All My Children has had its fair share of villains over the years. Let's see, there was Ray Gardner, Billy Clyde Tuggle, Richard Fields. I think we need to add David Hayward to the list of evildoers. He's never been the nicest of guys, but was it really that bad to dump an aphrodisiac into the punch bowl? This time around, David has been painted as a totally different monster. He is getting into people's heads and screwing with them. The mental damage that the dastardly doctor inflicts is unlike anything I've ever seen. Maybe that's part of the reason I enjoy watching Emmy winner Vincent Irizarry work his magic as David.
David's latest victims are Jake and Amanda and, at least peripherally, Marissa. How quickly did the long-lost daughter become yesterday's dirty diapers? Jake's Wildwind meltdown when he confronted Amanda about taking off her wedding band was great stuff. The chemistry between Ricky Paull Goldin and Chrishell Stause is incredible. It was interesting to see the two sides of the situation. Jake said he felt "useless" for not being able to fix the situation, but Amanda revealed that her love for Jake was the only thing that was getting her through the day. "I have memorized you -- every smile and every sound."
Who is your choice for AMC's "baddest" villain ever? You guys have been quiet on the email front lately, so I hope you'll send over your choices via the email link at the bottom of this column!
Taylor Thompson finally has a purpose in Pine Valley. Ever since the writers decided to corral Taylor into the Martin stable, she's become a more interesting and meaningful character. Now that the show has seemingly distanced Taylor from her military introduction, I think it's time to stop the Tad-Taylor romance.
Don't get me wrong, I love the comedic aspect that these two characters' romance brings to the canvas. Goodness knows that we can use some laughs amid the doom and gloom that's going on in everyone else's lives. I just feel that the next step is to give Taylor a bigger storyline. When she talked about opening up a "beer and pretzels" joint somewhere in town, I liked the possibilities. Beth Ehlers could have her own little in-show spinoff similar to Cheers. Or, what if Tad goes back into the private eye business and enlists Taylor's help? Again, there's the opportunity for the pair to have their own self-contained stories... something like the Scarecrow and Mrs. King or Moonlighting.
If Kendall pops up from behind a corner one more time, I am personally going to wedge something under the door to her secret room so that she can't get out.
I've been critical of Jamie Luner's portrayal of Liza over the past few months, but I think that I am finally at a point where I've gotten used to the idea that Marcy Walker really isn't coming back. Now that I've gotten past that, I can say that Jamie is doing a fine job with the material that she's been given.
There was, however, a scene that made me chuckle last week -- probably inappropriately. In the opening of Friday's show, as Liza sat with little Ian, she heard a noise that prompted her to think that an intruder had broken into Zach's house. The way she whispered a staccato "There's someone in the house," I could only think of two things: The Sixth Sense's "I see dead people" and the Michael Douglas suspense thriller, Don't Say A Word, where some creepy young woman was in a hospital bed and spookily chattered, "I'll never tell."
That provides me a good segue for my next nugget. The identity of Stuart's killer will be revealed -- finally -- in the next few weeks. The shooter is someone who has already been questioned in the case, so don't expect there to be an unknown butler who did it. So whodunnit? I'll never tell.
So many of you have written in to ask if I've heard anything about who's going to relocate with All My Children when it moves to Los Angeles. As you know, last week was the network-imposed deadline for the stars to decide whether or not they are staying with the show. The short answer is, yes. I have spoken to many of the show's cast members and I have a pretty good idea of who's going and who's not. I have, however, been asked to hold off on making any "official" announcement because there is still some behind-the-scenes discussion to get a few of the stars to change their minds. An official statement is expected shortly from ABC.
Speaking of the move, Two Scoops reader Addison dropped me a line last week to discuss the move. Addison fears that once All My Children moves to Los Angeles, we'll soon see little of Pine Valley on the screen. Somehow, this reader wrote, the show will find a way to change the show's setting to somewhere in California. Believe it or not, Addison isn't the only one to share these feelings. If you recall, I wondered if the show would change settings if some of the veterans decided not to make the move. It could be very similar to what ABC did when Loving ended and morphed into The City. The show's entire remaining roster picked up and left Corinth, Pennsylvania, and landed in the SoHo section on New York City.
I don't foresee this happening now and here's why. Last week, General Hospital featured a location shoot that involved a carnival. The scenes were shot in the parking lot of GH's studios in Los Angeles. Why is that an issue? General Hospital is set in Port Charles, New York -- a far cry from the sunny desert of Southern California. The outside shoot proved that a show doesn't have to be compromised just because the studio is a few thousand miles from the show's fictional setting. Okay, so there were some palm trees in the distance of the carnival scenes.
From the world of soaps, this is the final week for Guiding Light. After shining brightly for 72 years, the show goes dark forever on September 18. You may not be a fan of Guiding Light - and you may never have seen an episode of the CBS soap. However, I'd strongly encourage everyone to tune in to Friday's show as a show of support for the soap opera genre. We'll likely never see another show marking its 72nd year in existence, and having everyone tune in to see Guiding Light's final show would be a good show of solidarity and a way to show the networks and advertisers that we do care about our "stories."
dan
PRINTABLE VERSION View a printer friendly version of this article
