Summer Soap Blues

AMC
Not much to say on this front; the summer storylines have fizzled out and lost all their interest with me. Knowing that Chrishell Stause is leaving at the end of the year, I wonder how she is going to leave town and wrap up this story, but I'm not too invested in it. The lies are getting tiresome, as is David's endless snooping. I feel that he is entitled to know and wonder about the whereabouts of his child, but I understand why the Martin Wrecking Crew..and Taylor are going to such extreme measures to keep Trevor from him. On the other hand however, David is a very smart man. I know he can tell when something is up, and if it has to do with his child, he's going to see it through. Like David or don't, he's had alot of pain in his life, most of it being attributed to losing his children. In one year alone he's lost Babe, the baby Krystal was carrying and Trevor....or so he thinks. Despite the fact I know David is rotten to his bones and I know he wouldn't do anything but corrupt the child, I can't help but feel a little bad that he is being kept from his child now. I think in spite of herself, Amanda feels bad too. Speaking of Martins, I think it's good that Krystal, for once, is not the light in Tad's eye. I like watching her be jealous and squirm while he's off with Taylor. One thing about Krystal is that no matter how fleeting it may be, she comes by love rather easily. I don't know what it is about her, but men seem to be captivated by her--Adam, Tad, David--watched them all drop to their knees with love for the woman. And what did she do to all three of them? Betray them in some form. In that respect, what's to love, really? So for her to be the outsider for once is refreshing. I think she expected Tad to keep groveling to her and when he finally got the hint and found it elsewhere, her ego and her own buried feelings were hurt by it. I say get over it, Ms. Carey. It's high time you were alone for longer than 3 weeks.

I love Kendall, I do. But one thing I have always despised about her is that if she is guilty of something, it's in every other sentence coming out of her mouth. "I killed Greenlee!" "I killed Stuart!" "I slept with Aidan!" Ugh....we know, Kendall. Let it go. It's annoying hearing her wail that every 10 seconds. I'm so tired of Zach trying to play God. Within the past year he has increased his God complex tenfold. It used to be romantic how he would do whatever he needed to do in order to protect the woman he loves. But he's running in circles now, and what I once viewed as romantic is now just irritating and monotonous. He was slightly redeemed though, when he uttered my favorite two words this week when he was talking to Adam: "Mah wife." Loved it!!! Btw many many congrats to Alicia Minshew and her husband Richie and their upcoming bundle of joy. I wonder how they're gonna account for Alicia's weight gain since a pregnancy is not in the cards for Mrs. Slater at the moment. Any tongue-in-cheek fat jokes in prison? Probably not. If they don't go the typical soap route of putting her in all black, putting her in prison and forgetting about her (p.s. NOT GONNA HAPPEN, she's Alicia frickin Minshew), putting her in yet another coma (what would be the reason for the near-death situation this time? And 6 months of coma? Ehh....could get tiring, even with Kendall's dry and often funny voice-overs when someone enters the room) or hiding her behind totally irrelevant props (all of a sudden she'll be carrying huge plants and bigger briefcases to work), I'll be mad. If she bounces in the room, belly in the open and there's no remarks made at all, I'm boycotting. lol All jokes aside though, many congrats to the couple.

I'm more than a little tired of the Crazy Annie Carousel as well. I'm a huge Melissa Claire Egan fan and originally an even bigger Ann fan, so I was glad that the writers gave her a deeper story to sink her teeth into, as it showed that the actress has amazing range, but now the storyline is annoying. This Annie is so far removed from the Annie that came to town and it's kind of funny to compare the two because you would have never thought that underneath her calm, Earth Mother front this insane, deluded would-be killer was sleeping. On one hand its believable because I've heard it said that the worst kind of crazy is the kind wrapped up in the inconspicuous package, but on the other hand, she was so disgusted by her ex-husband Terry (whose portrayer just started a new gig on OLTL btw, he's the lawyer that's apparently got some dirt on Teabag)I don't see why she wouldn't have taken the tire iron to his head first. It's a little unbelievable that she is in this position now when she was never willing to put Emma in harm's way or use her as a ploy for someone, something she specifically stated to Kendall before. I believe she is using Adam but I can't help but suspect that Adam knows it and in his own way, is using her too. Adam's a smart man. I know he thinks something is up, although I think he is genuine in his belief that Annie is not responsible for Stuart's murder or the attempt on his own life last week. Aidan's also hard to read; it's unclear what his motives are. Is he going to get the juice on Annie by pretending to help her again and then feeding it all to Zach so they can drive her crazy and put her back in the mental ward, or is he going to allow Zach to think he's helping him so that he can take the info back to Annie and legitimately help her get better and get Emma back?

OLTL
Even in Stacy's dreams her desperation to hold on to Rex is evident. Her deluded fantasy about Rex loving only her and their baby wasn't about love, it was simply having Rex for herself. Her crazy thinking that simply because she was pregnant that Rex would forget about Gigi and Shane shows that she is already off the deep end and in her own little world. Problem is, she's by herself. She miscarried the child yesterday and while I felt a little guilty about any mother, crazy or not, losing her child, it was not created out of love. It was created out of spite and a need to hold on to something that never truly belonged to her. This child used to be her only gateway to Rex; she only wants the baby because she seems to think that Rex is going to love her because of the baby. Gigi wanted her to have an abortion and coincidentally,she miscarried later that day. Is she going to blame the miscarriage on Gigi? Yes, if she doesn't lie and pretend she's still pregnant for as long as it'll hold. However, nobody else is pregnant at the moment so she can't pull a Bess and switch the babies. And good thing too---there's been enough baby switches and drawn out baby stories on this soap to last me a lifetime. I was disappointed in Gigi for offering Stacy money to abort the baby simply so she could have Rex. No matter how the baby was conceived, that is still a human life and she offered her sister money to end it. It was way below what I figured to be Gigi's level of humanity and as a mother, it should have never crossed her mind to ask another mother, mental state irrelevant, to get rid of her child. Besides that, no man is worth ending an innocent baby's life, not even one Rex Balsom. Admit it or don't, Gigi is about as desperate as Stacy. Stacy wants to have Rex, Gigi wants to hang on to him. And her lack of trust in Rex is only adding onto the damage, because she is afraid history will repeat itself. I know the abortion deal was made out of desperation, but it shows me that Stacy is not the only one willing to do something rotten to keep the guy. Gigi is rightfully worried, but I wonder how she's going to handle being blamed for Stacy's miscarriage knowing she offered to foot the bill for the abortion. It's good that she came clean to Rex about what she did though; now she has less things to hide. Unfortunately for Stacy, she's spinning another web by not telling Rex she miscarried. I'm gonna love watching her squirm for the next few months trying to hide the fact that she is indeed without child and since Rex won't be climbing back into bed with her anytime soon, she can't even get pregnant again and just throw off the conception date. She could, however, dupe Schuyler into sleeping with her again and pass that baby off as Rex's. Speaking of poor Schuyler, he's stuck between the two Morasco sisters--one his past and one he hopes to be his future. He's about to get his poor heart broken all over again and has no idea. Although, he took a chance and kissed the fairer Morasco today. I wonder how Gigi avoids being vain--just in the past year, 3 men, count them--1)Rex, who gave up on his marriage before it even began to be with her; 2)the luscious Lt.Lovett, whose memories of Gigi helped keep him alive in Iraq; and 3)sweet Sky, whose Sherlock Holmes'ing with Gigi led into feelings on his part--have fallen for Ms. Gigi Morasco. If I had three hotties in my grill like that, I don't know how I'd avoid getting a big head about it. Why do I get the feeling the once sleeping Shane is going to come downstairs and misread the situation tomorrow? I'd suggest Schuyler get arrested so that he can run into Layla, who's striking out left and right.

Cris has figured out that Fish is gay. Too bad Layla won't believe him. Fish is in deep denial of his identity as a gay man, which is a very common issue facing gays even in this society of diversity and various ways of life due to feelings of shame or 'that isn't right', but seems more intent on proving his heterosexuality to himself rather than others. His facade with others is fine, but he is keeping it up for himself as well and is trying to convince himself that he is as straight as an arrow, even though I think he knows somewhere inside himself that it isn't true. For Fish, I think he sees it as 'as long as I deny it, it's not there.' I know many people are upset by the fact that soaps are jumping into homosexual storylines, but personally, I like it. It makes the stories more realistic, more gritty and raw, and reaches out to so many people going through the same thing. It was the same thing when minorities started getting larger parts on shows and their history/culture was brought into play. The same thing happened again when soaps took the leap and dared to delve into interracial relationships. Like it or not folks, homosexuality isn't going anywhere. Why shouldn't soaps show that? Many of them don't do the story justice, like the Zarf/Zoe debacle from a couple of years ago, so now that OLTL has the ball on ABC soaps, I hope they don't drop it. AMC could have hit the soap world jackpot by featuring a transgender character on their show in a frontburner storyline (keep in mind, the portrayer was a straight man, I believe). They could have played it realistically and allowed us to see Zarf in moment of pain besides when Zoe was trying to land Bianca or when her family was mentioned. I wanted to see the reality of what a person goes through during that kind of journey. But AMC dropped the ball. Most soap characters that are gay are already comfortable with their identity before they come to town, excluding AMC's Bianca....but the story with Fish and Kyle is much different and I want OLTL to have the courage, despite the drop in fans, to go into that.

I am so glad that the writers allowed Viki and Charlie to be happy; I'm slightly annoyed the wedding went down in the first place on Nora and Clint's side, but I'm glad it didn't affect the festivities for Charlie and Viki and they are now blissfully married. I just hope that this does not allow them to fade into obscurity. As older adults, its obvious that they are not going to become frontburners for fake pregnancies, and with the lack of adults their age adultery and betrayal are not going to be part of the storyline either, but I hope the writers allow them to stay in the forefront of the show. This is a very mature love story and not only is it refreshing, it's hope-restoring for cynical broads such as myself. We won't be seeing any steamy Brody/Jessica like love scenes between the two, but a little love in the afternoon won't hurt. There's too many contrived pregnancies, undercover drug deals, perpetrating, mob wars and murder trials--it's nice to see at least one happy couple who knows how to block out the outside world and focus on their love for each other. I think it was a little irrelevant for Charlie to be listening outside the door at Asa's lodge while Viki and Clint were talking, but I understand why the writers did it now. Charlie is the new man in Viki's life and wants to become a mainstay. He can't do that if Clint is in the way, and when he felt that Clint was, he rightfully felt threatened about it. Clint and Viki make up the minority of ex-couples who manage to stay on such good terms that they can have a double wedding but marry other people with no jealousy or old feelings coming to reclaim themselves. But Charlie listening outside only shows his fears of Viki reconnecting with Clint due to the nature of their relationship, not his lack of trust in Viki. Some partners often feel that fear with new partners who are close to former mates and I like that Charlie didn't just roll into Llanfair, put his feet up and assume he owned the place just because he was with Viki. I also like that Viki's trip to Paris, TX has not been forgotten. Of all the vacations Viki has taken because of Erika Slezak's annual vacation, Paris, TX has been the best one yet. Even though Viki/Charlie didn't technically start interacting until Erika's vacation was over, it really did look like she'd spent time there and I have to remind myself that she didn't. Their interactions are that natural and that's what we look for. Relationships that are created out off-screen and brought to the table as an established camaderie between two actors who haven't technically shared any screen time can be kind of difficult, but the actors who portray the two make it look natural and loving in Viki and Charlie's relationship with each other that you can't even tell.

I don't like where the Starr and Cole story is going at the minute, although I'm relieved he's not in prison, but I don't care about the rest so moving on to randoms.

Random Thoughts of the Day: 8/6/09
1)How is AMC's move to LA going to affect Susan Haskell(OLTL's Marty) and Thorsten Kaye (AMC's Zach) with them both being based in NY? Zach is often a frontburner character, so he can't afford to be on 2 days a week. What's gonna happen? 2)Why do I find GH's Robin's detective skills so elementary school? Tossing the keys to Andrea to test her reflexes was a little 2nd grade, especially when that same tactic was used on her later in the episode. 3)What's GH's Jerry going to do now that he has had to defend Michael and Kristina against the thugs? I believe he is sorry for his role in Michael's shooting, but he still has an axe to grind against Claudia. Is he going to use this same nephew who he helped get shot (under Claudia's command) to get something out of Claudia now that he has found Michael (again under Claud's orders)? 4)How cute does Laura Wright (GH's Carly) look with a belly bump? 5)How cute is Alicia Minshew going to look with one for real? 6)I love the SOAPnet promos, both for the Sara Evans concert and for the summertime with the various soap stars. The letters from co-stars is cute. 7)I think Farah Fath had a cold during this week's show; she sounded pretty congested....what? I said they were random ramblings. Hope she feels better soon! 8)I wonder if the guy who plays OLTL's Kyle is gay. 9)Did you know the guy who plays OLTL's Fish is that hottie Chris Evans' brother? I wouldn't have normally put the two together, but now that I know about it, I can see the resemblance. 10)As I've said before, I think GH's Michael and Kristina would make a cute couple. Too bad they're related. That would be kinda gross. Drew Garrett hinted at the possibility of romance down the road since technically Michael is not Sonny's so technically they're not related, but I still couldn't warm to the concept. 11)I want Jason back with Liz. I don't like Liz with the Brooding Prince, and even though Sam and Jason are more than capable of steaming up my tv screen, ehh. Wonder what's going to happen with them since Steve Burton re-signed with the show. 12)Still loving my Diane and Max. 13)Spinelli, Maxie clearly doesn't want to marry you. She's merely been placating you....for weeks now. How you can't see this is beyond my comprehension. Three words, dear. Let. It. Go. 14)I know this is a lot of randoms, but gimme a break--I haven't been here in awhile. 15)I want Forbes March back as OLTL's Nash. Yes, I love me some Brody and Jessica, but it doesn't beat Nash and Jess for me. I miss it and even though I know Forbes is on ATWT (in a gay role coincidentally with the timing of the gay storyline on his old stomping grounds)so he probably will not be coming back, but I have to say, I'm excited to see who belongs to the tan blazer and black loafers I keep seeing from afar.
16)Kudos to AMC's Natalia for trying to follow the straight and narrow and calling Jesse out on the fact she knows he's got his foot outside the law. I think's he about up to his waist now. I didn't like her at first, but she's growing on me. 17) I like this blossoming friendship between Maxie and Lulu. Although I love my feuds, it's nice to see females together that actually tolerate each other. These two have matured immensely in the last few months and it's nice to see them actually protecting each other instead of trying to manipulate each other. 18)Speaking of Maxie, her lover's selfish ramblings when there are more important issues is endlessly annoying. Spinelli...shut up for like 7 seconds! Please!

More tomorrow!