All Soaps, All Week: Wrap Up

Well my week of watching all the soaps is over! I originally wanted to write a Daily Diary of my soap watching, but I had absolutely ZERO time. I'm actually glad I didn't have a chance to write about them in the beginning of the week, because it probably would have been a b*tch fest. Monday and Tuesday were torturous (especially with no fast forwarding!) but something happened mid-week, call it the Soap Version of Stockholm Syndrome but I stopped focusing on the negative and started enjoying what the shows were doing right. Weird.

AMC: I really like the David/Greenlee relationship. It's nice to see him interacting with a woman who isn't a dummy he's manipulating. But I prefer them as friends. They'll ruin it if they make it a real romance. I'm also really liking David & Liza. Jamie Luner is growing on me. Here's the trick: I just pretend she's not Liza. And sorry, I'm soooo over Erica and Jackson (did she really have the nerve to complain that Jackson's daughter Greenlee would always come first for him??), but if it means I get Walt Willey back I can deal with it. Annie continues to crack me up, while Marissa continues to make me cringe. And call me crazy, I think I might actually, kinda, not hate the idea of Ryan and Madison.

ATWT: I've been watching this show pretty irregularly over the last couple of years and I've heard some pretty bad things about it lately (the James/Mick story - WTF??), but I was totally charmed by it this past week. I'm giving it an award for Most Adorable Cast: Van Hansis, Daniel Cosgrove, Terri Colombino, Trent Dawson, Colleen Zenk Pinter...seriously, how cute (not to mention gorgeous) are these people?? Well normally I would hate Holden and Molly together, but since this involves faux-Lily (no offense to the talented Noelle Beck - she just ain't my Lily), I don't mind them. I found the Carly/Jack/Janet/Dusty stuff really amusing. Faith is an annoying brat, but I guess she's supposed to be. The faux-Craig stuff was pretty good. And I really liked that they mentioned Hal (I still miss Ben Hendrickson). While I enjoyed watching the show, I found myself getting sad all over again thinking about its cancellation. A world without these characters just feels so wrong :(

B&B: I'll say one thing for B&B, even if you don't like what's going on, it's short length and breezy tone makes each episode feel 5 minutes long. While I find it ridiculous that women are still fighting over Ridge and Eric, there's a lot I do like about the show. Half the cast is wonderful, the humor always works, it's beautiful to look at and it's almost always entertaining. I like Whip and Taylor, I love Bill (yummy Don Diamont), am so relieved that they finally got a young actor that can act (okay Zach Conroy isn't exactly Laurence Olivier, but he's a thousand times better than the other younger actors on the show) and I'm thrilled that Sarah J Brown has managed to escape GH's clutches. However, I'm not looking forward to a Stephanie/Eric reunion. John McCook and my girl crush Susan Flannery work so well together, but my Stephanie deserves better than to be with that wimpy Walking Hard-On Eric. I wish they would give Stephanie a love story...

DAYS: The show I was dreading the most. I started watching it in the mid-80s and once considered it "my" show, but it's unrecognizable to me now. I always say it's like watching a spin-off... DAYS: TNG. But truth be told, it wasn't awful. There wasn't a whole lot of Melanie, which I was thankful for. Smart Rafe + Badass EJ = Hotness. Justin and Adrienne on my screen again? Awesome! And while I like Bo and Carly, my heart is breaking for Hope (which is good drama). Unfortunately, I could care less about Nicole/Brady/Arianna. I despise Nicole, always have. Arianne Zucker is great, but I think Nicole is a creep and I've always seen her as a b*tchier, drunker, less sympathetic version of Sami. And she's a hypocrite - giving her mom sh*t about marrying an abusive rapist? I guess Nicole forgot that she married Trent, an abusive scumbag that pimped out his own daughter? Or what about her marriages-based-on-money to Lucas and Victor? And I really want all the younger characters to get into a car and drive off a cliff. However, I adore Leann Hunley and think she would be wonderful on Young and the Restless!!

GH: Sweet Jesus I hate Luke Spencer. First he gives some dumbass speech to Ethan about how he could understand it if Ethan did beat up Kristina because of how she acted and because Sam dared to get angry at him for putting his hands on Krissy. He gets all pissy when Ethan asks about Laura's rape. He gets bitchy with Alexis and Sonny because they dared to believe their own daughter and not his son. Then Kristina doesn't want to let him in the house so he's going to push his way in?! Oh and then he tries to threaten Sonny?? What's he gonna do? Rape him? And I love how he's suddenly a tough guy when it comes to Ethan, but where was he when Franco almost killed Lulu? Did he care? Did he use his "connections" to get Franco? I get that Ethan is innocent, but seriously...Luke is a rapist and he needs to quit with the self righteous indignation. The protective father routine is a Joke - isn't it about time for him to desert his family for another 3 months again?

I think the Kristina storyline has a lot going for it. The performances have been amazing and I like that they're at least touching on the cycle of abuse issue. However, the fact that Guza has written an abuse storyline that's caused a backlash against the victim is so disgusting to me. This story isn't an attempt to explore the issue, it's to pimp the men - it's about Sonny and Luke, it's about proving Sonny is a Good Father and it's about finally getting the audience to accept and like Ethan. The abuse story is just an afterthought at this point.

Johnny to Claire: "Why don't you try being married to a misogynistic lecherous pig?" Hmm...I wonder if GH writer Meg Bennett (Mrs. Bob Guza) wrote that line?

Oh and More JaSam Please!!!

OLTL: Pretty disappointing. The Jessica in HS story is so dumb. Also, wasn't she really sweet and nice when she was in HS? So why is she acting like a snarky little witch? Though I have to say that I kind of like Brody wooing Jessica (there needs to be more wooing in daytime!) I'm not into Todd and Kelly at all. And I am soooo over Tweedledee and Tweedledumb (Rex and Gigi). I don't know what to make of this Allison mess. I don't understand why no one is telling the cops! Sierra Rose is kidnapped and Schuyler and Tea don't call the cops. So then she shows up at Roxy's and instead of Roxy signaling Natalie, she does nothing...leading to Roxy being taken hostage. Instead of Natalie signaling John for help, she starts yammering about her feelings for him - giving Allison the opportunity to get away with Sierra Rose, Roxy and then taking Kyle hostage. Does she have to kidnap everyone in town before someone does something? Why are people keeping quiet and just hoping everythng is going to turn out okay?? Oh but I loved the "Morasco Fiasco" wink to the audience, lol.

Y&R: Ashley giving up baby Faith was devastating and Eileen Davidson was amazing! Yeah, the story is ridiculous, but it's about love and loss and the outlandish plot element was just a starting off point, it's not the whole story. I'm not sure how I feel about Adam. I think Michael Muhney is great when he's being devious, but he's not selling me on the more "human" side of Adam and I'm not buying his "love" for Sharon (which I should be.) Though he cracks me up when he's acting like a victim and demanding those that wronged him be brought to justice, lol! So that's Psycho Story #1. Psycho Story #2 is Emily/Patty and I'm liking it. I find Patty really disturbing and I actually care about Emily (believe her Paul!!) Psycho Story #3 is less successful. I could care less about idiot Daisy and Ryder, & I don't care that they've kidnapped Jana (maybe they can claim they have a tumor and that's what's making them commit these crimes - isn't that how Jana got off on her kidnapping and murder charges years ago?) Though the story lead to a brief Paul/Lauren almost hook-up which I LOVED!! I don't know...I think a show should only have one Psycho story going on at one time. Billy/Victoria = Snoreville. Though you would think Amelia Heinle's non-acting would balance out Billy Miller's over-acting, but it doesn't. Tucker and Ashley...hmmm...I could get into that.

Well I've certainly lived up to my SoapOperaBabble name! Sorry for going on like this, lol. I still haven't decided which shows to watch and which to drop. I actually wish I could continue watching all of them!

What do you guys think of the shows? What are you loving and what are you hating?

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover1938