Well, I've watched the 12 episodes Pluto TV is currently streaming of AMC in the end after all. Like I said, while they were airing late August/early September for the first few weeks (we got in the end about 20 episodes) which was the turnover from Hal Corley's interim period to Lorraine Broderick, and I was really enjoying it, more than I even remembered (and this was a fave period of mine when I watched "live") we now have jumped backwards to, I believe May 1995 if my calculations are correct.
This cycle started with the episode where Erica falls and injures her back (that modelling sequence on a two story tall firework display or whatever is just brilliant camp--what is going on??) It also, judging by the credits, is exactly where one or two episodes in the credits change from listing McTavish as HW to Corley. The show is not nearly as compelling as it would be just four months later, but--from my modern point of view, watching a bunch of episodes at a time, I'm still pretty impressed. As I said before, what I had forgotten about is just HOW many storylines are going on at the same time--and most are interesting enough that you don't really miss when one story isn't featured for a couple of episodes. And also how quickly everything moves.
I won't do a long post like I did last time, but the main focus is on Arlene just arriving to town, and Hayley bailing on her wedding to Alec (we get a bit too drawn out flashback memories to why Hayley is so triggered--finally we see the entire sequence and that she walked in as a young teen on her mom and the man she was having an affair with, Arlene being creepy/inappropriate explaining to Hayley how she has these sexual needs and making Hayley cover for her to her dad--who dies.) The other main story is that Janet has been discovered living in the "Wildwind mines" (where the infamous well is) and is just waiting for Trevor and Laurel's wedding when Amanda, who can't handle crowds so won't be there apparently (?) can be kidnapped.
OH and of course the other main story is the start of Erica's addiction storyline (she's still in hospital, constantly crying out that she needs more pain medication. And with my own recent extreme sciatica health issues, I admit she fully has my sympathy. And we have the start of the Edmund/Maria in vitro fertilization storyline. What's interesting is ALL of these storylines which obviously were started by McTavish will all be still playing out in other ways in the August/Sep episodes. But unlike with so much bad soap writing, they will have all significantly developed and found new layers--Corley/Broderick have finessed them to be much more... subtle, or maybe that's the wrong word, but complex. Still, it's not bad at all.
And as that makes clear, you can see that this really is a time of writer transition. Seabone (remember him?) is still on the show, working at the Cluck Cluck Shack and he would be quickly written out, for example. They're still trying to make Anton work and he would soon be written out too. But we still get a great variety of characters and tones of storylines, something that by the 2000s would be mostly missing with AMC (and maybe most soaps.) Even the fact that they still find reasons to bring in Myrtle, or Phoebe, or Peggy for that matter for a random (but well written/integrated) scene every few episodes is something I would soon miss from the show.
I can't blame McTavish for all the stuff that doesn't work--the internet romance (but they don't know who it is) between Cecily and Charlie has just started and would STILL be playing out in the September episodes and I appreciate it being a lighter/comic storyline but it mostly doesn't work, except for some funny scenes when other characters are involved (and that's not just because now, as opposed to 1995, the Internet has come a long way--even at the time I remember thinking it was a lame story.)
We also have the introduction of some major new characters. Including Matteo (who actually in his opening episodes is better than I remembered) and the Santos parents. I am not sure which writers to credit for this... Laurel's brother, Michael Delaney has also just came on (he's in town for Laurel's wedding but they actually give a good reason for why we weren't aware of him before) and I know from my discussion with Corley that this was him and his team's doing, since basically one of the first slow burn storylines they wanted to get going was the gay story despite how patient they were with it.
I was also surprised SMG as Kendall was still on (she's with Del) though it's obvious they already know they're about to write her off, as she seems to be making a final attempt at redemption with Erica.
Anyway, I think tomorrow Pluto TV should cycle in a few more episodes so we'll see if they stick with this run, or... not.
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EricMontreal22 ·
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