pretty sure that's never happened before.
Our boys were where we left them, still tied to that pole, and Noah was feverish and unconscious from his gunshot wound. Luke tried to make a deal with Zoe, saying that if she'd take Noah to the hospital, he'd give her the money. Even when Luke warned her that the Grimaldis would hunt her down if she killed him & Noah, Zoe refused. She did agree to get medicine for Noah, though, provided that Luke agreed to do whatever she wanted in exchange.
Uh oh. Luke agreed without question, of course, and Zoe left to go get the meds. While she was gone, Luke managed to wake Noah up briefly and got him talking for a few minutes. I think this was probably my favorite scene out of this whole mess of a story, simply because Van Hansis really conveyed Luke's love for Noah and his terror that he was about to lose him, masking it all under a false cheer as he tried to rally Noah's strength and keep him awake. In addition to all that, it was also just a really sweet moment between the two of them.
Elsewhere, Holden & Lily had belatedly filled Jade in on the kidnapping and Damian used a computer age enhancing program to age a picture he'd found of Zoe (her real name, by the way, is Gia, meaning that they're not even both Zs, let alone Z Twins) with her mother as a child. Oddly enough, Damian didn't seem to recognize the woman he'd had two recent encounters with. Maybe he'd only had eyes for Zac?
Damian wanted Lily to come to his room to check out the photo and see if it looked like the woman she'd seen, but Holden wanted her to stay at the house with her police protection, where it was safe, so he went himself, leading to yet another Damian/Holden argument over Lily, Luke, and whether Illinois could kick Malta's ass in a fight, that sort of thing.
Zac had been watching the Snyder place, waiting to get Lily alone. After Holden & Jade left, Lily heard a thump outside but convinced herself she was hearing things. Of course, Zac was at that very moment crouching over a dead police officer five feet from the door.
Zac, in the dead cop's jacket, knocked on the door and told Lily that he'd replaced the other guy on a shift trade and that Margo wanted him to bring her in to Lily's office, where Margo was waiting. Lily, not surprisingly, just went along with this without a second thought. I guess now we know why Luke was so eager to rush into such a blatant trap himself. He's Lily's son, all right.
Once they were at Lily's office and Margo was nowhere in sight, Lily finally put two and two together. Zac pulled his gun and ordered Lily to transfer the money, but Lily refused until she had proof that her son was still alive. Zac threatened to shoot her, but Lily called his bluff, pointing out that if he did that, he'd never get the money.
Zoe, who'd gone to the hospital to steal the drugs for Noah (locking a suspicious Alison in a closet while she was at it) was back with Luke & Noah when Zac called. Zoe put Luke on the phone and he told his mother that he was fine, but that Noah had been shot. He also told her not to make a deal with these people, that they were liars.
Once Lily had talked to Luke, she went to the computer to make the transfer, managing to send Holden a "Help. Office. Now" e-mail before Zac realized what she was doing.
Jade & Casey, who'd had no luck in their pointless wanderings around Old Town asking people if they'd seen anyone who matched their vague second hand description of Zoe, returned to the hospital and rescued Alison from the closet. The three of them then found the oh so convenient receipt for the storage unit that Zoe had dropped on the floor. Don't you love it when kidnappers make it so easy?
Once Lily finished the money transfer, Zac raised the gun to shoot her in the head, but Lily pointed out that people would hear the shot and he'd never get away. He reluctantly let her live and ran out one door just before Holden came bursting in another to save the day.
Damian, meanwhile, found the dead cop outside Lily & Holden's house, the one that both Lily & then Holden had walked right by without ever seeing for some reason. When Casey, Jade, and Alison showed up, Ali confirmed to Damian that the woman who'd locked her in the closet at the hospital was the one in his age enhanced photo and then they gave him the receipt she'd dropped.
Back at the storage unit, Luke was pleading for Zoe to give Noah the drugs when Zac returned with the good news that they had the money. Zac was ready to 'clean up this mess' and get out of town, but Zoe, while thrilled about the money, told Zac that she'd meet him later on where they'd agreed. He argued that there wasn't time, but Zoe said she had to 'do this' for her mother.
Once Zac was gone, Zoe promised to give Noah the medicine after Luke gave her what she wanted: justice for her mother. The Grimaldis had refused to accept her mom and had even killed her, but Luke was the golden boy who'd inherit everything, and so would his first born child. Oh, lord, no. They're not going there, please tell me they're not.
But, they are. Zoe informed Luke that she wanted his baby, had planned all this out so that she was at the right place in her cycle, etc. She told him to relax, that he might actually enjoy it, and then kissed him.
I hope Zoe stole some Viagra from the hospital, too, because I think that's her only hope.
Damian arrived outside the door, but of course Zac popped up with his gun and told him that Luke was busy, but not to worry: what he was doing would make Damian very happy.
Shoot me next, Zac, please. I don't think I can take it if Zoe actually manages to rape poor Luke and have his child.
Even at this late point in the story, I was still kind of holding out hope deep down that Zac could somehow be redeemed. Now, of course, they've made him a killer, so that's definitely out.
Tell me this, though: if Zoe's plan all along was to have Luke's child, why did they kick this whole thing off by running him down with a car? Maybe they planned to extract the sperm from his corpse? God, these writers suck.
Our boys were where we left them, still tied to that pole, and Noah was feverish and unconscious from his gunshot wound. Luke tried to make a deal with Zoe, saying that if she'd take Noah to the hospital, he'd give her the money. Even when Luke warned her that the Grimaldis would hunt her down if she killed him & Noah, Zoe refused. She did agree to get medicine for Noah, though, provided that Luke agreed to do whatever she wanted in exchange.
Uh oh. Luke agreed without question, of course, and Zoe left to go get the meds. While she was gone, Luke managed to wake Noah up briefly and got him talking for a few minutes. I think this was probably my favorite scene out of this whole mess of a story, simply because Van Hansis really conveyed Luke's love for Noah and his terror that he was about to lose him, masking it all under a false cheer as he tried to rally Noah's strength and keep him awake. In addition to all that, it was also just a really sweet moment between the two of them.
Elsewhere, Holden & Lily had belatedly filled Jade in on the kidnapping and Damian used a computer age enhancing program to age a picture he'd found of Zoe (her real name, by the way, is Gia, meaning that they're not even both Zs, let alone Z Twins) with her mother as a child. Oddly enough, Damian didn't seem to recognize the woman he'd had two recent encounters with. Maybe he'd only had eyes for Zac?
Damian wanted Lily to come to his room to check out the photo and see if it looked like the woman she'd seen, but Holden wanted her to stay at the house with her police protection, where it was safe, so he went himself, leading to yet another Damian/Holden argument over Lily, Luke, and whether Illinois could kick Malta's ass in a fight, that sort of thing.
Zac had been watching the Snyder place, waiting to get Lily alone. After Holden & Jade left, Lily heard a thump outside but convinced herself she was hearing things. Of course, Zac was at that very moment crouching over a dead police officer five feet from the door.
Zac, in the dead cop's jacket, knocked on the door and told Lily that he'd replaced the other guy on a shift trade and that Margo wanted him to bring her in to Lily's office, where Margo was waiting. Lily, not surprisingly, just went along with this without a second thought. I guess now we know why Luke was so eager to rush into such a blatant trap himself. He's Lily's son, all right.
Once they were at Lily's office and Margo was nowhere in sight, Lily finally put two and two together. Zac pulled his gun and ordered Lily to transfer the money, but Lily refused until she had proof that her son was still alive. Zac threatened to shoot her, but Lily called his bluff, pointing out that if he did that, he'd never get the money.
Zoe, who'd gone to the hospital to steal the drugs for Noah (locking a suspicious Alison in a closet while she was at it) was back with Luke & Noah when Zac called. Zoe put Luke on the phone and he told his mother that he was fine, but that Noah had been shot. He also told her not to make a deal with these people, that they were liars.
Once Lily had talked to Luke, she went to the computer to make the transfer, managing to send Holden a "Help. Office. Now" e-mail before Zac realized what she was doing.
Jade & Casey, who'd had no luck in their pointless wanderings around Old Town asking people if they'd seen anyone who matched their vague second hand description of Zoe, returned to the hospital and rescued Alison from the closet. The three of them then found the oh so convenient receipt for the storage unit that Zoe had dropped on the floor. Don't you love it when kidnappers make it so easy?
Once Lily finished the money transfer, Zac raised the gun to shoot her in the head, but Lily pointed out that people would hear the shot and he'd never get away. He reluctantly let her live and ran out one door just before Holden came bursting in another to save the day.
Damian, meanwhile, found the dead cop outside Lily & Holden's house, the one that both Lily & then Holden had walked right by without ever seeing for some reason. When Casey, Jade, and Alison showed up, Ali confirmed to Damian that the woman who'd locked her in the closet at the hospital was the one in his age enhanced photo and then they gave him the receipt she'd dropped.
Back at the storage unit, Luke was pleading for Zoe to give Noah the drugs when Zac returned with the good news that they had the money. Zac was ready to 'clean up this mess' and get out of town, but Zoe, while thrilled about the money, told Zac that she'd meet him later on where they'd agreed. He argued that there wasn't time, but Zoe said she had to 'do this' for her mother.
Once Zac was gone, Zoe promised to give Noah the medicine after Luke gave her what she wanted: justice for her mother. The Grimaldis had refused to accept her mom and had even killed her, but Luke was the golden boy who'd inherit everything, and so would his first born child. Oh, lord, no. They're not going there, please tell me they're not.
But, they are. Zoe informed Luke that she wanted his baby, had planned all this out so that she was at the right place in her cycle, etc. She told him to relax, that he might actually enjoy it, and then kissed him.
I hope Zoe stole some Viagra from the hospital, too, because I think that's her only hope.
Damian arrived outside the door, but of course Zac popped up with his gun and told him that Luke was busy, but not to worry: what he was doing would make Damian very happy.
Shoot me next, Zac, please. I don't think I can take it if Zoe actually manages to rape poor Luke and have his child.
Even at this late point in the story, I was still kind of holding out hope deep down that Zac could somehow be redeemed. Now, of course, they've made him a killer, so that's definitely out.
Tell me this, though: if Zoe's plan all along was to have Luke's child, why did they kick this whole thing off by running him down with a car? Maybe they planned to extract the sperm from his corpse? God, these writers suck.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Rest in Peace, Bea Arthur
I just read the sad news that Bea Arthur passed away today from cancer at the age of 86. She was an incredibly funny woman with a great deal of talent.
I loved The Golden Girls while I was growing up, which really speaks to the reality that as long as something is well written and in the hands of talented actors, age is irrelevant. What did a young kid know about the issues of single women in their sixties? That didn't matter, though, because the show was brilliant. There's nothing like it today because the idiots in charge of programming think that their coveted demographics only want to see their own age group reflected back at them.
I can still turn on a rerun of The Golden Girls, even though I think I've seen them all at least five times, and laugh. What a talented cast of women! It's so sad to think that Bea and Estelle Getty are both gone now.
The first season of Bea's earlier hit show, Maude, was released on DVD a couple of years ago. I'd heard of the show, of course, but I'd never actually seen it at that point. Thanks to Netflix I was able to watch the entire season in about a week's time. I'd wondered if it would seem too dated to really enjoy, given the social and political issues it tackled, but it has stood the test of time very well and many of the issues remain relevant today. It truly was a groundbreaking show, especially in regard to feminism, and it was also incredibly funny.
I'm still waiting impatiently for the rest of the seasons to be released on DVD. It's a shame that the show hasn't lived on in reruns like The Golden Girls has.
Bea Arthur struck television gold twice in her life and we were all richer for it.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Rafe Comes Out
Rafe Torres, the first LGBT character in the history of The Young and the Restless, officially came out today on the show. I really liked the casual way this was done, with no drama at all surrounding the character's sexuality.
It all started with Lily Winters listening to her friend Colleen Carlton's woes about her romantic life, or lack thereof. When Lily spotted Rafe, who was recently working on a custody case involving her family, across the room she quickly ascertained that Colleen found him attractive and then not so subtly arranged for the two to talk before she departed.
Rafe and Colleen shared a laugh over Lily's blatant matchmaking attempt and then Rafe casually said "Obviously she doesn't know I'm gay." Colleen barely batted an eye before saying that they should go out together sometime looking for guys.
Colleen ended up accompanying Rafe to his friend Adam Newman's birthday party, where I discovered that Rafe does indeed have family in town: his aunt is Victor Newman's housekeeper. After making small talk with the other guests for awhile, Colleen and Rafe invited Colleen's ex-stepmother and her husband (who is Colleen's ex boyfriend), Victoria & J.T., out to a bar with them.
Victoria promised to meet them there later, and while Rafe was at the bar getting a drink J.T. told Colleen that he seemed like a good guy and that it was nice to see her dating again. Colleen informed J.T. that she and Rafe were just friends and J.T. predicted that Rafe wouldn't be able to resist her once they got to know each other.
It all started with Lily Winters listening to her friend Colleen Carlton's woes about her romantic life, or lack thereof. When Lily spotted Rafe, who was recently working on a custody case involving her family, across the room she quickly ascertained that Colleen found him attractive and then not so subtly arranged for the two to talk before she departed.
Rafe and Colleen shared a laugh over Lily's blatant matchmaking attempt and then Rafe casually said "Obviously she doesn't know I'm gay." Colleen barely batted an eye before saying that they should go out together sometime looking for guys.
Colleen ended up accompanying Rafe to his friend Adam Newman's birthday party, where I discovered that Rafe does indeed have family in town: his aunt is Victor Newman's housekeeper. After making small talk with the other guests for awhile, Colleen and Rafe invited Colleen's ex-stepmother and her husband (who is Colleen's ex boyfriend), Victoria & J.T., out to a bar with them.
Victoria promised to meet them there later, and while Rafe was at the bar getting a drink J.T. told Colleen that he seemed like a good guy and that it was nice to see her dating again. Colleen informed J.T. that she and Rafe were just friends and J.T. predicted that Rafe wouldn't be able to resist her once they got to know each other.
Colleen: Oh, I'm sure he will. You, on the other hand...
J.T.: What about me?
Colleen: Much more his type.
J.T.: Oh? (pauses to think) Oh!
J.T. was just as unfazed by Rafe's sexuality as Colleen had been, which was nice to see. Rafe departed shortly after that, but not before he & Colleen promised once again to go out looking for guys together sometime.
That was it for today. I'm hopeful that this is just the beginning of a decent story for Rafe and I'm completely fine with a slow build as long as it's going somewhere. One of my biggest problems with As the World Turns is that they move all the stories at warp speed. Soaps should be about crafting a story and telling it well over time.
Of course, at this point we have no idea what kind of story they're telling with Rafe. It would be all too easy for him to be nothing more than Colleen's gay best friend with no life of his own, and that would be pretty pointless.
I think there will be much more to the character than that, though. Rumors are flying that he'll end up involved with a main character who is secretly bisexual. That would be pretty awesome, since daytime usually seems to ignore bisexuality completely.
For now, it's great that the top rated soap in daytime has finally acknowledged that LGBT people exist and has done so in a way that makes Rafe's sexuality completely a non-issue for those around him.
J.T.: What about me?
Colleen: Much more his type.
J.T.: Oh? (pauses to think) Oh!
J.T. was just as unfazed by Rafe's sexuality as Colleen had been, which was nice to see. Rafe departed shortly after that, but not before he & Colleen promised once again to go out looking for guys together sometime.
That was it for today. I'm hopeful that this is just the beginning of a decent story for Rafe and I'm completely fine with a slow build as long as it's going somewhere. One of my biggest problems with As the World Turns is that they move all the stories at warp speed. Soaps should be about crafting a story and telling it well over time.
Of course, at this point we have no idea what kind of story they're telling with Rafe. It would be all too easy for him to be nothing more than Colleen's gay best friend with no life of his own, and that would be pretty pointless.
I think there will be much more to the character than that, though. Rumors are flying that he'll end up involved with a main character who is secretly bisexual. That would be pretty awesome, since daytime usually seems to ignore bisexuality completely.
For now, it's great that the top rated soap in daytime has finally acknowledged that LGBT people exist and has done so in a way that makes Rafe's sexuality completely a non-issue for those around him.
Here We Go Again
Now that the Z Twins story will presumably be winding down, it seems that Passanante has the next member of her Psycho of the Month Club all lined up and ready to go. Since Passanante is never one to shy away from repeating herself, it will be round three for this particular psycho. Who is it, you ask? Why, it's Colonel Winston Mayer, of course!
Yes, Noah's father, the man who murdered Noah's mother (aka the Oakdale Madame); shot Dusty Donovon and left him for dead in the trunk of a car (not that I hold that particular crime against him, of course. Hey, he's only human!); and tried on more than one occasion to kill Luke for 'turning' his son gay.
Winston was last seen diving to his 'death' in the Hudson River after his convoluted plan (is there any other sort of plan on this show?) to trade Ameera for his freedom fell through.
I never read spoilers, so I have no idea what Winston will be up to for round three, but I cringed when I saw the news that Daniel Hugh Kelly was returning in the role at the end of June. No offense to Kelly, I'm just sick and tired of so many of the boys' stories being about battling these psychotic people!
Why can't Passanante tell any other kind of story? It's not just Luke & Noah, either, who've had to deal with these ridiculous plots. Her tenure on the show is littered with these short term characters who go crazy: BJ Green, Eve Coleman, Nick Kasnof, Evan Walsh IV, Colonel Mayer, Mark what's his name who killed Reg & Elwood, the Z Twins, and that one guy who tried to blow up Tom & Margo's house with everyone inside. Those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head from before I started fast forwarding every story but Luke & Noah's. I suppose we should also count Adam Hughes on the list, a guy who was formerly a really good person, but whom Passanante inexplicably made into a would be rapist.
It also doesn't count the insane actions of long term characters who are still on the show and who faced no real consequences for anything they did: Emily for shooting Paul in the chest when he jilted her at the altar; or for holding Dusty captive, chained up like a dog (again, she's only human, so I forgive her for that one!); Craig for blowing Paul up with a car bomb; or Dusty for shooting Paul (notice a trend?).
All of this and so much more has happened under Passanante's pen over less than four years and none of it was well written. Why in the hell is she still the head writer of As the World Turns?
More to the point, why the hell am I still torturing myself by watching?!
Oh, that's right:
Yes, Noah's father, the man who murdered Noah's mother (aka the Oakdale Madame); shot Dusty Donovon and left him for dead in the trunk of a car (not that I hold that particular crime against him, of course. Hey, he's only human!); and tried on more than one occasion to kill Luke for 'turning' his son gay.
Winston was last seen diving to his 'death' in the Hudson River after his convoluted plan (is there any other sort of plan on this show?) to trade Ameera for his freedom fell through.
I never read spoilers, so I have no idea what Winston will be up to for round three, but I cringed when I saw the news that Daniel Hugh Kelly was returning in the role at the end of June. No offense to Kelly, I'm just sick and tired of so many of the boys' stories being about battling these psychotic people!
Why can't Passanante tell any other kind of story? It's not just Luke & Noah, either, who've had to deal with these ridiculous plots. Her tenure on the show is littered with these short term characters who go crazy: BJ Green, Eve Coleman, Nick Kasnof, Evan Walsh IV, Colonel Mayer, Mark what's his name who killed Reg & Elwood, the Z Twins, and that one guy who tried to blow up Tom & Margo's house with everyone inside. Those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head from before I started fast forwarding every story but Luke & Noah's. I suppose we should also count Adam Hughes on the list, a guy who was formerly a really good person, but whom Passanante inexplicably made into a would be rapist.
It also doesn't count the insane actions of long term characters who are still on the show and who faced no real consequences for anything they did: Emily for shooting Paul in the chest when he jilted her at the altar; or for holding Dusty captive, chained up like a dog (again, she's only human, so I forgive her for that one!); Craig for blowing Paul up with a car bomb; or Dusty for shooting Paul (notice a trend?).
All of this and so much more has happened under Passanante's pen over less than four years and none of it was well written. Why in the hell is she still the head writer of As the World Turns?
More to the point, why the hell am I still torturing myself by watching?!
Oh, that's right:
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I Need a Drink
I just don't know if I have the strength to write about today's As the World Turns. It was hard enough to watch it, let alone to relive it all now. I think this has more to do with my own mood, though, than with the show itself, which wasn't any worse (or, it goes without saying, better) today than it was the last time I wrote about it.
I've just grown weary of it all. I feel like shouting at the television Gods "My Kingdom for a decent story for the gay characters!", only that would make me crazy, and not just because I don't have a kingdom. Maybe I should just start drinking heavily an hour before I watch each episode. That might help.
As I said the other day, if I could enjoy all of this on a campy level, I'd probably be a much happier person.
So, today, Luke & Noah were still tied up to that pole in the storage unit/warehouse (Zoe referred to it as the latter today, after calling it a storage unit in her text to Luke on Monday, so who knows? They're probably in a shed in Margo's back yard and the Oakdale PD would be none the wiser). Zoe was setting up a shrine to her late mother right in front of them, wishing the dead woman a happy birthday. She filled Luke and Noah in on the facts: her dead mother was the daughter of an illegitimate son of the Grimaldi family. She'd spent her life trying to get the piece of the fortune that was rightfully hers and the Grimaldis had eventually killed her because of it.
Damian, meanwhile, had found a newspaper clipping on the same woman's death in his late cousin Eduardo's scrapbook, which his widow Lisa had just turned over. The woman was wearing a Pisces star sign necklace, so Damian knew the kidnappings had to be tied to her somehow.
Lily went behind Holden's back to work with Damian on this brilliant plan he'd had. After receiving the note on where to drop the ransom money, Lily didn't tell the police or Holden, but instead went to Damian. His brilliant plan? Lily should drop off a fake ransom, then sneak off and put on a cloak and Pisces necklace like the dead woman in the newspaper photo. The kidnappers would follow her, since they'd obviously think she was the ghost of this woman, and Damian would jump them.
I don't even know how to make fun of that plan, it's so pathetically stupid. I know we frequently have to suspend our disbelief when it comes to soap opera plots, but the writers of this show seem to expect us to permanently annihilate our disbelief. Either that, or they think they're writing to entertain the stupidest people on the planet.
Luke & Noah were sympathizing with Zoe for her loss and Luke was assuring her that he'd gladly give her all the Grimaldi money he had if she'd just let them go. Zac returned from dropping off the note for Lily and showed Zoe the 'extra insurance' he'd picked up to make sure that things went well: a gun. Are we supposed to forget that Zoe already had a gun the other day when she tied Luke up? I guess we are, since the writers clearly have.
Zac & Zoe left to pick up the ransom and Luke tried to be optimistic about how things would turn out. Noah, though, pointed out that they could identify Zac & Zoe. Did Luke really think they'd just let them go? The boys knocked over Zoe's shrine and started using the broken glass from Zoe's picture of her mother to try and cut their ropes. The dialogue made me cringe even more than usual, as Luke joked that this would all be fun if they weren't fighting for their lives. Um, okay.
Lily, meanwhile, was carrying out her part of the plan, which soon had Zoe running after her, calling out for her mom. Damian was detained by a punch from Holden, though, and wasn't there to back Lily up. When Zoe saw that the woman in the cloak was Lily, she pushed her down and ran off. Lily, lightly pushed onto a grassy patch of ground, was somehow rendered unconscious. Holden & Damian soon found her and the guys got into a pissing contest about which of them had put Lily in more danger, blah blah blah.
Zac & Zoe hightailed it back to the warehouse, arriving just as Luke & Noah had freed themselves. Zac, who was clearly starting to unravel by this point, shot Noah in the arm to stop them from leaving, or maybe just for the hell of it. Who knows? Don't worry, though, he assured Noah that it was 'nothing personal, Monster' after firing the shot. Thank God he clarified, because I'm sure Noah was feeling pretty offended!
Noah, after a bit of manly screaming, passed out from the pain and the twins tied him and Luke back up, with Luke begging them to get Noah medical attention before he bled to death.
Good times!
I've just grown weary of it all. I feel like shouting at the television Gods "My Kingdom for a decent story for the gay characters!", only that would make me crazy, and not just because I don't have a kingdom. Maybe I should just start drinking heavily an hour before I watch each episode. That might help.
As I said the other day, if I could enjoy all of this on a campy level, I'd probably be a much happier person.
So, today, Luke & Noah were still tied up to that pole in the storage unit/warehouse (Zoe referred to it as the latter today, after calling it a storage unit in her text to Luke on Monday, so who knows? They're probably in a shed in Margo's back yard and the Oakdale PD would be none the wiser). Zoe was setting up a shrine to her late mother right in front of them, wishing the dead woman a happy birthday. She filled Luke and Noah in on the facts: her dead mother was the daughter of an illegitimate son of the Grimaldi family. She'd spent her life trying to get the piece of the fortune that was rightfully hers and the Grimaldis had eventually killed her because of it.
Damian, meanwhile, had found a newspaper clipping on the same woman's death in his late cousin Eduardo's scrapbook, which his widow Lisa had just turned over. The woman was wearing a Pisces star sign necklace, so Damian knew the kidnappings had to be tied to her somehow.
Lily went behind Holden's back to work with Damian on this brilliant plan he'd had. After receiving the note on where to drop the ransom money, Lily didn't tell the police or Holden, but instead went to Damian. His brilliant plan? Lily should drop off a fake ransom, then sneak off and put on a cloak and Pisces necklace like the dead woman in the newspaper photo. The kidnappers would follow her, since they'd obviously think she was the ghost of this woman, and Damian would jump them.
I don't even know how to make fun of that plan, it's so pathetically stupid. I know we frequently have to suspend our disbelief when it comes to soap opera plots, but the writers of this show seem to expect us to permanently annihilate our disbelief. Either that, or they think they're writing to entertain the stupidest people on the planet.
Luke & Noah were sympathizing with Zoe for her loss and Luke was assuring her that he'd gladly give her all the Grimaldi money he had if she'd just let them go. Zac returned from dropping off the note for Lily and showed Zoe the 'extra insurance' he'd picked up to make sure that things went well: a gun. Are we supposed to forget that Zoe already had a gun the other day when she tied Luke up? I guess we are, since the writers clearly have.
Zac & Zoe left to pick up the ransom and Luke tried to be optimistic about how things would turn out. Noah, though, pointed out that they could identify Zac & Zoe. Did Luke really think they'd just let them go? The boys knocked over Zoe's shrine and started using the broken glass from Zoe's picture of her mother to try and cut their ropes. The dialogue made me cringe even more than usual, as Luke joked that this would all be fun if they weren't fighting for their lives. Um, okay.
Lily, meanwhile, was carrying out her part of the plan, which soon had Zoe running after her, calling out for her mom. Damian was detained by a punch from Holden, though, and wasn't there to back Lily up. When Zoe saw that the woman in the cloak was Lily, she pushed her down and ran off. Lily, lightly pushed onto a grassy patch of ground, was somehow rendered unconscious. Holden & Damian soon found her and the guys got into a pissing contest about which of them had put Lily in more danger, blah blah blah.
Zac & Zoe hightailed it back to the warehouse, arriving just as Luke & Noah had freed themselves. Zac, who was clearly starting to unravel by this point, shot Noah in the arm to stop them from leaving, or maybe just for the hell of it. Who knows? Don't worry, though, he assured Noah that it was 'nothing personal, Monster' after firing the shot. Thank God he clarified, because I'm sure Noah was feeling pretty offended!
Noah, after a bit of manly screaming, passed out from the pain and the twins tied him and Luke back up, with Luke begging them to get Noah medical attention before he bled to death.
Good times!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Adam Does it Again
I just finished watching tonight's American Idol. I was really kind of dreading disco night since I thought that everyone but Adam would really end up struggling and the potential was high for a lot of painful performances. As it turned out, I thought it was a lot better than last week's theme of songs from the movies. There were still a couple awful performances, but most of them surprised me.
I think everyone was expecting Adam to really go all out and go into full on disco mode. I secretly hoped that he'd do Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive or Alicia Bridge's I Love the Nightlife. I'd love to hear what he could do with either of those songs. Of course, Adam had already done disco a few weeks back with Play That Funky Music.
As soon as I saw him come out in a suit at the start of the show, I knew he'd be doing something slower paced and I couldn't wait to see what it would be. I should also add that the man looks incredible in a suit.
As it turned out, Adam did his own heart wrenching version of If I Can't Have You from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I don't think, for me, it quite reached Mad World status, but it came pretty damn close and was easily my second favorite Adam Lambert performance of the season.
It's funny, the weeks when he goes full on rock star on the stage, I think he's at his best, and then the weeks when he just very simply and beautifully sings a song like this, I think he's better than ever. I guess he's just amazing no matter what style he's performing in. The judges all seem to agree.
I also really liked what Kris Allen did tonight, turning She Works Hard for the Money into a singer songwriter ballad that fit his voice perfectly. I like that guy more and more each week, I think. I thought from the beginning that he was completely adorable and had a decent voice, but ever since he did Ain't No Sunshine a few weeks back, I've started to think that maybe he is someone whose album I'd buy.
Two people will be voted off tomorrow night, since the judges used their save last week. I don't think Adam is in the slightest danger of being one of the two, but I'm still voting like crazy just in case.
I think everyone was expecting Adam to really go all out and go into full on disco mode. I secretly hoped that he'd do Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive or Alicia Bridge's I Love the Nightlife. I'd love to hear what he could do with either of those songs. Of course, Adam had already done disco a few weeks back with Play That Funky Music.
As soon as I saw him come out in a suit at the start of the show, I knew he'd be doing something slower paced and I couldn't wait to see what it would be. I should also add that the man looks incredible in a suit.
As it turned out, Adam did his own heart wrenching version of If I Can't Have You from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I don't think, for me, it quite reached Mad World status, but it came pretty damn close and was easily my second favorite Adam Lambert performance of the season.
It's funny, the weeks when he goes full on rock star on the stage, I think he's at his best, and then the weeks when he just very simply and beautifully sings a song like this, I think he's better than ever. I guess he's just amazing no matter what style he's performing in. The judges all seem to agree.
I also really liked what Kris Allen did tonight, turning She Works Hard for the Money into a singer songwriter ballad that fit his voice perfectly. I like that guy more and more each week, I think. I thought from the beginning that he was completely adorable and had a decent voice, but ever since he did Ain't No Sunshine a few weeks back, I've started to think that maybe he is someone whose album I'd buy.
Two people will be voted off tomorrow night, since the judges used their save last week. I don't think Adam is in the slightest danger of being one of the two, but I'm still voting like crazy just in case.
Fools Rush In
Two Nuke days in a row, what a treat! I'm employing some sarcasm there, obviously, but at the same time it is nice to see Van & Jake getting more than one episode a week.
I should clarify, after my last few bitter posts, that I don't really hate As the World Turns. I just hate the way it's being written at the moment. Hopefully that doesn't make me sound too much like those 'hate the sin, not the sinner' homophobic hypocrites. In this case, I think you really can separate the two.
All right, so today started out with Luke making it clear to Lily that he, like Holden, thinks Damian is behind Noah's kidnapping. Lily still didn't think so, and the two decide to go join Holden at the police station, which is where they thought he'd gone.
Instead, Holden was right where we'd left him, in Damian's hotel room. That sounds much more interesting that it actually was, of course! Holden accused Damian of kidnapping Noah and Damian offered to take a lie detector test to prove that he was innocent. Holden agreed to this proposition, though he also snarled that Damian probably knew a way of fooling the machine. I know Holden has very good reasons for believing the worst about Damian (especially since Damian once kidnapped Luke himself) but now it just seems like the show is trying to build up Damian as a good guy by making Holden look like a complete ass.
Everyone more or less met up at the police station, where they presented Margo with the news of the kidnapping, the ransom note (which is on hotel stationary from the Lakeview, where Damian is staying) and with the prime suspect himself. As soon as Luke saw Damian walk in, he told him that he'd give him the money, he just wants Noah back. Damian protested his innocence for the 10,000th time.
Margo, meanwhile, took the Snyders aside to warn Luke not to pay the ransom yet and to demand 'proof of life' first.
Meanwhile, the couple formerly known as the Z Twins were still making out in front of poor Noah. Zoe finally took off to go see how Luke was dealing with receiving the ransom note and Zac took pity on Noah by giving him some water and revealing that the foundation money is rightfully his and Zoe's, that it was stolen from them.
Back at the station, the fingerprint analysis on the ransom note was already back: Damian's prints were on the note. Holden was smug, Lily was disbelieving, and Luke just seemed sad as he told Damian that he wished he could believe him when he continued to protest his innocence.
Luke, still being trailed by his police protection, ran into Zoe in Old Town and told her all about the ransom note. Zoe pretended to be shocked and sympathetic, but was far from pleased when Luke revealed that the cops had advised him not to pay the ransom.
Luke returned home to have a flashback to his and Noah's first time together (awww!) while Zoe rushed back to the warehouse (which, it turns out, is actually a storage unit) to send Luke a text from Noah's phone telling Luke right where Noah was and to come quickly and without cops.
Once again, the writers have an otherwise intelligent character act like a complete idiot. Luke, knowing full well that he'd already received one fake text from someone using Noah's phone, didn't question the veracity of the latest text for a second. He just charged off, leaving his clueless police protection behind and telling no one where he was going.
Meanwhile, back in the interrogation room, Damian was filling Margo in on the many different branches of the Grimaldi family with their feuds dating back hundreds of years. He was also feeling guilty, realizing that if he'd never given Luke this money, no one from the family would have targeted him. After all, Damian pointed out, Lily is a wealthy woman but they're not asking for money from her. They're specifically asking for the Grimaldi money from the foundation.
Luke, still acting like a fool, rushed into the storage unit and found Noah. He began untying him, telling him that he'd received his text. Noah warned that it was a trap, that he'd never sent it, but of course at that very moment Zac & a gun toting Zoe popped out and welcomed Luke to their little party.
Luke continued trying to untie Noah while he took in this latest revelation. He told the 'twins' that they could talk about the money, come to an agreement, and then he tried to knock the gun from Zoe's hand. Unfortunately, she ended up knocking him out instead, and Zac quickly tied him up on the other side of Noah's pole, so that the guys were back to back.
Luke, more dazed than unconscious, quickly came out of his stupor and put two and two together: the twins had left the ring in Lily's office: they were Grimaldis. Zac cleared up something that I was pretty sure of yesterday, but that I'm still very glad to have stated explicitly at last: he & Zoe aren't really related. Zoe, though, is indeed a Grimaldi.
Zoe informed Luke that the money Damian gave him belongs to her branch of the family, not with someone like him who won't even acknowledge that he is a Grimaldi.
Holden & Lily took a break from arguing about Damian's guilt to realize that the couldn't find Luke anywhere and he wasn't answering his phone. Then, oddly enough, Lily discovered another ransom note, telling them that their son had been kidnapped as well. This is odd because neither Zac nor Zoe had left Luke's side since tying him up. So, either this is yet another plot hole (very likely), or someone else is working with them.
Back at the storage unit, Luke & Noah were left alone at last. Noah apologized for dragging Luke into this, but Luke told his boyfriend that there's nowhere else he'd rather be that with Noah. Noah pointed out that this all means that Damian is innocent and Luke agreed that he owed his biodad an apology. The two then managed to touch hands in a way that was really very sweet.
Van & Jake manage to make Noah & Luke very believable as two people in love through small moments exactly like that, and that's precisely why I have to keep tuning in despite all my disappointment with the writing.
I should clarify, after my last few bitter posts, that I don't really hate As the World Turns. I just hate the way it's being written at the moment. Hopefully that doesn't make me sound too much like those 'hate the sin, not the sinner' homophobic hypocrites. In this case, I think you really can separate the two.
All right, so today started out with Luke making it clear to Lily that he, like Holden, thinks Damian is behind Noah's kidnapping. Lily still didn't think so, and the two decide to go join Holden at the police station, which is where they thought he'd gone.
Instead, Holden was right where we'd left him, in Damian's hotel room. That sounds much more interesting that it actually was, of course! Holden accused Damian of kidnapping Noah and Damian offered to take a lie detector test to prove that he was innocent. Holden agreed to this proposition, though he also snarled that Damian probably knew a way of fooling the machine. I know Holden has very good reasons for believing the worst about Damian (especially since Damian once kidnapped Luke himself) but now it just seems like the show is trying to build up Damian as a good guy by making Holden look like a complete ass.
Everyone more or less met up at the police station, where they presented Margo with the news of the kidnapping, the ransom note (which is on hotel stationary from the Lakeview, where Damian is staying) and with the prime suspect himself. As soon as Luke saw Damian walk in, he told him that he'd give him the money, he just wants Noah back. Damian protested his innocence for the 10,000th time.
Margo, meanwhile, took the Snyders aside to warn Luke not to pay the ransom yet and to demand 'proof of life' first.
Meanwhile, the couple formerly known as the Z Twins were still making out in front of poor Noah. Zoe finally took off to go see how Luke was dealing with receiving the ransom note and Zac took pity on Noah by giving him some water and revealing that the foundation money is rightfully his and Zoe's, that it was stolen from them.
Back at the station, the fingerprint analysis on the ransom note was already back: Damian's prints were on the note. Holden was smug, Lily was disbelieving, and Luke just seemed sad as he told Damian that he wished he could believe him when he continued to protest his innocence.
Luke, still being trailed by his police protection, ran into Zoe in Old Town and told her all about the ransom note. Zoe pretended to be shocked and sympathetic, but was far from pleased when Luke revealed that the cops had advised him not to pay the ransom.
Luke returned home to have a flashback to his and Noah's first time together (awww!) while Zoe rushed back to the warehouse (which, it turns out, is actually a storage unit) to send Luke a text from Noah's phone telling Luke right where Noah was and to come quickly and without cops.
Once again, the writers have an otherwise intelligent character act like a complete idiot. Luke, knowing full well that he'd already received one fake text from someone using Noah's phone, didn't question the veracity of the latest text for a second. He just charged off, leaving his clueless police protection behind and telling no one where he was going.
Meanwhile, back in the interrogation room, Damian was filling Margo in on the many different branches of the Grimaldi family with their feuds dating back hundreds of years. He was also feeling guilty, realizing that if he'd never given Luke this money, no one from the family would have targeted him. After all, Damian pointed out, Lily is a wealthy woman but they're not asking for money from her. They're specifically asking for the Grimaldi money from the foundation.
Luke, still acting like a fool, rushed into the storage unit and found Noah. He began untying him, telling him that he'd received his text. Noah warned that it was a trap, that he'd never sent it, but of course at that very moment Zac & a gun toting Zoe popped out and welcomed Luke to their little party.
Luke continued trying to untie Noah while he took in this latest revelation. He told the 'twins' that they could talk about the money, come to an agreement, and then he tried to knock the gun from Zoe's hand. Unfortunately, she ended up knocking him out instead, and Zac quickly tied him up on the other side of Noah's pole, so that the guys were back to back.
Luke, more dazed than unconscious, quickly came out of his stupor and put two and two together: the twins had left the ring in Lily's office: they were Grimaldis. Zac cleared up something that I was pretty sure of yesterday, but that I'm still very glad to have stated explicitly at last: he & Zoe aren't really related. Zoe, though, is indeed a Grimaldi.
Zoe informed Luke that the money Damian gave him belongs to her branch of the family, not with someone like him who won't even acknowledge that he is a Grimaldi.
Holden & Lily took a break from arguing about Damian's guilt to realize that the couldn't find Luke anywhere and he wasn't answering his phone. Then, oddly enough, Lily discovered another ransom note, telling them that their son had been kidnapped as well. This is odd because neither Zac nor Zoe had left Luke's side since tying him up. So, either this is yet another plot hole (very likely), or someone else is working with them.
Back at the storage unit, Luke & Noah were left alone at last. Noah apologized for dragging Luke into this, but Luke told his boyfriend that there's nowhere else he'd rather be that with Noah. Noah pointed out that this all means that Damian is innocent and Luke agreed that he owed his biodad an apology. The two then managed to touch hands in a way that was really very sweet.
Van & Jake manage to make Noah & Luke very believable as two people in love through small moments exactly like that, and that's precisely why I have to keep tuning in despite all my disappointment with the writing.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Gay Twin? Not So Much
All right, here's what happened today on that show I hate. Luke was moping around his parents' house, trying to figure out why Noah would just take off for Lisbon without saying anything, abandoning his classes and work, and why he wasn't answering any of Luke's calls.
Lily tried to be supportive and assured Luke that when Noah came back, they'd work things out. When Luke reveled that he was thinking of going to Lisbon to talk to Noah in person, Lily confessed that Damian had already gone to fetch him. Luke was less than pleased with Damian's interference and with his mother for believing in her ex yet again.
Meanwhile, poor Noah was still tied to that pole, watching Zac doing bicep curls with some dumbbells. Well, at least there was something entertaining to watch! Personally, I'd have preferred to see Zac doing some shirtless crunches, but I digress.
Zoe showed up to update Zac on how their plan was going and they decided to send Luke a text from Noah's phone to ease any suspicions Luke might be having. Zoe took off to make sure that Luke bought the ruse, leaving Noah and Zac alone again.
Noah asked Zac to loosen the ropes a bit so he could get some feeling back in his hands. Zac, of course, practically purred "I know a few things your hands could be feeling, but you keep saying no. Ready to reconsider?" Noah sidestepped the innuendo by offering to talk to the cops to make sure that they go easy on Zac if he'd just let him go. Zac wondered why he should trust Noah, and wasn't satisfied with Noah's explanation that he doesn't lie.
Oh, boy. I don't think we've ever even heard Luke & Noah say that to each other, so it's slightly irritating that they have Zac say it to Noah, especially since it doesn't fit the context of the situation or of Zac's personality, to use that particular expression. I know they can't just come out and have him say "Fuck me!" on daytime TV, but they could have found a less romantic way of expressing it, I'd think.
After catching sight of the dumbbell that Zac has set down, though, Noah's eyes lit up with a plan. While Zac babbled on about not wanting to take the fall for Zoe's scheme, Noah seemed much more receptive to his offer.
Zac, of course, knew exactly what Noah was up to and slammed him against the wall, threatening to smash the dumbbell into his skull. After tying Noah back up, Zac told him to get his gaydar checked.
Oh, great. I was bitter enough about the Z twins turning out to be evil, but today they just had to go a step further. Not only is Zac evil, he's not even gay! Fantastic. So I guess the whole little scene he's just played out with Noah was a sadistic game of cat & mouse?
Seriously, thanks for nothing As the World Turns. I made no secret of the fact that I thought Zac had a lot of potential as a character and that I was excited about the idea of daytime's first all male love triangle. This twist just makes me even more mad at myself for ever hoping for a decent story from this show. It also makes me wish they would hire awful actors, rather than ones as good as Nicholas Galbraith, so that when the characters they play are so quickly written into a corner I wouldn't mourn the wasted possibilities as much!
Anyway, while Noah was attempting to play on Zac's non-existent attraction to him, Zoe was at Java with Luke, who felt that there was something a bit off about Noah's text. It just didn't sound like him, to say "I love you", Luke explained. Noah is usually more indirect. Zoe tried to cover, saying that Noah probably was just realizing how much he missed Luke. When Luke let slip that Damian had gone to Lisbon to talk to Noah, Zoe practically ran for the door. Subtle, Z!
Back at the warehouse, Zoe told Zac about Damian's trip to Lisbon and that they couldn't wait any longer, the note had to be delivered.
At the Snyder place, Damian had arrived, interrupting Holden & Lily's 92nd argument this week about Grimaldi himself. Damian told them that he'd just come from Lisbon, where none of Noah's fellow film students had seen him on the trip. What's more, Damian had checked with a Government connection and found out that Noah had never even entered Portugal.
Holden, of course, thought that Damian was lying and pointed out that they only had his word that he'd even gone to Lisbon in the first place. Luke returned in the middle of all of this and was clearly torn between wanting to side with Holden and his sense that something just wasn't right with the whole Noah in Lisbon scenario.
After Damian left, Lily found the note that Zoe had just dropped off at their house, addressed to Luke. Not surprisingly, it was a ransom note, instructing Luke to hand over all the foundation's funds if he wanted to see Noah again.
Holden immediately stormed off to confront Damian, convinced that he was behind the kidnapping. Luke, meanwhile, made it clear to his parents that he wouldn't hesitate to give the foundation money to the kidnappers to save Noah.
Back at the warehouse, Zoe & Zac decided to celebrate their impending victory by making out with each other. The look on Jake Silbermann's face as Noah watched these supposed siblings start to suck face was priceless and no doubt mirrored the look on my own and many other people's faces.
Zoe congratulated Zac on their plan, saying it wouldn't have worked if he wasn't so good at 'playing the boy toy'. He assured her that he just pretended Noah was her. Well, I guess that explains the creepy incestuous vibe.
Noah asked them why, if this was all just about money, they'd gone to the trouble of running Luke down, stabbing Damian, and pretending to be attracted to him & Luke. Gee, I thought those were just going to be plot holes!
The I-guess-they're-not Z Twins just laughed and told him he had to think some of this out for himself and then decided to put on a show for their captive audience as they started going at it. God, poor Noah! Talk about cruel & unusual punishment.
Here's the thing: I love the soap opera genre. I've been clear about that. Ever since I was a small child, I've loved soaps. I want them to be well written and engaging. I don't want to have to enjoy them on a campy, so-bad-they're-hilarious level. That's the reason I always hated Passions. Many people were able to love that show as a pure camp fest filled with hot, constantly shirtless men, but I just saw terrible writing making a mess of a genre I love.
I think if I could just let go and love soaps based on the camp factor alone, I'd probably be enjoying the Z Twin fiasco on As the World Turns a hell of a lot more than I am. There is no doubt, after today's show, that it fits the requirements for camp pretty perfectly. It's just not what I want from soaps.
Lily tried to be supportive and assured Luke that when Noah came back, they'd work things out. When Luke reveled that he was thinking of going to Lisbon to talk to Noah in person, Lily confessed that Damian had already gone to fetch him. Luke was less than pleased with Damian's interference and with his mother for believing in her ex yet again.
Meanwhile, poor Noah was still tied to that pole, watching Zac doing bicep curls with some dumbbells. Well, at least there was something entertaining to watch! Personally, I'd have preferred to see Zac doing some shirtless crunches, but I digress.
Zoe showed up to update Zac on how their plan was going and they decided to send Luke a text from Noah's phone to ease any suspicions Luke might be having. Zoe took off to make sure that Luke bought the ruse, leaving Noah and Zac alone again.
Noah asked Zac to loosen the ropes a bit so he could get some feeling back in his hands. Zac, of course, practically purred "I know a few things your hands could be feeling, but you keep saying no. Ready to reconsider?" Noah sidestepped the innuendo by offering to talk to the cops to make sure that they go easy on Zac if he'd just let him go. Zac wondered why he should trust Noah, and wasn't satisfied with Noah's explanation that he doesn't lie.
Zac: I think I need to be convinced.
Noah: How can I do that?
Zac: Make love to me.
Noah: How can I do that?
Zac: Make love to me.
Oh, boy. I don't think we've ever even heard Luke & Noah say that to each other, so it's slightly irritating that they have Zac say it to Noah, especially since it doesn't fit the context of the situation or of Zac's personality, to use that particular expression. I know they can't just come out and have him say "Fuck me!" on daytime TV, but they could have found a less romantic way of expressing it, I'd think.
Zac: I know that you and Luke are like an old married couple, but it's cool. You know, whatever gets you stoked. But your wife's not here, dude. He won't know. I'm like your get out of jail free card. Okay, not exactly free, but you know.
Noah: Yeah, I know, and I'm still not interested.
Zac: I thought we had real chemistry.
Noah: You were wrong.
Noah: Yeah, I know, and I'm still not interested.
Zac: I thought we had real chemistry.
Noah: You were wrong.
After catching sight of the dumbbell that Zac has set down, though, Noah's eyes lit up with a plan. While Zac babbled on about not wanting to take the fall for Zoe's scheme, Noah seemed much more receptive to his offer.
Zac: So, monster, we have a deal?
Noah: Okay.
Zac (untying Noah's hands): I mean, you don't know, it's not gonna be like a death sentence. You'll probably have more fun than you've had in a very long time. Now, I undid you, you undo me. (Noah starts unbuttoning Zac's shirt, moving them backwards towards the dumbbells)
Noah: Okay.
Zac (untying Noah's hands): I mean, you don't know, it's not gonna be like a death sentence. You'll probably have more fun than you've had in a very long time. Now, I undid you, you undo me. (Noah starts unbuttoning Zac's shirt, moving them backwards towards the dumbbells)
Zac, of course, knew exactly what Noah was up to and slammed him against the wall, threatening to smash the dumbbell into his skull. After tying Noah back up, Zac told him to get his gaydar checked.
Oh, great. I was bitter enough about the Z twins turning out to be evil, but today they just had to go a step further. Not only is Zac evil, he's not even gay! Fantastic. So I guess the whole little scene he's just played out with Noah was a sadistic game of cat & mouse?
Seriously, thanks for nothing As the World Turns. I made no secret of the fact that I thought Zac had a lot of potential as a character and that I was excited about the idea of daytime's first all male love triangle. This twist just makes me even more mad at myself for ever hoping for a decent story from this show. It also makes me wish they would hire awful actors, rather than ones as good as Nicholas Galbraith, so that when the characters they play are so quickly written into a corner I wouldn't mourn the wasted possibilities as much!
Anyway, while Noah was attempting to play on Zac's non-existent attraction to him, Zoe was at Java with Luke, who felt that there was something a bit off about Noah's text. It just didn't sound like him, to say "I love you", Luke explained. Noah is usually more indirect. Zoe tried to cover, saying that Noah probably was just realizing how much he missed Luke. When Luke let slip that Damian had gone to Lisbon to talk to Noah, Zoe practically ran for the door. Subtle, Z!
Back at the warehouse, Zoe told Zac about Damian's trip to Lisbon and that they couldn't wait any longer, the note had to be delivered.
At the Snyder place, Damian had arrived, interrupting Holden & Lily's 92nd argument this week about Grimaldi himself. Damian told them that he'd just come from Lisbon, where none of Noah's fellow film students had seen him on the trip. What's more, Damian had checked with a Government connection and found out that Noah had never even entered Portugal.
Holden, of course, thought that Damian was lying and pointed out that they only had his word that he'd even gone to Lisbon in the first place. Luke returned in the middle of all of this and was clearly torn between wanting to side with Holden and his sense that something just wasn't right with the whole Noah in Lisbon scenario.
After Damian left, Lily found the note that Zoe had just dropped off at their house, addressed to Luke. Not surprisingly, it was a ransom note, instructing Luke to hand over all the foundation's funds if he wanted to see Noah again.
Holden immediately stormed off to confront Damian, convinced that he was behind the kidnapping. Luke, meanwhile, made it clear to his parents that he wouldn't hesitate to give the foundation money to the kidnappers to save Noah.
Back at the warehouse, Zoe & Zac decided to celebrate their impending victory by making out with each other. The look on Jake Silbermann's face as Noah watched these supposed siblings start to suck face was priceless and no doubt mirrored the look on my own and many other people's faces.
Zoe congratulated Zac on their plan, saying it wouldn't have worked if he wasn't so good at 'playing the boy toy'. He assured her that he just pretended Noah was her. Well, I guess that explains the creepy incestuous vibe.
Noah asked them why, if this was all just about money, they'd gone to the trouble of running Luke down, stabbing Damian, and pretending to be attracted to him & Luke. Gee, I thought those were just going to be plot holes!
The I-guess-they're-not Z Twins just laughed and told him he had to think some of this out for himself and then decided to put on a show for their captive audience as they started going at it. God, poor Noah! Talk about cruel & unusual punishment.
Here's the thing: I love the soap opera genre. I've been clear about that. Ever since I was a small child, I've loved soaps. I want them to be well written and engaging. I don't want to have to enjoy them on a campy, so-bad-they're-hilarious level. That's the reason I always hated Passions. Many people were able to love that show as a pure camp fest filled with hot, constantly shirtless men, but I just saw terrible writing making a mess of a genre I love.
I think if I could just let go and love soaps based on the camp factor alone, I'd probably be enjoying the Z Twin fiasco on As the World Turns a hell of a lot more than I am. There is no doubt, after today's show, that it fits the requirements for camp pretty perfectly. It's just not what I want from soaps.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A New Gay Character for Daytime
Soap reporter Nelson Branco recently broke the news that the top rated soap in daytime TV, The Young and the Restless, was finally going to be adding their very first LGBT character. There was a lot of speculation online as to who the character would be (many people seemed to suspect that Mac Browning, now played by out actress Clementine Ford, would be announcing that she was a lesbian after her recent return to town) or if Y&R would actually even go there at all.
Well, the news has finally been confirmed, along with the identity of Genoa City's first gay citizen: hunky lawyer Rafael Torres, played by Yani Gellman.
This is actually something of a throwback to the pre-Bianca era, when the few gay characters on daytime were written as stand alone individuals, not really connected to any of the show's core families, and could thus be easily written out of the show once they'd served their purpose (which usually just meant coming out and then fading away).
Since the groundbreaking character of Bianca on All My Children, LGBT characters on soaps have, for the most part, been members of core families: Luke on ATWT, the blink and you missed him Lucas on General Hospital, and even Olivia & Natalia on Guiding Light have their connections to the Spaulding family through marriages and a child. Non-connected LGBT characters these days are usually introduced to date the established gay characters: Noah on ATWT, Maggie & Reese on AMC.
Rafael, as far as I'm aware, is not connected to any of the other characters in Genoa City and isn't at this point expected to be dating anyone who is. This worries me a bit, since it would make him a very easy character to ignore or drop altogether.
While I'm very much in favor of LGBT characters in daytime being legacy characters (I'm still waiting impatiently for a gay Horton or Brady on Days of Our Lives), having this latest character unconnected to anyone doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. I have to wonder, though, how far they're intending to go with Rafael. There hasn't been any mention of a love interest yet, for instance, which could be a bad sign. There's no indication of what kind of story the show is intending to tell with the character, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how much praise Y&R truly deserves.
Rafael will be coming out soon on the show and I'll write more about it as the story progresses.
Well, the news has finally been confirmed, along with the identity of Genoa City's first gay citizen: hunky lawyer Rafael Torres, played by Yani Gellman.
This is actually something of a throwback to the pre-Bianca era, when the few gay characters on daytime were written as stand alone individuals, not really connected to any of the show's core families, and could thus be easily written out of the show once they'd served their purpose (which usually just meant coming out and then fading away).
Since the groundbreaking character of Bianca on All My Children, LGBT characters on soaps have, for the most part, been members of core families: Luke on ATWT, the blink and you missed him Lucas on General Hospital, and even Olivia & Natalia on Guiding Light have their connections to the Spaulding family through marriages and a child. Non-connected LGBT characters these days are usually introduced to date the established gay characters: Noah on ATWT, Maggie & Reese on AMC.
Rafael, as far as I'm aware, is not connected to any of the other characters in Genoa City and isn't at this point expected to be dating anyone who is. This worries me a bit, since it would make him a very easy character to ignore or drop altogether.
While I'm very much in favor of LGBT characters in daytime being legacy characters (I'm still waiting impatiently for a gay Horton or Brady on Days of Our Lives), having this latest character unconnected to anyone doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. I have to wonder, though, how far they're intending to go with Rafael. There hasn't been any mention of a love interest yet, for instance, which could be a bad sign. There's no indication of what kind of story the show is intending to tell with the character, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how much praise Y&R truly deserves.
Rafael will be coming out soon on the show and I'll write more about it as the story progresses.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Otalia Update
I haven't written about Guiding Light's first (and, unless the show finds a way to continue somewhere else after it leaves CBS next September, only) LGBT romance between Olivia and Natalia for awhile now, but this was an important week for the couple as they declared their love for each other for the first time.
In true soap fashion, it happened on Natalia's wedding day, as she prepared to walk down the aisle and marry a man.
At the end of Tuesday's episode, Olivia found Natalia in the cemetery, where she was visiting the grave of her last husband Gus. Olivia was there to say an unofficial goodbye to Natalia as she started her new life and they both quickly agreed that they were doing the right thing for everyone concerned by moving on from the life they'd built together as roommates, parting before they became a couple of old ladies sitting on the sofa in matching jogging suits.
Olivia couldn't hold back her tears, though, and when Natalia insisted she tell her why she was upset, Olivia finally blurted it out: "I'm in love with you!"
On Wednesday's show, the conversation picked up where it had left off. Olivia explained to Natalia that because she loves her, she wants her to have the life and the security she deserves. Olivia would never be able to provide that, since they'd have to contend with whispers behind their back, canceled play dates for their daughter Emma, and making things difficult for Natalia's son Rafe, who was recently released from prison.
This was an incredibly well done scene and Crystal Chappel, who plays Olivia, was especially fantastic.
The women went forward with the wedding, despite their obvious love for each other, right up until the last possible second. With Olivia standing beside her as her maid of honor, Natalia tried to get through her vows, talking of love as a gift from God, but when she got to the part about devoting her life to the man she was about to marry, she couldn't go through with it. Stealing a look at Olivia, Natalia announced that she couldn't do this and then took off running down the aisle in tears.
Olivia found Natalia outside in a snow covered gazebo (I can't think of the last time such a romantic setting was so well utilized on a soap, and I'm really glad that it was for an LGBT couple!), where Natalia explained that she couldn't marry Frank, as much as she might wish she could.
Natalia went on to explain that she'd know her feelings for awhile, but hadn't wanted to face them. Olivia is everything to her, though.
As the two discussed what to do next and where to go from there, the groom happened upon them in his search for his wayward bride. When Natalia faltered in her attempt to explain to him what was wrong, Olivia stepped in and covered by saying that Natalia wasn't over her late husband Gus yet and that it was just too soon for her to marry someone else.
Natalia didn't explicitly confirm this lie, but explained that she'd wanted to say her vows to him, but that she just wasn't free to do so. Her groom was surprisingly understanding, blaming himself for pushing her to wed before she was ready. He agreed to postpone their wedding and she warned that she might never be ready.
After he left, Olivia and Natalia continued their own discussion.
In true soap fashion, it happened on Natalia's wedding day, as she prepared to walk down the aisle and marry a man.
At the end of Tuesday's episode, Olivia found Natalia in the cemetery, where she was visiting the grave of her last husband Gus. Olivia was there to say an unofficial goodbye to Natalia as she started her new life and they both quickly agreed that they were doing the right thing for everyone concerned by moving on from the life they'd built together as roommates, parting before they became a couple of old ladies sitting on the sofa in matching jogging suits.
Olivia couldn't hold back her tears, though, and when Natalia insisted she tell her why she was upset, Olivia finally blurted it out: "I'm in love with you!"
On Wednesday's show, the conversation picked up where it had left off. Olivia explained to Natalia that because she loves her, she wants her to have the life and the security she deserves. Olivia would never be able to provide that, since they'd have to contend with whispers behind their back, canceled play dates for their daughter Emma, and making things difficult for Natalia's son Rafe, who was recently released from prison.
Natalia: We've done that, we've survived all the whispering and the canceled play dates, and Rafe has survived prison.
Olivia: This would be so much worse! It would just be a world of trouble and I don't want that for you.
Natalia: I've handled trouble before.
Olivia: You're going to get hurt. I can't live with that. I love you, but I don't know what offering my love will do to you. It'll ask you to change who you are and what you believe and then that would make this whole thing a lie, wouldn't it?
Natalia (stepping towards Olivia): Don't you know how much-
Olivia: Don't! (touches Natalia's face and takes her hands): You know where you need to be and who you need to be with. We've got a wedding to get to, come on.
Olivia: This would be so much worse! It would just be a world of trouble and I don't want that for you.
Natalia: I've handled trouble before.
Olivia: You're going to get hurt. I can't live with that. I love you, but I don't know what offering my love will do to you. It'll ask you to change who you are and what you believe and then that would make this whole thing a lie, wouldn't it?
Natalia (stepping towards Olivia): Don't you know how much-
Olivia: Don't! (touches Natalia's face and takes her hands): You know where you need to be and who you need to be with. We've got a wedding to get to, come on.
This was an incredibly well done scene and Crystal Chappel, who plays Olivia, was especially fantastic.
The women went forward with the wedding, despite their obvious love for each other, right up until the last possible second. With Olivia standing beside her as her maid of honor, Natalia tried to get through her vows, talking of love as a gift from God, but when she got to the part about devoting her life to the man she was about to marry, she couldn't go through with it. Stealing a look at Olivia, Natalia announced that she couldn't do this and then took off running down the aisle in tears.
Olivia found Natalia outside in a snow covered gazebo (I can't think of the last time such a romantic setting was so well utilized on a soap, and I'm really glad that it was for an LGBT couple!), where Natalia explained that she couldn't marry Frank, as much as she might wish she could.
Olivia: You're not thinking clearly.
Natalia: I am thinking clearly! Probably for the first time I am. I can't marry Frank.
Olivia: Yes you can! You can marry Frank.
Natalia: I don't love him, I love you!
Natalia: I am thinking clearly! Probably for the first time I am. I can't marry Frank.
Olivia: Yes you can! You can marry Frank.
Natalia: I don't love him, I love you!
Natalia went on to explain that she'd know her feelings for awhile, but hadn't wanted to face them. Olivia is everything to her, though.
As the two discussed what to do next and where to go from there, the groom happened upon them in his search for his wayward bride. When Natalia faltered in her attempt to explain to him what was wrong, Olivia stepped in and covered by saying that Natalia wasn't over her late husband Gus yet and that it was just too soon for her to marry someone else.
Natalia didn't explicitly confirm this lie, but explained that she'd wanted to say her vows to him, but that she just wasn't free to do so. Her groom was surprisingly understanding, blaming himself for pushing her to wed before she was ready. He agreed to postpone their wedding and she warned that she might never be ready.
After he left, Olivia and Natalia continued their own discussion.
Olivia: What I said about Gus, I said because I knew that you would rather die than have people know about your true feelings. Between us it's one thing, but to own up to it in the real world...
Natalia: Own up to what? What is it that we're feeling?
Olivia: Whatever it is, I know that you're ashamed of it. It's one of the reasons that we've been doing this dance for so long. And it's the reason why we can't do anything about this.
Natalia: So what happens to us?
Olivia: There is no us. You love me, but you're going to hate me one day for this. I can't live with that. I can't.
So, that's where things were pretty much left. Olivia & Natalia finally confessed that they were in love with each other and Natalia didn't get married, but they're still no closer to actually being together as a couple.
The show is at least exploring some new issues for a soap couple, with two mature women who've only had heterosexual relationships before this suddenly finding themselves falling in love with each other while dealing with the fear that their friends, family, and the society they live in will never understand. There is also the issue of Natalia's religious beliefs standing in their way.
The confession scenes were very beautifully done, though, and it really raises my hopes for the future of this couple. Seeing these scenes makes it even more of a shame that CBS has decided to pull the plug on Guiding Light, though there are rumors that Proctor & Gamble is in discussions with the cable network Lifetime to pick up the series. Let's hope that the future for GL & for Otalia will be bright.
Natalia: Own up to what? What is it that we're feeling?
Olivia: Whatever it is, I know that you're ashamed of it. It's one of the reasons that we've been doing this dance for so long. And it's the reason why we can't do anything about this.
Natalia: So what happens to us?
Olivia: There is no us. You love me, but you're going to hate me one day for this. I can't live with that. I can't.
So, that's where things were pretty much left. Olivia & Natalia finally confessed that they were in love with each other and Natalia didn't get married, but they're still no closer to actually being together as a couple.
The show is at least exploring some new issues for a soap couple, with two mature women who've only had heterosexual relationships before this suddenly finding themselves falling in love with each other while dealing with the fear that their friends, family, and the society they live in will never understand. There is also the issue of Natalia's religious beliefs standing in their way.
The confession scenes were very beautifully done, though, and it really raises my hopes for the future of this couple. Seeing these scenes makes it even more of a shame that CBS has decided to pull the plug on Guiding Light, though there are rumors that Proctor & Gamble is in discussions with the cable network Lifetime to pick up the series. Let's hope that the future for GL & for Otalia will be bright.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Few Reasons Why I Love AfterElton.com
There are a couple of things I want to share from AfterElton. First off, they have their readers vote each year for the Hot 100, a list of the hottest guys in the world, as selected by gay & bisexual men. This is my second year voting in the poll (which closes this Friday, so go vote if you haven't!) and I can't wait to see the results.
The reason I mention this is that today they shared Cheyenne Jackson's personal top 10 list for the poll. Cheyenne is one of my favorite guys (in fact, I do believe he was in my own top ten this year), so it's very interesting to see who he finds to be the hottest guys around.
The best part? Adam Lambert is Cheyenne's number 7 pick! You have to love that. Adam is the only guy that Cheyenne & I had in common on our lists, but I'm hoping that Adam is someone a lot of guys are voting for this year.
As if that wasn't enough of a treat, AfterElton also had some behind the scenes photos of Adam from last night's elimination on American Idol, one of which I'm borrowing, but all of which you should check out if you're a fan of Adam's. I think the best part is their picture of all the contestants mailboxes. Adam, unlike the others, needs two for all the fan mail.
Finally, they had an update on the upcoming Tales of the City musical, which I really want to see. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the books and given some of the people involved in the musical- Armistead Maupin himself, Jeff Whitty, and Jake Shears & John Garden of the Scissor Sisters- I think it's going to be incredible. It opens in July in New Haven, Connecticut, but will hopefully make it to Broadway. Maybe I'll finally make a trip to NYC and get a chance to see this.
Is it any wonder that AfterElton is usually the first place I go when I get online?
The reason I mention this is that today they shared Cheyenne Jackson's personal top 10 list for the poll. Cheyenne is one of my favorite guys (in fact, I do believe he was in my own top ten this year), so it's very interesting to see who he finds to be the hottest guys around.
The best part? Adam Lambert is Cheyenne's number 7 pick! You have to love that. Adam is the only guy that Cheyenne & I had in common on our lists, but I'm hoping that Adam is someone a lot of guys are voting for this year.
As if that wasn't enough of a treat, AfterElton also had some behind the scenes photos of Adam from last night's elimination on American Idol, one of which I'm borrowing, but all of which you should check out if you're a fan of Adam's. I think the best part is their picture of all the contestants mailboxes. Adam, unlike the others, needs two for all the fan mail.
Finally, they had an update on the upcoming Tales of the City musical, which I really want to see. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the books and given some of the people involved in the musical- Armistead Maupin himself, Jeff Whitty, and Jake Shears & John Garden of the Scissor Sisters- I think it's going to be incredible. It opens in July in New Haven, Connecticut, but will hopefully make it to Broadway. Maybe I'll finally make a trip to NYC and get a chance to see this.
Is it any wonder that AfterElton is usually the first place I go when I get online?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Born to be Adam
I just wanted to do a quick post about Adam on this week's American Idol since I haven't done so yet. The theme of the week was Songs from Movies, which lead to the most boring week since I started watching the show. It was a very uninspired hour, but there was one standout performance and of course it was from Adam Lambert.
He chose the song Born to Be Wild from the movie Easy Rider. After slowing things down last week and doing his haunting version of Mad World (I'm still listening to it time and time again a week later and it still gives me chills), Adam was back in rocker mode and he just completely killed with the song.
Simon praised Adam's vocals (how could he not?), but noted that the whole thing was a bit too Rocky Horror Picture Show for him. Adam seemed flattered that Simon would make that comparison. I'm not surprised, since Adam said in his confessional video this week that he'd like to try and fill the void left by David Bowie and Freddy Mercury by bringing a theatrical side back to rock music.
He's already a rock star. I don't think, at this point, that Adam really needs Idol. I think Idol needs Adam.
Next week is disco week, which makes me a bit queasy in advance because the potential for disaster is so great for most of these people, but I have a feeling that Adam will once again blow us away. I can't wait to see what he does.
He chose the song Born to Be Wild from the movie Easy Rider. After slowing things down last week and doing his haunting version of Mad World (I'm still listening to it time and time again a week later and it still gives me chills), Adam was back in rocker mode and he just completely killed with the song.
Simon praised Adam's vocals (how could he not?), but noted that the whole thing was a bit too Rocky Horror Picture Show for him. Adam seemed flattered that Simon would make that comparison. I'm not surprised, since Adam said in his confessional video this week that he'd like to try and fill the void left by David Bowie and Freddy Mercury by bringing a theatrical side back to rock music.
He's already a rock star. I don't think, at this point, that Adam really needs Idol. I think Idol needs Adam.
Next week is disco week, which makes me a bit queasy in advance because the potential for disaster is so great for most of these people, but I have a feeling that Adam will once again blow us away. I can't wait to see what he does.
God I Hate This Show
Welcome to the latest meeting of the I Hate this Damn Show So Much! support group. My name is Seth and I watch As the World Turns even though it frequently makes me want to kick puppies and throw things at sweet little old ladies.
Let's get started. Today's Luke & Noah episode began with Luke arguing with Lily yet again about whether or not Damian is the evil mastermind behind all that's been going on. Lily declared that Damian would never run Luke down with a car because he loves him but for some reason Luke seemed to feel that he's not worthy of being loved. Huh? Where did that come from?
Oh, it's because Noah has dropped him. Wait, what? Luke admitted to Lily that he hasn't heard from Noah since he left the other day and Noah isn't returning his calls. He's worried that they're not speaking because of their argument over Damian. Again: Wait, what? When Noah left, he was smiling and joking with Luke. It makes no sense that Luke would for a second believe that their differing opinions on Damian would lead to Noah not speaking to him. If they'd had an argument the last time they spoke, it might be more plausible, but this just makes no sense at all. Way to go, writers!
Luke left as soon as Damian showed up, not wanting to spend even a second with his biodad. Damian, meanwhile, told Lily that his jeweler in Malta had confirmed that the ring she found was a Grimaldi ring. When she asked who else in the family besides Damian himself had one, Damian revealed that he'd given one to Luke the last time he was in town, and voiced his suspicions that Luke himself was behind all of this, as a way to drive Damian away.
What?! Lily defended Luke while Damian tried to make her confess that Luke is more of a Grimaldi than she'd care to admit, what with lying to the Government (about Ameera) and rigging student elections.
Meanwhile, Luke ran into Zoe in Old Town and told her about Noah going MIA. She agreed to help him look and they headed to Java, where Noah was two hours late for his shift. Luke started to think that something must be seriously wrong, since Noah isn't the type to just not show up for work.
As if on cue, Luke's phone rang and it was a call from Noah. Noah explained to Luke that he'd gone to Lisbon on the spur of the moment for a film festival because he feels like they need time apart to think, and that the Damian situation isn't any of his business since Damian is Luke's family, not his.
Van Hansis broke my heart in this scene when Luke said "Noah, you're my family and I'm yours." He looked like his own heart was breaking into a thousand pieces as he said it.
Noah hung up quickly, leaving Luke even more confused. Back at the Snyder place, Lily managed to convince Damian that whatever Luke's past mistakes he's a kind hearted, good person who's grounded and stable now that he's with Noah. Of course, right at that moment, Luke flew through the door in a rage, grabbed Damian and accused him of driving Noah away.
Luke was convinced that Damian must have threatened Noah and congratulated him on his victory and for ruining his life. Damian protested his innocence but Luke stormed out after yelling at Lily for letting Damian back into their home yet again.
Damian told Lily he was going to go to Malta to talk to his jeweler in person to get more information about the ring and that he would be stopping in Lisbon on his way back to talk to Noah and bring him home.
Luke went back to Old Town and explained the Noah situation to Zoe (who of course wasted no time in offering to fill Noah's place in Luke's empty bed). When Lily called to tell Luke that Damian had left for Malta (not mentioning his plans for a Lisbon stopover, of course), he passed that information on to Zoe.
Zoe then headed to one of those seemingly plentiful empty warehouses that abound in Oakdale, where she found Zac and filled him in on the news that Luke had bought everything and, even better, Damian was going back to Malta.
Zac & Zoe crowed about this news to Noah, whom they of course had tied to a pole right there in the warehouse. I mean, why wouldn't they have Noah tied to a pole, right?
Noah asked what they wanted with Luke and why they were doing all of this. The twins taunted him that he'd find out and then left him alone in the dark, shouting for them to leave Luke alone.
Why do I ever bother to get my hopes up about anything happening on As the World Turns? I've heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, and I think I must fall squarely into that category when it comes to this show. Time and again a new story will start for Luke & Noah and there I will be, feeling hopeful that it will prove to be better than what came before it.
When I heard the rumors that twins were being introduced, the male of whom would be gay and involved in a love triangle with the guys, I was excited. Even after the Z Twins made their debut, I remained largely positive, seeing real potential for a decent story and trying to ignore the all too familiar warning signs that we'd just be introduced to the latest members of Passanante's Psycho of the Month Club.
I can't use the old 'fool me once, shame on you' saying, because these writers aren't fooling anyone, not for one second. Instead, I keep wilfully deluding myself. Why don't I just tune out and save myself the frustration? That's a question soap fans have been asking themselves for a long while now, no matter what shows they follow.
In all honesty, I would have abandoned ATWT a few years ago if it wasn't for Luke & Noah. For the most part, I don't even watch the rest of the show anymore. It's true that the writing has never been good for the guys and is often downright horrible, but from the moment Van Hansis debuted as Luke Snyder back at the end of 2005, I knew that he was something special. He'd have to be, to keep all the Nuke fans watching as the show served up one God awful story after another.
When Jake Silbermann debuted as Noah and was eventually paired up with Van's Luke, history was made and, perhaps even more importantly, magic was created. The onscreen chemistry between these two is unbelievable.
I'm in it until the bitter end, simply because Van & Jake make it impossible for me not to be. They, and the many other talented actors and actresses on this show, deserve so much better in terms of writing, and yet there they are, day after day, giving it their all and managing to spin some gold out of pure crap.
Still, the wasted opportunities on this show are enough to make me want to pull out my hair. Adding in another gay character to create some romantic tension between Luke & Noah would have been such an exciting idea, not to mention making history as daytime's first all male love triangle, but that was clearly never the show's intention with Zac. That is a shame, because in spite of all the annoyances in the writing, I think Nicholas Galbraith brought a lot to the role and easily demonstrated the potential to do quite a bit more if he'd been given some decent writing.
If they really wanted to make the twins villains, they could have introduced them, spent some time developing their relationship with Luke & Noah, and then slowly made the audience start to think they might be up to something. That, while not my preference, would at least have been decent story telling. This should have unfolded over a few months but instead they had to do it all at warp speed in a handful of episodes in just two weeks. It's ridiculous.
These writers seem to not want to make a soap opera so much as an episodic drama where everything is wrapped up within the hour. They're destroying the show, there is simply no other way to put it.
Let's get started. Today's Luke & Noah episode began with Luke arguing with Lily yet again about whether or not Damian is the evil mastermind behind all that's been going on. Lily declared that Damian would never run Luke down with a car because he loves him but for some reason Luke seemed to feel that he's not worthy of being loved. Huh? Where did that come from?
Oh, it's because Noah has dropped him. Wait, what? Luke admitted to Lily that he hasn't heard from Noah since he left the other day and Noah isn't returning his calls. He's worried that they're not speaking because of their argument over Damian. Again: Wait, what? When Noah left, he was smiling and joking with Luke. It makes no sense that Luke would for a second believe that their differing opinions on Damian would lead to Noah not speaking to him. If they'd had an argument the last time they spoke, it might be more plausible, but this just makes no sense at all. Way to go, writers!
Luke left as soon as Damian showed up, not wanting to spend even a second with his biodad. Damian, meanwhile, told Lily that his jeweler in Malta had confirmed that the ring she found was a Grimaldi ring. When she asked who else in the family besides Damian himself had one, Damian revealed that he'd given one to Luke the last time he was in town, and voiced his suspicions that Luke himself was behind all of this, as a way to drive Damian away.
What?! Lily defended Luke while Damian tried to make her confess that Luke is more of a Grimaldi than she'd care to admit, what with lying to the Government (about Ameera) and rigging student elections.
Meanwhile, Luke ran into Zoe in Old Town and told her about Noah going MIA. She agreed to help him look and they headed to Java, where Noah was two hours late for his shift. Luke started to think that something must be seriously wrong, since Noah isn't the type to just not show up for work.
As if on cue, Luke's phone rang and it was a call from Noah. Noah explained to Luke that he'd gone to Lisbon on the spur of the moment for a film festival because he feels like they need time apart to think, and that the Damian situation isn't any of his business since Damian is Luke's family, not his.
Van Hansis broke my heart in this scene when Luke said "Noah, you're my family and I'm yours." He looked like his own heart was breaking into a thousand pieces as he said it.
Noah hung up quickly, leaving Luke even more confused. Back at the Snyder place, Lily managed to convince Damian that whatever Luke's past mistakes he's a kind hearted, good person who's grounded and stable now that he's with Noah. Of course, right at that moment, Luke flew through the door in a rage, grabbed Damian and accused him of driving Noah away.
Luke was convinced that Damian must have threatened Noah and congratulated him on his victory and for ruining his life. Damian protested his innocence but Luke stormed out after yelling at Lily for letting Damian back into their home yet again.
Damian told Lily he was going to go to Malta to talk to his jeweler in person to get more information about the ring and that he would be stopping in Lisbon on his way back to talk to Noah and bring him home.
Luke went back to Old Town and explained the Noah situation to Zoe (who of course wasted no time in offering to fill Noah's place in Luke's empty bed). When Lily called to tell Luke that Damian had left for Malta (not mentioning his plans for a Lisbon stopover, of course), he passed that information on to Zoe.
Zoe then headed to one of those seemingly plentiful empty warehouses that abound in Oakdale, where she found Zac and filled him in on the news that Luke had bought everything and, even better, Damian was going back to Malta.
Zac & Zoe crowed about this news to Noah, whom they of course had tied to a pole right there in the warehouse. I mean, why wouldn't they have Noah tied to a pole, right?
Noah asked what they wanted with Luke and why they were doing all of this. The twins taunted him that he'd find out and then left him alone in the dark, shouting for them to leave Luke alone.
Why do I ever bother to get my hopes up about anything happening on As the World Turns? I've heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, and I think I must fall squarely into that category when it comes to this show. Time and again a new story will start for Luke & Noah and there I will be, feeling hopeful that it will prove to be better than what came before it.
When I heard the rumors that twins were being introduced, the male of whom would be gay and involved in a love triangle with the guys, I was excited. Even after the Z Twins made their debut, I remained largely positive, seeing real potential for a decent story and trying to ignore the all too familiar warning signs that we'd just be introduced to the latest members of Passanante's Psycho of the Month Club.
I can't use the old 'fool me once, shame on you' saying, because these writers aren't fooling anyone, not for one second. Instead, I keep wilfully deluding myself. Why don't I just tune out and save myself the frustration? That's a question soap fans have been asking themselves for a long while now, no matter what shows they follow.
In all honesty, I would have abandoned ATWT a few years ago if it wasn't for Luke & Noah. For the most part, I don't even watch the rest of the show anymore. It's true that the writing has never been good for the guys and is often downright horrible, but from the moment Van Hansis debuted as Luke Snyder back at the end of 2005, I knew that he was something special. He'd have to be, to keep all the Nuke fans watching as the show served up one God awful story after another.
When Jake Silbermann debuted as Noah and was eventually paired up with Van's Luke, history was made and, perhaps even more importantly, magic was created. The onscreen chemistry between these two is unbelievable.
I'm in it until the bitter end, simply because Van & Jake make it impossible for me not to be. They, and the many other talented actors and actresses on this show, deserve so much better in terms of writing, and yet there they are, day after day, giving it their all and managing to spin some gold out of pure crap.
Still, the wasted opportunities on this show are enough to make me want to pull out my hair. Adding in another gay character to create some romantic tension between Luke & Noah would have been such an exciting idea, not to mention making history as daytime's first all male love triangle, but that was clearly never the show's intention with Zac. That is a shame, because in spite of all the annoyances in the writing, I think Nicholas Galbraith brought a lot to the role and easily demonstrated the potential to do quite a bit more if he'd been given some decent writing.
If they really wanted to make the twins villains, they could have introduced them, spent some time developing their relationship with Luke & Noah, and then slowly made the audience start to think they might be up to something. That, while not my preference, would at least have been decent story telling. This should have unfolded over a few months but instead they had to do it all at warp speed in a handful of episodes in just two weeks. It's ridiculous.
These writers seem to not want to make a soap opera so much as an episodic drama where everything is wrapped up within the hour. They're destroying the show, there is simply no other way to put it.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Abs of Evil?
Today was a Nuke day on As the World Turns and most of their scenes were exactly the sort of thing I was talking about last week when I decided that I like the Z twins. I know a lot of people don't, and I can completely see why. I'm even kind of half way there myself, because of the awful writing, but there's just something fun about them, nonetheless. I think there's a lot of potential there, should someone actually bother to write them as fully realized characters. Compared to the very tired goings on of the rest of the show, though, they still seem like a breath of fresh air to me.
I found myself laughing and really enjoying their scenes today, especially getting to see them bring out the playful side of Luke. We don't get to see that often enough. I do wish, however, that the writers would lay off all the word play with the letter Z. When Zac said today that he & his sister weren't the 'axis of Z-vil", I almost wanted to throw something at the screen! I guess the upside is that the actors are so playfully over the top about it that they do manage to sell it for the most part. It's just annoying, though.
Of course, when they first arrived on scene in today's show, I just wanted them to go away! That was because Luke & Noah were making out on the living room sofa and their arrival brought things to a halt! That was a really nice scene, though, and the kind I want more of for Luke & Noah. The guys were sitting down to watch a movie together, Luke having sweetly picked out something he'd already seen but that he knew Noah wanted to see (the latest Batman film). Before they could even start the film, though, they began to kiss and Luke declared that they might not get around to watching it after all. They're just so great as a couple, I love romantic scenes like this.
The Z Twins arrived proclaiming that they were ready to party (Luke: "It's a weeknight!") and to save the boys from their own boring selves. After some amusing banter (Zac was back to calling Noah by his pet name, Monster) and another apology for the whole Damian as a gay cover boy prank, the twins announced that they were bearing gifts: a bottle of absinthe, of all things, which Zac declared 'the elixir of artists and madmen'.
Luke reminded them that he doesn't drink and Noah passed as well, which left Zac chugging the stuff on his own as Zoe broke out 'Plan Z', a Ouija board on which to contact the spirits to find out who was trying to sabotage the foundation.
I loved how amused Luke was by all of this. When he waved into the air after Zoe introduced him to the spirits, I was cracking up! He wasted no time in rigging the board to spell out 'He Is Gay', and then proclaimed "The spirits don't lie!"
Zoe, having no luck making contact with the other side, asked who they wanted to speak to and the board replied with LG, which the twins (claimed) not to get, but Luke explained that his birth name was Luciano Grimaldi.
Around that time, Zac said that he was going to be sick and ran off to use the bathroom. Zoe asked Luke where the kitchen was, explaining that there's a blended fruit drink she makes for Zac when he overindulges in absinthe. After removing Zoe's errant hand from his knee, Luke pointed her on her way. Once he & Noah were alone, the lights suddenly went out, followed by a scream from Zoe.
Alas, she hadn't been attacked by spirits, but was just startled by the power blowing when she plugged in the blender. Noah headed upstairs to look for the other Z twin after Zoe started panicking and saying he was afraid of the dark. Zac, meanwhile, was up in Luke's room snooping through papers with a mini flashlight, suddenly not looking or acting drunk at all.
When Noah walked in the room, Zac was waiting for him with the perfect distraction from his unexplained presence in Luke's room: his killer abs. Yes, a shirtless Zac tried to seduce Noah right in his own boyfriend's bedroom. Noah was of course having none of it, though I noticed that he couldn't help taking a peek at what Zac was offering! I can't say I blame him, either. I mean, he's taken, not dead!
Back downstairs, Zoe was also coming on to Luke and then claimed that it was all just a joke when he reminded her that he's in no way interested.
Once the power was on and everyone was back downstairs, Zac informed Luke that his boyfriend was incorruptible and then the twins made their exit. Noah was once again not pleased with the way the twins behaved, but Luke continued to believe that they were essentially harmless, even if they were weird. He ended the discussion by referring to Noah in Z Twin style as 'N', which made me laugh.
Okay, I will confess: I think I've officially got a little crush on Zac. Yes, he's still more of a caricature than a character, but there's so much potential there! It's not just because of those amazing abs, either, though they didn't hurt! I just really like the whole playful, flirty vibe he's got going on, and Nicholas Galbraith (the actor portraying Zac) is certainly easy on the eyes.
I'm also officially intrigued by the fact that Zac (and, presumably, Zoe) are up to something, though I really hope they're not in any way responsible for Luke's hit & run or Damian's stabbing. I wish this show was capable of writing characters who were schemers and did the occasional bad or manipulative thing without being completely over the top psychos. The key to getting the audience to like the bad guys in spite of what they do is to make them human and vulnerable in some way, to make us relate to them, but with these writers, everyone immediately goes completely dark side.
I know I'm probably fooling myself, but at the moment I'm hoping that Zac will prove to be the kind of character who may be up to no good, but not in a monstrous way. Since the psycho of the month tends to be gone just as quickly as the name implies, it would suck even more if Zac was off the show that soon.
While all of this was going on at the Snyder place, Lily was at the office, where she discovered a Grimaldi family ring inside the filing cabinet that the back up discs had been stolen from. She rushed to confront Damian, who demonstrated that this particular Grimaldi ring was far too small for his fingers, but who realized that the person out to sabotage the foundation must be another Grimaldi.
Lily reluctantly decided to trust Damian and he drove her home to be sure she got there safely. Luke was far from pleased when his Mom walked in with his biodad and remained disbelieving when they filled him in on their suspicions that there was another Grimaldi lurking in the shadows of Oakdale.
Suddenly, the random scene earlier in the episode between Damian and the rarely seen Lisa made sense. Lisa told Damian that she had some of his cousin Eduardo's things (she's his widow, but he died years ago), including letters and pictures, for him to go through if he wants any of it. Pictures, no doubt, that will turn out to be of this other Grimaldi or Grimaldis.
After Damian left, Noah made an excuse about having to study and followed him back to his hotel, where he told him that he believed him and wanted to help find out who was after Luke. He shared the part of the mysterious user name that he could recall from before Zac 'accidentally' crashed Luke's laptop and Damian speculated that it could be the Italian for Pisces. Gee, the fact that the twins have demonstrated an interest in star signs will have no bearing on this, I'm sure.
Damian thanked Noah for believing in him and told him that while he is a very old fashioned guy, he's still glad that Noah & Luke have found each other. It really made me hope that Damian is being sincere about his change of heart, though that's still up for debate.
After leaving Damian, Noah ran into Zac & Zoe again, sitting on a bench in Old Town drinking their absinthe. He immediately noted that they both wore Pisces star sign necklaces and blurted out what Damian had told him about the user name. The twins pretty much made fun of him for thinking they were the bad guys, but their act, if it was one, didn't seem to convince Noah.
The idea that the twins may actually be members of the infamous Grimaldi family is definitely something I could get behind. I mean, it would make a triangle even more interesting if the third party was not just some guy, but Luke's scheming cousin or whatever he is. Then again, if they're truly up to no good, the whole attraction to Noah might be a front.
Whatever happens, I like that they're not just going to be 'secretly' working for Damian, which would have been such an obvious (and boring) direction to go in.
I'll leave you with a couple of pics from today's shirtless Zac scene, borrowed from Daytime Confidential.
No shot of the much mentioned abs, probably because that particular camera shot was agonizingly brief. Still, you get the idea.
I found myself laughing and really enjoying their scenes today, especially getting to see them bring out the playful side of Luke. We don't get to see that often enough. I do wish, however, that the writers would lay off all the word play with the letter Z. When Zac said today that he & his sister weren't the 'axis of Z-vil", I almost wanted to throw something at the screen! I guess the upside is that the actors are so playfully over the top about it that they do manage to sell it for the most part. It's just annoying, though.
Of course, when they first arrived on scene in today's show, I just wanted them to go away! That was because Luke & Noah were making out on the living room sofa and their arrival brought things to a halt! That was a really nice scene, though, and the kind I want more of for Luke & Noah. The guys were sitting down to watch a movie together, Luke having sweetly picked out something he'd already seen but that he knew Noah wanted to see (the latest Batman film). Before they could even start the film, though, they began to kiss and Luke declared that they might not get around to watching it after all. They're just so great as a couple, I love romantic scenes like this.
The Z Twins arrived proclaiming that they were ready to party (Luke: "It's a weeknight!") and to save the boys from their own boring selves. After some amusing banter (Zac was back to calling Noah by his pet name, Monster) and another apology for the whole Damian as a gay cover boy prank, the twins announced that they were bearing gifts: a bottle of absinthe, of all things, which Zac declared 'the elixir of artists and madmen'.
Luke reminded them that he doesn't drink and Noah passed as well, which left Zac chugging the stuff on his own as Zoe broke out 'Plan Z', a Ouija board on which to contact the spirits to find out who was trying to sabotage the foundation.
I loved how amused Luke was by all of this. When he waved into the air after Zoe introduced him to the spirits, I was cracking up! He wasted no time in rigging the board to spell out 'He Is Gay', and then proclaimed "The spirits don't lie!"
Zoe, having no luck making contact with the other side, asked who they wanted to speak to and the board replied with LG, which the twins (claimed) not to get, but Luke explained that his birth name was Luciano Grimaldi.
Around that time, Zac said that he was going to be sick and ran off to use the bathroom. Zoe asked Luke where the kitchen was, explaining that there's a blended fruit drink she makes for Zac when he overindulges in absinthe. After removing Zoe's errant hand from his knee, Luke pointed her on her way. Once he & Noah were alone, the lights suddenly went out, followed by a scream from Zoe.
Alas, she hadn't been attacked by spirits, but was just startled by the power blowing when she plugged in the blender. Noah headed upstairs to look for the other Z twin after Zoe started panicking and saying he was afraid of the dark. Zac, meanwhile, was up in Luke's room snooping through papers with a mini flashlight, suddenly not looking or acting drunk at all.
When Noah walked in the room, Zac was waiting for him with the perfect distraction from his unexplained presence in Luke's room: his killer abs. Yes, a shirtless Zac tried to seduce Noah right in his own boyfriend's bedroom. Noah was of course having none of it, though I noticed that he couldn't help taking a peek at what Zac was offering! I can't say I blame him, either. I mean, he's taken, not dead!
Back downstairs, Zoe was also coming on to Luke and then claimed that it was all just a joke when he reminded her that he's in no way interested.
Once the power was on and everyone was back downstairs, Zac informed Luke that his boyfriend was incorruptible and then the twins made their exit. Noah was once again not pleased with the way the twins behaved, but Luke continued to believe that they were essentially harmless, even if they were weird. He ended the discussion by referring to Noah in Z Twin style as 'N', which made me laugh.
Okay, I will confess: I think I've officially got a little crush on Zac. Yes, he's still more of a caricature than a character, but there's so much potential there! It's not just because of those amazing abs, either, though they didn't hurt! I just really like the whole playful, flirty vibe he's got going on, and Nicholas Galbraith (the actor portraying Zac) is certainly easy on the eyes.
I'm also officially intrigued by the fact that Zac (and, presumably, Zoe) are up to something, though I really hope they're not in any way responsible for Luke's hit & run or Damian's stabbing. I wish this show was capable of writing characters who were schemers and did the occasional bad or manipulative thing without being completely over the top psychos. The key to getting the audience to like the bad guys in spite of what they do is to make them human and vulnerable in some way, to make us relate to them, but with these writers, everyone immediately goes completely dark side.
I know I'm probably fooling myself, but at the moment I'm hoping that Zac will prove to be the kind of character who may be up to no good, but not in a monstrous way. Since the psycho of the month tends to be gone just as quickly as the name implies, it would suck even more if Zac was off the show that soon.
While all of this was going on at the Snyder place, Lily was at the office, where she discovered a Grimaldi family ring inside the filing cabinet that the back up discs had been stolen from. She rushed to confront Damian, who demonstrated that this particular Grimaldi ring was far too small for his fingers, but who realized that the person out to sabotage the foundation must be another Grimaldi.
Lily reluctantly decided to trust Damian and he drove her home to be sure she got there safely. Luke was far from pleased when his Mom walked in with his biodad and remained disbelieving when they filled him in on their suspicions that there was another Grimaldi lurking in the shadows of Oakdale.
Suddenly, the random scene earlier in the episode between Damian and the rarely seen Lisa made sense. Lisa told Damian that she had some of his cousin Eduardo's things (she's his widow, but he died years ago), including letters and pictures, for him to go through if he wants any of it. Pictures, no doubt, that will turn out to be of this other Grimaldi or Grimaldis.
After Damian left, Noah made an excuse about having to study and followed him back to his hotel, where he told him that he believed him and wanted to help find out who was after Luke. He shared the part of the mysterious user name that he could recall from before Zac 'accidentally' crashed Luke's laptop and Damian speculated that it could be the Italian for Pisces. Gee, the fact that the twins have demonstrated an interest in star signs will have no bearing on this, I'm sure.
Damian thanked Noah for believing in him and told him that while he is a very old fashioned guy, he's still glad that Noah & Luke have found each other. It really made me hope that Damian is being sincere about his change of heart, though that's still up for debate.
After leaving Damian, Noah ran into Zac & Zoe again, sitting on a bench in Old Town drinking their absinthe. He immediately noted that they both wore Pisces star sign necklaces and blurted out what Damian had told him about the user name. The twins pretty much made fun of him for thinking they were the bad guys, but their act, if it was one, didn't seem to convince Noah.
The idea that the twins may actually be members of the infamous Grimaldi family is definitely something I could get behind. I mean, it would make a triangle even more interesting if the third party was not just some guy, but Luke's scheming cousin or whatever he is. Then again, if they're truly up to no good, the whole attraction to Noah might be a front.
Whatever happens, I like that they're not just going to be 'secretly' working for Damian, which would have been such an obvious (and boring) direction to go in.
I'll leave you with a couple of pics from today's shirtless Zac scene, borrowed from Daytime Confidential.
No shot of the much mentioned abs, probably because that particular camera shot was agonizingly brief. Still, you get the idea.
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