What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

General Hospital

Rick looks like the weasel he is, but at least he got rid of the Anton LaVey beard.  I’m enjoying the sense-of-fun chemistry between Nina and Franco, and Franco and Scotty.  If Dr. Obrecht is on screen, it’s even better.  What a shame Faison made an exit just when he & Obrecht were getting warmed up.

I’m guessing Morgan killed Silas, since he now looks like a member of the Hitler youth with his new haircut.  Speaking of Silas, I miss Michael Easton, but not the character.   The first time I saw him (in the 90s show, VR5), I knew Easton was going places, but his characters on the soaps have tended to be the brooding types, and I feel his acting talents have been limited with that.  The last time I really enjoyed him was when he played vampire Caleb on Port Charles, so it was fun at the beginning when GH had everyone wondering if he still was.  And Sonny, Sonny, Sonny.  Another instance where I love the actor, but not the character.  While I think it’s wonderful that Maurice Benard incorporated his own diagnosis into the character, Sonny often seems one-dimensional, cracking only an annual smile.  He had some great scenes with Nathan & Spinelli at the gym a while back, and I would love to see more of that.  And just what is Sonny’s business anyway? Yes, I understand he’s a mob boss who uses coffee importation as a beard, but whenever the actual business is discussed, it’s always “the product,” “the goods,” or some other vague wording.  Although I’ve never actually attended a meeting of mob bosses, I have the feeling they’re probably a little more clear than that while discussing it amongst themselves.

I’m actually glad to see both Dante and Nicholas turning into Dark & Darker.  Up until now, they were akin to pieces of scenery for me.  Now that job is relegated to Michael.  Although it’s a shame that Dante chose Valerie to go rogue with, since we’ve heard no end of how she was raised by such a wonderful mother.  Did all that go out the window when Pat died?  That was another disappointment.  Dee Wallace left us all too soon.  I’ve loved her ever since The Howling. Patricia Spencer, we hardly knew ye.

Donna Mills looks so fantastic, I don’t even have the words.  When Madelyn arrived in Port Charles, I thought, Wow, she’s barely changed since Knot’s Landing.  Then it dawned on me how long ago Knot’s Landing was.  Then I started thinking that she’s been around since I was a kid.  Then I looked up her age.  She’s almost 75!  We should all look half as good at 75.  I realize she’s most likely had work done, but usually there’s a dead giveaway between the face and the neck, and she looks amazingly natural.  Unlike those actresses (ahem, Leslie Charleson) who go overboard with fillers and look like they have human faced balloon heads.  Who tells them that this looks good?  Probably the same type of people who tell their kids they sound like Maria Carey when they sing, only to have them embarrass themselves at American Idol auditions.  Although that amusement was taken away from us when they decided on a kinder, gentler Idol.  And where are they now?  That’s right, canceled.

That being said, what a shame that Luke left Port Charles not with a bang, or even a whimper.  He just left.  All we got was one, measly, blink-and-you-missed-it flashback.

Since BRAVO is all reruns tonight (why?), a tad about last night’s viewing.

Master Chef

What a shame to see Tommy go.  He was alternately charming and annoying to me, but always fun to watch.  I’m thinking Stephen is going to win, but I’ve been wrong before.  He can also be pretty irritating, but has a definite passion for cooking, which is unfathomable to me since I am an impatient cook whose best friend in the kitchen is the microwave.  I also wish Katrina would ditch the giant hair bows.  It’s distracting and borders on a Baby Jane look.  By the way, if you ever see me dressing age inappropriate, please let me know.

Little Ladies of L.A. & Terra’s Little Family

While I’m basically a reality TV junkie, who will watch almost anything at least once, the only show I’ve ever turned off mid-episode was The Littlest Groom.  The show was also focused on a little person – a man trying to find love, much like The Bachelor – but it was heavily focused on sexuality.  While I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, this show gave me a creepy, voyeuristic feeling, like it was geared to people with a fetish.  As it was canceled pretty quickly, I’m guessing other people felt the same way.

Not so these little ladies.  I loved them from the minute I saw them and have learned tons about the little people community in the time I’ve watched.  Many of the things those of us who are average sized take for granted – buying clothing, driving, having a baby – are real challenges to our shorter counterparts.  But these girls don’t let anything slow them down.  This isn’t to say the pot isn’t stirred at least once a week – it wouldn’t be reality TV if it was all rainbows and unicorns.  This season, two new little ladies, Brittney and Jasmine have been added to the cast, and were immediately handed soup spoons, and have already been busy mixing things up.

Last night, Christy and husband Todd, were celebrating their anniversary, while behind the party scene, Brittney was busy back-peddling on the story she told about Elena having an affair with Brittney’s father, David – while she was married.  Admittedly, David (who only Terra calls “Davide” – question mark over my head) is good looking and suave, but Elena swears it isn’t true, and I want to believe that because I really like her.  The other newbie, Jasmine, walked in with baggage, bad blood between her and Tonya.  Tonya keeps demanding an apology for some past slight, but it’s unclear to me exactly what the problem is, and nobody else seems to understand what it’s about either, including Jasmine.

Christy’s mother, who was also at the party, came off as a controlling, bitter old woman, and made me wonder how Christy has gotten as far as she has in life, growing up with this witch.  Christy and Todd want to have a baby.  Several years prior, Christy had a miscarriage of twins, and they have decided to go the in vitro route if it doesn’t work out the natural way.  For a good portion of the episode, Christy’s mother wasn’t just being discouraging, she was downright nasty.  Even my husband, who barely pays attention to what I’m watching (“Is this show still on?” he’ll ask midday of a marathon), said, “This lady is mean.”  She droned on about the possibility of dwarfism (even though Christy explained that they could choose an embryo without that genetic component): she brought up the past miscarriage, wondering why Christy would want to put herself through this again; she questioned the probability of the procedure working out at all (the odds are 50/50), questioned the couple’s ability to even care for a child; and generally focused on anything negative she could find.  Eventually, she said she’d love her grandchild no matter what, but she didn’t think it was a good idea in the least.  Geez, tell us how you really feel.  The worst part was that she made Christy question her own decision.  I wouldn’t even want my child around this woman.  Run, Christy!  Run!

These girls are all beautiful, intelligent and definitely a group I’d love to party with, especially Terra, who was the first to become pregnant and now has a spin-off show with her soon-to-be husband, Joe, called Terra’s Little Family.

Terra and Joe are super smart and funny.  Not a show goes by where I don’t literally LOL, but they’ve also made me tear up as well.  Going through a pregnancy is no laughing matter for a little person, especially wondering whether your child will have a genetic disposition toward dwarfism, of which there are different kinds.  The biggest concern was that she would be “double dominant,” meaning she inherited both types: Terra’s achondraplasia and Joe’s pseudoachondroplasia. Baby Penelope Charlevoix (I love that name!) was born with achondraplasia, but was also born blessed with a set of wonderful parents who will guide her lovingly through every challenge.  After Penny’s birth, Joe proposed to Terra, and I’m so looking forward to the wedding.  Last night, we were invited to the bachelor and bachelorette parties in Las Vegas.  From blow-up man dolls to boobie shots, hopefully the hangovers will go away by ceremony time.  Hopefully too, Terra will get her dress before then, as the custom-made piece was still being worked on when she left for Vegas.  I’m almost as nervous as she is, wondering if it will get there in time for the wedding.

Regardless of the difficulties, if any couple can make a go of it, these two can.  While they do have arguments, they also have the ability to resolve conflicts in a mature and loving manner.  It’s a breath of fresh air, unlike the Housewives of any city you want to insert here.