ATWT: October Discussion

[Actor87]

Janet's starting to annoy me. Her blubbering on and on and on about how the cradle would have been better suited for her baby Liberty's baby?.... Gimme a break!

Is dumbness infecting Oakdale? First, we have Henry, who's suffering from a terminal case. Then, we have Barbara...dumb enough to believe that the same woman who killed James and then tried to strangle her at James's funeral wants to have a celebratory drink with her. Then, we have Craig, who apparently didn't know that Parker would use the trust fund money to impress the predicament-plagued Liberty. And finally, we have Katie, who..... (Doesn't the name speak for itself?) REALLY!!...Is there a cure?? If so, we need Dr. John Dixon to deliver it to Oakdale Memorial, stat!!!!

"You're under the arrest for the attempted murder of....MEEEE!!" Classic!!

The Bratie scene was a little cheesy....but I'll excuse it, under the circumstances.

Speaking of cheesy, I will be sooooo glad when Ralph leaves. The show is quickly making me lose faith in its recent upswing by constantly featuring clowns like him and Audrey. I bet ATWT has become a laughingstock among the daytime community, featuring yet another over-the-top, cheesy, sometimes-comical villain character.

Did anyone else get a Ralphie (from A Christmas Story) flashback when the camera zoomed in and faded out on Henry's mouth yelling "MothEEEERRRRR"??

[jfung79]

Tuesday episode - amazing! Every story intersected, no "island" characters at all (Brad inviting Craig to baby shower, Parker approaching Barbara for Jen's money). Barbara and Margo had a great frosty scene. Love that Barbara came through for Henry and Katie, and loved Henry's heartfelt grateful hug. Funny to see Katie working the pregnancy a bit on the thugs. Nice suspense at the end.

I don't have a big problem with Ralph and Audrey; comic obstacles are better soap for me than super-violent serious bad guys like GH. The characters are over the top but the impact of the story segues into the serious and dramatic. It is good writing to intersperse humor and switch so naturally between that and all the drama. Plus Ralph and Audrey are not permanent characters. I see Ralph in the tradition of AW's Tony the Tuna. Henry is like Cass Winthrop (the AW Cass, not ATWT's boring Cass).

Looking forward to "tuning in tomorrow"!

[P.J.]

As much as I dislike the Audrey story, I doubt anyone sees that as a "laughingstock"....LH and SD (who I actually don't mind) are respected, proven actors. And some people like broad comedy. NOW...sh*t like the ZTwins...that should get Pissy fined, slapped and thrown out of the writers' union.

I see the show as on the upswing...I just hope the ratings will reflect that. I fear it won't...

Does anyone else see the huge hole in Craig and Ro's reasoning?? I don't suppose they thought "making it official" by showing up at Katie's baby shower would HUMILIATE Carly, or anything? I mean, literally being the last to know your fiancee is dumping you for your sister can't be healthy for someone coming back from rehab. UGH...the more this story evolves the more I'm sickened by it. Craig being all "smushy" and "lovestruck" doesn't work at all for me. Ro's coming off as callous. And they're STILL flucking in Carly's home.

[Soapsuds]

Well the show is ok now. I am not thrilled by the Katie peril. I'd rather see Barbara be the one trapped. But I did enjoy Barbara getting the uphand with Audrey. Stuart D. character is a cartoon but he'll be gone soon.

PJ...I know you arent liking Craig/Ro but I think its going to lead to finally reuniting Carly and Jack. Whether the ratings will go up only time will tell. But the show is running out of time if it is not out of time already. The show has been holding steady until last week when it dropped.

[P.J.]

I have that hope too, in spite of Carjackers being the red-headed stepchildren, Charlie Brown fans of ATWT.

But the problem I have with Craig is--this isn't Craig---at least the Craig they've written since 2000 when Block took over the role. "Tender" Craig comes off as !@#$%^&*]-whipped. And frankly, he's acting no different than he did those last few months with Carly---who didn't love him (at least that's his story now..) The Craig/Ro dynamic IS the same as Craig/Carly minus Carly's drinking and the Carjack baggage. I see a lot of people bored with Craig/Ro, and I don't blame them...we already sat through this story with C/C.

[Actor87]

Amen!, P.J.

I know it sounds lame, but I liked the visions that were appearing to Katie. Up until the little boy; that one was horrendously cheesy.

Spot on, Margo!! Love Ellen Dolan being featured so much lately. The whole Ro/Craig romance makes NO sense to me BECAUSE of the fact that he tried to kill her. Craig crying that "when I saw you...never again"?... Oh GMAFB. And ITA with P.J. The character they're showing now is NOT Craig. And I feel like the more they shove this version down our throats, the more TIIC show they don't really care about the history of the show, or the viewers that have watched for so long.

TPTB are slowly killing my love for Henry with these insane plots. How many times can viewers say "Aww, Henry, now, you shouldn't've done that" before they finally get sick of it?

Re: goofballs/comedy in daytime --- It's acceptable, to a point. But every other month, ATWT has a new psycho in town or a new goofball, making storylines even more unbearable than they already are... JMO. I think my main problem with Ralph is the fact that GH can pull off believable mob characters, but when a mob character comes to ATWT, they automatically make him a charicature. As far as Audrey's concerned, it's like a hammy mash-up of Henry... and Kate from DAYS.... mixed with a sprinkle of Orlena.

[DRW50]

Is this stuff that much different than any story Henry has had in years? I mind this one less mostly because CZP got some material that reminded everyone of what a wonderful and dynamic actress she still is.

I don't think he's any more of a caricature than the mob on GH. He's a lot more believable to me than Papa Zaccarah, or the gummy bear mob who are always written as martyrs and victims. I think Stuart Damon has managed to play off the softer side of Ralph with his family and the more menacing side in his line of business.

[jfung79]

This is a soap, not The Godfather or The Sopranos. A caricature is fine for a mob character on a soap. Depressing, mob-driven GH is the worst possible example to follow and I'm glad ATWT hasn't.

I agree that ATWT has had too many "villains of the month" though.

As for Craig/Rosanna, I'm not feeling them either, but I don't think TPTB are saying they don't respect history ... They are trying to FIX the mistake the show made having Craig be "evil" when that is not his true historical character, by not dwelling on Craig trying to kill Rosanna. It is similar to what they did with Paul to fix Paul, only they don't have a crazy microchip explanation lol.

"Evil Craig" was unwatchable and unbelievable through several actors, and this is a better interpretation of the character.

[P.J.]

^But in doing "nonEvil Craig", they're overcorrecting, trying to fix the problem with the character (one they created IMO, during the last stint...but what's done is done...). Supportive and "caring" Craig is about as limp as a used tissue. Hogan would probably laugh his substantial ass off if he watched this version---he's got absolutely NO cajones whatsoever. AT least when I gnashed my teeth this spring, it was because I saw Craig as a complete !@#$%^&*], manipulating the situation with Parker to get closer to Carly and annoy Jack for the fun of it. He is now officially JELLO, wiggling through plot like a dying worm.

And no...I don't buy Rosanna would ever "feel" anything for him again. I think his pop psychology bit was cheesier than hell. That nightmare was about the future, not the past. UGH....either way, she thinks the relationship is a car wreck.

I don't think Damon's character is a cariacture---but then again, next to Lynn Herring, Bozo the Clown would look like Shakespeare...LOL. (I did make the disturbing Ralphie/Grandpa Munster connection today though...)

I think the entire Katie plot is lame---all her actions are stupid, her whining is on my last nerve, I wanted to throw up during most of her pep talks---HELLO, how does she expect to get through that window, and does she realize there'd probably be a really BIG drop on the other side? However, I did appreciate the imaginary Margo/Craig bickering.

[Actor87]

Henry's schemes have never cost someone their life before.......

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Well, it looks like I'm the only one who absolutely detests Ralphie and Audrey hogging up all the ham in Oakdale.

I never said that EvilCraig was the RealCraig. I don't believe that's the truth. I've never had the pleasure of seeing the realCraig. Sheffer made him a selfish, slithery, backstabbing, 2-faced, daughter-kidnapping snake with a sense of humor. The humor's the only part of him I liked. Then, Pissy rolls in and makes him a whimpering, cushiony, authoritative jerk with an overwhelming impulse to control every aspect of Carly's life. (I say that he controls every aspect of her life because I can't think of any better phrase to use...after all, he came up with the vodka idea, encouraged her drinking up until everyone started giving him the 3rd degree--and when he realized it was a problem, he tried to implement his lovin' as the cure for her alcohol dependency, he kept Rosanna under his thumb from the moment she walked into Milltown to help, he's made it his mission in life to humiliate and belittle Jack's attempts at being a father in Carly's absence, and he's sittin really pretty with control of Parker's trust fund--which, thanks to his scheming and plotting, fell into his lap). Let's not even mention the creepy version that Meek and Bryce had to act out....

The Margo/Craig bickering was my favorite part. I was waiting for the vision of Henry to bring up the whole Malta debacle that he, Katie, and Simon had to endure....or wait...was he even on that trip? Anyways, the whole theme's the same. Trapped. Hot, closed-in space. Necklace with a charm. This whole plot just takes me back to Malta.

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P.S. Can someone verify something for me? It's spoilerish...

[DRW50]

Molly nearly died after all the schemes Katie and Henry were involved in. All the stuff with Donovan and Simon, and the desert island and all the rest, also risky.

I don't want to see them gloss over the people Henry has hurt, but I guess I just don't see this as being all that different from most of the antics he and Katie have been involved with before. They lucked out many, many times. You can't always luck out.

The only part that really surprised me was when he started sleeping with Barbara.

I can see why you are put off by the new characters. Audrey is a different type of character than is usually on ATWT. I just end up seeing her as a somewhat darker version of the same sitcom they've had for most of Henry's tenure.

[P.J.]

I detest Herring. I can live with Damon. And I think she's as hammy as HELL. I don't understand all the kudos and fan worship she's receieved, even if she was another character, it's been my experience that an actor's style of acting doesn't change that much, so I assume that no matter what material she got on GH/PC, she was still "over the top" and manic as Lucy.

Dusty---

[NorrthCafe]

Since it was pretty clear there would be a baby for Liberty, eventually, as sloppy as the writing has been, I always wanted Nuke to be the adoptive parents and have to fight Juicy Janet for custody of the kid. Imagine Jack's torn loyalties, not wanting another child, respecting Lib's wishes, and wanting Luke to be happy.

[Soapsuds]

Another ok show. It is watchable but I dont care for the characters being featured. Tomorrow looks like a great show to watch. I have a feeling we will be having a BIB BANG of a cliffhanger!! I've noticed ATWT has been having more Friday cliffhangers again.

[soapfan770]

Too bad Passanate doesn't have enough talent to write either a story where Craig and Rosanna finally find some sort of peace and closure or a Roger and Holly redux of sorts where Craig and Rosanna are able to bond yet still acknowledging past atrocities. And not at the expense of Carly being absent either. Oh well.