Category Archives: film

Mar6

March 5, 2017 – Once Returns, Rick Finds Guns & Feud is Fabulous

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

Once Upon a Time

Underneath a bridge, a little girl reads a fairy tale book, then uses the pages to stoke a fire. A young man asks what her story is. She tells him that she ran away and it’s none of his business. He asks her to stop burning the book, and tells her that The Ugly Duckling was his favorite. He says the best fairy tales are about transformation. She says that’s not what it’s about; the duck was always a swan, but didn’t know it. He says it’s about belief; if we believe in something strongly enough, we all have the power to change our fate. He asks if this is the fate she wants.

The little girl tells a desk clerk that her friend brought her there, and her name is Emma Swan.

In the enchanted parallel world, before Emma and Regina can jump into the porthole, Robin holds them up for their jewelry. Some huntsmen ride close by, and Robin jets. Henry leads the pack, and thinks that Emma and Regina crossed the river. Emma tells Regina nothing there is real. The place was created by a wish. Emma thinks she’s found a way back.

David and Hook stroll the streets of Storybrooke. David says they need to give the Evil Queen what she deserves, and he’s not resting until it’s done. Hook says he’s in, but he hopes David knows what he’s doing.

Rumpelstiltskin (as Gold) asks Gideon how this is possible. Gideon says he was in a place where time didn’t move. Gold asks if the Queen harmed him, but he says she toughened him. In all of the dark years, he tried to remember Belle and follow her example. He’s still going to kill Emma though, because he’ll gain her power as Savior. He needs to rid his land of the Black Fairy. He says when he kills Emma, he’ll finally become a hero. He disappears, poof! in a puff of pick-a-color smoke. Okay, I wasn’t looking.

Emma finds Pinocchio, who thought she’d been captured. He asks what happened that she’s in the Enchanted Forest, and she says it’s a long story. He tells her how he desperately wanted to be a real boy, and it only took his father to make it so. He asks what he can do for her, and she tells him to build something to get her out of there. She wonders if he still has the enchanted wardrobe, but he dismantled it years ago. He thinks he can still help. He knows where the grove is that the wood came from, and thinks they might be able to replicate his father’s work. Emma asks Regina what she thinks, but there’s no Regina, only a note. Regina says she knows Robin isn’t real here, but needs to know if he’s better off without her, like everything else in the realm.

Regina looks through the window of the pub, and remembers seeing Robin for the first time. She goes inside and everybody freaks because she’s the Evil Queen. They all run, but Robin asks if she’s going to buy him a drink. He thinks she’s there for the necklace that he stole, but she wants to talk. She asks if he’s happy, and he says she’s a strange one. He tells her that his life is great, he answers to no man and sleeps under the stars. She says he was better off, and he asks why she would care. Before she can say anything, the Sheriff of Nottingham comes in to arrest Robin, and slaps a cuff on Regina. He says Robin comes with a bonus, and tells his men to take her too.

Pinocchio and Emma go to the enchanted grove. Pinocchio checks out his father’s tools, and picks something out. He says that a true wood carver must be in conversation with the tools and materials. Emma pulls out a sword and tells Pinocchio she’s no longer a princess, but a Savior. She explains that her fate is to die while protecting her family.

Hook comes out of nowhere to “rescue” Emma. He’s fat, has grey hair, and looks like an aging Jack Sparrow. Obviously, he wasn’t better off.

In Storybrooke, Gold tells Gideon that it’s lonely. Gideon says that’s his fate. Gold says fate is a tricky business that requires planning. Gideon believes that Gold thinks he isn’t strong enough. Gold says there are things a man learns with time, but Gideon tells him to get lost. He says Gold thinks he knows all about him, but he has no idea. Gold says that Gideon’s life has been full of pain, but if he wants someone to pay, let it be him. He tells Gideon to hit him. Gideon doesn’t do it, and Gold says if he can’t hit his father, how does he expect to kill the Savior? He says he can help, but Gideon says he doesn’t need his help.

Emma tells Hook to let Pinocchio go, and leave the rescue to the professionals. She says she doesn’t need rescuing and Pinocchio easily takes Hook’s sword from him. Hook says there’s a reward for Princess Emma’s return. Pinocchio asks if she knows him, and she says she knows another version of him, and they sort of live together in another world. She knocks Hook out with some magic, and says it’s time to go home and get someone off the rum. Hook disappears, but the tool is broken.

Emma asks if Pinocchio can fix it, but he says he can’t. She says they have other tools, but he says they need magic and he’s not good enough. He says he’s sorry she put her faith in him, and hopes she doesn’t make that mistake again.

Regina and Robin are locked in a cage in the forest. Robin says he’s going to die having accomplished nothing. She says he’s Robin Hood who robs from the rich and steals from the poor. He asks if she’s nuts, and tells her that he just steals from the rich. She finds out that Marion died before they got married. He says there’s no one. She asks if he’s happy. He says if she wants the truth, he hasn’t been happy for a long time. She says he never had love.

The horses begin to rear up and run away. The guards chase them. One approaches the cage and is blown back. Rumpelstiltskin appears. Regina asks him to take the cuff off. He says on one hand she helped him escape, and on the other, the woman he loved starved to death. He dumps out a bag of bones and says that’s her now. Regina assures him that she had nothing to do with that. He says he might not be real, but he has the feeling he can still make her bleed. Yikes.

In real life, David tells Snow he’s sorry he can’t wake her. He promises he’ll find their daughter, bring her home, and fix this. He and Hook try to make a plan. Belle says they’re looking for her son, Gideon. He grew up in another realm, and the experience affected him. She says Rumpel is out looking for him too. David wonders who Rumpel is helping, and Belle says she can stop him, but she doesn’t want anyone harmed. She trusts them, and asks them to trust her. David says when they find Gideon, she can try to get him to listen.

Back in the world of fairies, Rumpel pushes Regina and Robin into a cell, and locks the door. Robin is like, so, I’m living in a fake world created by the wish of a princess who isn’t fake, and I’m a folk hero in another version. Regina is surprised he believes her. He says he doesn’t mind believing that he lives a better life in another world. He asks if he’s a scoundrel there, and she says he’s dead. He asks if the other Robin had a good life before he died. Regina says she thinks and hopes so. He helped a lot of people, and loved his friends and family. And her. Robin says it sounds like a good life, even if it was too short. He tells Regina that he’s not just the world’s greatest thief, and breaks the lock. They leave the cell.

Emma is about to chop at the tree, and spies a carved box with her name on a gift tag tied to it. There’s a carved swan inside. She goes to Pinocchio’s ship and asks him what it is. He tells her happy birthday. He says he always liked swans, and talks about The Ugly Duckling. His father told him that if you believe hard enough in something, you can change your fate. Emma remembers him at the fire, and says, it was you. She says when she was a kid, Pinocchio gave her advice that changed her life. He says she became the swan. She hands him the magic spatula and says he can do this. If he believes he’s a master carpenter, he will be, and his life will change.

Pinocchio chops at the tree. Magic pops out of it, and he says it looks like the swan is going home.

Commercial break. No surprise. It’s for Beauty and the Beast. I’d love to see it on the big screen, but I’ve sworn off any movie below an R rating. The last time I saw something that was PG-13, I felt like I was in the middle of a bus during a field trip, surrounded by the light of phone screens.

Pinocchio builds whatever, and thanks Emma for believing in him. She says his father would be proud. He shows her the finished product – a new enchanted wardrobe. Regina and Robin arrive, and Robin asks if they’re getting back in a tree. Regina tells him sorry for dragging him in. He gives her a feather, saying she’ll have a piece of Robin. She tells him that when her Robin died, there was a feather that was lost. She’d hoped he was in a good place, and thinks somehow, he lives on in this Robin. Emma asks if she wants to bring him as her plus one, but Regina says he’s not real. How can a wish become real? Emma says if Regina believes that any part of Robin is in there, she should bring him, saying that they make their own fate. She did it, and now it’s Regina’s turn. Robin says he’s in. Regina tells him it might not work, but he says it might. She asks if he wants to take the risk, and he says it’s not that great there, so why not go with the woman who was willing to die for another version of him?

Pinocchio opens the door. Emma steps through and Regina thanks him.

In Storybrooke, Emma and Regina come through, but no Robin. Emma says she’s sorry, and Regina asks for a moment alone. While she’s meditating on her sadness, Robin appears. She hugs him. He’d probably hug back, but he has arrows and stuff in his hands. She shows him the town from the top of a hill, officially welcoming him to Storybrooke.

Commercial break. It’s for the Time After Time series premiere. I thought this show had been on already, since there have been ads for it for months. I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to see it, but I loved the 1979 movie with Malcolm McDowell and David Warner.

Emma strolls down the street, thinking about her vision. Gideon appears and says he’s been waiting. She says she only knows one Gideon, and he’s a lot younger. She asks what he wants, and he attacks her. They battle with their swords. Emma’s sword goes flying, and Gideon has them both. The others run up, and Emma tells them to stay back. Belle tells Gideon that he doesn’t have to do this. He freeze frames everyone. He tells Emma that he’s not going to hurt them, just her. Her hand starts to shake, and he tells her that she’s fated to die. She says not today.

Emma blows Gideon back with magic and holds a blade to his neck. Gold begs her not to kill him. Gideon says he doesn’t need Gold’s help, and disappears. No poof, no smoke, just disappears. Emma is stunned that he was Belle and Rumpel’s baby. They suddenly notice Robin, and Regina explains about the alternate reality. Everyone hugs. We hear a typewriter.

Emma walks in on Pinocchio typing. He says he works in a cabin out there, so his father can sleep. She asks him if he knew it was her when she was little. He says he kept tabs on her for a while. He knew she didn’t belong on the streets, and had to make sure that she did too. Emma sees the book that she was going to burn in a box on Pinocchio’s table. He says when she picked Swan as a last name, it made him happy. He figured she got it, and was on the way to being the person she was supposed to be. She says she thinks she’s on her way to believing she makes her own destiny. He tells her that believing is the first step.

Gold finds Belle on the bridge, and asks if she’s making a wish. She says he succeeded in keeping Gideon from his horrible fate. He says Gideon had the power to make his own choices. He thought Gideon would make the right choice, and even though he was wrong, Gideon may still do it. Gold says that through his whole dark life, he’s sought out light, like her. He doesn’t want Gideon to kill anyone because it’s not the cure for his pain. He doesn’t want that for his son.

Belle says she protected Gideon, knowing what he wanted to do, and it can be easy to rationalize. Gold says, indeed it can. As they’re talking, Gideon is climbing up the stairs inside the clock tower. Belle wonders what they can do. Gold says if there is, they should do it together; not just for them, but for everyone. War is coming to Storybrooke.

Gideon busts out the clock’s face. It shatters everywhere.

Next time, Emma wants to break the curse, David needs a pirate, and Emma wants to know what Hook is hiding.

The Walking Dead

Michonne and Rick comb a house for supplies, gathering anything of value. Down in a van by the river, she thanks him for keeping watch last night. He says they’re getting batteries for the walkie-talkie and getting it to work again. They raid another house, fighting off some zombies. They get busy during a break. Rick is discouraged that all they have are two guns, some dented cans of beans, and some football jerseys, but Michonne says they’re fighting the fight.

They come across a group of Saviors playing golf. They see batteries in the back of their truck.

Back at the van, Michonne tells Rick that they have to get back. Rick wants to stay a little longer, and sounds like a kid who wants to stay up later. Michonne agrees.

Rosita stitches herself up. Tara tells her it’s going to work out. They have the numbers to fight; they just need guns. Rosita asks where they’re going to get them, and says she can’t just wait. Tara says they’ll get the guns and fight. Rosita says it’s not going to be easy; it wasn’t the last time. She says she’s going to find guns.

Rick sleeps while Michonne drives. Rick sleeps while Michonne makes coffee. She sees a deer and tells Rick to shhh! even though he was sleeping. She gets a gun, but the deer is gone. Rick says he owes her a deer. They look around the forest, making so much noise that every deer within miles has disappeared.

They see a fence with a half-fallen tarp on it. Rick bangs on the fence and a soldier zombie stumbles around on the other side. Rick sniffs a bullet casing and they look around. Michonne says something serious happened here a long time ago. Rick says there might be serious guns in there.

Rosita noses around an abandoned house. She starts to go inside, and a Mama June (not hot) type zombie ambles out. She slices mama’s head in half with a machete. She finds a gun, but it’s just a water pistol.

Michonne and Rick go to the top of a building. They see zombie soldiers and civilians wandering around a carnival. Cool! Let’s get those zombies on the Ferris wheel. Rick says there was a fight, and they’re still wearing their guns. Michonne shoots, and ends up doing well at one of the carnival games. Until she and rick fall through the roof. We hear Rick laugh. Because it’s all good when you’re in love.

Rick and Michonne lie there laughing. They look around and find a boatload of food. Some kind off pre-packaged “ready to eat” meals.

Rosita finds Gabriel at the church. She tells him she didn’t find any guns even though she was out there all day. She had a gun, and was going to kill Negan with it. If she’d done it, he’d be dead. Maybe she would too, but who gives a damn? She lists all the people who would still be alive, and says that she’s still there because she was stupid enough to listen to him. She tells him that he doesn’t know sh*t about sh*t, and he tells her she’s right. He told her not to do what she was planning because they needed her, and they still do. It’s easier to be dead, and if it’s his fault, fine, but he did what he thought was right. He says she can blame him for having life, but what is she going to do with it? Anything is possible until your heart stops beating. Since she can’t argue with that, she walks out.

Michonne and Rick open the boxes, pull out the meals, and dig in. Michonne makes a plan to get the others to fight with them and kill Negan, but she doesn’t know what happens after that. They’ll have to reorder the world once he’s gone. Rick says they’ll figure out how to work together. She thinks he should be in charge, but he doesn’t. She says he’d be good at it, if it’s something he wanted. He says he doesn’t think he would, and he doesn’t want it. He says they could work together, and he wants that, if she does. She says she wants that, and they kiss.

Rick says they can take their time. The place is clear, locked up tight, and they found the only way in. He thinks they should get back. He gives her a package of chili and mac and cheese together. That’s love. The zombies stagger about outside, while Rick and Michonne get busy inside. Honestly, I don’t know how busy I could get, or would want to get, with zombies lurking around several feet away.

Tara babysits Judith. She’s torn between telling Rick about Oceanside or not, and uses Judith as a sounding board. She says that the others should just fight with them, but they only want to hide because they fear the world. But if she tells everyone about Oceanside, it might end up proving their point. She wonders what makes their life worth more than the others, because they want to stop the people who want to hurt other people?

Carnival time! Rick and Michonne watch the zombies from behind a truck. Rick wants to block one of the gaps to make it easier for them. He wants to do it quiet with the sword. Michonne makes a noise, and takes out the zombies one by one as they come her way. Rick grabs a gun from a zombie soldier, who’s wedged halfway through the windshield of a car. Rick tries pulling him out by the feet, and the zombie’s foot comes off. Ha-ha! He pulls some more and the guy’s legs come off. Ha-ha! again. Rick finally gets him out of the windshield glass. Michonne joins him and they push the car toward the gap. He realizes that the breaks don’t work, and all of a sudden there’s gunfire from a soldier zombie. Michonne jumps into the trunk, and Rick steers the car to the opening in the fence. Zombies surround the car and claw at it. Rick says it was a great plan, and Michonne agrees that it was.

They jump off the car and behind some ride barricades. They run through the fairgrounds, the zombies trailing behind. They knock over the test-your-strength game, and it blocks the zombies for a bit. Rick asks if Michonne wants to go, but they both think they can do this. Rick goes in front of the Ferris wheel and coaxes the zombies forward. Michonne does the same thing by the big slide. As the zombies get to the gate, they’re dispatched; heads rolling, eyeballs squishing, blood spurting. Rick sees the deer, and jumps onto the Ferris wheel, climbing up to the top. He’s about to shoot the deer as zombies are coming toward it, and he falls off. Oh crap.

Rick is down, but grabs the gun, and starts shooting the zombies. Michonne runs toward him, gun drawn. When she gets there, she sees the zombies circled around something, eating. She looks sick, and tears roll down her face. She drops her sword. The zombies start to come toward her. She backs away, but she’s not herself.

Like Superman, Rick jumps out of a crate, and throws the sword to Michonne. They slice and dice the zombies. They hug, and Rick says he tried.

They gather up the guns. A lot of guns. Michonne has a moment.

It’s quiet on the ride back, but they got tons of supplies. I’d be hiding some of those somewhere. Rick pulls the van into the forest. He wishes they could have spent more time away. He says he hasn’t been sleeping, thinking about what they’ve lost, and the friends he couldn’t save. He says they went through something, and this doesn’t cure it. Michonne says she’s sorry. He says they’re going to fight them. They’re going to lose people, maybe even each other, but it will be worth it. Michonne says she can’t lose him. Rick says she’d asked him what kind of life they’d have by just surrendering, and it would be no life. Fighting the fight is living, making a future for Judith and the others. He says she can lose him. It’s not about them anymore; it’s about a future. If he doesn’t make it, she’ll have to lead, and she can. She asks how he knows, and he says she led him there.

Back at the Heapsters heap, Jadis asks if the guns are all operational. Rick says they need cleaning up. There are over sixty guns, but Jadis says it’s not enough. Rosita suggests they leave and take their guns with them. Jadis says no, and they haggle. Jadis gets to nine and they get the cat back, and Rick says twenty, and they fight together. Jadis says yes, and if they get more soon, they’ll fight. Everyone wanders around looking like they’re doing something important. Michonne tells Rick they have a few more days before what happens next. They’ll figure it out in a few more days.

Back in Alexandria, Tara is looking for Rick. He asks if she’s okay, and if she’s seen Rosite, who hasn’t shown up for her shift. Tara suggests that maybe she went out looking for more guns. She says she has something to tell Rick.

Rosita stomps through the streets, and sees Sasha at Abe’s grave. She says she needs Sasha’s help. Sasha says under one condition – she gets to take the shot. Rosita agrees. She asks if Rosita brought explosives, but Rosita felt that was taking too much of a chance. She has something better. She brings out a bazooka, and hands it to Sasha, so she can take her shot. Rosita says that Rick and Michonne found guns and the Heapsters wanted more guns. She thinks that means more excuses. She tells Sasha that she’s memorized what Carl and Daryl told Rick about the Saviors’ camp. Sasha says she has a map that Jesus drew for her. They discuss how they can’t be caught alive, and it’s a one way ticket for both of them.

Next time, Ezekiel rises up, Carol emerges, and there are lots more guns.

💣 Feud: Bette and Joan is perfection! The casting couldn’t be better, and the topic couldn’t be more current. For all the equality whining going around, not many people talk about how ageist our society is, and the scope is even narrower for actresses in Hollywood. Way back when, Joan Crawford recognized this, and brought the novel, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? by Henry Farrell, to Bette Davis’s attention, thinking it was the perfect vehicle for them both. Being no slouch in the brains department herself, Bette agreed, the rest is history, and their feud is legendary.

While both women are gone from this world, so there’s no one to confirm or deny, this interpretation of their relationship shows an almost softer side. While hating each other on a certain level, neither could deny the other’s talent or their admiration for it. Although “frenemy” wasn’t a term back then, they were the perfect example of it.

The cast is chock full of exceptional actors and actresses, like Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, and Stanley Tucci. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Jackie Hoffman playing Mamasita, Joan’s right hand person. I recognized her right away, pointing and shouting “Penny’s mother!” at the TV, as I’d seen her on Broadway in Hairspray.

And lest we not forget one star of any period drama – the clothes and props. So far, I’m enthralled. One of my favorite things in the world are those brocade dresses with matching coats that were so popular in the 1960s. My favorite Barbie outfit will forever be Evening Splendor. (However, I would not have paired the green/blue bag with this.)

barbieeveningsplendor

Feb27

February 27, 2017 – Eugene is Negan, an Oscar Story & a Medicine Quickie

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

The Walking Dead

A group of Saviors gathers around Fat Joey’s body. Dwight goes running inside, and finds that Daryl is gone. Didn’t take them too long to make that discovery. Only about six months.

Eugene is brought into the camp. You’d think by now he’d stop blubbering about everything. He’s led to a relatively nice room that has a microwave and refrigerator. Savior Laura tells him, welcome home. Could be worse. A lot worse. He starts looking at the books, and she tells him that there’s a library, and informs him about Daryl’s escape. He says the room is satisfactory, and she asks if he wants something to eat. After finding out one of the few things they don’t have is lobster, he asks for canned pasta – orangey – and chips. They have homemade chips. I’m in.

Eugene locks the door and looks in the fridge, where there’s beer, eggs and produce. He puts the radio on, and it’s that freaking Easy Street song. I start laughing. There’s no escape from it. Given a choice between hearing it over and over again, and being beaten to a pulp by Lucille, I’m not sure which I’d choose.

Dwight finds the note telling Daryl to go now. A bunch of guys bust into the room and beat the crap out of him, while Negan stands there with Lucille, watching.

Negan bangs on the door where Dwight is in solitary. He says they looked around and he realized he was short a wife – Sherry. He asks Dwight if he knows anything. Negan thinks It’s some coincidence that she’s gone just after Daryl is. He says someone must have opened the door, and Dwight says it wasn’t her. Negan asks if it was him. He says Dwight has legitimate gripes, and asks if he’s started to see things differently. He asks Dwight who he is, and Dwight says he’s Negan.

Negan opens the door. Negan says Daryl isn’t like Dwight; he’s emotional. Either Daryl is on his way home or on his way back to kill them. Either way, they’ll find him. He asks if Dwight thinks he knows where Sherry went. He does, and Negan tells him to fix what he can fix.

Dwight talks to Dr. Carson. The doctor thinks Sherri was soft and let Daryl go. He says Dwight was beaten unfairly, yet he stays. The kind of selfless soul that Sherry is, is the kind of person who isn’t expected to stay around anymore.

Dwight goes back to get his coat, and takes a pack of cigarettes out of a mounted fish’s mouth. He gets on his motorcycle and jets.

Laura shows Eugene around. She says they use a point system, depending on what people bring in. She suggests that he get a haircut, hands him a jar of pickles, and takes him out to Negan. Negan asks Eugene’s name, and then asks everyone else who they are. They all say Negan. He tells Eugene he might have to get real close to Lucille, and under normal circumstances, he might have let Eugene get close over and over again. He asks Eugene if he’s a smartypants, and Eugene says he is. He explains about how he taught himself to cast bullets. He says he reads a lot, and if knowledge is dropped, he picks it up. Negan says he’s some a-hole, but Eugene says he is not. He has PhD’s in several fields, is technically a doctor, and was part of the Human Genome Project before the zombie apocalypse.

Oops! Half of an impaled zombie falls off.

Negan says the problem with his system of keeping people out, is that the guard zombies fall apart. He asks Eugene how they can keep them on their feet. Eugene says they already have the means to fix the issue, an operational smelter. He explains how to pour liquid metal over both the fence and the zombies. Negan thinks it’s the coolest thing he’s ever heard – it’s practical and badass. He calls Eugene Dr. Smartypants. He asks if Eugene was doing valuable stuff like this for Rick, and says Rick’s loss, their gain. He wants to give Eugene a bonus, and Eugene says he was gifted some pickles. Negan says he’ll send some of his wives over, but no sex. He can have drinks, dinner, and laughs only. Eugene and his pickles get led away. Looks like Eugene is smiling a little.

Commercial break. Better Call Saul returns Monday, April 10, at 10 pm. This show was better than I expected it to be, and quite funny, although I lost track of it sometime during the second season. You can’t watch them all.

Eugene plays video games while he chats with wives Amber, Tanya and Frankie, although Amber is doing more drinking than talking. Frankie asks if he wants a massage, since she was a licensed therapist before the apocalypse. Eugene says he’s aware that none of them are there of their own volition, but Tanya says that doesn’t mean they don’t want to be with him, and some intelligent conversation would be good. She suggests talking about the Human Genome Project. Eugene tells her that he’s not at liberty to discuss it, and they might not understand. It’s not a dis, he’s just stating a fact. They decide to do a science experiment.

Eugene carts a bunch of stuff outside. Frankie tells him to relax; he’s one of them. Like something you’d see your eighth-grade science teacher do if he wanted to get the class’s attention, Eugene mixes some ingredients, and a fat stream of foam comes shooting out. When this experiment is recreated later, on Talking Dead, I find out that this foam is called “elephant’s toothpaste,” which is a perfect description. And if you decide to try this at home, don’t touch it.

Dwight goes to his old house and calls out for Sherry. Everything is a wreck, and he picks up a pre-apocalypse photo of them from the floor. He takes the Daryl note out of his picket and compares it to something she had written, and the writing looks the same. We hear her reading the note that she’s left him with her wedding rings on top. She reminds him that he’s told her if they got separated, they should meet there, and he’d bring pretzels and beer. She says he’s lucky he doesn’t remember things. He didn’t want to live in Negan’s world, but she made him. Now he’s become everything he didn’t want to be, and it’s her fault. She says she let Daryl go because he reminded Dwight of who he used to be, and she wanted Dwight to forget. Being there isn’t better than being dead; it’s worse. She hopes he gets away, and remembers the good days, but she doesn’t think he’ll ever even read this. She wants to meet him, but can’t. She doesn’t know if he’d run away with her, take her back to Negan, or kill her. She’s sorry she made him into who he is; she loved who he was.

Dwight takes out a cigarette butt with her lipstick on it, and shakes his wedding ring out of the pack, putting it with hers. He leaves a six-pack of beer and some pretzels. Wow. That was kind of sad.

Frankie and Tanya knock on Eugene’s door. They need his help. Frankie says Amber just drinks and cries. They signed up for this, but she didn’t. Her mother needed medicine, and she thought she could live with it, but she can’t. She’s asked them to help her end it. He suggests they find a doctor. Frankie says that Amber wants to go to sleep and not wake up. Eugene says that’s wildly irresponsible, since she’ll turn when everyone is asleep. They tell him that they’ll take care of that end. He’s a good man, and they know he can make things. They’ll handle the rest. He says he’s not good, but he can jerry-rig a lethal toxin. Frankie says that he is good, and Amber will do it with or without them. He asks how much she weighs. If they can get her exact weight, he can cook something up.

A bunch of people are in line to get supplies. Eugene goes to the front and asks for cold capsules. The woman at the desk tells him to get in line. Eugene asks her number, and tells her that he’s now chief engineer who reports directly to Negan, which means she reports to him. He wants the capsules now. She gives them to him. Good for you growin’ a pair, Eugene! He takes a bedpan, a flyswatter, a sort-of sock monkey that he calls Grimblygunk, and the rest of the medication. Double good for you, Doctor Smartypants!

Dr. Carson asks if Dwight found Sherry, and Dwight says that he killed her. The doctor says that before they got there and understood, they were cowards. They don’t get to have big hearts, and Dwight needs to remember that.

Eugene is brought to a gathering of people. Dwight stokes the fire, and Negan paces around with Lucille. It’s face-burning time. Negan tells Eugene to pay close attention, and whacks Dr. Carson. Negan shows him a note that says good-by honey, and says he found it in the doctor’s desk. It’s from the bottom of the note that Sherry left for Dwight. Negan says the doctor left the door open, and let Daryl out so he could be the hero. Dr. Carson says that she’s the one who ran. Negan says she ran because she knew he’d blame her. Dwight told him that after she ran, she got eaten by zombies, and now a super-hot girl was killed because of him. Dr. Carson says that Dwight is lying, but Negan says why would he do that, and if he is, he’ll find Sherry and kill Dwight. He says all Dwight needed was a night in the hole to get his head on straight. Here comes the iron. The doctor begs not to be burned. Negan says he hates this sh*t and just say he’s sorry. Dr. Carson says he did it and he’s sorry. Negan says that’s all he had to say, and drops the iron. Then he throws the doctor into the fire. Amber is distraught, but I thought that was pretty good. Quick too. Negan says good thing they have a spare doctor, and he never should have doubted Dwight. He says he’s sorry, and Dwight say he’s not. Negan says, ice cold, he loves it.

Frankie and the Tanya come back to Eugene’s room. He says he made the pills, but they can’t have them. Frankie says Amber is counting on them. He says don’t insult his intelligence – the pills are for Negan. I’m guessing that he knew by the weight. They would have had to tell him the truth with that, because it would be deadly for them to under-estimate Frankie asks if Negan didn’t kill his friends, and Eugene says they killed his too. Frankie says they’ll tell Negan it was his idea. He says she’s replaceable; he isn’t. She calls him a coward, and he says that’s a correct assessment.

Eugene enjoys a pickle, and as soon as this show is over, I’m eating one. Negan knocks on his door.  He looks pissed. They stare at each other. Negan walks in. He asks how Eugene likes it, and if they’re doing right by him. He says he knows how hard it is to accept change but needs Eugene to understand that he doesn’t make this invitation to everyone, and doesn’t make it lightly. He tells Eugene that he doesn’t need to be scared. He just has to answer a question, a big one. He starts to ask who Eugene is, but before he can finish the sentence, Eugene says, he’s completely, stone cold Negan. He just needed to meet him properly, but he’s Negan.

The next morning, Eugene is outside, giving instructions on the molten metal and enjoying another pickle. Omg, I’m eating a whole jar after this. He and Dwight stand there, watching metal get poured over the zombies. Eugene says, “I’m Eugene, you’re Dwight, and we’re Negan.”

Okay. They might be reeling me back in here. The big question is, is Eugene really on board with the Saviors, figuring this is the safest route, at least for now; or is he a bigger smartypants than we thought?

Next time, Michonne and Rick take a road trip, Rosita can’t wait, and neither can I, because we’re getting zombies at an amusement park. The kind of thing I live for. 🎡

🎟 No new Housewives of Atlanta this week. I guess Bravo didn’t want to compete with the Oscars. I lost interest in the Academy Awards years ago. And no, it wasn’t after the Rob Lowe/Snow White fiasco. In 1986, I knew two of the nominees, one quite well, and the other just in passing. The late William Hickey, who’d been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Prizzi’s Honor, had been my acting teacher for many years. I remembered him saying that if he was ever up for an Oscar, that he wouldn’t go unless he could bring his dog. I thought this was admirable. However, Bill did go, and I didn’t see his dog there. I’ve always wondered if he was wearing socks though.

The other was William Hurt (the two Bills!), who was up for Best Actor in Kiss of the Spider Woman. I’d done some work putting together charity events for off-Broadway’s Circle Repertory Theatre, and also volunteered to take tickets. During my time there, our paths crossed, as he was doing a fantastic play called Childe Byron in which he was playing Lord Byron. I watched it several times, and although he was already becoming well-known by then, he was very approachable and always kind. I was thrilled when he got the award (Bill Hickey lost to Cocoon’s Don Ameche), but I knew after that, there was nowhere for the Academy Awards to go for me, but downhill. There’s not much chance of me knowing another nominee, and even less of me being nominated, which is the only thing that could top that.

This year, sadly, it spares me from kudos to an industry that has become less about the work, and more about opinion, political and otherwise.

🏥 Married to Medicine‘s Heavenly summed up part two of the reunion perfectly when she called Mariah “dirty, dingy, and dusty.”

Jan27

January 26, 2017 – Franco on the Edge of Found & Something Completely Random

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

General Hospital

Carly goes to Sonny’s place and sees something for Morgan in the mail pile. She tells Sonny she doesn’t know why she’s surprised, but she hasn’t had to deal with it since his main residence was at Sonny’s. Sonny shows her an entire pile of Morgan’s mail that he can’t deal with. He says he’s accepted Morgan is gone, but part of him doesn’t want to do that. He suggests they go through the mail together.

Elizabeth tells the others that they don’t have enough proof for either theory about Franco, and suggests calling the police.

Alexis stares at the two fingers of wine she just poured, and says she can do this. Whether she means drink it or not drink it, I’m not sure.

Michael gives Nell a keychain with tiny ice skates on it for when she decides to get back out there. He thanks her for the pep talk she gave Josslyn. Nell says all she did was repeat what Michael had told her, that you can keep finding people to blame or make the best of it. He hopes she can take it to heart as well, and get over her bad memories. She focuses on a picture of Carly and Sonny.

Sonny and Carly go through the mail. Carly wishes she could tell Morgan how proud she is that he kept trying. She sees some credit card bills, and Sonny says he meant to call, but kept putting it off. He wonders if he should delete Morgan’s name from his phone. Carly comes across some charges for some things like a first-class ticket to Australia and gambling websites. She says Morgan was manic, and obviously hurting and trying to fix himself. She says she knew something was wrong, and wonders why they didn’t save him.

Alexis swirls the wine around in the glass and sniffs it like she’s at a five-star restaurant.

Sam doesn’t think involving the police is a good idea, and Kiki agrees. She says they’ll just assume Franco is on the run. They all agree to share any information they find, and Kiki and Dillon wander off. Sam tells Elizabeth to keep her theories to herself. Elizabeth says she’s sure it was self-defense, but if they don’t say something, Franco’s disappearance won’t be treated like a kidnapping case. Sam begs Elizabeth to keep her mother out of it. Like Sam would do that if the shoe was on the other foot.

Dillon and Kiki decide to leave and get some lunch. Kiki drops her purse, and Franco’s note falls out. Of course she doesn’t notice.

Michael gets a call from Tracy, who wants to meet because she’s upset about a business decision he made. He tells Nell that he thinks his decision was a good one. The company they were going to invest in has a bad carbon footprint history, so he decided to drop them. GH’s way of being current.

Sonny tells Carly they didn’t know how much Morgan was hurting. She says her head understands that, but not so much her heart. She thinks they should get someone else to deal with the mail. She has to go to work, and tells Sonny that she loves him. She knows grieving apart was a mistake, and they need each other. She tells him that she trusts him more than anyone.

Lulu tells Laura and Doc about what happened with Charlotte. She says she doesn’t need Valentin to poison Charlotte against her, since she’s doing fine by herself. Doc suggests family therapy. Lulu says she knows Dante would be on board, but Doc says he wasn’t referring to her and Dante.

Dante tells Nathan to leave for his honeymoon before something else happens. Elizabeth comes into the station and tells them they have the wrong suspect. Dante is like, see what I mean? Elizabeth tells them that Franco figured out who the real killer is. She says the person is related to someone he hurt badly, and he doesn’t want to hurt them anymore. She thinks she figured it out though, and tells them that she thinks it’s Alexis.

Sam goes to visit Alexis. She tells Alexis that Elizabeth might be at the police station, and wants to know if there’s anything Alexis isn’t telling her. She asks if there’s someone else Alexis thinks might harm Franco.

Kiki and Dillon have lunch. She thanks him for distracting her from the Franco situation. He wipes something from her face (bleh) and kisses her. Carly pops up from behind the bar. She says don’t mind her, but maybe they can keep their PDA to a minimum. Kiki says Morgan was her first love and she’ll never forget him. She’s sorry she hurt him, and if Carly needs to hurt her to feel better, she understands. Carly says she didn’t like the way Kiki handled things, but at the end, it was just bad. She asks Kiki if she knew he was gambling again, but that’s a no. Carly says it’s difficult seeing Kiki move on when she doesn’t have the option, but she knows Morgan would want her to be happy even if Carly can’t be.

Sonny takes his phone out. He’s about to delete Morgan as a contact, but can’t do it.

Nell asks Michael if it’s possible to let go of what you want in order to help someone else. Michael asks if she’ll still be his friend if he ends up unemployed and moving back in with his parents. She points out that he lives with his grandmother already. We both say, ouch! Carly comes in and tells Nell she needs her for something.

Elizabeth tells Nathan and Dante that she knows it sounds crazy. Nathan asks what motive Alexis would have. Elizabeth says she doesn’t think Tom was rehabilitated in prison. Dante asks if she thinks Tom attacked Alexis, but Elizabeth says she doesn’t think Alexis even remembers. She adds that she thinks there’s someone in Alexis’s life who would protect her at any cost.

Alexis realizes that Sam is hinting around about Julian and says he has nothing to do with it. Sam tells Alexis that Julian has always lied to her, but Alexis says she believes him about this. After everything that has happened, she can see into his soul (gag). Sam asks Alexis not to tell her she’s falling in love with him again.

Doc suggests Lulu go to therapy with Valentin if they’re going to co-parent. Lulu thinks that’s insane, but Doc tells her to look at it from Charlotte’s POV. Lulu says they’re not going to co-parent, and she wants nothing less than full custody. Doc says that’s what she wants, but what about Charlotte?

Elizabeth suggests that Julian got rid of Franco. She wonders if he had Franco killed, and Nathan says they’ll do everything that can to find him.

Alexis tells Sam that ship didn’t just sail, it was set on fire and shoved out to sea like a Viking boat. She says Julian only helped her get sober. Sam says it doesn’t look like it to her, and brings out the bottle from Diane that Alexis tried to hide.

Michael tells Carly that Morgan died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He says Morgan had the fiercest, most protective, badass mom in the world, but she couldn’t prevent what she didn’t know about.

Sonny’s doorbell rings. It’s Nell.

Laura thinks Lulu should hear Kevin out. Lulu says her main goal is Charlotte’s happiness, but she doesn’t think it will end up being shared custody. She gets up to go, and Doc says sorry for upsetting her. She says he’s just given her a lot to think about. After she’s gone, Doc apologizes to Laura. She’s cool with it, but says she’s surprised he can be impartial about the man who shot him.

Alexis tells Sam that she stared at it, swirled it, and sniffed it, but when she was about to take a drink, she saw a picture of the girls, and knew how much she’d disappointed Sam. She says she’s going to have to talk to Molly and Kristina, and disappoint them too. She tells Sam that it’s a struggle, and according to AA, it will last for a while. Yeah, it’s called your whole life. She says she owes Jason an apology too, but Sam says not to worry about it. She tells Alexis not to answer the door, since it could be the cops, but Alexis says she’ll be a lawyer again by then.

Dillon asks if Kiki is okay and if she needs time alone. Kiki asks if he thinks that Carly meant what she said about Morgan wanting her to be happy. Dillon says he thinks in time Carly will want her to be happy too, but maybe not in her restaurant. Kiki says she wants to be happy again, and he makes her happy. She says to hell with tacky behavior, and they kiss.

Carly tells Michael that she saw Kiki kissing Dillon and she was caught off guard. She adds that life goes on, and Michael says we honor the people we lost by living. Carly says he’s wise beyond his years, and wonders how that happened. He says if Dillon makes Kiki happy, he’s happy for her. He tells Carly that ever since New Year’s, he and Nell have gotten close. Carly says she thought they were just friends, but he feels like they’re starting to build something else.

Nell tells Sonny that Carly sent her there to go through Morgan’s mail. Sonny isn’t comfortable with that, and Nell asks what she should tell Carly. Sonny says that Nell has some anger going on, and Nell acts ignorant. He says he knows something about rage, and there’s something behind her smile. He says if it’s not directed at him, who’s it aimed at?

Kiki thanks Dillon for being understanding, and he asks if she’s ready to get to work. She asks him if he still wants her to go to Crimson, and he says unpaid assistants are the best kind. He has tons of stuff to go through for the wedding issue.

Carly asks Michael if he and Nell are on the same page. She doesn’t want to discourage him, but she says Nell is involved with someone else – a married man. I love how Carly keeps going around saying this when all Nell told her was that she was unavailable.

Nell tells Sonny that Carly told her to bring the mail back to the office, and should she do that, or tell Carly that he wouldn’t give it to her? He tells her to do what Carly asked. Changing the subject, he says that he’s been so consumed with anger, it nearly destroyed him. She says she’s not angry, and he says yes, she is. She might have her reasons, but it doesn’t matter. If she keeps feeding the anger, it will consume everything else she cares about.

Alexis pours out the wine and tells herself she can do this. She can do it for the girls and herself. Dante suddenly shows up. He wants to ask her some questions about Tom.

Nathan says he’ll keep Elizabeth updated. He says Franco has a long criminal history, and wonders why she thinks he’s innocent. She says that despite his past, she has faith that Franco has changed, and she knows the truth always comes out.

Sam runs back into the bar and finds her phone. She sees the note on the floor. It says, Help! I’ve been locked in a storage container, and to call Elizabeth Webber.

Tomorrow, Amy 2.0 tells Hayden that she and Finn are considered a hot item, Elizabeth wants to work with Jason, and Dante asks Alexis where she was on December 21st.

A Random Recommendation

I was thinking that I’m going to name my next dog Joe Buck, just so I can say, “Where’s that Joe Buck?” Anyway, this got me thinking about Midnight Cowboy and the lengths I went to see it for the first time. Even though it won the Oscar for Best Picture, it was rated X, and back then they actually cared. I was 13 or 14 when it came out, and I desperately wanted to see it. I was crazy about Dustin Hoffman, having recently seen Little Big Man, and I’d spent all night reading the book one Saturday that I’d stayed overnight at my sister’s house. She’s ten years older than I am, and was already a grown-up. She would gladly have taken me, but X meant no one under 18 admitted. By today’s standards, it’s rated PG-13 and very tame. There’s very little nudity in it, although the subject matter is adult.

For those who’ve never seen it (and you’re missing out), the story’s protagonist is Joe Buck (John Voight), a clueless guy from Texas, who thinks he’s going to make millions being a hustler in New York. And his idea of a hustler is a gigolo. (Giggy!) Right off the bat (or bus, as it were), he gets taken for a ride by a woman (Sylvia Miles) who he’d expected to make money from. An interesting side note is that the director had thought they had hired a real hooker for the role, not realizing Sylvia was an actress. I’d say that means you’re doing your job. After Joe loses money to her, he loses the rest of it to Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a homeless man living in a condemned building whose dream it is to go Florida. Obviously, he’s a better hustler than Joe. They eventually become friends, and I don’t want to spoil the rest. The film starts about halfway through the book, so we don’t entirely know why Joe thinks the way he does, but it’s not necessary. The story is really about the human condition and how everyone has a dream. It’s also worth watching for the 60s NYC vibe. One of my RHPS cohorts from the late 70s is in a party scene. If you watch it, he’s the guy who says, “Up? Or down?” and shakes two pill bottles.

The movie was on its second time around, which is also of the bygone days. Movies stayed a lot longer in the theaters – well, for one, there were fewer films then – and they usually stopped by again within the next year, possibly as the B-picture in a double-feature. (♫ Science Fiction! Double Feature! ♫ Sorry.) That fall, my maternal grandmother had this idea to take me on a bus tour through New England, a story in itself. You go on a month week long trip with a bunch of old people singing Let Me Call You Sweetheart over and over. It was worth it though. When we got to Boston, Midnight Cowboy was playing across the street from our hotel. It was the second feature, with Women in Love, based on a book by D.H. Lawrence, being the main one. (Alan Bates and a young Oliver Reed – score!) The box office was run by teenagers who couldn’t have cared less how old I was, so after grandma went to sleep at 8 o’clock, I snuck across the street with a purse full of tissues, as both movies are tear jerkers.

So that’s my Midnight Cowboy story – no, I never got caught – and my recommendation. It’s a film well worth watching, and unless your heart is made of stone, it will stir your compassion for humanity, especially for those who have nothing but a dream.

🍷 Speaking of which (my dream job being to get paid to watch TV), whatever happened to The People’s Couch? Is it ever coming back? It’s like one of my favorite shows ever.

Jan13

January 12, 2017 – GH is All Alone & Some Elle Woods to Make Up for It

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

General Hospital

Nathan and Maxie are back in Port Charles. Maxie just wants peace and quiet, but they come in to find Lulu and a tower of boxes.

Anna tells Valentin they need to talk.

Elizabeth congratulates Laura on her new hospital board position. Laura says the hospital is facing a challenging time, and Elizabeth says she knows the feeling. Laura asks if she was able to sort things out with Franco. Elizabeth tells her that she stopped by his apartment, but he wasn’t home. She thinks he’s keeping to his word to stay away from her, and Laura says he’s just trying to protect her and maybe it’s for the best.

In Franco’s head, we flash back to Franco saying he and Elizabeth should stay away from each other until it’s over, and how he hopes the truth comes out about Tom. There’s a knock at the studio door. Franco opens it to Jordan and Dante with a search warrant. They’re looking for evidence connecting Franco with Tom’s murder.

Alexis wakes up next to Julian on the couch. She asks what he’s doing, and he says helping her through the DTs. She tells him not to touch her again, and acts like he was doing something to her when he was just sleeping. She tells him that she’s calling the police and turning herself in.

Lulu apologizes, saying she thought that Nathan and Maxie must have gone on their honeymoon anyway. Maxie asks why she’s there, and she says she was just about to throw the boxes out from the wedding gifts, which she’s organized. She can tell something is wrong, and asks if they want her to leave. Nathan says no, and Maxie explains about looking for Claudette and that Claudette is dead.

Anna shows Valentin the photo of herself that Emma found among his things. He asks if Emma usually goes through people’s things, and Anna says she impressed upon her that it’s illegal – technically – but little girls are curious. He says that he doesn’t remember the photo or losing it. She says it was taken on her birthday and he was there.

Elizabeth tells Laura that she knows Franco is innocent. He insists he’s changed, and she believes that he believes it. She says he’s doing everything he can to be a better person, but rushing things might not be the best idea. Laura tells her to sleep on it and sleep on it again, but Elizabeth doesn’t think there’s enough time.

Franco tells Dante and Jordan that he told them everything. Dante pulls out the dog crate, and Franco tells them he’d gotten a dog for Jake, but Monica has it now. Dante asks why he kept the cage, and Franco asks if he looks like he ever gets rid of anything. Jordan shows him a picture of the murder weapon and asks if it looks familiar. He says yes.

Julian tells Alexis that she’s still detoxing, so it’s not a good time to make life decisions. She says the last time she made one, she married him. He says she has to be at the top of her game if she’s going to get out of this, and asks if she still wants help like she told him last night. Is she going to throw everything away, or is she truly ready to change?

Laura asks if Elizabeth thinks Franco is going to be arrested, and she says he’s always the first suspect. Ha-ha! She thinks she’s possibly being too cautious with him. After everything he’s done for her and the boys, if she can’t move on from his past, it’s a cop- out and she’s a coward. Laura basically tells her to follow her gut and she thanks Laura for listening.

Franco explains to Jordan that it’s an artist’s knife used to sharpen pencils, and she points out that he’s an artist. He says he doesn’t have one at the moment. Jordan tries to pry, but Franco says he isn’t under arrest, so he doesn’t have to answer questions. He tells them to lock up when they leave.

Jordan looks at the portrait Franco painted of Elizabeth. She critiques it, and Dante says he didn’t realize she was an art aficionado. She says it’s hard to believe the person who created it is capable of murder. Dante says what about this, and shows her a freaky painting of Tom, similar to the ones Franco did of Nina.

Alexis tells Julian that she knows she needs help, but it’s more than he can give, and she’s going to find it elsewhere. Julian says he’s there if she needs him. She says she knows where he is, and sincerely thanks him. Wow. She really does look like hell.

Nathan tells Lulu that the officials are calling it a suicide. Lulu doesn’t believe it, and Nathan says he didn’t either, but Claudette was a deeply unhappy person. Maxie agrees that maybe her lies caught up with her. Lulu says there are many reasons she might have killed herself, but she crossed Valentin, and he’s a murderer.

Valentin tells Anna that he doesn’t know when her birthday is. When he finds out that she’s a Scorpio, he says it’s appropriate, and I’m guessing the scriptwriters gave her that birthday on purpose. She says Valentin was at the WSB for one of her birthdays, and he assumes her theory is that they trained together. I’m guessing they did, he got kicked out, and he blames her somehow. He’s not good at taking responsibility.

Lulu says Claudette tried to take Charlotte from Valentin, and now she turns up dead. Maxie says she doesn’t want Lulu to end up the same way, and tells her not to do anything dangerous. Nathan excuses himself to take a call. Lulu tells Maxie she hasn’t decided what to do, and Maxie says she has; she just hasn’t decided how to go about it. Changing the subject, Lulu says that Maxie and Nathan can get married now, but Maxie says they can’t.

Anna wants to know what happened on her birthday. Valentin says she’s fishing because she doesn’t remember. She says it’s only a matter of time before she pieces it together.

Alexis tells Julian that she’s going to a meeting at GH. Julian asks if she wants him to come, since family and friends often attend. She says they’re not family or friends, so… The cab beeps and she leaves. Fastest. Cab service. Ever.

Julian calls someone and says, do it now.

Franco meets Scotty at Gene’s and asks why here? Scotty praises the ambiance. He’s made up some sketches, and Franco says he’ll find out where his artistic side came from, but after looking at them, says it’s still a mystery. Franco tells Scotty that things are moving faster than they realized, and his studio is being tossed as they speak. Scotty asks if the police are going to find anything.

Jordan tells Dante to bag up the picture. Elizabeth comes in and asks what they’re doing in the studio. Dante shows her the painting and asks if it’s Tom, and she says it could be a personification of him. She sees the dog cage and says it’s been a long day, she needs to go. Jordan says she’s lying.

Gene is dragged into Alexis’s house. Julian shows him Alexis’s picture and asks if he knows her. He says he does, and Julian says no he doesn’t.

Alexis shows up at the hospital with sunglasses on, and looks at the meeting schedule. Not too obvious. Laura sees her and says hello. She asks if Alexis is sick. Alexis says she’s under the weather, but she’s on the mend. Laura says it’s been forever since they talked, and they agree that they’ve both been through hell. Alexis apologizes for not being able to prevent Valentin from getting the estate, but Laura says there’s nothing she could have done. Alexis tells Laura that she’s been letting a lot of people down lately.

Elizabeth tells Jordan that they have a warrant to search, but she’s not a part of it and she’s leaving. Jordan asks if she’ll answer questions, and she says no. Jordan tells Dante to bag up the cage and check for prints. She doesn’t really tell him to “bag” the cage, just take it, but I envisioned a pretty big bag for that painting.

Scotty tells Franco that as his lawyer, he’s advising him, and as his father, he’s imploring him to tell the police what he knows about Alexis.

Julian’s thug, Chad, punches Gene. Gene says that Alexis stiffed him, but came back to pay the tab, because he still doesn’t get it. Julian says that Gene never saw her. The light bulb comes on, and Julian gives Gene a token of gratitude. After checking it out, Gene says all he had to do was ask. Julian says that he wanted to be clear on what happens if Gene goes back on his word. If he does, Julian will be very disappointed. Gene says he has nothing to worry about. Gene waits outside, and Julian tells Chad to make sure Gene understands, because he’s into overkill. He says to himself that he’s going to save Alexis no matter what he has to do. Bleh. I was on the verge of actually liking Julian for a millisecond.

Maxie tells Lulu that she doesn’t think Nathan has feelings for Claudette anymore, but they were married once, and she doesn’t want to push for a wedding before he processes things. She says that selfishly, she doesn’t want him to think about Claudette when they’re getting married. Lulu tells her she’s making the right decision, even though it must be difficult. Maxie says they haven’t even set a new date, and everything is in limbo. Nathan overhears.

Anna accuses Valentin of playing games, but he passes the ball back, adding that he’s not the one with the daughter who “innocently stole” a photograph. Anna says he could tell her what happened on her birthday, and what’s on the other side of the door.

Laura tells Alexis about the custody suit. She knows Alexis can’t practice law right now, but they’d like some guidance. Lulu calls, and Laura leaves to take it, saying they’ll talk. Alexis goes into the meeting. The meeting leader gives the spiel, and asks if anyone would like to introduce themselves.

Jordan asks Elizabeth if Franco said anything about why he has a dog crate. Elizabeth flashes back to Franco telling her about holding Tom captive. She says there’s nothing she can tell them that will help them. Jordan says she hopes Elizabeth is telling the truth. Elizabeth says she’s leaving, and Jordan says she can’t save him. Elizabeth says all she knows is that he didn’t do it. Dante calls Jordan over and shows her a paper. She says bingo. In the hallway Elizabeth tries to call Franco.

Franco tells Scotty he refuses to hurt any of them again. Scotty says he’s become fond of Franco, and glad he’s taking steps to be “that person,” but no one is that noble. Scotty says he can work it, but Franco says end of discussion. Scotty thinks he’ll change his mind once he’s arrested. Franco says maybe he’ll leave town, and wonders where Gene is. Scotty tells him that it would be an admission of guilt. Franco says maybe this is a time that justice doesn’t need to be served. Scotty asks if he wants to leave Elizabeth. Behind them, Chad comes in with Gene, pushing him into the hallway. Franco takes notice, but doesn’t turn around.

Maxie thinks about the discussion that she and Nathan had about buying a house. Seriously, she needs to stop watching beauty blog videos. The contouring is just too much. Nathan calls someone and says he needs a favor.

Lulu tells Laura about Claudette, and Laura tells her to be careful; she can’t lose another child. Lulu says she understands Laura’s impulse to protect her, but she feels the same way about Charlotte, and can’t stop now.

Valentin tells Anna that if she wants to know what happened, figure it out. She says she’ll find out what he did to her. He calls her smug, and says maybe it’s not what he did to her, but what she did to him. In saying that, he’s all but told us that it is, so I’m agreeing with him somewhat on the smug thing.

Scotty tells Franco that he’s not leaving. End of discussion. He asks what they’re going to find that’s incriminating, and Franco says he never got rid of the dog cage. He says he can’t go to prison, and Scotty promises to keep him out of the orange jumpsuit. He tells Franco call him if he gets arrested. Gene comes out, sees Franco, turns around, and goes back in again. Ha-ha! If you’d seen this, you’d laugh too. It was like a move out of The Honeymooners. Outside, Franco says why does it always have to be Alexis?

The AA group is silent, and the leader says don’t everyone talk at once. He tells them that he wants them to feel safe in their early sobriety. Alexis gets up and says she’s Alexis, and she’s an alcoholic.

On the phone, Julian tells someone, well done.

Jordan tells Dante it’s a receipt for art supplies, and it includes the knife. She says she thinks they’ve got him.

Franco starts to answer Elizabeth’s call and gets whacked in the back of the head. He falls to the ground.

Tomorrow, Dante tells Valentin about Claudette’s death, Kiki thinks Franco should go to the police, and Hayden asks Finn what he’s doing.

🎀 Quotes from Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods 🎀

On cat-calling: I feel comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life. [a man whistles at her] I object!

On responsibility: I once had to judge a tighty-whitey contest for Lambda Kappa Pi. Trust me, I can handle anything.

On finding a motive: Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.

On what’s important in an introduction: Hi. I’m Elle Woods and this is Bruiser Woods. [motions to her dog] We’re both Gemini vegetarians.

On priorities: I worked so hard to get into law school. I blew off Greek week to study for the LSATs. I even hired a Coppola to direct my admissions video.

On being blonde: I have always respected redheads as members of a hair color minority.

On compliments: I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.

On bad days: All day long I felt like white open-toed shoes after Labor Day.

On the technicalities of fatherhood: For that matter, any masturbatory emissions, where the sperm is clearly not seeking an egg, could be termed reckless abandonment.

On levels of difficulty: I taught Bruiser to shop online, I think I can handle Congress.

On reasonable excitement: I don’t think I’ve been this excited since Gucci became a publicly traded company.

On fashion trends: Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed.

On partnership and achieving your goals: If I’m going to be a partner in a law firm by the time I’m 30, I’m going to need a boyfriend who’s not a complete bonehead.

On faith: You must always have faith in people. And, most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.

On her ex-boyfriend’s surprise when she was admitted into Harvard Law: What? like it’s hard?

Jan12

January 11, 2017 – So that GH isn’t Lonely, a Coupla Quotes & Several Random Thoughts

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

General Hospital

Maxie and Nathan get to the cabin they’ve rented in Canada, and Maxie is disconcerted by the moose head on the wall. They’ve struck out with the local precinct, but Nathan thinks Claudette’s mom is their best bet. Maxie suggests that going through Claudette’s stuff to see if there’s anything significant. Nathan tells Maxie she can keep Claudette’s mother busy while he goes through everything.

Nina and Charlotte wait for Valentin at the MetroCourt. Nina compliments Charlotte on her skating. Valentin arrives. He tells Charlotte that he and Nina have something very important to tell her.

Franco goes home, surprised to find Kiki there. Kiki tells him that she hopes he had a happy new year, and says there are leftovers from her takeout feast. He keeps looking at his phone, and she asks what’s going on.

Alexis tells Julian he’s not calming her, and he’s the reason she’s in this mess in the first place. He thinks she’s really upset because she wants a drink.

Sam thinks the fire was a closer call than Jason is saying. Jason wishes that they’d come up with more, but  the place was tossed before they got there. He shows Sam the picture he found of a young, blonde boy, and she says there’s something familiar about the face.

Nell asks Sonny what he means by “a new understanding.” He says they agreed not to say anything about what happened between them. He asks if she changed her mind, and why she told Carly she was dating a married man. Nell says she didn’t; she just said he was unavailable, and Carly made the assumption. She says she was trying to stop Carly from matchmaking and meant nothing by it, but Sonny tells her that she made Carly curious. Nell says if he wants her to say something else, she will, and asks what he wants her to do.

Valentin tells Charlotte that Nina has been spending a lot of time with them, and Charlotte says she likes Nina a lot. Valentin says they’ll be able to spend even more time together now, because he and Nina got married.

Has Maxie been watching a Kardashian marathon? She needs to tone the contour down. Nathan tells her that if it was up to him, they would go to Niagara Falls right now and get married. He’s thinking they should move into a house when they get back.

Kiki asks why Franco is jumpy, and he says he wasn’t expecting her to be there. She says he obviously didn’t see her note that says she’s moving to LA. He wonders why she wouldn’t say good-by in person, but she says it doesn’t matter, she turned around in Detroit. When Franco asks why, she says Dillon, confusing him. He thought that’s why she left, and Kiki says he’s also the reason she came back. She explains that Dillon was on the bus to get away from her, but now they’re together. She’s decided to stop fighting her feelings for him. Franco says he’s happy for her, and she should do everything to keep herself happy.

Julian suggests that Alexis is going through withdrawal. She says if he wants to talk, let’s do it. He asks if there’s anyone else who can place her at the bar, but she doesn’t remember. He asks if she talked to anyone. She says Gene, the owner, who I assume is also the bartender.

Jason tells Sam that he thinks the picture looks familiar too. Sam says it’s possible it could be Julian. Jason assumes the boss lady has a relationship with him, but adds that the picture is decades old. Sam tells him that she doesn’t think Ava has anything to do with it.

Charlotte asks if Nina is going to live with them, and Valentin tells her that now they can play whenever they want. Nina says Charlotte can come to her about anything. She’s still going to be Nina, but she’ll just be there all the time. Charlotte looks sad at first, but then says it sounds wonderful.

Nathan tells Maxie that they should get a three-bedroom house. Maxie says he’s really been thinking about it. He tells her that he’s wanted to build a life with her forever, and she asks when they can move in. He has one condition though.

Franco chows down on Chinese leftovers. He says Kiki seems happy. She says she is, and he says then Dillon is okay in his book. She says she’ll never stop missing Morgan, but has to move on with her life. She thinks Morgan would approve, and she’s learned to hold on tight to those she loves, because everything can change in an instant. She asks what’s up with Franco, and he asks if she remembers Tom, and tells her that Tom was murdered.

Alexis tells Julian that Gene remembered the night for her. Julian says obviously he didn’t go to the police with anything. Alexis doesn’t think he cared, but covered for her as a customer. He saw Tom follow her out, and she assumes he caught up with her. Julian says she’s not thinking like a lawyer, and asks if anyone else saw. Alexis sees Tom standing behind Julian. I wonder if he’s buddies with Carrrlos now, although Carrrlos has more honor than this dude.

Sonny asks Nell if she understands what it’s like to feel happy for just a moment, and says that she’s not to say anything else. She says that she was just trying to protect him and shut the conversation down. She didn’t expect Carly to deduce her boyfriend was married. She tells Sonny that none of it is her fault, and Sonny says it never is. Sam and Jason come in, and Sam says she hopes they’re not interrupting.

Nell tells them Carly asked her to check in on Sonny while she’s gone, and Sonny explains that Carly is in Australia. Nell says her work is done and jets. After asking how Sam is, Sonny asks Jason if he’s found out anything else. Jason tells him about the pawn shop burning down, and says they don’t think Julian is involved, but they’re close to finding out who is. Sonny asks if there’s a man behind it, but Jason says no.

Tom talks to Alexis, saying she’s the one who killed him. He tells her she should have a drink.

Franco tells Kiki he had nothing to do with it, but the police think he did. Kiki asks if he has an alibi, but he says his alibi would make things even worse. He tells her that he knows who killed Tom, but can’t go to the police.

Charlotte says she wishes she could have been at the wedding, but Nina says it was past her bedtime. Valentin tells her that it was at the stroke of midnight. Charlotte wonders if it was like Cinderella, and Nina says it was magical, but no one turned into a pumpkin. She says the only thing missing was Charlotte, but Valentin says there was one more thing.

Nathan tells Maxie he wants a moose head in their house, and explains how he always wanted to be one with nature. She tells him if they take the moose head, they’ll also need throw pillows and throws some pillows at him. They get silly, and there’s a knock at the door. It’s a police officer who has information about Claudette.

Kiki asks why Franco is hesitating, and he says it’s complicated. He says he might be innocent of this, but he’s committed other crimes. He says that he’s hurt members of the person’s family who killed Tom. Kiki tells him that knowing what Tom has done, it was probably self-defense. Franco says all he knows is he can’t turn her in, even if it means losing Elizabeth.

Alexis says she’s not going to drink, and Julian says he’ll help her through this. Tom says he’s never going to leave her alone. Alexis says she didn’t kill him; she couldn’t have. Julian tells her that she’s hallucinating. She asks if he doesn’t see Tom. Alexis sees a bloody knife in her own hand, but looks again to find it empty.

Sonny asks Jason if he really thinks a woman planted the bomb. Jason says yes, but any evidence has been burned up. Sonny says he’s glad they got out, and asks if there are any theories. Jason says not yet, but she must have a personal tie to Julian.

Valentin tells Charlotte about how they improvised with ribbon wedding rings. Valentin says when they were skating, he went to the jewelers. He asks Charlotte to help them exchange rings. She opens the box and Valentin tells her to give each of them the other’s ring. Valentin and Nina exchange rings, saying a few things, and then kiss. Charlotte is like, Yay!

The officer tells Nathan sorry it’s late. They found the body of a woman in the river who was an apparent suicide, and reran the prints after speaking with him. They were a match for Claudette’s.

Kiki asks if Elizabeth believes that Franco didn’t kill Tom. He says he thinks she does, but he’s done so many other things, it’s hard for her to trust him. He wanted them to start with a clean slate, and was going to find the real killer, but it looks like he’s remaining the prime suspect. He tells Kiki not to tell anyone, and says maybe they won’t have enough evidence to charge him. She says fine, his secret is safe. She tells him that Elizabeth stopped by.

After the officer leaves, Nathan tells Maxie that he doesn’t believe Claudette would kill herself, even though the prints were a match. Maxie says Claudette is gone, and the important thing is that they know what happened. He says she was a horrible person, and Maxie adds, but he loved her. He says for a few years, he really did.

Valentin gets a call and excuses himself. The officer from Canada says he did what Valentin told him. Valentin thanks him for his assistance.

Sonny thinks the woman is a cover hired by Julian as a smokescreen, and judging by the picture, they have long standing ties. Sam has to excuse herself, and when she goes upstairs, Jason tells Sonny things looked tense between him and Nell. He asks if everything is okay.

Alexis says she didn’t mean to kill him, and Julian tells her to calm down. Alexis tells Julian that if it hadn’t been for him, she would have never been in that bar and killed Tom. She still thinks she’s holding a knife, but there’s nothing in her hand.

Nathan wants to tell Claudette’s mom in person. He also has to call Griff, and someone has to let Charlotte know. Maxie suggests they get some sleep for now.

Valentin, Nina and Charlotte leave the MetroCourt. Carly calls Nell from the plane, and Nell says she’ll take care of everything. She says she’ll make sure to take care of Sonny. I’ll bet.

Sonny tells Jason that everything is fine, but Jason says it didn’t look that way. He says if Sonny is in trouble, he can tell him. Sonny says he’s pretty sure Nell isn’t as innocent as she appears to be.

Kiki tells Franco that Elizabeth told her not to say she came by, but she thought better of it after what he said. Kiki says whatever doubts Elizabeth has, they obviously don’t outweigh her feelings for him. She asks if he’s still going to keep his mouth shut. He says all he knows for sure is that he can’t go to prison.

Alexis stares at the non-knife in her hand,and finally realizes it’s not there. She tells Julian that he’s going to send her to prison and he doesn’t love her. He promises her that he does. He says he knows she’s in pain, and she starts to cry, begging for a drink. He says they’ll get through this. She cries in his arms, saying she needs help.

Tomorrow, Jordan questions Franco, Alexis wants to turn herself in, and Anna talks to Valentin.

Hump Day Quotes

I love cauliflower and I would agree that it’s incredibly versatile, but I’m starting to think that maybe everyone wouldn’t have felt quite as tragically disappointed and jaded by how 2016 shaped up as a year if we hadn’t put so much of our faith in cauliflower to be everything we needed. – Darcy Lenz, 11 Food Trends That Need to Die in 2017

If you die when you’re fat, are you a fat ghost? – Carrie Fisher, while working out on the treadmill.

💫 Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, you’re missing out. I love documentaries, and this immediately became one of my favorites. I’ve already watched it twice. I’d intended on watching it even before they both passed away, but that definitely added another dimension. Part Grey Gardens, part [fill in the name of your favorite Broadway musical here], with the comedic slant of The Office, this was the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. The mother and daughter team are brilliant and witty, and have given us a totally honest portrayal of themselves. This is what the reality genre ought to be. It’s my understanding that when they first saw the completed film, both Carrie and Debbie were not happy with so intimate of a portrait, but finally allowing its release. I’m sure there are no regrets here. It’s one of the most wonderful legacies ever left.

🌟 Geez, Star took a chance tonight. One of the girls had an accidental overdose, and they did a fantasy video sequence in the psyche ward, using staff and patient characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if some special snowflakes protest that. Maybe by burning some scrubs or kneeling during the opening music of an NPR program.

I have to add that Queen Latifah‘s aqua hair was everything. If I could pull that off, I would wear mine like that every day. I tried to find a picture, but stuff from The Wiz just kept popping up.

🍻 Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce is also back. I forget how much I like it until there’s a new season again. (That’s when the network throws a dart at a two-year calendar to decide when a show is returning.) The characters in this show are much more realistic than the ones on Sex and the City. I also hadn’t known that Lisa Edelstein (Abby) was a Club Kid back in the day, until I saw her on Watch What Happens Live. As soon as they mentioned it, I was like, that’s where I know you from.

Bravo has done well so far with their scripted shows. I also love Odd Mom Out, which I assume will come around again after Girlfriends’ Guide is done. That one surprised me. Not being a mom (at least not to two-legged kids), I didn’t think I’d relate, but as someone who lived a lot of their life in NYC, I can totally relate. And it’s funny as hell. As if that wasn’t enough, both programs have fashion to die for. The soundtracks ain’t bad neither.

🗣 I heard the word “shenanigans” twice on TV tonight, from two completely unrelated and surprising sources. Let’s see if shenanigans ends up happening, or goes the route of “fetch.”

Jun11

June 10, 2016 – GH or Not to GH, No Shot at Hamilton & a Quote

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

General Hospital – Thursday

A prayer service for Nicholas is being held at Windemere. Lulu and Dante arrive. Laura says she felt they could support each other. Spencer escorts Emma to the kitchen for cookies. Elizabeth tells Hayden she wants a truce.

Alexis tells Julian he’s holding the proof he killed somene, so how can he ask if there’s a chance for them? He says he still loves her and doesn’t want to lose her. Bleh. She asks if he loved her when he ripped the shirt out of her hand and grabbed her arm. He tells her he’s trying to protect them. She tries to get the shirt back again, and when he pulls it away, she says he’s the only one he’s trying to protect. He tries to turn it around, intimating that she took vows and she’s not standing by him. Boo-hoo. She says he’s not the only one who could get in trouble.

Griff tells Lucas that if God was testing him by putting Carrrlos in his path, he’s not sure if he passed the test. He says he’s on a leave of absence from his diocese. Lucas wonders how Griff feels about his gayness. Griff tells Lucas that he and his church don’t always see eye to eye, along with some kumbaya stuff, but says that has nothing to do with him keeping his being a priest a secret.

Spinelli shows up at Maxie and Nathan’s. They’re still arguing and he suggests coming back after they’ve kissed and made up. Maxie says that won’t be happening. Spinelli says statistics say arguments like these usually lead to a night of passion. He goes to make some tea and Nathan tells Maxie he’ll always regret his actions with Claudette. Maxie tells Nathan she needs time to process everything. He leaves and Spinelli asks Maxie what’s going on.

Sam wants to look for evidence during the gathering at Windemere, but Jason says the others might be wise to her. He’s going to take a boat to the other side of the island and sneak in. He says the cops are only looking for the obvious, but he’ll know what he’s looking for when he finds it. He says Nicholas was desperate, and desperate men make mistakes. He tells her to stick with the group and he’ll text her when he’s done.

Elizabeth tells Hayden that for tonight, they’re here for Nicholas. When that’s over, they can go back to hating each other.

Spencer asks if Emma knows what kind of party she’s at. Emma says they’re getting together to pray for his father’s return. Spencer says he knows for a fact that Nicholas isn’t coming back. Hayden goes to the door and Naomi is there. Naomi says she’s there for moral support and Hayden says Naomi is there to look for the diamonds. She blames Hayden for losing them and goes in to the drawing room.

Laura and Lulu are concerned about Spencer, but Lulu says Dante is doing his best to get through to him. Dante tells Spencer there’s no evidence to prove his father isn’t coming back. Spencer says it’s better to accept the obvious. He doesn’t want to grieve for his father twice.

Alexis tells Julian since he has the shirt, he wins. All he has to do is destroy it. Without evidence, the only thing she has is hearsay. He says he loves her. She tells him he can have her or get away with murder, but not both. He leaves with the shirt and she dissolves into tears.

Alexis calls Diane and tells her something came up and she can’t explain right now. She says the evidence is gone and she can’t get it back, but she’s not letting Julian get away with murder. Julian barbecues the shirt.

Spinelli says when he received Maxie’s call about her engagement, little did he know things would deteriorate so quickly. She says something about Nathan’s first wife. When Spinelli looks surprised, she says yeah, he forgot to mention it to her too, and explains how the details came out.

Nathan sees Griff at the hospital. He says Griff managed to save his life and ruin it at the same time.

Hayden introduces her mother to Laura. Laura says her hope is that Nicholas will return to them. When Laura steps away, Naomi asks Hayden if she thinks Nicholas is coming back. She says no, but she wishes he would. Laura thanks everyone for coming. She says they’re all missing Nicholas and hoping for answers and wishing for the best. Spencer says Nicholas is gone and the drawing room doors open.

Jason skulks around Nicholas’s bedroom. He checks the trash, like no one would have done that.

Sam enters the drawing room. Dante asks where Jason is and she says she wishes she knew. Like he’d be showing up there in the first place. Lulu thanks Laura for arranging everything. She says she wants to be drawing on her love for Nicholas, but her fear is overpowering her feelings. She says seeing all of them makes her feel less alone. Spencer asks to be excused and leaves with Emma.

Jason goes through drawers and finds a notepad.

Spinelli says it didn’t sound like happiest of unions and the green card thing is illegal. He says maybe Nathan didn’t want to relive it. Maxie says they got past it and started planning the wedding, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. She wants to tell him the rest, but Nathan made her swear not to. He asks for a hint. She says she can’t talk about it to anyone and suddenly spaces out for a moment. She says she has to go and she’ll talk to him later.

Nathan tells Griff that he said to be honest and now Maxie doesn’t want to be with him any more. Geez, isn’t Nathan a little old to be blaming the people he takes advice from when it backfires? Griff says he’s sorry to hear that, but he can’t get any more involved than he is already. He suggests they see a therapist or talk to family members, but whatever they decide, leave him out of it.

Lucas goes to Julian and Alexis’s place, and Alexis let’s him in. He thanks her for volunteering the house for his and Brad’s wedding and she has no idea what he’s talking about. He says Julian told them they could have the wedding there – tonight. Lucas can see how surprised she is and says he’ll change the date, but she says no, they should go ahead. He tells her he’s glad Julian found her. When he leaves, Alexis relives finding out that Julian killed Carrrlos. She’s about to get out the dagger when Julian walks in. What have I said about his timing? He asks if he shouldn’t have come back and she says where else should he be an hour before his son’s wedding that he didn’t bother telling her about.

Spencer gives Emma a handmade heart to remember him by and I wonder if he used the diamonds on it. Jason watches unbeknownst to them. Emma asks where Spencer is going and he says nowhere, but she’ll be going back to California. When they leave, Jason comes back out of his hiding place.

Hayden says if Nicholas could see all of them there, nothing would stop him from coming back to them. Laura asks for a moment of silence to pray for his safe return. Naomi whisper asks to Hayden who else knows about the diamonds.

Dante asks if there’s anything Sam can tell him about where Jason is. She says the only thing he said was for her not to go anywhere. Dante says Jason saved his life and he’s grateful. She says if she hears from him, she’ll tell him to contact Dante. When Dante leaves, Elizabeth tells Sam to tell Jason to be careful because something is very wrong.

Maxie runs into the hospital and asks Griff to put on his priest hat because she has to talk to someone about her fiance. He says he’s the last person she should talk to.

Spinelli is trying to get information about Claudette when Nathan comes back.

Naomi asks Elizabeth how long she’s lived in Port Charles. Laura goes to check on Spencer and sees him with Emma. Spencer tells her again he knows Nicholas isn’t coming back.

Jason texts Sam that he’s out. Dante goes into the hallway to make a call and asks for a tail on Sam who just left.

Julian asks Alexis if they can move past it. She asks how he could throw their future away. He says he never thought they’d be in this position; he thought they were a team and were still together.

Tomorrow, Hayden tells Naomi they’re having her arrested, Ava skips town, and Spinelli uncovers some dirt.

General Hospital – Friday

Today, GH was pre-empted and ABC showed a repeat because of the Mohammed Ali funeral in some areas.

So, in lieu of that, I have a little tirade.

Hamilton

Normally, I don’t write about theatre, but at one time I was on Broadway – okay, it was 103rd Street and Broadway, but technically, it was still Broadway – so I feel compelled to air my grievances about the discouraging way the tickets for this are being handled.

I keep praying I either wake up rich so I could afford to see it, or wake up stupid so that I no longer want to. While it’s not bad enough tickets are already astronomically priced and the show is sold out until January, in order to combat scalping, ticket prices are rising even higher for this particular show. That’s right, instead of punishing the people breaking the law, the audience is being penalized.(While it’s not a crime to resell a ticket, it is if you’re going to rob someone blind, not to mention the problem of fake tickets),  I guess they figure fewer scalpers will shell out the original price and don’t care if the people wanting to see the show have to suffer for that. Supposedly, as a consolation prize, they will be adding more tickets to the daily lottery. Oh yay! My odds will be a percentage of a percentage of a percent better now.

Part of the charm of this show is that it’s about a nobody’s rise from poverty to being a key figure in forming a new nation, as well as the casting being all inclusive. However, the rest of us nobodies are being excluded by our bank balances. I’m disappointed that Lin-Manuel Miranda isn’t being vocal about this. Especially since he’s spoken out about other forms of audience rip-offs.

Lest you think an actor has no say in the matter, I don’t buy that. As a matter-of-fact, I personally blame Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane for the original exorbitant rise in ticket prices. It happened during their run in The Producers when they insisted on more money because they were now big stars, and apparently cared less about the work and those who would like to see it, than their wallets. There have certainly been musicians in the past who have stepped in and stopped such thievery of their fans, but Broadway actors seem to have ceased caring.

That’s sad, coming from a place where the work, and the enjoyment of the audience, should be first and foremost. And everyone should get a fair shot at tickets.

Quote of the Week

If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail. April (Kate Winslet) in Revolutionary Road.

Feb29

February 28, 2016 — The Dead & Nothing But the Dead

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

The only show with enough guts to air a new episode opposite The Who-Cares-What-Number-It-Is Academy Awards. AMC’s Walking Dead, we salute you!

The Walking Dead

Abe is telling camel stories to Sasha, while they check out the perimeter of Alexandria. They talk about Maggie having a baby. I’m thinking maybe Abe wants to have one with Sasha. When he says he’ll see her tomorrow, she says she’s taking a new shift. She says Eugene wants to help more, so he’s going to be walking with Abe. He changes it to see you around.

Abe is in bed with Rosita. I’m confused. Was he dreaming or was that a memory? Rosita tosses him a necklace that she made for him. He tells her she’s damn near perfection. Why not total perfection? Something in the necklace makes him think of giving the victory sign to Sasha.

Maggie and Glenn are doing something with the garden. Someone is sneaking around and they follow.

Paul is in Rick’s house and Carl draws a gun on him. Paul (introducing himself as Jesus, so I guess we’ll go with that now) says he’s waiting for Carl And Michonne. Two seconds later, everyone is there for a meeting. Jesus gives them a scorecard of Alexandria and what they’ve got going on as far as supplies and other assets. He says they got off to a bad start, but they’re on the same side. He says he’s from a place like Alexandria and he scouts for others. He admits he misjudged them, thinking they weren’t good people and he wants to make amends now. He talks about the settlement where he’s from, Hilltop, and says they’ve started breeding livestock.

Maggie asks if they’ve thrown in with other groups, and Jesus says their world is about to get a whole lot bigger. Cool! I’m excited to see new people.

Rick and the gang are going with Jesus to Hilltop. Denise gives Daryl an oatcake for the road. Carl wonders what’s up with Rick and Michonne. Rick says he was going to tell him, but it just happened. Carl says it’s cool. Carl is staying behind this time and says he’ll keep an eye on Baby Judith.

Abe asks Glenn something about Bisquick and pancakes. What he’s really asking about is Maggie’s pregnancy. Abe tells Glenn that if he sees rain coming, he wears galoshes. Can’t this guy speak English? Dr. Phil would probably understand him.

Rick sees a crashed RV. It’s some of Jesus’s group. There’s blood everywhere and the crash victims have turned into zombies. At first, Rick thinks Jesus set them up, but Jesus says they don’t have many fighters in their group and whoever else was in the RV is in trouble. Rick says he’ll look for them, but Jesus is staying behind with Maggie, who has orders to shoot him if he gets weird.

Rick and company go into a totally dark building where you can hear zombies lurking about. They tell the live people to hang tight. Abe nearly kills one of them because it’s really hard to tells who’s who in the dark.

Back in the RV, one of the rescued guys introduces himself as Harlan. It turns out he’s an obstetrician, which is good news for Maggie and Glenn. Jesus’s friend Freddy, the guy Abe almost killed, is still freaked out. His wife had been killed and she came back as a zombie.

Uh-oh, the RV is stuck in the mud. Jesus is like, it’s okay, we’re close enough. They get out and see the compound on the hilltop. Apparently, they’re not too original with names.

Jesus tells the lookout to open the gates. The lookout says to drop the weapons, but Jesus tells him the group saved them and he trusts them. He asks Rick to trust his group in return. Lookout guy opens the gates.

Harlan says see you on the flipside and takes Freddy for a look-see. Ha-ha! Jesus says a lot of people came from a FEMA camp. I’ll bet that was scarier than the zombie apocalypse. At the center of the settlement is a Colonial mansion. Jesus says it was a historical site that kids visited on field trips back in the day. It’s some house.

Ha-ha! again. When they go inside, a guy comes out and says “Jesus, you’re back,” a sentence you could take more then one way. His name is Gregory and he says he’s the boss. He suggests Rick and friends tidy up and they’ll meet after.

Abe asks Daryl how long Rick and Michonne have been together (5 minutes?) and if he’s thought of settling down.

Rick sends Maggie to Gregory’s office to negotiate. Gregory says he had visited the place when it was a museum and little did he know one day it would be his. Well, sort of. He thanks her for saving the doctor. She asks how they’ve survived at Hilltop. He says they’re good at it and they don’t sweat the details. They talk about gardens and Maggie brings up a trade. Gregory says he’s happy to help, but he can’t give things away for free. He says they can work there for their share.

Um…I think he’s making a pass at her. Yes he is. Maggie tells him to knock it off. She says hilltop is low on medication and their communities can help each other.

Jesus tells Rick and Daryl that Gregory is going to want the best deal possible. Rick says they need food and they didn’t come all this way not to get it. Jesus says he’ll talk to Gregory. He says right now Hilltop is going well, but tomorrow it could be Alexandria. He asks for a few days.

Some guy comes in and says “they’re back.” A negotiation with Negan has gone wrong with people getting killed and being held hostage. A hostage’s brother (who is wearing a man bun — no, just no) has been returned along with a message from Negan in the form of said brother stabbing Gregory in the stomach. Everything goes nuts, Abe is being strangled, Daryl breaks the guy’s arm, man bun holds a knife to Rick’s throat. Rick turns the tables on him though, slicing man bun’s jugular vein.

Some woman knocks Rick in the head and Michonee knocks her down. Jesus says Negan was their friend, but now he’s nothing except a coward attacking them. Gregory is still just lying there bleeding. Geez. Jesus tells Rick things aren’t as simple as they seem and to give him some time.

The doctor is able to patch Gregory up. Negan is head of a group called The Saviors. They made demands and threats to Hilltop, and beat one of the children to death in front of everyone because Negan wanted them to understand where he was coming from. Gregory isn’t the best at confrontation and agreed to give Negan half of everything in exchange for Hilltop not being slaughtered. Daryl asks how many people Negan has. Jesus says they don’t know, but they’ve seen groups with as many as twenty. Daryl says they can take him out, but he wants an exchange. Jesus says he’ll take it to Gregory.

Rick says Gregory’s people have food, they don’t, and they need to trade their services in exchange. Jesus says Gregory wants to talk to Maggie.

Maggie goes to Gregory’s room where he’s recuperating. She says he’s lucky they were there. She asks if Jesus told him about the deal and says in exchange for supplies, they’ll get rid of Negan and The Saviors. Will work for food. Gregory says Jesus will make the arrangements. He also says it’s fun and exciting because he doesn’t get out much. Maggie says if they continue with Negan, pretty soon they won’t have anything. She wants half of what he has right now or the deal is off.

Gregory tells her she has a deal. He asks if she wants anything else and she says yes. She wants some of the Hilltop people to go with them.

Rick loads the RV with supplies. He asks one of the Hilltoppers (Hilltopites?) to come with them because he needs someone who knows Negan’s layout. Jesus is coming along too, just for the hell of it.

Maggie gets an ultrasound.

The RV leaves the compound. Glenn passes around the sonogram photo.

Next week, Rick decides on a strategy to come for The Saviors before The Saviors come for them.

Feb6

February 5, 2016 — Double the GH & Triple the Quote

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

General Hospital — Thursday

A strange man comes up to Hayden, calling her Rachel. He says it’s been a while, but doesn’t she remember him? It’s Baxter Courtland. (Is he related to Palmer from All My Children?) Nicholas is back and says Baxter must be mistaken; his wife’s name isn’t Rachel.

At the bar, Dillon tells Valerie that when it comes to her and Lulu, he’s Switzerland. He says that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover though and wants a pool game rematch, since she trounced him the last time.

Morgan apologizes for kissing Kiki because he thinks he’s moving too fast. Kiki tells him to lighten up, it was no big deal, they got carried away in a romantic moment.

Jason tells Elizabeth that the doctors don’t anticipate any complications and that Jake is going to be fine. Elizabeth mentions that she knows what goes on behind the scenes. He says there’s no point in focusing on the things that can go wrong. Lucas tells them it looks good so far, but there’s still several hours to go, so they should go home to eat and rest. They say they’re not going anywhere.

Sam hears something and calls out that she’s in the basement. She goes back to sleep though and the cord to the heater is starting to smoke. And I don’t mean it decided to have a Marlboro.

Elizabeth tells Jason he doesn’t have to stay. He says they’re both Jake’s parents and he’s not leaving. She hasn’t eaten since yesterday, so Jason says he’ll go get some food.

Hayden says Baxter must have her confused with someone else. He says Vegas can be disconcerting and congratulates them on getting married. Nicholas wonders who the guy was, but Hayden distracts him with newlywed talk. She says he’s done so much for her, that she wants to do something for him.

Kiki and Morgan go back to Kiki’s place. He says they should go ice skating, but she says she’s a wrecking ball on skates. Me too. I spend more time on my butt than on the skates. She sees a note from Franco telling her he’s out with Nina and not to wait up.

Curtis interrupts Dillon and Valerie’s setting up the pool game. He says it’s his table, unless Valerie wants to play him. She says okay and Dillon goes to get drinks.

While Elizabeth peruses pictures on her phone, Cameron shows up at the hospital.

Curtis asks Valerie if he intimidates her. She breaks and Curtis can already tell she’s a pool shark.

Lulu comes into the bar and Dillon comes up to her. He asks if she wants to go somewhere else and she thinks he’s a nut, but he points out Valerie being there. Lulu says it’s a free world and they can both be there, and promises not to start a bar fight. Maxie comes in next and asks Lulu if she wants to go somewhere else. This is getting to be a habit.

Morgan and Kiki decide to just hang out. He asks if she wants to watch a movie, but she says she’s seen everything on cable. She says they’re home alone and what is there to do? They start to make out. That’s one way to pass the time. I guess Morgan is out of the friend zone.

Hayden wants to make it the most spectacular night Nicholas has ever known. Nicholas says they’ve set a high bar already. Hayden says she’s going to look for a special piece of lingerie to rock his world. I’ll bet she’s really going to hunt down Baxter. Yep.

She sees Baxter and tells him they need to talk.

Jason tells Sam to wake up. I think she’s dreaming unless he went all the way back to Elizabeth’s house to get food.

Kiki wants to take a break. She apologizes for making boundaries and then breaking them. Morgan says it might be a good time to renegotiate the boundaries. Kiki says she’s tempted, but doesn’t want to screw up what they have. Morgan agrees they should take it slow and asks if she wants to play a board game.

Hayden tells Baxter her name isn’t Rachel and they’ve never met. He says, see you around not Rachel. She says not likely and adds not to tell anyone he saw her there.

Dante and Nathan come into the bar, which is not the start of a joke. Curtis says he thinks he’s being hustled. Lulu tells Maxie they’re not going anywhere. Maxie says Valerie should have gone somewhere else. Lulu says they’re all grown-ups and they need to move forward. She says the only way to do that is to apologize to Valerie. Dillon suggests writing a letter, but she says she has to do it right now. She tells Valerie they need to talk.

Cameron gives Elizabeth something the kids at school made for Jake. She says it will be a while, but they can visit eventually. Jason is there, so I guess unless he has a doppelganger, Sam is hallucinating.

Dream Jason tells Sam she needs to get out of the basement. She says she can’t, and he says she can, just come to him.

Back with Nicholas, Hayden comes out in some lingerie he calls elegant. She says she wanted something outrageous, but realized they already did the most outrageous thing already, trusting each other enough to get married.

Morgan and Kiki play Scrabble. He asks if she wants to make it more interesting. He said it’s not what she’s thinking, strip Scrabble, but the loser has to tell the winner their most embarrassing moment. Kiki says it’s not that interesting since he’s been with her for her most embarrassing moments. He tells her he used to sleep with a stuffed rabbit when he was little and will tell her its name if she wins. She uses up her tiles with “exquisitely.” She asks what the bunny’s name was and he says he doesn’t like this game anymore. Hey, inquiring minds want to know now. She says she’ll make it up to thim and kisses him. So much for boundaries.

Maxie asks Nathan why he brought Dante to the bar. Because apparently there are no other watering holes in the world. She tries to get him to leave. He says it’s going to be awkward until it isn’t awkward. Very astute.

Valerie says they have nothing to talk about. Lulu says what she did was terrible and that she was thinking irrationally. She says she let everything get out of hand, and she’s extremely sorry. Valerie says it was brave of her to say and she sounds sincere, but Valerie doesn’t accept the apology. She says she carried a lot of guilt about Dante and told Lulu it was a mistake over and over, but it wasn’t enough. Lulu wanted to push Dante away and point fingers at Valerie. She says Lulu didn’t just almost cost her her job, but she almost lost her life. So family or no, she doesn’t forgive Lulu.

Cameron tells Jason that when Jake came back, he didn’t feel like his brother. Jason says it was hard for everyone to adjust, but Cameron did well. Cameron says he doesn’t feel that way any more, that he feels like Jake is his brother now, but what if he dies? Jason tells him everything will be fine.

Jason tells Sam to run to him and that he’s waiting for her. She manages to stand.
Nicholas and Hayden are honeymooning like nobody’s business. Does he really have all those tattoos?

Morgan says what about boundaries. Kiki says she changed her mind and wants to get down and get funky. I’m starting to think she’s bi-polar.

Maxie still wants to leave, but Dante says they’ll have to get used to it. She says they’re all crazy except Nathan, who is perfect.

Curtis tells Valerie she’s fantastic, being cool in the epicenter of drama. She says he deserves to hear the whole story.

Jason is about to call Sam, and Elizabeth comes back with some candy bars.

Dream Jason tells Sam to run to him. She says she does’t think she can, but does and then he disappears. She sees herself lying on the floor. Huh?

Lulu leaves and Dillon asks if she wants a ride home. She says she wants to be alone. He says he doesn’t think being alone is a good idea and she says she doesn’t want to talk. Dillon says he’ll be quiet on the walk then.

Curtis says that was a great story and I’m glad we didn’t have to sit through the whole thing again. Valerie says she wishes it wasn’t all true. He asks what’s up with her and Dante? She says they’re just friends and now she’s goig to beat Curtis at pool. Curtis says he feels badly that there’s no prize for Valerie to win, but he can take her to dinner. She says why not?

Maxie says Nina wants her to come in early, so she’s going to leave, but Dante gets the hint. He tells them to enjoy themselves and leaves.

Morgan stops the action between him and Kiki and says he can’t.

Nicholas and Harden are finished with the action. She says she loves him and he says, “I love you too, Rachel,” startling the crap out of me. He’s just fooling around and she says that Baxter was freaky. Nicholas calls her Princess Cassidine. Cool! And as much as I don’t like him, I want to marry him.

Baxter is calling someone and says they’ll never guess who he ran into in Vegas. I see he really adhered to “Rachel’s” request.

Jason tells Elizabeth that Jake woke up long enough to tell him that he loves his mom. Elizabeth says he deserves better since she’s in pity party mode. Elizabeth says if the positions were reversed, she could never forgive Sam. Lucas comes out and says there are complications with Jake’s surgery.

Tomorrow, Sam struggles to get up and Kiki calls Morgan an SOB.

In Between

I checked out the second half Bernie Madoff movie, as well as Bernie Madoff: After the Fall. I’m sure both are available On Demand and both are worth watching. The film contained eerily accurate portrayals of the real players in this sad-but-true drama. Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner are exceptional as Bernie and his wife, Ruth, but really, everyone is excellent. The documentary that followed the film is important, as it gives the real life victims their say. It was sad to see how many of the people involved have died since then, both those behind the ponzi scheme and those ruined by their greed.

General Hspital — Friday

Franco and Nina are out at the bar (sigh). Franco says all the drama with Elizabeth and Jake is getting to him. Nina is trying to eat healthy for her impending pregnancy.

Christina sees Molly where else? Molly says she’s owed an explanation after Christina’s hysterical phone call asking her to meet Christina there.

Morgan jumps up and says he has to get to work. Kiki says hold on there a minute. She asks how he can do this and he can’t leave until he tells her the real reason he has to go. Yeah, nobody’s that anxious to get to work.

Nathan tells Elizabeth and Jake there’s a complication with Jake’s surgery.

Real Sam is back down on the floor again and the room is getting pretty smoky.

Nathan says Jake is fine. They found a secondary source of internal bleeding, but they were able to take care of it. Nathan tells them that Jake may need another surgery down the road, but for now he’s fine and in stable condition.

Molly and Christina sit down. Molly says she can tell Christina has more problems than just her grades, but she should consider telling Alexis. She says Alexis would do anything for them and is more understanding than Christina thinks. Christina asks Molly if she brought what Christina asked her to bring. It’s her diary. Molly asks who “P” is?

Morgan says nothing is wrong, he just has to go. Kiki calls him an SOB, and says she thought she could trust him, and now he sees he can get anything from her. Morgan says — ohhh, he keeps saying “it’s not working,” and she thinks he’s talking about their relationship, but he means he’s having ED. Aw, I don’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him. It could be the meds.

Commercial break. I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy, but I wish I did. The ads always look really good, but I’ve never been able to squeeze it in. I did see an episode with Seth Green in it on a diner TV, but it was so depressing, it nearly put me off my Reuben sandwich.

Molly reads an excerpt from the diary. Christina says she can’t believe Molly invaded her privacy. She says it was a disaster and it’s over. Molly asks if that’s why she’s in trouble at school. Christina tells her yes, and Molly says it’s always some guy with her. Guess again.

Kiki wants to talk, but Morgan doesn’t. Kiki asks if it’s something she did and Morgan says no, she’s great. He doesn’t want to talk about it and Kiki says if he wants to make things work (this time meaning their relationship), they have to talk. Kiki says he’s probably putting too much pressure on himself, so they should just take a breather.

Nina wants to get the ball rolling with adopting a baby. She says the process takes a long time anyway. Franco says it’s going to take forever because no adoption agency will consider them.

Elizabeth talks to unconscious Jake, telling him she’s going to be a better mother from now on. Jason tells Sonny and Carly what’s going on. Sonny leaves and Carly and Jason talk about Jake’s surgery. Carly says he’ll be fine because he has Elizabeth and Jason to be strong for him. Jason looks skeptical about that.

Nina asks why. Franco says he wouldn’t make it past the door. Nina says she has good lawyers, but Franco says his misdeeds are well-documented. She says it’s also well-documented that he had a brain tumor. He says her background isn’t stellar, but she says that doesn’t mean she’ll be a bad mother. She says it’s obvious he’s making excuses, so she’ll do it on her own.

Molly says whoever “P” is, he’s got her messed up. She mentions how anxious Christina was to get the diary, when Molly could have mailed it. Christina says she doesn’t have an address and makes something up as to why.

Kiki tries to romance Morgan and he says it’s still not working. She says it happens and he says not to him, which is what men always say in a movie when this happens. He says it’s his meds.

Sonny is in the chapel lighting a candle. Another guy is in there, and starts talking to Sonny about how they’re there praying about things they can’t control.

Elizabeth sees Carly, and Carly tells her Sonny is praying in the chapel. Carly says she and Sonny are there for both of them. Jason is sitting next to Jake when he wakes up. Jake says he’s sorry. He says it was an accident and he didn’t mean to do it. When Jason says what, he says he didn’t mean to hurt her.

The smoke alarm goes off in the basement, but Sam doesn’t move.

Christina tells Molly it’s complicated and that there’s a wife in the background. Molly asks if he’s hot, and Christina talks about things like smoldering looks across the room. Molly says it’s too bad it didn’t work out. When Christina’s surprised she would support this kind of relationship, Molly says it’s easy to because it’s over. She tells Christina she can stay with her.

Dude asks if Sonny has always been in a wheelchair and Sonny says no, it’s new to him. Dude asks if Sonny is getting treatment at the hospital. Sonny says if dude is worried about it, that General Hospital is the best. He says that GH is the beating heart of this town and I almost tear up. Dude says thanks that was helpful. He drops a medal of St. Aloysius, the patron saint of youth and also plagues. Dude talks about the plague of AIDS.

Elizabeth blames herself and Carly tells her not to. Carly tells her she’s a great mother, a fantastic nurse and would sacrifice anything for her kids, and I almost get ill. Elizabeth says she’s got a lot to apologize for. Carly says they have a lifetime and she’s going to throw it in Elizabeth’s face every chance she gets, but not today. Nathan comes to get Elizabeth.

Jason is asking who got hurt, when Jake slips into unconsciousness again.

Sam comes to, but can only sit and look at the smoking outlet.

Nathan tells Jason and Elizabeth to go home and rest. He says Elizabeth would advise her patients the same and he needs them to have energy to deal with what’s to come. He says at least eat something. Jason says he’ll go find something and bring it back. I hope he’s going to Elizabeth’s house to find it.

Franco says Nina can’t adopt on her own because her career takes up so much time. Nina says if he won’t go along with it, she’ll set up a daycare at Crimson. He says oh yeah, for the baby she doesn’t have, and adds that her only chance of adopting is if she ditches him. She says she doesn’t want to do that, but she does want a baby. He asks what changed.

Morgan says the meds are ruining his life. Kiki says this is temporary and talk to the doctor about it. Morgan says why? So the doctor can give him more meds? He tells her it’s not the only side-effect and runs down a list. She says his mental health is important. He asks if he seems healthy. He says that his life has sucked since starting the pills and he just wants to get rid of them.

Nina says she’s always wanted a baby and something reawakened in her. Maybe she has more love to give. She says she thinks parenting is easier when not fighting extradition. Franco says he doesn’t want to do it. Nina says she has faith in the two of them, but she guesses he doesn’t.

Kiki says he’s not ditching his pills. Morgan asks if she likes him this way. She says their relationship is more than that and even if they had sex right now, the best part of the day would be cuddling at the skating rink. She tells him this is temporary. He says ah-ha! she does care about it. Kiki says that sex is a bonus, but she cares about all of him and she would be okay without it. He says he wouldn’t and that he can’t handle this right now and leaves.

Sonny tells Dude, whose name I just looked up on google and it’s Griffin, that he lost someone in 1995, before the medical advances. He tells Griffin he doesn’t want to keep him and Griffin says best of luck and leaves, almost running into Carly who’s coming in. She asks Sonny who that was. He says they didn’t exchange names, but he seemed like a friend.

Lucas recognizes Griffin from med school. He tells Nathan thanks for the heads up on the job opening. He’s going to be the new neurosurgeon.

Jason walks into the bar talking to Alice on his phone. Sam never picked up Danny. He sees Christina and Molly and asks if they’ve seen her. They says they haven’t seen her since yesterday, and it’s not like her not to show up. He asks where they saw her, and they tell him she was on her way to Elizabeth’s.

Sam is choking on the smoke now. She tries to reach the plug.

Kiki leaves Morgan a voicemail that she doesn’t like the way they left things. She wants to talk and she wants a second date.

Morgan’s phone alarm goes off to take his meds. He thows them away.

Nina and Franco come home. Franco asks Kiki how the date went. She says it’s complicated and she has to go. Franco says see what a great surrogate parent he is? He tells Nina since they’ve been together, they’ve either been on the run or had some other problem, and maybe they should take a break before responsible for a tiny human being. He says they’ll know it’s time when they know and should enjoy their alone time. They start to get romantic when her phone rings. Then his phone rings and he says rain-check.

Morgan goes to the bar and tells the bartender to set him up. He sees Christina and Molly. Christina says she thought he wasn’t supposed to drink. He says he thought Christina was supposed to be in school. Molly reminds him of the pact they made New Year’s Eve. Morgan says I won’t tell if you don’t.

Nathan tells Griffin that General Hospital is a great place. Nathan gives him some charts. Sonny’s is at the top.

Jake wakes up yelling that he’s sorry. Ekizabeth asks him for what. He says he told his dad, but he didn’t think Jason believed him. Elizabeth asks him again what he did and Jake says, “I killed her.”

Sam tries to pull the plug out. It sparks and she passes out again. Jason comes in the door, hears the smoke alarm.

Tomorrow, Paul is getting suspicious of Anna, Michael is headed for Puerto Rico since he can’t take a hint and Jason calls out to Sam.

Quotes from The People’s Couch

This is a recipe for disaster. Princella, referring to Stassi moving in with Kristen on Vanderpump Rules.

The person who left the dog alive didn’t think the dog was gonna snitch, but he did. Princella, referring to The People Vs. O.J. Simpson.

The fashion here is almost as big a crime. Emerson, referring to The People Vs. O.J. Simpson.

Jan21

January 20, 2016 — GH & Oscar Gripe Part Two

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital

Nina tells Franco that the magazine circulation is up, and people are even renewing their subscriptions. She thinks Julian is going to be thrilled. Guess again.

Julian and Nina have an interview with the Financial Times and Nina will pitch her new ideas. Julian is convinced the green issue of Crimson is a fluke. Olivia calls and tells Julian she has an emergency. Apparently so, since she’s handcuffed to a chair in the police station. Baby Leo is with her in a stroller, but it seems he’s not charged with anything, or they couldn’t find a pair of handcuffs that small.

Doc tells Elizabeth that with some time and treatment, Jake should be fine, but he’s worried about her.

Jason and Sam run into each other at the MetroCourt. Everyone not only eats there, but lives there now. Sam says Dr. Sheinberg is going to save the day with his statement.

Andre rings Anna’s doorbell. She tells him it’s not the best time. Robert comes downstairs and Anna realizes Andre is Robert’s contact regarding Carrrlos.

Sabrrrina answers the phone and it’s Felix. He tells her about Michael stopping by and saying he made a mistake in breaking up with her. She gets excited about this. Hmm… Hot, suave and exciting Carrrlos or boring, so-so looking and unsympathetic Michael.

Andre has a connection to the WSB and Anna asks if that’s how he knew so much about her. He says he never read her file, but knew her reputation. Robert is surprised they know one another. Andre says they’ve seen each other around, but Anna confesses he was her therapist.

Julian and Alexis come to the police station. Olivia tells them what happened, but not quite. Alexis asks if she was arrested for breastfeeding in public, but the mayor pops out and says Olivia has been arrested for assaulting her.

Jason says he wishes there was another witness. Sam says they don’t need one.  Jason says he isn’t thinking about his own assault charges, but the break-ins at Elizabeth’s. I guess he thinks there’s a connection there?

Doc asks Elizabeth about the whole wedding debacle, and he says on top of everything, she’s having problems with a stalker, so she’s bound to be seriously stressed. He also says he knows her history.

Nina is doubting herself and Franco says she single-handedly saved the magazine. Nina thinks she was a one hit wonder, and says she’d better come up with some decent ideas before the interview. Franco has to leave, but he tells her she can do it.

Olivia says she didn’t assault anyone. The mayor says she was verbally assaulted. Since when can you be arrested for that? We’d all be in jail. Olivia says she lost her temper a little. The mayor says it wasn’t a little, but Olivia says she’s Italian and it was. The mayor tells an officer to take Olivia to her cell. Alexis says she’s now Olivia’s lawyer and she’s not going anywhere.

Andre has created a profile for Carrrlos, and says it will help determine what he would do. He says Carrrlos is also traveling with Sabrrrina and his child, so he’s going to become increasingly desperate.

Carrrlos walks in while Sabrrrina is talking to Felix, so she gets off the phone. Carrrlos says talking to Felix is a bad idea.

Jason tells Sam about the break-in. She asks if he talked to Jake, and Jason says he’s a mixed up kid and said that she did it.

Doc tells Elizabeth that her level of stress could send her into another breakdown. He says high levels of stress often precipitate conditions someone has already. He tells her if she’s feeling overly stressed, to call for help. She says she will, but IMO that’s highly doubtful.

Jason says Jake is just confused and angry at the situation, and there’s no way to really explain things to him. He says Jake is seeing a therapist today, but he wishes he could figure out what’s going on. Sam says it sounds like a personal issue. Jason wonders who might have a vendetta against him. Oh come on. I know he remembers very little of his past, but does he really need to ask this question?

Elizabeth gives Jake some coloring stuff, and talks to the therapist. She says they have more trust building to do, and all he wanted to talk about was his father. She recommends art therapy in conjunction with talk therapy. Franco sees Jake coloring and asks how it’s going.

Sabrrrina says Felix called her, but Carrrlos says anytime the phone is used, it’s a risk. Sabrrrina says she’s having a hard time getting used to life on the run. She also tells him Anna is looking for her.

Andre and Anna discuss various particulars of Sabrrrina’s and Carrrlos’s personalities. Andre says Carrrlos will want to be in a place with adequate medical care, since Sabrrrina is close to her due date . Anna adds that at this point, Sabrrrina can’t fly.

Brady from the Financial Times comes to Nina’s office. She tells him Julian is tied up and they should reschedule. Brady says they don’t have to because Nina is the brains behind the operation. Nina wants Maxie in on the meeting, but Brady says he wants to know how she came up with the green issue and what she’s doing for an encore. While I don’t pretend to know anything about magazine publication, but I don’t think you’d be giving away future ideas in an interview.

Alexis asks the mayor what the subject was of the verbal assault. The mayor says it doesn’t matter because she’s extremely clueless. Alexis sets the scene and says the mayor did exactly what she’s accusing Olivia of and when Olivia tried to remove herself from the situation, she jostled the table. She tells the mayor that breastfeeding is legal and she’s the one who should have been arrested for harassing Olivia. She says if it goes to court, she’ll make sure this comes out.

Julian suggests that there must be a way to work things out. He says he doesn’t want a scandal that will bury the mayor. Leo starts whining and Olivia wants to feed him. The officer asks where the bottle is, and Olivia says in her bra and that if she was feeding him with a bottle, they wouldn’t be here in the first place. Alexis helps her finagle the baby, since she’s still handcuffed.

Nina tells Brady about her vision of the green issue. She says she wants the next issue to reflect the readership that made the green issue a success. Brady asks about the readers and Nina makes something up after looking at a soda ad, using words like “effervescent.” Brady says he knows exactly what she’s up to.

Sam brings up Franco and tells Jason about how Franco had a brain tumor removed and changed his life around. She says she still thinks he’s dangerous, but wouldn’t jeopardize his new life to get back at Jason.

Elizabeth balks at Jake having therapy with Franco. Both Doc and the therapist say Franco gets results and they would never put Jake in danger.

Andre, Anna and Robert come to the conclusion that Sabrrrina and Carrrlos are in Canada.

Sabrrrina says Anna was under the impression that Carrrlos was still alive. Carrrlos says she has no reason to, and they have to get used to their new life. If I was with Carrrlos, I’d get used to it really quick. He says he’s going to make sure Sabrrrina and the baby have everything they need, and doesn’t know what she sees in Port Charles anyway. Well, it does have the MetroCourt, all things to all people. He says she has to say good-by to everyone she knew there. I assume he means figuratively.

Brady says he knows Nina is going to reflect the glamour of real women, and gives her a whole bunch of new ideas. Nina says he’s read her mind. He thanks her for the interview and wishes her luck with the next issue.

The mayor says she doesn’t see any press at the station. Julian says since he publishes the paper, he’s going to tell the real story and it will be political suicide. The mayor asks if he’s threatening her. He says he actually voted for her and wouldn’t want to see her career go down the tubes. Did this mayor just drop in out of the sky? She should lose her position just for sheer stupidity.

Anna thinks Carrrlos would head for Toronto. Andre says Carrrlos would want to go somewhere more isolated, like Halifax.

Sabrrrina tells Carrrlos he’s right and throws her phone into the wilderness. Carrrlos says from now on it’s just the two of them and Sabrrrina says baby makes three. She says she’s curious as to how he’ll be as a father. He says they’ll find out soon.

Sam says Jason should hire an investigator. Jason asks if she’s volunteering. They decide to check out Elizabeth’s house.

Julian calls Nina and she says they did the interview without him. He tells her the short version of what happened with Olivia and says he’ll talk to her later. A light bulb comes on over Nina’s head.

Elizabeth asks Doc friend to friend if he thinks the art therapy is a good idea. Doc says he absolutely does. Elizabeth goes to get Jake, and Jake gives Franco the drawings he’s finished. They leave and Franco looks at the drawings.

The mayor gets a clue and says let’s pretend this never happened. Olivia, Leo and Julian leave. Alexis tells the mayor that she doesn’t think pretending is a good idea and she and Olivia are filing suit.

Andre is certain about Halifax and Anna says that’s where they’re going to go.

Franco shows Doc Jake’s pictures. He says he used to make drawing s like that as a kid and they’re not necessarily a good thing.

Jason and Sam are at Sam’s house and Jason goes through what happened the night of the break-in. He says the police didn’t find any unknown fingerprints and there was no evidence of forced entry. While they’re talking, Elizabeth and Jake come in. Ha-ha! Elizabeth’s face!

Tomorrow, Carly asks Ava for a favor, and Sam asks Elizabeth if she’s afraid of what Sam will find. She should be, since I’m certain it’s either her, Jake or both “breaking in” to their own home.

The Academy Awards – Controversy Part Two

Part one was the usual yearly gripe about who got “snubbed.” Like I said, there are tons of superb performances that don’t get recognized at all, so be grateful people are talking about you at all. Especially for what you get paid.

Part two involves Jada Pinkett Smith suggesting that African Americans boycott the Oscars because her husband didn’t get nominated for one because of the lack of diversity. While I can applaud the cause, I can’t applaud this as a means to achieve the goal.

I’m with Whoopi Goldberg in that this is a concern during other times of the year, not just prior to the Oscars, and with Wendy Williams, who found the timing somewhat suspicious. One wonders had Will Smith been nominated, would a boycott have been suggested. Highly doubtful. But most of all, I’m with Janet Huber. Although I’m pretty sure Aunt Viv still has an ax to grind from her Fresh Prince days, she’s right, “it ain’t that deep.” There are plenty of areas to focus on rather than something as shallow as the film industry.

Most of all, I feel sorry for Chris Rock, who has found himself in the middle of this stupidity. This innocent bystander is being shot from all sides, and he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. I hope he follows his own heart and mind, but I also hope he doesn’t bow out as host.

I also hope this woman is proud of herself. She did little to help any actual issues, but a lot to hurt the very people she claims to want to support. Wait. Maybe she should run for office.

I’m a quarter Native American and have always been proud of my heritage. If anyone has cause to gripe, it’s us, having been misrepresented both in story and with casting in film. While that has changed somewhat over the years, I’ve never felt bitter. As a matter-of-fact, I still think, as I did when I was a child, that Tom Nardini was the hottest “Indian” ever in Cat Ballou. When I was ten, I had no idea his last name was Italian. All I knew was that he was cute and funny.

It ain’t that deep.

Jan15

January 14, 2016 — Crimson Success & Oscar Snubs

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital

Nina keeps bugging Julian on his cell phone. He thinks the magazine is going to tank, but I think he has another think coming. Especially since everyone is walking around the MetroCourt with a copy and he’s like, wha…?

Robert and Mac are having drinks. Mac asks Robert to stick around for a while. Robert is hesitant.

Jordan and Anna check out Sabrrrina’s place. They don’t see anything disturbed. Anna thinks maybe Sabrrrina booked with Carrrlos. Now this makes total sense why she didn’t take a bag. The doorknob starts jiggling, and they draw their guns. Um…Felix lives there too, yo.

Maxie tells Nathan he’s right, that Johnny contacted her and she saw him.

Dante calls Olivia and tells her Rocco is sick, so he won’t be visiting.

Johnny gets into Valerie’s car. She tells him he can pay her back for the ride by helping her go through her exam questions. He texts his “friends” to tell them he’ll be late, but he’s really texting Lulu to say Operation V is a go and Valerie will be out of Lulu’s life tomorrow.

Michael comes into Sabrrrina’s apartment and he’s like, whoa, don’t shoot. Anna and Jordan explain why they’re there. Anna says Sabrrrina told her about the baby. Michael says he came there earlier to tell her he made a mistake, but she’s gone.

Robert says he has too much responsibility to the WSB to stay put, and now that Robin is gone, he has no ties to Port Charles. Mac says he should make it his home turf. He says Robert still has ties there, Anna being one. Robert scoffs at that, saying Anna would like to see him gone, but Mac says he’s not so sure about that.

Julian tells Alexis it looks like the magazine is going to make money. Told ya.

Nathan brings Dante into the conversation with Maxie. She says Johnny showed up at the apartment. Dante asks if Lulu was there and she says no, and she got rid of Johnny immediately.

Olivia shows up at Maxie’s where Lulu is staying. Olivia says Dante told her Rocco was sick and Lulu asks if she was checking to see if it’s the truth. Olivia says only a little bit. They talk about Valerie. Olivia tells Lulu about their conversation. She says Valerie isn’t the only one who’s made mistakes and maybe it’s time to stop putting all the blame there and start working on her and Dante.

Johnny gives Valerie directions to the restaurant he’s supposed to meet his friends at. Valerie says she loves to cook and Johnny gives her a million compliments. Her police scanner says something about a heist at a liquor store. Johnny says he thought she was just a cadet, and Valerie says she likes being prepared.

Maxie says she didn’t help Johnny or tell him anything. Dante asks if he knew Lulu was living there, and Maxie says she didn’t tell him. Nathan asks if Lulu would have said something if she’d seen him, since she was just there.

Valerie says she likes to keep up to speed with what’s going on and tells Johnny she’s totally focused on her career. She also tells him a little about the fling with Dante without naming names.

Lulu says she thought Olivia was on her side. She says everything was fine until Valerie came along. Olivia says Valerie just wanted to know her family. Lulu says Valerie skipped all the family members and just went straight for Dante and also became a police cadet to be close to him. Olivia says it’s Dante’s fault too and adds that Lulu shouldn’t have lied about being with Dillon. She says Valerie took advantage, but if there was nothing wrong to begin with, it wouldn’t have happened.

Michael says he checked with Sabrrrina’s family in Puerto Rico, but no one has heard from her. He says he came back to shake Felix down some more. With soap opera timing, Felix walks in. Jordan and Anna tell him why they came over. Felix says he knows where Sabrrrina is.

Anna says she isn’t in any trouble, but she wants to talk to Sabrrrina. Felix says that she’s at a cousin’s house in Puerto Rico. Anna says that might just be a cover story.

Mac tells Robert the world needs heroes who will drop everything at a moment’s notice to fight the bad guys, but that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. He says dads are heroes too. Robert asks if Mac wants him to stay as punishment for being a deadbeat dad. Mac tells him he’s being thick, and that there are other people who need him. He says Anna is struggling right now and needs his help.

Julian says that if the IRS sees that his legitimate business is making money, they’ll look closer at him. He says the government was never able to nail him for other reasons, and he might go the way of Al Capone.

Lulu tells Olivia she’s wrong. Olivia says if Valerie was gone, it wouldn’t make everything all right again. Lulu says it would give them a chance, especially since Valerie is related to half the town, which puts Lulu at a disadvantage. Olivia says their problems are bigger than just Valerie, and she and Dante need to sit down and talk. She says if Lulu could take the focus off of Valerie, they could work on the real problems.

Maxie says that Johnny told her he just needed a breather from running. Nathan and Dante seem to believe her, but they need an official statement. They also want to put out an APB on Johnny.

Valerie asks if Johnny is single. He says he’s flying solo, and she asks if their chance meetings were really coincidental. He says yes, and that after she drops him off, she’ll probably never see him again because Port Charles isn’t for him. With more soap opera timing, the scanner says the police are looking for Johnny.

Alexis says that as Julian’s attorney, she’s not going to let anyone put him away. He says he thought putting Nina in charge of Crimson would give him a huge write off, but she seems to be making it work. Alexis says it’s probably a fluke.

The scanner describes Johnny, who sounds like – yep, Valerie said it – half the population of Port Charles. She asks if Johnny is really leaving town. He says he’s also involved with someone who’s emotionally unavailable.

Maxie calls Lulu and tells her what happened. She says she didn’t tell them anything about Lulu’s involvement and that she told them Johnny showed up at her apartment when Lulu wasn’t there. She says she’s sorry, but Lulu tells her she’s not mad. There’s a knock at the door. Lulu thinks it must be Dante and Maxie asks her to please tell Dante the truth.

Sure enough, it’s Dante at the door. Lulu asks if he’s there to check out if Rocco is really sick. He tells her Johnny is back in town.

Jordan gets off the phone and tells Felix that Sabrrrina’s family hasn’t heard from her. Felix says if she’s not with her family, where is she? Michael says she shouldn’t be alone so close to her due date.

Mac tells Robert about the Carrrlos situation and how Paul is trying to manipulate Anna. Robert asks how much danger Mac thinks she’s in. Mac says as long as it stays as it is, not much, but he’s concerned that Anna isn’t thinking clearly.

Olivia brings a bottle of champagne to Julian and Alexis’s table at the MetroCourt. She says she wants to congratulate them properly. She says she appreciates that Alexis being gracious about her being part of the family and she wants to throw them an engagement party.

Johnny goes through the exam questions with Valerie. She asks where the restaurant is, since this seems to be out in the middle of nowhere. He says it’s not too much further and that it’s off the beaten path.

Dante asks Lulu if she’s seen or heard from Johnny, and to please tell the truth. Lulu asks if she should tell him the truth the way he told her the truth? Oh, snap! He says Johnny is a murderer, and Lulu counters with Johnny would never hurt her. Dante asks her to think about it and if she comes up with anything to let him know.

Mac has to leave. Robert is staying for another drink. Mac asks him to think about staying. And leaves him with the check.

Julian thanks Olivia. When Alexis says thanks, Olivia says she’s the only person who can make a thank you sound like a dismissal. Apparently she never met Helena. Olivia flounces off.

Anna sees Robert at the bar. She tells him she needs someone with international connections and says he should stick around. Robert says he’s all hers.

Michael tells Felix he should have realized that Sabrrrina was just scared and now it’s too late. Felix says not to worry, that Anna and Jordan will handle it.

Maxie tells Nathan she’s done giving her statement. Nathan says he appreciates her telling him the truth.

Dante says he doesn’t like that Lulu is there alone with Rocco, especially since Johnny stopped by. She says she appreciates that, but he shouldn’t worry and she’ll let him know if anything happens. After he leaves, Lulu texts Johnny to call off the plans and tells him to leave town immediately. Johnny tells Valerie to drop him off and he’ll walk the rest of the way. They wish each other good luck. Johnny says maybe they’ll run into each other sometime.

He gets out of the car, but suddenly appears at the driver’s side. He yanks open the door, telling Valerie she’s made a huge mistake. Then he howls at the moon.

Tomorrow, Tracy is the voice of doom, Johnny has Valerie all tied up (literally) and Sam tells someone they’re her only hope. Is it Obi Wan Kenobi?

Oscar Thoughts

I just heard there’s some big backlash over the Oscar nominations. Believe it or not, I rarely pay attention to the Academy Awards. I used to watch them every year, but now I rarely do. In 1985, both Bill Hickey (Prizzi’s Honor) and Bill Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman) were up for awards. I’d known Bill Hickey as a teacher for many years and had worked at a theatre where Bill Hurt was appearing in a play and was acquainted with him.

Bill Hickey lost out to Don Ameche in Cocoon, but Bill Hurt won. It was all downhill for me from there. I’m not likely to have even seen all the films nominated, much less know anyone in them. Face it; it’s like a wedding shower. It’s not that exciting if it’s not you. And that’s the closest I’ll ever get to it being me. Or to it actually being exciting.

BTW, Bill Hickey said he wasn’t going to the awards ceremony unless he could bring his dog. I didn’t see the dog in the audience, so I guess Bill relented. I’ll bet he wasn’t wearing socks though.

Anyway, the newspeople were saying something about Oscar snubs and I thought,  there are probably hundreds of performances that will never see the Oscar light of day and are a million times better than any of the nominations. So to those who were “snubbed,” just be grateful you made a movie that people saw.

** Important information: The People’s Couch begins this Friday, January 15 at 10 pm.