Resigned

I’m resigned.

Since mid-2006 I’ve been hoping and praying for AMC to find some relief and a renewed sense of purpose, which might increase viewership and, by extension, its ratings. I honestly believed that the cure for what most ailed the show would be to remove the keyboard from the undeserving grip of Megan McTavish.

“Just give us a new head writer, “, I thought. That’s all we needed – a new writer and another chance.

Yes, I was frustrated by the direction she had chosen for my couple. I am a selfish viewer and I am not alone. The soap purity police who come taunting that couple or character fans must partake of the entire AMC buffet, and like it, or else we're not a “real” fans of the show can kiss our collective %*@! That is exactly what soap operas are – entertainment buffets. There is supposed to be something on the show for everyone to enjoy. And while it’s nice to appreciate the spread, as a whole, no one expect viewers to squeal in delight over every single item on the line. My favorite dish just happens be be Zach and Kendall and I prefer them hot, spicy, and served side-by-side. ;-) Although I appreciate a occasional side of Drs. David Hayward and Jake Martin - they are not what keeps me coming back for more.

Now, back to Megan – she gave us some good times. Stories were written under her reign that had me captivated with the entire show and cast. However, there came a point where she wrote in a manner which negated not only what she had previously done but that also wrecked the foundation laid years before her tenure. In essence, she completely SUCKED at the end and I, like so many others, wanted her gone. In fact, I was so happy at that first hint of her truly leaving that I sent Brian Frons a big, fat “thank you” email. Well, thanks to The Frons, I have come to regret both thanking him and my initial glee at having McTavish banished from Pine Valley. Because…

The Bears have done more damage to the integrity of my couple than I care to admit. Yes, McT had us in the torture chamber and kept dangling the payoff just out of our reach, but she hadn’t yet crossed the line. There tenure and the havoc they were allowed to wreak, in such a short span of time, is something I don’t care to reexamine too deeply. And while I can be grateful they are now gone, I can’t say that having Charles Pratt on board has comforted me - just the opposite, in fact.

See…the thing is that all of these writers have had one thing in common and it is something I am now resigned to – they do not listen to the fans. Period. They don’t. None of them. Not in any meaningful way, if at all. I realize that the things I complain about that are affecting my couple are the exact same things that other fans are complaining about regarding their favorite characters and couples. The fans are in sync and even if we aren’t rooting for the same players our wants for the team are neither difficult nor unique.

I’ve seen the lists, resolutions, polls and surveys all over the internet and all basically looking for the same things we have been unable to attain since McT left the building. And I am resigned to not getting it from the writers. So, I’m just going to place my faith in the actors to continue to try and bring as much integrity to actions of their characters even when those characters are performing actions contrary to their history. I am just going to have to look deeper at the expressions displayed by the actors to fill in the gaps the writers will continually leave. I am resigned that most actions won’t be explained in any manner that makes sense and that some plot devices will forever dangle out there – unresolved.

In 2009, I am resolved to make peace with the fact that being a “resigned” soap fan is the best I can hope for right now. Because no matter what, I am a “Zendall” fan – first, last…and always! So, my goal is to suck it up and support my couple as passionately as I can. (Yes, that means writing letters, making calls, and sending trinkets to the media and the show. And I'll be blogging about the fans who mock fans who are passionate in this way.)

Here’s to hoping for a better year for Zach & Kendall – and AMC! Cheers!

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I'm rooting for Annie

Let me see if I’ve got this straight.

First, Aidan Devane, Pine Valley’s resident private eye, manages to sneak his way into Annie Lavery’s secured hospital room at Oak Haven to…uhh…what?

Get the goods on her and prove she is faking her condition?

Drive her even crazier?

What?

Once he’s successfully in and confronts his target, double-oh-dumbass takes the bait and approaches his unbalanced quarry when she beckons him. Then, our supposedly TRAINED super-spy and spotted dick is overtaken by a slip of a woman in hand-to-hand combat and has to be rescued by the Chief O’Police and his team of Keystone Cops.

What is wrong with this picture?

Have the writers given up all pretense of trying to make this stuff plausible for us? There were plethora of ways Annie could have overtaken Aidan that would have seemed more realistic than her cooing “Come here my little pretty” and then attacking him head-on and nearly strangling him. The man is damn near twice her size and a frickin’ former spy! We're supposed to believe this is the well-connected "go-to" guy with all the training, tricks, and backup Pine Valley would ever need.

Come on, writers! ! Geesh!

Second, Dynamite Dodo and his trusty side kick, the Green Butthead, are so guilt-ridden over driving Annie crazy and hurting poor Fish-‘n-Chips that they keep finding their way to one another, often with little Emma in attendance, just so they can twist that knife a little further.

Yeah, Ryan the “good guy” keeps leaving his crazy-ass wife’s kid with the woman who helped to drive his wife to murder because their paid nanny is conveniently not around. I suppose it would be too much like “the right thing to do” for Ryan to drop Emma off at Slater Daycare, where Bianca and her brood have taken up residence, while he and Greenlee take turn playing selfless and noble.

Yep, I’m definitely rooting for Mrs. Looney Toons. Go get ‘em, Annie!

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They Don't Trust Us

Production cut-backs. Declining ratings. Budget short falls.

Yeah, the executives of daytime television are using the current economic woes as a way to partially explain away their recently unfavorable casting and schedule changes, the pay-cuts they are enforcing with their staff, and the decreased viewership of their respective shows. However, the truth is that what ails daytime is neither new nor a result of the somewhat recent downturn in our economy.

"But, but...we've been in recession for almost a year!" you exclaim.

True. True. But, fans and critics have been lamenting on the state of their favorite shows for far longer than that. And one theme has been consistent and consistently ignored...

They don't trust us.

The executives. The writers. The powers that be. Those who have the final decision on what plays out on our screens and, to some degree, how it plays out. Gotta give those directors some of the credit, too.

Fans have been clamoring for some "back to the basic" style in our daytime soap operas for quite some time. Soap opera critics have been writing about what hast been truly missing in the genre.

"Where is the romance?" we've asked.

"There needs to be balance," we've lamented.

"Character, character, and character," we've cried.

To no avail.

Instead, we've been treated to one nonsensical story after another where shaky plots often supersede characterization. Character we're invested in are taken off screen or used in a manner that frustrates us, new characters are thrown in to fill the gap and are used so forcefully that it becomes off-putting.

They don't trust us.

Our letters, our phone calls, our email, and our blogs are just background noise in the decision room. On occasion, a token gesture is thrown out in order to keep the faithful few tuned in. No, the real catch, for them, is that elusive demographic who aren't biting because they want what we want...authenticity in their soaps. Young soap watchers become older soap watchers and our needs and wants where our shows are concerned really don't change that much.

Is it too much to ask?

Trust.

Trust fans when we say the violence on our screens is more than we want to see in daytime.

Trust us when we say "real" relationships between realistically written couples is something that appeals to us.

Trust us when we say that substance trumps style and is the only thing that will truly keep us tuning in.

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My Christmas Wish

Step aside Father Clarence. You won't be needed this year. No tinkling music and sappy, Dickensian miracles. No wishing on a star. No softening of the tough exterior of this year's sacrificial "Scrooge." This holiday season, I have only one wish, and I'm calling on Santa Charles to provide it.




I know, I know. It's too early to start my Christmas Wish list. After all, it's only December 1. Only overachievers and sociopaths are doing any real shopping this early ... at least not for others. But I'm getting a head start so I can give Santa Charles plenty of time to work it out.

What's my wish? Well, I'm glad you asked. Is it world peace? Nope. A fixed economy? Nuh-uh. A pill that makes chocolate a fat burner? Not even that. This year I'm giving my wish to somebody else ... Kendall Hart-Slater.

I want her to open her eyes and find her ruggedly handsome husband sitting by her bedside, waiting anxiously for her to come back to him. I don't want to see Reese there. Or Bianca. Not even Erica. I want Zach ... and only Zach (unless you want to bring the boys in. I'm cool with that.).

I know this event may not be scheduled to happen until after Christmas. But that's okay. I can wait. After all these years, we Zendall fans are getting pretty good at waiting.

That's not too much to ask, is it? I could ask for a new car or a better job, but I didn't. I could ask for more Josh and less Bianca, but I didn't. No, I'm gonna be a "big ole' giver" this year and pass my Christmas genie along to somebody who really needs it. Somebody who is suffering through her second coma in less than three years. Somebody who has two babies at home who have never celebrated Thanksgiving as a complete family. Or Christmas outside the hospital. (Heck, Ian doesn't even get a birthday, but that's a separate blog.)

And how about Zach? Last year at this time he was trapped in a hole. Now he's trapped in hell. A house full of women, but none of them is the right woman. So how about it? How about giving these two crazy kids a bona fide moment to remember? Do it for Team Slater, Santa Charles. Do it for all of us.

And if you want to throw in a couple of choo-choo rides for Kendall, I won't mind.

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Reese Williams: The Enjoli Woman of Pine Valley

Is there nothing this woman cannot do?

She's such a "catch" that Bianca fell head over heels for her and almost immediately wanted to make babies to raise with her.

She's so "compelling" that intensely private Zach began confiding the intimate details of his life to her upon their first meeting.

She's so "dynamic" that a normally cautious Erica threw herself wholeheartedly into wedding planning, without securing a background check.

She's Reese Williams.



And I don't like her.

And it's a damn shame because I love Tamara Braun. She was one of my favorite Carlys on General Hospital and I was so disappointed when she left the show. I was thrilled when she showed up on the short-run sitcom Freddie. So, I am quite perturbed that her All My Children debut has her embroiled in AMC's "2009 Nonsensical Storyline" award winner.

I simply cannot get into the "ground-breaking" aspect of a storyline that has so much wrong with it from the outset. And since the writers have chosen to make the character Reese the catalyst for all of this abnormal behavior from my regular Pine Valley-ites, she bears the weight of all my frustration (although I've got plenty left over for Bianca).

Now, I've learned that I'll have to deal with SuperReese buzzing around Casa de Slater this holiday season acting like a cross between Florence Nightingale and Martha Stewart. Reese must have skipped the "Charm" and splashed on the Enjoli. Yikes!

Some days, around 1 p.m. EST, I envy Kendall her coma.

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