Mercurial Mercurio!'s Journal

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Just in case some of you are coming to me from some means other than through Eye on Soaps, I now have a new column at EOS called <A HREF="http://www.eyeonsoaps.com/sherrysjubilee.htm">Sherry’s Jubilee!</A> (click on the name to go straight there!). I'll be covering PC there as well as various other subjects from time to time so please mark the new page and visit often. I wouldn't want to lose even one of you! Thanks for reading.
If you have any questions or comments: <ADDRESS><A HREF="mailto:sherry@eyeonsoaps.com">Email Me!</A></ADDRESS> </P>
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You cannot imagine how happy I am to be finished watching Tess "play house", first with Jack and then with Caleb! I thought her relationship with Jack was rather gross, but it got worse when she moved on to Caleb. Watching Tess try to "please" Caleb with dinner, sex, and talk of making him a good boy was just a big waste of time. I'm exceedingly grateful that it is over and done with. Long live Livvie! There was a time when I could've done without her but I was pretty glad to see Kelly Monaco show up in red lingerie rather than the obligatory pink or while Tess sweater. Long overdue and very welcome indeed!

If (as Rafe, Ian and Lucy seem to agree) Ian is going to be unable to fight his vampire urges forever then why not go ahead and bite someone now so he can be cured? I don't understand some of the logic rattling around in Ian's head these days!

Loved Reese's "I don't do mercy bites"! I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of her being Alison's sister, which is my assumption at this point. That definitely explains why she can't bite Ali since I'm fairly certain that I remember someone saying (Liz maybe?) that you can't bite your own blood relative or something like that. I don't think the actress is terrible but we haven't been able to see much of her abilities since the character is pretty much just another Casey (bad girl with an attitude) and hasn't been used for much other than a plot device. I'll give her a bit more time before I decide for sure, I guess.

Also loved Kevin's "Picking up takeout for the boyfriend?" comment when he caught Lucy stealing the blood. She took enough to feed a legion of vampires which seemed unnecessary, but whatever. The line from Kevin was quite amusing!

I'm totally confused about how the gang is getting access to the hot spring so easily. I thought the entrance was through Caleb's apartment and I can't believe they are taking the risk of traipsing through there whenever they feel like it! What if he comes home while they're all down there and they walk back up and run smack into him? They should at least leave a look-out or something. Did I miss some other way in?

Alison's right, Elizabeth is a "professional victim" and every soap needs one so Ali should just be thankful that someone else showed up to take that position since a few arcs ago I thought Alison herself might be up for the job. Liz and Joshua represent a higher class of vampires…the ones that don't have to have tattoos, body piercing and bad hairstyles to show their vamp-ness. I respect that about them. Liz was starting to wobble on the edge of the precipice of "those that wear only black leather" but she was cured just in time so as not to completely fall in with the tacky crowd and she kept her classy vampire dignity until the end.

<img src="http://eyeonsoaps.com/sherry/Liz.JPG">

Joshua is always honing up on his "tastefulness"!

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Which made Caleb think he wanted to try to be "tasteful", as well!

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How in the heck did Kevin know where to find Ian in order to inject and then kidnap him? And someone has to help me remember what scene I was reminded of while watching Kevin brick Ian in…didn't something very similar to that happen a few years ago?? My memory sucks but I had definite flashes of "seen this already" while that was playing today!

Wouldn't Heaven revoke Ricky's guardian angel if it knew he was intentionally getting into trouble to keep her around? I doubt you can pull one over on the all-knowing Ed that easily.

Who knew Jack could find someone more infantile than Tess? At least Tess knew to only use her crayons on paper and not to write on walls!

Anybody else start humming "Dancing in the Sheets" while watching Livvie…well…dance among the sheets hanging around Caleb's lair?
<img src="http://eyeonsoaps.com/sherry/livviesheets.JPG">

I appreciate artsy symbolism as much as the next average viewer (I think anyway, lol) but enough is enough with the Caleb/Livvie stuff already. They have dialogue straight out of a trashy romance novel and it just doesn't fit with the rest of the dialogue on this show, which is usually fairly intelligent. I could go forever without hearing "Caleb, My Love" uttered again.

This is usually about where I would insert my "Where in the hell is…" comments, but you can probably fill in the names of the missing without my going over them AGAIN. Hopefully some of them will turn up when the arc changes. It seems we usually get a few days of regrouping that often includes some of the almost gone but not at all forgotten group. Keep your eyes peeled and enjoy it while it lasts…it usually is short-lived, unfortunately.

How is it that Lucy thinks that Kevin will get custody of Christina even if he can prove that Lucy is unfit? I thought Scott was Christina's legal father so wouldn't custody be awarded to him? And how funny is it that Lucy calls home to see how Christina is (after being busy for a week or so apparently) and when she hears that the little girl is with her father (thinking she meant Scott) she says "But it isn't Scott's day"! Yes Lucy, better that she spend time with the housekeeper than with an actual parent, even if the parent whose turn it is seems to be otherwise occupied. Whatever.

<c>Things I Feel Hopeful About For the Next Arc:</c>

1. Maybe when Reese comes out of that pool she'll have a little less makeup on and we'll be able to see that she's really a pretty girl under all that goop.
2. Maybe "The Experience featuring Caleb Morley" will hire Kevin as a songwriter and he can work out some of his obvious psychosis by putting it to music and setting it free. Instead of "Hey Sister", we'll get "Hey Brother" as he works through his Ryan issues. That hit will be closely followed by "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Lu-cy", "Danny Boy (He's Using That Kid To Steal My Wife)", and "Love Bites (and So Does My Daughter)". Between the songwriting and intense therapy that includes writing "I will not follow people around, eavesdrop on conversations, lurk behind bushes or just generally act like I'm nuts ever again" a thousand times a day for a week, Kevin is cured in record time.
3. Maybe the writers will remember how great Chris used to be to have around.
4. Maybe Jack will stop whining and grow a brain again.
5. Maybe Alison can help him do that since she could use just a touch of that same thing herself.
6. Maybe the prevailing expression of the characters will be something other than the "perplexed" look they all mastered during "Surrender".
7. Maybe I'll never have to see Tess, or her doll, again. Hey, did she take that damn thing with her?

Ten points to whomever can identify which zoo is now missing their polar bear exhibit!
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I'm eagerly awaiting the new beginning; I find I almost always enjoy the first few weeks of a new arc! You'll hear from me soon, and I always love to hear from you so drop me a line anytime!

<ADDRESS><A HREF="mailto:sherry@eyeonsoaps.com">Email Me!</A></ADDRESS> </P>

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Photo Credit: <A HREF="http://groups.msn.com/PCScreenCaps">PCScreenCaps - Click here to visit their great site!</A>

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Port Charles. This show is giving me fits. Honestly, I just never know quite what to say anymore about it, which should explain the long stretches between columns. The thing is, I still like the show but I'm not <I>in</I> like with it…if you know what I mean. I'm so very tired of vampires and honestly; I'm really very tired of Michael Easton as well. He's a good actor, he plays Caleb very well, and I'm still tired of him. Vampires are just not interesting to me, and I'm just not seeing the "sexy" aspect that others seem to see. The truth of the matter is that if PC was just now starting up and touting itself as the new vampire drama of daytime, I would not be tuning in nor would I be writing about it. I wouldn't even bother starting to watch such a show because the entire premise doesn't interest me at all. Of course, the situation as it stands is that I really like many of the characters of PC and I enjoy much of the acting. I used to really enjoy some of the snappy writing as well. Then things slowly changed and as a result, I am now watching and writing about a show that is often no longer up my alley at all. Most of the time lately, I feel completely inept at commenting on this show. I am having a hard time deciding if the vampires, the lack of character integration, the writing, the plot holes or …the vampires bore me most. I do know that when I do write a column, it feels like I'm saying the same things over and over. More of this character, less of that character, why can't this make sense, why can't that make sense…why the hell am I watching Jack present Tess with a homemade dolly (brought out of a department store bag, no less) for Valentine's Day? Is this really soapy drama?

I am in my thirties, married with two children. I do NOT want to watch Jack and Caleb fight over someone with the apparent mentality of my five year old. I do NOT want to watch them buy her toys and watch her hug up the dolly. I do NOT want to watch her enjoy her cartoons and talk baby talk…I get that here, in my own home, on a daily basis. There is nothing sexy, alluring or magical about it. It's basically babysitting…and I have enough of my own to watch, thank you very much. I also have a hard time enjoying something when I cannot understand or explain much of it. Why is Jack no longer a vampire if Caleb's alive? Why, when Caleb "died" last week and everyone went back to normal, didn't they stay that way when he came back to life? Why was it different this time than it was last time he "died"? The idea of making up the rules as you go along only goes so far, and it seems to me that it undermines the viewers opportunity to become involved in the story. We can't predict what's going to happen because it rarely follows the rules. That's not to say that I don't realize that some people are enjoying the show at the moment, and it's certainly not meant to be an indictment of any kind against them because they are. I fully appreciate that others may be able to view this arc from an entirely different standpoint and see things in a more appealing way, but I'm just not one of them and I felt it was about time to say so. I know this is "the little show that could" and I want it to succeed, I really do. But I fear that things are going so far off track that success is becoming highly unlikely.

Port Charles has some of the highest of highs. When it's good, it's excellent. When it's bad, well, it's boring. All soaps have their ups and downs, and PC is no different. The problem is that PC decides to ride the highs until there is nothing discernible left of them. The first vampire arc was very successful for PC, it regenerated a flagging audience and it was new, different and exciting. So, they rode that wave for a time and by the end of the ride, the audience was used to seeing a few characters embroiled in a big splashy story and they were ready for something else new, exciting and different. PC failed to deliver quite the same bang once the vampires left, which frankly isn't that unusual. You bring on someone like Michael Easton and you generate some extra ratings, particularly if you put him in a vampire story. Once that is over, I would think a dip is inevitable. PC's attempts, though at further supernatural storylines, were pretty much a failure. They had some things working for them, like the coupling of Kevin and Lucy and Rafe and Alison. Both popular in their own right and both set up for prime soapy angst. Unfortunately, PC has been concentrating more on the backdrop for their stories, than they do on the characters or the actual story itself. It feels almost like episodic television…take the same character and plop them into a different situation every thirteen weeks (as opposed to every week on prime time) and everyone will love watching their favorite hero/villain, get in/out of another crazy scrape!

The things that I, personally, love about soaps though are the characters, not the latest scrape. Sure, I enjoy watching them go through their crazy lives and all the things that come with that, but I want it character driven. I want to see how they got there and why. I want to understand their motives and their pain. I want to root for them, fear for them and mourn with them. I want to watch their lives play out on screen…that's why I watch soaps. PC is no longer about that, and the small attempts made to inject some of that back into the show are greatly overshadowed by the plot. The arcs between the vampire sieges were basically boring, but what I will say for them is that they still had a certain amount of character driven activity going on. I hated the Avatar idea, but that arc (at least in hindsight) was not all that bad because while I thought the supernatural aspect at the time was fairly lame, there was a lot of rich character interaction going on. We had Livvie and Rafe, Livvie and Alison, Kevin and Livvie, Rafe and Alison, Karen and Frank, Ian dealing with losing Eve, and Lucy and Kevin trying to work things out after his absence, etc. Things based on family, past friendships, love, etc. But, alas, someone decided that if the vampires brought the ratings once, they could bring them again.

It looked promising at first, and the idea of Stephen was interesting to me. Livvie was at a particularly vulnerable spot, as were Rafe and Alison. Unfortunately, the plot took over from there and again unfortunately; it wasn't even a fresh plot. Oh, surprise! Caleb's back and he wants Olivia! Who'da thunk that? Oh, and look! He brought twelve friends…that will eat up airtime and provide very little back in the way of actual story. This is the same exact story I already watched once, and it's not even well masked. I thought the idea of Tess, the "good" side of Livvie, was very interesting. It could have (and who knows, it still might but who among you aren't sick of waiting already?) redeemed Livvie who had turned almost too villain-like to remain in everyday PC. So far though, this story isn't about Livvie at all. It's about Caleb. Kevin is apparently half insane or something…not that we really know because we didn't see his supposed recovery and we have no idea what mental state he is really in. I could get into Kevin being less than sane and being forever changed by his latest bout with Ryan, but I need to see and understand what is happening to him. Just re-introducing him as a meaner version of Kevin with no explanation is just not flying for me. Rafe and Alison have problems, as any young couple would, but their problems are all about Caleb. Take Caleb out of the picture, and you have nothing. So, what happens after this arc? Well, rumor is that Michael Easton will be sticking around, and I'm sure that is supposed to translate to high ratings, right? I hope so, for the show's sake, but I doubt it will happen unless someone gets the bright idea of writing character driven stories again. We can have vampires, monsters, man-eating plants, ghosts, killer spiders, or whatever, but without characters with back-story, family ties and well-written, character driven dialogue, we have little more than a sci-fi movie of the week. Interestingly, I think Caleb is just about the only character on the show right now that has a character driven story line. We get to see his motives from time to time, and he stays true to character in his choices. I wonder if anyone has considered that maybe that's why he's popular? He is character driven, and his character drives the rest of the show. The rest of our beloved cast either revolves around him day in and day out, or they are missing in action. About every two weeks, if we're lucky, we get a scene between Rafe and Alison or Lucy and Ian that is NOT vampire related. It's usually a love scene with little talking, of course, because what is there to talk about besides vampires? But hey, at least it's something.

Alison has a parent in town, for the first time ever, but the interesting dynamic between them has been overtaken by mom's vampire tendencies. Alison has a sister somewhere, but apparently she has forgotten or lost interest or something. Big change from the crusade to find her sibling at all costs that she was on just one arc ago. Alison has no life now, except when Rafe needs to bounce slayer ideas off of someone. Lucy isn't a mom or a businesswoman; she's a slayer with a full time job of keeping her vampire satisfied. Ian isn't a father or a doctor - he's a vampire. Chris, Mary, Victor, Gail, Lee, Frank, and Karen are nonexistent and they make up about half of what I consider to be the core characters of this show. Joshua, played by Ian Buchanan, could have been an interesting character but he was hanging around so long before becoming integral that I lost interest and I don't care why he's here or who he really is. Including him, there are no less than five characters (Joshua, Casey, Ricky, Reese, and other band guy) that are getting substantially more airtime than they should on a half hour show with an already full talented cast. Some of those characters bore me, some are poorly acted and some would be just fine if there weren't talented actors, playing canvas supported characters that are being back burnered so I can watch Casey create an indoor tornado to stop Reese from biting Ricky…when I don't give a darn about any of the three of them. They weren't even around a while ago…and there are few of the long-time residents of PC that would even notice their absence if they left. Neither would I, for that matter.

I'm still watching, and I'll tell you why. I do believe this show has potential and I do believe exceptions have to be made for the new shooting schedule. The way PC is set up now, changes really cannot be made on the fly as they can with a regular soap. The writers can't tweak things as they go and test things out before they go full-steam ahead with them. The shooting schedule obviously saves money, but I'm not convinced it's going to serve this show well down the line. It was a decision though, that was not in the writers hands I would presume, so I am, so far, choosing to give this show more chances than I would in another situation. I'm not really sure myself where my cut off point is, but I do know that the less this show resembles the show I started watching, the closer I get. I am fully aware that the show I started watching wasn't working for the network's ratings requirements and my love of and interest in the characters are what have gotten me this far. As the characters evolve into props for supernatural storytelling, my interest wanes exceedingly. I'll be watching, and I'll be watching for change. I'll be watching for the writers to find that delicate balance that honors and utilizes their characters and actors and still provides that new flavor that has earned PC a chance to continue past the point some thought possible. I firmly believe these writers are talented enough to make me enjoy vampires, if they stop insisting on writing a vampire show and start writing a soap that happens to have vampires again. I'll watch characters I love declare war on tap water if I get to see them interact, love, hate and just generally have a life in between battles. When the battles are thirteen (or twenty-six) weeks long, and everything else is on hold in the meantime, one starts to ponder whether one really wants to spend two and a half hours a week on tap water.

There's always hope, and I still hold out for some. We only have a few weeks left in this arc which means that answers really must start coming very soon unless we are heading into the third part of a ¾ year long arc. Let's hope not since my major complaint over the last half-year has been that this has really just been one long arc instead of two. This story, at least from the standpoint of Caleb, has been played out. Do I think Caleb is still a viable character? Yes, I do. I just think it's time to move away from the neck biting - same story - different victims routine and into something more encompassing and something that doesn't suck all of the life out of the rest of the characters. In fact, it's long past time.

I love to hear your thoughts!
<ADDRESS><A HREF="mailto:sherry@eyeonsoaps.com">Email Me!</A></ADDRESS> </P>

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Things I have learned from PC lately:

If you're magic and have no DNA, you don't need identification to get married.

If you're magic and have no DNA, you don't need one-hour photo. Your wedding pictures will be taken, developed and printed all while you get on with the honeymoon festivities. Before you're out of that dress, the pictures will be finished and framed.

If you're magic and have no DNA, you don't have friends. Neither, therefore, will your new husband…you will be married with no paperwork, witnesses or family to be found.

If you're magic, have no DNA and are a newlywed then you will find the best way to spend your free time is watching cartoons…apparently anyway!

If you're magic and have no DNA, you may find that your powers work better on some days than others. For example, at times you will brilliantly deduct when someone's true intentions are not apparent (Like when you knew not to trust Chris…), yet other times you will fall hook, line and sinker for someone's ruse…like when someone pretends they want to be your father suddenly. But don't fret because real, DNA carrying humans are a bit complex, it's true.

If you are in love with a magic DNA-less woman, you may find that you are completely losing your mind. An example of this would be if, oh…let's say your woman tells you that she wants to get to know her father…even calls him "my father" several times in a conversation, if you listen to this and feel no alarm at the fact that the man she wants to get to know is NOT her father…well, then you've lost your mind.

If you are in love with a magic DNA-less woman, you may find that you are extremely hypocritical. It just might happen that you find yourself accusing someone (oh, let's just use Kevin as an example) of being willing to trade one person (Tess) to get another (Livvie) back. Then you may have a quiet moment later when you realize that you are willing to do, or have already done even, that very same thing…in the opposite direction of course because your life is now all about just saying NO to DNA!

If you are a vampire and you normally *sense* trouble, you shouldn't be alarmed when sometimes you just…uh, miss it entirely apparently. Yes, normally you DO know when something is amiss but there will be times when you won't notice a thing even though your enemies are searching and assaulting your apartment with hidden cameras…apparently anyway.

If you are a vampire then it's safe to assume you do not know CPR, but that's okay because you prefer to try to sing people back to life anyway.

If you are on an airborne airplane and you decide to go for a walk it is completely unnecessary to state that you "won't go far"…because we already assumed that.

If you are secretly visiting someone in a hotel room and you don't want anyone else to know then it would be fortuitous for you to go ahead and hide in the bathroom or a closet when someone knocks on the door. Standing behind a cabinet will not protect you if someone actually enters the room and it's really only two steps further and you'll be behind a closed door…it's worth it, trust me.

If you are fake snow you never, ever melt no matter how close to a fire you are and no matter how long the fire burns. Which is great really because the only people who think it's a good idea to lie around on you are vampires and they will be around forever too!


How about that Chris? I loved his "vampire" scenes so much I watched them twice (so far!). It was a great comic relief and a nice touch that brightened my week. Watching him jump around showing his fangs and hissing…well, it cracked me up! I had a little issue with the part where he looked into the mirror and saw himself as a vamp because unfortunately one of the camera shots was from behind him where we could all see the cape from the back ruining the idea that only Chris was seeing himself as a vampire…don't know how Lucy missed it, but whatever. Loved the scenes, they were exactly as Chris would act if he finally got "his time"…and I had a great time just watching Chris and savoring his presence.

Chris' "Patron Saint of Insanity" line to Lucy was great as well! Lucy has had a relatively loony love life over the years, hasn't she?

I'm still undecided about Lucy and Ian and I'm not really sure where we're headed with Kevin yet, but I enjoyed his interaction with Caleb. Things are just heating up for this arc, so I'm just going with the flow for now and we'll see where it leads! Love to hear your comments…it's been really quiet out there lately...hope Tess didn't steal your voices too!

<ADDRESS><A HREF="mailto:sherry@eyeonsoaps.com">Email Me!</A></ADDRESS> </P>

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Here it is, better late than never, a look back at 2002 with all the highs and lows. It isn't a very comprehensive look back, because honestly, I just don't have the time or the energy to do all the reminiscing it takes to get that (Not to mention the hours it takes to comb through pictures...seriously, if you haven't yet thanked Sage for the awesome work on his <A HREF="http://www.eyeonsoaps.com/rumor.htm">Sage's Picks</A> recently, then don't pass Go before you do so because I can't imagine the hours he invested!). Please keep in mind that these are my "picks", so understandably, they will be different from yours. I'd love to hear your choices though so please feel free to email me (link at bottom) and rattle off what you loved and hated about 2002 in good old PC! (All screen caps are thanks to <A HREF="http://groups.msn.com/ABCSoapScreenCaps2">ABC Soap Screen Caps!</A>)


<u>Best Arc</u>: <i>Secrets</i>

This was a tough one for me. I'm going with Secrets for several reasons, the first and most important reason being that it really had a beginning, middle and ending. The three mysterious women showed up and succeeded in making me wonder what they were and what their purpose was. The story unfolded at just the right pace, with interesting revelations along the way. Amy disappearing in water, the one handed watch, Casey's key…and just when you're sure they are evil incarnate, you find out they are angels! This drew Rafe into the story, and we got more of Ed, which is always good. Amy trying to steal Ian, Paige wanting Kevin and Christina…you were never quite sure where it was all going. Rafe and Alison were just heating up, Jamal and Alison were coming to a heartbreaking end and Valerie was thrown in for some extra angst. Little Christina and Kevin both spent time in the hospital, which afforded us some Karen and Chris (who also had good buddy scenes with Eve) for good measure. Ian and Eve were having problems, and their new baby was part of the story instead of just a prop. The wrap up of Secrets was one of the best, in my opinion, since the Fifth Chair element added suspense and intrigue. We learned at the last minute just exactly why the three angels were on earth to begin with, when Paige saved Alison from certain death (Rafe was sure she was going to be the Fifth Chair - and the fact that he and Ali both knew about the possibility made their parting even sweeter sorrow and we thought he might really be gone for good), Amy…well, I'm still bitter about Amy making sure Ian wasn't in that car with Eve, but whatever…, and Casey's key finally came into play when it happened to open the door to the burning warehouse so she could release the trapped Ricky and Jamal, thereby saving their lives. Up until the last minute, we had to assume any one of them could have been about to take one of our beloved characters with them and we already knew that Rafe was going as well…and just when he and Ali had discovered each other, *sigh*. Yep, overall, it was good storytelling, well rounded, encompassed much of the cast and had an ending that didn't cheat.

<u>Most Disappointing Arc</u>: <i>Superstition</i>

It started out promising. We had candles labeled with all sorts of interesting possibilities and the first one to make the rounds was the Lust candle…how can you go wrong there? We had Doree and Chris and Victor and Mary all having way too much fun and providing some great comic relief. Rafe had amnesia and Livvie had Rafe, in a great twist that should have been enough to make this arc spectacular. But things went downhill fast with the introduction of the portrait that talked too much. Rebecca had altogether too much screen time and she and Kevin's sojourn to "Barnadoon" (and yes, the <A HREF="http://abc.abcnews.go.com/daytime/portcharles/episodes/2002-03/20020531.html">ABC Recaps</A> even called it that themselves, so I consider it official) was a huge waste of time, not to mention ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous, who can forget that completely insane little "play" Lucy and the kids put on for the judge in order to get Alison freed? Very possibly its biggest offense though, is being the reason Ricky is still with us. With Casey gone, Ricky was easily moved over to be the hero for Karen's "my boyfriend is calling me a whore all of the sudden" plight. Yep, I could have easily lived a long happy life without ever seeing Superstition.

<u>Best Scene</u>: <i>Stephen Clay Experience Concert</i>

You may think there's no way to choose just one scene that is truly better than all the rest, but you would be wrong because I can! That concert scene was one of the best I've seen in daytime for several reasons. We all knew what the big reveal was, but none of the cast knew it, which had us all on the edges of our seats. The set was masterfully constructed and the music was hypnotizingly perfect. It looked, sounded, felt and I swear almost smelled, exactly like a real outdoor concert. We didn't know yet if Stephen was Caleb, but we certainly could tell just how important this event was to him. That was perfect because even if he weren't Caleb, this would be an important event so his actions made sense either way. We felt what the PC residents felt when they saw him, we felt Rafe's rage but yet we still found ourselves cringing for Rafe when he jumped up there and made a spectacle of himself…it was perfectly written, wonderfully acted and particularly well staged. The scenes between Livvie and Stephen afterwards, at her car, were also perfect. All in all, the concert was a hugely satisfying scene and it was executed with a skill that other soaps should strive for.

<u>Tearjerker of the Year</u>: <i>Eve showing up in Heaven to plop her butt in "The Fifth Chair", and the resulting funeral</i>
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PC has had its share of sad moments, but this one topped the year for me. I was losing an original character I liked very much, and losing one of the best friendships on the show (Eve and Chris). Throw in the funeral complete with handsome mourning widower holding the beautiful, smiling, too young to know what he's lost, child and you have a recipe for drippy eyes (and I didn't even like Ian much then!).
<img src=" http://www.eyeonsoaps.com/images/Ianfuneral.jpg ">

<u>Best Use of Family History</u>: <i>Frank and Mary</i>

In particular, the scenes where they talked about Frank's Dad and the problems in the elder Scanlon's relationship. We may not have known that Mary had an affair, but we knew that Frank had issues from his childhood so those issues having something to do with Frank's behavior toward Karen made sense. Both actors (Jay Pickett and Pat Crowley) did a marvelous job in those scenes.

<u>Story I Watched With a Sick, Train Wreck Like Fascination</u>: <i>Livvie's Pregnancy!</i>

Seriously, I still feel kinda guilty for the thoughts I had about that pregnancy. It was just too great to watch Livvie stare at her stomach and wonder what the heck was in there! Her true fear at what she had done and the idea of giving birth to something less than human was so well acted that I was completely drawn in. Her attempts to miscarry were also fascinating in a completely surreal way. I particularly loved it when she made it look like Alison shoved her down the stairs thus hopefully taking care of two problems at once! I loved the look on her face each time they told her the baby was miraculously thriving. And yet, even through all of it, I felt a certain sympathy for Livvie and she generated even more of that sympathy when she lost the baby.

<u>Best Use of a Prop</u>:

What better way was there to use that particular wooden beam, at that particular moment? Ahhh, it was poetry in motion! One minute it was this:
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And then <i>this</i> sent the crowd to it's feet (while Livvie hit the dirt) with a mighty roar of approval!
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<u>Most Surprising Friendship:</u> <i>Alison and Lucy</i>

I really enjoyed these two growing closer during Superstition, despite Alison being the accused killer of Lucy's husband. In true Lucy style, she didn't feel Alison was the killer (in fact didn't feel Kevin was even dead) so she put aside the accusations and the two women bonded and commiserated over losing their loves. I found it refreshing, and not something I would have expected. Until Rafe, Lucy and Alison were in different hemispheres really and I'm thankful that's no longer the case.

<u>Shortest Resolution to an "I'm Carrying Your Boyfriend's Baby" Story, EVER!</u>

Livvie was pregnant with Frank's baby, Frank was getting back with Karen, and Karen doesn't know about the baby. Recipe for months and months of blackmail and deception, and the inevitable reveal that would break a happy couple to smithereens, right? Wrong! Livvie tries to blackmail him, she overplays her hand and he fesses up. Karen gets over her pain in record time (blame it on the Avatar, baby!) and tells Livvie to back the hell off Frank, or else. Done and over with in an hour…that's unheard of!

<u>Most Forgettable Character</u>: <i>Kate What's-Her-Name</i>

Shannon Sturges is a fine actress when given the material and should have been a welcome addition to the cast. Kate, on the other hand, was a waste of space on a show that has very limited space to begin with. A show this fast moving, with a cast this talented, cannot afford to waste precious time on a bringing a talented actress aboard and keep her for months, only to fail to use her in any worthwhile manner.

<u>Most Missed Character</u>: <i>Eve Lambert (Julie Pinson)</i>

I always liked her and I really do miss her. The thing I miss the most is the friendship she and Chris had. It afforded Nolan North's Chris more airtime than he has now that she's gone, and it was a mature, honest and adult friendship. If Eve ever walks back into PC, it will be Chris' face I'll watch, even before I glance at Ian's!

<u>Worst Villain</u>: <i>The Avatar</i>

He was boring, he had no real purpose other than to turn the women of PC into blithering idiots in the face of purse snatchings, and he just didn't look good either. Some decent story came from the Avatar arc, like Livvie's pregnancy for one, but overall, the Avatar just wasn't much of a threat, except to Frank's hair, of course.

<u>Best Villain</u>: <i>Caleb</i>
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He may not be my idea of ultimate sexy, but even I can't deny that Caleb is by far the best villain PC has ever seen. Michael Easton is absolutely perfect in the role and if vampires were more my thing, I would probably be jumping on the "long live the vampires" band wagon right along with the rest of the masses.

<u>Best Couple</u>: <i>Rafe and Alison</i>
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They dominated the year, romance wise, and their reunion on that train at the end of Torn was one of the most satisfying in quite some time. They started out the year finally admitting to what they were feeling, and dealing with Alison's relationship with Jamal. Then they moved on to dealing with his temporary status on earth, had the sweetest non-wedding ever to grace a barn, he sold his soul to be with her, and then Livvie snatched him into her evil clutches. We withstood months of Rafe not remembering Alison and watched Ali suffer the loss. We got the wonderful reunion we deserved, and then Caleb showed up…which could only spell trouble. But alas, we ended the year getting the wedding we'd been waiting for…well, almost anyway!

<u>Biggest Shocker:</u> <i>Livvie Shot Rafe!</i>

I still cannot believe she did that! On a show like this, choosing the biggest shocker is almost laughable…on other soaps, the goal is soapy romance and a well-placed slap or two, but on Port Charles the goal is to surprise and shock. So the shocking moments are plentiful, to say the least. I chose this because I honestly wouldn't have expected her to actually do it, and I was shocked that she did. I was shocked again soon afterwards, when Alison thought she could harm a handgun with the flat part of a shovel…but the actual shooting takes the prize.

<u>Character of the Year</u>: <i>Livvie Locke</i>

She's not part of a "supercouple", she's not rich and powerful (well, not any more than any other PC residents anyway!), heck, she's not even likeable! But she is definitely the character of the year. My appreciation for Livvie has grown by leaps and bounds this year due to great writing and great acting. Kelly Monaco has continuously managed to hit home run after home run with Livvie's ever-evolving agendas and the occasional slight redemption. I love to hate Livvie, and that takes a special combination of writing and acting so kudos to both KM and the writers for pulling if off in spades!

<u>Character Most Deserving of a Story Line</u>: <i>Chris Ramsey</i>

If you need this explained to you then you haven't been watching long enough to see him back when he had a reason to be on this show. Nolan North rocks and PC is wasting a great talent, not to mention a really interesting character.

<u>Uh, Why Are They Still Here?</u>

Marissa and Ricky, I mean. Why ARE they still here? I certainly hope that there will be an answer to that question soon, and I hope it's a satisfying one too. We've had better actors and better characters come and go over the last year, yet these two just keep hanging around, making music, or whatever the heck their point is.

<u>Best Newcomer</u>: <i>Elizabeth Barrington (Rebecca Staab)</i>

I've said it in past columns and I'll say it again. I think she's absolutely perfect as Alison's mother. She managed to fit right in and find her place almost effortlessly and that takes talent (and a well thought out, well written character)!

<u>Hello? He Came Back For This???</u>

Ian Buchanan's return to Port Charles (okay not exactly a return, but sort of…) has been disappointing to me. I have no problem with him playing a new character. I can even get past the fact that no one notices how familiar he looks, but what I can't get past is the fact that his character is sort of pointless. Joshua was interesting for about five minutes in the beginning, five minutes dancing with Livvie, and five minutes trying to kill Livvie. That about covers it though. Can we get something more from Mr. Temple please?

<u>Biggest WTF of the Year:</u> <i>Thanksgiving Dinner</i>

Seriously, why on earth didn't PC take this one chance to go ahead and feature some of the characters those of us who have hung in with this show for the long haul might consider the old favorites? Thanksgiving dinner at Lucy's…no Kevin (understandable at least), no Victor, and no Mary, and no mention of them. At least Frank and Karen's absence was sort of explained, but I truly felt the loss of seeing family at the holidays. I know PC is different, I know it isn't centered around the same things other shows are, but darn - how am I supposed to become involved in these people, their stories, and the stories of their future offspring if we can't occasionally abandon the supernatural for plain old families? How can I become drawn in and ride with them over the years? The Thanksgiving episode made me feel like the real message is watch what's on your screen now, don't worry about the future because you can tune in next year at this time and we'll have a whole new set of interesting faces to look at! WTH? Jamal, Marissa, Jack and Tess had a cute little gathering, but of course even Chris couldn't be allowed to celebrate the holiday with his brother…I dunno, it just bugged me. It was one, maybe two days, and I would have loved it if we could've dropped the bloodsucking down a notch and just enjoyed a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving, but that's me I guess.

Thanks for reading my column last year, and I wish each of you the best 2003 has to offer! Feel free to write me anytime, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Here we go again! I've been reading back through my columns and it seems that every time I post something about being unsatisfied, the next post is one that raves about this show. I was really happy with both shows on Monday. Truly great, great soapy stuff! I always have my little quibbles, but darn if I wasn't completely sucked into all the wedding scenes and the rest of the week has fared really well too. Let's give kudos where they're due…and dissect the rest, shall we?

Random thoughts to follow:

I loved that Rafe really acted the nervous bridegroom. He was just a cutie in his pre-wedding scenes with Ali, nervously giving her the locket. He was also exceptionally sweet in scenes with Lucy and if I haven't mentioned it, I love the family dynamic between those two. PC is a bit lacking in the family department with Frank missing and Mary and Victor rarely around either. Not to mention Kevin and Livvie having almost no interaction this go-round, and stretch that out to Kevin and his in-house family as well. Lucy and Rafe are the only healthy family relationship we see on and ongoing basis and it's refreshing.

Caleb's scene with Lucy and Rafe before the wedding was great too. I'm a little lost as to why Rafe and Ali wouldn't have been able to make Liz understand that they just didn't want Stephen at the wedding, after all he and Rafe obviously don't like each other and it's one evening. Seems they could have calmly worked that out so Rafe wouldn't be staring at his archenemy while waiting for the bride, but whatever. Caleb winking at Lucy was great!

Alison was great in her realization of what the picture meant and I loved that she went down the aisle anyway. Most people would react that way, shocked, but still going with the flow until it really hit her brain. PC is really good at getting realistic reactions down (in totally unrealistic situations, no less) pat and it makes the characters great to watch.

That carried over to their scenes as they sorted out what was going on. Alison's resolve to stay away, and inability to do so were great. I'm completely clueless as to why they didn't march directly to the hospital (where, let's face it, they have all kinds of contacts) and get a DNA test, stat! I'm not sure if Rafe's status as "alive again, mortal, but not really mortal because I have special powers still" would affect such a test or not. I do know that Ed is supposedly Rafe's father and one would think that one with such heavenly contacts would be aware of any glitches. It was odd that Rafe didn't just flat out tell Ali that he met his father while in heaven, instead of the lame…no, someone is messing with us thing. I was pleased he at least mentioned it to Lucy afterwards though.

Why on earth was Alison rifling through her own suitcase, that she assumedly just packed, saying she was looking for "a clue" as to what was going on? Doesn't she know what's in there already? Then again, something fell out and gave her that clue so I guess she was right. Maybe I'll go look through my silverware drawer to see if I can find a clue as to how to solve this little "Iraq Issue" we're having.

I really loved though, that Rafe left and then CAME BACK! They always walk out leaving the girl bawling…but Rafe came right back in and stuck with it! Loved that.

So, Joshua pushed Tess in and watched her swim to the ladder and then watched Livvie come and help her start coming up the ladder. Then he pushed Livvie in with Tess and walked away, sure that they'd both perish? What the heck is that about? It could easily be assumed that at least Tess, whom he saw swimming, could get herself out and a decent chance she could even rescue Livvie. You'd think he would have at least hung around to be sure they didn't come up!

Since when did Livvie actually become Olivia? I was sure that Caleb always just wanted her to be his Olivia, but she really wasn't. Yet he's still referring to her that way. Did I miss something?

Laughed like crazy at Rafe's "Your music gives me a headache" comment! Question though, why do some vampires have glowing red eyes and some have glowing green eyes? Just curious.

Double "ew" to Lucy's "teeth" comment to Ian. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

Do the vampire bites not leave a mark? I'm not sure if the fact that you're now a vampire means the mark heals miraculously or what (and yes, I did miss most of the vampire movies out there) but I was wondering why Lucy wasn't looking for a bite mark on Ian…

Laughed at Caleb's "Did she kick big brother to the curb?" comment too!

So, when Rafe was baiting Caleb with pictures of Livvie "with" the kid who's always carrying drumsticks around, why didn't he slip in a picture of Rafe with Livvie? Seems like the best way to really get at Caleb would be to see the Slayer with "His Olivia".

Speaking of that little film viewing they had, it would look more like Rafe's powers at work if Caleb didn't walk through the projector…once I saw Livvie on Caleb's jacket it sort of broke the spell and I started wondering who was running the projector.

"Freak" was the word of the day on Friday. Caleb at least once (and I didn't start counting right away) and Kevin twice.

No, I do not think Rafe and Alison are siblings. Since the Ed factor is way obvious, I'm guessing that Mr. Barrington really is Rafe's father and he's not Alison's father. Elizabeth could have passed off her pregnancy to get her man…she made it pretty clear how much she wanted him and that there were other women involved even back then. She would have needed a trump card and a baby could have been it. When Caleb told Liz she couldn't bite a blood relative, she interrupted him with "But you don't understand…" That could have just been nothing, or it could have meant that she's not even Alison's mother…maybe she faked a pregnancy and bought Alison. That would allow for a three-month long "who's my mommy" search after the sibling search is finished. Or, Rafe is Katrina's son but not Barrington's (I can't think of his darn first name!), which would seem quite possible too.

So far, this arc has started out by intriguing me again. I'm a little baffled about why they are running these arcs together so much. I read a quote somewhere (very possible Soap Opera Digest, but I am not certain) by one of the writers that said these two arcs are really like one big arc. That's fine and all, but the idea of the thirteen week arcs was to have a story, with a certain amount of tangible resolution, that lasted thirteen weeks then kicked off the next arc. By running these two together (because there were really no resolutions at the end of the last arc) we have a story taking a half of a year to tell…that is coming really close to just being a regular soap. I'm not complaining necessarily because I'm still not convinced the arcs work as they want them to, but I'm a little confused as to the choice to not make two definite arcs this time around. My only other complaint so far is that I still see nothing much for the remainder of the cast, which equals about half when you think about it, and I really miss Chris!

I happened to catch an interview with Thorsten Kaye (Ian Thornhart) on my local ABC affiliate (WXYZ, Detroit) on Friday. He was quite charming and I discovered that he lived in Detroit, attending graduate school, for a few years back in the early nineties. Learn something new everyday! I also learned he's a Red Wings fan…so apparently he's a pretty smart guy, lol! Anyway, I bring this up because he mentioned something that was a little interesting, he was asked if he is a vampire in this arc (which we already know he is) and he said that yes, there was a bite. Then he said: "everyone reacts to that differently" …so I'm guessing Ian will somehow be a "good" vampire. Not that I expected any less.

I'm feeling rejuvenated about the show, which seems to happen with the beginning of the arc's. I find I'm always pulled in at the beginning then I have to wait and see if PC can keep the momentum and keep me intrigued. At the moment, I'm looking forward to seeing Rafe stand up, crack his neck back into place and explain to Caleb why killing him is NOT gonna work, because there's no way he's dead! We could definitely have a record here for the most attempted killings in a week though: Livvie, Tess, Caleb, Rafe…all in one week and all still around. There's the supernatural for ya.

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Wow! I know it's been forever since I've written and I apologize for my absence. I've literally started a column four different times but I just couldn't seem to make it happen. Partly it's real life intervening and partly it's how I feel about the show, but we'll get to that in a minute. I have been watching and I'm going to try harder to be more consistent with the columns, I promise!

I'm not sure where to even begin. I started out enjoying this arc and continued to enjoy it right on through the concert scenes. Those in particular were great, very realistic and well done. This show does a great job with the sets and the "event" type scenes lately and I give it a lot of credit for that because it's hugely important in setting the right tone. Not long after the concert stuff though, I started losing some interest. There were days I would watch and really enjoy and then there were days I'd feel like I had already seen some of this stuff. Particularly when Caleb became the main focus again. I'll come clean and tell you I have little interest in vampires. It's not a dislike for the story exactly, mostly just disinterest. I think Michael Easton is a very good actor and I think he plays Caleb wonderfully. I think he's probably a great asset to the show and undoubtedly brings in viewers that otherwise might not watch. That's all good for the show and I don't fault them for going back to what was a hugely popular storyline the first time around. The thing is, I wasn't much interested the first time either. While I see what others find attractive about M.E., I don't personally find him that attractive so that already puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to the sexy vampire thing. Even given that, I still think the character is interesting and I find absolutely no fault with the portrayal, it's dead on. It's just that I watch and see the quality but feel not the least bit involved. Maybe it's a lack of imagination on my part, I don't know. What happens though, is that since I don't feel involved in the story, I become just an observer and from there I become a more casual observer and so on until I find myself not really sure if I feel like watching today, then it sometimes turns into two days…then I think, wait, this is a good show. It has quality acting and some really good writing so why don't I want to watch it? Then I catch up on the weekends and sometimes I'm glad I watched and sometimes I think, well there, I watched it. I'm probably not describing this very well, mostly because since I can't put my finger on exactly what it is myself I suppose it's really impossible to explain it. I firmly believe that part of it has to do with the addition of new characters every arc that suck up airtime and then disappear. Take Kate for example. I had no problem with the actress but the character was completly superfluous. Tell me one thing she did or person she affected that really was necessary to the story? We could have had everything pretty much the same without ever having seen Kate or watched the vets of the show in the background of Kate's scenes. That's a waste of my time and the effort I give to get involved with a character. I say none of this to dog the show. I say it only to be honest about why it's been awhile since I've written. I just couldn't find much to say every time I sat down to write.

Since it's been such a long time, I'm just going to throw out there what I don't like and what I do and leave it at that. Let's start with the "don't" list so we can end on a positive note!

I can't believe Casey and Ricky are still around wasting my time and wasting ABC's dollars.

Tess was the most interesting part of the beginning of this arc but once Caleb returned the Tess story was basically a once a week sideline. I was very heartened by Friday's scenes and I'm actually really interested in seeing how that plays out. I was a bit distracted by the stand-in's hair though…every time they showed the back of "Tess'" head on Friday her hair looked like Livvie's. Someone must have screwed up and styled her hair like Livvie's because it was definitely wavy and full and Tess' was as straight as a stick. Drove me nuts.

I was disappointed that at least the Thanksgiving episode couldn't include Karen and Frank, Victor and Mary or Chris. If someone just started watching with this arc they wouldn't even know who Frank and Karen are and they'd think Chris is a day player. That irritates me to no end and I'm not even a big fan of Frank and Karen.

Elizabeth is great. I really enjoy the character and how simply soapy she is! She's perfectly cast and has played the vampire stuff just right. She reacted to the news that she wouldn't age exactly how I picture Erica Kane from All My Children might and I loved that. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance with Alison after the plane crash and EH was great in those scenes as well.

I also enjoyed Alison and Rafe's discussion about her dream and his interference in it. That felt real and I thought it was well written and a nice character driven scene. I've been a little disappointed with their relationship this arc and I'm not sure exactly why but after those scenes I felt better again. It was nice to see them interact in a legitimate manner.

I've wavered on Lucy and Ian about once a week. Sometimes I kinda like them then other times I just don't feel "it". One thing I know for sure, if Kevin were my husband and he showed back up after the loony way he was acting last time she saw him, I'd be much more suspicious for much longer than she was. I'd be checking with doctors, insisting on joint therapy…something to make sure he is actually sane. It's not like she hasn't seen this before!

I liked the little mislead on Kevin and the hooker. I thought he beat her up and I was all ready to complain about how he did that on a Thursday and then we didn't even see her again for days and days, but that's because he didn't and she was beat up later. It was nice to be thrown a curve for a change.

Just for future reference in case any of you are as slow as Rafe and Alison (which I highly, highly doubt is possible): If you approach a hotel room door and hear moaning and groaning inside you can go ahead and go in anyway but you shouldn't be shocked if there's some naked activities taking place inside. In fact, you should go in assuming that's what you're walking in on and be surprised if someone is actually injured in there!

The scene with Livvie and Elizabeth was great! Liz can go toe to toe with Livvie and I loved those scenes, it's about time someone gave Livvie the old Sage "PFFT!" already!

The end of last week really picked up again for me, and I'm excited about next week now. Caleb and Rafe were great on Friday as were Liz and Alison. C'mere Ali…Momma wants to share her new anti-aging remedy with ya! I'm also completely intrigued to finally know that Tess and Livvie are one and the same. So, is the "good" Kevin out there somewhere still or is this the integrated version? Where did Lucy's senses go anyway? She should be spotting Kevin trouble from a mile away. It kind of bugs me when characters have that kind of ability only when it's storyline convenient. She knows Stephen is Caleb because she can feel it in his music but she can't tell Kevin is still a bit off? I suppose the argument can be made that she is ignoring the warnings because she desperately wants her family back, but then again she also thinks maybe she wants a new family with Ian. Whatever.

I thought Jack's plea for Kevin to give Tess a family (that is what he was asking right?) was kind of strange. I mean, while I'd be interested to see what Kevin thinks about Tess but to expect him to choose a look-alike over his daughter (nasty though she may be) is wrong. Make it a look-alike he's never even met and it seems downright ludicrous. Jack is just creeping me out being all hot and bothered for someone with the mentality of an eight-year-old (she's sweet but c'mon!) who looks just like the woman he used to love. Ick!

I'm very interested in Caleb as Stephen Clay. Caleb trying to be normal - if that's what he's doing. Part of why I lost interest in this arc is it looked like it was heading straight for the same old thing, vampires are back…gotta find out how to rid the town of evvveeeiiiil! But, if they go with the idea of Caleb trying to be normal, and not being out to hurt anyone then that interests me. I realize there's no way it can last and there is no good explanation for why he chose PC to move to after all that happened there, but for now I'm going to enjoy watching the struggle. I think his dynamic with Liz is interesting and will get even more interesting now since he will no longer need to keep her quiet since everyone knows about what she is now. Liz doesn't strike me as the type you can just love and leave very easily. If you think about it, the struggle that Caleb is supposedly having is similar to Rafe's. How to be "normal" even when circumstances say you can't. Actually it will now apply to Livvie since she knows she has big problems, and Kevin who may not know it but has them nonetheless. If we can make the next arc about the characters and not just about the whether there is evil to be tamed, maybe get rid of a few I hate (a girl can dream) and let a few of the regulars (CHRIS!) back into the forefront then I'll be one happy girl.

Now, which one of you is going to catch Frank and Karen up to speed when they return from wherever the heck they are?

I'd love to hear how you've been feeling about this arc!
<ADDRESS><A HREF="mailto:sherry@eyeonsoaps.com">Email Me!</A></ADDRESS> </P>

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How funny is it that Marissa (whom is still quite annoying and better not muck up my Joshua Temple scenes for very much longer) started dressing like a pop star overnight? I'm giving it about two weeks before she gets a few piercings and looks just like Casey did.

I love the casting of Rebecca Staab as Ali's mom; she's perfect.

It's simply wonderful to see Ian Buchanan again and he's looking so dashingly handsome I could eat him with a spoon. He's eerie and creepy and well, he's just great so far.

The rest of the band group seems right too, it's nice NOT to have annoying newcomers around. So far, they all fit.

I love Kate's new hairstyle.

Jack should teach Kindergarten…he did a bang up job of teaching Tess to talk, that's for sure.

It's been something of a treat to see Chris a few times over the last few weeks. His "What's with the hair hon, looks like you threw it up in the air and ran under it" line was great! I'm still miffed he's not on more though; I may never stop complaining about that one.

Anybody else think it was strange that Tess had perfectly manicured nails when she and Livvie reached out to touch each other at the hospital? I even did the rewind and check it again thing - how she managed to keep her nails so clean while the rest of her was rolling in dirt, I don't understand.

Kinda weird that all the Halloween party guests somehow knew to come in formal attire instead of costumes.

Michael Easton certainly brought the temperature up a few degrees with his arrival. I was a little worried the Halloween party was going to turn into an orgy. It was…strange.

So, nobody thought Stephen Clay looked even vaguely familiar? That was some disguise, I must say.

Why on earth is Marissa in all these scenes with IB and ME? We only have about twenty characters that I care more about…it's honestly just a crime that they are wasting a moment on her. The least they can do is keep her and Ricky in scenes together so I can conserve energy in my fast-forward finger.

What the heck happened with the dancing scene? Are we supposed to think it was Stephen and he just disappeared, or are we supposed to believe that it was Joshua all along and Livvie and Rafe (and us apparently) were just seeing things? That whole thing was a tad confusing.

I'm wondering what purpose Kate can possibly serve now that her boyfriend has awakened. She isn't a developed enough character to start her own side story, and we have plenty of actors already sitting on the sidelines. I enjoy KM's portrayal of Livvie and now Tess, but she certainly eats up a lot of airtime, doesn't she? I miss Kevin, Victor and Mary, CHRIS, etc.

I don't understand how Jack can be enthralled with Tess and not have a second thought about how strange the whole thing is. Livvie is annoying, but she's kind of right…it is weird to upgrade your ex as you would a car. Same year and body-style, but this one is the stripped down version so you can add your own accessories. I guess he has forgotten that Livvie didn't start out quite the way she is now either.

I was completely enjoying this arc and then this last week I felt a sort of disconnect with the story. I'm not sure I can explain it yet, but I think it has something to do with the moment when everything started to seem scripted by Stephen. I'm loving the look of the scenes, but being at the spot again on this show where everyone starts doing things that make little sense because of some outside force…well, sometimes it gets to me a little. It can be frustrating at times. We have all these threads started, Alison's sibling, Alison's Dad missing, Kevin's mental state, Livvie/Tess, the band, etc…but no direction yet. I like direction! :) Hopefully it's just around the corner!

As I said, I am enjoying the look of the scenes. Some of the different outside scenes have been great and the party set was cool in a seventies porn kinda way :). Halloween is a good look for PC. I was disappointed in the lack of costumes, but I suppose one can't blame the residents of PC if they want to take a break from black capes, masks and such!

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You know things are really getting wild when we have two Livvie's, Kevin's craaazy, Rafe and Alison are actually together and the real kicker: Sherry is thinking maybe Ian and Lucy aren't such a terrible idea. The fact that I can barely get that out says that I'm still not sold on it (not to mention the fact that I still feel the need to go back and erase it!) but I'm feeling less opposed every day. It has as much to do with Kevin as it does with Lucy and Ian though. I'm interested in this version of crazy Kevin. I find him rather fascinating to watch right now. As for Lucy and Ian, I must admit they have some chemistry and Ian seems somehow softer around her. I like the idea of the kids being part of it, they both have young ones and any parent knows it's nice to be around someone who understands that and Lucy just doesn't do alone well so…I'm giving it time.

So, is CaveLivvie Jack's dream Livvie? What is more the antithesis of Livvie these days than a childlike waif that needs taking care of? She definitely embodies what Livvie is lacking: goodness, innocence, caring, etc. Is she real? If so then what the heck has she been doing in a cave all this time? She's been stealing food and making soup in pumpkins…that really happened (I think anyway). I've got no clue and that is what's fun about PC. Love the beginnings of the arcs for just that reason.

We have a definite thread of mental instability running around…Kevin, Livvie (she CAN'T be right in the head!), I still contend Frank has issues to deal with, CaveLivvie can't be quite right either, and Ricky is obsessing over Casey via Marissa which isn't exactly healthy. So another option is that the "not right one's" are having some sort of breakdown/splitting off thing going on. There has been much talk to Livvie about how unworthy of love she is, that can't be for nothing. Evil/good twins? Could be a doppelganger arc…could be just about anything, gotta love that! I learned the last time that there isn't much point in trying to figure it out because they do tend to take things we know something about but then change how it all works to fit the story which is okay by me - just saying I'm not going to bother dissecting it too much for that reason. The thing I'm kind of excited about this time though is that it appears one of my major complaints, that the show doesn't build enough on past arcs, might just be addressed this time. I'm really hoping that whatever is happening now has actually been building for the past few arcs, and I get the feeling that might be the case. I really would love it if this stays intricate and they follow through with dealing with Livvie's descent into, well, whatever she's in, and also with the effects the past crazy stuff around town has had on the residents and what effect it has on their future.

I absolutely loved Karen backing Frank up. I am pretty spoiler free on this show and I was sure that Karen was going to move away from Frank at least temporarily over the pregnancy. I love that she didn't go that route. Livvie getting nowhere no matter who she turned to last week was priceless. Bet she really wishes she hadn't messed Kevin up, she could use someone on her side at this point.

I've been completely enjoying Jack so far too and that's not usual for me. I can't explain why exactly but something about him usually distracts from scenes for me but he's been really good with CaveLivvie. He's been downright funny at times. Also quite amusing was the look on Livvie's face when Rafe showed up, not dead. Poor Livvie's life is coming unraveled, and she's going to have to do some major regrouping.

Um, someone tell Marissa that she wouldn't have died from falling in that pit. It isn't even very deep for Pete's sake. "Deathtrap" my eye. Anybody else think she's loud? She seems loud to me.

Somebody really does need to help me because I actually found Ian and Lucy's stammering and awkward glancing cute. HELP!!

I missed Tuesday so I don't know why Alison was dressed like Pocahontas when they returned but I didn't like it.

I'm intrigued by the music so far too. It was the only part of the Ricky/Marissa scenes I was interested in the other day.

I liked Jamal and Alison's scenes too and it reminded me that I like Jamal, I wish they'd find something better for him than this lame triangle with "the two that I see no need for".

Where the heck is Chris gonna fit into this? I'm seriously getting really impatient with their ignoring him. Please, please can be really involved in this one? He is about the only man Livvie hasn't tried to hook up with over the last few days…just give him something to do, darn it.

Alison and Rafe have been sweet (except she was dressed all wrong for the proposal!!) and hopefully we can get some fun adventure type stuff with them for a bit instead of too much adversity.

That doll creeps me out. It really does.

How about Christina telling Ian "NO" in a snotty voice and then explaining that only her Mommy knows how to make it right? My first reaction was that the little brat needed to stop being so picky and that Lucy shouldn't have run on down to do it herself, but then I remembered that I tiptoe around making my kid's oatmeal in the morning (yes, they love oatmeal - plain even - I'm not sure what's wrong with them!) because they don't like it stirred after it comes out of the microwave and for some reason I can't seem to remember that as well as Dad does. They can actually tell too when I mess it up, it's amazing. Anyway, they do have to eat it whether I stirred it or not but it's much easier to do it like they wanted in the first place than to deal with the breakdown over the dreaded "stirred oatmeal"! So I decided I better lay off Lucy in light of that little story. :)

Oooh! And Ed showed up. Those two in scenes together can just about melt me. All in all a very satisfying week!

That about covers it for now, I've been way behind and I missed a bit so my comments are a bit sparse today. I'll be back in full force soon enough!

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It's been awhile hasn't it? It wasn't necessarily that I had nothing to say but more that I've just been enjoying the show quietly for a change. I sat down a few times to write but I didn't get very far for various reasons so I ended up figuring I might as well wait for the arc to end and cover it all at once. I just finished watching and for the most part I wasn't disappointed. I'm going to paste in the old stuff that I already wrote about and then we'll get to this week!

What can I say about the bear trap incident…she could've at least yelled for help!

Why in the heck was Lucy talking about how long she should hold out for Kevin to come back? It had only been five days or so!

I've realized why they keep showing the Avatar's big hulking shadow on walls and such. When he's just standing there next to everybody else in that shroud, he doesn't look all that imposing at all.

Why would the campers, after being scared and deciding to flee, leave Jack out there alone? They couldn't wait five more minutes and leave together?

Pumpkin soup? Or soup in a pumpkin at least. Hmmm, I'm not sure what to think of that.

I'm confused as to why Jack thought he could take a picture on the beach and see something that none of them could see with their naked eyes...waaaiiitt a minute, I got it! It's a darn good thing Jack took up photography isn't it? It's been very helpful during these times of trials and tribulations for PC.

Chris bargaining with the Avatar was funny. Darn I miss Chris.

I cannot believe Livvie shot Rafe! The woman has completely gone beyond help it seems. The tearful goodbye was pretty good, maybe a tiny bit of extra "Rafe drama" but not bad. I LOVED seeing Rafe meet up with Ed, that was a nice touch.

Alison beating the gun with the flat part of the shovel was…uh, stupid. Maybe if she had taken the edge of the shovel to it she might have actually hurt something or at the very least triggered it and shot Livvie's foot or something. If that was her version of taking it out of commission I would recommend that she just lay a dainty scarf over it next time and pretend it's a shield or something because it would be as effective and take less energy.

Um, Karen? If you are trying to sneak around a sleeping person you should really, at the very least, shut the heck up! She was having an entire conversation in a normal level voice right next to him. What was she expecting? Besides, I really thought the Avatar was supposed to just "know" when someone was endangering him or someone he wants to protect. What the heck anyway? Alison won't say boo when she's needing help in the worst way and Karen won't shut up when she should be tiptoeing around quietly…ass backwards, all of them.

I'm mildly interested in where the next arc is going. But I'm skeptical since Marissa and Ricky are probably going to be involved in it…I would be fine with those two realizing they love each other and running off forever, in fact I doubt I'd notice.

I'm not sure what to think of Kevin/Lucy and Ian/Kate. It appears since they have Kate and Lucy friendly that we are probably headed for those two fighting over a man (uh, Ian I'd say) soon. Doesn't sound all that intriguing but I guess I'll wait and see.

I didn't mind how the Avatar came to an end. There were plenty of holes in the story, but I'm gonna leave them alone because I did get some entertainment value from the ending. I will admit to a moment of wondering when Ian went down in flames, and I'll admit I felt a spike in the heart rate when he stepped out of it. Silly, but true. I was sure Livvie was going to lose that baby so it interests me that she apparently hasn't.

I also cannot believe that girl thinks she can't go five minutes (literally!) without a man! It makes "Livvie sense" though so I'm glad they sent her to Jack. I knew he wasn't going to fall for it and I loved how he handled the whole thing. And I love that I could immediately know, just by watching her over the last few months, what her next move would be. She'll be pulling out all the stops to seduce Frank next, and I'll reserve judgment until I see it.

I loved the whole train station scene…call me a sap, but it was sweet. You just KNEW he was going to show up somehow and when he walked out of that cloud of smoke or whatever, I literally laughed out loud. But that's not in a bad way exactly. It was just SO fairytale like that I couldn't help it. But I was a bit teary-eyed while I was laughing. It was a great reunion for a couple that started like a fairytale. It was the reunion we wanted them to have when Rafe got tossed back down the first time. It was the sort of thing you watch and enjoy while sort of peeking over your shoulder to make sure no one is watching you enjoy it…I love that.

I also love how they ended it yet again with people talking about just wanting to live a normal life and not having to fight any evil forces ever again! Good luck with that ya'll. I am pretty much spoiler free on PC so I haven't heard what the next arc is going to be exactly, but I will take a few obvious guesses. I'd say we will get some fairytale Ali and Rafe for a while. Probably we'll see Livvie/Frank/Karen at full throttle. No Chris except as a bit player - he doesn't even have job anymore for goodness sake! And probably the supernatural focus will be on Jack, Jamal, Marissa and Ricky this time…wake me when that's over, will ya?

Here's what I'd like to see though: Livvie and Chris in an unholy alliance of sorts that turns into an interesting relationship that just maybe can teach them both a thing or two about love. If not that, then I want Eve back somehow and I want to finally see her and Chris together. I want Marissa and Ricky gone. I want Kate to be more interesting or she can leave too, don't mind her acting but the character is extremely bland to me. I like Ian in the rescuer role for now, maybe more focus on the hospital for him too, and there's always the single parent aspect. I don't find him interesting with any of the females on the show right now, though I will admit I've considered him and Karen once or twice…maybe when Livvie causes trouble for Frank and Karen, Karen will need a shoulder and we can see what we think. I think we can handle a bit of romance for Alison and Rafe too. I'm frightened to see what Livvie will do with an actual baby! It would appear they plan for her to have this kid because there would have been no better time to make it disappear then when the Avatar did. It could be fascinating, as in train wreck fascinating, of course!

It's funny how even when I enjoy the arc, I'm still ready for it to end and that was the case this time too. I'm excited to move on and to see what's coming. "Naked Eyes" ...if the word naked is in the title it can't be all bad, right?


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I was thinking about just how much more I am enjoying this arc than the last and it occurred to me that it has very little to do with the Avatar, or the supernatural aspect of the show at all. I'm enjoying it because we have a compelling triangle between Livvie, Rafe and Alison. We have Livvie pregnant by one of the show veteran's, but passing it off as the man she wants desperately to keep. We have Karen who naively thinks that if she just loves Frank enough, everything will work out. We have Lucy who is devastated by Kevin's apparent spiral into madness. I'm enjoying it mainly though because Livvie's involvement in each of these veins of the story is believable. She makes a great troublemaker because she has a very believable motivation: self-preservation. She will do anything to get what she wants and what she thinks she deserves, and those are the only kind of villains we can even begin to understand. The Avatar, while an interesting idea in theory, is just not that interesting on screen. He's taken over Frank's personality and very seldom do we see his true self peek through. I'm assuming in the near future we will see him battle from within to overtake the Avatar and that could be worth watching. But otherwise he's just a plot device for the most part, the real interest I have right now is in the characters that are acting mainly from their own free will. It somehow, no matter what bells and whistles they try to throw in there, always comes back to character driven stories being the mainstay of a not-to-miss show. I'm glad to be able to say that I don't want to miss the next few weeks.

I wouldn't have guessed, a few arcs ago, that I would be so interested in watching Livvie be evil, but she is the most interesting character to watch for me right now. I am caught up in her ability to rationalize her next move to herself even while breaking down over hurting her own father in the worst way. I'm completely impressed with KM's ability to deliver those smug "I've got you now" faces one minute, then deliver fear and hate with her next look. I am intrigued by her ability to make me hate Livvie, yet once in awhile feel a tiny, little pang of condolence for the little girl lost that once in awhile becomes evident on her face. The few scenes where you can see Livvie face Rafe and Alison's obvious connection and not immediately react with anger and rage, but with raw hurt (at the silo for example) are wonderfully done. But she pulls off the devious and cutthroat scenes with equal ability. The character of Livvie has never been anything near to a favorite of mine but particularly in this arc, she is by far the standout performance. I find myself intrigued by where she'll end up after Rafe goes back to Alison…Chris would be my vote because I think there could be some great dynamic between those two now.

"Torn" ends September 27th and the new book "Naked Eyes" begins September 30th. We should have a great few weeks in store to finish this one out. Now for the rest of my feelings about the week:

It is pretty obvious that they had to edit around the decision to not air soaps on September 11, because there were definite glaring holes there. Like Livvie and Rafe discussing that she had "lost" her father like they had discussed his fate at some point. But over all they did a decent job of it considering the option to re-shoot anything wasn't there. I also didn't expect the show to do much in the way of tribute for 9/11 and found myself touched by the ending of Tuesday's show. It made sense that the town would have a memorial service of sorts, many towns did. And it also made sense that Marissa might cover it so the segue into the scene was good. As for Thursday's mentions in the restaurant/bar viewed mainly from over Ian and Kate's shoulder? Well, they should've quit while they were ahead. The idea was nice but it just looked to me like they were using it to try and further story (Kate not appreciating her life or whatever) and that sort of irritated me.

Though Frank/Avatar isn't all that interesting to me in general, I do enjoy the interaction between him and Livvie. The writing for their scenes has been great, and having him take her to view Kevin as Ryan while he was attacking Lucy was inspired.

Anybody else think it's odd that Kate is so concerned with having her husband home where she can "take care of him" but she has been away from home more often than not all summer?

Livvie's line about it being every woman's dream to find her husband in his "ex-slut's" arms was pretty funny, she gets some great (and ironic!) lines.

Speaking of Livvie, what the heck is up with that shirt she wore all week? You know, the black lace number with the tassels hanging off her boobs? I was waiting for her to give one a twirl while she was plotting her next evil move!

Alison and Rafe were cute together talking about what they might like to do if they could do anything. Though I can't imagine standing in front of any man and talking about covering myself in hot fudge, and licking it off myself without expecting ….I dunno, a stir of some sort. She seemed surprised that he got that look on his face all the sudden. Then surprise, surprise, he blurted out that he wants her…sometimes she's a bit too innocent!

I love Kevin as Ryan! John Lindstrom has a good grip on Ryan and if he weren't so creepy he'd be fun to watch. It was great that they didn't drag out that something was amiss. Was he faking when it looked as if Kevin was back for a minute? My vote is yes, he still seemed a bit off and if the drug induces this then it shouldn't really come and go unless there is true intervention. Not sure though, he seemed sincerely confused there for a moment too…good stuff! Why on earth Lucy and Victor went outside, I have no freaking idea. Leaving him sitting there untied and alone was just silly.

And how is it that sirens were close enough to hear, but they still had time to drag Kevin out and drive off without raising suspicion, while they also managed to clean up the mess all over the lighthouse? Geesh! Alison even made tea or something and delivered it to a calmly sitting Lucy before the police finally arrived at the door.

Who else hopes we get to see some real flashbacks of Livvie and Frank's encounter? Doesn't sound from her description like it was exactly a quickie under the shroud, now does it?

What is it with Port Charles and it's plethora of hidden talent? Who knew that sleepy little town would turn up yet another (Lucky from GH also, for the few that don't watch both!) rocket-to-success photographer? And he even gets to use his friends as models too…I hope someone cares about it more than I do.

Well, that's about it for now. Like I said, the next few weeks should be good, I'm optimistic that I won't be disappointed with this one…I SO hope I'm right! Drop me a line if you have some thoughts, love to hear them.

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Okay all you Mommy types out there, each of you grab a spot and let's just yank Alison's pants up six inches or so. We'll all feel better if we just do it.

And while we're at it, let's just find ourselves one of the writers and yank a reason for Chris still being a bit player right out through his or her ear. I know I'll feel much better if we do that!

Livvie is having a banner week, isn't she? She practically chops some guy's finger off at the Recovery Room and then she clubs Rafe a good one over the head…I don't even want to think about what that baby's learning from Mommy while it's being lugged from one assault to the next.

Jamal and Marissa are two beautiful people involved in a perfectly fine love scene but I just feel absolutely nothing for them. And I still contend that Jamal should have been the "other guy" that Alison spent her time with during this Rafe/Livvie thing. I realize it wouldn't be the most productive thing for Jamal, but as far as we the viewers really wondering if anyone could throw a further wrench in the situation, Jamal was much more likely to succeed (and make us worry in the process) than Jack.

How great was the dialogue between Livvie and Alison at the silo fire? Finally you could remember that they were actually friends at one time. I have a best friend that I've had since the fourth grade. We did everything together all the way through school, we got an apartment together at one point, and we are still very close. But we had a falling out once and watching Alison and Livvie trying to understand each other was very reminiscent of my friend ('cept my friend was not loony, but you know what I mean) and I trying to sort out what was habit and what was still friendship, and if we actually could really understand and accept each other. The talk of children and marriage…well, it was a touching scene while being realistic and bittersweet. Loved it.

Yes Mr. Fire Investigator, Dr. Collins knows that you have an important job to do and that you need to speak to the witness/victim of the crime, but Dr. Collins needs to talk to him NOW…so you just have to wait, sorry about that.

And you would think Rafe would buy a clue with all that money he gets from having no job. He had a twenty-minute conversation with Alison about their past, present and future before he even remembered to check on Livvie and the baby, uh, hello?

I loved seeing Ed and James again (surprise, surprise!) and I love the cheesy black versus white backgrounds they have. Their line of the week goes to James:
"You know the Elders, immortal or not, they hate to have their time wasted…"

Ian and Rafe weren't sounding at their intelligent best or anything while Karen was in the little cage with the Avatar. Barking orders at her like the Avatar couldn't hear every word they were saying on top of not being able to make up their minds if they wanted Karen to take the shroud off him or not touch him at all just ended up making them sound like idiots in the background.

Lucy! You of all people know better than to even speak Ryan's name, not to mention adding a flip "he's best left forgotten" after it. The writing is on the wall now; you can expect him at any moment.

That was only her first mistake of the day…she also just had to add that extra "always" on the end of the "we'll be together" exchange with Kevin, didn't she? Crap!

Livvie needs to find more blackmail-worthy friends. Summer just couldn't wait to spill her guts, makes one wonder why she didn't just run straight to Kevin in the first place.

Was that supposed to be a "Lucy moment" when she got within a few feet of the door and then told Alison it was Livvie? I hope so because the only windows were those glass blocks that distort your view and then the peephole, and there is no way she saw a thing through either of those.

Aw, but how sweet when Kevin told Lucy that he just needed her to "be there when he got home"? Course, that about cemented him not actually coming home, but it was very sweet anyway.

In the WTF moment of the week (and it's early I realize) Karen has me feeling both sorry for, and protective of, Ricky. And I don't even really like Ricky. I can believe her attraction to Frank and even to Frank as the Avatar, but not having more of a problem with him unceremoniously dumping Ricky for her? That seemed a bit off to me. The guy was exuding psycho, possessive freak from every pore. By the way, what is up with his hair? I don't much like it these days…is that part of the Avatar's curse? Bad hair…well, I guess when you think about it the Avatar keeps that nappy head covered so it's a non-issue for him, now isn't it? Way to keep it real, PC!

Overall, I'm still enjoying the show. Call me a sucker, but I am into the star-crossed lover's thing going on and they are playing it to the hilt. The acting has been great, Alison isn't into Jack anymore, Marissa isn't on very often, Livvie is so gonna get hers before long…the makings of must see TV.

Now the only question is where is Ian running off to and for how long? And why the heck didn't we get to see Jack and Chris on the beach??? Nice try with those tropical shirts and all, but bring on the real beachwear…STAT!

Addendum: (Sept. 4th, 7:29pm) I just watched today's show and though the column hasn't been linked up yet and most of you haven't read it, somehow the writers did and they made some really miraculous quick writing changes to make my complaints go away! Frank's hair looks better, Karen isn't buying his routine anymore, Jamal and Alison are at least pretending to be together, Rafe is looking at Livvie like she just might be nuts or something (welcome to reality Rafe!)...I don't have much left to complain about. There is the little issue of Marissa somehow being even more annoying to me today, and my not understanding why it made sense for Paramedic Frank to hang around while Karen stitched Ricky up, but I can let those slide for now. Great progress for one little half hour!

Love to hear from you!

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Yes, Livvie, we do know why you chose the Avatar to be the father of your baby, and it is not because of his awesome avenging powers. More like he was at the right place at the right time and well, let's face it you are fairly used to the dark, evil type anyway. But hey, if he bought that little "I chose you" speech then more power to ya.

I have determined that Ian has some sort of aversion to short sleeves, I'm working on the details, but regardless of season he definitely prefers to push his long sleeves up over wearing less shirt. What is he hiding under there?

Lucy! Once you're done dealing with that oops you made by telling Livvie what you were up to, and the resulting Kevin predicament you're in, you need to run, not walk, to your doctor friend and get the results straight from him already!!

Rafe, I completely understand where your knowledge of the Avatar comes from so it makes perfect sense to me that you would know that he hangs out near the water. But please tell me how you knew to narrow it down to that particular spot on the water? No, really, how did you know to stand right there (right outside his door, no less) and say; "now all I have to do is wait for him to show up"?

Anybody else think Lucy needs to work on her sneaky skills lately? Besides letting Livvie in on what she was up to, she also didn't exactly act like she didn't know why that doctor was there in Livvie's room. Telling him she'd be "hoping to hear from you soon" in front of Kev and Liv didn't seem like the brightest move either.

Hey Alison! When your boyfriend (or, ex) is fighting evil and attempting to slay vampires, dragons or whatever, the best thing for you to do is to stop talking for five minutes and just look dutifully alarmed! There is a reason this has been perfected by many a fair maiden.

Seemed kind of weird for Frank to hitch a ride (or a walk - guess I don't really know how they got there!) over to the park with Ricky and Karen…though I guess maybe it was a smart move because he and Chris are the only two people in PC that spend so much time alone so he should be way high up on the list that Ian is trying to formulate. I mean, hello? It has to be someone that can come and go as they wish with no one getting suspicious. That rules out anyone with a girlfriend, spouse, kid, or roommate. I would like to say it would rule out anyone with a regular job, but all of PC's residents have those great jobs that allow them to come and go as they wish so that's no help!

Have I ever mentioned that I like the Pizza Shack? Cool place, fun music.

Wasn't it so "Livvie-like" when she showed up and assured Rafe that he didn't need to worry because she was fine and the baby was fine? Just like someone had asked! Gotta love her. Those scenes between the three of them at the Pizza Shack were delicious, that's the best way to describe them.

Hey Jack! You are the one who has been following Alison around, showing up at the park when she's trying to have a few minutes alone, dragging her off to the carnival, and etc., so lay off already. Have I mentioned that I'm completely not into the idea of pairing them up? Well, ok, then I'm STILL not into it! (Psst…I will admit I cracked an unwilling smile at their silly road-signs banter. But that's all I will admit)

Livvie should have pulled her "hide behind the door and listen" trick when Rafe and Ian were formulating their plan to catch the Avatar because it can't take long for them to figure out that someone is screwing up their plans purposefully. And it better take even less time for them to realize who that is!

Speaking of Livvie and Rafe, does anyone out there know how they are getting their money these days? One of my readers, Joan, brought up the fact that Rafe dropped out of the sky with nothing and Livvie doesn't seem to do much these days either so how exactly are they paying their bills? Did Rafe have a wallet on him? I still contend that darn marriage isn't even possible since he had a death certificate issued on him at one time. Maybe Ed and James doctored all that stuff up...are they wiring him money too? Joan and I both want to know!!

I have officially removed Marissa from the pending list and placed her firmly on the go away list. She's extraneous and she just bothers me. I'm not interested in her and Jamal, it's laughable to me that she could cause any kind of Karen/Ricky problems (they don't need her for that anyway, that pairing should be blowing up at any moment by the sheer amount and quality of WTF looks Karen keeps throwing his way alone) and as a reporter she just isn't cutting it. Less giggling and jumping up and down might serve her well when she's getting a big scoop; she wears green like a banner.

So does shadow man (sorry to interrupt again, but I refuse to call him Lancelot and muddy the vision of a muscular, blond, handsome, sword-wielding man on a gorgeous horse! You wait; they'll be calling Rafe Lancelot before this is over!) have a television (battery operated obviously since I'm assuming all the candles mean there is no electricity) in his place or what? He must, or else he has the ability to just "know" things, in which case he would have known it before they ever got to the park…yeah, there must be a TV I missed in there somewhere.

The Avatar has an obvious problem with doors, particularly his own, so maybe he should consider getting something a bit sturdier so he can slam it when he's weally, weally angwy. That way, it will stay on the hinges, he can save himself the time of having to either relocate or fix the door every few days, and he won't have to worry about Livvie barging in whenever she feels like it either. Or maybe he can just get Chris to give him some better digs!

So, why doesn't Danny's nanny (he he) have a cell phone? She could have called Ian, taken Danny to the hospital with her and everyone would have been safe and sound. Very unfortunate that Alison (#1 on Livvie's you know what list) ended up with Ian's (#1 on Frank/Avatar's…hmmm, Afrankatar's?…list) kid. Definite recipe for kidnappery, that's for sure!

But, wait! Alison won't be getting in that car with Frank and I know why. That was definitely not a car seat/stroller combination and Frank won't have a car seat…so she can't go with him. Trust me, I know personally what a pain in the rear it is to take children in anyone else's car. Nope, everything is going to be fine, and honestly, I'm rather glad to see the young lady get a taste of what we moms go through all the time. No Alison, you can't just hop in and hitch a ride with just anyone, you have to walk your little butt home whether you want to or not!

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I know it's been a little while, but I must remind you of a few of the last lines we heard from Ed and James:

James: "Pride goeth before a fall" (discussing Ed's sureness that Rafe will make the right choices)
Ed: "You're quoting scripture are you? You must be nervous!"
James: "They've got all the best lines…"

*Few minutes later*…television monitor goes to static, just as they are watching Livvie and the Shadow:

James: "That's strange"
Ed: "What happened to the screen? (looks accusingly at James…) Is this an illegal hookup?"
James: "Of course it isn't!"

I've missed them!

I wasn't fond of Casey and I'm not very fond of Marissa either. She's a little better than her long lost twin, but that's the most I can say so far. On the plus side though, she doesn't really annoy me either so we'll just put her in the "hmmm, whatever" category for now and see what happens! I will say that I can't be the only one who didn't believe a word of that "not interested" crap between her and Jamal…there's no way he's going to be able to resist all that lip gloss (tone it down girl, or stay outta the light - you're blinding me!) for very long.

And as for Marissa confronting her Mom, while I thought Jamal had some good points I couldn't help thinking if some guy I had just met was standing there during such an important conversation he could at least shut up and butt out!

It is so very past time for Rafe to put on a tank top and get rid of those blouses, I liked them at first but let's limit it to twice a week - the rest of the time I