Ideas are a dime a dozen. Everyone has some cockamamie scheme in their head; everyone has some burst of inspiration. If you want to put this to a test is go to any company's weekly office meeting and listen to the long string of "Hey! Let's try this!"-es to realize ideas are plentiful. But having an idea and making an idea work are two entirely different things. This happens a lot in life and also in film and TV. A movie or a show starts with a promising concept, but quickly disintegrates into formula shortly after the clever concept is unveiled. When you actually find a show or a film whose ending is as strong as it's beginning, then you know you have something special. Sadly, GH writers haven't had a lot of strong ending success stories lately.
When the writers decided to pair Jax and Courtney, they heavily invested in their courtship, the dating phase, the silly "Bet you 10 million bucks you can't resist me" game. We followed along. We bought into it, we wanted to know What Happens Next, which in my mind is the only thing that would make an otherwise rational person like myself and most of you tune in to a television show every single day for decades on end. A book has an ending. You get to the last page and know how it ends, but on a soap, there is no ending, just a lure of "What happens next" to draw us in, a story we are following and need to know how it ends, and since it never ends, we keep tuning in. The writers had an idea, which we bought into and we invested in this couple. We watched as their silly game turned into love, how the feelings deepened and grew and surprised them both. It was enjoyable to watch. But once the succumbed and actually got together, the writer's good idea was over. They didn't know how to sustain it, or where to take the couple now that hey had them together. Two weeks after their wedding, when most couples would still be blissfully in the honeymoon stage, Jax and Courtney suddenly decided they couldn't be fulfilled without a baby and set about hiring a surrogate Mom since Courtney couldn't get pregnant (Which of course was incorrect as she IS pregnant now) The idea was strong, the concept of them of a couple was clever, but the ending fizzled.
Nikolas and Emily likewise had a strong start - we have been rooting for the two of them for years. Way back when Emily was Amber Tamblyn and was a schoolgirl with a crush on a Prince we hoped he'd notice she was alive, and when he helped her through her breast cancer and the two of them fought so many battles side by side, we lovers of soap called them Super Couple and counted on them to keep the hope of Big Scary Love alive in our hearts. But Nik bolted after Em was raped and didn't want to have sex with him for a couple of months. So much for "for better or worse, til death do us part" huh?
The writers of GH seem to have A.D.D. - they can't keep focused on endings of stories, only beginnings. This year Steven Weber came and went, Rachel Adair whom I thought was a very promising character was written off, they wrote off AJ who was one of the most interesting characters on the landscape and turned him into a cartoonish 1 dimensional guy, which is a pity, as over the years, he has been such a rich and multi layered character - do you recall actually rooting for he and Courtney to make their marriage work? Sure, he married her to annoy Sonny, but he actually fell in love with her and was so stupid about how he tried to keep her that it blew up in his face - he was a millionaire by birth who failed at everything he tried and was a drunk and was unlucky in love and yet we felt his pain throughout. Now, he's gone, too. We have had more recasts than I can count, and had favorite actresses carelessly let go while having newcomers that we could care less about shoved down our throats (Would anyone really care if Jesse vanished tomorrow without explanation? I know I wouldn't.)
Anyway, I have rambled on long enough about that...Now the good news - Diego actually acted well this week. His scenes of confession with Lorenzo were very well done, and I'm glad to see him progressing as an actor. I truly hope this isn't the end of him as a character, as with this awful crime, he is finally interesting. Lorenzo being a criminal was not his free pass, Lorenzo is actually going to hold his son accountable for his crimes. Mind you, the premise is still dumb - that he read Sage's diary and drugged Brook Lynn and took nude photos of her for revenge, but the underlying theme "My Dad is a thug, therefore I can commit crimes and he will bail me out." is interesting, since Lorenzo didn't bail him out and wants him to actually answer for his crimes. Oh please ABC, and Powers That Be, don't have A.D.D. and drop another promising storyline. Really, any storyline involving Ted King becomes a riveting one as he is a soulful actor and well, he's easy on the eyes, too. If that makes me shallow, then, okay, I am shallow.
Jason has been taken off the medication and we are now in "Wait and see" mode. I have to admit, I don't understand this at all. Okay, so Jason has memory loss because he has something actually wrong with his brain - a tumor, correct? And even if Robin's medication makes his memory come back, doesn't he still have a tumor? He's going to need surgery anyway, unless her pills can do a "Mr. Cleans' Magic Eraser" number on the brain tumor. (Which by the way, if you haven't tried those, you really have to, they clean anything. Thanks Rachel for the handy household tip!) So if you understand the medical concepts behind this treatment, by all means, enlighten me.
Helena pushed Courtney off the Elm Street Pier - and honestly, as many crimes as have happened on that dock, anyone who goes there alone is just asking for it, don't you think? Jax fished her out of the icy water and got her to the hospital and Nik is there telling her Helena won't be a problem anymore, and I say "Yeah Right." Helena has been terrorizing people since I was in high school, way back when she was played by Liz Taylor. I hope she continues to terrorize people because every soap opera needs a villainess. By the way, when Nik drugged Helena on the plane, didn't the lady in the seat next to Helena look an awful lot like Cynthia Preston who played Faith? I rewound my Tivo several times to look again, and every time, she still looked like Faith.
Jax's Big Scary Love for Courtney came in handy, as Courtney and her baby would have been goners if Jax hadn't been lurking nearby to pull her out of the icy Port Charles River. Last week I conducted a poll and asked you all your stories, and I have to tell you I was so moved by your tales of love and passion and heartache and loss - I thank you for trusting me enough to share your hearts with me. I feel so blessed - it's like I have 10,000 friends who trust me and I am so thankful for your willingness to be vulnerable and open with me in telling me your life stories. The consensus was Yes, Big Scary Love does exist, and even though I got a few "No" votes, the majority voted on the side of True Love.
Still loving Carly 4.0 - she even makes John Durant less annoying. When Emily dropped by with the kids, I thought..."Did she take the train?" which made me laugh out loud alone in my room. Then I thought, Emily sure is brave - I mean the last time they were together, Carly was out of her mind and thought Emily was Faith and shot her, I don't know that I would go and visit someone who is insane and had already shot me once. But hey, that's just me and I'm selfish.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Diego have to drop his photography class, or will he become the photographer for the Jail Yearbook? Will Mac's Christmas wish to be rid of Fake-Licia and Kristina Wagner will be back in time for the Hospital Christmas Party? Will ABC explain to us why we got a rerun on Thanksgiving instead of the traditional "Quartermaines have to order pizza on Thanksgiving as something comical happened to their turkey" episode? Will Jason wake up and ask where Karen Wexler is? Will Robin do something with her hair once Jason is better?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
PRINTABLE VERSION View a printer friendly version of this article
