Misogyny Runs A Muck

Misogyny runs a muck.  Yep it’s true.

I tape AMC and OLTL everyday.  I watch it later when I get home.  So when I realized I forgot to set it up for the day I found myself in a curious situation of …ah, who cares.  What could have possibly happened yesterday that I missed?  Jesse breaking the law?  David being a sleazy manipulator, any of the women on the show needing to be saved or lacking any common sense (hello Amanda), or everyone attacking Adam or Annie for something or another, is this what I missed?

Can I address something that is bugging the crap out of me?  Aidan went from good guy to evil bastard in a blink of an eye.  Sort of like how he loved Annie and went to great lengths to save her to pelt her with stones.  He’s become an abuser of women…Kendall in specific.  David basically used Amanda’s fear and sadness to rape her and Annie is written like she’s the 21st century’s Mata Hari. What’s next Ruth running a prostitution ring out of the Martin house?

On to…Ryan and Erica and Ryan wanting to have a talk about their relationship.  With all the shake ups in place right now with the move to LA am I to believe that Ryan will be torn between his relationships with Greenlee and Erica?  Okay I just threw up in my mouth a little.  Yes the thought of a) anyone fighting over Ryan is sickening and b) Ryan and Erica having sex would be enough to make anyone sick.

The move to LA will bring changes to the canvas.  Sure Susan Lucci and David Canary are going to stay on with the show but it that just so long time viewers like me would not just give up on the show entirely?  How long are they planning on making that long trip each week?  My guess it’s a tease to keep us in the fold so to speak.

Seriously, if the writing is pushing viewers away then why would we care who’s going to LA?  If the writing is going to be as crappy as it is now then I have no reason to watch.  It’s call reasoning TPTB!  You’re focus groups are giving you very bad information.  Or if they are telling you the writing stinks why do you pay loads of cash to have focus groups?  Yeah it’s a real mind tease.

On the other hand…One Life is Rocking!  Mitch Lawrence is back and he’s Sexy Rexy’s dear old dad.  Can you imagine having Roxy as your Mom and Mitch as your Dad…there’s a Thanksgiving family dinner I’d like to see.  That also makes Rex and Jessica brother and sister.  See how that works Jessica is Natalie’s twin, Jessica is Rex’s 1/2 sister and Natalie and Rex were raised together by Roxy as siblings.  Now that’s how to write a soap!  Jared is dead and it opens the door to did Charlie really kill someone in a drunk black out?  Dorian is married to a woman and she’s stuck because she lost the mayoral race by one vote…Markko’s.  Todd’s got another child…Danielle and she’s coming to Llanview to kick ass and take names.  I can’t forget the hottest triangle going….Bo/Nora/Clint.  It’s hot and sexy and rife with potential and they are all 40 or over. This is how you write a soap!

It’s a big shame that OLTL’s lead in for the day is AMC.  AMC’s numbers will affect a portion of OLTL and even GH’s numbers for the day.

Here Endth My Rant!

Kendull and Her Merry Band of Twits

There is a reason the fans call her Kendull.  This character is written to have no brain or common sense at all.  I’m sitting here yelling at the TV and decided to put fingers to keys and put it down here.  So if I get off track or just seem completely not making any sense you know it’s because I’m watching the show.

“I’ve been convicted of a crime I didn’t commit”, says Kendall to Aidan.  Well sweetie you were really close on this one.  First, you weren’t convicted of anything.  You marched your butt right down to the Police and confessed.  There was no trial so you weren’t convicted of ANYTHING!  Hey your brooding hubby even tried to keep you locked up and you were running around town.  Second, if you weren’t a complete idiot then this mess wouldn’t have dragged everyone into on stupid contrived s/l.

So if Adam has a heart attack and dies (Not sure if David Canary is making the trek west yet) shouldn’t Erica and Ryan be held on murder charges.  They’ve drugged him, guilted him into a heart attack and now Erica is back at it.  YOU DRUGGED HIM!!!  And Ryan and Annie sparring yet again…it’s getting really old.   If Ryan says one more time he’s doing it for Emma I’m going to puke.  Really neither Ryan or Annie are good parents but at least spent time with the child.  In fact I think she spent more time with Emma and she doesn’t even have visitation rights.

Nice of Ryan to tell Adam that he would seek vengence for his father’s murder.  Wow…so Ryan leaned nothing from his murdering brother Hockett or his rapist brother Braidon or his abusive father Patrick?  So by family history Emma should start beating her brother Spike any second now!

Okay I’m turning the channel now because I a headache.

Here Endth My Rant!

All My Children Made Me Crazy

When will the stupid writing stop?  I mean seriously I’m a glutton for punishment!  I am the definition of insanity.  In the same situation but expecting different results.

I’m watching the 11/11/09 show and I’m actually talking to the tv…which is another sign of insanity.  Great All My Children made me crazy!  Gee, thanks Chuck Pratt.

Why the hell is Madison North back in the storyline?  Just when we all thought that stupid insipid crap of a storyline was over and Jesse had broken as many laws as he could they write her as “ALIVE” and Jesse is now written to break the rest of the laws.  Pine Valley isn’t a population of 10 million and there is only one police station.  Jesse is going to book her under an alias?   Really since when does the Chief-of-Police bring in collars???  I would also think that everyone that Jesse works with would be familiar with Madison North (Rich Socialite) dying.

I’m getting sick of Zach demanding that everyone save Kendall.  Kendall is an idiot and is in trouble of her own making!  Yet Zach, Erica and Ryan are still running around trying to forcibly get everyone to help her.  You know what would have made more sense…getting her case reopened and finding actual evidence other than someone else admitting they killed Stuart which is nothing more than hearsay without evidence.  Adam could confess all day long he killed Stuart but at the end of the day who are the witnesses…Crazy Annie and her easily manipulated daughter?  None of the actual concrete evidence implicates Adam.  Also Adam confessing wouldn’t hold up in court either because he was being drugged with a chemicals no one even knows what was in them…twice!  Not to mention said drugs caused a heart attack that had him without oxygen for 3 minutes.  Adam’s admission of guilt at this point wouldn’t be taken seriously by actual investigators.  Luckily crooked cop Jesse would take that at face value and probably add some manufactured evidence so this story will work out.

YOU WISH CHUCK PRATT you hack!!!

I do not recognize any of the these characters anymore.  WTF have you don’t to our beloved show????  I will watch the show until shortly after they big move and if it still is this insane crap I will not be watching in the future.

Thank God for One Life to Live!  Mitch Laurence is back and the story is intriguing and interesting.  Not to mention they have a teen storyline with actual teens   Romance on for everyone to enjoy…Viki/Charlie, Cole/Starr, Jared/Natalie, Fish/Kyle, Brody/Jessica and Bo/Nora.  Plus all the budding romances Rachel/Greg and so on.  Rex just found out his father is a sociopath and Todd’s got another offspring he doesn’t know about!  WATCH OLTL you won’t be scratching your head.  It’s what the soaps used to be like with Social Storylines, Action storylines and stories that include the families and meld the different characters from all over the town.

Right now the shows to watch are OLTL and Y&R.  If AMC was written the same way as both of these viewership would be up because we all just want a reason to watch the show we have connected with.

Here Endth My Rant!

Congratulations Alicia Minshew

Okay most of you know this news now anyway but here it is…

Alicia Minshew and her husband welcomed a baby girl in the world:
Willow Lenora Herschenfeld was born Wednesday, November 4th at 6:42 a.m., weighing in at 5 lbs., 2 oz.

Congratulations Alicia!!!

I ♥ Dr. Joe

I saw a glimmer of something I liked on 11/6’s show.

The scene between Scott and Zach.  Where Scott stands up to Zach and blames everyone in the room for his father’s death. It totally was awesome and then it was gone.  Scott was right.  Adam was being drugged by David when he shot Stuart.  Then Zach, Ryan and Erica thought it was good to drug Adam again to get to the truth to get Kendall out of the trouble she created for herself.  Adam had a heart attack…no responsibility on them.  Anyway…before I get off the special moment Scott vs. Zach was very nice.

Now the not so nice.

Angie is just so over worked.  So Chuck is telling us all that a woman isn’t capable of being Chief-of-staff?  Even though Angie talked about how David was trying to trip her up and making waves with the unions, they have written her haggard over the job and it’s responsibilities.  Sure Chuck explained she was upset about how she got the job and the David manipulation of things but please Dr. Joe did this job for like 39 years and sometimes he was in the Caribbean for a month so this storyline is annoying and degrading to Women everywhere.  Is Chuck trying to destroy the character of Angie?  She’s much stronger a character than that.

Speaking of Angie why can’t they stop making her over emotional and angry all the time.  I think it’s the hair.  When Angie first came back to town she was a life saver, a friend, and just awesome but since she married Jesse she’s been crying or angry.  Where is the Romance?  Oh right Chuck doesn’t do romance.  He does sex scenes but he doesn’t do romance.

And Speaking of Dr. Joe…is it too much to ask that they bring him back for a lot of scenes because after December we will probably never seen him again.  How about Ruth…is it too much to ask for some family time with the Martin’s since the show is totally unrecognizable?   Not to mention that you would bring some of the long time viewers back to the fold before the show moves to its new Pine Valley.  Make Thanksgiving (I know it’s already shot and in the can) full of family, fun, friends, light heartiness and romantic fun.  Give us a taste of years ago and the funny Montgomery smack downs at the Valley Inn (remember Jack’s been band from the Valley Inn at Thanksgiving). I’m guessing that Chuck will drown us in Kendall and Aidan on the run and she and Zach longing for each other and sharing the holiday via Skype.  Ryan and Erica hosting some awkward drivel.  Tad having his bunch over for the holiday and his bunch being, the Chandlers and whatever Martin’s are available.  What the hell has happened to Kathy?  The Hubbard will ignore each other and celebrate by having a tension filled turkey dinner.

Oh and the “romance” portion of the show that is Randi and Frankie, the couple with the least amount of chemistry, was far from romantic.  They just do not have any chemistry.  I like both characters…just not together.

Here Endth My Rant!

No Title Here

What’s worse right now, All My Children or the Christmas commercials running between each segment?

Okay for the sake of the is blog All My Children is worse.

I will never understand why TPTB ignore the fans.  It’s like they are that evil step-monster that pretends to love the new spouse’s children but really secretly has nothing but disgust for them.  Oh wait…did you see that there…I created a plot without spending millions of dollars and wasting countless peoples time

If I was to poll the fans I think right now the number one issue for them would be the writing.  The number two thing would by Ryan and well everything else would be third.

What’s bothering me this week.

• JR’s cancer story was super quick.  In a matter of weeks he was diagnosed with cancer, had chemo, was able to keep it from his family from finding out, got married, lost a friend and went into remission.  And with Adam’s wedding to Annie JR seems to be well enough to be his somewhat old self.
• Ryan acting sanctimonious because he knows that Adam killed Stuart.  Really Ryan the better parent between him and the nut case he created?  Hey remember that time you hid that serial killer brother of yours and then got him off on all the murder charges because he had a brain tumor.  Remember that?  I sure do.
• Adam and Annie’s wedding…Still trying to figure out why Adam is dressed like Hugh Hefner?
• Casting Lucretia is good but to little too late.  Instead of coming off as funny like Carmen she comes off flat.
• Ryan and Erica and the ick factor.  Like I’ve written before, Erica with a younger guy would be a great storyline but this is just wrong.  Erica would never have Kendall’s Sloppy Seconds.
• The idea that all my favorite characters/actors will be a thing of history after the holidays.  My guess they bring Bianca back to appease some of the viewership.  You know their policy…when in trouble break glass and get Binx on the show.
• Aidan’s creepy attitude towards Kendall.  Ick.

Chuck Pratt is a hack.  Apparently we’ve found out that if he can’t write some misogynistic crap then he won’t write anything of worth.  I hate to break it to TPTB but it doesn’t matter what you do for the show if you refused to bring on a head writer that actually understands soaps.  Chuck Pratt was perfect for GH because he could live out his violent fantasies through Sonny Corinthos but AMC is a different formula and because TPTB fail to embrace that and play to its strengths they will continue to lose the viewers.  The systematic failure of the show is that in an attempt to fix what’s broken with minimal reflection on the show they chose to make massive changes in format, characters and the overall look of the show.

Here endth my Rant!

Oh Wow

The show sucks!  My lack of Rants is an indication that I just don’t know what to say anymore.  So let me break down some of the nonsense.

JR, who is CURRENTLY having chemo, wants to have a child with Marissa.  This is ridiculous and dangerous all at the same time.  When JR was told about his cancer he would have also been told about his treatment and the option to freeze his sperm in case he would ever want to have a child in the future. Okay the show tackled the subject that the chemo could possibly leave JR sterile but what they didn’t tackle is the fact that a child conceived while one of the parents is undergoing chemotherapy is not a great idea.  It would leave that child open to all kinds of deformities and medical issues for the rest of its life, if it even lived long enough to have a life.  So if JR knew this ahead of time he should have shared that info with his wife.  Oh and what kind of DOLT is Marissa that she only sees JR’s want of legacy if he should die and not the reality that if JR died she would be raising this child alone and that all the money in the world doesn’t matter if that child suffers every day because it’s parents were to complete morons!

Aidan went from Awesome Dude to WTF in an evolution just short of stupid.  Aidan was at his best when paired with Greenlee and they broke them up to pair Ryan and Greenlee again in the most contrived and ridiculous story.  Then he saved Annie and fell into like with her and they were cute but that went to hell in a hand basket when he went all Jekyll and Hide and went from like to hate in a New York Minute.  Now he’s all googly for Kendall again for a reason only Chuck Pratt can understand.  And we all know that since Aiden Turner isn’t making the trek west that they will probably kill off Aidan Devane.  Almost since his appearance t in 2002 the writers were at a loss as to what to do with Aidan after he broke up Ryan and Kendall so Cam Matthison could leave the show.  Aiden Turner quickly became a fan favorite so they put him with Maria/Maureen, Kendall, Mia, Greenlee, Annie and I’m sure I’m forgetting some in between.  They just didn’t know what to do with him but they couldn’t let him go because the fans (yep that’s me too) wouldn’t have stood for it.

But now that TPTB could care less about the fans it’s a free for all.  When the show moves to California, regardless what TPTB say, the entire dynamic will be completely changed forever.  No more Martin’s.  No more Dr. Joe, Aidan, Taylor and Zendall.  The show I GREATLY fear will become “All My Rylee” and this will in essence kill the show that has been on TV for almost 40 years.  The characters will be unrecognizable and not unlike when Loving became the City the fan base will hemorrhage even further and we will be left with nothing that could be identified as All My Children.

Perhaps I’m too much doom and gloom but having watched and been obsessed with soaps for the last 44 years I’ve seen it before and it’s not pretty.  Even SoapNet a network that used to be devoted to Soaps isn’t about Soaps that much anymore.  There was that dream when I first heard about that new network devoted to Soaps that we would get to see old shows like Edge of Night or Ryan’s Hope and that dream died in 2004 when things at the network started to change.  I get that is business but it still makes me sad.

I’ve been watching old shows of AMC from its grandest times (SoapNet used to rerun older shows from the 80’s and 90’s during such specials as “Tad the Cad” and “I Love Lucci” or even “Chasin’ Jason/GH”).  It fills the hole that Chuck Pratt’s lack of talent made in me.  I didn’t think it was possible for a writer to do more damage to the show than Megan McTavish but Chuck makes Megan look like friggin’ Harper Lee!

So where does this leave me these days…well all I can say is THANK GOD FOR ONE LIFE TO LIVE!!! This show is the bomb!  It’s amazingly written and the characters will all be the same afterAMC makes the move to California because OLTL is staying in NYC!

So if you are like me and still want to watch soaps hook on to ONE LIFE TO LIVE because it’s got the history and the families, the romance, social storylines, romance (involving all the generations not just the kiddies) and intriguing plots and oh…romance

Here Endth My Rant!

Which One Doesn’t Belong

Let’s take a look at the canvas of AMC right now and see which storyline doesn’t belong on this soap.  Liza fights to keep baby Stuart when his birth mother wants him back.  JR is fighting cancer with Marissa’s help while keeping his family at bay for fear of losing custody of his son.  Zach, Ryan, Kendall, Scott and Erica are driving Annie Crazy, tormenting her at every gate and have resorted to kidnapping and torture to “break” her to free the oh so innocent Kendall.  David forcing Amanda to choose between her son and her husband and then tries to manipulate her through Trevor to create the family he’s always wanted.  Krystal tries to form a relationship with the daughter she gave a way and the husband she threw away.

Yeah I’d go with the Kidnap/Torture storyline!  I do not like this disturbing storyline.  This is not entertainment.  The whole story has been dragging on 2007.  They took Annie who was a decent character (Melissa Egan is a tremendous actress) and turned her into a crazy person who killed her brother.  Someone has been mentally torturing this poor bird for a very long time.  What doesn’t work for me is it’s the same story played on a loop.  If it wasn’t Ryan (Remember his memory loss, his new found love for anyone who wasn’t Annie), Richie, Kendall, Zach, The Crazy Doctor (Richie’s ex-lover), Ryan again, Kendall again…now Zach….and Aidan who went from being her savior to her punisher in a matter of seconds.  This is all horrible.

This storyline has been stupid since it’s inception.  All of this is to prove Kendall’s innocence.  Well if they hadn’t written her to have insisted that she was guilty in the first place this Kidnap/Torture story line wouldn’t have been written.

What can I say I hate everything about this storyline!!!!  I have a screaming in my head and I don’t like it!  And I know that nothing will make this crap stop for at least 2 weeks because these scenes are in the can and nothing will change that fact.

Here Endth My Rant!

All My Greenlee

I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that Thorsten Kaye is leaving AMC because of the “Big Move”.  His wife Susan Haskell plays Marty Saybrooke on OLTL and his life is in NYC.  This is an enormous loss for All My Children.  Beyond the fact that they’ve written crap for him to recite the character of Zach Slater is core to the show and has been for the last 5 years.

Ray McDonald, one of only two remaining original cast members, has chosen to retire and will not be making the move either.  That leaves the history of the show hanging on one person…Ms. Susan Lucci and her character Erica Kane.  For anyone who grew up watching this show this could be the end of what is familiar to us.  It makes me very sad.  No more Martin holidays.  No more Montgomery Thanksgiving fiascoes at the Valley Inn.  Who knows maybe they will actually give Walt Wiley a chance to use his super dooper acting skills after the “Big Move”.  I’m not holding my breath but it would give me a reason to watch.

Rebecca Budig, who resides in CA, will be revisiting her role of Greenlee Smythe after the new year.  One of  my greatest fears is that the show will commit to re-re-re-hashing the Ryan/Greenlee coupling…aka Rylee.  First…YAWN…second do ya’ll think that hack of a head writer, Chuck Pratt could actually write a decent romance for this couple (or any couple)?  Am I supposed to be intrigued by a possible Erica/Ryan/Greenlee triangle?  Yeah it’s not going to happen.   Brian Frons hung the weight of the success of the show around Rebecca’s neck not that long ago with the “The Real Greenlee’s Back” debacle.  Ratings went up a scooch but then went right back down to the same level before her ‘triumphant return’.  She doesn’t have a built in fan base like Eden Riegel.

I’ve almost all but given up on AMC.  Each day I watch I scratch my head and wonder if some stock broker in NY is writing this show because clearly it isn’t someone who actually likes the show or understand the characters or the fan base for that matter.   There is no real commitment from the TPTB that they really want the show to succeed.  When they disrespect us why should we be loyal?  I’m just wondering how they think throwing us all under the bus is good for the franchise?

I have a question for ya’ll.  If after the show moves to CA, if the cast is completely different looking and the stories revolve around a pile of newbies, will you continue to watch?  Let me know your feeling on this because I’m very interested.

So now Aidan has gone so mental he’s kidnapping his former love and mentally torturing her with the loony vigilante group of Kendall and Zach practically cheering him on?  Really I feel for Annie because everyone has driven her over the edge.  It started with Ryan and now this mess.  In a way I feel I’ve been mentally tortured too. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here Endth My Rant!

Madison…Just Die Already!

I love Stephanie Gashett as an actress.  She was fantastic as Tammy Winsolw on Guiding Light.  However, Madison North is so annoying and adds very little to the storyline that when these scenes come up all I hear is Blah, Blah, Blah.

Angie is a friggin’ doctor already and she’s tempted by this socialite crazy person’s scheming?  Come on now.  Her father was a big time criminal…it’s not like Angela hasn’t had a course or two in deception.  Okay this part  has nothing to do with the s/l…but what in the heck is going on with her hair?  Did they get the bonus plan at the wig store?  I miss her dreds…they were hot and sassy.  She’s a beautiful woman and although Halloween is only weeks away the Morticia the Doctor costume is over the top and dreadful.

It’s absolutely ridiculous that Frankie would be all a swoon for the woman who is destroying his family but yet every time they are together his eyes go all googly for her.  Boo-hiss…I’m not sure who’s writing this story for the show but someone should slap them because it’s just so awful that I’m offended.

Only one s/l is cohesive enough to stand on it’s own…Marissa and JR.  It’s sweet and sensitive and with every evil thing JR has done in his past it brings him a sense of humanity.

It’s so frustrating because when I watch there are these glimmers of hope and promise but then the other 94% of the show is just crap.

And then there is that anxiety of what will the show look like after it moves to LA.  Will the writing get any better?  Will my favorite actors make the move to LA?  Which then leaves me with the big question…will I continue to watch if these things don’t materialize?  Soaps are about Comfort.  About recognizing the characters and understanding the storylines.  Right now AMC is lacking in both and I’m not sure what will happen after the move but I think it will be sorely lacking after January.

Oh and I’ve been pondering the 40th Anniversary show.  Since the show is teetering on the abyss this would be the biggest opportunity to give the fans something to hang onto…especially with the move coming shortly there after.  If I was TPTB I would bath the fans in something they will LOVE.

Back in 1992 on OLTL Megan Gordon was dying and for an entire week everyone gathered around her bedside and told her stories of the past.  They played so many clips from the old days that it made me smile, laugh and even cry. They hit on all the old favorites who weren’t on the show anymore or had passed on.  AMC should definitely take this road for their 40th Anniversary.   The fans would LOVE IT!  If the show went this way and marketed it correctly that the fans who have stopped watching might come back.  With the internet it would be easy to get the word out there because some people stopped watching but they still follow it on the net through fan pages and message boards.

Hey I do not write for the show but I’m a fan and like so many fans we are just begging TPTB to give us a reason to watch the show.  Right now there isn’t much incentive.   I watch mostly because of my loyalty to the actors.

So in wrapping up I ask TPTB and the Writers to consider giving the fans a beautiful 40th Anniversary by showing us clips from the past instead of people telling us stories of the old days and that’s it!!!!

Here Endth My Rant!