AMC: Monday, May 13, 2013 Discussion Thread

[greens_dupres]

How are you the authority on what the main attraction to a character is for the entire viewing audience? I've never even heard David referred to as Dr Evil by anyone other than you.

[John]

Given that the sAG-AFTRA deal is only for a year at this point, they cant but Im sure SAG-AFTRA will renegoiate longer next time

[LindaTNo1]

On his dressing room door at the ABC Studios in NYC there is a star and it says "Dr. Evil". Don't know if they have done the same at the CFC studios in Stamford or not?

[Antoyne]

Seriously who the !@#$%^&*] decided they needed to play that stupid guitar [!@#$%^&*] before every teen scene..Like seriously.

[AMCHistory]

Agreed! That sky smile at the end of the episode was sucha great acting choice. I am really looking forward to this new cast of Chandlers. I pray we get more Adam to steer the ship.

[AMCHistory]

Creepy is the right word. I think that the stand-out in those scenes was Uri. Wow that actor is charasmatic, while playing someone who is down right despicabale. I am having a hard time connecting with Cassandra because she still seems like such a stranger to me.

[AMCHistory]

I pray we get more scenes with Zach/ Bianca. I am more interested in learning about what happened to the cast we saw at the end of 2011 versus some of the current crop. You can tell Thorsten and Eden have a long history of working together, their chemistry is still veyr evident.

I am so scarred to see what will happen when Miranda finds out her father was a rapist and that everyone has not only lied to her, but that they went to extreme means from keeping her from finding out. I mean, I can only think back to the story of Emily Anne. She became completely despondent after the revelation. She was an all new personality, and as far as we know, still hasn't fully recovered from the deceit.

[DramatistDreamer]

I thought today was a pretty good episode.

My sole quibble is that guitar riff is REALLY starting to get to me. AMC has established who they are and the nature of their relationship. We don't need a signal each time they enter the scene. We get it. Youth has arrived (lol). Enough with the riff!

That Uri character is charismatic and menacing and dangerous. His scenes with Cassandra were uncomfortable but for me as a writer I thought they were well done. As for Cassandra's robotic stiffness, hell, I'd be dancing offbeat and stiffly if I thought it would keep me off the pole and away from the mattress!

After what she's gone through I don't expect Cassandra to break out like a stripper at Uri's command.

The human trafficking storyline has been done very well so far. I do hope Jesse is the one to rescue Cassandra though. I hate it when soaps make the PD look incompetent and that's been happening a lot on Daytime soaps over the past several years. It's tired.

Speaking of tired, I think the case is draining Jesse a bit. Angel was spitting fire but Jesse just mostly looked drained of emotion at that point. A lot of people accuse him of being OTT so it was unexpected to see him act the opposite. I don't think it was a bad choice, though.

It will be interesting to see where this retrograde amnesia goes with JR. Is it possible that his last memories were of a straight Marissa and a prepubescent AJ? I too think Miranda's discovery of her origins are coming and of course, she's going to find out in the most shocking way possible in this age of technology.

Pete and Celia--honestly, didn't realize they weren't on today. Pete needs to spend some more time handling Cortland Electronics and with Opal. Celia should only really be calling Pete for help hacking into the school's financial records so that she can follow the money to search for her benefactor. If they bond, they can do so over attempts to hack the system, not this same old same old type soap courtship.

Cara and David were good. I know it's only a matter of time until either Cara slips up, or David goes digging for Cara's medical records.

Does anyone know how many episodes have already been filmed? Are there enough to lead into summer? With all this storylines starting to sizzle, I'm thinking the summertime would be a good time for Erica Kane to make her appearance.

[Vee]

Ryan Bittle seems very solid. He's an actual actor, as opposed to JY who, bless him, was more a model who learned to shout and sneer and "act" very broadly. I enjoyed JY in the role but he was never exactly what we would call subtle or trained. I have to wonder if J.R. isn't faking it. Bittle projects a real intelligence.

Sal Stowers seems okay, but we just won't know until they get her out of these rough scenes. I don't hate the story, but I am getting tired of watching her suffer. I loved the Jesse/Angie stuff today and that at every turn, the typical soap trope of the woman being kept out was thwarted. Jesse tells Angie to stay there, I say '[!@#$%^&*] that' and she immediately walks after him. He tells her not to go in the girl's room and she does.

The camerawork on the club stuff at the end was fantastic. Good music. All primetime caliber. Good stuff with A.J. and Miranda. And I liked that they made clear Zach and Erica had the Cambias connection covered up - they are capable of doing that, like many very wealthy families. I think Zach works well in this role, the lonely guy dealing with the seamier side of life, as opposed to the golden hero ABCD tried to pretend he was. Thorsten Kaye has always been good at this stuff.

I love David and Cara but I thought LH was off today. Pushing too hard, yelling too much. She was a lot more subtle in the last two weeks, not to mention on ABC. Also, for God's sake, please eat something.

[cassadine1991]

 

 

well I read they are going to be talking with Susan Lucci to reach a deal on her possible returning

[DramatistDreamer]

I can't believe I'm saying this as a soap fan who's been bamboozled in the past but I'm going to trust PP/TPTB to bring Lucci back in a way that makes sense--where she fits in an actual storyline and is not just a figurehead and where AMC can maintain the show's balance.

I have a question about OLTL that is sort of related:

For those of you who watch, what do you think of Vicki's story? Do you think it's balanced well with the other stories on this show? Do you think it would be a good template for how AMC should proceed should they work out an arrangement with Lucci? Why or why not?

[Vee]

I think the Viki story is fantastic. And well-balanced and well-connected, yes.

It's about her, her work and her legacy for the first time in years. Not a man or her kids. She is desperate to save the Banner in a digital age while print journalism is dying, and has a complex relationship with her new ace reporter, Jeffrey, who is pushing her along without regard for some of the classic rules of old school reporting. He's growing impatient - he clearly respects and admires her, but they have different philosophies about the profession and as of yet, she cannot afford to put him on salary as he desperately needs. (As a freelance writer in a different high pressure field, that's something I can really relate to.) She is also taking a huge risk on the stock market as Dorian is moving her into play to be bankrupted - Viki is depending on that fund to save her and the Banner's payroll, but it is a trap, Dorian's vengeance for Viki and Jeffrey's CIA story taking down her Senate career. And that story - and both those women, and the paper, and the scandal - are all tied back into the ongoing umbrella arc of the black ops conspiracy with the two Todds.

The tendrils of the story are everywhere, but they all lead back to major story axises (axes?) for characters. Viki included. I think it would be a wonderful template for Erica, but I also think Erica is a very different kind of character and far more emblematic of AMC on a more visceral level. With Erica she is a storm who blows back into town.

[John]

Wonderfully put Vee

[YRBB]

What a perfect episode, from beginning to end.

From Cara lying to David once again, AJ and Miranda, the set-up for Miranda to find out about her father, JR's amnesia. (I'll pretend we didn't get the guitar not once but twice).

The Uri/Cassandra scenes were excellent (including Zach arriving at the club). The actor playing Uri is, like others said, amazing and the story is delivering in terms of darkness, tone, and execution.

Oh, Angie. She had me in tears when she found out about Cassandra; I was so glad they made us wait... the reveal was all the sweeter (and sadder) because of it. Angie's quiet horror at seeing the other girl was a great detail. You just gotta love DM, even though she often betrays AAs.

And I really enjoyed the ending. It makes sense that JR would not recognize AJ to me--the time gap, him just having woken up after five years... I can see it.

[John]

Yeah Tomorrow should be fantastic