6 posts tagged “soaps”

Ah, my woefully neglected little blog.  I think perhaps part of the reason I am so forgetful about posting here is that none of my friends are on VOX in real life, nor do they perhaps even know that I am on VOX.  My main reason for creating this blog was originally to replace the LJ that I was considering abandoning in light of my life meltdown that I went through awhile ago.  I wasn't considering deleting the LJ, but I wanted to distance myself from those people that were at the time not friendly towards me.  So, I started this VOX thing and it worked, but it's more graphically-difficult for me to use adequately.  So I stuck with LJ.  And then I decided to make this a more personal journal than anything, since none of my real-life friends read this.  But that failed because introspection isn't something I like to write down.  Plus, my life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it.  And I'd like to keep most of that from the internet.

Then I thought I'd use this as an alternative to the MySpace blog because I only ever to login to MySpace when I get a comment or a message.  But that didn't work either, since I forever forgot to update it.  And now I have this blog and I don't want to NOT use it, so I'm going to make it about soap operas and TV shows, since that's the only thing I don't have a blog for (actually that's a lie, I used to live-recap Days of our Lives and Passions when I was unemployed and it actually worked really well...except that nobody read them and then I got a job...).

So, I thought I'd start with an entry on why I love soap operas.  First, I must point out that I realize that soaps are NOT for everyone.  Some people can't get behind the plot contrivances, the deaths that aren't actual deaths and the sometimes confusing storylines that get dropped or convoluted so badly that you can't even grasp it.  However, soaps are the ultimate in fantasy television.  It's about family, usually, and the thing is, on soaps, no matter how badly a family member screws up or does HORRIBLE things, the family stays together and they love each other (this only applies to the good families.  The villain families, not so much).

Also, the people on soaps live out one of my fantasies: never having to work. Oh, occasionally we see them at some corporate office (almost always as CEO or VP), but most of the time, they are busy running around town, yelling at people or telling them some secret.  They also live in fabulously decorated penthouses and apartments and houses without any source of income.  I mean, Sami Brady on Days has lived in her 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment on the 3rd floor of a nice high-rise building in Downtown Salem for years.  And she only worked somewhere for like 2 years.  And even then, she didn't work so much as walk around plotting and scheming.  How does she afford that apartment?  And same goes for Marlena.  She's a psychiatrist, but hasn't had any patients since 2003.  Yet, she lives in a 2-story penthouse in Downtown Salem.  Now, for reference, let's assume Salem is the size of Dallas (a distinct possibility).  A downtown Dallas penthouse rents for about $3400 a month.  Now, that's a lot of money for someone with no patients and as many ailments and reasons to stay away from work as Marlena has.  But, I guess one could wank it to say that her husband John Black, owner of Basic Black fashion house, pays the bills.  Except he's been dead, alive, brainwashed and addicted to painkillers for the last few years.  Also, Basic Black seemingly hasn't had a new line out since 2003 when Bo and Hope were attacked at the fashion show, kickstarting the "Salem Stalker" storyline.

Anyway, that wasn't so much about why I love soaps, so that'll have to be the next entry.

So, the bigwigs at ABC decided to do another spin-off of General Hospital.  Great.  Love the idea that it's weekly and involves the same characters as GH, but the execution of the show?  Kind of lacking.

The first problem is that, while it has the same characters, the storylines don't flow from the mother show to the Night Shift.  First, Spinelli is so not in love with Lulu on NS, and Jason is walking around a free man, while on GH is charged with the murder of Lorenzo Alcazar.  And they don't even mention why he's walking around a free man.  Plus, there's Billy Dee Williams as some sort of custodian meandering about the hospital dropping insipid bon mots that really aren't necessary.  When they announced him joining the staff, I'd have though they would have put him in a better role.

The other problem, is that since it's a weekly show and not a daily show, I'd expect the storylines to move a little faster.  But Spinelli spent the entire episode being treated for a gunshot wound.  That doesn't happen on any other sort of medical drama.  Plus Patrick and Robin spent the entire shift whining about each other.

Of course, the comparison to the other spin-off has to be made.  Port Charles was a weird little show.  It was supposed to be about the new class of interns or something at General Hospital, but it took a turn toward the supernatural with all sorts of angels and vampires.  Like Night Shift, Port Charles supposedly took place in the same town as the mother show, but you really couldn't tell from watching the show.  Sure, characters from both shows were in and out of GH and Kelly's, but they were never around at the same time.  Like, you'd never see Luke run into Livvie at Kelly's, even though they were supposedly living in the same town.

While I can see where ABC and the General Hospital staff were going with this spin-off and in general, I do think it's a good idea, I just don't think that it really works as well as it should.  They should have had the storylines intertwine with the mother show just a little more, or they should have completely removed all the characters from GH and transplanted them to NS.

Gotta love the soaps

So, finally watched the premiere of One Tree Hill (I know, the show sucks worse than Charmed ever did), but it's a soap and therefore, I'm watching it.  And man, was it boring.  NOTHING HAPPENED.  And it was so underwhelming considering the finale of last year and the premiere this year took place in one day that included: a wedding, a wedding reception, a limo theft, a lie about a pregnancy, a car crash, a triple drowning, a guy in a coma, a husband choking his ex-wife, and a girl finding out that she has a half-brother.  HOW CAN THAT BE BORING?  I just...when you have that many campy things going on in two episodes and you can't make it interesting?  Time to throw in the towel and move on to another show.  Or just slow down the storylines so that characters actually make sense.  And maybe hire a few actors who can act.  I mean, seriously.  Chad Michael Murray cannot act.  I don't know who told him he could.  But, he had the most unintentionally funny line of the night with, "So, we sit and wait.  I guess that's why they call it a waiting room."  NO SHIT, CHAD!

Oy. In other news, I am loving The Class on CBS.  It's actually the only sitcom on the air right now that makes me laugh every time I watch it.  The characters are just so loveable.  Only, there's this guy who's been on a string of unsuccessful sitcoms and MAN, he just needs to stop trying to keep up his American accent, because his British one is showing.  Like, really bad.

Lastly, NaNoWriMo starts soon.  Like, one month.  I'm strangely excited because I've tried the past 2 years to actually finish a story I start and then it all turns to crap about 10 days in.  Like, last year, I started out writing a mystery, but when I needed a revelation about a crime scene, I decided to make my main character be psychic.  And a wizard.  And then there was something about spells and protecting innocents and then I had this big hole because I decided that every spell he cast or premonition he got would cause him really great pain, with more pain each successive time.  And basically, I was 10,000 words in and realized that the only way to make him well was to either re-write or to come up with a deus ex machina to get me out of this hole and it turned into the weirdest 10, 000 story ever.  Which is why this year I've: planned out the story somewhat, and made sure that no magic or psychic power is used in the story.   That and I really can't handle losing for a third year in a row (not that there's a prize or anything). And yes, I know the point is to write  and just to write, but seriously, that plot hole was really bugging me and on top of that, it felt like I ripped off a bad episode of Charmed.

And with that, we come full circle.

Ok, so last night was strange.  Went over to my friend Lucy's and had a weird night.  We watched Ugly Betty which was really awesome.  Like I've said, I love the soaps, and that had suds all over it.  It was great.  It definitely reminded me of the Colombian original, Yo Soy Betty, La Fea.  It's tons better than the Mexican version and Salma Hayek's cameo appearance was delightfully well-done.  Then, we watched Grey's Anatomy and Peter and Cathy were talking through the entire thing, and I yelled at them.  Several times.  Thankfully I taped it, so I can rewatch it without having people yell about what happened in the first 2 seasons.

Then, we went to some stupid place called 8 Lounge.  It has the look of some really swanky club, but it's really just a loud bar with pushy security people and no dancefloor.  We found a spot to sit finally, and I had a rum and diet.  Peter got up to get more drinks and got me one more.  Only he didn't tell me that he put double the rum in it, so it was like ALL liquor.  Luckily I didn't have too much to drink before we went out, so I was perfectly fine, not drunk at all.  But the club was filled with Asians, which I'm not against, but it's uncomfortable to be around a whole bunch of one ethnicity and be one of the few white people around.  We left and went back to Lucy's for some lasagna and wine.  Good times.

So, that was my Thursday night.

So, the internet has been crying since Steve Irwin died.  I'm a little verklempt about it, to be honest.  I just never expected him to die like that.  A freaky ironic accident.  I mean, it was just a little sad, too, to see footage of his kids and Terri on the entertainment news shows. 

Which brings me to one point on this blog.  Billy Bush is a fucking moron.  No, really.  This man needs to just go away.  For good.  He's annoying and stupid and thinks he's brilliant.  Or appears that way.  That folks, is why you should watch Extra.  That's the only entertainment news show worth watching ever.

Tonight was the premiere of the new MyNetworkTV shows, Desire and Fashion House.  I missed Desire because House was on, but man, Fashion House had me HOOKED.  It's actually not that bad.  It's filmed on film, not tape, so it doesn't have the look of a true Telenovela.  It does have some stilted dialogue and cheesy actors, but that's a given in the soaps world.  I have to say, Bo Derek was amazing as Maria Gianni, the head of the House of Gianni fashion house.  So, great.  And the chemistry between her son, Luke, and his love-interest, Michelle was great.  Plus, there are already 2 triangles being set up between them.  And it's sooo interesting.  I'll probably catch the recaps on Saturday for Desire and then see if I can't maybe make some headway there.  I mean, I like soaps, so this was definitely a must-see premiere for both shows.

House was pretty good, but not as good as some previous episodes.  It was actually kind of boring.  Not like Fashion House.  But still.  Decent enough to skip Desire for.  Then, there was something I meant to watch at 9, but have no idea what it is, so it must not have been that good.

Tomorrow, I have to do some work for my friend Lucy at her place, and then I'm probably going with her to the Rocket Bar on Thursday for some $2 Long Island Iced Teas.

So, this was mainly acquired because it's like all the rage for Vox was happening and I needed to get in on the ground floor in case it took off.  I was an early adopter on LJ but rather stupidly deleted that journal because it was in the first days of the LJ thing and no one had one and I didn't want to be doing something that no one else had.  So, I deleted it and then like, 2 months later, LJ hit the big time and I wanted an account and they had those DAMNED codes that kept people out.  So, I went and got a ujournal instead.  Luckily, I got an LJ code and then like 3 months after that, LJ dropped their code system and uJournal went belly up.  Heh.  So, that's my blogging history.  Oh, I occasionally post a blog on my MySpace Profile.  But that's rare, that.

I haven't decided what exactly I want to use this blog for. It'll probably be more of a collection of links and boring life stuff that I don't end up posting to my LJ.  Also, my thoughts on soap operas because I'm like, a mad soap addict.  And I expect a lot more from my shows than what they actually serve up.

I'm currently unemployed (sort of).  I have a job at a temp agency, but I've only had one assignment, and it was a shitty assignment, with me only working one day a week for three weeks.  Since today is Labor Day, I think it's a sign that I need to get off my ass and get out there and find a damn job. I mean, honestly. I am really desperate here (luckily my dad is picking up my bills, but he won't be able to for long).  So, tomorrow is my first day of SERIOUS job hunting and trying to line up some sort of STEADY work.  I've been looking, but once I got the job at the temp agency, I really kind of just half-assed my job search because I had a job.  Only, not really. It was temp work and it was really dull.  I really need a new assignment, but I really just need the money more.  Like, today.

Anyway, more later. I'm trying to get totally caught up on my soaps, and that may not happen if I keep sitting here typing out this blog.  I'm going to be updating this blog everyday, because I think it's much easier interface than LJ.  I'm really glad that I managed to get one of these things.  They are actually decent.