AMC: Friends Without Borders

[quartermainefan]

Well, that is true for 95 % of soap actors though. There just is no time to do much else. If you watch the Daniel Benzali clip for GH you see this guy doing a real character piece with a fake way of speaking that sounds nothing like the way he sounded on other shows. Is there any doubt that Tad Martin talks exactly like Micheal E Knight with the same inflections and intonations?

[AllMyDaysatGH]

Part 2 is up and it's titled "Mama Mija".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i87u09ybpAg

[London]

Thanks for posting. I liked Part 2 as well.

[Jonathan]

Where exactly does part 2 take place? Is that supposed to be Cara's Pine Valley home? I thought they were living at the Yacht Club. I'm very confused.

[Pine Charles]

Cara's cooking was me on Thanksgiving.... identically.

Oh, and Mama Castillo is like a Latina version of Mary Smythe.

[SFK]

And Joyce DeWitt as Mami...

Pine Charles, speaking of Mary Smythe, these webisodes are an excellent opportunity to give us glimpses of characters like that who they won't put on contract or even recurring. Just give us a witty and dramatic lunch scene with Greenlee and Mary and we can buy that the relationship still exists, we just won't be seeing it M-F @1pm. You know, a jailhouse visit with Liza and Marian or something. Great way to respect your fans and build up this online thing which may be the future of soap viewing anyway.

As for the production values, #whatguidinglightshouldhavelookedlike, don't you wish the show always looked like this? I admit, there actually is something a little warmer and intimate being under those soap lights on a set, but these pieces shot on location have looked really great. And there's nothing like being in a real kitchen like that, no soap set comes close in terms of authenticity. I think GL/ATWT had the right idea, they only scratched the surface though (and to be fair, $$$ was of course an issue when you're shooting 5 days/week opposed to these vignettes). However, they could step up their graphics game, no?

[Cheap21]

I like this mother. I hope she makes her way onto AMC

[EricMontreal22]

The mother was a tad too caricatured for me (though I warmed to her a bit by the very end where it was obvious she wasn't as one note as she seemed).

But I agree with SFK--while I kept asking myself where the heck Griffin's house was and why we'd never seen such a nice, real, looking house on AMC before, and I think these four little videos have been cute but not brilliant--I sorta like how they give us a peek into characters' lives that makes them feel more real in a way--like just brief scenes that don't tie directly into the one story most characters are busy dealing with at any time on the show, but instead we see a bit of a glimpse of their "off story" life. If that makes sense. I think it's a valid and interesting contrast and could be neat to have every month or so--not just with new characters but stuff like I dunno Greenlee and Mary Smythe fighting on the phone or a quick visit, or whatever--just to flesh out the characters, and would make for more interesting glimpses than we've gotten elsewhere with only exclusive soap opera content. And while I'd like to see the trend continued with established or missing characters much more, I admit it's not a bad way to make new characters a bit more interesting to viewers...

(Oh and LOVE LOVE the Liza/Marian idea). Just as soaps get more and more plot oriented, and I do understand (though I don't fully agree) with why current producers are making them so--stuff like this could really be a boon to them. In Canada we get Canadian commercials with our soaps, so no network promose, but are these advertised at all on ABC when AMC's on? You know "go to abc.com NOW to see a glimpse of Cara's mother" or whatever?)

[EricMontreal22]

I admit I moaned and wailed about Lindsay joining AMC. Frankly I just didn't think her acting style would fit in with AMC whatsoever... But she's kinda winning me over--she's at the least decent and at times rather good (hey this is a ton of praise coming from me!), I will admit she's clearly stepped up her game and is prob happy to be playing a more solid and confident character.

[EricMontreal22]

Cara lives (with 3/4s of Pine Valley) in the Yacht Club (I always wonder if anyone living there is worried about privacy seeing as their doors have those slotted panals...)

It's meant to be Griffin's house--I think he did mention he had a place at some point and his mom sends him to his room (what I was wondering is who's the Mexican restaurand owner they mention? Maybe Miguel did come to Pine Valley afterall and set up shop). Lucky Griffin seems to have scored a nicer place than richer folk like those stuck at Wildwind or Erica's.

[jfung79]

Just saw these. Liked the friendship bonding with the other doctors in Part 1, including the silly group "amigas" thing and the other two both moving to Connecticut. But Part 2 is much stronger. I also wouldn't mind seeing the mother make her way to AMC. I don't know if this is Griffin's place, I think this may have been meant to take place before Pine Valley, maybe a couple years ago?

[EricMontreal22]

I don't think so--I'll have to rewatch but they seem to be talking about Cara post Jake, etc--and in Pine Valley. But I could be wrong

[Jonathan]

The location of part 2 makes no sense whatsoever.

[jfung79]

Part 2 is implied to be post-Jake. But it could be right after Griffin brought her back from Doctors Without Borders and before she went back. The words "Pine Valley" are never mentioned. It's also possible that it is set in the present, but I just don't see definitive evidence and I also think Griffin is supposed to live at the Yacht Club.

In the webisode, I think I hear Griffin saying their mom is coming "home." Perhaps this is a home they grew up in somewhere, before much of the family moved to California. Their mom doesn't seem to be entering the home for the first time -- no comment on how it looks, etc. However, she has a taxi driver drive her around and seems unfamiliar with the area, and that would seem to indicate she hasn't been there often; maybe, though, it just means she hasn't been there for years.

[EricMontreal22]

Good points--although I was sure there was one throaway line about Griff having hiw own place--we know Cara is staying in the yacht club... I just assumed cus they mention his room.... But yeah it's confusing. And does Pine Valley have a mexican restaurant?