For December 20th:
I’ve been trying to think of a way to keep these entries shorter than they usually are; so instead of typing a summary, I’ll just link to today’s scenes at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7F5wqN4Drk Part 116
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLnvzYs-MSo Part 117
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn9_7KE3dvE Part 118
You know, I cannot begin to tell you how disappointing the pan-up was. It’s not that it happened, but that it happened so FAST. That kiss was not only a normal show of affection, but that would have been the PERFECT ending to a PERFECT show with these two characters. I really hope the haters are happy. They’ve won. They want to cry moral outrage at this? Where’s the moral outrage at the ex-hooker being involved with her hostage? Where’s the moral outrage at Cole walking out on Sofie and her baby? Where was the moral outrage at the attempted rape scene with Adam and Gwen? Where was the outrage at ex-porn star and druggie Allison? How can anyone even try to tell me that Luke and Noah kissing for five seconds is worse than any of that? Why is it okay for everyone to kiss and hug but these two? Why was it okay for Noah to kiss his beard, Maddie, over and over? Why have Van and Jake do kissing scenes if they will just be edited down or out entirely? Why tease the fans like this after such buildup? This had to have been one of the best romantic buildups I have ever seen on a show and I am VERY disappointed at what happened at the end of today‘s show and so are a lot of other fans. Some are even in tears. These are the things that GLAAD need to be worried about, not banishments of Match Game reruns from 34 years ago. What kind of message is Procter & Gamble sending? What a slap in the face to the fans. That it’s okay to be gay but you can’t kiss? Procter & Gamble are getting a very strongly worded letter from me, that’s for sure. I really wanted to eat my words from last week. I hate sounding like a broken record. I hate being negative, especially about things that I love. An excellent point was brought up at the VanHansis.net forums: us gay fans (and allies) have to deal with homophobia every day. We can’t escape that for one little hour? The dialogue ruled today, but it wouldn’t have been as disappointing if there wasn’t such buildup. Do they know how completely appropriate it was to show a kiss scene today? Do they know how completely happy I and probably a lot of other Nuke fans would have been at the whole entire thing if they just waited about 10 seconds? If they had kissed like a normal couple all this time or even last week, I wouldn't have been as let down as I am about the end of the show yesterday.
Everything else was perfect though. I was so moved by Luke walking in front of his family, Emma toasting to both Luke and Noah, the scene with the card, both of them saying “I love you” to each other in their own ways. I love the fact that Noah wanted to write down his feelings. When he was with Maddie, he blurted it out because he thought that what was to be expected. But he loves Luke so much and so genuinely that the words are difficult to say aloud. I found that truly touching. And Luke's line of "When I came out... it was fine... but I was lonely." Gush! I repeat the dialogue was great. Even Holden as a husband didn't bother me.
Van and Jake, as well as the rest of the actors delivered so well as always. Even the writing was perfect. I found no flaws with the dialogue today at all. None. And considering this writing team’s track record for the past year and a half, that’s not something that happens all the time. It was nice seeing the characters be happy for a change. These two are really in love and you hardly see scenes like this with other couples on soaps. It’s just the end of the show just leaves me wondering “WHY?!?” The whole day's not ruined for me entirely; the dialogue about how they care about each other truly and everything else was very wub and guh-worthy, but I'm still miffed about the ending. That part was a slap in the face.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Yearly Review: GSN
While GSN did several things that I didn’t care for, I find that they’ve pleased me much more as a cable network this year than SOAPnet.
Some positive items are definitely in the classic variety. Firstly, I’m glad that more rarely aired series have gotten dusted off and are being seen. Most late nights for an hour are two are very enjoyable for this night owl, including Super Password (1984-89 NBC), Double Dare (1976-77 CBS), Body Language (1984-86 CBS), Beat the Clock (1979-80 CBS) airing on late Sundays, and Trivia Trap (1984-85 ABC), Now You See It (1974-75 CBS) on late Tuesday-Saturdays.
We have had some well thought out marathons, especially the Viewer’s Choice Marathon last month. And marathons earlier this year on Saturday nights from 8-10 PM.
I give major praise for the tributes that aired this year on the network. Especially Merv Griffin’s in August. Considering GSN’s seemingly bum deal with the Sony owned shows, I was not only surprised and overjoyed that there would be a Wheel of Fortune marathon but that there would be so much variety, even including three NBC daytime shows. It was one of the best marathons I have ever seen on GSN; too bad the circumstances were they way the were. The Jeopardy! marathon wasn’t as good to me, still from the same 2001-02 season that has aired since 2005. However they did air the Million Dollar Masters tournament. So at least they picked the most significant episodes of the season to show. We also had the Kitty Carlisle, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Brett Somers tributes this year that were well done. It’s nice to see the celebrities remembered and to see them at their best.
And bravo to the GSN promotions department for starting to promoting the daytime schedule as well as nighttime later on in the year. To me it’s only fair to give every show or “block” on the schedule a fair shot when it comes to on-air promotions.
One negative definitely involves the now-defunct PlayMania. I still insist that changing over to 100 Winners/Quiznation with lackluster formatting was overall a bad idea and I’m not surprised that the show eventually would disappear on Halloween. Here’s a tip for the folks at GSN next time they have a hit on their hands: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Without Prejudice? was another letdown. This show could have been much better than what it was by tackling the societal issues like racism, homophobia, etc. but it was just another forum for people to shout at the top of their lungs and say offensive things just for the sake of doing it without anything else getting done. And of course GSN had to take the low road and promote only the outrageous stuff and not really for the message the show was trying to give. I think the show was obviously there to not teach us to judge folks by first impressions, but it was just executed badly. I wasn’t sorry to see this go.
As far as acquiring shows went this year -- I’m glad to see that GSN has the rights to air Let’s Make A Deal again. I could have done without Show Me The Money. All that promoting about how they were going to air ALL of the episodes including the two that ABC didn’t show only for it to bomb in the second night. What a waste. I hope this teaches them not to acquire anymore recent primetime bombs. As far as them getting the rights to Richard Karn’s Family Feud… I don’t really think it was worth it that much. I liked him more than Louie, but after seeing John O‘Hurley, I find Richard mediocre, and having Dawson and Combs on GSN to me is enough for one show. O’Hurley’s version of To Tell The Truth I am on the fence about -- I wouldn’t have picked it up, but it could have been worse. They could have gotten Card Sharks ‘01 or some other bomb from around that time, so if they were to pick up anything from the late ‘90s-early ‘00’s era, I’d rather it be this or 2002’s Beat the Clock. The rest I can do without.
I would definitely give GSN a solid “B” for the year. While there are things that I could have done without, especially Catminster (which obviously belonged on Animal Planet), I really appreciate them going all out for tributes this year, it only makes me wish that the marathons occurred under happier circumstances. I also am glad that they’re focusing more on actual game show formats again for original series (Grand Slam was another good one). And they’ve done a good job at pleasing the oldie fans in my book.
I’m already looking forward to next year. According to advanced Zap2it listings, Wheel of Fortune and Tic Tac Dough should be back early next month, and the hour-long black and white block is back to 7 days a week by January. With having over 700 episodes of the original What’s My Line? (1950-67 CBS), it only makes sense to air that more than once a week.
Here’s looking forward to another good year for GSN, and hopefully they’ll continue to stick to the good game show ideal.
Some positive items are definitely in the classic variety. Firstly, I’m glad that more rarely aired series have gotten dusted off and are being seen. Most late nights for an hour are two are very enjoyable for this night owl, including Super Password (1984-89 NBC), Double Dare (1976-77 CBS), Body Language (1984-86 CBS), Beat the Clock (1979-80 CBS) airing on late Sundays, and Trivia Trap (1984-85 ABC), Now You See It (1974-75 CBS) on late Tuesday-Saturdays.
We have had some well thought out marathons, especially the Viewer’s Choice Marathon last month. And marathons earlier this year on Saturday nights from 8-10 PM.
I give major praise for the tributes that aired this year on the network. Especially Merv Griffin’s in August. Considering GSN’s seemingly bum deal with the Sony owned shows, I was not only surprised and overjoyed that there would be a Wheel of Fortune marathon but that there would be so much variety, even including three NBC daytime shows. It was one of the best marathons I have ever seen on GSN; too bad the circumstances were they way the were. The Jeopardy! marathon wasn’t as good to me, still from the same 2001-02 season that has aired since 2005. However they did air the Million Dollar Masters tournament. So at least they picked the most significant episodes of the season to show. We also had the Kitty Carlisle, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Brett Somers tributes this year that were well done. It’s nice to see the celebrities remembered and to see them at their best.
And bravo to the GSN promotions department for starting to promoting the daytime schedule as well as nighttime later on in the year. To me it’s only fair to give every show or “block” on the schedule a fair shot when it comes to on-air promotions.
One negative definitely involves the now-defunct PlayMania. I still insist that changing over to 100 Winners/Quiznation with lackluster formatting was overall a bad idea and I’m not surprised that the show eventually would disappear on Halloween. Here’s a tip for the folks at GSN next time they have a hit on their hands: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Without Prejudice? was another letdown. This show could have been much better than what it was by tackling the societal issues like racism, homophobia, etc. but it was just another forum for people to shout at the top of their lungs and say offensive things just for the sake of doing it without anything else getting done. And of course GSN had to take the low road and promote only the outrageous stuff and not really for the message the show was trying to give. I think the show was obviously there to not teach us to judge folks by first impressions, but it was just executed badly. I wasn’t sorry to see this go.
As far as acquiring shows went this year -- I’m glad to see that GSN has the rights to air Let’s Make A Deal again. I could have done without Show Me The Money. All that promoting about how they were going to air ALL of the episodes including the two that ABC didn’t show only for it to bomb in the second night. What a waste. I hope this teaches them not to acquire anymore recent primetime bombs. As far as them getting the rights to Richard Karn’s Family Feud… I don’t really think it was worth it that much. I liked him more than Louie, but after seeing John O‘Hurley, I find Richard mediocre, and having Dawson and Combs on GSN to me is enough for one show. O’Hurley’s version of To Tell The Truth I am on the fence about -- I wouldn’t have picked it up, but it could have been worse. They could have gotten Card Sharks ‘01 or some other bomb from around that time, so if they were to pick up anything from the late ‘90s-early ‘00’s era, I’d rather it be this or 2002’s Beat the Clock. The rest I can do without.
I would definitely give GSN a solid “B” for the year. While there are things that I could have done without, especially Catminster (which obviously belonged on Animal Planet), I really appreciate them going all out for tributes this year, it only makes me wish that the marathons occurred under happier circumstances. I also am glad that they’re focusing more on actual game show formats again for original series (Grand Slam was another good one). And they’ve done a good job at pleasing the oldie fans in my book.
I’m already looking forward to next year. According to advanced Zap2it listings, Wheel of Fortune and Tic Tac Dough should be back early next month, and the hour-long black and white block is back to 7 days a week by January. With having over 700 episodes of the original What’s My Line? (1950-67 CBS), it only makes sense to air that more than once a week.
Here’s looking forward to another good year for GSN, and hopefully they’ll continue to stick to the good game show ideal.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Yearly Review: SOAPnet
Sadly, there's really not many positive things for me to say about SOAPnet this year.
There are two things that I was really entertained by though. One being the Emmy marathon back in June. I imagine that they went a bit out of their way getting the episode of Guiding Light and two episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful, and the idea of seeing the actual full episodes that made the cut for Best Drama is a really good one. The second thing was the Days of our Lives marathon back in October that had episodes from Marlena's possession. It's always a good idea to me to dust off the classics from the vaults and holidays and special occasions are really good times to do such marathons. And I wish they would take more advantage of this aspect. It's nice to revisit some of these series when they were written better.
April really ticked me off. By then for a while Dallas was on 4 times a day; no show should air that much daily. Another World would be gone, and Ryan's Hope and Port Charles were only airing twice a week. Luckily after a couple of months Ryan's Hope was back in its old time slot. I've become a big fan of that rather quickly and two episodes a week drove me insane. It took longer for Port Charles to come back to 5-day-a-week showings. I'm not as into Port Charles, but I still feel bad for the fans as I notice in December they got screwed again as the weekday episodes were taken off once more and again only the two weekend episodes remain. I'm sorry, but you don't air a show that has produced over 1,000 episodes twice a week. You just don’t do that. Anyone with common sense would know that. They also did nothing for Port's 10th anniversary. And you can't even begin to imagine my frustration to find out that Another World would not only be gone but replaced with One Tree Hill. And The O.C. does not belong on this network in my eyes either.
My problem with The Fashionista Diaries coming in August is very plain and simple. It is not a soap opera. And while I'm no big fan of either I Wanna Be A Soap Star, Soap Talk, or Soapography, at least they have something to do with the genre. Why is a network called SOAPnet, and using their old slogan, "devoted to soaps and soap fans" airing a show that has absolutely nothing to do with soaps? If fashion was the big deal, they could have called up CBS and tried to pick up same day/week rights to air The Bold and the Beautiful.
Just because it's either simply a drama or a show that has conflict between the people on it, that doesn't mean that it belongs on a network devoted to soap operas. If conflicting people was all that was needed, then they might as well pick up reruns of any courtroom show or Maury since they have "conflict." As a fan of One Tree Hill, I will still watch first-run episodes on The CW and buy the DVDs. If a more appropriately fitting network picks it up and I have the channel, then I'll be glad to watch the reruns. Same with The O.C. Nothing against it at all. I'm sure it's a decent show. I’m just not watching it on SOAPnet out of principle. When you've got these shows, and more primetime dramas on in the other time slots, and a show like The Fashionista Diaries on, and seemingly paying more attention to these shows than focusing attention to the actual soaps themselves, and you're called SOAPnet, that my friends, is pretty sad.
There are two things that I was really entertained by though. One being the Emmy marathon back in June. I imagine that they went a bit out of their way getting the episode of Guiding Light and two episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful, and the idea of seeing the actual full episodes that made the cut for Best Drama is a really good one. The second thing was the Days of our Lives marathon back in October that had episodes from Marlena's possession. It's always a good idea to me to dust off the classics from the vaults and holidays and special occasions are really good times to do such marathons. And I wish they would take more advantage of this aspect. It's nice to revisit some of these series when they were written better.
April really ticked me off. By then for a while Dallas was on 4 times a day; no show should air that much daily. Another World would be gone, and Ryan's Hope and Port Charles were only airing twice a week. Luckily after a couple of months Ryan's Hope was back in its old time slot. I've become a big fan of that rather quickly and two episodes a week drove me insane. It took longer for Port Charles to come back to 5-day-a-week showings. I'm not as into Port Charles, but I still feel bad for the fans as I notice in December they got screwed again as the weekday episodes were taken off once more and again only the two weekend episodes remain. I'm sorry, but you don't air a show that has produced over 1,000 episodes twice a week. You just don’t do that. Anyone with common sense would know that. They also did nothing for Port's 10th anniversary. And you can't even begin to imagine my frustration to find out that Another World would not only be gone but replaced with One Tree Hill. And The O.C. does not belong on this network in my eyes either.
My problem with The Fashionista Diaries coming in August is very plain and simple. It is not a soap opera. And while I'm no big fan of either I Wanna Be A Soap Star, Soap Talk, or Soapography, at least they have something to do with the genre. Why is a network called SOAPnet, and using their old slogan, "devoted to soaps and soap fans" airing a show that has absolutely nothing to do with soaps? If fashion was the big deal, they could have called up CBS and tried to pick up same day/week rights to air The Bold and the Beautiful.
Just because it's either simply a drama or a show that has conflict between the people on it, that doesn't mean that it belongs on a network devoted to soap operas. If conflicting people was all that was needed, then they might as well pick up reruns of any courtroom show or Maury since they have "conflict." As a fan of One Tree Hill, I will still watch first-run episodes on The CW and buy the DVDs. If a more appropriately fitting network picks it up and I have the channel, then I'll be glad to watch the reruns. Same with The O.C. Nothing against it at all. I'm sure it's a decent show. I’m just not watching it on SOAPnet out of principle. When you've got these shows, and more primetime dramas on in the other time slots, and a show like The Fashionista Diaries on, and seemingly paying more attention to these shows than focusing attention to the actual soaps themselves, and you're called SOAPnet, that my friends, is pretty sad.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
ATWT: Luke and Noah Disgruntlement
You know, there can be days where there are scenes between Luke and Noah which can be without a doubt pretty much always well-acted even when the writing is not up to par or for some reason irks me, just simply because Van and Jake can act and have such amazing chemistry. And there are the days when the writers do their job and follow through with these two and it is all perfect for that day. However, lack of affection is really, REALLY starting to get on my nerves. Really. I was content with the hand-holding for a little while because at that point it had been so incredibly long since they’d done THAT, so I was going to take all I can get. But I’m in total 100% agreement with many other Luke and Noah fans now who just simply do not understand why we have gone two and a half months without any form of kissing. And it REALLY irked me Wednesday, seeing as though there were two very important scenes where any couple would have kissed at the end. They didn’t even hug! After Luke made it into Noah’s arms after walking, that was the biggest “KISS ALREADY!!” moment of all. If I walked into my boyfriend’s arms in similar way, you’re darn right I’d give him a kiss. Yeah, it was an adorable scene and I loved it, but any other couple would have kissed, even briefly. Craig and Meg, Will and Gwen, and other couples kiss on this show all the time, countless times, on a regular basis. As far as aired kisses go, Luke and Noah have kissed twice, that’s right, TWICE, since their storyline has begun. One was proven to be edited out. I have no problem with watching straight couples kissing and embracing. None whatsoever. Kissing and showing embrace is certainly not why I’m dissatisfied with Will and Gwen’s past several storylines and character direction, or why I think that the Craig/Meg/Rosanna/Paul storyline was a complete dud.
But it’s just absolutely absurd for Procter & Gamble/CBS/Executive Producer Chris Goutman, or whoever to suggest that they’re being treated equally as any other couple when they’re a) only on once a week pretty much regularly and b) they show little to no kind of affection. Not to mention that with two kisses, one was proven to be slightly longer, and another short one was edited out. These are supposed to be two 18-year-olds. The lack of kissing and even hugging between them is just completely and totally unrealistic. I’ve never in my life watched an actual couple on a show and at the end of every romantically ending scene chant “KISS, DAMN IT!” at the television in frustration because it’s not happening. Again I ask what is the deal? This storyline has gotten SO much positive attention since the start. Even before it started. Van and Jake have no problem doing kissing scenes. They’ve also said they’ve gotten way more positive than negative responses. I’m not asking them to rip their clothes off and for one of them to throw the other on the dining room table and go at it like rabbits every time they’re at the farm -- I’m asking for a peck on the cheek, a peck on the lips. Kiss each other goodbye. A hug when Noah walks in the door. Simple things like that. That is not too much to ask. And it also doesn't help that certain scenes are just so obvious.
I was impressed and shocked with the fact that the show had them discuss them actually having sex (even with suggestive eye movement to Emma!), but how can this couple discuss that and the powers that be seemingly balk at the idea of kissing? Sex is without a doubt a much bigger deal and is more important in a relationship than kissing. So why is kissing between these two somehow frowned upon? It’s just obvious these two characters are macking off screen. Wednesday had some awesome scenes with Luke, Noah, Emma and Holden, and I am eternally grateful for this show to have a love story between two men. And I'm also glad that Noah will spend the holidays with Luke and that things are going great for Noah. Yesterday's stuff with them was so good. But at the same time I think it’s just sad that Noah has kissed Maddie more than Luke. Just sad. There’s no other way to say it. I am a pretty easy person to please and I really don't think I'm demanding too much. This is one out of a number of things that As The World Turns in general really, really needs to work on.
It seems that sexuality on American TV is progressing backwards instead of forwards. To me that is just pathetic.
But it’s just absolutely absurd for Procter & Gamble/CBS/Executive Producer Chris Goutman, or whoever to suggest that they’re being treated equally as any other couple when they’re a) only on once a week pretty much regularly and b) they show little to no kind of affection. Not to mention that with two kisses, one was proven to be slightly longer, and another short one was edited out. These are supposed to be two 18-year-olds. The lack of kissing and even hugging between them is just completely and totally unrealistic. I’ve never in my life watched an actual couple on a show and at the end of every romantically ending scene chant “KISS, DAMN IT!” at the television in frustration because it’s not happening. Again I ask what is the deal? This storyline has gotten SO much positive attention since the start. Even before it started. Van and Jake have no problem doing kissing scenes. They’ve also said they’ve gotten way more positive than negative responses. I’m not asking them to rip their clothes off and for one of them to throw the other on the dining room table and go at it like rabbits every time they’re at the farm -- I’m asking for a peck on the cheek, a peck on the lips. Kiss each other goodbye. A hug when Noah walks in the door. Simple things like that. That is not too much to ask. And it also doesn't help that certain scenes are just so obvious.
I was impressed and shocked with the fact that the show had them discuss them actually having sex (even with suggestive eye movement to Emma!), but how can this couple discuss that and the powers that be seemingly balk at the idea of kissing? Sex is without a doubt a much bigger deal and is more important in a relationship than kissing. So why is kissing between these two somehow frowned upon? It’s just obvious these two characters are macking off screen. Wednesday had some awesome scenes with Luke, Noah, Emma and Holden, and I am eternally grateful for this show to have a love story between two men. And I'm also glad that Noah will spend the holidays with Luke and that things are going great for Noah. Yesterday's stuff with them was so good. But at the same time I think it’s just sad that Noah has kissed Maddie more than Luke. Just sad. There’s no other way to say it. I am a pretty easy person to please and I really don't think I'm demanding too much. This is one out of a number of things that As The World Turns in general really, really needs to work on.
It seems that sexuality on American TV is progressing backwards instead of forwards. To me that is just pathetic.
ATWT: Noah's Coming Home For Christmas
Summary and analysis for December 12.
At the Snyder farm in the kitchen, Luke and Noah are doing homework at the table. In walks Emma and Holden who say that they are off to fix a broken door and offers them cookies. Luke insists that Emma’s cookies are worth eating. After they leave, Noah jumps up in front of Luke and excitedly says “They’re gone. Are you ready?” He then says to “do it like he did last night.” And Luke stands up in his wheelchair and proceeds to walk! After walking into Noah’s arms, Noah excitedly tells him “You did it.” One can’t help but tell how teasingly close they are.
Next they are back at the table eating cookies. Noah asks Luke when he’s going to tell everyone that he can walk again. Luke’s not entirely sure; but he’s thinking about making it a Christmas surprise. Noah just knows that they will all be so happy, but it’s not going to be the same with the divorce. Noah mentions that Lily would want to see him, but Luke then reminds him of what went down on Thanksgiving. Luke asks Noah what he’s doing for the holiday; Noah says he’s checking to see if the dorms are open during the break. Luke asks him if he would stay for Christmas. Luke asks Noah if he’s sure and of course Noah is, under one condition. That Luke does not hog all the covers. At this part I would be squealing happily if my voice octave would go that high.
Emma returns and notices that the cookies are gone. Noah raises his hand and stays with him. “I guess I just can’t say ‘no’ to your cookies.” Emma implies that he is a smooth talker and asks if he wants to stay for dinner. Noah accepts her offer and Luke waves his hand to leave the room for a minute. After Noah leaves, Luke thanks Emma and mentions that Noah had a great time at Thanksgiving, and Emma says that he is welcome anytime. Luke asks Emma if he can stay for Christmas. Emma’s not sure since they have a full house. Luke says “it’s okay, he can sleep in my room,” complete with menacing eye implication.
Luke’s upset because Emma basically said no and thinks that she might not be comfortable with he and Noah “being together.” Later on, Emma’s with Holden and she worries that she handled things wrong with Luke just then. Holden says that she’s acting correctly and she’s treating them the same.
Emma goes outside where the boys are sitting. She then asks Noah if he wants to stay for the holidays. Noah, of course, happily says yes. But Emma has certain ground rules. Noah’s to sleep on the couch in the parlor and that Luke’s room is off limits at all times. She’d treat anyone the same way; it’s not just because they’re gay. Especially since Noah is so handsome. Luke agrees; with both parts, mind you. She thanks Noah for being there for Luke and helping to change his attitude, and says that it’ll be lovely to have him over for Christmas.
Later while Luke and Noah are still outside, Noah mentions that he can’t help but notice how nice and kind Emma is. And honest. He grabs Luke’s hand and says that he’s happy to spend the holidays with Luke and that it’ll be the best Christmas ever.
Firstly; oh my God, Luke is walking again! Yay! Soon that damned wheelchair and paralysis plot will be a thing of the past! It’s about time that he can walk again.
Second, all I know is that I’m 22 and I know I’m not as gutsy as Luke. There is no way in hell I’d be comfortable and all “Yeah, he can just stay in my room,” complete with menacing eye gestures with one of MY relatives, especially a grandparent. Then we add the fact that half the cast stays at the damn place (lack of sets; another rant for another day). The more and more I think about it, I’m surprised he would think that she would be down with that. I was glad that Emma was being the good old-fashioned grandmother as always. It showed that while she’s new at the concept of having a relative, especially a grandson, who is gay, she’s dealing with it and handling it well. She was only sad when she found out that Luke was gay because at the time, she was the last in the family to know. I’m glad that she also thanked Noah for being apart of Luke’s life and remarking that he‘s handsome. The Snyders have really been treating Noah like a member of the family and bravo to them. And the “who ate all my cookies?” scene was just oh-so-adorable.
We also had likable Holden!!!! How rare is that these days?! The first time in a while when he’s not in a scene with one of his kids that didn’t make me want to reach into the television screen and shake the bejesus out of him. And Holden and Emma talking about the family being together for the holiday towards the end of the show. That scene was nice as well.
I was disappointed with the fact that the scenes were somewhat choppy; choppy as in as far as editing goes.
As for something else that I was NOT happy about… well, see my post called “Luke and Noah Disgruntlement.”
At the Snyder farm in the kitchen, Luke and Noah are doing homework at the table. In walks Emma and Holden who say that they are off to fix a broken door and offers them cookies. Luke insists that Emma’s cookies are worth eating. After they leave, Noah jumps up in front of Luke and excitedly says “They’re gone. Are you ready?” He then says to “do it like he did last night.” And Luke stands up in his wheelchair and proceeds to walk! After walking into Noah’s arms, Noah excitedly tells him “You did it.” One can’t help but tell how teasingly close they are.
Next they are back at the table eating cookies. Noah asks Luke when he’s going to tell everyone that he can walk again. Luke’s not entirely sure; but he’s thinking about making it a Christmas surprise. Noah just knows that they will all be so happy, but it’s not going to be the same with the divorce. Noah mentions that Lily would want to see him, but Luke then reminds him of what went down on Thanksgiving. Luke asks Noah what he’s doing for the holiday; Noah says he’s checking to see if the dorms are open during the break. Luke asks him if he would stay for Christmas. Luke asks Noah if he’s sure and of course Noah is, under one condition. That Luke does not hog all the covers. At this part I would be squealing happily if my voice octave would go that high.
Emma returns and notices that the cookies are gone. Noah raises his hand and stays with him. “I guess I just can’t say ‘no’ to your cookies.” Emma implies that he is a smooth talker and asks if he wants to stay for dinner. Noah accepts her offer and Luke waves his hand to leave the room for a minute. After Noah leaves, Luke thanks Emma and mentions that Noah had a great time at Thanksgiving, and Emma says that he is welcome anytime. Luke asks Emma if he can stay for Christmas. Emma’s not sure since they have a full house. Luke says “it’s okay, he can sleep in my room,” complete with menacing eye implication.
Luke’s upset because Emma basically said no and thinks that she might not be comfortable with he and Noah “being together.” Later on, Emma’s with Holden and she worries that she handled things wrong with Luke just then. Holden says that she’s acting correctly and she’s treating them the same.
Emma goes outside where the boys are sitting. She then asks Noah if he wants to stay for the holidays. Noah, of course, happily says yes. But Emma has certain ground rules. Noah’s to sleep on the couch in the parlor and that Luke’s room is off limits at all times. She’d treat anyone the same way; it’s not just because they’re gay. Especially since Noah is so handsome. Luke agrees; with both parts, mind you. She thanks Noah for being there for Luke and helping to change his attitude, and says that it’ll be lovely to have him over for Christmas.
Later while Luke and Noah are still outside, Noah mentions that he can’t help but notice how nice and kind Emma is. And honest. He grabs Luke’s hand and says that he’s happy to spend the holidays with Luke and that it’ll be the best Christmas ever.
Firstly; oh my God, Luke is walking again! Yay! Soon that damned wheelchair and paralysis plot will be a thing of the past! It’s about time that he can walk again.
Second, all I know is that I’m 22 and I know I’m not as gutsy as Luke. There is no way in hell I’d be comfortable and all “Yeah, he can just stay in my room,” complete with menacing eye gestures with one of MY relatives, especially a grandparent. Then we add the fact that half the cast stays at the damn place (lack of sets; another rant for another day). The more and more I think about it, I’m surprised he would think that she would be down with that. I was glad that Emma was being the good old-fashioned grandmother as always. It showed that while she’s new at the concept of having a relative, especially a grandson, who is gay, she’s dealing with it and handling it well. She was only sad when she found out that Luke was gay because at the time, she was the last in the family to know. I’m glad that she also thanked Noah for being apart of Luke’s life and remarking that he‘s handsome. The Snyders have really been treating Noah like a member of the family and bravo to them. And the “who ate all my cookies?” scene was just oh-so-adorable.
We also had likable Holden!!!! How rare is that these days?! The first time in a while when he’s not in a scene with one of his kids that didn’t make me want to reach into the television screen and shake the bejesus out of him. And Holden and Emma talking about the family being together for the holiday towards the end of the show. That scene was nice as well.
I was disappointed with the fact that the scenes were somewhat choppy; choppy as in as far as editing goes.
As for something else that I was NOT happy about… well, see my post called “Luke and Noah Disgruntlement.”
Thursday, November 29, 2007
ATWT: Wanna Dance?
Summary and analysis for November 29.
We open with Noah helping Luke with his leg exercises. Noah cracks a joke but Luke doesn’t respond. As Noah asks what’s bugging him, Luke flashes back to he and Holden’s conversation about Noah not using the phrase “I love you” from Monday. Noah tells him Luke can say anything to him without scaring him off. Noah then says the exercises aren’t challenging enough and maybe they should take things public.
We cut to Luke and Noah visiting Old Town and Luke remarks he hasn’t been there since he fell out of his chair; but Halloween is a much nicer way to refer to it. Noah’s friends from Halloween, Ben and Gabe, walk up and invite Luke and Noah to a “fake ID” party at Yo’s. Noah introduces Luke to Ben and Gabe as his “friend,” much to Luke’s disappointment and annoyance. Luke is surprised that Noah apparently did not want to go along and notes that Noah has trouble saying the word “boyfriend” in public. This fact is proven when two strangers walk in front of them and he barely says it out of a whisper. Luke asks him if his friends at school know if he’s gay and Noah replies that he does not know, but he’s not trying to hide them.
Back at the farm, Noah tells Luke that he doesn’t want to take back saying that he loved him at the police station. Noah leaves as Holden comes in the room. Holden advises that Luke still should be a bit more patient when it comes to Noah.
Apparently Noah decided to go to the party after all. A girl named Stacy wants to ask Noah to dance, and he blurts out “I’m gay.” Stacy introduces herself and doesn’t care that Noah’s gay, she just wants to have a little dance. Noah then runs into Dusty at the counter and he’s glad Noah’s not drinking. Later on Noah sees Dusty and Lily together and as he leaves, at the door he’s approached by Luke and Holden. Stacy comes out and Noah is ready to leave. As she leaves, cut to Luke with a big old question mark on his face. But don’t worry for long; in about 15 seconds everything is cleared up. Luke and Noah have a good chuckle after Noah says he outed himself to Stacy immediately. But still, why does Noah not want to go back inside? And then Luke is informed that Lily is in there with Dusty, and they kissed. Now Luke knows the reason why he didn’t want to go back in there. Thankfully NOT because he wants to hide their relationship. Lily and Dusty are now outside with everyone else and Luke wants to know what’s up. Lily doesn’t want to talk about it because he already knows what’s going on. Back at the farm Luke says that he’s mad that this whole thing is destroying the family, and he’s also upset that she wasn’t honest with him about why she left on Thanksgiving.
I have to say I was really rather impressed with what went on today. Of course, I’m always happy to see Luke and Noah happy. This is a drama, which means that it won’t last for very long. It’s also nice to see that Noah’s becoming more acceptable of his sexuality; it seems evident it’s getting easier and easier after his hysterical “I’m gay” declaration to one-time character Stacy. And I was glad to see Luke and Noah have the talk they did about him being out at school and the discussion of the word “boyfriend.” And I was glad to see Luke confront Lily and be involved in a little bit of family drama, even for a while. The episode ITSELF I give an A. But herein lies the problem… this is AGAIN a direct 180 from two days ago. Noah obviously had problems with saying words like “boyfriend”, and being open about the fact that he’s in a relationship. But today is a different story. I’m more than happy to see happier scenes and even humor between the two of them, and I love the idea that Noah's being more courageous and proud of himself. But the lack of continuity and bi-polar writing is very annoying. There’s no reason for next week to come and Noah to be back in his shell again. That would make no sense at all; just like it didn’t make sense on Monday after what went down at the police station. I also didn't care for the fact that Noah apparently leaves after the final party scene with no goodbye.
The reason why Holden as a husband gets on my nerves constantly is because for months he’s been treating her like complete garbage and pulling the “moral majority” card. At some points it seemed like Lily couldn’t win with this man. If she were honest about something, in some cases she’d undeservedly get the third degree. If she weren’t, she’d get the same thing. It truly, truly angered me when he had the gall to blame Lily for Luke’s being hurt even though he knows that she wasn’t responsible. And then him blaming her for not saying anything about Carly HERSELF manipulating Jack and them almost marrying. I honestly feel that if she did tell, he’d probably go off and tell her to mind her own damn business. Then he finally dumps her and has divorce papers drawn up and still wants to play the moral card when she’s with Dusty. He dumped HER. If he didn’t want her to go off and be with someone else, he should have never pushed her away to start with and said it was over. Now if Holden's upset about the fact that Lily lied to the kids, then I can actually understand that. But I don't get how someone can push her away like he did and then have the audacity to get huffy when it turns out that she's now with someone else.
Luke on the other hand, as well as the other kids in all this are completely innocent; they don’t deserve to be lied to by Lily. It seems to me that Lily wants Holden back but she also thinks that he doesn't want her anymore. To me honestly though the kids have it worse. Luke, Faith, Natalie and Ethan haven’t done anything to make her leave. Of course it’s their business that Lily is with Dusty. Everyone except Ethan is old enough to understand and process this information. Kids aren't stupid. They know what it means when it's said that Lily's going to be off with Dusty. This is impacting her family as a whole. And someone’s deluding themselves if they say that actions like this are fair on the kids. Don't send your kids false hope if you know that even for the time being it's not likely that you and your husband/wife aren't getting back together.
We open with Noah helping Luke with his leg exercises. Noah cracks a joke but Luke doesn’t respond. As Noah asks what’s bugging him, Luke flashes back to he and Holden’s conversation about Noah not using the phrase “I love you” from Monday. Noah tells him Luke can say anything to him without scaring him off. Noah then says the exercises aren’t challenging enough and maybe they should take things public.
We cut to Luke and Noah visiting Old Town and Luke remarks he hasn’t been there since he fell out of his chair; but Halloween is a much nicer way to refer to it. Noah’s friends from Halloween, Ben and Gabe, walk up and invite Luke and Noah to a “fake ID” party at Yo’s. Noah introduces Luke to Ben and Gabe as his “friend,” much to Luke’s disappointment and annoyance. Luke is surprised that Noah apparently did not want to go along and notes that Noah has trouble saying the word “boyfriend” in public. This fact is proven when two strangers walk in front of them and he barely says it out of a whisper. Luke asks him if his friends at school know if he’s gay and Noah replies that he does not know, but he’s not trying to hide them.
Back at the farm, Noah tells Luke that he doesn’t want to take back saying that he loved him at the police station. Noah leaves as Holden comes in the room. Holden advises that Luke still should be a bit more patient when it comes to Noah.
Apparently Noah decided to go to the party after all. A girl named Stacy wants to ask Noah to dance, and he blurts out “I’m gay.” Stacy introduces herself and doesn’t care that Noah’s gay, she just wants to have a little dance. Noah then runs into Dusty at the counter and he’s glad Noah’s not drinking. Later on Noah sees Dusty and Lily together and as he leaves, at the door he’s approached by Luke and Holden. Stacy comes out and Noah is ready to leave. As she leaves, cut to Luke with a big old question mark on his face. But don’t worry for long; in about 15 seconds everything is cleared up. Luke and Noah have a good chuckle after Noah says he outed himself to Stacy immediately. But still, why does Noah not want to go back inside? And then Luke is informed that Lily is in there with Dusty, and they kissed. Now Luke knows the reason why he didn’t want to go back in there. Thankfully NOT because he wants to hide their relationship. Lily and Dusty are now outside with everyone else and Luke wants to know what’s up. Lily doesn’t want to talk about it because he already knows what’s going on. Back at the farm Luke says that he’s mad that this whole thing is destroying the family, and he’s also upset that she wasn’t honest with him about why she left on Thanksgiving.
I have to say I was really rather impressed with what went on today. Of course, I’m always happy to see Luke and Noah happy. This is a drama, which means that it won’t last for very long. It’s also nice to see that Noah’s becoming more acceptable of his sexuality; it seems evident it’s getting easier and easier after his hysterical “I’m gay” declaration to one-time character Stacy. And I was glad to see Luke and Noah have the talk they did about him being out at school and the discussion of the word “boyfriend.” And I was glad to see Luke confront Lily and be involved in a little bit of family drama, even for a while. The episode ITSELF I give an A. But herein lies the problem… this is AGAIN a direct 180 from two days ago. Noah obviously had problems with saying words like “boyfriend”, and being open about the fact that he’s in a relationship. But today is a different story. I’m more than happy to see happier scenes and even humor between the two of them, and I love the idea that Noah's being more courageous and proud of himself. But the lack of continuity and bi-polar writing is very annoying. There’s no reason for next week to come and Noah to be back in his shell again. That would make no sense at all; just like it didn’t make sense on Monday after what went down at the police station. I also didn't care for the fact that Noah apparently leaves after the final party scene with no goodbye.
The reason why Holden as a husband gets on my nerves constantly is because for months he’s been treating her like complete garbage and pulling the “moral majority” card. At some points it seemed like Lily couldn’t win with this man. If she were honest about something, in some cases she’d undeservedly get the third degree. If she weren’t, she’d get the same thing. It truly, truly angered me when he had the gall to blame Lily for Luke’s being hurt even though he knows that she wasn’t responsible. And then him blaming her for not saying anything about Carly HERSELF manipulating Jack and them almost marrying. I honestly feel that if she did tell, he’d probably go off and tell her to mind her own damn business. Then he finally dumps her and has divorce papers drawn up and still wants to play the moral card when she’s with Dusty. He dumped HER. If he didn’t want her to go off and be with someone else, he should have never pushed her away to start with and said it was over. Now if Holden's upset about the fact that Lily lied to the kids, then I can actually understand that. But I don't get how someone can push her away like he did and then have the audacity to get huffy when it turns out that she's now with someone else.
Luke on the other hand, as well as the other kids in all this are completely innocent; they don’t deserve to be lied to by Lily. It seems to me that Lily wants Holden back but she also thinks that he doesn't want her anymore. To me honestly though the kids have it worse. Luke, Faith, Natalie and Ethan haven’t done anything to make her leave. Of course it’s their business that Lily is with Dusty. Everyone except Ethan is old enough to understand and process this information. Kids aren't stupid. They know what it means when it's said that Lily's going to be off with Dusty. This is impacting her family as a whole. And someone’s deluding themselves if they say that actions like this are fair on the kids. Don't send your kids false hope if you know that even for the time being it's not likely that you and your husband/wife aren't getting back together.
ATWT: The "L" Word
Summary and analysis for Monday, November 26.
Lily is in bed in Dusty’s hotel room at the Lakeview as he orders breakfast after sleeping together. Lily feels like an outsider. She wanted to spend time with Faith and Natalie but they had other things to do.
At the Snyder house, Noah stops by to bring Luke his Lit assignment, but he can‘t stay long. Luke apologizes for how the family behaved on Thanksgiving (referring to Jack and Brad’s fighting, Lily leaving, etc.). Noah says don’t worry about it and this is rather tame compared to past Thanksgivings. Luke asks him to stay and offers leftover turkey but Noah becomes distant acting and leaves rather quickly. Holden comes in and wonders what’s bugging Luke. Luke thinks that he scared Noah by saying that he loved him. It’s gotten so awkward and uncomfortable. It’s possible that he doesn’t know what to say or needs more time and Luke’s scared that he trashed it all with his big mouth. Holden reassures him by saying that even though he may have trouble saying the words, he does prove that he loves him back by actions. He calls Luke his boyfriend, he goes out of his way to see Luke even though he may not be in the mood to see him. These are definitely signs of something. And it’s true. I know I’d personally rather have someone do it by actions instead of blurting out the L word when they don’t mean it or if they're not quite ready to say it.
Luke thinks that if Holden can fix things between he and Noah, it’s possible that he can fix things between himself and Lily; but Holden insists it’s too late for that. Luke puts out the fact that Lily goes out of her way to come to the farm and visit. So that should mean something. Lily drops by after this; with Luke saying “Mom! How nice of you to COME OUT OF YOUR WAY and visit.” Lily reiterates that even if she and Holden aren’t together, they are still a family. No matter where they all live. Luke says that walking out of the middle of Thanksgiving dinner gives a different impression. Faith thinks it seems to have something to do with Dusty (of course, she’s right). Luke insists it’d be easier if she spent more time with the kids. Lily doesn’t think that’s a good idea because of Holden. Lily says as far as the Lakeview goes, she has to work there sometimes, and that should be understood. After Luke leaves the room, Holden walks in and wonders if she and Dusty being together at the Lakeview is “work.”
Noah runs into Dusty at Al’s Diner. He thanks him again for what happened and how he didn’t blame him for his father’s actions. Dusty says that if Winston’s not proud of him for who he is, that’s his problem. Noah says he’s going to school and he’s hanging out, he wonders what else that can he do. Dusty replies for him to be himself. Dusty’s being nice to him because he’s calling it like he sees it. He needs all the friends he can get these days.
The only reason why I was really disappointed was because there was no explanation initially as to why Noah’s being so distant. It seemed like there was a scene missing. Last week Luke and Noah were together at the Snyder house for Thanksgiving (Noah even got to cut the squash!), and they were so happy. They even held hands at the end! After an eventful last Tuesday with Noah defending Luke’s and his honor, and the heartwarming scenes where they were all sweet with each other the following Wednesday, it just didn’t seem to make sense for one of them to be so distant all of a sudden, at least not without any kind of explanation. An explanation that could be done with an additional scene or two beforehand. I mean, I thought Noah had trouble introducing Luke as his boyfriend in front of the Major last week because he was in the army, which kind of made sense. Again, I can’t stress this enough, if there are rewrites or changes that need to be done, at least have them make sense! Please! Is that too much to ask?! Or at least make sure the continuity is right.
One thing I’m really loving though is Holden and Luke’s relationship. Holden has really gotten on my nerves lately with his holier-than-thou attitude during most of the Lily/Dusty drama, particularly around the time Luke got hurt. But when Luke is with Holden and they have discussions, the man just cannot fail. As a father, he’s one of the best characters I’ve seen in daytime. I’m sure there are many people out there besides myself who wishes that they could have a father like that, regardless if you’re gay or straight. We were so close though. So close until he had the conversation with Lily at the end. Arrrgh! So close to one full day of likable Holden again! So close I could taste it! He dumped her! Again I reiterate that HE dumped HER!
I think that Dusty being Noah’s mentor is a good effort, though I was really hoping that Noah would talk more about his relationship with Luke. I feel it would have been better that way.
Lily is in bed in Dusty’s hotel room at the Lakeview as he orders breakfast after sleeping together. Lily feels like an outsider. She wanted to spend time with Faith and Natalie but they had other things to do.
At the Snyder house, Noah stops by to bring Luke his Lit assignment, but he can‘t stay long. Luke apologizes for how the family behaved on Thanksgiving (referring to Jack and Brad’s fighting, Lily leaving, etc.). Noah says don’t worry about it and this is rather tame compared to past Thanksgivings. Luke asks him to stay and offers leftover turkey but Noah becomes distant acting and leaves rather quickly. Holden comes in and wonders what’s bugging Luke. Luke thinks that he scared Noah by saying that he loved him. It’s gotten so awkward and uncomfortable. It’s possible that he doesn’t know what to say or needs more time and Luke’s scared that he trashed it all with his big mouth. Holden reassures him by saying that even though he may have trouble saying the words, he does prove that he loves him back by actions. He calls Luke his boyfriend, he goes out of his way to see Luke even though he may not be in the mood to see him. These are definitely signs of something. And it’s true. I know I’d personally rather have someone do it by actions instead of blurting out the L word when they don’t mean it or if they're not quite ready to say it.
Luke thinks that if Holden can fix things between he and Noah, it’s possible that he can fix things between himself and Lily; but Holden insists it’s too late for that. Luke puts out the fact that Lily goes out of her way to come to the farm and visit. So that should mean something. Lily drops by after this; with Luke saying “Mom! How nice of you to COME OUT OF YOUR WAY and visit.” Lily reiterates that even if she and Holden aren’t together, they are still a family. No matter where they all live. Luke says that walking out of the middle of Thanksgiving dinner gives a different impression. Faith thinks it seems to have something to do with Dusty (of course, she’s right). Luke insists it’d be easier if she spent more time with the kids. Lily doesn’t think that’s a good idea because of Holden. Lily says as far as the Lakeview goes, she has to work there sometimes, and that should be understood. After Luke leaves the room, Holden walks in and wonders if she and Dusty being together at the Lakeview is “work.”
Noah runs into Dusty at Al’s Diner. He thanks him again for what happened and how he didn’t blame him for his father’s actions. Dusty says that if Winston’s not proud of him for who he is, that’s his problem. Noah says he’s going to school and he’s hanging out, he wonders what else that can he do. Dusty replies for him to be himself. Dusty’s being nice to him because he’s calling it like he sees it. He needs all the friends he can get these days.
The only reason why I was really disappointed was because there was no explanation initially as to why Noah’s being so distant. It seemed like there was a scene missing. Last week Luke and Noah were together at the Snyder house for Thanksgiving (Noah even got to cut the squash!), and they were so happy. They even held hands at the end! After an eventful last Tuesday with Noah defending Luke’s and his honor, and the heartwarming scenes where they were all sweet with each other the following Wednesday, it just didn’t seem to make sense for one of them to be so distant all of a sudden, at least not without any kind of explanation. An explanation that could be done with an additional scene or two beforehand. I mean, I thought Noah had trouble introducing Luke as his boyfriend in front of the Major last week because he was in the army, which kind of made sense. Again, I can’t stress this enough, if there are rewrites or changes that need to be done, at least have them make sense! Please! Is that too much to ask?! Or at least make sure the continuity is right.
One thing I’m really loving though is Holden and Luke’s relationship. Holden has really gotten on my nerves lately with his holier-than-thou attitude during most of the Lily/Dusty drama, particularly around the time Luke got hurt. But when Luke is with Holden and they have discussions, the man just cannot fail. As a father, he’s one of the best characters I’ve seen in daytime. I’m sure there are many people out there besides myself who wishes that they could have a father like that, regardless if you’re gay or straight. We were so close though. So close until he had the conversation with Lily at the end. Arrrgh! So close to one full day of likable Holden again! So close I could taste it! He dumped her! Again I reiterate that HE dumped HER!
I think that Dusty being Noah’s mentor is a good effort, though I was really hoping that Noah would talk more about his relationship with Luke. I feel it would have been better that way.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
TPIR: How Drew's Doing
I realized that I did an entry back in October about The Price Is Right's 36th season premiere, but I also just noticed I never really gave much of a later review for how I think Drew is doing so far on the show.
I’ve enjoyed a lot of Drew’s other work over the years. For one, The Drew Carey Show, and secondly, Whose Line Is It Anyway. When I first heard that he was going to be the new host of Price, I really wasn’t as skeptical as I was when other host’s names popped up across forums. Drew’s name was never one that made me go “ehh… Drew would be good on the show IF--.” I’ll elaborate.
Todd Newton -- I was a Todd Newton supporter initially, but I'm kind of glad he didn't get picked the more I think about it. I liked him on Hollywood Showdown, but his job on Whammy!: The All-New Press Your Luck was an entirely different story. To me he was way too hyper, and WAY too loud, just like the revival itself was, and acted like the stereotypical game show host which I could not stand. Hollywood Showdown was different; I thought he was good on there. The volume was just right. It was like night and day. So in other words, “Todd Newton would be perfect IF he didn’t act like the stereotypical game show host.”
John O’Hurley -- John O'Hurley would be perfect IF he didn't start some annoying thing like jump at the losing horns like he did with the Feud 'try again' buzzer last season.” I think he’s capable of being a good host, and I enjoy him more than Richard Karn and without a single doubt more than Louie Anderson, but I’m so glad to see that jumping went away. I can see him developing traditions on this show that I find unfavorable.
This never occurred with Drew. And when I saw him on The Power of 10 and not leaving Whose Line out of my mind, I was convinced that he’d make a good game show host.
And I’ve been loving him on the show more and more everyday. For one, I like how he says “Hi, how are you doing, welcome to the show,” etc. to the contestants when it’s Item Up For Bids time. I also really like how happy he is on the show and how he uses his own sense of humor. And there are the phrases too. Some of them being “Shazam” for Double Prices, “Making friends, are we?” for someone bidding one dollar higher than the last person, and my personal favorite, “Alakazam!” during Half-Off. As I mentioned in the past, I love how he's not pretty much close to shouting at the contestants to hurry up every few minutes. I'm not saying that with Bob, the show was never fun, but I do find that there’s such an abundance of joy on the show now. To me, more than before than in the past several years. I always make an effort to try to at least watch if I can’t tape as often as possible.
Of course Drew’s making some mistakes or will make a few more in the near future. One of the biggest reasons I love a lot of the game show hosts that I do is because of the fact that they simply weren’t perfect, knew they weren’t perfect, and didn’t try to be. And anyone who’s ever watched the show before Drew came along (especially in the last 5 or so years) would know that Bob was never perfect all the time on this show either. And then there’s the fact that Drew has had about 80 pricing games to work with in his start. When Price was first revived in 1972, by the end of the taping of week one, there were only five, that’s right, FIVE pricing games, which consisted of the following: Any Number, Double Prices, Grocery Game, Bullseye (I), and Bonus Game. So I think it’s only fair that I give Drew the chance to learn a few pricing games at a time.
There is one thing that really frustrates me though. I’m pretty much more than willing to accept other people’s opinions about why they don’t like Drew himself as a host even if I don‘t agree with them, but there’s one thing I simply do not understand. I don’t get how some people say they don’t like Drew and they just seem to blame the man for everything. It’s not Drew’s fault that the contestants are obnoxious. It’s not Drew’s fault that you don’t like the new version of the theme music. It’s not Drew’s fault that you don’t like the new camera angles for the “come on down” portion of the show. And it’s not Drew’s fault that you don’t like the new set. Other people are responsible for making those changes. If you dislike Drew as a host, then you don’t like his “Alakazam’s” during Half-Off, his banter with Rich, his laugh, or his handling of the contestants, or anything that Drew does. If you don’t like the man on this show, I honestly think that some folks should at least try to be fair and at least blame him for something that HE does.
I’ve enjoyed a lot of Drew’s other work over the years. For one, The Drew Carey Show, and secondly, Whose Line Is It Anyway. When I first heard that he was going to be the new host of Price, I really wasn’t as skeptical as I was when other host’s names popped up across forums. Drew’s name was never one that made me go “ehh… Drew would be good on the show IF--.” I’ll elaborate.
Todd Newton -- I was a Todd Newton supporter initially, but I'm kind of glad he didn't get picked the more I think about it. I liked him on Hollywood Showdown, but his job on Whammy!: The All-New Press Your Luck was an entirely different story. To me he was way too hyper, and WAY too loud, just like the revival itself was, and acted like the stereotypical game show host which I could not stand. Hollywood Showdown was different; I thought he was good on there. The volume was just right. It was like night and day. So in other words, “Todd Newton would be perfect IF he didn’t act like the stereotypical game show host.”
John O’Hurley -- John O'Hurley would be perfect IF he didn't start some annoying thing like jump at the losing horns like he did with the Feud 'try again' buzzer last season.” I think he’s capable of being a good host, and I enjoy him more than Richard Karn and without a single doubt more than Louie Anderson, but I’m so glad to see that jumping went away. I can see him developing traditions on this show that I find unfavorable.
This never occurred with Drew. And when I saw him on The Power of 10 and not leaving Whose Line out of my mind, I was convinced that he’d make a good game show host.
And I’ve been loving him on the show more and more everyday. For one, I like how he says “Hi, how are you doing, welcome to the show,” etc. to the contestants when it’s Item Up For Bids time. I also really like how happy he is on the show and how he uses his own sense of humor. And there are the phrases too. Some of them being “Shazam” for Double Prices, “Making friends, are we?” for someone bidding one dollar higher than the last person, and my personal favorite, “Alakazam!” during Half-Off. As I mentioned in the past, I love how he's not pretty much close to shouting at the contestants to hurry up every few minutes. I'm not saying that with Bob, the show was never fun, but I do find that there’s such an abundance of joy on the show now. To me, more than before than in the past several years. I always make an effort to try to at least watch if I can’t tape as often as possible.
Of course Drew’s making some mistakes or will make a few more in the near future. One of the biggest reasons I love a lot of the game show hosts that I do is because of the fact that they simply weren’t perfect, knew they weren’t perfect, and didn’t try to be. And anyone who’s ever watched the show before Drew came along (especially in the last 5 or so years) would know that Bob was never perfect all the time on this show either. And then there’s the fact that Drew has had about 80 pricing games to work with in his start. When Price was first revived in 1972, by the end of the taping of week one, there were only five, that’s right, FIVE pricing games, which consisted of the following: Any Number, Double Prices, Grocery Game, Bullseye (I), and Bonus Game. So I think it’s only fair that I give Drew the chance to learn a few pricing games at a time.
There is one thing that really frustrates me though. I’m pretty much more than willing to accept other people’s opinions about why they don’t like Drew himself as a host even if I don‘t agree with them, but there’s one thing I simply do not understand. I don’t get how some people say they don’t like Drew and they just seem to blame the man for everything. It’s not Drew’s fault that the contestants are obnoxious. It’s not Drew’s fault that you don’t like the new version of the theme music. It’s not Drew’s fault that you don’t like the new camera angles for the “come on down” portion of the show. And it’s not Drew’s fault that you don’t like the new set. Other people are responsible for making those changes. If you dislike Drew as a host, then you don’t like his “Alakazam’s” during Half-Off, his banter with Rich, his laugh, or his handling of the contestants, or anything that Drew does. If you don’t like the man on this show, I honestly think that some folks should at least try to be fair and at least blame him for something that HE does.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
GSN’s Viewer’s Choice Marathon: Review
The game show fans voted daily early in November, and this is what we got: classic goodness!
The marathon itself was as follows:
9:00 am - Family Feud (“September” answer episode, 1980)
9:30 am - Tattletales (CBS Soap episode featuring Meg Ryan, 1982)
10:00 am - Super Password (Tournament of Champions finale, 1985)
10:30 am - Card Sharks (One five-figure money cards win, 1986)
11:00 am - Match Game (“Cuckoo, Friend, and Ollie,” 1979)
11:30 am - Trivia Trap (Fact or fiction/agree or disagree format, 1984)
12:00 pm - Password Plus (Tom Kennedy and Elaine Joyce, 1979)
12:30 pm - Press Your Luck (Veronica, who‘s no longer a mortician, 1984)
1:00 pm - Password (Second tournament of champions, 1967)
1:30 pm - Card Sharks (Two five-figure money card wins, 1979)
2:00 pm - Wheel of Fortune (Last day before the Jackpot space debuted, 1996)
2:30 pm - Let’s Make a Deal (Last Hilton show, and last episode of the series, 1977)
3:00 pm - Hot Potato (Accountants vs. Car Saleswomen, 1984)
3:30 pm - Match Game PM (Big money win, 1975)
4:00 pm - Treasure Hunt (Contestant faints, 1974)
4:30 pm - Jackpot! (Super Jackpot! Win, 1989)
5:00 pm - Bullseye (Big Bonus Island win, 1981)
5:30 pm - The Joker’s Wild (Hal and his lucky suit, 1978)
6:00 pm - Tic Tac Dough (An early episode with Thom McKee, 1980)
6:30 pm - The $100,000 Pyramid ($100,000 Tournament win, 1987)
I really enjoyed this marathon. I'd say the big favorites were Bullseye, Hot Potato, Wheel of Fortune, Tattletales, Password, both Card Sharks episodes, Treasure Hunt, and Jackpot. They really picked good episodes for the most part.
I always thought both Hot Potato and Bullseye were good before the celebrities came. One of the things that made Hot Potato unique was the fact that they had three people on each team who had the same careers. Of course, this factor was gone when the stars came. And while the idea of seeing Marla Gibbs and Harvey Korman playing Bullseye is kind of fun, at the same time it also suffered that the game was much slower, and some days Bonus Island was not even played. Let’s also not forget the fact that celebrities would play on these shows for the remainders of their run. I can take a good week or so, or have a few weeks out of the year with all-star fun like the various Passwords have done, but the idea of it being all day everyday is a major turn-off. I’d have thought Barry & Enright would have learned their lesson after the demise of Bullseye.
While I was hoping that hoping a more vintage episode of Wheel of Fortune would air instead of something kind of recent, I thought it was still enjoyable. I loved seeing one of the contestants come from behind so well after landing on Lose-A-Turn. To me it’s always a bit awkward seeing episodes from the late ‘90’s with the older wheel with no backdrops, the egg crate score displays still there, and eventually all this with the electronic puzzle board. And I was never a fan of the 1995-97 variation of “Changing Keys.” However, I will take the mid-late ‘90’s era any day over what’s on now. Wheel of Fortune first-run today I can enjoy every once in a while, but I don't have the "got to watch every night" feeling with this show anymore. It’s gotten way more extravagant than it should. Part of the reason why I enjoy most of the older eras of the show so much is because of the simplicity. And the reason why I say that the ‘90’s era is still somewhat enjoyable is because even though changes were made, the show still had that level of simplicity.
I had no idea off-hand that the CBS version of Password ever did a tournament of any kind, so I was pleasantly surprised to see an episode of this. And from Television City in Hollywood, no doubt.
Being a soap fan (and mostly a classic one at that), Tattletales was fun for me. And it was nice seeing Meg Ryan. I’ve been waiting to see an episode from this week for a long time.
Then you have the big money wins on both episodes of Card Sharks. Five-figure money card wins on this show are always a blast, especially on the Perry version because they didn’t happen as often as they did on the 1980’s versions. Intense moments like this show how great of a host Jim Perry is, and even though I’m not the biggest fan of Bob Eubanks on Card Sharks, he could be enjoyable for me on his version from time to time and he can handle suspense and tension very well. Both on this show and Trivia Trap.
Treasure Hunt was just awesome. This series showed us how great Geoff was as a host. Geoff is another emcee that is great at building suspense. And then there’s the fact that he had to memorize at least two dozen skits for the show. Just when you think a game is over, it’s not. Never think “that’s it, that’s all she got” with this show, because at least ninety percent of the time you’ll be wrong.
Jackpot! is my second favorite Bob Stewart show after Pyramid, so it was nice seeing another episode of that. I’m a bigger fan of the ‘70’s era, but the ‘80’s version was fun in itself. I enjoy Geoff Edwards on this show much more than Mike Darrow. This series shows how fun riddles can be and it’s a show that Camouflage could have learned from. That was a show that had some of the most difficult riddles and plays on words I’ve ever seen. It’s too bad the syndication company for Jackpot! went bankrupt. We could have gotten another year of this show at least. It’s something I’d love to see on the weekend schedule sometime.
While I was kind of hoping that we’d see something from a different season of $100,000 Pyramid or better yet $25,000 Pyramid or something from the ‘70’s era, they did pick a good episode and big money wins are always great to see.
The only real disappointment I had was with the episode of Trivia Trap that aired. I’m not a fan of the fact or fiction/agree or disagree main game. While the $1,000 Trivia Race and the bonus round were still there, for me it just didn’t feel the same anymore. At least there was a $10,000 win during the bonus, so that helped out a bit.
One other nitpick: Why was the Price Is Right logo on during the commercial bumpers? That show wasn’t even on the ballot, and most fans know that GSN can no longer air it. Not even under a special circumstance like this one. And sadly, this includes any version; even the Cullen version that aired on NBC and ABC.
Seeing this event really has me wishing we could see Jackpot!, Hot Potato, or another season and/or era of Pyramid on the weekend schedule sometime.
The marathon itself was as follows:
9:00 am - Family Feud (“September” answer episode, 1980)
9:30 am - Tattletales (CBS Soap episode featuring Meg Ryan, 1982)
10:00 am - Super Password (Tournament of Champions finale, 1985)
10:30 am - Card Sharks (One five-figure money cards win, 1986)
11:00 am - Match Game (“Cuckoo, Friend, and Ollie,” 1979)
11:30 am - Trivia Trap (Fact or fiction/agree or disagree format, 1984)
12:00 pm - Password Plus (Tom Kennedy and Elaine Joyce, 1979)
12:30 pm - Press Your Luck (Veronica, who‘s no longer a mortician, 1984)
1:00 pm - Password (Second tournament of champions, 1967)
1:30 pm - Card Sharks (Two five-figure money card wins, 1979)
2:00 pm - Wheel of Fortune (Last day before the Jackpot space debuted, 1996)
2:30 pm - Let’s Make a Deal (Last Hilton show, and last episode of the series, 1977)
3:00 pm - Hot Potato (Accountants vs. Car Saleswomen, 1984)
3:30 pm - Match Game PM (Big money win, 1975)
4:00 pm - Treasure Hunt (Contestant faints, 1974)
4:30 pm - Jackpot! (Super Jackpot! Win, 1989)
5:00 pm - Bullseye (Big Bonus Island win, 1981)
5:30 pm - The Joker’s Wild (Hal and his lucky suit, 1978)
6:00 pm - Tic Tac Dough (An early episode with Thom McKee, 1980)
6:30 pm - The $100,000 Pyramid ($100,000 Tournament win, 1987)
I really enjoyed this marathon. I'd say the big favorites were Bullseye, Hot Potato, Wheel of Fortune, Tattletales, Password, both Card Sharks episodes, Treasure Hunt, and Jackpot. They really picked good episodes for the most part.
I always thought both Hot Potato and Bullseye were good before the celebrities came. One of the things that made Hot Potato unique was the fact that they had three people on each team who had the same careers. Of course, this factor was gone when the stars came. And while the idea of seeing Marla Gibbs and Harvey Korman playing Bullseye is kind of fun, at the same time it also suffered that the game was much slower, and some days Bonus Island was not even played. Let’s also not forget the fact that celebrities would play on these shows for the remainders of their run. I can take a good week or so, or have a few weeks out of the year with all-star fun like the various Passwords have done, but the idea of it being all day everyday is a major turn-off. I’d have thought Barry & Enright would have learned their lesson after the demise of Bullseye.
While I was hoping that hoping a more vintage episode of Wheel of Fortune would air instead of something kind of recent, I thought it was still enjoyable. I loved seeing one of the contestants come from behind so well after landing on Lose-A-Turn. To me it’s always a bit awkward seeing episodes from the late ‘90’s with the older wheel with no backdrops, the egg crate score displays still there, and eventually all this with the electronic puzzle board. And I was never a fan of the 1995-97 variation of “Changing Keys.” However, I will take the mid-late ‘90’s era any day over what’s on now. Wheel of Fortune first-run today I can enjoy every once in a while, but I don't have the "got to watch every night" feeling with this show anymore. It’s gotten way more extravagant than it should. Part of the reason why I enjoy most of the older eras of the show so much is because of the simplicity. And the reason why I say that the ‘90’s era is still somewhat enjoyable is because even though changes were made, the show still had that level of simplicity.
I had no idea off-hand that the CBS version of Password ever did a tournament of any kind, so I was pleasantly surprised to see an episode of this. And from Television City in Hollywood, no doubt.
Being a soap fan (and mostly a classic one at that), Tattletales was fun for me. And it was nice seeing Meg Ryan. I’ve been waiting to see an episode from this week for a long time.
Then you have the big money wins on both episodes of Card Sharks. Five-figure money card wins on this show are always a blast, especially on the Perry version because they didn’t happen as often as they did on the 1980’s versions. Intense moments like this show how great of a host Jim Perry is, and even though I’m not the biggest fan of Bob Eubanks on Card Sharks, he could be enjoyable for me on his version from time to time and he can handle suspense and tension very well. Both on this show and Trivia Trap.
Treasure Hunt was just awesome. This series showed us how great Geoff was as a host. Geoff is another emcee that is great at building suspense. And then there’s the fact that he had to memorize at least two dozen skits for the show. Just when you think a game is over, it’s not. Never think “that’s it, that’s all she got” with this show, because at least ninety percent of the time you’ll be wrong.
Jackpot! is my second favorite Bob Stewart show after Pyramid, so it was nice seeing another episode of that. I’m a bigger fan of the ‘70’s era, but the ‘80’s version was fun in itself. I enjoy Geoff Edwards on this show much more than Mike Darrow. This series shows how fun riddles can be and it’s a show that Camouflage could have learned from. That was a show that had some of the most difficult riddles and plays on words I’ve ever seen. It’s too bad the syndication company for Jackpot! went bankrupt. We could have gotten another year of this show at least. It’s something I’d love to see on the weekend schedule sometime.
While I was kind of hoping that we’d see something from a different season of $100,000 Pyramid or better yet $25,000 Pyramid or something from the ‘70’s era, they did pick a good episode and big money wins are always great to see.
The only real disappointment I had was with the episode of Trivia Trap that aired. I’m not a fan of the fact or fiction/agree or disagree main game. While the $1,000 Trivia Race and the bonus round were still there, for me it just didn’t feel the same anymore. At least there was a $10,000 win during the bonus, so that helped out a bit.
One other nitpick: Why was the Price Is Right logo on during the commercial bumpers? That show wasn’t even on the ballot, and most fans know that GSN can no longer air it. Not even under a special circumstance like this one. And sadly, this includes any version; even the Cullen version that aired on NBC and ABC.
Seeing this event really has me wishing we could see Jackpot!, Hot Potato, or another season and/or era of Pyramid on the weekend schedule sometime.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
ATWT: Bye-bye, Daddie (and this time, don't come back)!
Summary and analysis for November 20, 2007.
Luke doesn’t think he felt anything but Noah disagrees and says giving up is pathetic. He also says that he doesn’t want a terminally depressed boyfriend. Note the word, “boyfriend.” The mood becomes so much better with that word. Luke didn’t know where things stood, but it’s obvious that things are better than originally thought. Noah gets a call from Dallas at Oakdale P.D. Noah is informed that his father’s being transferred to prison and that he might want to stop by and say goodbye. Noah wants nothing to do with him but Luke thinks otherwise. Noah mentions that anything would have been better than growing up with him. Luke tells him to go there, look him in the eye, and say to him that he can’t hurt him anymore.
Noah arrives on the interrogation room with Winston, who is handcuffed to the table in an orange jump suit. Winston is STILL implying about Luke being the deviant who’s trying to make Noah as sick as he is. Back at Fairwinds, Holden and Lily get a call from Luke who says he needs help. Holden is on his way and Lily leaves with him. And in comes Luke as Winston‘s continuing. “Don’t waste your life on some perverted trash like this,” yadda, yadda, yadda, blazé blah. “What he does is a sin!” Luke points out whether or not sin was thought out when he tried to kill him. “THAT IS ENOUGH! NOAH AND I ARE TOGETHER AND YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT!” Winston then says that he won’t have a pervert like him lecture him on morality. Noah tells him to stop calling Luke names. Then we have Daddie replying with “He has you under some kind of spell.” (Okay, so, what, Luke’s a warlock now?) Now enraged and in tears, Luke stands up in his chair and says “I LOVE YOUR SON! AND WE’RE NOT AFRAID TO LET THE WORLD SEE THAT! THIS IS RIGHT, ME AND NOAH TOGETHER, AND YOU, LOCKED UP IN A PRISON WHERE YOU BELONG!” Winston reaches for Luke and Noah pushes him back and in walks Dallas to restrain him, and Holden and Lily walk in.
Luke realizes that he was so angry while confronting the Colonel, he didn’t realize that he was standing up. Holden offers to take Luke back home, but Noah says he wants to do it. On the way out of the interrogation room, they run into an old friend of the Mayer family, Major Gerard McLane. Noah introduces Luke, but nervously, not as his boyfriend. McLane knew Noah and Winston long ago and heard the news about Winston, and Noah wonders why anyone from the military would show up after everything that‘s happened in the past several months. After all, Col. Winston Mayer is a murderer, and his son is gay. So he wouldn’t think anyone there related there would show up. Maj. McLane says that his father served with great courage and that he was a hero, but not anymore. He also mentions that what he did to Noah and Luke was unforgivable and that there’s nothing wrong with Noah being who he is, and he wanted to Noah to understand that. The army is there to help… (insert by Luke) as long as he doesn’t want to join up. McLane mentions that we never know, things could change. Noah has never felt less alone in his life.
As Winston Mayer is finally being hauled away from Oakdale P.D. and over to the big house, Noah‘s got some more things to say. Oh, Noah’s not done yet. Daddie’s shut him up for too long and he’s going to hear him now. He blamed himself for all the horrible things the Colonel did because he thought he was just covering for his mistakes. But then he realized that he and his mother were just being human. And we have Winston cutting in saying “Human, is that what they call it these days?” (Cue the eye roll). Noah feels sorry for Winston because he’ll never know what love is. Noah’s informs his father that he’ll be making his own decisions and doing what he wants to do, and there’s not a damn thing Daddie can do about it. You go, boy!
Now let’s see. We have Noah, who’s with someone who truly loves him for who he is, and he‘s got supportive people on his side. He’s finally leading the life he wants to lead and he’s going to pursue his own goals as well. And we have Winston, who’s in an orange jump suit ready to be hauled away for a LONG time, and while he’s talking to Luke and Noah he’s freakin’ handcuffed to a table. Who’s leading a worse life? I’ll leave it up to you to see who’s going down the right and wrong paths. It’s just too much of a gimme. And yay, hand holding when Luke comes in the room. And more hand holding and later on. Wow! And of course, I was cheering Noah and Luke on loudly as they both told Daddie Dearest off. Noah has really changed for the better. He’s got such a backbone now. He would have never stood up to Daddie three months ago.
I was really impressed and surprised with the part with Maj. McLane. While I was definitely sure that he’d be more humane than Winston, I really wasn’t expecting him to also say there’s nothing wrong with Noah being gay and having a boyfriend as well. The military may have their Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, but this is another instance that shows that not everyone who works there is behind it and agrees with it. While Col. Mayer may have done astounding work during his service, the crimes he committed and the lives he wrecked in the process pretty much erase any positive thing he‘s ever done. I know some people were upset that Winston’s character would give the army a horrible name. But it seems they made sure that that would not wind up happening in the end. The writers get major kudos from me on that.
This is what I was talking about before that was lacking previously. The emotion and the feelings were all there, one hundred percent of the time. Both acting AND dialogue wise. Van and Jake did an outstanding job. They can act out The Yellow Pages and make it work. Like I’ve mentioned before, even if the writing for a certain scene or day isn’t great, I feel they still do a good job delivering. And Daniel-Hugh Kelly, wow, you’re still making me hate Winston Mayer and making me wanting to throw things at the TV, so I know you did your job, too. And I just love that I complained so much about lack of affection the last week, and here we are now with hand holding like crazy. Today was a good day for me, at least as far as this storyline went.
Luke doesn’t think he felt anything but Noah disagrees and says giving up is pathetic. He also says that he doesn’t want a terminally depressed boyfriend. Note the word, “boyfriend.” The mood becomes so much better with that word. Luke didn’t know where things stood, but it’s obvious that things are better than originally thought. Noah gets a call from Dallas at Oakdale P.D. Noah is informed that his father’s being transferred to prison and that he might want to stop by and say goodbye. Noah wants nothing to do with him but Luke thinks otherwise. Noah mentions that anything would have been better than growing up with him. Luke tells him to go there, look him in the eye, and say to him that he can’t hurt him anymore.
Noah arrives on the interrogation room with Winston, who is handcuffed to the table in an orange jump suit. Winston is STILL implying about Luke being the deviant who’s trying to make Noah as sick as he is. Back at Fairwinds, Holden and Lily get a call from Luke who says he needs help. Holden is on his way and Lily leaves with him. And in comes Luke as Winston‘s continuing. “Don’t waste your life on some perverted trash like this,” yadda, yadda, yadda, blazé blah. “What he does is a sin!” Luke points out whether or not sin was thought out when he tried to kill him. “THAT IS ENOUGH! NOAH AND I ARE TOGETHER AND YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT!” Winston then says that he won’t have a pervert like him lecture him on morality. Noah tells him to stop calling Luke names. Then we have Daddie replying with “He has you under some kind of spell.” (Okay, so, what, Luke’s a warlock now?) Now enraged and in tears, Luke stands up in his chair and says “I LOVE YOUR SON! AND WE’RE NOT AFRAID TO LET THE WORLD SEE THAT! THIS IS RIGHT, ME AND NOAH TOGETHER, AND YOU, LOCKED UP IN A PRISON WHERE YOU BELONG!” Winston reaches for Luke and Noah pushes him back and in walks Dallas to restrain him, and Holden and Lily walk in.
Luke realizes that he was so angry while confronting the Colonel, he didn’t realize that he was standing up. Holden offers to take Luke back home, but Noah says he wants to do it. On the way out of the interrogation room, they run into an old friend of the Mayer family, Major Gerard McLane. Noah introduces Luke, but nervously, not as his boyfriend. McLane knew Noah and Winston long ago and heard the news about Winston, and Noah wonders why anyone from the military would show up after everything that‘s happened in the past several months. After all, Col. Winston Mayer is a murderer, and his son is gay. So he wouldn’t think anyone there related there would show up. Maj. McLane says that his father served with great courage and that he was a hero, but not anymore. He also mentions that what he did to Noah and Luke was unforgivable and that there’s nothing wrong with Noah being who he is, and he wanted to Noah to understand that. The army is there to help… (insert by Luke) as long as he doesn’t want to join up. McLane mentions that we never know, things could change. Noah has never felt less alone in his life.
As Winston Mayer is finally being hauled away from Oakdale P.D. and over to the big house, Noah‘s got some more things to say. Oh, Noah’s not done yet. Daddie’s shut him up for too long and he’s going to hear him now. He blamed himself for all the horrible things the Colonel did because he thought he was just covering for his mistakes. But then he realized that he and his mother were just being human. And we have Winston cutting in saying “Human, is that what they call it these days?” (Cue the eye roll). Noah feels sorry for Winston because he’ll never know what love is. Noah’s informs his father that he’ll be making his own decisions and doing what he wants to do, and there’s not a damn thing Daddie can do about it. You go, boy!
Now let’s see. We have Noah, who’s with someone who truly loves him for who he is, and he‘s got supportive people on his side. He’s finally leading the life he wants to lead and he’s going to pursue his own goals as well. And we have Winston, who’s in an orange jump suit ready to be hauled away for a LONG time, and while he’s talking to Luke and Noah he’s freakin’ handcuffed to a table. Who’s leading a worse life? I’ll leave it up to you to see who’s going down the right and wrong paths. It’s just too much of a gimme. And yay, hand holding when Luke comes in the room. And more hand holding and later on. Wow! And of course, I was cheering Noah and Luke on loudly as they both told Daddie Dearest off. Noah has really changed for the better. He’s got such a backbone now. He would have never stood up to Daddie three months ago.
I was really impressed and surprised with the part with Maj. McLane. While I was definitely sure that he’d be more humane than Winston, I really wasn’t expecting him to also say there’s nothing wrong with Noah being gay and having a boyfriend as well. The military may have their Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, but this is another instance that shows that not everyone who works there is behind it and agrees with it. While Col. Mayer may have done astounding work during his service, the crimes he committed and the lives he wrecked in the process pretty much erase any positive thing he‘s ever done. I know some people were upset that Winston’s character would give the army a horrible name. But it seems they made sure that that would not wind up happening in the end. The writers get major kudos from me on that.
This is what I was talking about before that was lacking previously. The emotion and the feelings were all there, one hundred percent of the time. Both acting AND dialogue wise. Van and Jake did an outstanding job. They can act out The Yellow Pages and make it work. Like I’ve mentioned before, even if the writing for a certain scene or day isn’t great, I feel they still do a good job delivering. And Daniel-Hugh Kelly, wow, you’re still making me hate Winston Mayer and making me wanting to throw things at the TV, so I know you did your job, too. And I just love that I complained so much about lack of affection the last week, and here we are now with hand holding like crazy. Today was a good day for me, at least as far as this storyline went.
ATWT: Charlene’s Package for Noah
(I wrote this as well as the other most recent ATWT article earlier but due to a family emergency, I was unable to post)
Here’s a summary and analysis for the episode that aired on November 15.
As we start, Holden and Lily arrive at the Snyder farm to tell Luke, Faith, and Natalie that they are getting a divorce (again). Lily insists that they’ll still be together as a family, but Faith doesn’t buy it, wants to stay with Holden and Luke at the farm, thinking that Lily will just go off to be with Dusty, and then she leaves in frustration.
Noah arrives at the police station where we also have Dallas (now played by a new actor) and desperate out-of-work lawyer Bonnie. A package has come for him, apparently from his mother, Charlene (a.k.a. Cheri) which contains some of her personal effects. Bonnie tells Noah that if he needs any help with the estate, to let her know. It turns out the package was sent by Ruth Mason from Memphis, Tennessee. Ruth was Charlene’s only sister. Noah says he doesn’t want the box, but with a little encouragement from Dallas, he takes it. Dallas insisted that if he doesn’t take the package, it’s like his father gets his way, which is true. The box could tell a lot about his mother. Dallas tells him not to open it alone, and do it with a friend.
Back at the farm, Noah runs into Holden with the box and Holden tells him that he needs a friend. Noah opens the box with Luke and we first find a little wooden statue that Charlene took to remember him by. Then there are a bunch of letters that were unopened that Charlene sent to him, that were apparently sent back by dear ol’ Dad (ugh, the swine!!). One of the letters from her states that Winston ruined her life and not to let him ruin his, and to believe in himself and never let him feel ashamed for being who he is. She also says that she never should have let him take Noah away; and that he should have been with two loving parents who didn’t judge him. She’s sorry she wasn’t there. Noah doesn’t understand why she could become a prostitute and that the letters make her sound decent. And that he’ll never forgive his dad for this. Luke says that maybe he should meet with his aunt, but Noah doesn’t believe that will do anything. Noah doesn’t want to talk about it anymore; and Luke doesn’t want to talk about his parents splitting up. Noah suggests that they do something physical instead. Cut to Luke’s classic facial expression as he says “like what?.” Of course, he meant physical therapy. As he helps Luke move his legs, by the end of the exercise, Luke says that his legs are sore. Noah wonders if that was just a figure of speech or can Luke actually feel his legs.
To be honest, I was mostly rather disappointed with the day’s scenes for several reasons, particularly at the farm. First of all, someone needs to inform Holden that Luke and Noah are more than just friends, they’re in a relationship now. Secondly, the scenes with Noah reading the letter and going through the package seemed rather rushed. The letter written by Charlene was rather sweet and that was well done and very emotional, but I was honestly expecting more from the writers when it came to the scene as a whole. Then at the end during Luke’s exercise routine, to me there should have been more of a celebration. I mean, for God’s sake, Luke can FINALLY FEEL HIS LEGS. Why no cheering? Why no kissing? Why no hugging? Not even a measly little high-five?! Where was the hand holding (or something) after Noah read his late mother’s letter? Come on! The powers that be really need to write more affectionate bits in. I’m not asking for too much. A simple hug or a kiss is all I want. They have no reason to be afraid now. They kissed twice and had a freaking towel fight -- shirtless and dripping wet. We’ve already seen some of the hottest stuff between them so far. While there were some lamebrain “EWW, G3T DOZE QU33R B0iS 0FF MY TEEVEEEEE!” reactions by the ’phobes, the response overall was mostly positive and they got a lot of praise. Van himself has said that he’s only gotten a few negative letters compared to the many positive ones. Van and Jake have no problem doing scenes like this. Their first kiss made major news; it was all over Soap Opera Digest and magazines like it. It was also covered on Entertainment Tonight the day before it aired. It was watched by hundreds of thousands of people on YouTube. There should be no reason at all why there would be any doubt when it comes to this department. It was definitely a huge milestone for daytime. I was literally counting down in excitement until the first kiss between them actually happened (ask almost any close friend I instant message with and they’ll confirm this). And the second time I had near the same excitement. But it shouldn’t be a big deal anymore. Again, like a number of other Luke/Noah fans, I don’t ask for much. A peck on the cheek or on the lips, and hugging is all that I really want.
While I did enjoy some of the scenes from this whole paralysis storyline, for the most part I was rather let down. Reason being, for one, while the action scenes I thought were well done by the actors, we never got an official cause of Luke’s paralysis. We don’t know if the Colonel shot him and then he fell down weird, or if he just had a bad fall in the struggle. Then we have the problem of it being so rushed. To be honest, it was a combination of it being rushed and them not being on enough, if that makes sense… I’ll explain. In October and November, we were pretty much back to them only being on once or twice per week (mostly once), which means that it took so long to see them compared to other characters, and when we did see them, a lot of the scenes, like the one I summarized, were rather rushed. If they were going to have a bunch of rewrites, changes, or what have you, they were better off just making Luke hurt pretty badly, but not paralyzed. Let’s say, instead of being paralyzed, how about he breaks his leg or foot instead. Not that I want our good buddy Luke hurt in any way, but that could have been played out as much more believable, especially if they were going to be on so little. And when they do go away for a week, often it’s at the WORST possible time. You don’t leave the audience at a bigger than normal cliffhanger and then have them wait between three days to a week to get it resolved. And when I say I want to see them more, they don’t have to be on every single day of the week. Two to three times per week, tops, will satisfy this fan. It doesn’t have to be all day, everyday. And my biggest complaint of all -- NOT ENOUGH LUCINDA. Seriously. They are so close, and she was barely there in the hospital and didn’t visit him at the Snyder farm ONCE. There could have been great scenes with she and Noah when he was still in the closet. Come on, writers, work on that.
There was one thing I did love though besides ‘s letter. The way Luke looked at Noah when he read ’s letter. And Luke’s face when Noah said “Let’s do something physical” -- PRICELESS. The chemistry between Jake and Van never disappoints me and the acting doesn’t either. They make Noah and Luke together believable and even if the writing in a scene or two disappoints me, the acting pretty much never will.
Here’s a summary and analysis for the episode that aired on November 15.
As we start, Holden and Lily arrive at the Snyder farm to tell Luke, Faith, and Natalie that they are getting a divorce (again). Lily insists that they’ll still be together as a family, but Faith doesn’t buy it, wants to stay with Holden and Luke at the farm, thinking that Lily will just go off to be with Dusty, and then she leaves in frustration.
Noah arrives at the police station where we also have Dallas (now played by a new actor) and desperate out-of-work lawyer Bonnie. A package has come for him, apparently from his mother, Charlene (a.k.a. Cheri) which contains some of her personal effects. Bonnie tells Noah that if he needs any help with the estate, to let her know. It turns out the package was sent by Ruth Mason from Memphis, Tennessee. Ruth was Charlene’s only sister. Noah says he doesn’t want the box, but with a little encouragement from Dallas, he takes it. Dallas insisted that if he doesn’t take the package, it’s like his father gets his way, which is true. The box could tell a lot about his mother. Dallas tells him not to open it alone, and do it with a friend.
Back at the farm, Noah runs into Holden with the box and Holden tells him that he needs a friend. Noah opens the box with Luke and we first find a little wooden statue that Charlene took to remember him by. Then there are a bunch of letters that were unopened that Charlene sent to him, that were apparently sent back by dear ol’ Dad (ugh, the swine!!). One of the letters from her states that Winston ruined her life and not to let him ruin his, and to believe in himself and never let him feel ashamed for being who he is. She also says that she never should have let him take Noah away; and that he should have been with two loving parents who didn’t judge him. She’s sorry she wasn’t there. Noah doesn’t understand why she could become a prostitute and that the letters make her sound decent. And that he’ll never forgive his dad for this. Luke says that maybe he should meet with his aunt, but Noah doesn’t believe that will do anything. Noah doesn’t want to talk about it anymore; and Luke doesn’t want to talk about his parents splitting up. Noah suggests that they do something physical instead. Cut to Luke’s classic facial expression as he says “like what?.” Of course, he meant physical therapy. As he helps Luke move his legs, by the end of the exercise, Luke says that his legs are sore. Noah wonders if that was just a figure of speech or can Luke actually feel his legs.
To be honest, I was mostly rather disappointed with the day’s scenes for several reasons, particularly at the farm. First of all, someone needs to inform Holden that Luke and Noah are more than just friends, they’re in a relationship now. Secondly, the scenes with Noah reading the letter and going through the package seemed rather rushed. The letter written by Charlene was rather sweet and that was well done and very emotional, but I was honestly expecting more from the writers when it came to the scene as a whole. Then at the end during Luke’s exercise routine, to me there should have been more of a celebration. I mean, for God’s sake, Luke can FINALLY FEEL HIS LEGS. Why no cheering? Why no kissing? Why no hugging? Not even a measly little high-five?! Where was the hand holding (or something) after Noah read his late mother’s letter? Come on! The powers that be really need to write more affectionate bits in. I’m not asking for too much. A simple hug or a kiss is all I want. They have no reason to be afraid now. They kissed twice and had a freaking towel fight -- shirtless and dripping wet. We’ve already seen some of the hottest stuff between them so far. While there were some lamebrain “EWW, G3T DOZE QU33R B0iS 0FF MY TEEVEEEEE!” reactions by the ’phobes, the response overall was mostly positive and they got a lot of praise. Van himself has said that he’s only gotten a few negative letters compared to the many positive ones. Van and Jake have no problem doing scenes like this. Their first kiss made major news; it was all over Soap Opera Digest and magazines like it. It was also covered on Entertainment Tonight the day before it aired. It was watched by hundreds of thousands of people on YouTube. There should be no reason at all why there would be any doubt when it comes to this department. It was definitely a huge milestone for daytime. I was literally counting down in excitement until the first kiss between them actually happened (ask almost any close friend I instant message with and they’ll confirm this). And the second time I had near the same excitement. But it shouldn’t be a big deal anymore. Again, like a number of other Luke/Noah fans, I don’t ask for much. A peck on the cheek or on the lips, and hugging is all that I really want.
While I did enjoy some of the scenes from this whole paralysis storyline, for the most part I was rather let down. Reason being, for one, while the action scenes I thought were well done by the actors, we never got an official cause of Luke’s paralysis. We don’t know if the Colonel shot him and then he fell down weird, or if he just had a bad fall in the struggle. Then we have the problem of it being so rushed. To be honest, it was a combination of it being rushed and them not being on enough, if that makes sense… I’ll explain. In October and November, we were pretty much back to them only being on once or twice per week (mostly once), which means that it took so long to see them compared to other characters, and when we did see them, a lot of the scenes, like the one I summarized, were rather rushed. If they were going to have a bunch of rewrites, changes, or what have you, they were better off just making Luke hurt pretty badly, but not paralyzed. Let’s say, instead of being paralyzed, how about he breaks his leg or foot instead. Not that I want our good buddy Luke hurt in any way, but that could have been played out as much more believable, especially if they were going to be on so little. And when they do go away for a week, often it’s at the WORST possible time. You don’t leave the audience at a bigger than normal cliffhanger and then have them wait between three days to a week to get it resolved. And when I say I want to see them more, they don’t have to be on every single day of the week. Two to three times per week, tops, will satisfy this fan. It doesn’t have to be all day, everyday. And my biggest complaint of all -- NOT ENOUGH LUCINDA. Seriously. They are so close, and she was barely there in the hospital and didn’t visit him at the Snyder farm ONCE. There could have been great scenes with she and Noah when he was still in the closet. Come on, writers, work on that.
There was one thing I did love though besides ‘s letter. The way Luke looked at Noah when he read ’s letter. And Luke’s face when Noah said “Let’s do something physical” -- PRICELESS. The chemistry between Jake and Van never disappoints me and the acting doesn’t either. They make Noah and Luke together believable and even if the writing in a scene or two disappoints me, the acting pretty much never will.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
As The World Turns: If at first you don't succeed...
Here’s a summary for Nuke episodes of As The World Turns, both for the weeks of October 31 and November 7 and 8. It seems as though we’re back to only once or twice a week. Ugh.
On the week of Halloween, Noah visits wheelchair-bound Luke at the Snyder farm, Luke is frustrated that he’s in the shape he’s in and that he can’t even do simple things for himself. For instance, he broke a glass and he was furious that he couldn’t clean it up. Despite all the frustration, Noah is doing his best to be there for him. He tries to help him get his mind off of things, for instance, getting him to close his eyes and imagine his favorite Halloween moment, no matter how lame it seems, and in the process, he‘s helping him exercise his legs. Noah suggests that they go in town to celebrate Halloween. They meet there, with Lily wheeling Luke there, but he sends her away because he doesn’t want to be seen being wheeled in by his mom; she understands, and runs into Dusty. Noah and Luke find a table, and Luke wants to get out of his chair and sit at one, and while he tries to get up, he falls. Looks like our brave trooper forgot to put the brake on. And Noah’s facial expression is of sheer horror. When Noah tries to help him, very scornfully he snaps “Don’t touch me!” Noah is crushed and Dusty is seen from behind and they go off and talk. I have to admit, it’s really nice seeing Dusty as the mentor. Luke is now back at the farm again with Lily. She tells him that Noah is just worried and that his reaction was understandable. Heck, he was just embarrassed is all and that Noah will probably know that if he says so. She tells him to call Noah. Luke knows he was wrong to yell at Noah and he thinks that he hates him for it. Noah comes back and Luke is still upset. Luke’s now upset because Noah’s not really telling him how he feels. And when Noah does (about how scared he was during the fall), Luke says that it’s not working and asks him to leave. Wow, didn’t expect a break-up. How interesting though. Now Luke thinks that after an unfortunate moment that Noah doesn’t want to be with him. My, how the tables have turned.
On the week of November 7th and 8th, Luke is frustrated that his physical therapy is not working out for him so far and he wants to give up, and he doesn‘t want to talk about it either. Luke thinks that Noah just pities him and nothing more. But with the help of Lily and Holden, Noah is brought back to the farm. Holden and Lily spar a bit, but Lily insists that they work together. When they find Noah, he’s afraid that Luke wouldn’t want to see him. Go, Lily. She’s not leaving until they talk to him. But Noah realizes that Luke must be worse off than him. When Noah sees Luke again, they talk and Noah says that maybe he needs someone who doesn’t want to fake anything. It’s not pity. Noah couldn’t get him out of his head in the beginning because of what a good guy he was, not because he can walk. Noah also tells him how much he helped him realize and deal with everything in the past and to be a man about it all, and now it’s time for Luke to do the same.
It was tough watching them have another rough period, but at the same time, angst is one of the best things about watching a soap couple. Jake and Van show how good they can act in a conflict scene. To be honest, I was a bit peeved initially by what sparked this whole argument, but looking back at the episodes to analyze them, I’m a bit more understanding of things. Luke is not just putting on a pretty face and just smiling his way through it all; it’s really getting hard and he has to deal with it.
Dialogue-wise, I was impressed with Noah’s speech about why he loves Luke. He still thinks that he’s strong. He appreciates and respects him for how honest he is, not because he’s a man with full use of his own two legs. Luke is living proof of how things can change for the better, despite the obstacles that come their way.
There’s one thing that I’m not getting now. It’s not established clearly where Noah is living. At first I thought he was probably staying at Fairwinds with Dusty’s help, or something like that, but it doesn’t seem that way. When he’s not at the Snyder farm, he’s at a park bench. That is not good. Hopefully he’s not living in a truck.
Interesting things coming soon, today looks to be a really good day for our couple, and next week, Daniel Hugh-Kelly will be returning and Luke will confront the Colonel. As much as I had fun praising Kelly’s acting and bashing the character, I do admit this part of the story still would have been better if he didn’t go on a wild murderous rampage, but, I’m sure the next time we see this fellow, he’ll be in jail where he belongs.
On the week of Halloween, Noah visits wheelchair-bound Luke at the Snyder farm, Luke is frustrated that he’s in the shape he’s in and that he can’t even do simple things for himself. For instance, he broke a glass and he was furious that he couldn’t clean it up. Despite all the frustration, Noah is doing his best to be there for him. He tries to help him get his mind off of things, for instance, getting him to close his eyes and imagine his favorite Halloween moment, no matter how lame it seems, and in the process, he‘s helping him exercise his legs. Noah suggests that they go in town to celebrate Halloween. They meet there, with Lily wheeling Luke there, but he sends her away because he doesn’t want to be seen being wheeled in by his mom; she understands, and runs into Dusty. Noah and Luke find a table, and Luke wants to get out of his chair and sit at one, and while he tries to get up, he falls. Looks like our brave trooper forgot to put the brake on. And Noah’s facial expression is of sheer horror. When Noah tries to help him, very scornfully he snaps “Don’t touch me!” Noah is crushed and Dusty is seen from behind and they go off and talk. I have to admit, it’s really nice seeing Dusty as the mentor. Luke is now back at the farm again with Lily. She tells him that Noah is just worried and that his reaction was understandable. Heck, he was just embarrassed is all and that Noah will probably know that if he says so. She tells him to call Noah. Luke knows he was wrong to yell at Noah and he thinks that he hates him for it. Noah comes back and Luke is still upset. Luke’s now upset because Noah’s not really telling him how he feels. And when Noah does (about how scared he was during the fall), Luke says that it’s not working and asks him to leave. Wow, didn’t expect a break-up. How interesting though. Now Luke thinks that after an unfortunate moment that Noah doesn’t want to be with him. My, how the tables have turned.
On the week of November 7th and 8th, Luke is frustrated that his physical therapy is not working out for him so far and he wants to give up, and he doesn‘t want to talk about it either. Luke thinks that Noah just pities him and nothing more. But with the help of Lily and Holden, Noah is brought back to the farm. Holden and Lily spar a bit, but Lily insists that they work together. When they find Noah, he’s afraid that Luke wouldn’t want to see him. Go, Lily. She’s not leaving until they talk to him. But Noah realizes that Luke must be worse off than him. When Noah sees Luke again, they talk and Noah says that maybe he needs someone who doesn’t want to fake anything. It’s not pity. Noah couldn’t get him out of his head in the beginning because of what a good guy he was, not because he can walk. Noah also tells him how much he helped him realize and deal with everything in the past and to be a man about it all, and now it’s time for Luke to do the same.
It was tough watching them have another rough period, but at the same time, angst is one of the best things about watching a soap couple. Jake and Van show how good they can act in a conflict scene. To be honest, I was a bit peeved initially by what sparked this whole argument, but looking back at the episodes to analyze them, I’m a bit more understanding of things. Luke is not just putting on a pretty face and just smiling his way through it all; it’s really getting hard and he has to deal with it.
Dialogue-wise, I was impressed with Noah’s speech about why he loves Luke. He still thinks that he’s strong. He appreciates and respects him for how honest he is, not because he’s a man with full use of his own two legs. Luke is living proof of how things can change for the better, despite the obstacles that come their way.
There’s one thing that I’m not getting now. It’s not established clearly where Noah is living. At first I thought he was probably staying at Fairwinds with Dusty’s help, or something like that, but it doesn’t seem that way. When he’s not at the Snyder farm, he’s at a park bench. That is not good. Hopefully he’s not living in a truck.
Interesting things coming soon, today looks to be a really good day for our couple, and next week, Daniel Hugh-Kelly will be returning and Luke will confront the Colonel. As much as I had fun praising Kelly’s acting and bashing the character, I do admit this part of the story still would have been better if he didn’t go on a wild murderous rampage, but, I’m sure the next time we see this fellow, he’ll be in jail where he belongs.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
STEEEEEEEEE-RIKE!!!
As I’m sure you know by now, the WGA writers’ strike is underway, and I honestly do not know how to feel on this completely. Especially since I am an aspiring writer. This affects pretty much almost everything. This has so many negative results to it, it’s not even funny. Even if you’re a soap or late night talk show fan. I never realized how much things will change until I realized that so many series are affected by this. In a nutshell, the writers want residuals from the shows they participate in; their DVD and Internet download sales.
Late night shows (i.e. The Late Show, The Tonight Show) as of last night are already in reruns.
Later on down the line, soaps could be replaced with sports coverage. Something the genre truly does not need to help redeem itself and get some of its fans back. They say that they have enough scripts to go through January.
Scrubs may not get a proper finale. I admit I don’t watch that show every week and I am not a huge fan, but at the same time it is just wrong for a show to have no real closure after being on the air for seven seasons. That is just completely wrong. Nothing more in the television industry ticks me off more than the idea of a show lasting years and years, and it just vanishes off the airwaves with no true end. The fans don’t deserve that.
It’s been a known fact that networks could decide after awhile that instead of just airing reruns, we could be seeing more reality shows since our favorites are now in hiatus. I hate this idea. And heaven knows I am sick of reality shows. To be frank, I’ll be damned before I start watching reality-filled blocks where my favorite prime time shows should be. That genre has just gotten old. I will watch old VHS tapes and DVDs any day of the week instead.
Though the conflicted feelings lie here: as a consumer, I am appalled at some of the current regular prices of DVD sets, and that is pretty much why my TV on DVD collection is rather low. It is all because of price. I would buy more in a much regular and faster pace in a heartbeat if I could afford to do it often. And whenever I buy something, it is when it’s an extreme bargain. For example, this past weekend I saw season 1 of The Golden Girls at Target for only $19.99, so I took advantage of that deal. A huge part of me fears that if the writers get paid more, this could cause the price of DVD's to become even higher. Then there’s another part of me thinking, “Meh, if they do get it, it won’t be so bad. Big companies like Viacom and Sony should be able to afford to give the writers the raises they want without having the consumer be screwed over in the end. After all, actors have gotten raises over the years and the DVD costs didn‘t skyrocket.” And fans deserve to have their favorite series on DVD without having to shovel out too much money. I also think, if I do become successful in the industry and work for a show that’s been on for years... in the end that it becomes canceled and I am able to find other work, I could need the residuals to help me out. I can definitely see the concern with that.
This has really made me think in the past couple of days.
Late night shows (i.e. The Late Show, The Tonight Show) as of last night are already in reruns.
Later on down the line, soaps could be replaced with sports coverage. Something the genre truly does not need to help redeem itself and get some of its fans back. They say that they have enough scripts to go through January.
Scrubs may not get a proper finale. I admit I don’t watch that show every week and I am not a huge fan, but at the same time it is just wrong for a show to have no real closure after being on the air for seven seasons. That is just completely wrong. Nothing more in the television industry ticks me off more than the idea of a show lasting years and years, and it just vanishes off the airwaves with no true end. The fans don’t deserve that.
It’s been a known fact that networks could decide after awhile that instead of just airing reruns, we could be seeing more reality shows since our favorites are now in hiatus. I hate this idea. And heaven knows I am sick of reality shows. To be frank, I’ll be damned before I start watching reality-filled blocks where my favorite prime time shows should be. That genre has just gotten old. I will watch old VHS tapes and DVDs any day of the week instead.
Though the conflicted feelings lie here: as a consumer, I am appalled at some of the current regular prices of DVD sets, and that is pretty much why my TV on DVD collection is rather low. It is all because of price. I would buy more in a much regular and faster pace in a heartbeat if I could afford to do it often. And whenever I buy something, it is when it’s an extreme bargain. For example, this past weekend I saw season 1 of The Golden Girls at Target for only $19.99, so I took advantage of that deal. A huge part of me fears that if the writers get paid more, this could cause the price of DVD's to become even higher. Then there’s another part of me thinking, “Meh, if they do get it, it won’t be so bad. Big companies like Viacom and Sony should be able to afford to give the writers the raises they want without having the consumer be screwed over in the end. After all, actors have gotten raises over the years and the DVD costs didn‘t skyrocket.” And fans deserve to have their favorite series on DVD without having to shovel out too much money. I also think, if I do become successful in the industry and work for a show that’s been on for years... in the end that it becomes canceled and I am able to find other work, I could need the residuals to help me out. I can definitely see the concern with that.
This has really made me think in the past couple of days.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
GSN's Viewer's Choice Marathon this November 23rd!
I was at first pretty skeptical when I first heard GSN was having another Feast of Favorites marathon this year (now called Viewer’s Choice) after getting my hopes up when hearing the same thing would happen last year, only to find out that was a rumor. But after seeing the promo on the air and the webpage on the GSN site, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s true! On November 23rd, the day after Thanksgiving, us viewers get to pick what we want to see for ten hours of the day! From 9 am-7 pm.
I’m personally rooting for the following: Eubanks Card Sharks, Rafferty Blockbusters, Beat the Clock with Gene Wood, I’ve Got A Secret with Steve Allen, $100,000 Pyramid, Jackpot!, Wheel of Fortune, Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, The Joker’s Wild, Blyden What’s My Line?, Hot Potato, Tattletales, Tic Tac Dough, Treasure Hunt, and Win Ben Stein’s Money. Hopefully a few of those shows will make it. Mostly my goal was really picking series that are not on the regular schedule. Yeah, I applaud them for adding Double Dare, Trivia Trap, Let’s Make a Deal, Body Language, Press Your Luck and Beat the Clock with Monty Hall. But we can see those regularly. While highlights like those on the regular line-up are worth watching, I think this should be our chance as game show fans to see the more rarely seen shows. When I heard about this marathon, I truly was not expecting to see Barry-Enright series, or Pyramid or Jackpot! there, considering the library they’re in and how hard it is to see Sony shows. But after this and a few other recent special occasions, it looks like GSN can get the Sony owned episodes that are needed if they truly want to air them for an event. And even Rock & Roll Jeopardy!. I have always wanted to see that, especially some of the all-star ones. So yes, I’m definitely voting for things that are as of now, rarely seen on the air.
Game show fans that are reading this: if you haven’t done it yet, please vote! Voting runs through the 11th of November.
I’m personally rooting for the following: Eubanks Card Sharks, Rafferty Blockbusters, Beat the Clock with Gene Wood, I’ve Got A Secret with Steve Allen, $100,000 Pyramid, Jackpot!, Wheel of Fortune, Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, The Joker’s Wild, Blyden What’s My Line?, Hot Potato, Tattletales, Tic Tac Dough, Treasure Hunt, and Win Ben Stein’s Money. Hopefully a few of those shows will make it. Mostly my goal was really picking series that are not on the regular schedule. Yeah, I applaud them for adding Double Dare, Trivia Trap, Let’s Make a Deal, Body Language, Press Your Luck and Beat the Clock with Monty Hall. But we can see those regularly. While highlights like those on the regular line-up are worth watching, I think this should be our chance as game show fans to see the more rarely seen shows. When I heard about this marathon, I truly was not expecting to see Barry-Enright series, or Pyramid or Jackpot! there, considering the library they’re in and how hard it is to see Sony shows. But after this and a few other recent special occasions, it looks like GSN can get the Sony owned episodes that are needed if they truly want to air them for an event. And even Rock & Roll Jeopardy!. I have always wanted to see that, especially some of the all-star ones. So yes, I’m definitely voting for things that are as of now, rarely seen on the air.
Game show fans that are reading this: if you haven’t done it yet, please vote! Voting runs through the 11th of November.
As The World Turns: Bye-Bye, Maddie
Friday, October 26th was the last day for Alexandra Chando (Maddie Coleman). But more on that later. First here’s my synopses on last week’s part of Luke and Noah’s storyline.
On Wednesday, Luke is back at the Synder farm. Faith tells Luke about Holden and Lily’s recent fighting and separation and all the Dusty stuff. Lily is right. They need to be working together and working through this as a family. Holden really ticked me off with telling Luke about the back story behind the whole recent drama. He keeps implying that it’s Lily’s negligence that is the cause. Lily knew Dusty was innocent, but she did NOT know about Dusty suspecting Winston Mayer until after he was shot in the chest and collapsed at the front door of the farm. How many times does someone need to burn that into that man’s brain?! Where is the understanding Holden? Thank God Luke doesn’t blame Lily for this. He even told Holden that he was being a jerk. So true. There is one person to blame for all this mess: Winston Mayer. And his behind is in jail where he belongs.
Thursday Noah shows up to visit Luke. Luke says it’s been a weird day but it’s gotten better since he came up. Meanwhile we have Maddie with Henry and Vienna at Al’s Diner saying that she’s headed off to Wesleyan. And not only that, but she’s going to make her own decisions about her own life. Back at the farm, Luke’s physical therapist had just left him a binder full of exercises. Luke’s afraid of his upcoming therapy, and Noah wants to help. Maddie pops in for a visit to bring by some DVD’s and to tell them that she’s off to Wesleyan. Noah feels bad because if it wasn’t for him, she’d have been in school by now. As Maddie leaves, she tells Noah in private that right now Luke needs people he can count on and to think about what that really means. Uh-oh. This is where Noah decides to tell Luke about the drunken kiss he had with Maddie. He explains his reasoning behind it. After his dad tried to kill him, in his mind he still blames himself for everything and he was sure that Luke didn’t want to see him at first in the hospital. Part of him still wonders if Winston was right and Luke immediately cuts him off and tells him to not even think that that guy could be right. Luke tells him that kissing Maddie was wrong and that Noah needs to figure out why he did it, and that his dad is a bigot. Also Win lied to him his entire life. Luke wants Noah to prove that the man who put him in the wheelchair is not the same man that’s in front of him. It may take time, but time is all they’ve got. What awesome scenes. Another episode that shows us that they have great chemistry. And even Luke kissing Noah’s hand. Good stuff.
On Friday we have no Luke and Noah, but a little more goodbye with Maddie, this time with Will and Gwen. Those scenes were pretty nice. You could easily tell if you hadn't been watching long how close they were. Nice and heartfelt as they were with Henry and Vienna.
I have to say as far as Maddie’s goodbye goes, I was overall pretty dissatisfied. Yes, her farewell scenes with Will, Gwen, Henry, and Vienna were good. But I was for the most part let down with the scenes with Luke and Noah, which were pretty much an implied good-bye and not a real true one. And there were absolutely none at all with Tom and Margo. For those who aren’t familiar with them, Maddie used to date their son, Casey Hughes, and she moved in with them for a while, but she had to leave after Margo caught her about to get hot and heavy with Casey on the couch. Despite that awkward moment, the three of them still had a pretty decent relationship, and Margo and Maddie really gained a bond as she helped her deal with Maddie’s rape and comforted her, and it really came from something since Margo was also raped when she was younger. And for the writers and show runners to have absolutely NO farewell scenes with Tom and Margo considering how they were basically a second family to her… in my eyes, that was the biggest disappointment about her final couple of episodes. And let’s not forget Kim from WOAK. Maddie was an intern there very recently. None with her either. Just something else the powers that be need to work on. Well, actually, they need to work on trying to keep all the good actors they can first. I mean after all, the only reason Alexandra was even let go was because they couldn’t find a story for her. They least they could have done were to have come up with better, and more goodbye scenes.
On Wednesday, Luke is back at the Synder farm. Faith tells Luke about Holden and Lily’s recent fighting and separation and all the Dusty stuff. Lily is right. They need to be working together and working through this as a family. Holden really ticked me off with telling Luke about the back story behind the whole recent drama. He keeps implying that it’s Lily’s negligence that is the cause. Lily knew Dusty was innocent, but she did NOT know about Dusty suspecting Winston Mayer until after he was shot in the chest and collapsed at the front door of the farm. How many times does someone need to burn that into that man’s brain?! Where is the understanding Holden? Thank God Luke doesn’t blame Lily for this. He even told Holden that he was being a jerk. So true. There is one person to blame for all this mess: Winston Mayer. And his behind is in jail where he belongs.
Thursday Noah shows up to visit Luke. Luke says it’s been a weird day but it’s gotten better since he came up. Meanwhile we have Maddie with Henry and Vienna at Al’s Diner saying that she’s headed off to Wesleyan. And not only that, but she’s going to make her own decisions about her own life. Back at the farm, Luke’s physical therapist had just left him a binder full of exercises. Luke’s afraid of his upcoming therapy, and Noah wants to help. Maddie pops in for a visit to bring by some DVD’s and to tell them that she’s off to Wesleyan. Noah feels bad because if it wasn’t for him, she’d have been in school by now. As Maddie leaves, she tells Noah in private that right now Luke needs people he can count on and to think about what that really means. Uh-oh. This is where Noah decides to tell Luke about the drunken kiss he had with Maddie. He explains his reasoning behind it. After his dad tried to kill him, in his mind he still blames himself for everything and he was sure that Luke didn’t want to see him at first in the hospital. Part of him still wonders if Winston was right and Luke immediately cuts him off and tells him to not even think that that guy could be right. Luke tells him that kissing Maddie was wrong and that Noah needs to figure out why he did it, and that his dad is a bigot. Also Win lied to him his entire life. Luke wants Noah to prove that the man who put him in the wheelchair is not the same man that’s in front of him. It may take time, but time is all they’ve got. What awesome scenes. Another episode that shows us that they have great chemistry. And even Luke kissing Noah’s hand. Good stuff.
On Friday we have no Luke and Noah, but a little more goodbye with Maddie, this time with Will and Gwen. Those scenes were pretty nice. You could easily tell if you hadn't been watching long how close they were. Nice and heartfelt as they were with Henry and Vienna.
I have to say as far as Maddie’s goodbye goes, I was overall pretty dissatisfied. Yes, her farewell scenes with Will, Gwen, Henry, and Vienna were good. But I was for the most part let down with the scenes with Luke and Noah, which were pretty much an implied good-bye and not a real true one. And there were absolutely none at all with Tom and Margo. For those who aren’t familiar with them, Maddie used to date their son, Casey Hughes, and she moved in with them for a while, but she had to leave after Margo caught her about to get hot and heavy with Casey on the couch. Despite that awkward moment, the three of them still had a pretty decent relationship, and Margo and Maddie really gained a bond as she helped her deal with Maddie’s rape and comforted her, and it really came from something since Margo was also raped when she was younger. And for the writers and show runners to have absolutely NO farewell scenes with Tom and Margo considering how they were basically a second family to her… in my eyes, that was the biggest disappointment about her final couple of episodes. And let’s not forget Kim from WOAK. Maddie was an intern there very recently. None with her either. Just something else the powers that be need to work on. Well, actually, they need to work on trying to keep all the good actors they can first. I mean after all, the only reason Alexandra was even let go was because they couldn’t find a story for her. They least they could have done were to have come up with better, and more goodbye scenes.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
It's Password... It's Million Dollar Password!
According to this recent Variety article, it looks like Fremantle is planning on reviving another Goodson-Todman classic game show; this time it’s the word game Password. And that’s not all. The top prize is $1,000,000.
I have to say I’ve always wondered what a revival for this show would be like, and I have always been excited at the idea of a new version (after all, Password is my second favorite game show of all-time, right after Pyramid). The host for it will be Regis Philbin. I can’t see a problem with that. Regis is an experienced host, and I think he’ll do a good job of entertaining the audience as well as keeping the game rolling at a proper pace.
One thing I am worried about is the million dollar factor. The contestants are supposedly betting all their accumulated monies on the million dollar bonus round. But it’s not necessarily the money amount itself that has me worried, though I do think that a million is a bit high for this show. It’s the fear that the people behind it will make the show gimmicky and have it be all about the million and nothing more, and that the game will be an afterthought. Believe me, I love it when the stakes are high as much as anyone, but I honestly feel that $50,000-$100,000 is tension enough. In fact, I think this show screams “syndicate me” much more over “big, huge money value high-stakes network show.”
Some folks have stressed the fact that there aren’t many good celebrities out there for a show like this. To that I have to say that I personally do not care who they get to play as long as they know how to play the game decently. They don’t have to be "A-list" stars. Lack of the most famous people possible has never stopped me from enjoying celebrity based game shows in the past so that won’t be a problem for me now. Of course, the little fanboi that’s in me will squeal in delight if they pick Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles of Supernatural, America Ferrera of Ugly Betty, or Chandra Wilson from Grey’s Anatomy. But truthfully, as long as they are careful and wise in choosing the stars, I will be content. There is only one person in which I think their appearance on this revival is an absolute must, and that is none other than Betty White. If Fremantle and CBS are reading this, please get her. Seriously. Not only was her late husband Allen Ludden, “Mr. Password” himself, but this is also someone who is a loyal friend and true to the game show community, especially to Password.
If they don’t half-ass any of the main game or bonus formats I think they’ll be just fine. I still have my doubts about the million dollar part of it all, but I think it can be pulled off if the game is treated with respect. Please don't pull a Card Sharks '01 on us, Fremantle!
I have to say I’ve always wondered what a revival for this show would be like, and I have always been excited at the idea of a new version (after all, Password is my second favorite game show of all-time, right after Pyramid). The host for it will be Regis Philbin. I can’t see a problem with that. Regis is an experienced host, and I think he’ll do a good job of entertaining the audience as well as keeping the game rolling at a proper pace.
One thing I am worried about is the million dollar factor. The contestants are supposedly betting all their accumulated monies on the million dollar bonus round. But it’s not necessarily the money amount itself that has me worried, though I do think that a million is a bit high for this show. It’s the fear that the people behind it will make the show gimmicky and have it be all about the million and nothing more, and that the game will be an afterthought. Believe me, I love it when the stakes are high as much as anyone, but I honestly feel that $50,000-$100,000 is tension enough. In fact, I think this show screams “syndicate me” much more over “big, huge money value high-stakes network show.”
Some folks have stressed the fact that there aren’t many good celebrities out there for a show like this. To that I have to say that I personally do not care who they get to play as long as they know how to play the game decently. They don’t have to be "A-list" stars. Lack of the most famous people possible has never stopped me from enjoying celebrity based game shows in the past so that won’t be a problem for me now. Of course, the little fanboi that’s in me will squeal in delight if they pick Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles of Supernatural, America Ferrera of Ugly Betty, or Chandra Wilson from Grey’s Anatomy. But truthfully, as long as they are careful and wise in choosing the stars, I will be content. There is only one person in which I think their appearance on this revival is an absolute must, and that is none other than Betty White. If Fremantle and CBS are reading this, please get her. Seriously. Not only was her late husband Allen Ludden, “Mr. Password” himself, but this is also someone who is a loyal friend and true to the game show community, especially to Password.
If they don’t half-ass any of the main game or bonus formats I think they’ll be just fine. I still have my doubts about the million dollar part of it all, but I think it can be pulled off if the game is treated with respect. Please don't pull a Card Sharks '01 on us, Fremantle!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
As The World Turns: Yay, they're boyfriends!
So happy! Luke and Noah are now boyfriends! Whoo! Though it was still a rather bumpy road towards the end. Here’s a synopsis for the past three episodes.
Dusty shows up again at the hospital and confronts Holden and again someone is trying to tell Holden that nobody knew Winston was a murderer right away. He also tells Holden not to take it out on Lily but him, so Holden decked him. Now I admit I’m really not the biggest Dusty fan you’ll find (though the writers have managed to make me appreciate him more as of late), but for Holden to punch him like that really wasn’t called for. I know that the Lily/Dusty/Holden trio has had an awkward history, but now is not the time for him to be thinking about the past. If it wasn’t for Dusty jumping whackjob Daddie in Luke’s room, Daddie would have succeeded in trying to kill Luke with that needle, and heaven knows Lily would have gotten hurt too. Look at the Colonel’s track record. If someone is trying to stop him at doing whatever, he’ll do whatever it takes to stop said person and keep his plan moving, no matter what happens to them. I’m not expecting Holden to hold Dusty’s hand so they can then break into a chorus of Kumbaya, but at the same time you’d think he’d be a bit grateful considering the circumstances. Though I am glad to hear that he doesn’t blame Lily for all of this.
Poor Noah. Poor, poor Noah. Seriously. He’s still reeling with what has just happened to him. And after stealing a bottle of alcohol at Fairwinds after talking to Dusty about Cheri, he finds Maddie. And Maddie tries to make him feel better. Okay, the two of them would never work as a couple for obvious reasons, but the other thing they have in common is that they do have psycho family members (i.e. her sister Eve, the slasher). Noah drunkenly kisses Maddie and is briefly back to that warped logic of dear ol’ Daddie’s about how he needs a woman to be a real man. Thankfully Maddie breaks the kiss and talks some sense back into him. She misses what they had, but at the same time knows it can’t work and knows that he wants Luke. But Noah still blames himself and thinks Luke wouldn’t want to be seen with him. During this time, we also meet Luke’s physical therapist, Bert. Luke really feels that without Noah, nothing can be done to make him feel better, and he’s losing his will to live. Bert wants to help Luke’s negative attitude, so he turns to his “secret weapon” - Lily. She calls Dusty obviously to get Noah. Thankfully after running into Dusty at Fairwinds before deciding that he wants to leave town, Noah finally decides to make it to the hospital to see Luke. Lily’s with Luke while he’s sleeping and Noah walks in with Dusty. Luke wakes up and sees Noah and asks to be alone with him. He asked Noah “what are you doing here?” and he freaks out for the first few seconds as a cue for him to leave. But Luke reassures him to stay. And they even hold hands! It was a really sweet moment.
Along comes Monday and we have more Luke/Noah scenes. And Noah even asks him “How can you look at me and not see the man who put you here?” Luke again reassures him that it‘s not his fault, and they are going to be boyfriends regardless of what’s happened. It may take time and it was even brought up that they may not be able to be intimate with each other for a long while. But that doesn’t matter, they are both willing and wanting to be together. They really do love each other. Yay! The resolution to everything was really nice and comforting, especially after all the chaos in the past week or so. And of course we have Holden giving Lily the third degree at Emma’s kitchen about getting Noah to come. By this point I was really just shouting expletives at my television set at Holden due to my frustration considering the fact that Noah actually did WANT to go, he just thought Luke wouldn’t care to see him and he really just needed a firm nudge. Lily didn’t act on her own. His arguments don’t even make sense. Does he even CARE that Noah could help out in the recovery of his son?! Exasperated sigh… why is this character being written like this?!
There are two things I really wish would be different about this storyline, and they’re are pretty much the same things I’ve addressed before previously.
For one, I really wish that Holden was being written better. I’ve said my reasoning in an older post.
Secondly, I still hate the idea of lack of character intersection. I wish that Lucinda would be in this storyline more. And while I was happy that she was on Friday, at the same time I was a bit disappointed that there have been no scenes with she and Luke in the hospital. She is one of the few character that really helps make him smile. Her, Faith, and Noah. And I could have really imagined some great potential with seeing her and Noah talking about things before he came out, and her encouraging him right along with Dusty and Maddie for him to high-tail it to the hospital to see Luke. And then we have friends Will and Gwen, as well as Brad and Jack were in the hospital the same time as Luke and didn’t visit him once. From research since I don’t remember a lot of the early years of this show with much detail, As The World Turns is supposed to be a family-heavy and friendly interactive show, and the powers that be had the perfect opportunity to have the characters intersect with each other more. I mean, Will Munson is supposed to be Luke’s friend, so the few scenes they’ve shared together since Luke came out to him don’t make much sense.
And again, as far as the show goes, I really wish the rest of the storylines were as engaging as Luke and Noah’s. The Carly one I thought was going pretty good despite the position of a certain character until recently. Maura West still rocks as far as acting goes, but I’ve noticed that this is one the biggest problems that head writer Jean Passanante has. There are few (and good Lord in heaven, I stress the word “few” VERY strongly) storylines that have had potential, but they are not executed properly. For example, J.J.’s kidnapping. And the problem I had with that is that eventually it just drug out way longer than it should have, with Jack, Carly, and J.J. going through obstacle after obstacle. Carly almost drowning in the quicksand (which really looked like a disgusting combination of oatmeal and dirty dishwater that hadn’t been changed in about three weeks) was the major nosedive as far as that went for me. It just got way out of control. I honestly wouldn’t have been shocked that just as soon as Carly and J.J. escaped from the quicksand if they had to get out Star Wars light sabers so they could fight off a giant lizard. Gladly soon after one more bit with the kidnapper, it was finally over. And there was one point early in Luke and Noah’s story where I was so furious I almost gave up entirely, reason being Noah sleeping with Maddie in Branson and the fact that they were on once in a blue moon. Luckily for the most part, their story has improved in quality and they kept me sticking around. Then you have the character assassination as well. Don’t get me started on Adam Munson.
Today I know I don’t need to watch the first half because Paul/Craig/Meg/Rosanna seem to be the head of the show. The storyline is such a snooze fest I don’t even care about what happens to any of them. And then there is more Carly/Jack/Katie stuff. What does that say? I mean, seriously, I really wish that I could be interested in the whole show. I truly do. When only one storyline out of the four or five that they have going is interesting and makes me want to come back for more, that is just sad. And it’s not just me. There are a number of fans who only care about Luke and Noah’s storyline. They are the highest rated storyline on the show right now. Thanks to them, the ratings are going up. Last year when I first started watching again when Luke came out, I was easily able to warm up to most of the other characters on the show that were new to me, and their stories. A little over a year later, it is drastically different. It just goes to show how the quality of the show for the most part has changed over a matter of time, and not for the better.
Dusty shows up again at the hospital and confronts Holden and again someone is trying to tell Holden that nobody knew Winston was a murderer right away. He also tells Holden not to take it out on Lily but him, so Holden decked him. Now I admit I’m really not the biggest Dusty fan you’ll find (though the writers have managed to make me appreciate him more as of late), but for Holden to punch him like that really wasn’t called for. I know that the Lily/Dusty/Holden trio has had an awkward history, but now is not the time for him to be thinking about the past. If it wasn’t for Dusty jumping whackjob Daddie in Luke’s room, Daddie would have succeeded in trying to kill Luke with that needle, and heaven knows Lily would have gotten hurt too. Look at the Colonel’s track record. If someone is trying to stop him at doing whatever, he’ll do whatever it takes to stop said person and keep his plan moving, no matter what happens to them. I’m not expecting Holden to hold Dusty’s hand so they can then break into a chorus of Kumbaya, but at the same time you’d think he’d be a bit grateful considering the circumstances. Though I am glad to hear that he doesn’t blame Lily for all of this.
Poor Noah. Poor, poor Noah. Seriously. He’s still reeling with what has just happened to him. And after stealing a bottle of alcohol at Fairwinds after talking to Dusty about Cheri, he finds Maddie. And Maddie tries to make him feel better. Okay, the two of them would never work as a couple for obvious reasons, but the other thing they have in common is that they do have psycho family members (i.e. her sister Eve, the slasher). Noah drunkenly kisses Maddie and is briefly back to that warped logic of dear ol’ Daddie’s about how he needs a woman to be a real man. Thankfully Maddie breaks the kiss and talks some sense back into him. She misses what they had, but at the same time knows it can’t work and knows that he wants Luke. But Noah still blames himself and thinks Luke wouldn’t want to be seen with him. During this time, we also meet Luke’s physical therapist, Bert. Luke really feels that without Noah, nothing can be done to make him feel better, and he’s losing his will to live. Bert wants to help Luke’s negative attitude, so he turns to his “secret weapon” - Lily. She calls Dusty obviously to get Noah. Thankfully after running into Dusty at Fairwinds before deciding that he wants to leave town, Noah finally decides to make it to the hospital to see Luke. Lily’s with Luke while he’s sleeping and Noah walks in with Dusty. Luke wakes up and sees Noah and asks to be alone with him. He asked Noah “what are you doing here?” and he freaks out for the first few seconds as a cue for him to leave. But Luke reassures him to stay. And they even hold hands! It was a really sweet moment.
Along comes Monday and we have more Luke/Noah scenes. And Noah even asks him “How can you look at me and not see the man who put you here?” Luke again reassures him that it‘s not his fault, and they are going to be boyfriends regardless of what’s happened. It may take time and it was even brought up that they may not be able to be intimate with each other for a long while. But that doesn’t matter, they are both willing and wanting to be together. They really do love each other. Yay! The resolution to everything was really nice and comforting, especially after all the chaos in the past week or so. And of course we have Holden giving Lily the third degree at Emma’s kitchen about getting Noah to come. By this point I was really just shouting expletives at my television set at Holden due to my frustration considering the fact that Noah actually did WANT to go, he just thought Luke wouldn’t care to see him and he really just needed a firm nudge. Lily didn’t act on her own. His arguments don’t even make sense. Does he even CARE that Noah could help out in the recovery of his son?! Exasperated sigh… why is this character being written like this?!
There are two things I really wish would be different about this storyline, and they’re are pretty much the same things I’ve addressed before previously.
For one, I really wish that Holden was being written better. I’ve said my reasoning in an older post.
Secondly, I still hate the idea of lack of character intersection. I wish that Lucinda would be in this storyline more. And while I was happy that she was on Friday, at the same time I was a bit disappointed that there have been no scenes with she and Luke in the hospital. She is one of the few character that really helps make him smile. Her, Faith, and Noah. And I could have really imagined some great potential with seeing her and Noah talking about things before he came out, and her encouraging him right along with Dusty and Maddie for him to high-tail it to the hospital to see Luke. And then we have friends Will and Gwen, as well as Brad and Jack were in the hospital the same time as Luke and didn’t visit him once. From research since I don’t remember a lot of the early years of this show with much detail, As The World Turns is supposed to be a family-heavy and friendly interactive show, and the powers that be had the perfect opportunity to have the characters intersect with each other more. I mean, Will Munson is supposed to be Luke’s friend, so the few scenes they’ve shared together since Luke came out to him don’t make much sense.
And again, as far as the show goes, I really wish the rest of the storylines were as engaging as Luke and Noah’s. The Carly one I thought was going pretty good despite the position of a certain character until recently. Maura West still rocks as far as acting goes, but I’ve noticed that this is one the biggest problems that head writer Jean Passanante has. There are few (and good Lord in heaven, I stress the word “few” VERY strongly) storylines that have had potential, but they are not executed properly. For example, J.J.’s kidnapping. And the problem I had with that is that eventually it just drug out way longer than it should have, with Jack, Carly, and J.J. going through obstacle after obstacle. Carly almost drowning in the quicksand (which really looked like a disgusting combination of oatmeal and dirty dishwater that hadn’t been changed in about three weeks) was the major nosedive as far as that went for me. It just got way out of control. I honestly wouldn’t have been shocked that just as soon as Carly and J.J. escaped from the quicksand if they had to get out Star Wars light sabers so they could fight off a giant lizard. Gladly soon after one more bit with the kidnapper, it was finally over. And there was one point early in Luke and Noah’s story where I was so furious I almost gave up entirely, reason being Noah sleeping with Maddie in Branson and the fact that they were on once in a blue moon. Luckily for the most part, their story has improved in quality and they kept me sticking around. Then you have the character assassination as well. Don’t get me started on Adam Munson.
Today I know I don’t need to watch the first half because Paul/Craig/Meg/Rosanna seem to be the head of the show. The storyline is such a snooze fest I don’t even care about what happens to any of them. And then there is more Carly/Jack/Katie stuff. What does that say? I mean, seriously, I really wish that I could be interested in the whole show. I truly do. When only one storyline out of the four or five that they have going is interesting and makes me want to come back for more, that is just sad. And it’s not just me. There are a number of fans who only care about Luke and Noah’s storyline. They are the highest rated storyline on the show right now. Thanks to them, the ratings are going up. Last year when I first started watching again when Luke came out, I was easily able to warm up to most of the other characters on the show that were new to me, and their stories. A little over a year later, it is drastically different. It just goes to show how the quality of the show for the most part has changed over a matter of time, and not for the better.
Monday, October 15, 2007
The Price Is Right: Drew Carey’s big debut!
Today marked a new era in television history, with the airing of the first show ever of new Price is Right host, Drew Carey.
I have to say that while I thought he was a little bit stiff at times and could have explained the rules better, he still managed to do an acceptable job. Drew did seem like he was having fun and was really nice with the contestants. I loved it when he said "The idea is not to hurt the yodel man" to the contestant playing Cliffhangers. I have to commend him though for his banter with the staff, and while I did respect most of Bob Barker's hosting abilities, one thing of his I could not stand was in the past several years that he constantly hurried the contestants every five minutes and really not in a pleasant way, even though sometimes a few of them deserved it. I think that hearing that often got grating though and I'm glad that is no longer happening. And the one time Drew did need to hurry someone, he was rather polite.
I'm not going to criticize Drew completely and with such full vigor this early though. I mean, come on, let's be fair. The viewing audience has been accustomed to Bob's hosting style on Price for 35 years. This is an extremely early show of Drew's that was taped and his first show that aired on television. I won't mind at all giving him a bit more time, a month at least. At least he's being himself and he's not being overly loud and acting as if he were the stereotypical Mr. Game Show.
As far as minor things go… I must say that I am loving the new set. I absolutely hated the cyan/pink scheme from the last several years of the Barker era. I thought it was pretty ugly especially with the glitter, and while I thought the colorful doors that were added in season 35 looked really nice and bright, at the same time, they did not match the turntable and game podiums.
I knew after watching a preview clip on YouTube that the “Come on Down” music arrangement was re-orchestrated, so I wasn’t surprised about that. But I was a little shocked at hearing the new main theme on the air. I have to admit that this is one thing that I would not have altered, but at the same time I have to give the person who made the decision to change it credit for just re-orchestrating it to make it more sound more modern, and not just taking the easy way out by just choosing to change it completely and replace it with some modern-esque techno garbage that repeats itself every few notes.
This is a rather minor thing to nitpick about, but I have to say I’m disappointed that the “Mark Goodson television production” spiel is now replaced with “A Fremantle Media production.” The MGP mention is one of the things that help kept the retro feeling of the show, and I must say that the Fremantle version just makes this practice redundant now since we’ll see their logo again in a few seconds.
As far as Drew goes, he is really in a no-win situation. First of all, you’re going to have a group of Price fans who are not even going to give this man a chance regardless whether or not he’s doing a decent job and won‘t even watch (and I admit, years ago I would have easily been a big part of this group). And secondly, Drew is also trying to be himself, and some other folks will be saying “Well, he’s not handling One Away the same way Bob did” and are expecting the man to be a Bob Barker clone. Now I agree that finally seeing a new host on the air is a pretty big shock and it’s going to take a little getting used to some of the new surroundings. But I advise people who are still uneasy to give the guy more than one chance. It really could have been much worse. Fremantle could have done what they’ve done to other game shows in the recent past (Match Game and Card Sharks immediately come to mind), and could have turned the show into a complete disaster and trash the previous eras' legacies by trying to modernize them. This is a real early show of Drew’s and the first one the viewing audience saw. I’m pretty confident he’ll get better as time goes by. I urge people to please try and be patient.
I have to say that while I thought he was a little bit stiff at times and could have explained the rules better, he still managed to do an acceptable job. Drew did seem like he was having fun and was really nice with the contestants. I loved it when he said "The idea is not to hurt the yodel man" to the contestant playing Cliffhangers. I have to commend him though for his banter with the staff, and while I did respect most of Bob Barker's hosting abilities, one thing of his I could not stand was in the past several years that he constantly hurried the contestants every five minutes and really not in a pleasant way, even though sometimes a few of them deserved it. I think that hearing that often got grating though and I'm glad that is no longer happening. And the one time Drew did need to hurry someone, he was rather polite.
I'm not going to criticize Drew completely and with such full vigor this early though. I mean, come on, let's be fair. The viewing audience has been accustomed to Bob's hosting style on Price for 35 years. This is an extremely early show of Drew's that was taped and his first show that aired on television. I won't mind at all giving him a bit more time, a month at least. At least he's being himself and he's not being overly loud and acting as if he were the stereotypical Mr. Game Show.
As far as minor things go… I must say that I am loving the new set. I absolutely hated the cyan/pink scheme from the last several years of the Barker era. I thought it was pretty ugly especially with the glitter, and while I thought the colorful doors that were added in season 35 looked really nice and bright, at the same time, they did not match the turntable and game podiums.
I knew after watching a preview clip on YouTube that the “Come on Down” music arrangement was re-orchestrated, so I wasn’t surprised about that. But I was a little shocked at hearing the new main theme on the air. I have to admit that this is one thing that I would not have altered, but at the same time I have to give the person who made the decision to change it credit for just re-orchestrating it to make it more sound more modern, and not just taking the easy way out by just choosing to change it completely and replace it with some modern-esque techno garbage that repeats itself every few notes.
This is a rather minor thing to nitpick about, but I have to say I’m disappointed that the “Mark Goodson television production” spiel is now replaced with “A Fremantle Media production.” The MGP mention is one of the things that help kept the retro feeling of the show, and I must say that the Fremantle version just makes this practice redundant now since we’ll see their logo again in a few seconds.
As far as Drew goes, he is really in a no-win situation. First of all, you’re going to have a group of Price fans who are not even going to give this man a chance regardless whether or not he’s doing a decent job and won‘t even watch (and I admit, years ago I would have easily been a big part of this group). And secondly, Drew is also trying to be himself, and some other folks will be saying “Well, he’s not handling One Away the same way Bob did” and are expecting the man to be a Bob Barker clone. Now I agree that finally seeing a new host on the air is a pretty big shock and it’s going to take a little getting used to some of the new surroundings. But I advise people who are still uneasy to give the guy more than one chance. It really could have been much worse. Fremantle could have done what they’ve done to other game shows in the recent past (Match Game and Card Sharks immediately come to mind), and could have turned the show into a complete disaster and trash the previous eras' legacies by trying to modernize them. This is a real early show of Drew’s and the first one the viewing audience saw. I’m pretty confident he’ll get better as time goes by. I urge people to please try and be patient.
Days of our Lives: The Devil Made Me Blog It
I was pretty excited when I heard SOAPnet will be airing three special episodes of Days of our Lives in honor of Halloween on the 28th. They are from probably one of the most infamous storylines in the show’s history: the Marlena possession storyline. And not just any possession, my friends. Marlena Evans here was possessed by the devil, ol' Satan himself. Here are the episode descriptions:
9PM: Episode #1995-7528 (OAD 5/12/95) Kristen is on to Marlena who morphs into a panther and also has Shawn attacked by a swarm of bees.
10PM: Episode #1995-7531 (OAD 5/17/95) After her loved ones see Marlena levitate and then interact with her as the devil, it's decided an exorcism is needed.
11PM: Episode #1995-7570 (OAD 7/18/95) With her friends and family thinking Marlena's dead, John fights the devil for her soul and brings her back.
Now after reading these, I immediately realized who the head writer was at the time, none other than James E. Reilly. I mean, considering the bizarre storylines that have come from Passions and his style of writing, there’s really no other person in my eyes in the soap opera writing business that could have come up with any more out-of-this-world type drama. As much as I’m looking forward to seeing these episodes for nostalgic purposes, I have to admit I’m a bit cringe-worthy now that I’ve seen the summaries. I was also surprised to find out that this storyline managed to last one year. And considering the quality of Mr. Reilly’s work, particularly on Passions, I couldn’t believe that he had a second run on Days; coming up with another infamous storyline, Melaswen in 2004 (that’s New Salem spelled backwards), where a bunch of characters who were believed to be murdered were actually wound up stranded on an island. I’ve heard mostly mixed reviews about the Possession era, but I know a lot of fans were turned off by Melaswen, and some haven’t come back since.
There are many soap fans who loathe this man. I myself really can’t say I’m a big fan of his work either. I admit after I managed to get over my anger with NBC for canceling Sunset Beach, I gave his creation Passions a try and did manage to enjoy it for the first 3 years. Then after that, I got sick of it. Basically because the plots were going nowhere fast, the dialogue became very repetitive, and while I'd try to tune back in a couple of times, nothing kept me hooked and made me want to stay. Also there were many instances where we finally thought something major was happening, only to find out the big revelation was a dream. That gets really annoying if it happens repeatedly. And when you stop caring about your favorite characters and/or couples, that is really not a good sign. I wasn’t sad to see it leave NBC. It was nowhere near Another World or even Sunset Beach quality, but I did enjoy it in the start, and he really managed to defecate on his own creation overtime. He also wrote Beach for a while, and after reading some of the plot synopses for that show to refresh my memory, I can take a safe bet and easily guess which ones he was responsible for.
As for the Days marathon, I do have to thank SOAPnet for airing a marathon that is well planned out and has something to do with the genre. This is another network that earlier this year has become known for airing things that don’t fit the purpose of the channel (case in point: The Fashionista Diaries), and for a while dumping traditional soap programming either entirely (which was the case with Another World) or to weekends only (Ryan‘s Hope and Port Charles), and making several other unfavorable schedule changes only to change a lot of them back. So I have to say this was a really nice surprise. It seems they can have a marathon of classic Days and the ABC soaps when they can, examples including: Days’ 40th anniversary, General Hospital’s Luke and Laura special marathon, the classic All My Children marathon that aired back in 2005, and the Ryan’s Hope marathon on St. Patrick’s Day a couple or so years back. I hope we get to see more classic stuff like this in the future. They’ve got a vast library of ABC shows that go back to the early if not mid-late ‘70’s at least, and from what is known, every episode of Days of our Lives exists in full. They also air The Young and the Restless, but considering how CBS won’t allow GSN to air any classic episodes of The Price Is Right, and according to a Soap Opera Digest article earlier this year they also won’t let AOL put older episodes of As The World Turns and Guiding Light on the Procter & Gamble classic soaps page. So I doubt we’ll see SOAPnet air any classic Y&R, at least for a while. I hope I’m wrong and that we see a marathon someday. I’d think they’d be able to make a deal with Sony but I can’t say for sure. I advise for SOAPnet to please use some of the classic episodes available more in the future when special occasions arise. Thanksgiving or Christmas would be an absolute perfect time to have one.
9PM: Episode #1995-7528 (OAD 5/12/95) Kristen is on to Marlena who morphs into a panther and also has Shawn attacked by a swarm of bees.
10PM: Episode #1995-7531 (OAD 5/17/95) After her loved ones see Marlena levitate and then interact with her as the devil, it's decided an exorcism is needed.
11PM: Episode #1995-7570 (OAD 7/18/95) With her friends and family thinking Marlena's dead, John fights the devil for her soul and brings her back.
Now after reading these, I immediately realized who the head writer was at the time, none other than James E. Reilly. I mean, considering the bizarre storylines that have come from Passions and his style of writing, there’s really no other person in my eyes in the soap opera writing business that could have come up with any more out-of-this-world type drama. As much as I’m looking forward to seeing these episodes for nostalgic purposes, I have to admit I’m a bit cringe-worthy now that I’ve seen the summaries. I was also surprised to find out that this storyline managed to last one year. And considering the quality of Mr. Reilly’s work, particularly on Passions, I couldn’t believe that he had a second run on Days; coming up with another infamous storyline, Melaswen in 2004 (that’s New Salem spelled backwards), where a bunch of characters who were believed to be murdered were actually wound up stranded on an island. I’ve heard mostly mixed reviews about the Possession era, but I know a lot of fans were turned off by Melaswen, and some haven’t come back since.
There are many soap fans who loathe this man. I myself really can’t say I’m a big fan of his work either. I admit after I managed to get over my anger with NBC for canceling Sunset Beach, I gave his creation Passions a try and did manage to enjoy it for the first 3 years. Then after that, I got sick of it. Basically because the plots were going nowhere fast, the dialogue became very repetitive, and while I'd try to tune back in a couple of times, nothing kept me hooked and made me want to stay. Also there were many instances where we finally thought something major was happening, only to find out the big revelation was a dream. That gets really annoying if it happens repeatedly. And when you stop caring about your favorite characters and/or couples, that is really not a good sign. I wasn’t sad to see it leave NBC. It was nowhere near Another World or even Sunset Beach quality, but I did enjoy it in the start, and he really managed to defecate on his own creation overtime. He also wrote Beach for a while, and after reading some of the plot synopses for that show to refresh my memory, I can take a safe bet and easily guess which ones he was responsible for.
As for the Days marathon, I do have to thank SOAPnet for airing a marathon that is well planned out and has something to do with the genre. This is another network that earlier this year has become known for airing things that don’t fit the purpose of the channel (case in point: The Fashionista Diaries), and for a while dumping traditional soap programming either entirely (which was the case with Another World) or to weekends only (Ryan‘s Hope and Port Charles), and making several other unfavorable schedule changes only to change a lot of them back. So I have to say this was a really nice surprise. It seems they can have a marathon of classic Days and the ABC soaps when they can, examples including: Days’ 40th anniversary, General Hospital’s Luke and Laura special marathon, the classic All My Children marathon that aired back in 2005, and the Ryan’s Hope marathon on St. Patrick’s Day a couple or so years back. I hope we get to see more classic stuff like this in the future. They’ve got a vast library of ABC shows that go back to the early if not mid-late ‘70’s at least, and from what is known, every episode of Days of our Lives exists in full. They also air The Young and the Restless, but considering how CBS won’t allow GSN to air any classic episodes of The Price Is Right, and according to a Soap Opera Digest article earlier this year they also won’t let AOL put older episodes of As The World Turns and Guiding Light on the Procter & Gamble classic soaps page. So I doubt we’ll see SOAPnet air any classic Y&R, at least for a while. I hope I’m wrong and that we see a marathon someday. I’d think they’d be able to make a deal with Sony but I can’t say for sure. I advise for SOAPnet to please use some of the classic episodes available more in the future when special occasions arise. Thanksgiving or Christmas would be an absolute perfect time to have one.
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