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Loving/The City Discussion Thread


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It's like Jean le Clerc starring in a tribute to ugly early '90s fashion. I especially hate the Colonel Sanders outfit, although the tribute to grunge is almost as bad. Is that really how they decided to distinguish the twins?

I haven't seen Gilbert that much (only once actually) but I just don't know who decided le Clerc should play a dual role.

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2/16/93 SOD, Carolyn Hinsey reviews the show.

Loving is a tough show to critique, because there has been such a vast array o f executive producers, directors and Clay Aldens that it seems as if the only thing constant in Corinth is change.

Let's start with what is right about this show: The best storyline belongs to its finest, most mature characters, Kate and Louie, Emmy-winner Bernard Barrow and his equally talented on-screen wife, Nada Rowand, are riveting to watch and make every scene work. The story of Louie's prostate cancer ultimately drew the couple closing together. Greatly aided by the fact that Kate suffered through her own bout with cancer in 1990, the couple has worked through the many facets of this complicated illness, all on-screen, for the benefit of the viewers.

Subsequently, LOVING should be congratulated on dealing with the tough (and usually unmentionable) topic of impotence and having Louie and Kate discuss it honestly with each other and their loved ones. It's a powerful storyline.

Also good are perennial newlyweds Trisha and Trucker. Noelle Beck and Robert Tyler and breathtaking to behold and extremely believable as a couple. Their love scenes are tinged with a comfort level and a humor often seen in real couples, but rarely found wit soap couples. The addition of their son, Christopher, gives them a depth they didn't have before.Watching Trisha and Trucker fight against Clay together was a refreshing change from their efforts to tackle problems individually in the past.

Speaking of Clay, ya gotta love Dennis Parlato in the difficult, darkly written role of the confused Alden patriarch. He is sexy , tough, sweet and mean in the same breath, and viewers can see what attracted Gwyneth, Dinah Lee and even Stacey to this new incarnation. Parlato also has great chemistry with the actresses, particularly Jessica Collins, albeit only in his dreams so far. We can't wait to see the fireworks when Dinah Lee and the new Clay finally give in to temptation.

While it is not the fault of the current regime that Clay was revealed to have been fathered by now-deceased handy-man Tim Sullivan, it does play havoc with the show's first family. Maybe the new powers that be should consider exhuming Cabot's body and doing a DNA test: Clay could really be an Alden! Otherwise, Corinth's first family will consist of only Isabelle, her frat brat nephew Cooper, and Cabot's illegitimate daughter, Shana. Not much to work with...unless LOVING brings Trisha's brother Curtis and her Aunt Anne back from parts unknown.

Rumor has it they are thinking of doing just that, which would add all kinds of possibilities to the battle for Alden Enterprises. 9(And Anne is a real Alden!) It was strange to watch Trisha and Trucker remarry in November with all that emphasis on family and not have Trisha's dear brother or Trucker's devoted sister (remember Rocky?) mentioned. (Memo to the producer: Just because family members may not be currently employed does not mean they don't exist. And we feel certain that Curtis was brought up to at least send a gift when his only sister ties the knot, even if it wasn't for the first time.)

Longtime staple Stacey Forbes (Lauren-Marie Taylor) has not been well-served lately. Her strong, vibrant character would never have succumbed to Clay's machinations: This is the woman who singlehandedly uncovered Isabelle's secret at The Tides! Having Stacey marry Clay and go insane, even temporarily, made no sense for the character and boxed her into a corner - the picture of our heroine brandishing a butter knife on Christmas was almost too much to bear.

Also weak plotting was Ally losing her virginity to Cooper...off camera! Are they kidding? All politely refuses to make love to former boyfriend Matt and current boyfriend Casey, both of whom she professed to love dearly, but says 'yes' to a one-night stand in New York without a condom? Our Ms. Rescott would have never done such a thing, and the fact that she got pregnant only drags the preposterous plot our further. More importantly, for a show that seems to be courting college students by using a real college for Alden University, this sets a very poor example for America's youth in the dangerous age of AIDS. If you're going to promote characters having unsafe sex, at least make them old enough to vote, so as not to compound the health problems faced by real students across the country.

But enough of that soap box. The addition of Jean LeClerc as Jeremy was initially exciting, but he floundered so long with nothing to do, his ALL MY CHILDREN momentum was lost. LeClerc's scenes when Jeremy's beloved wife, Ceara, died were moving. But how long did he mourn, a day and a half? (Paging dialogue police: "She went from you and your love to God," Dinah Lee told Jeremy after Ceara's body was hauled away. Ouch.) Current scenes between Jeremy and Stacey look promising, and he's just the guy to get our heroine Stacey away from callous Clay.

The main problem with LOVING is that it consistently breaks the first rule of daytime: Respect the viewers by maintaining a degree of continuity. Where is Ava's son? He hasn't been mentioned in months. (Ava's ex-husband Alex Masters took little Sandy with him when he left town.) We know Ava is no candidate for Mother of the Year, but wouldn't she and Leo at least have had one conversation about her child? (Speaking of our favorite bad girl, Ava, and her handsome paramour, Leo, what happened to that fun-loving duo that made love in empty department stores? We miss them!) Did Carly and Paul send Kate and Louie a Christmas card? Wouldn't Paul at least have phoned when Dad had life-threatening surgery?

On the bright side, we love Casey and Ally. Paul Anthony Stewart is areal find for daytime, and Laura Sisk is one of soaps' most refreshing ingenues. As soon as Ally resolves this pesky pregnancy problem, we're looking forward to these two getting together. Cooper and Hannah show promise, but they need something to do besides fight, whimper, get back together, fight, whimper...you get the idea.

With all the changes going on at the show, the cast deserves a big pat on the back for gamely trying to breathe life into less-than-enthralling storylines. And to give the ABC execs credit, they seem to recognize the show' shortcomings, and are trying to rediscover the heart of LOVING. We're rooting for them: The last thing we need is another game show on daytime.

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Good review--This was when Granger was producing and I feel (i know the soap press did too) that the show lost some momentum it was finally gaining when her and Addie Walsh fought and for a big chunk of mid to late 1992 Granger was reportedly ghost head writer (a number of actors mention this in interviews around the time). But I think all of the points are valid, though as a kid with only about a year's knowledge of Stacy, I remember finding her over the top insanity story (Clay was setting up some hologram system or something projecting images of dead Jack) riveting.

I remember thinking Jeremy having a twin never worked, partly because, as likeable as the actor is, he really has trouble with playing two roles--and Gilbert was so over the top (Mortimer was a similar character the following year who worked much better). Maybe if he could at least have done different accents but accents were never his strong suit (aside from French Canadian...). I did like when he returned for Jeremy's funeral.

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