Hey everyone, I'm back in the Soap Central nest and I wanted to make sure that I offered you a new column this week, even though it will be a short week of shows due to the Labor Day holiday. There are a bunch of things to discuss - storyline twists, Emmy gossip, and the big deadline. So let me jump right in.
Erica moved in with Zach, the kids, and the hidden Kendall. I'm not really a fan of the Kendall-in-a-box plot. I love that the show came up with the idea to have a Kendall doppelganger in jail instead of the real Kendall, but they haven't taken advantage of that. There could easily have been "near misses" in jail, where people almost found out that prisoner Kendall wasn't the real Kendall. Maybe Kendall could be summoned to an emergency court hearing... how would that play out? Instead, we have lurker Kendall bopping people on the head with computers. At the risk of being punny, this storyline gigabytes.
Another possible twist that would have made the storyline a bit more enjoyable would have involved Kendall being forcibly imprisoned in her secret room. As it stands now, she can breeze in and out on a whim. What if she'd been unable to get out of her room? What if she'd been held by someone that didn't really love her?
Erica, meanwhile, is about to turn her life upside-down. Her trip to Africa will really touch a nerve. She's going to give up her television show and work on making a difference. Is the world ready for a magnanimous Erica Kane?
Where's Brot? That's all.
Well, one aspect of the babynapping case has resolved itself. The Hubbards convinced Randi (and Frankie) that it was time to turn over baby Matthew to the police. I thought those scenes were incredibly well done. Admittedly, Denise Vasi is a newcomer when compared to Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan, but she held her own. The crying wasn't overdone, the emotions were raw, and having the entire Hubbard family gathered for the scene really made it real.
The scene made me recall three of what I feel were the most memorable baby-related storylines in recent years. The first was recent, and involved a stunning performance by Chrishell Stause as Amanda looked at her newborn baby one last time before giving the baby away. The second was a few years back and also involved a hospital scene. Do you remember when a hospitalized Bianca was told that her baby had been killed? The scene didn't play out visually on-screen. We were shown a wide shot of loved ones gathered in the hospital... and then the most bone-chilling scream echoed in the distance as Kendall presumably told her daughter that the baby had died. I wish I still had the on TiVo. Eden Riegel was able to turn in a blockbuster performance - and she wasn't even on-screen. The third memory really turns the dial back a bunch of years. This was when Maria tried to flee Pine Valley with baby Sam, but Edmund caught up with her and told her that she had to give the baby back to Kelsey. Eva LaRue went to a totally different place as she screamed and cried and absolutely broke my heart. I remember her shrieking, "My baby, my baby, my baby!" Goosebumps.
What are your choices for most memorable baby-related moments? I'd love to hear your choices, so drop me a line! (As a quick note, I left out the death of Brooke's daughter, Laura, because she wasn't really a baby at the time of her death -- but that is another incredible moment in AMC history).
Did you get your invitation yet for Annie and Adam's wedding? Hmm... Me neither. I'm disappointed because at one point in time, I really thought that I'd like seeing the conniving Adam and the whack-job Annie. Now, I don't know. Maybe their unlikely romance has dragged on too long or maybe I was wrong about it being a good idea. The fire is gone. When Adam and Erica were married, they made each other's lives miserable. Adam and Annie genuinely seem... happy. Soap writers do say that we tune in to escape reality, so does that mean we all have unhappy marriages/relationships?
Meanwhile, David appears to be getting everything he wants -- and he's more evil than ever. But how many people have been seen in the past year holding a gun in the Wildwind parlor? Are there no more rooms in the old castle? David held a gun on himself... and on Tad... Jake held a gun on David... I feel like there have been many more gun-toting scenes involving David. Perhaps the castle should be renamed Wildwildwest. Even with a gun pointed at him, David is still unbelievably smug.
As promised, I chatted it up with as many All My Children players as possible along the Red Carpet at this year's Daytime Emmys. It was impossible to talk to everyone because the rush of stars is so crazy... but here's what I was able to get.
If you're a regular reader of Two Scoops, you'll know that I have been lobbying for Marissa to morph into a bad girl. She is, after all, David's daughter. Well, actress Brittany Allen revealed this interesting nugget to me. "When I read for the part, Marissa definitely had more of a dark side, so I am surprised she's been such a good girl," Allen said. Hmm... So I wonder if the writers decided to make Marissa one of the goodie-goodies, or if there is still more to explore with Marissa.
Adam Mayfield (Scott) admitted that it was really challenging to join the show and a few days later be dropped into such a heavy scene as the death of his father.
Melissa Claire Egan (Annie) laughed uncontrollably when, in the middle of general chatter, I interrupted her with a forceful, "Alright enough small talk! Is Annie really cuckoo or not?!" As she started to answer, even she looked unsure. "I read the scripts and I'm like, 'What?' I'm surprised when I read it, too, so as an actor, it's really thrilling. I'm thankful to Chuck Pratt for having faith in me and the character to write some crazy stuff that really went over the top -- and to the fans for loving it."
Jacob Young (JR) shaved his head as part of his character's cancer storyline. The actor won't be wearing a "plastic" skull to make it look like he's lost his hair.
I'm a bit disappointed that All My Children didn't win more Emmys this year, but certainly a big congrats goes to Vincent Irizarry (David) for winning Outstanding Supporting actor. He actually tied with AMC alum Jeff Branson (ex-Jonathan Lavery), who won for his work on Guiding Light.
Well, the deadline for all AMC stars to announce their decisions on the Los Angeles move is here. Within the next few days, we'll all know who's going to be with the show when it relocates in January.
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