Someone out there seems to be asking themselves what all they could do to make me love Glee any more than I already do. It's like a shadowy, behind the scenes figure is running down a check list made specifically for me:
Hire Kristin Chenoweth. Check!
Give Kurt a boyfriend. Check! (They're casting him for next season).
Hire Spring Awakening hottie/out gay actor Jonathan Groff. Check!
Let Sue Sing! Check! (It's coming up in the second half of the first season!)
And now, the latest item to be checked off the list: Hire Neil Patrick Harris!
This doesn't leave much remaining on my list, I have to say. As soon as they deliver a few tasteful nude scenes for Puck and Mr. Shue, I'll have just about everything I could possibly want!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Pre Noms for Kish!
I haven't been feeling well at all these past few days, so I'm behind on the soaps and hoping to catch up this weekend.
If there's anything that could cheer me up, though, it was seeing that both Brett Claywell and Scott Evans have been pre-nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards!
The pre-nominees are those people in each category who've received the most number of votes from their peers to move forward to the actual nomination phase, where voters view the emmy reels and select the nominees and winners.
Brett has been pre-nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor Category and Scott in the Outstanding Younger Actor Category, for which you have to be 25 or younger. It's odd to see them nominated in different categories for the same storyline, but at least this way they won't be competing against each other!
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that they both receive full nominations.
A few Kish-related people are pre-nominated as well, including the fantastic Ilene Kristen, who plays Roxy, but I was surprised and very sad not to see Tika Sumpter on the list. Tika, who plays Layla and who is tragically under used by the show at the moment (where are Cristian and Layla, anyway?!), did some downright amazing work in the episodes where she figured out that Oliver was gay. I became a huge fan at that point, and I think that work would have made her a strong contender to win the Emmy.
Meanwhile, this is the first time since joining As the World Turns that Van Hansis won't be nominated for a Daytime Emmy, since he isn't included on the list of pre-nominees. Van was nominated in 2007 and 2008 for Outstanding Younger Actor and last year for Outstanding Supporting Actor, but he never managed to take home the Emmy. That was especially frustrating in 2007, when he was nominated for his work in Luke's fantastic coming out story.
With As the World Turns leaving the air next fall, my not so secret desire is to see Van on One Life to Live. What a match up that would be!
One other performer has been pre-nominated for an LGBT role this year, and that's the amazing Crystal Chappell, who played Olivia (one half of Otalia) on the now cancelled Guiding Light.
I've been loving Crystal's return to Days Our Our Lives as Carly Manning (along with the wonderful Louis Sorel as Vivian), and I know her legion of fans are going to be thrilled to see her name on the list.
If there's anything that could cheer me up, though, it was seeing that both Brett Claywell and Scott Evans have been pre-nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards!
The pre-nominees are those people in each category who've received the most number of votes from their peers to move forward to the actual nomination phase, where voters view the emmy reels and select the nominees and winners.
Brett has been pre-nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor Category and Scott in the Outstanding Younger Actor Category, for which you have to be 25 or younger. It's odd to see them nominated in different categories for the same storyline, but at least this way they won't be competing against each other!
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that they both receive full nominations.
A few Kish-related people are pre-nominated as well, including the fantastic Ilene Kristen, who plays Roxy, but I was surprised and very sad not to see Tika Sumpter on the list. Tika, who plays Layla and who is tragically under used by the show at the moment (where are Cristian and Layla, anyway?!), did some downright amazing work in the episodes where she figured out that Oliver was gay. I became a huge fan at that point, and I think that work would have made her a strong contender to win the Emmy.
Meanwhile, this is the first time since joining As the World Turns that Van Hansis won't be nominated for a Daytime Emmy, since he isn't included on the list of pre-nominees. Van was nominated in 2007 and 2008 for Outstanding Younger Actor and last year for Outstanding Supporting Actor, but he never managed to take home the Emmy. That was especially frustrating in 2007, when he was nominated for his work in Luke's fantastic coming out story.
With As the World Turns leaving the air next fall, my not so secret desire is to see Van on One Life to Live. What a match up that would be!
One other performer has been pre-nominated for an LGBT role this year, and that's the amazing Crystal Chappell, who played Olivia (one half of Otalia) on the now cancelled Guiding Light.
I've been loving Crystal's return to Days Our Our Lives as Carly Manning (along with the wonderful Louis Sorel as Vivian), and I know her legion of fans are going to be thrilled to see her name on the list.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Kish: Nearly 'Normal'
Oliver and Kyle had some pretty strong scenes on today's One Life to Live. It all started where last Friday left off, with Schuyler revealing to Gigi that he was Sierra's father while Kyle shot lasers out of his eyes at Fish, who kept silent.
Schuyler signed that consent form for Sierra's surgery and then Kyle and Fish made their exit, no doubt wanting to avoid seeing Gigi's head explode as her brain sloooowly computed this latest piece of information.
Before they left, Fish told Schuyler that he was going to file some incident reports and may need a statement from Joplin. Schuyler promised that he'd be at the hospital if Oliver needed him and then thanked Fish for saving his child's life. Fish claimed that he was just doing his job and Kyle looked like he was reaching the limit of his patience in the background.
The next scene with the guys found them arriving in Kyle's brand new digs, a much bigger room at Roxy's motel. In fact, I think it's Schuyler's old room.
Kyle suggested that Oliver relax and let his boyfriend take care of him after everything that had happened. Fish said that he was still pretty keyed up and Kyle felt that was understandable, given the day Oliver had.
Fish ran through all the events of said day for us: chasing Mitch, killing Nurse Charles, calling help in for Jessica, searching for John and Natalie after an explosion, pulling Rex and Schuyler off each other, saving Gigi from the lake, and not saving Stacy. He said that it just might have been the longest day of his life, which is pretty understandable considering it lasted several weeks.
Kyle, sounding disappointed in his boyfriend, said that Fish had managed to leave Sierra's birth off that list. He also pointed out that Fish hadn't been able to get away from the hospital fast enough.
Fish said that his job had been done, as if that was all there was to it, and Kyle reminded him that it wasn't done if he was Sierra's father. Fish started in on the whole "Schuyler says he's the father!" bit of non-logic again, and asked Kyle to give it up, saying that there was no way he was Sierra's daddy.
Kyle dryly noted that the unprotected sex Fish had with Sierra's mother meant that he could be, and Oliver, acting rather cornered, said that he couldn't be, didn't Kyle get that? Kyle asked Fish to explain it to him, but Oliver went back to the usual song & dance: Stacy put Schuyler's name in her will as guardian and everyone was sure of the baby's paternity except Kyle.
Kyle told Fish that they couldn't be positive without a DNA test and reminded him again of how simple it would be for Fish's former lab tech/current med student boyfriend to quietly have the test done once Sierra was through with her surgery and in stable condition.
Fish said no to this again and Kyle pointed out that even if Oliver didn't want to be Sierra's father, he had a responsibility to her. Oliver said that Gigi loved Sierra and hadn't left her side, and since Gigi was with Schuyler, they'd raise the baby together.
Kyle stuck to his guns, though, and started to tell Oliver that with the baby's mother dead, if Fish was the father he was legally responsible for her. Oliver interrupted, telling Kyle that he didn't care about what was legal, he wanted what was right: Sierra should be with normal parents!
Wow. I honestly didn't see that coming, though it is completely in character given the way Fish was raised. I thought Fish was troubled by the idea of being a parent out of the blue, but it didn't occur to me (not having had parents like George & Barbara Fish myself) that he'd actually be worried about Sierra herself growing up with gay parents!
I do have to say that Scott Evans played this scene very well. What should have felt like a complete slap in the face actually kind of tore at my heart because of the way Oliver's voice broke on the word 'parents'. Fish is clearly in a lot of turmoil over this and his eagerness to believe the baby isn't his now becomes far more understandable.
It makes perfect sense that Fish, in spite of being happy with Kyle, still hasn't been able to let go completely of all the narrow minded and hateful beliefs that his parents raised him with.
Kyle said on Friday, in reference to Stacy, that homophobia could have played a part in her naming Schuyler as the father, that raising kids was where people often drew the line. Kyle was right on the money, it seems, but it wasn't Stacy's feelings coming into play, it was the homophobia George & Barbara instilled in their son.
Brett Claywell was fantastic in this scene too, by the way. The look of sadness on Kyle's face after Fish finally blurted out the true nature of his worries spoke volumes.
Fantastic moment for Kyle, I have to say! And bravo to One Life to Live, yet again, for tackling a serious issue through great storytelling! This is everything good soaps should be: entertaining and socially relevant, all at once!
Fish claimed that Sierra would have that with sort of life with Schuyler and Gigi and Kyle let him have it , pointing out that Gigi clearly hadn't know the 'truth' about Schuyler being the father and asking who knew if they'd even be together by tomorrow.
On a shallow note, I do love when Kyle gets angry!
Fish felt that Gigi and Schuyler would keep things together for the sake of the baby and Kyle said that Gigi would always be Sierra's aunt but that Schuyler couldn't be counted on and the two of them wouldn't always be together. He told Oliver that his idea of this perfect couple was fantasy, but Fish just said that it was 'still better'.
Better, Kyle asked, for who? For Sierra, or for Oliver? He told Fish that just because he was gay didn't mean he had to give up his child. Fish snapped that Sierra wasn't his and then asked Kyle to drop all of this if he loved him. Nothing like a little emotional blackmail to end a really long day!
Fish didn't let Kyle finish, cutting him off to say that he was going to go take a shower and 'wash this day' off of him.
After Fish left the room, Kyle picked up his empty water bottle and sealed it in a plastic bag to keep it nice and fresh for DNA testing. You know what they say, you can take the blackmailer out of the lab, but...
Fantastic scenes today. I know other shows would have just swept Fish's struggle with internal homophobia under the rug the minute he and Kyle finally got together, as if that solved everything, but you don't grow up trying to be what George and Barbara Fish expect you to be without it having a lasting impact. I'd love to see Fish get some counseling from Marty to eventually work through these feelings!
I also loved that they're showing that 'shades of gray' side of Kyle again. I know that he's genuinely sorry for what he did in the past, but it seems only natural that when faced with a situation like this, his reaction would be to take matters into his own hands.
I love that these two characters are still very human and fallible. I want to see them give in to their flaws, then face up to and try and overcome them. That makes for good storytelling.
Schuyler signed that consent form for Sierra's surgery and then Kyle and Fish made their exit, no doubt wanting to avoid seeing Gigi's head explode as her brain sloooowly computed this latest piece of information.
Before they left, Fish told Schuyler that he was going to file some incident reports and may need a statement from Joplin. Schuyler promised that he'd be at the hospital if Oliver needed him and then thanked Fish for saving his child's life. Fish claimed that he was just doing his job and Kyle looked like he was reaching the limit of his patience in the background.
The next scene with the guys found them arriving in Kyle's brand new digs, a much bigger room at Roxy's motel. In fact, I think it's Schuyler's old room.
Kyle suggested that Oliver relax and let his boyfriend take care of him after everything that had happened. Fish said that he was still pretty keyed up and Kyle felt that was understandable, given the day Oliver had.
Fish ran through all the events of said day for us: chasing Mitch, killing Nurse Charles, calling help in for Jessica, searching for John and Natalie after an explosion, pulling Rex and Schuyler off each other, saving Gigi from the lake, and not saving Stacy. He said that it just might have been the longest day of his life, which is pretty understandable considering it lasted several weeks.
Kyle, sounding disappointed in his boyfriend, said that Fish had managed to leave Sierra's birth off that list. He also pointed out that Fish hadn't been able to get away from the hospital fast enough.
Fish said that his job had been done, as if that was all there was to it, and Kyle reminded him that it wasn't done if he was Sierra's father. Fish started in on the whole "Schuyler says he's the father!" bit of non-logic again, and asked Kyle to give it up, saying that there was no way he was Sierra's daddy.
Kyle dryly noted that the unprotected sex Fish had with Sierra's mother meant that he could be, and Oliver, acting rather cornered, said that he couldn't be, didn't Kyle get that? Kyle asked Fish to explain it to him, but Oliver went back to the usual song & dance: Stacy put Schuyler's name in her will as guardian and everyone was sure of the baby's paternity except Kyle.
Kyle told Fish that they couldn't be positive without a DNA test and reminded him again of how simple it would be for Fish's former lab tech/current med student boyfriend to quietly have the test done once Sierra was through with her surgery and in stable condition.
Fish said no to this again and Kyle pointed out that even if Oliver didn't want to be Sierra's father, he had a responsibility to her. Oliver said that Gigi loved Sierra and hadn't left her side, and since Gigi was with Schuyler, they'd raise the baby together.
Kyle stuck to his guns, though, and started to tell Oliver that with the baby's mother dead, if Fish was the father he was legally responsible for her. Oliver interrupted, telling Kyle that he didn't care about what was legal, he wanted what was right: Sierra should be with normal parents!
Wow. I honestly didn't see that coming, though it is completely in character given the way Fish was raised. I thought Fish was troubled by the idea of being a parent out of the blue, but it didn't occur to me (not having had parents like George & Barbara Fish myself) that he'd actually be worried about Sierra herself growing up with gay parents!
I do have to say that Scott Evans played this scene very well. What should have felt like a complete slap in the face actually kind of tore at my heart because of the way Oliver's voice broke on the word 'parents'. Fish is clearly in a lot of turmoil over this and his eagerness to believe the baby isn't his now becomes far more understandable.
It makes perfect sense that Fish, in spite of being happy with Kyle, still hasn't been able to let go completely of all the narrow minded and hateful beliefs that his parents raised him with.
Kyle said on Friday, in reference to Stacy, that homophobia could have played a part in her naming Schuyler as the father, that raising kids was where people often drew the line. Kyle was right on the money, it seems, but it wasn't Stacy's feelings coming into play, it was the homophobia George & Barbara instilled in their son.
Brett Claywell was fantastic in this scene too, by the way. The look of sadness on Kyle's face after Fish finally blurted out the true nature of his worries spoke volumes.
Kyle: Normal parents, you mean straight parents, right?
Fish: I'm going to shower.
Kyle: No. Not now you're not.
Fish: Would you forget it, Kyle?
Kyle: No, you said it!
Fish: Please, can we not do this right now?
Kyle: So you think you can't be a dad because you're gay?
Fish: No! Of course I can. We have the right to do and be whatever we want.
Kyle: But you don't believe a word of that.
Fish: Yeah, Kyle, because I live in the real world.
Kyle: The real world? The real world where only straight couples can raise kids? How does that normally work out, anyway? What's the divorce rate now? And what about the kids that start out with only one real parent? Oliver, you are a good, caring, honorable man with a partner who loves you. Isn't that what a child needs?
Fish: I'm going to shower.
Kyle: No. Not now you're not.
Fish: Would you forget it, Kyle?
Kyle: No, you said it!
Fish: Please, can we not do this right now?
Kyle: So you think you can't be a dad because you're gay?
Fish: No! Of course I can. We have the right to do and be whatever we want.
Kyle: But you don't believe a word of that.
Fish: Yeah, Kyle, because I live in the real world.
Kyle: The real world? The real world where only straight couples can raise kids? How does that normally work out, anyway? What's the divorce rate now? And what about the kids that start out with only one real parent? Oliver, you are a good, caring, honorable man with a partner who loves you. Isn't that what a child needs?
Fantastic moment for Kyle, I have to say! And bravo to One Life to Live, yet again, for tackling a serious issue through great storytelling! This is everything good soaps should be: entertaining and socially relevant, all at once!
Fish claimed that Sierra would have that with sort of life with Schuyler and Gigi and Kyle let him have it , pointing out that Gigi clearly hadn't know the 'truth' about Schuyler being the father and asking who knew if they'd even be together by tomorrow.
On a shallow note, I do love when Kyle gets angry!
Fish felt that Gigi and Schuyler would keep things together for the sake of the baby and Kyle said that Gigi would always be Sierra's aunt but that Schuyler couldn't be counted on and the two of them wouldn't always be together. He told Oliver that his idea of this perfect couple was fantasy, but Fish just said that it was 'still better'.
Better, Kyle asked, for who? For Sierra, or for Oliver? He told Fish that just because he was gay didn't mean he had to give up his child. Fish snapped that Sierra wasn't his and then asked Kyle to drop all of this if he loved him. Nothing like a little emotional blackmail to end a really long day!
Kyle: I'm not going to give up on you.
Fish: You know that it's not giving up on me if you just let this go.
Kyle: Oliver, you can't walk away from this baby without knowing for real whether or not she's yours. Okay? The man I love couldn't live with that.
Fish: Don't I get to decide what I can and can't live with?
Kyle: Yeah, sure, but-
Fish: You know that it's not giving up on me if you just let this go.
Kyle: Oliver, you can't walk away from this baby without knowing for real whether or not she's yours. Okay? The man I love couldn't live with that.
Fish: Don't I get to decide what I can and can't live with?
Kyle: Yeah, sure, but-
Fish didn't let Kyle finish, cutting him off to say that he was going to go take a shower and 'wash this day' off of him.
After Fish left the room, Kyle picked up his empty water bottle and sealed it in a plastic bag to keep it nice and fresh for DNA testing. You know what they say, you can take the blackmailer out of the lab, but...
Fantastic scenes today. I know other shows would have just swept Fish's struggle with internal homophobia under the rug the minute he and Kyle finally got together, as if that solved everything, but you don't grow up trying to be what George and Barbara Fish expect you to be without it having a lasting impact. I'd love to see Fish get some counseling from Marty to eventually work through these feelings!
I also loved that they're showing that 'shades of gray' side of Kyle again. I know that he's genuinely sorry for what he did in the past, but it seems only natural that when faced with a situation like this, his reaction would be to take matters into his own hands.
I love that these two characters are still very human and fallible. I want to see them give in to their flaws, then face up to and try and overcome them. That makes for good storytelling.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Setton Departs; Ollian in America?
If you've read my recent Kish posts, you know what a fan I've become of Amanda Setton, who has played Kim on One Life to Live since last June.
I just read the news that, in spite of being offered a contract and a pay raise, Setton has decided to leave the show and head to California for pilot season. She's reportedly filmed her final episode already.
I'm sure that she'll land a great role in L.A. (and, by the way, who knew she'd been in Gossip Girl for a whole season?), but she's leaving behind some big boots to be filled by whoever they recast in the role of Kim. It's just not going to be the same without Setton's unique take on the character.
Since Kim is presumably going to be at least somewhat involved in Sierra Rose's life, this will affect the Kish storyline to some degree.
Hopefully it will also wake the powers that be at One Life to Live up to the dangers of having these great actors and actresses working without a contract! You'll recall that Scott Evans has never been on contract with the show either and if a better offer came along, there would be nothing to keep him in the role of Oliver Fish. Scary thought for Kish fans!
Speaking of gay soap characters, it has been a long time since I've mentioned the German soap Verbotene Liebe, which features the fantastic gay couple Christian and Olli (dubbed Ollian by their fans). If you haven't ever seen this wonderful soap couple, you can follow their entire story from the beginning on YouTube, with English subtitles.
The reason I'm mentioning this now is that an American producer, Sam Martin, has purchased the rights to Christian and Olli's storyline and intends to make an American version of it!
It's funny to think of someone buying just one storyline from a soap opera to make into a series. Imagine if the British, for example, decided that Fish and Kyle would make a great series all on their own, with none of the connecting characters or stories included!
Okay, that would actually be pretty cool, and I think the idea of an American version of Christian and Olli could be great if it's done right. Verbotene Liebe has never held back on having Olli and Christian showing affection, including scenes of the two of them in bed together. They're a very romantic couple. Will the American version be so true to the characters?
I suppose it's possible, especially since HBO has the right to first refusal. Still, it's impossible to imagine anyone but Jo Weil and Thore Scholermann as these two characters, so the show is going to be very different no matter how they do it. It will be interesting to see what develops from all of this. In the meantime, check out the originals on Youtube!
I just read the news that, in spite of being offered a contract and a pay raise, Setton has decided to leave the show and head to California for pilot season. She's reportedly filmed her final episode already.
I'm sure that she'll land a great role in L.A. (and, by the way, who knew she'd been in Gossip Girl for a whole season?), but she's leaving behind some big boots to be filled by whoever they recast in the role of Kim. It's just not going to be the same without Setton's unique take on the character.
Since Kim is presumably going to be at least somewhat involved in Sierra Rose's life, this will affect the Kish storyline to some degree.
Hopefully it will also wake the powers that be at One Life to Live up to the dangers of having these great actors and actresses working without a contract! You'll recall that Scott Evans has never been on contract with the show either and if a better offer came along, there would be nothing to keep him in the role of Oliver Fish. Scary thought for Kish fans!
Speaking of gay soap characters, it has been a long time since I've mentioned the German soap Verbotene Liebe, which features the fantastic gay couple Christian and Olli (dubbed Ollian by their fans). If you haven't ever seen this wonderful soap couple, you can follow their entire story from the beginning on YouTube, with English subtitles.
The reason I'm mentioning this now is that an American producer, Sam Martin, has purchased the rights to Christian and Olli's storyline and intends to make an American version of it!
It's funny to think of someone buying just one storyline from a soap opera to make into a series. Imagine if the British, for example, decided that Fish and Kyle would make a great series all on their own, with none of the connecting characters or stories included!
Okay, that would actually be pretty cool, and I think the idea of an American version of Christian and Olli could be great if it's done right. Verbotene Liebe has never held back on having Olli and Christian showing affection, including scenes of the two of them in bed together. They're a very romantic couple. Will the American version be so true to the characters?
I suppose it's possible, especially since HBO has the right to first refusal. Still, it's impossible to imagine anyone but Jo Weil and Thore Scholermann as these two characters, so the show is going to be very different no matter how they do it. It will be interesting to see what develops from all of this. In the meantime, check out the originals on Youtube!
WGA Awards
The Writers Guild of America Awards were given out yesterday. My favorite show, Glee, was nominated for both Best Comedy and Best New Show, but sadly it didn't end up taking home either award.
Instead, 30 Rock won best comedy (again? really?) and Modern Family won Best New Series. If Glee had to lose in the latter category, I'm glad it was at least to a show that I've heard so many good things about. I probably won't see it until they release the first season on DVD, but I do plan on catching it at that point.
Far more shocking, to me anyway, is that One Life to Live didn't win for best writing in a daytime serial. There is seriously no justice when the one show that is consistently well written keeps losing awards to far less deserving shows.
They lost to The Young and The Restless, which gave us such winning stories as the Adam and Rafe mess and having Philip return from the dead, come out as gay, and then disappear again.
Is it too soon to demand a recount?
Still, that's better than having One Life to Live lose to fellow nominees As the World Turns or All My Children, which would have been a real slap in the face given the state of things in Oakdale and Pine Valley these days.
Instead, 30 Rock won best comedy (again? really?) and Modern Family won Best New Series. If Glee had to lose in the latter category, I'm glad it was at least to a show that I've heard so many good things about. I probably won't see it until they release the first season on DVD, but I do plan on catching it at that point.
Far more shocking, to me anyway, is that One Life to Live didn't win for best writing in a daytime serial. There is seriously no justice when the one show that is consistently well written keeps losing awards to far less deserving shows.
They lost to The Young and The Restless, which gave us such winning stories as the Adam and Rafe mess and having Philip return from the dead, come out as gay, and then disappear again.
Is it too soon to demand a recount?
Still, that's better than having One Life to Live lose to fellow nominees As the World Turns or All My Children, which would have been a real slap in the face given the state of things in Oakdale and Pine Valley these days.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Kish: Those Boots Were Made For Walkin'!
Today brought another fantastic episode of One Life to Live, complete with one of the best pure soap opera moments I've seen in a long while.
Since I don't really write about the non-Kish stories (which are usually pretty great as well), I'd just like to note the fantastic scenes today between Bo (played by the very talented Robert S. Woods) and Gigi and Rex's son Shane (played by Austin Williams).
Long story short, Bo & Nora had spirited Jessica's daughter Bree and Shane off to safety at the Buchanan ranch in Texas until their biological Grandpsycho Mitch was no longer a threat, and today found them all en route back to Llanview on the Buchanan jet.
Bo broke the news to Shane about his Aunt Stacy's death and the two had this incredibly realistic conversation about Shane's feelings that was not only well written but perfectly played. Truly great scenes.
With that said, let's talk Kish! As the hunky doctor (is there any other kind on a soap?) informed Gigi and Schuyler that Sierra Rose had a congenital heat defect that would require surgery if she was to survive, Kyle filled Oliver in about the nature of the condition out in the hall as they looked through the nursery window.
Oliver broke my heart when he asked Kyle if they could wait until Sierra was bigger, his voice breaking as he noted that she was not even a day old yet and so tiny. Kyle explained that they had special tools for operating on infants and that to wait would be fatal.
Kyle told Fish that they'd need permission to do the surgery and since Stacy was dead it would have to be from the father. Oliver said that it was up to Schuyler, then, and Kyle said that it was if Joplin was the father, but what if he wasn't?
Kyle told Fish that it would be easy to find out for sure if Sierra was his, since so many tests had already been run on her. All Kyle would need was a swab of Oliver's cheek and they could know for sure.
Fish insisted that he didn't want any tests, that it didn't matter since the baby might not make it. I was surprised by this, but only momentarily. After all, this is Fish we're talking about, the guy who can be incredibly heroic when it comes to saving others but who has a history of hiding from his own feelings. He's clearly terrified of finding out that Sierra is his daughter and then losing her.
I'm sure he's also still scared about the prospect of being a father at all. Remember how quickly he accepted Stacy's assurances that the baby really was Schuyler's? He referenced that again today, asking Kyle why Stacy would have lied about that all the way up to the point of naming Schuyler the guardian in her will if it wasn't the truth.
Kyle suggested that Stacy may have been homophobic, at least when it came to the idea of her child being raised by its gay father, but Fish didn't believe that was the case and pointed out how Schuyler had been there for the baby the whole time.
Fish asked Kyle to let it go, saying that he didn't want to add to everything Gigi was going through already and noting that she'd stepped up for the baby, in spite of her feelings towards her sister.
We didn't see Kyle answer Oliver's request to let the subject go, but the look in his eyes didn't make it seem like he was willing to do so. I think they're playing this whole thing in a way that's very true to these characters. Kyle has always known who he is and what he wants, while Oliver spent so many years blocking out his true feelings that even now it must seem like a natural response to him.
Meanwhile, Rex and Kim were still mid-confrontation at the lake. Kim side stepped Rex's question about who the father was if it wasn't him or Schuyler, saying that the baby was Stacy's and that's all that mattered.
Kim then laid into Rex about Stacy's death being his fault, that she wouldn't have been pregnant or kidnapped at all if it wasn't for him. She also told him that Stacy had loved him so much that she'd given up everything for him and asked if anyone else had ever loved him that much!
I appreciate that Kim is still in Stacy's corner, no matter what, but I think that in her less grief stricken moments, even she must recognize that Stacy's obsession with Rex wasn't really love. I think that's part of why I finally started liking Stacy when Kim showed up. We finally saw that there was someone she genuinely cared for, and then after she got pregnant it became clear the she loved her baby. It made her more human.
After a few more rounds about whether or not Stacy had loved him more than Gigi did, Rex decided it was time for him to go and offered to give Kim a ride back to town. Kim refused, saying that she wasn't leaving Stacy.
When Rex was gone, Kim began to tearfully talk to her friend as if she were still there. She 'showed' Stacy her new boots, the ones that Clint had just bought for her, and noted that they'd cost more than the motel room Stacy and Kim had lived in back in Vegas.
Kim broke down, noting that everything would have been fine if Stacy hadn't left the cabin. Why, Kim cried, did she leave her? They were supposed to be a team! Kim yelled at Stacy that she was talking to her, as if she were expecting an answer.
Again, Amanda Setton did a fantastic job in these scenes. Crying on camera is one of the hardest things to do, or so I've heard, and I should note that I never saw any actual tears from Kim. Still, there are some actresses (one in particular on this very show) who fake cry so badly that it's downright painful to watch, but Amanda Setton managed to make crying without real tears very believable.
Watching Kim go through all the stages of grief was pretty powerful stuff. She finally got to acceptance and promised Stacy that she'd make sure that her daughter never wanted for anything.
Rex, meanwhile, had made it to the hospital at last and Gigi filled him in on what was going on with Sierra and how they needed his consent to operate. (Gigi momentarily discovered that Rex wasn't the father when she thought Stacy had faked going into labor, but once Stacy went into labor for real, Gigi thought she'd been wrong about that and no one had told her the truth yet)
While Kyle and Fish looked on, with Kyle shooting Oliver all these looks that clearly said "Step up and claim your child!" Rex explained to Gigi that he couldn't give the consent. When Gigi demanded to know why, Schuyler finally admitted that he was the baby's real father.
Back at the lake, Kim decided it was time to go and check on Sierra. She said her own special good bye to Stacy, leaving her expensive new boots behind as a tribute and saying that she loved Stacy. It seemed an odd thing to do, I admit, especially since Kim now has to walk around barefoot in the snow, but at the same time it totally seemed like something Kim would do. What better sort of tribute from someone so materialistic?
The final scene of today's show was a shot of the icy lake, now completely silent. The camera cut over to the snow covered dock, where Kim had left the boots, but they were no longer there. Then, the camera panned slowly over some bootprints in the snow!
Now that was truly a classic soap moment! The kind that makes you sit up and yell "What?!" I thought the no body thing meant that they were leaving a door open just in case, but today's ending would indicate that they've already got something big planned. I love it!
All in all, a great show today. Kyle isn't going to let up on the issue of Sierra's paternity, and Oliver is clearly terrified about the whole thing. This is probably going to cause some tension between them, but I think they can take it.
As always, I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.
Since I don't really write about the non-Kish stories (which are usually pretty great as well), I'd just like to note the fantastic scenes today between Bo (played by the very talented Robert S. Woods) and Gigi and Rex's son Shane (played by Austin Williams).
Long story short, Bo & Nora had spirited Jessica's daughter Bree and Shane off to safety at the Buchanan ranch in Texas until their biological Grandpsycho Mitch was no longer a threat, and today found them all en route back to Llanview on the Buchanan jet.
Bo broke the news to Shane about his Aunt Stacy's death and the two had this incredibly realistic conversation about Shane's feelings that was not only well written but perfectly played. Truly great scenes.
With that said, let's talk Kish! As the hunky doctor (is there any other kind on a soap?) informed Gigi and Schuyler that Sierra Rose had a congenital heat defect that would require surgery if she was to survive, Kyle filled Oliver in about the nature of the condition out in the hall as they looked through the nursery window.
Oliver broke my heart when he asked Kyle if they could wait until Sierra was bigger, his voice breaking as he noted that she was not even a day old yet and so tiny. Kyle explained that they had special tools for operating on infants and that to wait would be fatal.
Kyle told Fish that they'd need permission to do the surgery and since Stacy was dead it would have to be from the father. Oliver said that it was up to Schuyler, then, and Kyle said that it was if Joplin was the father, but what if he wasn't?
Kyle told Fish that it would be easy to find out for sure if Sierra was his, since so many tests had already been run on her. All Kyle would need was a swab of Oliver's cheek and they could know for sure.
Fish insisted that he didn't want any tests, that it didn't matter since the baby might not make it. I was surprised by this, but only momentarily. After all, this is Fish we're talking about, the guy who can be incredibly heroic when it comes to saving others but who has a history of hiding from his own feelings. He's clearly terrified of finding out that Sierra is his daughter and then losing her.
I'm sure he's also still scared about the prospect of being a father at all. Remember how quickly he accepted Stacy's assurances that the baby really was Schuyler's? He referenced that again today, asking Kyle why Stacy would have lied about that all the way up to the point of naming Schuyler the guardian in her will if it wasn't the truth.
Kyle suggested that Stacy may have been homophobic, at least when it came to the idea of her child being raised by its gay father, but Fish didn't believe that was the case and pointed out how Schuyler had been there for the baby the whole time.
Kyle: And you haven't? You've been standing guard the whole time!
Fish: Rex paid me for that.
Kyle: Yeah, and he didn't pay you to run up a mountain and risk your life in a blizzard!
Fish: Rex paid me for that.
Kyle: Yeah, and he didn't pay you to run up a mountain and risk your life in a blizzard!
Fish asked Kyle to let it go, saying that he didn't want to add to everything Gigi was going through already and noting that she'd stepped up for the baby, in spite of her feelings towards her sister.
We didn't see Kyle answer Oliver's request to let the subject go, but the look in his eyes didn't make it seem like he was willing to do so. I think they're playing this whole thing in a way that's very true to these characters. Kyle has always known who he is and what he wants, while Oliver spent so many years blocking out his true feelings that even now it must seem like a natural response to him.
Meanwhile, Rex and Kim were still mid-confrontation at the lake. Kim side stepped Rex's question about who the father was if it wasn't him or Schuyler, saying that the baby was Stacy's and that's all that mattered.
Kim then laid into Rex about Stacy's death being his fault, that she wouldn't have been pregnant or kidnapped at all if it wasn't for him. She also told him that Stacy had loved him so much that she'd given up everything for him and asked if anyone else had ever loved him that much!
I appreciate that Kim is still in Stacy's corner, no matter what, but I think that in her less grief stricken moments, even she must recognize that Stacy's obsession with Rex wasn't really love. I think that's part of why I finally started liking Stacy when Kim showed up. We finally saw that there was someone she genuinely cared for, and then after she got pregnant it became clear the she loved her baby. It made her more human.
After a few more rounds about whether or not Stacy had loved him more than Gigi did, Rex decided it was time for him to go and offered to give Kim a ride back to town. Kim refused, saying that she wasn't leaving Stacy.
When Rex was gone, Kim began to tearfully talk to her friend as if she were still there. She 'showed' Stacy her new boots, the ones that Clint had just bought for her, and noted that they'd cost more than the motel room Stacy and Kim had lived in back in Vegas.
Kim broke down, noting that everything would have been fine if Stacy hadn't left the cabin. Why, Kim cried, did she leave her? They were supposed to be a team! Kim yelled at Stacy that she was talking to her, as if she were expecting an answer.
Again, Amanda Setton did a fantastic job in these scenes. Crying on camera is one of the hardest things to do, or so I've heard, and I should note that I never saw any actual tears from Kim. Still, there are some actresses (one in particular on this very show) who fake cry so badly that it's downright painful to watch, but Amanda Setton managed to make crying without real tears very believable.
Watching Kim go through all the stages of grief was pretty powerful stuff. She finally got to acceptance and promised Stacy that she'd make sure that her daughter never wanted for anything.
Rex, meanwhile, had made it to the hospital at last and Gigi filled him in on what was going on with Sierra and how they needed his consent to operate. (Gigi momentarily discovered that Rex wasn't the father when she thought Stacy had faked going into labor, but once Stacy went into labor for real, Gigi thought she'd been wrong about that and no one had told her the truth yet)
While Kyle and Fish looked on, with Kyle shooting Oliver all these looks that clearly said "Step up and claim your child!" Rex explained to Gigi that he couldn't give the consent. When Gigi demanded to know why, Schuyler finally admitted that he was the baby's real father.
Back at the lake, Kim decided it was time to go and check on Sierra. She said her own special good bye to Stacy, leaving her expensive new boots behind as a tribute and saying that she loved Stacy. It seemed an odd thing to do, I admit, especially since Kim now has to walk around barefoot in the snow, but at the same time it totally seemed like something Kim would do. What better sort of tribute from someone so materialistic?
The final scene of today's show was a shot of the icy lake, now completely silent. The camera cut over to the snow covered dock, where Kim had left the boots, but they were no longer there. Then, the camera panned slowly over some bootprints in the snow!
Now that was truly a classic soap moment! The kind that makes you sit up and yell "What?!" I thought the no body thing meant that they were leaving a door open just in case, but today's ending would indicate that they've already got something big planned. I love it!
All in all, a great show today. Kyle isn't going to let up on the issue of Sierra's paternity, and Oliver is clearly terrified about the whole thing. This is probably going to cause some tension between them, but I think they can take it.
As always, I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Kish: Breaking the News
Today's One Life to Live was pretty fantastic, and not just because Oliver and Kyle were together again onscreen. Amanda Setton's performance alone would have made today's episode noteworthy, but the entire episode was fantastic, a perfect way to wrap up the Llantano Mountain story and begin the aftermath.
As the episode started, it was finally morning on the mountain, and Rex and Oliver were still next to the frozen lake, waiting for the rescue crew to find Stacy's body under the ice. Fish told Rex that he'd been able to call the hospital and that Gigi and Schuyler had made it there with the baby, but he didn't know much more than that.
Rex was angry when the rescue team told him that they were calling off the search and that they'd probably not be able to find Stacy's body until the Spring, when the ice melted. I wasn't very pleased with this, either, since I'd like a bit of closure with this story and the lack of a body means they're leaving the door open for a possible return from the dead at some point.
The main rescue guy was kind of an ass, though, and seemed to take a little too much pleasure in bluntly announcing into his walkie talkie that he was making it official: Stacy Morasco is dead. I can only assume that the actor was a fan of the show who'd been eagerly anticipating Stacy's demise for months, like so many others.
At any rate, the reality of Stacy's death finally seemed to hit Rex and he talked to Fish about how much Stacy had cared for her little girl, no matter what lies she'd told. Oliver agreed and sadly noted that little Sierra was not only motherless, but fighting for her own life.
Fish told Rex he was heading back into town to file a report on Stacy's death and to see how the baby was. He offered Rex a ride back to town, but Rex wanted to be alone for awhile. Before Fish left, Rex asked him to break the news to Gigi about her sister's death.
Back at the hospital, Gigi and Schuyler were in with the baby, who was in an incubator, and awaiting the test results to find out what was wrong with her. At the same time, Kyle (who was on in a few scenes yesterday, but just to treat Natalie's sprained ankle) was outside the nursery window, looking in at baby Sierra with this almost indescribable look on his face, a mixture of worry for the baby and something like awe, as if he were thinking "Wow, this little girl is a part of Oliver!"
I hope they don't rush things, but I think it's clear that Kyle is going to love baby Sierra a lot and be a pretty amazing parent!
When Schuyler came out of the nursery, Kyle filled him in on how he'd told Roxy the truth about the baby and said that if Joplin needed to turn him in for breaching patient confidentiality, he could. Schuyler told Kyle that he'd already told Rex the truth himself.
Schuyler wanted to know if Kyle had heard from Oliver and told him about Stacy going through the ice and how they'd left Fish and Rex there to try and save her. They had a little talk about the baby's health and Kyle got the cutest smile on his face when he found out that her name was Sierra Rose. I think Kyle is already officially in love with this child.
After Schuyler left, Kyle looked in on the baby again and wondered aloud if she was Oliver's. Fish chose that moment to show up and the two of them shared a big hug, as if they hadn't seen in each other in weeks.
Fish apologized for not being able to call, but Kyle was just glad he was all right. Oliver asked how the baby was and Kyle told him they were still waiting for test results. Fish broke the news about Stacy, which Schuyler showed up in time to overhear.
Oliver and Kyle watched through the nursery window as Schuyler broke the news to Gigi. Kyle pointed out that all Sierra had now was a father, and that her father could be Fish. The gravity of the situation seemed to hit Oliver as he turned away, looking both sad and pretty scared.
At that point, a doctor showed up and announced to the guys that he was taking over Sierra's case and that he had bad news.
After Fish left Rex alone a frantic Kim showed up, looking for Stacy. Rex explained to her that Stacy had fallen through the ice and a panicked Kimmie wanted to get to the hospital and see her right away. Rex broke the news that they hadn't been able to save Stacy, and that's when Amanda Setton, whom I already loved, took things to a whole new level.
Kim broke down, first with denial, insisting that Stacy was a fighter and that they had to keep looking for her. At one point, she said "She's there, she's right there!", gesturing towards the hole in the ice as if she could actually see her there, and I had tears in my eyes!
Rex told her that they just hadn't been able to save her and that they wouldn't be able to find the body until Spring, and Kim sank to her knees, crying for Stacy. It was really pretty powerful. We don't know a whole lot about Kim's background yet, but from what we do know, Stacy is the one person she truly seemed to care about and who loved her back, and in light of that I think Setton's performance struck exactly the right note.
Rex, who'd seemed almost sympathetic at first, started to glare at Kim and then confronted her about the baby. In fairness to Rex, there was still some lingering question in his mind about the paternity, and he wanted confirmation from Kim, but I really wanted to punch him as he yelled at the sobbing woman who'd just lost her best friend.
Kim admitted that it was true and that just kicked Rex's rage up into a higher gear as he went on and on about Kim & Stacy making a fool of him and Schuyler being the father, until in the end Kim told Rex that Schuyler was no more the father than he was!
Are we really on the verge of the truth coming out so quickly? I thought it would take awhile before the paternity was officially confirmed, but maybe it won't. Things are definitely going to be interesting either way.
Today's show certainly saw some fantastic performances. In addition to Amanda Setton, I though Brett Claywell was really great as Kyle worried about the baby and then got the news about Stacy.
I can't wait to see what happens next. I love this show!
As the episode started, it was finally morning on the mountain, and Rex and Oliver were still next to the frozen lake, waiting for the rescue crew to find Stacy's body under the ice. Fish told Rex that he'd been able to call the hospital and that Gigi and Schuyler had made it there with the baby, but he didn't know much more than that.
Rex was angry when the rescue team told him that they were calling off the search and that they'd probably not be able to find Stacy's body until the Spring, when the ice melted. I wasn't very pleased with this, either, since I'd like a bit of closure with this story and the lack of a body means they're leaving the door open for a possible return from the dead at some point.
The main rescue guy was kind of an ass, though, and seemed to take a little too much pleasure in bluntly announcing into his walkie talkie that he was making it official: Stacy Morasco is dead. I can only assume that the actor was a fan of the show who'd been eagerly anticipating Stacy's demise for months, like so many others.
At any rate, the reality of Stacy's death finally seemed to hit Rex and he talked to Fish about how much Stacy had cared for her little girl, no matter what lies she'd told. Oliver agreed and sadly noted that little Sierra was not only motherless, but fighting for her own life.
Fish told Rex he was heading back into town to file a report on Stacy's death and to see how the baby was. He offered Rex a ride back to town, but Rex wanted to be alone for awhile. Before Fish left, Rex asked him to break the news to Gigi about her sister's death.
Back at the hospital, Gigi and Schuyler were in with the baby, who was in an incubator, and awaiting the test results to find out what was wrong with her. At the same time, Kyle (who was on in a few scenes yesterday, but just to treat Natalie's sprained ankle) was outside the nursery window, looking in at baby Sierra with this almost indescribable look on his face, a mixture of worry for the baby and something like awe, as if he were thinking "Wow, this little girl is a part of Oliver!"
I hope they don't rush things, but I think it's clear that Kyle is going to love baby Sierra a lot and be a pretty amazing parent!
When Schuyler came out of the nursery, Kyle filled him in on how he'd told Roxy the truth about the baby and said that if Joplin needed to turn him in for breaching patient confidentiality, he could. Schuyler told Kyle that he'd already told Rex the truth himself.
Schuyler wanted to know if Kyle had heard from Oliver and told him about Stacy going through the ice and how they'd left Fish and Rex there to try and save her. They had a little talk about the baby's health and Kyle got the cutest smile on his face when he found out that her name was Sierra Rose. I think Kyle is already officially in love with this child.
After Schuyler left, Kyle looked in on the baby again and wondered aloud if she was Oliver's. Fish chose that moment to show up and the two of them shared a big hug, as if they hadn't seen in each other in weeks.
Fish apologized for not being able to call, but Kyle was just glad he was all right. Oliver asked how the baby was and Kyle told him they were still waiting for test results. Fish broke the news about Stacy, which Schuyler showed up in time to overhear.
Oliver and Kyle watched through the nursery window as Schuyler broke the news to Gigi. Kyle pointed out that all Sierra had now was a father, and that her father could be Fish. The gravity of the situation seemed to hit Oliver as he turned away, looking both sad and pretty scared.
At that point, a doctor showed up and announced to the guys that he was taking over Sierra's case and that he had bad news.
After Fish left Rex alone a frantic Kim showed up, looking for Stacy. Rex explained to her that Stacy had fallen through the ice and a panicked Kimmie wanted to get to the hospital and see her right away. Rex broke the news that they hadn't been able to save Stacy, and that's when Amanda Setton, whom I already loved, took things to a whole new level.
Kim broke down, first with denial, insisting that Stacy was a fighter and that they had to keep looking for her. At one point, she said "She's there, she's right there!", gesturing towards the hole in the ice as if she could actually see her there, and I had tears in my eyes!
Rex told her that they just hadn't been able to save her and that they wouldn't be able to find the body until Spring, and Kim sank to her knees, crying for Stacy. It was really pretty powerful. We don't know a whole lot about Kim's background yet, but from what we do know, Stacy is the one person she truly seemed to care about and who loved her back, and in light of that I think Setton's performance struck exactly the right note.
Rex, who'd seemed almost sympathetic at first, started to glare at Kim and then confronted her about the baby. In fairness to Rex, there was still some lingering question in his mind about the paternity, and he wanted confirmation from Kim, but I really wanted to punch him as he yelled at the sobbing woman who'd just lost her best friend.
Kim admitted that it was true and that just kicked Rex's rage up into a higher gear as he went on and on about Kim & Stacy making a fool of him and Schuyler being the father, until in the end Kim told Rex that Schuyler was no more the father than he was!
Are we really on the verge of the truth coming out so quickly? I thought it would take awhile before the paternity was officially confirmed, but maybe it won't. Things are definitely going to be interesting either way.
Today's show certainly saw some fantastic performances. In addition to Amanda Setton, I though Brett Claywell was really great as Kyle worried about the baby and then got the news about Stacy.
I can't wait to see what happens next. I love this show!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
NYC Longing
There have been countless times when I've found myself wishing that I lived in or near New York City. There is just so much I'd love to see and do there- theater, music, museums, life!- and I've always told myself that one of these days I'd move there. My entire life (family, friends, etc) is based on the West Coast, though, so at this point I think I'll have to settle for being a tourist, if I can ever manage to actually save some money for a trip in this economy.
I wish I could be there a few days from now, though. Next Sunday night Michael Urie and Becki Newton (who of course play Marc and Amanda on Ugly Betty) will be doing a show together at Feinsteins at Loew's Regency called Becki and Michael IS Broadway.
The two of them are so hilarious together, I know it's going to be a fun night for those who are able to attend. I love the video from their appearance at last year's Broadway Backwards, where they performed 'Getting Married Today' from Company. There is also an amateur video on YouTube that I've watched at least three times of their very funny TV theme song performance from a 2008 show called Broadway Loves the 80's.
Which all adds up to me being a huge fan of these two and wishing I could be at this Sunday's show! Michael gave an interview to Theatre Mania which was mostly about his show The Temperamentals (which also sounds fantastic and like something I'd want to see!) and mentioned the show:
'TM: You're also doing this show at Feinstein's with your good friend and co-star Becki Newton, who plays Amanda on Ugly Betty. Can you tell us more about that?
MU: It's called Becki and Michael IS Broadway, and it's going to be hilarious. Early in the first season of Ugly Betty, Becki and I were asked to sing a song at a benefit and so dressed up like Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond and we sang "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And we loved it so much, that we became addicted to it, and since then, we've done so many appearances together that we finally decided, let's just do our own show. It's sort of a like a cabaret show that you might see at Feinstein's, but it's also off-the-wall funny. I don't want to give it away, but there are versions of songs from shows like Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line and Gypsy that you haven't heard before. We're shamelessly attacking everything and anything musical theater. Hopefully, it will move to Broadway. Actually, I think it would be fun to do Becki and Michael IS Broadway Off-Broadway.'
As if Becki and Michael IS Broadway weren't tempting enough, the very next day is the latest edition of Broadway Backwards, the annual show benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This is the show where the male performers sing the female parts, and vice versa. It always looks like such a fun time!
Well, maybe next year, though I seem to say that each year! Thank God for the bits and pieces that show up on YouTube!
I wish I could be there a few days from now, though. Next Sunday night Michael Urie and Becki Newton (who of course play Marc and Amanda on Ugly Betty) will be doing a show together at Feinsteins at Loew's Regency called Becki and Michael IS Broadway.
The two of them are so hilarious together, I know it's going to be a fun night for those who are able to attend. I love the video from their appearance at last year's Broadway Backwards, where they performed 'Getting Married Today' from Company. There is also an amateur video on YouTube that I've watched at least three times of their very funny TV theme song performance from a 2008 show called Broadway Loves the 80's.
Which all adds up to me being a huge fan of these two and wishing I could be at this Sunday's show! Michael gave an interview to Theatre Mania which was mostly about his show The Temperamentals (which also sounds fantastic and like something I'd want to see!) and mentioned the show:
'TM: You're also doing this show at Feinstein's with your good friend and co-star Becki Newton, who plays Amanda on Ugly Betty. Can you tell us more about that?
MU: It's called Becki and Michael IS Broadway, and it's going to be hilarious. Early in the first season of Ugly Betty, Becki and I were asked to sing a song at a benefit and so dressed up like Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond and we sang "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And we loved it so much, that we became addicted to it, and since then, we've done so many appearances together that we finally decided, let's just do our own show. It's sort of a like a cabaret show that you might see at Feinstein's, but it's also off-the-wall funny. I don't want to give it away, but there are versions of songs from shows like Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line and Gypsy that you haven't heard before. We're shamelessly attacking everything and anything musical theater. Hopefully, it will move to Broadway. Actually, I think it would be fun to do Becki and Michael IS Broadway Off-Broadway.'
Maybe it will become a regular show and I'll be able to see it when I finally get to NYC! I was hoping I could manage a trip this spring or summer to see Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises, but now I'm hoping that the show will have a good long run so I have the chance to see Kristin in it later on.
As if Becki and Michael IS Broadway weren't tempting enough, the very next day is the latest edition of Broadway Backwards, the annual show benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This is the show where the male performers sing the female parts, and vice versa. It always looks like such a fun time!
Well, maybe next year, though I seem to say that each year! Thank God for the bits and pieces that show up on YouTube!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Kish: That's a Wrap
The week is off to a very eventful start on One Life to Live. I didn't write up yesterday's Fish scenes because he really didn't have a great deal to do overall, so this will be about the last two episodes.
If you'll recall, we left Oliver, Schuyler, and Rex looking on in horror as Gigi and baby Sierra Rose were stranded on the cracking ice in the middle of a frozen lake. Yesterday's show picked up in the same spot and found Rex and Schuyler being more or less useless, though Rex did try and find a tree branch long enough to reach Gigi.
Schuyler, the supposedly smart med student, had been staring at Gigi and the baby for at least two scenes but it took Gigi yelling that the baby needed medical help before he finally realized that "Oh, my God, Stacy had the baby!" If I were Fish, I think I might have been tempted to push Schuyler out onto the ice then and there. Survival of the fittest and all, you know.
At any rate, it was Oliver who managed to find a rope to anchor to a tree, tied one end in a loop, and threw it out to Gigi so that she could step into it and pull it up around her body. Our hero to the rescue again!
Of course, it wasn't that simple. When Gigi tried to move towards the rope, the ice gave way under her. She managed to keep her upper body and arms (complete with baby Sierra) above water long enough for Oliver and Schuyler to tie a coat to the end of the rope so that she could put the baby on it and they could pull Sierra to safety. Once that had been accomplished, Gigi sank beneath the water.
Schuyler and Rex worked together to pull Gigi from the lake while Oliver held his baby girl for the first time, kissed her, and promised her that it was going to be all right. I've never really understood the whole thing about guys with babies being more attractive. I figured it was something that must just appeal to straight women, because it doesn't do anything for me. Still, Oliver holding baby Sierra completely made me melt, so maybe there's something to it after all!
That's how yesterday's show ended, with Schuyler performing CPR on Gigi while Rex tried to talk her around and Oliver held his daughter.
Today, they managed to revive Gigi just in time for Stacy to come along. At the end of yesterday's show, Kim had discovered that Stacy (who'd been talking about going to the hospital to be with her daughter) had slipped out of Viki's cabin while Kim was upstairs getting her another blanket.
Unlike the first days of this story, when there were several people wandering the mountain not finding each other, they all seem to now be able to zero in on each other with little problem. Stacy, like Rex before her, went straight from the cabin to the lake.
As Gigi, Rex, Schuyler, and Oliver yelled for her to stop and tried to warn her about the danger, Stacy only seemed to see her baby daughter and charged forward across the ice, which quickly gave out underneath her.
She surfaced, calling her daughter's name and asking if she was okay. Schuyler told Gigi that they had to get the baby medical attention immediately and when Gigi didn't want to leave until her sister was safe, Stacy yelled for her to get Sierra to the hospital. Gigi promised Stacy that she'd make sure nothing happened to the baby and she, Schuyler, and Sierra departed, leaving Oliver and Rex to save Stacy.
Rex tried throwing Stacy the rope, but she wasn't able to reach it before submerging again. She surfaced, though, begging Rex not to let her die. I'm still trying to decide if the complete lack of any emotion on Rex's face during all of this was intentional, a direction that actor John Paul Lavoisier was given, or if he just couldn't be bothered to emote.
Whatever the reasons behind Rex's reaction, Scott Evans did a fantastic job as Oliver during all this, looking terrified as Rex tried again to throw Stacy the rope and she wasn't able to reach it. When Rex went out onto the ice himself in an attempt to reach her, it began to crack underneath him and he had to back away.
Stacy asked Rex to take care of the baby, saying she needed her father (which probably wasn't further manipulation on Stacy's part; in her post-delivery haze, she'd managed to convince herself that because the baby had arrived early, it must actually be Rex's child, the one she'd miscarried. She even shared this belief with Kim), and then told him that there was something she had to tell him about Sierra. Rex cut her off, saying the baby needed her mother, and the last thing that Stacy said before going under for the final time was that she was sorry.
Rex dove in after her, despite Fish urging him to think about his son Shane and not risk his life. Fish was looking pretty terrified as he waited, no doubt convinced that Rex and Stacy were both dead. When Rex finally surfaced without Stacy and wanted to go back under and look for her again, Fish grabbed Rex, telling him that doing so would be certain death and that if he fought Oliver on that, they'd both end up dead.
Fish pulled Rex out of the water and shortly thereafter the emergency personnel finally arrived. Oliver and Rex stared at the hole in the ice that marked Stacy's watery grave and Fish tried to assure Rex that he'd done everything he could, but that it had just been impossible. Oliver said that he couldn't believe Stacy was gone and asked if Rex knew what she'd been trying to tell him about the baby.
Now, Rex and Oliver both think that Schuyler is the father and that should be the logical assumption on both their parts about what Stacy might have been trying to confess, so having Fish ask Rex that seemed really out of place and not very believable.
At any rate, Rex replied that the only thing he knew was that the little girl no longer had a mother. Which of course means that, sooner or later, Oliver will be the one raising his daughter! I wished, not that long ago, that this exact situation would happen: Stacy dead and Oliver (with Kyle, eventually) raising the baby.
I'm sure I'll be very glad in the long run but since they managed, against all odds, to make me like Stacy somewhat at the end, today was actually rather sad. Still, it's going to make for some great story for Oliver and Kyle, not to mention Kim, Schuyler, Gigi, and Rex.
Gigi and Schuyler did manage to get baby Sierra safely down the mountain and to the hospital, by the way, and no doubt the story will continue there as the week progresses.
For the record, our Oliver has now saved (or helped to save) the lives of Brody, Gigi, baby Sierra, and Rex. He's been very heroic, but I find myself really hoping that we get a scene where he just kind of falls apart in Kyle's arms for a little while. Fish has had a very traumatic time up on Llantano mountain and for all his heroism, he's very human. Even the strongest person needs someone they can be vulnerable with. It would be great to see Kyle comfort him and help him through what he's feeling!
If you'll recall, we left Oliver, Schuyler, and Rex looking on in horror as Gigi and baby Sierra Rose were stranded on the cracking ice in the middle of a frozen lake. Yesterday's show picked up in the same spot and found Rex and Schuyler being more or less useless, though Rex did try and find a tree branch long enough to reach Gigi.
Schuyler, the supposedly smart med student, had been staring at Gigi and the baby for at least two scenes but it took Gigi yelling that the baby needed medical help before he finally realized that "Oh, my God, Stacy had the baby!" If I were Fish, I think I might have been tempted to push Schuyler out onto the ice then and there. Survival of the fittest and all, you know.
At any rate, it was Oliver who managed to find a rope to anchor to a tree, tied one end in a loop, and threw it out to Gigi so that she could step into it and pull it up around her body. Our hero to the rescue again!
Of course, it wasn't that simple. When Gigi tried to move towards the rope, the ice gave way under her. She managed to keep her upper body and arms (complete with baby Sierra) above water long enough for Oliver and Schuyler to tie a coat to the end of the rope so that she could put the baby on it and they could pull Sierra to safety. Once that had been accomplished, Gigi sank beneath the water.
Schuyler and Rex worked together to pull Gigi from the lake while Oliver held his baby girl for the first time, kissed her, and promised her that it was going to be all right. I've never really understood the whole thing about guys with babies being more attractive. I figured it was something that must just appeal to straight women, because it doesn't do anything for me. Still, Oliver holding baby Sierra completely made me melt, so maybe there's something to it after all!
That's how yesterday's show ended, with Schuyler performing CPR on Gigi while Rex tried to talk her around and Oliver held his daughter.
Today, they managed to revive Gigi just in time for Stacy to come along. At the end of yesterday's show, Kim had discovered that Stacy (who'd been talking about going to the hospital to be with her daughter) had slipped out of Viki's cabin while Kim was upstairs getting her another blanket.
Unlike the first days of this story, when there were several people wandering the mountain not finding each other, they all seem to now be able to zero in on each other with little problem. Stacy, like Rex before her, went straight from the cabin to the lake.
As Gigi, Rex, Schuyler, and Oliver yelled for her to stop and tried to warn her about the danger, Stacy only seemed to see her baby daughter and charged forward across the ice, which quickly gave out underneath her.
She surfaced, calling her daughter's name and asking if she was okay. Schuyler told Gigi that they had to get the baby medical attention immediately and when Gigi didn't want to leave until her sister was safe, Stacy yelled for her to get Sierra to the hospital. Gigi promised Stacy that she'd make sure nothing happened to the baby and she, Schuyler, and Sierra departed, leaving Oliver and Rex to save Stacy.
Rex tried throwing Stacy the rope, but she wasn't able to reach it before submerging again. She surfaced, though, begging Rex not to let her die. I'm still trying to decide if the complete lack of any emotion on Rex's face during all of this was intentional, a direction that actor John Paul Lavoisier was given, or if he just couldn't be bothered to emote.
Whatever the reasons behind Rex's reaction, Scott Evans did a fantastic job as Oliver during all this, looking terrified as Rex tried again to throw Stacy the rope and she wasn't able to reach it. When Rex went out onto the ice himself in an attempt to reach her, it began to crack underneath him and he had to back away.
Stacy asked Rex to take care of the baby, saying she needed her father (which probably wasn't further manipulation on Stacy's part; in her post-delivery haze, she'd managed to convince herself that because the baby had arrived early, it must actually be Rex's child, the one she'd miscarried. She even shared this belief with Kim), and then told him that there was something she had to tell him about Sierra. Rex cut her off, saying the baby needed her mother, and the last thing that Stacy said before going under for the final time was that she was sorry.
Rex dove in after her, despite Fish urging him to think about his son Shane and not risk his life. Fish was looking pretty terrified as he waited, no doubt convinced that Rex and Stacy were both dead. When Rex finally surfaced without Stacy and wanted to go back under and look for her again, Fish grabbed Rex, telling him that doing so would be certain death and that if he fought Oliver on that, they'd both end up dead.
Fish pulled Rex out of the water and shortly thereafter the emergency personnel finally arrived. Oliver and Rex stared at the hole in the ice that marked Stacy's watery grave and Fish tried to assure Rex that he'd done everything he could, but that it had just been impossible. Oliver said that he couldn't believe Stacy was gone and asked if Rex knew what she'd been trying to tell him about the baby.
Now, Rex and Oliver both think that Schuyler is the father and that should be the logical assumption on both their parts about what Stacy might have been trying to confess, so having Fish ask Rex that seemed really out of place and not very believable.
At any rate, Rex replied that the only thing he knew was that the little girl no longer had a mother. Which of course means that, sooner or later, Oliver will be the one raising his daughter! I wished, not that long ago, that this exact situation would happen: Stacy dead and Oliver (with Kyle, eventually) raising the baby.
I'm sure I'll be very glad in the long run but since they managed, against all odds, to make me like Stacy somewhat at the end, today was actually rather sad. Still, it's going to make for some great story for Oliver and Kyle, not to mention Kim, Schuyler, Gigi, and Rex.
Gigi and Schuyler did manage to get baby Sierra safely down the mountain and to the hospital, by the way, and no doubt the story will continue there as the week progresses.
For the record, our Oliver has now saved (or helped to save) the lives of Brody, Gigi, baby Sierra, and Rex. He's been very heroic, but I find myself really hoping that we get a scene where he just kind of falls apart in Kyle's arms for a little while. Fish has had a very traumatic time up on Llantano mountain and for all his heroism, he's very human. Even the strongest person needs someone they can be vulnerable with. It would be great to see Kyle comfort him and help him through what he's feeling!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Kish: Ice Capades
The action continued today up on Llantano mountain, even though Fish didn't have a great deal to do. Oliver was still with Rex and Schuyler when the episode started, and Rex was refusing to help them look for the pregnant woman lost in the snow. Why? Well, Rex wanted to get to Gigi and tell her about all the naughty things Schuyler had done, you see, and also because Stacy and the baby were 'Schuyler's problem now'.
Never mind that the baby is Rex's son Shane's cousin, it also happens to just be an innocent child! It certainly wasn't Rex's finest moment. In fact, it made me kind of hate him.
After Balsom had run off to find his Morasco, Schuyler told Fish that they had to find Stacy. Oliver assured him that he wanted to find her just as badly and Schuyler wondered why Fish was so invested in the search. Joplin didn't seem to buy Oliver's declaration that he was a cop and it was his job, and was about to press for more of an explanation when the two were interrupted by the arrival of Kim and Marty. The women had come up the mountain together to find Stacy and John, respectively.
While Oliver showed Marty where John's vehicle had gone through the guardrail and assured her that he hadn't found any bodies inside, Schuyler told Kim that Rex knew the truth about the baby.
Kim and Marty wanted to help search, especially after Marty realized that the guys were giving priority to the search for Stacy, but Oliver refused to let two civilians put themselves in danger (I see his point, but what are Schuyler and Rex, then, trained professionals?) and ordered the two women to head back down the mountain, promising to call as soon as he knew anything.
After Schuyler and Fish left, Marty and Kim each decided to pay no attention to Oliver's orders, which Kim saw as sexist. Kim headed for the cabin, while Marty immediately spotted something no one else had, including the trained cop who'd been standing in the same spot for quite some time: smoke, which was coming from the chimney of John and Natalie's abandoned cabin.
While all that was happening, Gigi and Stacy had realized that something wasn't right with Oliver's new daughter, Sierra. The baby had become pale and was looking a bit blue around the lips. Gigi decided to bundle her new niece up and walk her down to the main road, so that they could get some help in getting her to the hospital.
Rather moronically, Gigi wrapped the baby up in a warm coat but left her otherwise naked. Now, I know Viki's cabin isn't going to be stocked up with baby clothes, but at least put the child in a couple of your own shirts or something before taking it out in the middle of a blizzard! Would you go out in a snowstorm wearing nothing but a coat, Gigi? This character is supposed to be a really good mother, too. Yikes.
Rex arrived at the cabin after Gigi had left and found Stacy, who told him about giving birth and about her sister trying to get the baby some help. After Rex went out to look for Gigi, Kim showed up and she and Stacy had a nice reunion. I really do love their friendship! I hated Stacy before Kim showed up, but Amanda Setton's awesome performance has me loving Kim, and has actually made me start to like Stacy Morasco, somehow, which I would have said was impossible.
Gigi, meanwhile, was walking through the snow, frequently stopping to unbundle and look at baby Sierra, which meant exposing her naked torso to the elements. Gigi was a bit turned around in all the whiteness and, after slipping on some ice under the snow, came to the horrifying realization that she'd ended up in the middle of the frozen lake.
Instead of very carefully making her way back to the banks of the lake, which weren't really that far, Gigi decided to carry on walking across the middle of the ice, telling the baby about a book she'd read as a kid about the pioneers crossing frozen lakes in their wagons.
Oh, Gigi. Remember when she was a strong, smart single mother? Where did that Gigi go? I really liked her. How is it possible that I now like Stacy more than Gigi?!
At any rate, the ice began to crack beneath her feet and she froze in terror as Rex showed up on one side of her and Fish and Schuyler on the other.
That was all for this week, but what a week it was for Oliver! He saved Brody's life, survived an avalache, and became a father! Sadly, he lost his very cute hat in the process, but then that's life, isn't it?
I wonder if Oliver will save the day again on Monday? He'll probably have to, since Schuyler and Rex will most likely stop to fight over who should get to jump in and save Gigi! Someone should really tell those two to get a room already.
Never mind that the baby is Rex's son Shane's cousin, it also happens to just be an innocent child! It certainly wasn't Rex's finest moment. In fact, it made me kind of hate him.
After Balsom had run off to find his Morasco, Schuyler told Fish that they had to find Stacy. Oliver assured him that he wanted to find her just as badly and Schuyler wondered why Fish was so invested in the search. Joplin didn't seem to buy Oliver's declaration that he was a cop and it was his job, and was about to press for more of an explanation when the two were interrupted by the arrival of Kim and Marty. The women had come up the mountain together to find Stacy and John, respectively.
While Oliver showed Marty where John's vehicle had gone through the guardrail and assured her that he hadn't found any bodies inside, Schuyler told Kim that Rex knew the truth about the baby.
Kim and Marty wanted to help search, especially after Marty realized that the guys were giving priority to the search for Stacy, but Oliver refused to let two civilians put themselves in danger (I see his point, but what are Schuyler and Rex, then, trained professionals?) and ordered the two women to head back down the mountain, promising to call as soon as he knew anything.
After Schuyler and Fish left, Marty and Kim each decided to pay no attention to Oliver's orders, which Kim saw as sexist. Kim headed for the cabin, while Marty immediately spotted something no one else had, including the trained cop who'd been standing in the same spot for quite some time: smoke, which was coming from the chimney of John and Natalie's abandoned cabin.
While all that was happening, Gigi and Stacy had realized that something wasn't right with Oliver's new daughter, Sierra. The baby had become pale and was looking a bit blue around the lips. Gigi decided to bundle her new niece up and walk her down to the main road, so that they could get some help in getting her to the hospital.
Rather moronically, Gigi wrapped the baby up in a warm coat but left her otherwise naked. Now, I know Viki's cabin isn't going to be stocked up with baby clothes, but at least put the child in a couple of your own shirts or something before taking it out in the middle of a blizzard! Would you go out in a snowstorm wearing nothing but a coat, Gigi? This character is supposed to be a really good mother, too. Yikes.
Rex arrived at the cabin after Gigi had left and found Stacy, who told him about giving birth and about her sister trying to get the baby some help. After Rex went out to look for Gigi, Kim showed up and she and Stacy had a nice reunion. I really do love their friendship! I hated Stacy before Kim showed up, but Amanda Setton's awesome performance has me loving Kim, and has actually made me start to like Stacy Morasco, somehow, which I would have said was impossible.
Gigi, meanwhile, was walking through the snow, frequently stopping to unbundle and look at baby Sierra, which meant exposing her naked torso to the elements. Gigi was a bit turned around in all the whiteness and, after slipping on some ice under the snow, came to the horrifying realization that she'd ended up in the middle of the frozen lake.
Instead of very carefully making her way back to the banks of the lake, which weren't really that far, Gigi decided to carry on walking across the middle of the ice, telling the baby about a book she'd read as a kid about the pioneers crossing frozen lakes in their wagons.
Oh, Gigi. Remember when she was a strong, smart single mother? Where did that Gigi go? I really liked her. How is it possible that I now like Stacy more than Gigi?!
At any rate, the ice began to crack beneath her feet and she froze in terror as Rex showed up on one side of her and Fish and Schuyler on the other.
That was all for this week, but what a week it was for Oliver! He saved Brody's life, survived an avalache, and became a father! Sadly, he lost his very cute hat in the process, but then that's life, isn't it?
I wonder if Oliver will save the day again on Monday? He'll probably have to, since Schuyler and Rex will most likely stop to fight over who should get to jump in and save Gigi! Someone should really tell those two to get a room already.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
(500) Days of Summer
I finally managed to watch (500) Days of Summer last night. I completely loved it from the first moment of the film, before we'd even faded in on anything! I think I can safely say that no other film has ever made me laugh before a single image had appeared onscreen, but the opening disclaimer managed that feat:
"The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch."
Now, I pretty much think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the most talented younger actors working today. Just watch Brick, Mysterious Skin or my own favorite, The Lookout, for all the evidence you'd need to prove that. I also think he's incredibly sexy. So, you may think that I'm a bit biased in my views and would love anything with him in it.
To that I'd reply: G.I. Joe. Ugh! I sat through that godawful movie for one reason, and one reason alone: JGL was in the cast. I'm not an action movie person in general, it's true, but give me a good action film, like the Bourne series or the second Terminator film, and I'll love it. G.I. Joe was painfully bad and if I could wipe the memory of those two hours from my mind I would.
In short, I will see bad movies because a particularly hot or talented (or both, in this case) actor is in them, but that doesn't mean I'll like them.
(500) Days of Summer was just really fantastic. I loved the retro look to it, which was just right without being so overdone that you felt like you weren't watching a film set in the present. I loved the character of Tom, the romantic who believes he's found The One and whose whole belief in love is dashed against the rocks of a woman who just doesn't love him back.
I liked the non-linear storytelling and the supporting cast, and I really loved that the movie avoided romantic comedy cliches while taking on the whole idea of the cheap, greeting card/Hollywood sentimentality that is so attached to the very idea of love today.
I especially liked that the movie didn't offer to tie things up neatly at the end. When the lead character, Tom, left his job and started pursuing his dream of being an architect, other movies would have had him find success to show that You Should Follow Your Dreams, the sort of easy sentiment that Tom has rebelled against. Tom is following his dreams, yes, but the movie makes it clear that doing so comes with no guarantees or easy success stories.
It's a great film about the realities of being in love, from the euphoric highs (I especially liked the scene after Tom and Summer have slept together for the first time, when Tom walks to work in such high spirits that a dance sequence ensues) to the lowest of lows, which usually aren't passionate fights but rather when you're faced with silent indifference from the person you love.
I just really loved this movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel were both fantastic, it was funny and painfully real, and the whole look of it, the very atmosphere, made it a film that I know I'm going to watch again and again.
"The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch."
Now, I pretty much think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the most talented younger actors working today. Just watch Brick, Mysterious Skin or my own favorite, The Lookout, for all the evidence you'd need to prove that. I also think he's incredibly sexy. So, you may think that I'm a bit biased in my views and would love anything with him in it.
To that I'd reply: G.I. Joe. Ugh! I sat through that godawful movie for one reason, and one reason alone: JGL was in the cast. I'm not an action movie person in general, it's true, but give me a good action film, like the Bourne series or the second Terminator film, and I'll love it. G.I. Joe was painfully bad and if I could wipe the memory of those two hours from my mind I would.
In short, I will see bad movies because a particularly hot or talented (or both, in this case) actor is in them, but that doesn't mean I'll like them.
(500) Days of Summer was just really fantastic. I loved the retro look to it, which was just right without being so overdone that you felt like you weren't watching a film set in the present. I loved the character of Tom, the romantic who believes he's found The One and whose whole belief in love is dashed against the rocks of a woman who just doesn't love him back.
I liked the non-linear storytelling and the supporting cast, and I really loved that the movie avoided romantic comedy cliches while taking on the whole idea of the cheap, greeting card/Hollywood sentimentality that is so attached to the very idea of love today.
I especially liked that the movie didn't offer to tie things up neatly at the end. When the lead character, Tom, left his job and started pursuing his dream of being an architect, other movies would have had him find success to show that You Should Follow Your Dreams, the sort of easy sentiment that Tom has rebelled against. Tom is following his dreams, yes, but the movie makes it clear that doing so comes with no guarantees or easy success stories.
It's a great film about the realities of being in love, from the euphoric highs (I especially liked the scene after Tom and Summer have slept together for the first time, when Tom walks to work in such high spirits that a dance sequence ensues) to the lowest of lows, which usually aren't passionate fights but rather when you're faced with silent indifference from the person you love.
I just really loved this movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel were both fantastic, it was funny and painfully real, and the whole look of it, the very atmosphere, made it a film that I know I'm going to watch again and again.
Kish: A Little Fish
There isn't much to write in regard to Kish from the last few days. They weren't on yesterday, and though Oliver was onscreen today, it was really just to break up the fight between Rex and Schuyler, fill them in on Stacy being missing, and then to try and signal a search helicopter for help.
He of course looked incredibly cute while doing all of this, but it didn't leave me much to comment on story wise. To be fair, I did lose one Fish scene to a Special Report about President Clinton, but it didn't seem like much had happened when they got back to the show.
FYI, though, my favorite line today was one of Schuyler's, after Fish had told them about Mitch throwing Stacy out into the storm: "Stacy got thrown out of her own kidnapping?" Ha!
I should also add that Oliver did become a father today, not that he knows it yet. He and Stacy now have a baby daughter named Sierra Rose. I cannot wait to see Oliver adjusting to being a father! You know he's going to be an awesome one. It will also be interesting to see the effect it has on his relationship with Kyle. Yes, they're in love, but they've really just started dating. They don't even live together yet, are they really ready to raise a baby together?
There's always Oliver's parents to consider, too. One wonders what sort of a role, if any, they might take in their grandchild's life since they haven't shown any interest in their son post-coming out.
Whatever happens, it's definitely going to be a daytime milestone. Oliver Fish is now the first gay male parent in daytime history and that's groundbreaking!
He of course looked incredibly cute while doing all of this, but it didn't leave me much to comment on story wise. To be fair, I did lose one Fish scene to a Special Report about President Clinton, but it didn't seem like much had happened when they got back to the show.
FYI, though, my favorite line today was one of Schuyler's, after Fish had told them about Mitch throwing Stacy out into the storm: "Stacy got thrown out of her own kidnapping?" Ha!
I should also add that Oliver did become a father today, not that he knows it yet. He and Stacy now have a baby daughter named Sierra Rose. I cannot wait to see Oliver adjusting to being a father! You know he's going to be an awesome one. It will also be interesting to see the effect it has on his relationship with Kyle. Yes, they're in love, but they've really just started dating. They don't even live together yet, are they really ready to raise a baby together?
There's always Oliver's parents to consider, too. One wonders what sort of a role, if any, they might take in their grandchild's life since they haven't shown any interest in their son post-coming out.
Whatever happens, it's definitely going to be a daytime milestone. Oliver Fish is now the first gay male parent in daytime history and that's groundbreaking!
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Kish: Avalanches and Heroics
Today's One Life to Live was another action packed hour of great soap! Both Fish and Kyle were featured, although not together, of course, since Oliver is up on Llantano Mountain in a blizzard and Kyle is safe and warm at the hospital in Llanview.
Let's start with the Kyle scenes, which further strengthened the bond between him and his BFF Roxy. Kyle, who you'll recall told Roxy that Stacy's baby wasn't her grandchild at the end of last week, found Roxy still sitting in the hospital waiting room, lost in thought.
When he asked what she was thinking about, she told him that there were bad things about raising babies that you never think you'll miss- dirty diapers, crying in the middle of the night- but that there are a lot of good things that come along with that. She'd really been looking forward to being the baby's Grandmother.
Roxy said that at least Rex wouldn't have to deal with 'that slut' any more, but that she did feel sorry for the baby's real father and she wished she knew who it was so she could tell him to head for the hills.
Kyle told Roxy that he knew she'd have to tell Rex the truth and that if anyone found out it had come from Kyle he'd be kicked out of medical school. He knew, though, that Roxy wouldn't let that happen. Roxy asked how he knew that, and he told her that he trusted her and that she was his best bud.
Sweet scene. I seriously love these two as friends! Anyway, Roxy told Kyle she'd be suffering either way and that she'd love to wring Stacy's neck. Kyle told her that she'd have to stand in line but Roxy realized that there was someone else she could confront immediately.
Roxy went to see Kim and let her know that she knew the truth. Kim, after trying to pretend that she didn't know what Roxy was talking about, threatened to destroy Kyle's future as a doctor if Roxy told anyone. She also told Roxy that she could take her and that she's been 'known to cut a bitch.' Ha! I seriously love Kim. She's vicious, but she's not a one note character. Her loyalty to and love for Stacy has been obvious since day one, and more so now than ever sine she's terrified for Stacy's safety.
Once she was alone, though, Roxy called Rex's cell phone. The scene with Roxy calling Rex was cut together with one of Kyle calling Fish's cell phone, and leaving a message to let him know that he'd told Roxy about the baby not being Rex's, but hadn't said anything about who the real father was.
That was all for Kyle today. Oliver's scenes, meanwhile, started with him wandering in the snow, calling out for Rex, Schuyler, or anybody within earshot. When no one answered him, Fish said "I think I'm in trouble, Kyle." I absolutely loved that moment, when Fish talked to Kyle as if he were there with him. It was very sweet and it really spoke to how connected the two of them are, as if Fish feels that Kyle is such a part of him that they're always together, even when they're miles apart. Yes, I know that's completely sappy, but I don't care! I'm a romantic.
Fish tried to get cell service again but wasn't successful this time, so he started heading farther up the mountain in the general direction that the others had all taken. Rex, meanwhile, had found and revived the unconscious Schuyler, while Gigi had stumbled upon Stacy buried under a blanket of snow and saved her.
The two pairs each heard a strange noise, as did Oliver, who was trudging through the snow on his own. Rex & Schuyler quickly realized that it was an avalanche (and Rex, God love him, expressed that realization for us viewers as only he could!). What they didn't see was that it seemed to be coming down directly on top of our guy Fish!
The next image we had was of Oliver's knit hat, in which he'd looked so cute, lying all by itself on top of the snow. Had he been buried alive?!
Meanwhile, as Gigi got Stacy back to the cabin (and managed to figure out that Stacy was lying about the baby's due date and thus its paternity), and Rex and Schuyler were forced by the avalanche blocking the path up the mountain to head back to the road (where Schuyler finally admitted to Rex that the baby was his), big things were happening at the old Geological Observatory.
Mitch, you'll recall, had been told by his God that he had to impregnate his own daughter, Jessica, with The Chosen One. Jessica, still in her zombie like state, didn't care for that idea, so Mitch drugged her into unconsciousness.
Brody burst in with his gun drawn before (I hope) Mitch was able to do much more than lay Jessica out on the bed. Mitch grabbed a syringe and threatened to kill Jessica if Brody didn't lower his gun, but Brody took the more sensible option and shot Mitch instead.
Not so sensibly, he shot him in the arm rather than in the head, but that still enabled him to get Mitch tied to a chair. As Brody was trying to wake Jessica up, Nurse Charles slipped a cord around his neck and began choking him to death from behind as Mitch gleefully screamed at her to "Ride him to hell!" Mitch is seriously the creepiest soap villain EVER.
Jessica came to, sort of, and saw her boyfriend being killed before her eyes. She started to reach for his gun, which was beside her on the bed, but was moving very slowly, as befit her drugged state. I, meanwhile, was yelling "Shoot the bitch!" Not my proudest moment, but then it's easy to get caught up in good storytelling!
Finally, just as Brody looked like he was close to losing the fight, a shot did ring out, but it wasn't Jessica who pulled the trigger. It was Oliver! He was alive and well, though missing his cute hat. Unlike Brody Fish shot to kill, so we'll be seeing no more of Nurse Charles.
It was a great moment, though. I was worried about Fish being buried alive and they diverted all attention to Jessica slowly reaching for Brody's gun, so when Fish turned up and saved the day, I truly hadn't seen it coming.
Now that Fish has saved Brody's life, aren't they bonded forever? I'd settle for seeing them as partners on the force!
Fish, ever the cop, informed Mitch that he was under arrest, but Laurence just sneered that he'd have Oliver's badge. Brody wanted to get Jessica (who, it seems, wasn't faking the zombie like state after all) out of there, but Fish told him that they were snowed in.
Fish filled Brody in on the explosion and that there hadn't been any sign of John or Natalie. He asked about Stacy and Brody said he hadn't seen her. Oliver demanded to know what Mitch had done with her and The Messenger informed him that she was in God's hands.
Oliver got angry (and he's just as hot as Kyle when he gets mad!) and demanded to know where she was. Mitch rambled on about her and her bastard child being turned out to the mercy of the mountain and Fish threatened Mitch if anything had happened to them. Mitch wondered aloud what a 'degenerate slattern' and her child mattered to Officer Fish.
Oliver told Brody that he had to go and look for Stacy. Brody thought he was crazy to go back out in the storm, but gave him a flashlight and urged him to be careful. As Oliver left, Mitch shouted that he'd pray for him.
That was all for today, but what a day it was! Oliver is truly the most heroic gay character featured in daytime soaps thus far. What I love is that he isn't a hero in the John McBain sense, where you never really see him express any emotion. Today we saw that Oliver didn't hesitate to kill Nurse Charles to save Brody, but the look on his face after he'd done so was definitely full of emotion. Scott Evans is playing this character perfectly.
Let's start with the Kyle scenes, which further strengthened the bond between him and his BFF Roxy. Kyle, who you'll recall told Roxy that Stacy's baby wasn't her grandchild at the end of last week, found Roxy still sitting in the hospital waiting room, lost in thought.
When he asked what she was thinking about, she told him that there were bad things about raising babies that you never think you'll miss- dirty diapers, crying in the middle of the night- but that there are a lot of good things that come along with that. She'd really been looking forward to being the baby's Grandmother.
Roxy said that at least Rex wouldn't have to deal with 'that slut' any more, but that she did feel sorry for the baby's real father and she wished she knew who it was so she could tell him to head for the hills.
Kyle told Roxy that he knew she'd have to tell Rex the truth and that if anyone found out it had come from Kyle he'd be kicked out of medical school. He knew, though, that Roxy wouldn't let that happen. Roxy asked how he knew that, and he told her that he trusted her and that she was his best bud.
Roxy: I never had one of those before.
Kyle: Well, maybe it's about time. I just worry that I made a mistake, because I hate seeing you suffer like this.
Kyle: Well, maybe it's about time. I just worry that I made a mistake, because I hate seeing you suffer like this.
Sweet scene. I seriously love these two as friends! Anyway, Roxy told Kyle she'd be suffering either way and that she'd love to wring Stacy's neck. Kyle told her that she'd have to stand in line but Roxy realized that there was someone else she could confront immediately.
Roxy went to see Kim and let her know that she knew the truth. Kim, after trying to pretend that she didn't know what Roxy was talking about, threatened to destroy Kyle's future as a doctor if Roxy told anyone. She also told Roxy that she could take her and that she's been 'known to cut a bitch.' Ha! I seriously love Kim. She's vicious, but she's not a one note character. Her loyalty to and love for Stacy has been obvious since day one, and more so now than ever sine she's terrified for Stacy's safety.
Once she was alone, though, Roxy called Rex's cell phone. The scene with Roxy calling Rex was cut together with one of Kyle calling Fish's cell phone, and leaving a message to let him know that he'd told Roxy about the baby not being Rex's, but hadn't said anything about who the real father was.
That was all for Kyle today. Oliver's scenes, meanwhile, started with him wandering in the snow, calling out for Rex, Schuyler, or anybody within earshot. When no one answered him, Fish said "I think I'm in trouble, Kyle." I absolutely loved that moment, when Fish talked to Kyle as if he were there with him. It was very sweet and it really spoke to how connected the two of them are, as if Fish feels that Kyle is such a part of him that they're always together, even when they're miles apart. Yes, I know that's completely sappy, but I don't care! I'm a romantic.
Fish tried to get cell service again but wasn't successful this time, so he started heading farther up the mountain in the general direction that the others had all taken. Rex, meanwhile, had found and revived the unconscious Schuyler, while Gigi had stumbled upon Stacy buried under a blanket of snow and saved her.
The two pairs each heard a strange noise, as did Oliver, who was trudging through the snow on his own. Rex & Schuyler quickly realized that it was an avalanche (and Rex, God love him, expressed that realization for us viewers as only he could!). What they didn't see was that it seemed to be coming down directly on top of our guy Fish!
The next image we had was of Oliver's knit hat, in which he'd looked so cute, lying all by itself on top of the snow. Had he been buried alive?!
Meanwhile, as Gigi got Stacy back to the cabin (and managed to figure out that Stacy was lying about the baby's due date and thus its paternity), and Rex and Schuyler were forced by the avalanche blocking the path up the mountain to head back to the road (where Schuyler finally admitted to Rex that the baby was his), big things were happening at the old Geological Observatory.
Mitch, you'll recall, had been told by his God that he had to impregnate his own daughter, Jessica, with The Chosen One. Jessica, still in her zombie like state, didn't care for that idea, so Mitch drugged her into unconsciousness.
Brody burst in with his gun drawn before (I hope) Mitch was able to do much more than lay Jessica out on the bed. Mitch grabbed a syringe and threatened to kill Jessica if Brody didn't lower his gun, but Brody took the more sensible option and shot Mitch instead.
Not so sensibly, he shot him in the arm rather than in the head, but that still enabled him to get Mitch tied to a chair. As Brody was trying to wake Jessica up, Nurse Charles slipped a cord around his neck and began choking him to death from behind as Mitch gleefully screamed at her to "Ride him to hell!" Mitch is seriously the creepiest soap villain EVER.
Jessica came to, sort of, and saw her boyfriend being killed before her eyes. She started to reach for his gun, which was beside her on the bed, but was moving very slowly, as befit her drugged state. I, meanwhile, was yelling "Shoot the bitch!" Not my proudest moment, but then it's easy to get caught up in good storytelling!
Finally, just as Brody looked like he was close to losing the fight, a shot did ring out, but it wasn't Jessica who pulled the trigger. It was Oliver! He was alive and well, though missing his cute hat. Unlike Brody Fish shot to kill, so we'll be seeing no more of Nurse Charles.
It was a great moment, though. I was worried about Fish being buried alive and they diverted all attention to Jessica slowly reaching for Brody's gun, so when Fish turned up and saved the day, I truly hadn't seen it coming.
Now that Fish has saved Brody's life, aren't they bonded forever? I'd settle for seeing them as partners on the force!
Fish, ever the cop, informed Mitch that he was under arrest, but Laurence just sneered that he'd have Oliver's badge. Brody wanted to get Jessica (who, it seems, wasn't faking the zombie like state after all) out of there, but Fish told him that they were snowed in.
Fish filled Brody in on the explosion and that there hadn't been any sign of John or Natalie. He asked about Stacy and Brody said he hadn't seen her. Oliver demanded to know what Mitch had done with her and The Messenger informed him that she was in God's hands.
Oliver got angry (and he's just as hot as Kyle when he gets mad!) and demanded to know where she was. Mitch rambled on about her and her bastard child being turned out to the mercy of the mountain and Fish threatened Mitch if anything had happened to them. Mitch wondered aloud what a 'degenerate slattern' and her child mattered to Officer Fish.
Oliver told Brody that he had to go and look for Stacy. Brody thought he was crazy to go back out in the storm, but gave him a flashlight and urged him to be careful. As Oliver left, Mitch shouted that he'd pray for him.
That was all for today, but what a day it was! Oliver is truly the most heroic gay character featured in daytime soaps thus far. What I love is that he isn't a hero in the John McBain sense, where you never really see him express any emotion. Today we saw that Oliver didn't hesitate to kill Nurse Charles to save Brody, but the look on his face after he'd done so was definitely full of emotion. Scott Evans is playing this character perfectly.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Kish: Fish on the Mountain
Today's One Life to Live didn't feature Kyle, but we picked up right where we left off with Fish, up on Llantano Mountain with Rex in the middle of a blizzard.
After the action packed final days of last week, today was actually much more uneventful. The stories were furthered a bit, of course, but they're clearly saving the big moments for later in the week. Today was more about a few individual characters wrestling with their consciences, which took the form of imagined conversations with dead loved ones. Or Heavenly visits from said loved ones, depending on your point of view.
But back to our guy Oliver. We started right where we'd left off, with Rex wondering aloud why Stacy would have listed Schuyler as guardian of 'their' child in her will. Oliver nervously asked how he should know and Rex, with an annoyed roll of his eyes, told Fish that it was a rhetorical question.
Once he'd taken a good look at Oliver's guilty face, though, Rex realized that it might not have been so rhetorical a question after all and asked if Fish knew anything about it.
Oliver tried to sidestep the question, saying that Stacy and Schuyler must be close since they'd dated back when they lived in Las Vegas. Rex reminded Fish that Schuyler had helped expose Stacy's whole stem cell scheme and that she hated the guy now. Fish, who looked so cute in his knit hat that I had a hard time paying attention to the dialogue for a few seconds, said that Stacy may have found a way to forgive Schuyler.
Rex wasn't buying that, either, and I liked that they didn't have Oliver flat out lie to him, which would have been wildly against character for Fish, but rather stick to non-denials like "What would I know?"
That still didn't stop Rex from telling Fish that he was a lousy liar and demanding that Oliver 'give it to him straight'. Hmmm. I won't touch that one, it's just too easy.
Fish seemed to be on the verge of admitting that he knew something when he caught scent of the smoke from the nearby explosion that they'd both failed to notice. Fish realized a car must have gone through the guardrail and decided to climb down and see what had happened. Rex insisted on going with him, worried that it may have been the car that Stacy was in.
The guys found the 'burned to a crisp' remains of the vehicle Natalie, John, and Brody had been in, but no signs of bodies. Fish found a tracking device that he'd rigged the vehicle with when he set it up for John's prison break (the new police commissioner is in Mitch's pocket, remember), so they knew that it wasn't the car Stacy had been in.
Fish, ever the good cop, told Rex that his job was to sweep the area and look for survivors, since they knew that John, Brody, Dorian, and Schuyler were all out there somewhere. Rex told Fish to do what he had to do, but Rex himself had to find Stacy.
And so, the two men parted ways, without a situation requiring the need for sharing body heat having arisen. Maybe tomorrow? I'm picturing something with an abandoned cabin (they seem to be plentiful on soaps, and John and Natalie have already found one) and a bear skin rug in front of a fire...
Rex joined the legion of people wandering around that mountain in the snow, while Fish managed to find a spot where he had cell service. Instead of calling Kyle, as I'd hoped he was about to do, Fish responsibly called Marty and asked if she'd heard from John. Dr. Saybrooke hadn't, and Fish filled her in about the accident before hanging up.
I think my second favorite moment of the episode was when Fish had just hung up the phone with Marty and asked aloud "Where the hell is everyone?" He just looked so worried and adorable, but the sentiment itself made me laugh, since there are now twelve characters wandering around that mountain, all managing to miss each other somehow.
My favorite moment from today's show had nothing to do with Fish. It was the moment when Schuyler, who'd been wandering around in the snow, seemingly delirious as he talked about being the father of Stacy's baby, suddenly saw lights up ahead and realized he was close to the cabin. A split second later, a tree branch fell on his head, knocking him out.
Was I the only one who watched that moment five or six times? It was hilarious!
Well, that was all we saw of Oliver today, but I'm sure the action and excitement are going to be building up all week. Hopefully Kyle will be onscreen soon, too. There's got to be room up on that mountain for him and Roxy still, right?
After the action packed final days of last week, today was actually much more uneventful. The stories were furthered a bit, of course, but they're clearly saving the big moments for later in the week. Today was more about a few individual characters wrestling with their consciences, which took the form of imagined conversations with dead loved ones. Or Heavenly visits from said loved ones, depending on your point of view.
But back to our guy Oliver. We started right where we'd left off, with Rex wondering aloud why Stacy would have listed Schuyler as guardian of 'their' child in her will. Oliver nervously asked how he should know and Rex, with an annoyed roll of his eyes, told Fish that it was a rhetorical question.
Once he'd taken a good look at Oliver's guilty face, though, Rex realized that it might not have been so rhetorical a question after all and asked if Fish knew anything about it.
Oliver tried to sidestep the question, saying that Stacy and Schuyler must be close since they'd dated back when they lived in Las Vegas. Rex reminded Fish that Schuyler had helped expose Stacy's whole stem cell scheme and that she hated the guy now. Fish, who looked so cute in his knit hat that I had a hard time paying attention to the dialogue for a few seconds, said that Stacy may have found a way to forgive Schuyler.
Rex wasn't buying that, either, and I liked that they didn't have Oliver flat out lie to him, which would have been wildly against character for Fish, but rather stick to non-denials like "What would I know?"
That still didn't stop Rex from telling Fish that he was a lousy liar and demanding that Oliver 'give it to him straight'. Hmmm. I won't touch that one, it's just too easy.
Fish seemed to be on the verge of admitting that he knew something when he caught scent of the smoke from the nearby explosion that they'd both failed to notice. Fish realized a car must have gone through the guardrail and decided to climb down and see what had happened. Rex insisted on going with him, worried that it may have been the car that Stacy was in.
The guys found the 'burned to a crisp' remains of the vehicle Natalie, John, and Brody had been in, but no signs of bodies. Fish found a tracking device that he'd rigged the vehicle with when he set it up for John's prison break (the new police commissioner is in Mitch's pocket, remember), so they knew that it wasn't the car Stacy had been in.
Fish, ever the good cop, told Rex that his job was to sweep the area and look for survivors, since they knew that John, Brody, Dorian, and Schuyler were all out there somewhere. Rex told Fish to do what he had to do, but Rex himself had to find Stacy.
And so, the two men parted ways, without a situation requiring the need for sharing body heat having arisen. Maybe tomorrow? I'm picturing something with an abandoned cabin (they seem to be plentiful on soaps, and John and Natalie have already found one) and a bear skin rug in front of a fire...
Rex joined the legion of people wandering around that mountain in the snow, while Fish managed to find a spot where he had cell service. Instead of calling Kyle, as I'd hoped he was about to do, Fish responsibly called Marty and asked if she'd heard from John. Dr. Saybrooke hadn't, and Fish filled her in about the accident before hanging up.
I think my second favorite moment of the episode was when Fish had just hung up the phone with Marty and asked aloud "Where the hell is everyone?" He just looked so worried and adorable, but the sentiment itself made me laugh, since there are now twelve characters wandering around that mountain, all managing to miss each other somehow.
My favorite moment from today's show had nothing to do with Fish. It was the moment when Schuyler, who'd been wandering around in the snow, seemingly delirious as he talked about being the father of Stacy's baby, suddenly saw lights up ahead and realized he was close to the cabin. A split second later, a tree branch fell on his head, knocking him out.
Was I the only one who watched that moment five or six times? It was hilarious!
Well, that was all we saw of Oliver today, but I'm sure the action and excitement are going to be building up all week. Hopefully Kyle will be onscreen soon, too. There's got to be room up on that mountain for him and Roxy still, right?
Friday, February 05, 2010
Kish: Now That's Great Soap!
Have I mentioned lately how incredible the writing on One Life to Live is? Okay, I know that I have, but it's worth repeating. All you'd have to do is watch this week's episodes to see how a well written soap opera should work: several different stories coming together perfectly all at once for an action packed series of February sweeps episodes.
Seriously, this is what good soaps are all about, stories that are well written and character driven. Other shows do Sweeps stunts that are all about a lot of otherwise pointless action, where plot comes before anything else. OLTL builds up to Sweeps with months of great storytelling culminating in exciting conclusions. Can we clone Ron Carlivati and send one of him to each of the other remaining soaps as Head Writer?
With that said, let's get started. Fish was on yesterday's episode of the show, but he didn't have a great deal to do, so I didn't blog about it. Basically, he got word that Mitch's henchwoman, Nurse Charles, had managed to kidnap Stacy, and he showed up at the hospital for a brief confab with Rex and Kim before going in search of Stacy up Llantano Mountain in the middle of a blizzard, with Rex at his side.
That brings us to today. Now, several other characters have headed up the Mountain as well: Natalie, Brody, and John were looking for Mitch's hideout; Charlie and Dorian were following Stacy and Nurse Charles so that Charlie could kill Mitch and save Jessica; and Schuyler was on his way up to meet Gigi at Viki's cabin and finally tell her the truth (or what he believes is the truth) about the paternity of Stacy's baby. Mitch, of course, was already up there in an abandoned Geological Observatory, holding Jessica captive and treating her to a little electro shock therapy to keep her docile and make her forget all he'd taken her away from.
The cars driven by Nurse Charles and Charlie had a little three way car accident with Natalie, Brody and John on the icy mountain roads. Nurse Charles' car made it through just fine, but Natalie & co went through the guardrail and over the side of the mountain and Dorian and Charlie had to abandon their car and proceed on foot.
Before you knew it, Schuyler came along and crashed into Dorian's abandoned car and then, after some time spent unconscious, stumbled out on foot, bleeding from the head and from the leg.
Got all that? As much as I love stories that blend together so perfectly, it does make it hard when you're trying to write about just one of the stories!
Back at the hospital, Kyle ran into Kim and she told him about Stacy's abduction and about how Fish and Rex were in cold pursuit. Kyle called Fish to make sure he was okay and advised him that he had to tell Rex the truth about the baby. Oliver was worried about Kyle's medical career, but Kyle told him to just do the right thing, like he always does. Fish didn't think the time was right, though.
Before they could say much more to each other, Oliver lost cell phone service, like everyone else on the mountain has. He and Rex soon came upon Dorian and Schuyler's crashed cars and checked them out, never noticing the hole in guard rail leading down to where Rex's sister Natalie may or may not have blown up a few minutes before. (Seriously, the explosion was what woke Schuyler up, but Rex and Fish see no sign of it just a brief time later? Okay, I'm nitpicking. When the show is this well written, you can suspend disbelief on the little things)
Rex and Fish realized that they couldn't go any farther in the car, what with the road blocked by the wrecks. Fish was adorably bundled up for winter (Scott Evans looks good in anything!), but Rex wasn't, so he started looking through Schuyler's car for gloves and found Stacy's will, in which Schuyler had forced her, in exchange for the promise to give her the Oxcytocin to induce labor, to name him as legal guardian of 'their' baby if anything happened to her and Rex.
As Rex wondered aloud why the hell Stacy would name Schuyler Joplin as the guardian of 'their' baby, Oliver looked guilty (and adorable) in the background. If I didn't love Kyle so much, I'd be hoping for Rex and Fish to get lost together and be forced to find a way to stay warm! Maybe they could run into a freezing Brody, who is out there somewhere in need of warmth, too!
Meanwhile, back in Llanview, Roxy showed up at the hospital with balloons and big cigar, looking for her new grandchild, since Stacy had faked going in to labor just before Nurse Charles nabbed her.
Kyle broke the news about Mitch having Stacy and Roxy immediately blamed herself and told Kyle that if anything happened to that baby, to Rex, or to Fish, it was going to be Roxy's fault. She reminded Kyle that he'd asked her how she'd ever ended up having a child with someone like Mitch and now, because all her lies had lead to this, she had to tell him the truth.
Finally! I've been waiting ages to find out the rest of this particular story. I'll have to wait even longer, though, because Kyle picked that moment to delay the telling of Roxy's secret by spilling his own: Rex wasn't the father of Stacy's baby. Thanks a lot, Kyle! Seriously, when someone says they're about to tell you the truth about what happened between them and a psychotic cult leader, just zip it and listen!
Still, it says a lot about how much Kyle really cares for Roxy that he put his career on the line to tell her the truth.
Roxy was devastated and told Kyle that she loved that baby, that it was supposed to be her grandchild, and that she was going to do all the things with it that she missed out on doing with Rex's son Shane. Her emotions quickly swung around to anger at Stacy, though, and she declared "That bitch is dead!"
Speaking of which, Mitch finally had Stacy and 'The Chosen One' right where he wanted them, but Nurse Charles did a little exam and told The Messenger that it looked like Stacy still had three or four weeks before she delivered.
Stacy tearfully repeated what she'd been trying to tell them since they attempted to kidnap her the first time: the baby wasn't Mitch's grandchild. This time, Mitch listened to her whole story (as did a zombie like, post electro-shock Jessica, whom I suspect is only faking her docility) and believed it.
The truth sent him over the edge and he declared Stacy 'The Whore of Babylon' and quoted some scary sounding scripture about bathing his feet in the blood of the wicked. He started to choke her to death, but Zombie Jessica (her latest personality?) stopped him, calmly pointing out that an innocent child shouldn't be forced to pay for its mother's sins.
Mitch decided to turn Stacy out in the storm and leave it up to his vengeful God as to whether or not Stacy and the baby lived or died. The Messenger asked his God (who'd taken the form of a flickering florescent light, it seemed) about the true identity of The Chosen One, and apparently God told him that he had to make the baby then and there, with his own daughter. Gross! Just when I thought Mitch couldn't get any more creepy.
After stumbling around in the snow for awhile, calling Rex's name, Stacy went into labor. Not to fear, I'm sure she'll run into one of the nine other people who are lost in the blizzard. It looks like Fish will probably be a daddy by this time next week!
Seriously, this is what good soaps are all about, stories that are well written and character driven. Other shows do Sweeps stunts that are all about a lot of otherwise pointless action, where plot comes before anything else. OLTL builds up to Sweeps with months of great storytelling culminating in exciting conclusions. Can we clone Ron Carlivati and send one of him to each of the other remaining soaps as Head Writer?
With that said, let's get started. Fish was on yesterday's episode of the show, but he didn't have a great deal to do, so I didn't blog about it. Basically, he got word that Mitch's henchwoman, Nurse Charles, had managed to kidnap Stacy, and he showed up at the hospital for a brief confab with Rex and Kim before going in search of Stacy up Llantano Mountain in the middle of a blizzard, with Rex at his side.
That brings us to today. Now, several other characters have headed up the Mountain as well: Natalie, Brody, and John were looking for Mitch's hideout; Charlie and Dorian were following Stacy and Nurse Charles so that Charlie could kill Mitch and save Jessica; and Schuyler was on his way up to meet Gigi at Viki's cabin and finally tell her the truth (or what he believes is the truth) about the paternity of Stacy's baby. Mitch, of course, was already up there in an abandoned Geological Observatory, holding Jessica captive and treating her to a little electro shock therapy to keep her docile and make her forget all he'd taken her away from.
The cars driven by Nurse Charles and Charlie had a little three way car accident with Natalie, Brody and John on the icy mountain roads. Nurse Charles' car made it through just fine, but Natalie & co went through the guardrail and over the side of the mountain and Dorian and Charlie had to abandon their car and proceed on foot.
Before you knew it, Schuyler came along and crashed into Dorian's abandoned car and then, after some time spent unconscious, stumbled out on foot, bleeding from the head and from the leg.
Got all that? As much as I love stories that blend together so perfectly, it does make it hard when you're trying to write about just one of the stories!
Back at the hospital, Kyle ran into Kim and she told him about Stacy's abduction and about how Fish and Rex were in cold pursuit. Kyle called Fish to make sure he was okay and advised him that he had to tell Rex the truth about the baby. Oliver was worried about Kyle's medical career, but Kyle told him to just do the right thing, like he always does. Fish didn't think the time was right, though.
Before they could say much more to each other, Oliver lost cell phone service, like everyone else on the mountain has. He and Rex soon came upon Dorian and Schuyler's crashed cars and checked them out, never noticing the hole in guard rail leading down to where Rex's sister Natalie may or may not have blown up a few minutes before. (Seriously, the explosion was what woke Schuyler up, but Rex and Fish see no sign of it just a brief time later? Okay, I'm nitpicking. When the show is this well written, you can suspend disbelief on the little things)
Rex and Fish realized that they couldn't go any farther in the car, what with the road blocked by the wrecks. Fish was adorably bundled up for winter (Scott Evans looks good in anything!), but Rex wasn't, so he started looking through Schuyler's car for gloves and found Stacy's will, in which Schuyler had forced her, in exchange for the promise to give her the Oxcytocin to induce labor, to name him as legal guardian of 'their' baby if anything happened to her and Rex.
As Rex wondered aloud why the hell Stacy would name Schuyler Joplin as the guardian of 'their' baby, Oliver looked guilty (and adorable) in the background. If I didn't love Kyle so much, I'd be hoping for Rex and Fish to get lost together and be forced to find a way to stay warm! Maybe they could run into a freezing Brody, who is out there somewhere in need of warmth, too!
Meanwhile, back in Llanview, Roxy showed up at the hospital with balloons and big cigar, looking for her new grandchild, since Stacy had faked going in to labor just before Nurse Charles nabbed her.
Kyle broke the news about Mitch having Stacy and Roxy immediately blamed herself and told Kyle that if anything happened to that baby, to Rex, or to Fish, it was going to be Roxy's fault. She reminded Kyle that he'd asked her how she'd ever ended up having a child with someone like Mitch and now, because all her lies had lead to this, she had to tell him the truth.
Finally! I've been waiting ages to find out the rest of this particular story. I'll have to wait even longer, though, because Kyle picked that moment to delay the telling of Roxy's secret by spilling his own: Rex wasn't the father of Stacy's baby. Thanks a lot, Kyle! Seriously, when someone says they're about to tell you the truth about what happened between them and a psychotic cult leader, just zip it and listen!
Still, it says a lot about how much Kyle really cares for Roxy that he put his career on the line to tell her the truth.
Roxy was devastated and told Kyle that she loved that baby, that it was supposed to be her grandchild, and that she was going to do all the things with it that she missed out on doing with Rex's son Shane. Her emotions quickly swung around to anger at Stacy, though, and she declared "That bitch is dead!"
Speaking of which, Mitch finally had Stacy and 'The Chosen One' right where he wanted them, but Nurse Charles did a little exam and told The Messenger that it looked like Stacy still had three or four weeks before she delivered.
Stacy tearfully repeated what she'd been trying to tell them since they attempted to kidnap her the first time: the baby wasn't Mitch's grandchild. This time, Mitch listened to her whole story (as did a zombie like, post electro-shock Jessica, whom I suspect is only faking her docility) and believed it.
The truth sent him over the edge and he declared Stacy 'The Whore of Babylon' and quoted some scary sounding scripture about bathing his feet in the blood of the wicked. He started to choke her to death, but Zombie Jessica (her latest personality?) stopped him, calmly pointing out that an innocent child shouldn't be forced to pay for its mother's sins.
Mitch decided to turn Stacy out in the storm and leave it up to his vengeful God as to whether or not Stacy and the baby lived or died. The Messenger asked his God (who'd taken the form of a flickering florescent light, it seemed) about the true identity of The Chosen One, and apparently God told him that he had to make the baby then and there, with his own daughter. Gross! Just when I thought Mitch couldn't get any more creepy.
After stumbling around in the snow for awhile, calling Rex's name, Stacy went into labor. Not to fear, I'm sure she'll run into one of the nine other people who are lost in the blizzard. It looks like Fish will probably be a daddy by this time next week!
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Rest in Peace, Frances Reid
I just read the news that Frances Reid, the last original cast member of Days of Our Lives still on contract with the show, passed away yesterday at the age of 95 (though some reports list her birthdate a year earlier, making her 96). As someone who has literally watched the show since I was still in diapers, I honestly feel as if I just lost a family member.
I had two wonderful Grandmothers while I was growing up, but that didn't stop me from acquiring a surrogate Grandmother of sorts in the fictional character of Alice Horton, the matriarch of the Horton family on Days of Our Lives. Alice was always there with her homemade donuts, her advice, and her love for her family and friends.
What made Alice Horton more than just your run of the mill soap character was the wonderful Frances Reid, who brought more than just warmth and love to Alice, she also gave her an occasionally wicked twinkle in her eye and kept her grounded and somehow very real, even as the stories on the show became more and more fantastical and outlandish over the last few decades.
Her onscreen partnership with the late Macdonald Carey, who played Alice's husband Dr. Tom Horton until his own death in 1994, was something truly special. I missed the glory days of their pairing, of course, but have been able to see some clips of it thanks to the Internet. They truly made television magic together.
The show was built around the two of them in 1965, these two talented film and Broadway stars who provided a center of gravity and dignity to something that many looked down on then and still do today, the daytime soap. Can you imagine a show being built around two actors who are already in their 50's in today's youth obsessed entertainment industry? Maybe that's a big part of the reason soaps are in trouble.
Even though she remained a cast member until the end, her last actual appearance on the show was just over two years ago, on the Christmas episode in 2007. She hadn't been well enough to appear since then, though I'd read that scenes continued to be written for her, at least during 2008.
Frances was an incredibly talented actress who touched a lot of people with her portrayal of Alice. It was even more impressive when you heard the stories about how very different Frances herself was from Alice, as evidenced by her former co-star Deidre Hall in her tribute to Frances:
"Frances Reid, although the consummate actor's actor, was far from the donut baking, apron clad wife of Tom Horton most of America knew and loved. She was a saucy, wildly outspoken and politically incorrect woman. Frances was never shy about speaking her mind openly and passionately — even as we counted down to tape. She called it like she saw it, whether she was taking on the union, or critiquing your hairstyle — mincing her words was never an option. She earned the respect and admiration of her friends and peers with her candid approach to life, work, and philosophy. Whether you loved or feared her, you always respected her — and if you had the courage, she was a magnificent teacher, mentor, friend. I feel a strong sense of personal loss as Frances makes her way to Heaven, and know that we shall not look upon her like again."
For me, she'll always be Alice Horton, but I sure would have liked getting to see more of Frances herself! She sounds fascinating.
I'm certainly not the only one who thought of Alice as another Grandmother. It's truly hard to believe that we'll never be seeing Mrs. H on our screens again.
Jason47's Days Page has an incredible tribute to Frances, complete with several video clips. Check it out.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
(Belated) Nuke Day: I Give Up!
Yesterday's episode of As the World Turns was a Nuke day, one that picked up right where Friday's episode left off, with Noah having just told Luke that they couldn't be around each other.
Luke told Noah that Dr. Oliver couldn't dictate who was in his life, but Noah said that he wouldn't perform the surgery unless Noah stayed away from Luke. Again, WHAT? That's not what Dr. Oliver said. He told Noah to keep Luke out of his (Reid's) orbit. He never said anything about Noah being with Luke.
Either Noah is lying to Luke, or he heard what he wanted to hear when Reid was talking to him. Either way, Noah sucks.
Noah said he had to go through with this and Luke pointed out that they were supposed to be partners. Noah claimed that it would only be for a few months and Luke told him that he was picking Dr. Oliver over his boyfriend but that Noah wasn't the only person in their relationship. Didn't Luke himself have a choice in all of this?
Luke insisted that Dr. Oliver, whom they'd just met, didn't know what Noah needed. Mayer said that he'd get by, but Luke reminded Noah that it wasn't just about him, that Luke needed Noah, too.
Meanwhile, Reid was checking out his new digs at Katie's place. Katie's ex husband/best friend Henry was not happy with this new development (join the club, Henry), and Reid didn't make it much better by commenting "You didn't say anything about a threesome!" before Katie explained that Henry didn't live there.
When Henry started in on some over protective questions, Reid smirked and told Henry that if he frisked him, Reid would expect Henry to take him to dinner afterward. Hmmm. They're still keeping Dr. Oliver's sexuality up in the air, which could be good sign.
Back at the hospital, Luke filled Noah in on Damian's sudden goodbye and how permanent it had all sounded. Luke still didn't know why Damian was on the run. Noah had the good sense to apologize and say that he'd been so obsessed with himself that he'd been completely ignoring Luke. Noah said that Luke should have just told him to shut up and listen and the two had a nice moment where they were holding hands.
Reid walked up at that point and said "Mr. Mayer, I thought we had an agreement?" Which could either mean "Why is Luke at the hospital with you when you said you'd keep him out of my orbit" or that the writers have decided that in spite of what they wrote for Reid to say in the actual scene we saw onscreen, he really did mean that Noah had to shut Luke out of his life.
Noah, again to his credit, told Reid that he couldn't cut Luke out of his life and that if that meant that Dr. Oliver wouldn't perform the surgery-
Luke interrupted, saying that he was okay with it and that the most important thing was that Noah see again.
Luke told Reid that he knew the rules and would abide by them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hate Reid for keeping him out of Noah's life when he needed him the most.
Instead of saying that he'd never said Luke couldn't see Noah, Reid said that it was just sound medicine. I guess Noah isn't to blame for mis-interpreting (wilfully or otherwise) Reid's statement, then. It was just bad writing on the part of the show. What a surprise! I give up. I will no longer attempt to make sense of this show. Space aliens could land and proclaim Lucinda their leader and I won't bat an eye.
The wonderful Agnes Nixon (creator of One Life to Live and All My Children, and a true soap legend) recently said, in reference to the cancellation of Guiding Light, "Too many people think they’re writers and they’re not. There’s so many people who think it’s easy. The people I work with are so into character, into character building. I didn’t have time to watch Guiding Light. I knew some of the people there, who were very nice. I just thought it wasn’t necessary. If someone had a little more intelligence or understanding of the craft and the medium, it could have been saved." She noted that she felt the same in regards to As the World Turns, and truer words have never been spoken.
Anyway, before he left Luke warned Reid that if he didn't live up to his own hype, he'd have to answer to Luke.
After this confrontation, Luke went to see Lily and filled her in on his odd goodbye with Damian. Lily had Luke take her home, where she filled him in on what Damian had done. Luke couldn't believe how Damian made him believe he'd changed and Lily told her son that his father had always had demons that came out when his back was against the wall, but that she'd always be grateful to him for giving her Luke and that it was okay if Luke still loved him in spite of everything.
Holden, by the way, may or may not have killed Damian.
Back at the hospital, Henry showed up to see Reid and to apologize. Henry filled Reid in on Katie's recent history, losing her husband the day their son was born, and told Dr. Oliver that being alone wasn't good for Katie, who was a little lost right now.
Luke told Noah that Dr. Oliver couldn't dictate who was in his life, but Noah said that he wouldn't perform the surgery unless Noah stayed away from Luke. Again, WHAT? That's not what Dr. Oliver said. He told Noah to keep Luke out of his (Reid's) orbit. He never said anything about Noah being with Luke.
Either Noah is lying to Luke, or he heard what he wanted to hear when Reid was talking to him. Either way, Noah sucks.
Noah said he had to go through with this and Luke pointed out that they were supposed to be partners. Noah claimed that it would only be for a few months and Luke told him that he was picking Dr. Oliver over his boyfriend but that Noah wasn't the only person in their relationship. Didn't Luke himself have a choice in all of this?
Luke insisted that Dr. Oliver, whom they'd just met, didn't know what Noah needed. Mayer said that he'd get by, but Luke reminded Noah that it wasn't just about him, that Luke needed Noah, too.
Meanwhile, Reid was checking out his new digs at Katie's place. Katie's ex husband/best friend Henry was not happy with this new development (join the club, Henry), and Reid didn't make it much better by commenting "You didn't say anything about a threesome!" before Katie explained that Henry didn't live there.
When Henry started in on some over protective questions, Reid smirked and told Henry that if he frisked him, Reid would expect Henry to take him to dinner afterward. Hmmm. They're still keeping Dr. Oliver's sexuality up in the air, which could be good sign.
Back at the hospital, Luke filled Noah in on Damian's sudden goodbye and how permanent it had all sounded. Luke still didn't know why Damian was on the run. Noah had the good sense to apologize and say that he'd been so obsessed with himself that he'd been completely ignoring Luke. Noah said that Luke should have just told him to shut up and listen and the two had a nice moment where they were holding hands.
Reid walked up at that point and said "Mr. Mayer, I thought we had an agreement?" Which could either mean "Why is Luke at the hospital with you when you said you'd keep him out of my orbit" or that the writers have decided that in spite of what they wrote for Reid to say in the actual scene we saw onscreen, he really did mean that Noah had to shut Luke out of his life.
Noah, again to his credit, told Reid that he couldn't cut Luke out of his life and that if that meant that Dr. Oliver wouldn't perform the surgery-
Luke interrupted, saying that he was okay with it and that the most important thing was that Noah see again.
Luke told Reid that he knew the rules and would abide by them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hate Reid for keeping him out of Noah's life when he needed him the most.
Instead of saying that he'd never said Luke couldn't see Noah, Reid said that it was just sound medicine. I guess Noah isn't to blame for mis-interpreting (wilfully or otherwise) Reid's statement, then. It was just bad writing on the part of the show. What a surprise! I give up. I will no longer attempt to make sense of this show. Space aliens could land and proclaim Lucinda their leader and I won't bat an eye.
The wonderful Agnes Nixon (creator of One Life to Live and All My Children, and a true soap legend) recently said, in reference to the cancellation of Guiding Light, "Too many people think they’re writers and they’re not. There’s so many people who think it’s easy. The people I work with are so into character, into character building. I didn’t have time to watch Guiding Light. I knew some of the people there, who were very nice. I just thought it wasn’t necessary. If someone had a little more intelligence or understanding of the craft and the medium, it could have been saved." She noted that she felt the same in regards to As the World Turns, and truer words have never been spoken.
Anyway, before he left Luke warned Reid that if he didn't live up to his own hype, he'd have to answer to Luke.
After this confrontation, Luke went to see Lily and filled her in on his odd goodbye with Damian. Lily had Luke take her home, where she filled him in on what Damian had done. Luke couldn't believe how Damian made him believe he'd changed and Lily told her son that his father had always had demons that came out when his back was against the wall, but that she'd always be grateful to him for giving her Luke and that it was okay if Luke still loved him in spite of everything.
Holden, by the way, may or may not have killed Damian.
Back at the hospital, Henry showed up to see Reid and to apologize. Henry filled Reid in on Katie's recent history, losing her husband the day their son was born, and told Dr. Oliver that being alone wasn't good for Katie, who was a little lost right now.
Reid: What do you mean by lost?
Henry: Well, how would you feel if the man that you loved was shot and killed before he had the chance to see his kid?
Reid: I'm not quite sure how to answer that.
Again, they could be hinting at something here, but the writers apparently can't have characters say what they mean even when they're stating it explicitly, so they're probably incapable of hints.
At any rate, Henry tried to scare Reid away by telling him about the wild mood swings Katie had been having since Brad died, but Reid didn't buy it. Reid told Henry that he didn't blame him for trying to keep a beautiful woman like Katie to himself and that even world famous brain surgeons have needs, and with a hottie like Katie on the other side of the wall....
I think Reid was just messing with Henry's head, which is clearly something he likes to do, but I'm still not sure one way or another.
Later, Katie met Reid back at Java with a lease for him to sign and the flirting was definitely on in full force this time. Damn it! I think I'm giving up hope.
Luke ran into Noah on the bench in Old Town, where he was waiting for Maddie to come out of the bookstore. Noah asked how Lily was and how Luke was doing. Luke told Noah that he couldn't get into it, because if he did he'd break down, and then Noah would comfort him, and they'd be breaking Dr. Oliver's rules.
Noah said that he didn't care (he's really done a 180 since the start of the episode!) but Luke said that he did care, that he wanted Noah to see again more than anything. They exchanged an awkward goodbye and then Noah tried to stop Luke from going, saying that this was stupid (yes it is) but Luke just said he had to go and walked away.
Oh, how I wish I could walk away, too.
Henry: Well, how would you feel if the man that you loved was shot and killed before he had the chance to see his kid?
Reid: I'm not quite sure how to answer that.
Again, they could be hinting at something here, but the writers apparently can't have characters say what they mean even when they're stating it explicitly, so they're probably incapable of hints.
At any rate, Henry tried to scare Reid away by telling him about the wild mood swings Katie had been having since Brad died, but Reid didn't buy it. Reid told Henry that he didn't blame him for trying to keep a beautiful woman like Katie to himself and that even world famous brain surgeons have needs, and with a hottie like Katie on the other side of the wall....
I think Reid was just messing with Henry's head, which is clearly something he likes to do, but I'm still not sure one way or another.
Later, Katie met Reid back at Java with a lease for him to sign and the flirting was definitely on in full force this time. Damn it! I think I'm giving up hope.
Luke ran into Noah on the bench in Old Town, where he was waiting for Maddie to come out of the bookstore. Noah asked how Lily was and how Luke was doing. Luke told Noah that he couldn't get into it, because if he did he'd break down, and then Noah would comfort him, and they'd be breaking Dr. Oliver's rules.
Noah said that he didn't care (he's really done a 180 since the start of the episode!) but Luke said that he did care, that he wanted Noah to see again more than anything. They exchanged an awkward goodbye and then Noah tried to stop Luke from going, saying that this was stupid (yes it is) but Luke just said he had to go and walked away.
Oh, how I wish I could walk away, too.
(Belated) Nuke Day: Unholy Pairings and Fleeing Biodads
This is the first of two Nuke episodes of As the World Turns that I'm late in blogging about. It's last Friday's episode.
The show started with Luke showing up at the hospital to talk with Dr. Oliver, who immediately started in about all of the whiny hypochondriacs that populate Oakdale. Luke reminded him that there was one case in town that was 'worthy of his genius'. Reid sneered that he doesn't do charity cases but Luke offered to put in a good word with Bob Hughes if he'd take Noah's case, maybe get him out of Oakdale early and cover his legal fees.
Luke also pointed out that Noah's surgery wouldn't bore him (Reid: "You bore me") and would fill the time in which he was basically under house arrest.
Dr. Oliver told Luke that while Noah may be the only blind guy in a hundred mile radius, there were other patients he needed to see. Luke sarcastically replied that he was sure the guy with a wicked case of Athlete's foot would enjoy having a world class neurosurgeon helping him relieve that burning itch. Ha!
Reid let Luke know that he'd been doing his research online about Luke's family and that Luke himself was certainly living up to the reputation, what with all the bribery and blackmail. Luke said that he didn't want to do those things, he just wanted Reid to operate on Noah, that's all. In other words, Luke isn't bad, he's just (badly) written that way!
Reid, who has already earned my undying love several times over, was mock surprised, saying "That's it? Why didn't you say so? Here, call my office in Dallas, schedule yourself an appointment, I should have an opening this time next year if you're lucky. You can wait in line like everyone else. No? Okay."
He then told Luke that he couldn't be bought or pushed around, so Luke all out of luck.
Meanwhile, the latest episode of The Blind and the Rageful was starting. Oh, no, sorry. That's just Noah. He was sitting in Lily's living room, listening to the DVD of the ceremony in which Luke's version of his film was winning an award. After throwing the DVD across the room, Noah called his ex girlfriend Maddie and asked her to come over.
This was good news for me, since Noah is far more watchable when he's in scenes with someone besides Luke these days. Plus, I just flat out love Maddie. Any scene with Alexandra Chando is enjoyable and I love the way that Maddie just refuses to feel sorry for Noah or let him feel sorry for himself.
Noah asked Maddie to take him to the hospital so that he could talk to Dr. Oliver without Luke around. He filled his ex in on how Luke was responsible for the doctor refusing to take his case and Maddie said that if Luke did give Reid 'the hard sell', it was because he loved Noah. Noah said that this was one time where Luke loving him had chased away what he needed and now he had to help himself.
Before they could leave, Luke returned. When Noah told him where they were going, Luke said he'd just been there and that Reid was impossible. Noah said that he had to try for himself, since he was the patient. He did soften enough to thank Luke for getting Dr. Oliver to Oakdale in the first place.
Reid, meanwhile, was at Java, where he ran into Katie and her crying infant. Katie was asking baby Jacob (who is Luke's cousin, by the way) if he had a fever and Reid told her that unless the baby was the next Mozart, he wouldn't be answering her. When Katie asked "You're a doctor?" to this stranger in hospital scrubs, Reid said "Clearly you're not the next Mozart either."
Katie asked Reid to look at her sick child, saying that he was bound by an oath to do so, and he pointed out that they were in a coffee shop, not the hospital. After Katie made some snide comments of her own and told her baby that she'd find him a real doctor, Reid relented and checked out the baby, saying it looked like an ear infection.
As much as I loved seeing Reid be snarky to Katie, I'm seriously worried. Are they going to make Reid straight?! Why else do they have him in a scene with Katie, who has had just about every other straight man in town that she isn't related to and who lost her most recent husband just a short time ago?
This isn't the type of well written soap where characters just run into each other and talk. If you have a scene with someone and it's not a Holiday episode, they're in your storyline bubble for the foreseeable future.
Their whole vibe, after Reid examined the baby, was a bit flirty. After Reid talked about how much he hated staying in hotels (a.k.a Germ Farms), Katie offered him a chance to be her new roommate, which he accepted. Damn it!
While all this was going on, Luke got a desperate call from Damian, who had just strangled Luke's crazy Aunt Meg nearly to death, held Luke's dad Holden at gunpoint, and accidentally hurt his mom, Lily. He told Luke that he had to see him at the office right away.
When Luke got there, Damian told Luke that he was leaving the country on a freighter and that he couldn't do so without saying goodbye to Luke. He then asked Luke to take over Grimaldi International, saying that it was always his plan for Luke to take over one day. You know, because it makes sense to turn over a huge international company to a young college drop out who has worked for the company for less than a year and who is hardly ever in the office.
Luke at least had the intelligence to point out how insane this was and then asked Damian just what he'd done, since he was running away without his wife and his son.
Damian told him that he loved him and that he had to know that everything he'd done was out of love for Luke and for Lily, and to remember that when he heard what people said about him.
Luke said that it sounded like they were never going to see each other again, but Damian said that they would one day, when the time was right.
Van Hansis totally broke my heart in this scene when he tearfully called out "Dad! Be careful." Luke never calls Damian 'Dad' so it was a big moment, one where Damian turned around and came back long enough to hug Luke.
Of course, I really haven't liked the way they've written Luke since he went to work for Damian, so I'm kind of glad to see Grimaldi go. Still, it made for a really great moment and Van knocked it out of the park.
At the hospital, Noah told Maddie that it was as if Luke had two sides: the grounded guy with solid parents, and the Grimaldi side that cut corners and took risks. Maddie spotted Dr. Oliver and made herself scarce.
Reid tried to blow Noah off, but Noah told him that Luke didn't speak for him. Reid realized that Noah didn't like the way Luke had blackmailed him (except, of course, that Noah hadn't really minded when he thought it was going to work in his favor!) and asked if that was the problem between him and Luke.
Noah told Reid about how the accident might not have happened if Luke had just listened to him and said that Luke was acting the way he was out of guilt. Reid seemed surprisingly understanding about that. Noah asked what Dr. Oliver wanted more: to get back at Luke, or to add Noah to his list of success stories? Reid said he hadn't decided yet.
Shortly thereafter, Reid was examining Noah and told him that he'd decided to go forward with the surgery as long as Noah responded well to the therapy and on the condition that Noah kept Luke out of Reid's orbit. Noah agreed and shook on it.
Luke, who'd called Holden to tell him what had just happened with Damian, showed up at the hospital to see his mother. He spotted Noah, who was by himself waiting for Maddie, and was overjoyed when Noah told him that Reid had agreed to take his case.
Luke wanted to drive Noah home, but Noah said that he'd wait for Maddie and that since Dr. Oliver didn't want Luke around him at all, it meant that Luke and Noah had to stay away from each other, starting now.
Um, what? Noah can't keep Luke out of Reid's orbit without cutting Luke out of his own life? What, is Noah moving in with Reid and Katie? Way to jump at any excuse to ditch your boyfriend, Mayer. My dislike of Noah (or, of the way Noah is currently being written) continues to grow every time he's in an episode!
I'm fine with Luke and Noah taking a break, as long as it means the chemistry between Luke and Reid is explored (and Noah could certainly date someone else, too), but if they're pairing Dr. Oliver with Katie and just leaving Luke and Noah broken up and single, I'm going to be very upset with myself for believing, yet again, that this story was about to become enjoyable.
The show started with Luke showing up at the hospital to talk with Dr. Oliver, who immediately started in about all of the whiny hypochondriacs that populate Oakdale. Luke reminded him that there was one case in town that was 'worthy of his genius'. Reid sneered that he doesn't do charity cases but Luke offered to put in a good word with Bob Hughes if he'd take Noah's case, maybe get him out of Oakdale early and cover his legal fees.
Luke also pointed out that Noah's surgery wouldn't bore him (Reid: "You bore me") and would fill the time in which he was basically under house arrest.
Dr. Oliver told Luke that while Noah may be the only blind guy in a hundred mile radius, there were other patients he needed to see. Luke sarcastically replied that he was sure the guy with a wicked case of Athlete's foot would enjoy having a world class neurosurgeon helping him relieve that burning itch. Ha!
Reid let Luke know that he'd been doing his research online about Luke's family and that Luke himself was certainly living up to the reputation, what with all the bribery and blackmail. Luke said that he didn't want to do those things, he just wanted Reid to operate on Noah, that's all. In other words, Luke isn't bad, he's just (badly) written that way!
Reid, who has already earned my undying love several times over, was mock surprised, saying "That's it? Why didn't you say so? Here, call my office in Dallas, schedule yourself an appointment, I should have an opening this time next year if you're lucky. You can wait in line like everyone else. No? Okay."
He then told Luke that he couldn't be bought or pushed around, so Luke all out of luck.
Meanwhile, the latest episode of The Blind and the Rageful was starting. Oh, no, sorry. That's just Noah. He was sitting in Lily's living room, listening to the DVD of the ceremony in which Luke's version of his film was winning an award. After throwing the DVD across the room, Noah called his ex girlfriend Maddie and asked her to come over.
This was good news for me, since Noah is far more watchable when he's in scenes with someone besides Luke these days. Plus, I just flat out love Maddie. Any scene with Alexandra Chando is enjoyable and I love the way that Maddie just refuses to feel sorry for Noah or let him feel sorry for himself.
Noah asked Maddie to take him to the hospital so that he could talk to Dr. Oliver without Luke around. He filled his ex in on how Luke was responsible for the doctor refusing to take his case and Maddie said that if Luke did give Reid 'the hard sell', it was because he loved Noah. Noah said that this was one time where Luke loving him had chased away what he needed and now he had to help himself.
Before they could leave, Luke returned. When Noah told him where they were going, Luke said he'd just been there and that Reid was impossible. Noah said that he had to try for himself, since he was the patient. He did soften enough to thank Luke for getting Dr. Oliver to Oakdale in the first place.
Reid, meanwhile, was at Java, where he ran into Katie and her crying infant. Katie was asking baby Jacob (who is Luke's cousin, by the way) if he had a fever and Reid told her that unless the baby was the next Mozart, he wouldn't be answering her. When Katie asked "You're a doctor?" to this stranger in hospital scrubs, Reid said "Clearly you're not the next Mozart either."
Katie asked Reid to look at her sick child, saying that he was bound by an oath to do so, and he pointed out that they were in a coffee shop, not the hospital. After Katie made some snide comments of her own and told her baby that she'd find him a real doctor, Reid relented and checked out the baby, saying it looked like an ear infection.
As much as I loved seeing Reid be snarky to Katie, I'm seriously worried. Are they going to make Reid straight?! Why else do they have him in a scene with Katie, who has had just about every other straight man in town that she isn't related to and who lost her most recent husband just a short time ago?
This isn't the type of well written soap where characters just run into each other and talk. If you have a scene with someone and it's not a Holiday episode, they're in your storyline bubble for the foreseeable future.
Their whole vibe, after Reid examined the baby, was a bit flirty. After Reid talked about how much he hated staying in hotels (a.k.a Germ Farms), Katie offered him a chance to be her new roommate, which he accepted. Damn it!
While all this was going on, Luke got a desperate call from Damian, who had just strangled Luke's crazy Aunt Meg nearly to death, held Luke's dad Holden at gunpoint, and accidentally hurt his mom, Lily. He told Luke that he had to see him at the office right away.
When Luke got there, Damian told Luke that he was leaving the country on a freighter and that he couldn't do so without saying goodbye to Luke. He then asked Luke to take over Grimaldi International, saying that it was always his plan for Luke to take over one day. You know, because it makes sense to turn over a huge international company to a young college drop out who has worked for the company for less than a year and who is hardly ever in the office.
Luke at least had the intelligence to point out how insane this was and then asked Damian just what he'd done, since he was running away without his wife and his son.
Damian told him that he loved him and that he had to know that everything he'd done was out of love for Luke and for Lily, and to remember that when he heard what people said about him.
Luke said that it sounded like they were never going to see each other again, but Damian said that they would one day, when the time was right.
Van Hansis totally broke my heart in this scene when he tearfully called out "Dad! Be careful." Luke never calls Damian 'Dad' so it was a big moment, one where Damian turned around and came back long enough to hug Luke.
Of course, I really haven't liked the way they've written Luke since he went to work for Damian, so I'm kind of glad to see Grimaldi go. Still, it made for a really great moment and Van knocked it out of the park.
At the hospital, Noah told Maddie that it was as if Luke had two sides: the grounded guy with solid parents, and the Grimaldi side that cut corners and took risks. Maddie spotted Dr. Oliver and made herself scarce.
Reid tried to blow Noah off, but Noah told him that Luke didn't speak for him. Reid realized that Noah didn't like the way Luke had blackmailed him (except, of course, that Noah hadn't really minded when he thought it was going to work in his favor!) and asked if that was the problem between him and Luke.
Noah told Reid about how the accident might not have happened if Luke had just listened to him and said that Luke was acting the way he was out of guilt. Reid seemed surprisingly understanding about that. Noah asked what Dr. Oliver wanted more: to get back at Luke, or to add Noah to his list of success stories? Reid said he hadn't decided yet.
Shortly thereafter, Reid was examining Noah and told him that he'd decided to go forward with the surgery as long as Noah responded well to the therapy and on the condition that Noah kept Luke out of Reid's orbit. Noah agreed and shook on it.
Luke, who'd called Holden to tell him what had just happened with Damian, showed up at the hospital to see his mother. He spotted Noah, who was by himself waiting for Maddie, and was overjoyed when Noah told him that Reid had agreed to take his case.
Luke wanted to drive Noah home, but Noah said that he'd wait for Maddie and that since Dr. Oliver didn't want Luke around him at all, it meant that Luke and Noah had to stay away from each other, starting now.
Um, what? Noah can't keep Luke out of Reid's orbit without cutting Luke out of his own life? What, is Noah moving in with Reid and Katie? Way to jump at any excuse to ditch your boyfriend, Mayer. My dislike of Noah (or, of the way Noah is currently being written) continues to grow every time he's in an episode!
I'm fine with Luke and Noah taking a break, as long as it means the chemistry between Luke and Reid is explored (and Noah could certainly date someone else, too), but if they're pairing Dr. Oliver with Katie and just leaving Luke and Noah broken up and single, I'm going to be very upset with myself for believing, yet again, that this story was about to become enjoyable.
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