It may be an unpopular opinion but I always thought Cady was stronger as Rosanna then she was as Dixie.

I really dont think thats an unpopular opinion

It may be an unpopular opinion but I always thought Cady was stronger as Rosanna then she was as Dixie.

No I don't think that's an unpopular opinion at all. I think when she signed on to play Rosanna she demonstrated she could go beyond the "Dixie" cookie-cutter that had been carved out for her. Showed how much range she has. I have for the most part been a fan of Tad and Dixie as a single entity. I've never really been all that interested in Dixie outside of that. I was not really a huge fan of David and her, and I most certainly did not enjoy her period of time opposite Thorsten.

The performance had no direction and it has no strength to it. There is no backbone to the scene(s) in question and it is only augmented by the performances of her co-actors. Cameron Mathison gaped like a fish out of water through out most of it and Susan looked like she was lost and had no idea how to direct Minshew. Alicia's performance was the same that it always is when she is made to be a dramatic lead. It included her time stamped signatures including the overwhelming caterwauling, overt huffing and puffing, repeated stuttered speech, ugly cough asthmatic crying and other ridiculous hysterical choices in her attempt at conveying pain.I don't even think Alicia knew where she was going with it or even if she planned the scene out before hand it was just her meandering through the script with random theatrics because nothing connected and it showed baldly. It was just reckless odd choice after reckless odd choice.

Alicia is always better when she supports stronger actors and actresses such as Eden Rigel, Thorsten Kaye or even Susan Lucci herself, that clip of her in this promo was disastrous and by no means was her best work. She did a much better job when she acted opposite Eden when Bianca lost her baby, when she worked with Lucci when she had to revisit her rape and when Kendell first came to town and held a gun on Erica when they dined with Ryan and Chris Stamp. All of those scenes were stronger and she made some solid choices in those scenes and played the script well.

Alicia is a hot mess when she is given the bag in dramatic scenes. She has always needed stronger dramatic actors to guide her through heavy material. That being said she excels in comedic situations and romance so it's clear she has her strengths but it's certainly isn't drama.

LW although obnoxious is a better dramatic lead then Minshew is, although her reel sucked too.

Spot on about everything!

I think that Dixie has suffered from a lot of very bad writing. Soaps don't know how to write heroines, and they either become nasty, or stupid victims, or self-righteous. I remember feeling like Cady's work was very fresh and rich when she returned in 1998. The story with Braden was poor but Cady's work, especially as a dying Dixie, was first-rate. After that I hated a lot of the writing for Tad/Dixie and I didn't think Dixie/David did her any favors.

The performance had no direction and it has no strength to it. There is no backbone to the scene(s) in question and it is only augmented by the performances of her co-actors. Cameron Mathison gaped like a fish out of water through out most of it and Susan looked like she was lost and had no idea how to direct Minshew.

That would-be director Susan Lucci is the queen of hit and miss in dramatic scenes due to going over the top and not being able to force out tears from time to time.

I personally didn't think that was AM's strongest episode of 2010 not to say I thought it was poor. I loved most of her work in it but wasn't a fan of the whole section where Bianca comes in and Kendall knew because I didn't feel the connection between the actresses - but for others that was the best part along with the No, no, no. For some ER's scream in the Emmy winning tape was deafining squealing and not a moment of brilliance. Different strokes. For me, AM's best episode that year was the one at the beach with Greenlee where she goes from cold, cut-a-bitch at home to breaking down at the beach. It wasn't just great for her, it was great for any lead actor.

I also haven't liked Cady on AMC outside of the Tad's Dixie equation but that doesn't mean she didn't do some amazing work as Dixie. Right now, the choices Cady's making - although she might be going for realistic - suck but she is a good actress as she's shown with both Dixie and Rosanna.

I think that Dixie has suffered from a lot of very bad writing. Soaps don't know how to write heroines, and they either become nasty, or stupid victims, or self-righteous. I remember feeling like Cady's work was very fresh and rich when she returned in 1998. The story with Braden was poor but Cady's work, especially as a dying Dixie, was first-rate.

ICAM.

I think that Dixie has suffered from a lot of very bad writing. Soaps don't know how to write heroines, and they either become nasty, or stupid victims, or self-righteous. I remember feeling like Cady's work was very fresh and rich when she returned in 1998. The story with Braden was poor but Cady's work, especially as a dying Dixie, was first-rate. After that I hated a lot of the writing for Tad/Dixie and I didn't think Dixie/David did her any favors.

The show stopped writinf Dixie as a heroine shortly after her 1998 return and I read that was in part Cady's doing. She got sick of the squeeky clean Dixie and wanted her to have more of an edge and she wanted to work with Vincent Irizarry, which led to Dixie's affair with David and become such an unlikeable bitch. When she returned in 2006, again she didnt want to play the goody heroine and we got a continuation of the bitchy Dixie from her last return.

I think that Dixie has suffered from a lot of very bad writing. Soaps don't know how to write heroines, and they either become nasty, or stupid victims, or self-righteous. I remember feeling like Cady's work was very fresh and rich when she returned in 1998. The story with Braden was poor but Cady's work, especially as a dying Dixie, was first-rate. After that I hated a lot of the writing for Tad/Dixie and I didn't think Dixie/David did her any favors.

I liked her work a lot when she found out Tad cheated on Dixie, I don't remember if that was 2000, 2001 or before but I thought that work was first rate. I remember the line she threw out that said "It's not your fault, it's mine because I just- just keep forgiving you" and that just broke me. But I think her work as Rosanna is probably the best work of her entire career. I personally haven't been able to invest in the Dixie character since her first death back in 02'.

That would-be director Susan Lucci is the queen of hit and miss in dramatic scenes due to going over the top and not being able to force out tears from time to time.

True. But I think she has been able to lead from time and time and make it all work. I think all of the stuff with her rape was brilliantly performed and executed especially when it was revisited in 2003.

For some ER's scream in the Emmy winning tape was deafining squealing and not a moment of brilliance.

I will have to say I love that. But then again I have always loved ER's choices. ER as Bianca was amazing. Probably one of my favorite actresses to come out of AMC.

Different strokes. For me, AM's best episode that year was the one at the beach with Greenlee where she goes from cold, cut-a-bitch at home to breaking down at the beach. It wasn't just great for her, it was great for any lead actor.

I would love to see this if you have a clip.

The show stopped writinf Dixie as a heroine shortly after her 1998 return and I read that was in part Cady's doing. She got sick of the squeeky clean Dixie and wanted her to have more of an edge and she wanted to work with Vincent Irizarry, which led to Dixie's affair with David and become such an unlikeable bitch. When she returned in 2006, again she didnt want to play the goody heroine and we got a continuation of the bitchy Dixie from her last return.

I remember this too. and everyone hated Dixie for it. Cady said she didn't want Dixie to be known as 'Mrs. Tad Martin' and then she would up being reviled by the Zendell fans when Dixie/Zach spent time together.

Edited August 10, 201114 yr by Skin

Angela that would've been a great choice for her to. I loved those scenes, especially the ones she had with Greenlee in the cave. Skin it was the 12/2/10 episode of AMC

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=n2--PwCZD0I

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=h7GGYm7PxcM

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Thanks for these. I like those scenes a lot better then the ones in her Emmy reel.

Thank you. And it was well deserved!

You're aware I wasn't defending her, right?

Sorry, but no. I disagree. There was nothing substandard about it, it was a raw, amazing performance. Her best on AMC to date. She was even better in the next episode when she ripped into David in the courtroom. She was rightfully nominated along with the rest of the Lead Actresses. The Emmy's are pretty much a joke but IMO they got it right in that category this year at least (minus Laura Wright who, tragically, ended up winning).

Alicia's wailing vs. Laura's head bopping.

The show stopped writinf Dixie as a heroine shortly after her 1998 return and I read that was in part Cady's doing. She got sick of the squeeky clean Dixie and wanted her to have more of an edge and she wanted to work with Vincent Irizarry, which led to Dixie's affair with David and become such an unlikeable bitch. When she returned in 2006, again she didnt want to play the goody heroine and we got a continuation of the bitchy Dixie from her last return.

I never saw Dixie as a bitch in that story, I just thought she was written as clueless, especially with the idiotic schemes they threw David in around that time (Libidizone, and Leslie Coulson). They also made Tad so self-righteous and extremely unlikeable that any Tad/Dixie scene either put me off or actively disgusted me. None of the story worked for me because they never gave David and Dixie any honest relationship.

This was also around the time AMC generally lost any ability to write for heroines, unless the "heroines" were poor little misunderstood whiners, like Greenlee (they did OK with Bianca but she was in a very specific story about Erica and lesbianism). They never have regained that ability.

Edited August 10, 201114 yr by CarlD2

It's an absolute lose/lose.

I never saw Dixie as a bitch in that story, I just thought she was written as clueless, especially with the idiotic schemes they threw David in around that time (Libidizone, and Leslie Coulson). They also made Tad so self-righteous and extremely unlikeable that any Tad/Dixie scene either put me off or actively disgusted me. None of the story worked for me because they never gave David and Dixie any honest relationship.

This was also around the time AMC generally lost any ability to write for heroines, unless the "heroines" were poor little misunderstood whiners, like Greenlee (they did OK with Bianca but she was in a very specific story about Erica and lesbianism). They never have regained that ability.

Dixie was very unlikeable during that time. I thought she was a bitch. Not vinidictive bitch like Kendall or manipulative bitch like Greenlee but a bitch nonetheless. She reminded me of GH's Liz, who is supposed to be seen as this pillar of morality, yet is just as awful as the rest, doing her own sh-t and casting judgements on others. Dixie got very nasty, feisty and her atititude overall stunk. I thought she was way too bold and opinionated compared to how she once was. She definetly stopped coming across as a heroine. She got even worse in her 2006 return

Watching Kendall revealing herself to Erica as her daughter on YouTube really showed to me that Susan Lucci really ISN'T that bad of a dramatic actress. She's actually quite good at dramatic scenes, I think Erica as written just has a natural humorous side to her. She's just so...incredibly self-involved that it can't help but be funny.

But yeah, she was extremely good in the scenes surrounding that story, maybe not so much re-telling what Richard Fields did to her but in confronting and comforting Kendall? Very good. Their goodbye scenes were especially poignant.