Diva Picks - 10/5 to 10/9
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Lawrence Alamain. Even though he’s having really bad hair days lately, I haven’t this entertained by a dead man on DAYS since Rex and Mimi made off with Dr. Rolf’s corpse back in 2000-or-so. I don’t even think he’s really dead. Just cause some lackey in the Alamainia said so doesn’t make it a fact. While I was not really a Carly or Lawrence fan, I’ll take those old flashbacks any day over yet another Will/Mia/Chad scene. A nice change of pace from the crapfest we’ve suffered all summer, although I don’t believe this new s/l will be the Second Coming that will save DAYS.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Harold, one of the Dimera servants. His accusing Sami of “breaking the baby” was lame. The Dimeras really need better servants these days. Is the recession really that bad? Bart or Rolf could have shut the brat up in no time.
SCENE OF THE WEEK: It has to be the Nicole/EJ reveal…simply because it’s the beginning of the end of this monstrously long storyline.
PERFORMER OF THE WEEK: Arianne Zuker. I know I rag on the character of Nicole a lot, but it’s not because of Zuker’s acting. She was excellent this week. Particularly pathetic as she desperately kept scraping up the lies to feed EJ at the sight of the pregnancy pillow…trying to hide the truth when that time had long since passed.
ZINGER OF THE WEEK: Nicole to EJ: “Oh my God, would you listen to yourself? You put an innocent girl in a morgue drawer…and I’m in trouble for lying?”
MOST OUT-OF-CHARACTER WRITING TO SET UP A FUTURE PLOTLINE OF THE WEEK: OK, so I’m supposed to believe that Hope went away, didn’t tell where Bo where she was going with Ciara and wouldn’t even talk to him on the phone? And then I’m supposed to believe that Bo didn’t even care that Hope didn’t talk to him but was more interested in the mysterious in-flight phone calls? Hey, I like a good triangle…especially when all of the characters are evenly matched. But I hate it when characters are made stupid or thrown under the bus all for the sake of Da Plot. I actually had high hopes that the Carly/Bo/Hope thing to come would become a real triangle with all of the real good stuff that comes with one, but it’s already too plot-driven rather than character-driven right from the get-go. If this triangle had been set up in 1991 or so, then there might have been some good stuff to watch. Of course, that was before All-Powerful Crystal Chappell was owner of the Glittery Hoo-Hah.
RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE WEEK #1: Which flashback has been shown the most? Nicole switching the babies or Carly gutting Lawrence?
RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE WEEK #2: Glad to see Sami getting some of her Mojo back. Amazing how much spunkier she gets while Rafe is off drowning somewhere.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Harold, one of the Dimera servants. His accusing Sami of “breaking the baby” was lame. The Dimeras really need better servants these days. Is the recession really that bad? Bart or Rolf could have shut the brat up in no time.
SCENE OF THE WEEK: It has to be the Nicole/EJ reveal…simply because it’s the beginning of the end of this monstrously long storyline.
PERFORMER OF THE WEEK: Arianne Zuker. I know I rag on the character of Nicole a lot, but it’s not because of Zuker’s acting. She was excellent this week. Particularly pathetic as she desperately kept scraping up the lies to feed EJ at the sight of the pregnancy pillow…trying to hide the truth when that time had long since passed.
ZINGER OF THE WEEK: Nicole to EJ: “Oh my God, would you listen to yourself? You put an innocent girl in a morgue drawer…and I’m in trouble for lying?”
MOST OUT-OF-CHARACTER WRITING TO SET UP A FUTURE PLOTLINE OF THE WEEK: OK, so I’m supposed to believe that Hope went away, didn’t tell where Bo where she was going with Ciara and wouldn’t even talk to him on the phone? And then I’m supposed to believe that Bo didn’t even care that Hope didn’t talk to him but was more interested in the mysterious in-flight phone calls? Hey, I like a good triangle…especially when all of the characters are evenly matched. But I hate it when characters are made stupid or thrown under the bus all for the sake of Da Plot. I actually had high hopes that the Carly/Bo/Hope thing to come would become a real triangle with all of the real good stuff that comes with one, but it’s already too plot-driven rather than character-driven right from the get-go. If this triangle had been set up in 1991 or so, then there might have been some good stuff to watch. Of course, that was before All-Powerful Crystal Chappell was owner of the Glittery Hoo-Hah.
RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE WEEK #1: Which flashback has been shown the most? Nicole switching the babies or Carly gutting Lawrence?
RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE WEEK #2: Glad to see Sami getting some of her Mojo back. Amazing how much spunkier she gets while Rafe is off drowning somewhere.
For the performer of the week i disagree with you.For me it's James Scott hands down, AZ was good but JS acting was qualified and subtle with all his partners (Ej/Nicole, Ej/Lexie, Ej/Sami even Ej/Kate).
ReplyDeleteI miss Rolf, he had a fun, entertaining relationship with Sami.
I like CC as Carly, i am looking forwards to see her interacting with the other Dool characters.
Kate is too much a cartoonish villian for my taste.
Brady is a real fool for the sake of plot-driven.
I don't mind Hope character writing, i know she is more or less throwed under the bus again for sake of plot-driven but i am keeping hope that soon she will come back as her real herself.
p.s : i don't want Rafe to come back, i love independent, funny, snarky, motherly Sami !!
Wow....group think much Diva? Seriously, are "couple" fans so intimidated by a powerful actress that the best you can come up with is a nasty bitterness toward a woman who has been outspoken, who has used her voice for the betterment of others, who is talented and appreciated? Crystal may be not be your favorite and Carly may not be a fan favorite but the tripe I heard listening to your radio broadcasts reminded me of "mean girls" in high school threatened by the new girl. What character has not suffered for the sake of plot in this genre. Sure it is worse now in most soaps, but is that the actor's fault? I am stunned at the bitterness of some over a strong talented woman coming to a show. If that were a strong male, I am sure all we would hear is swoons.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 9:09 AM...Did I miss something? I don't see anything reflecting the "nasty bitterness" towards CC in these Picks that you're ranting about. However, I'm also not going to swallow all the spin that CC is the most powerful player in soaps or that Carly 2.0 is going to set DAYS spiraling in the ratings past Y&R into #1. The opinions in the podcast are honest opinions by soap fans who are not getting any kind of paychecks or perks through Tomlin, Branco and friends to spew out the same old rah-rah CC dogma. And I'm not a "couple" fan either as Bo and Hope lost their mojo a long time ago. I'd like to see them shaken up. I just don't want the characters dumbed down in the process, but DAYS doesn't seem to write for the characters any other way these days.
ReplyDeleteDiva we usually agree on everything. But the Performer of the week if not the year was James Scott hands down. Ari was good but not even in the same league with James Scott this week. Perhaps you should take a second look! James is receiving rave reviews I'm surprised you miss this one!
ReplyDeleteI'm puzzled by the obsession with Branco's fangirly CC obsession. I agree Branco is a tool, but who cares what he thinks? He's done CC no favors by saddling her with totally unrealistic expectations about Carly bringing the ratings. If he truly believes that, he has a shallow understanding of CC's fanbase. She does have a devoted and large following, but most of them are Otalia/Olivia fans who aren't counted by the ratings system because they watch online. Most Otalia fans are not traditional soap fans. They actually liked Ellen Wheeler's reality-based model (the same model that caused GL's ratings to fall off a cliff). Judging from reaction on the Otalia boards, the few fans who have followed CC to Days are bored to tears by the show as a whole, and appalled by the campy melodramatics and glacial pacing of Carly's return. If the writers don't give CC an opportunity to stretch her acting chops, few of them will stick around.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Carly/Lawrence fans are spitting mad that their couple has been thrown under the bus to pave the way for the Bope/Carly triangle.
If CC and Suzanne Rogers are Tomlin BFF, then James Scott and Arianne Zucker must be Super-BFF because they're on all the time.
Arianne Zucker is definitly Super-BFF with Tomlin or Higley, for James Scott i am not so sure since Higley/Tomlin came back his character has been royaly dumbed down !!
ReplyDeleteJames Scott got plenty of love from me last week! He was also kickass. I just thought AZ should get some of the glory as well. I also loved the EJAMI scenes on Friday and was thisclose to putting those up for Scene of the Week instead.
ReplyDelete"Wow....group think much Diva?...Crystal may be not be your favorite and Carly may not be a fan favorite but the tripe I heard listening to your radio broadcasts reminded me of "mean girls" in high school threatened by the new girl."
ReplyDeletesounds to me like your problem isn't what was said but that any fan has the nerve to criticize the direction of the show just because CC has arrived. I'd get used to it if I were you. Just because people don't recognize the greatness of CC, doesn't mean they're incapable of coming up with an original thought of their own. Nor does having it mean anyone is threatened.
I'm a an Olivia/Otalia fan who has returned to Days because of CC. And yeah, I admit ... I'm having a bit of a hard time getting used to the traditional soap look again! I did get used to outdoor scenes and the like on GL (that production model took a while to grow on me, but it finally did) and so Days seems very artificial and dark. But some characters I used to watch on the show are still around and so I'm slowly getting back into the show.
ReplyDeleteI think the expectations Branco has placed on CC are ridiculous. No single actor can save a show or deliver show saving ratings. It just isn't possible. I happen to think CC is very talented and will bring some viewers to Days but the show isn't going to be overtaking Y&R anytime soon. As to her being the most powerful person on soaps right now? Well, I'm not sure that's true ... I guess it depends on the definition of power, but right now there is no one getting the attention she is and garnering the press she is. How that plays out, we have to watch and see.
i think cc and ls are both going to bring some viewers in and some energy to the show. and really from what i'm seeing so far - bo and hope could use some shaking up.
I'm all for shaking up characters that are stale but Higley and Whitesell's idea of shaking things up means trashing characters and history for the sake of da plot.
ReplyDeletename me a soap writer who doesn't do that! i mean i think most fans could say that about every single soap. characters and history are trashed and forgotten every single day for the sake of da plot. most shows are plot driven these days rather than chracter driven.
ReplyDeletenow there's an rationalization for putting up wtih lousy writing if I ever heard one. Everyone does it. For me, that's all the more reason to complain and point out the stupidity of it. These people are destroying a genre that has given me hours of enjoyment and I don't see any reason to give them a pass.
ReplyDeletewell now i don't see one thing that i wrote which says "yay! to crap soap writing 'cause everyone does it! or i never complain about bad soap writing and put up with it and so should everyone else." If what i wrote actually says that anywhere - then sorry it's not what i meant at all.
ReplyDeleteplot driven storylines drove me from soaps completely about 5 years ago. i only recently came back for otalia - which started out as a very nice character driven piece and ended up a plot driven mess. and i have complained quite bitterly.
Days is just a typical soap from what i've observed in the last several weeks. as usual, viewing pleasure depends on one's ability to put up with the huge anvils striking our heads over every plot arriving around every corner.
ok, sorry if I overreacted but it seemed you were giving reasons why complaining about plot driven story was pointless. My apologies.
ReplyDeleteI'm rather bitter about Days for the same reason you are about Otalia. For a little while, when Ed Scott was producing the show, and I had so many of my old favorites back, I saw a glimpse of the show I used to love. All gone now. The only characters left I care about are being destroyed a little more everyday.
i've read a lot of positive things about the ed scott time of the show. seeing it now makes me wish i had been tuned in at that time. sigh. i completely understand the reasons for the bitter!
ReplyDeleteIMO, DOOL is a horrible soap opera. With a few exceptions, the acting leaves something to be desired and the storylines bore me to tears. Would it be possible for the actor who plays EJ to move his lips when he speaks? Love or hate Carly, agree or disagree about Crystal Chappell being the most powerful person in soaps, I think she is a fantastic actress and given great writing like she was in the first half of Otalia, very few are her equal. However, no one person can save this mess of a show. Among other things that need to be changed, soaps will die unless they get back to character driven storylines. Fans are so tired of character assassinations for the sake of the plot...
ReplyDelete