AMC: Week Of July 15, 2013 Discussion

[LindaTNo1]

The writers damaged the character of Jesse Hubbard. He was one of the most strongest characters in the earlier years of the 80's. How would you put the pieces of the old strong streetwise Jesse?

[EricMontreal22]

Characters without flaws are a waste of space on soaps. We should be happy they are writing Jesse like a real human being and one who is true to his past.

[LindaTNo1]

I am a babyboomer and have been with the show since its debut on ABC. The character of Jesse was just about the most strongest one on the show. Not as he was written when he reappeared in2008. The change. What gives??? He came to PV as a broke down Center City teen who lost his mother and was alone. His childhood was not easy like Angie's was with coming from a well to do family, both parents. I guess that is why I love Jesse so much. My husband came from a single mother rough side of the street too.

[EricMontreal22]

However, even before Jesse spent DECADES in hiding (which would change a person) he would bend over backwards to protect those he loved. He did it better back then--but that's essentially his fatal flaw right now--he thinks he's protecting Angie.

[Soaplovers]

After reading through the posts, I'm going to be very unpopular but I think the Cassandra story needs to not be shown for a week... and focus on some of the other stories... for instance... JR/Cara/David, Celia's guardian, etc. at least episode 41 was more balanced.. but I'm kind of sick to death of seeing angie/Cassandra wailing/crying all the time. Not to say that they shouldn't be doing this, but I think it's time to focus on some of the other characters.

When OLTL is showcasing the community aspect better then AMC (a shown known for that), we have a problem.

[EricMontreal22]

Don't worry that's not completely an unpopular opinion--I think more than a few of us have said we wanted a break from it, as well done as it has been.

However, and I am really loving OLTL right now too--but I don't think the past two weeks have shown a better community aspect than AMC--unless you mean the Shelter scenes? I'm curious (honestly, and not in a hostile way, I swear ) to know what examples you mean.

[marceline]

I actually agree. I think if we were still on the 4/week schedule the Hubbard story wouldn't feel overwhelming but I definitely feel like there are parts of the show that have been given short shrift. I'm ready to start a "Where's Griffin?" fan fic contest because he just vanished. I beginning to wonder if he's hanging with Kendall and Binks.

And judging from remarks I've seen here and on other boards, I think you're in the majority as far as wanting Angie to stop crying. I suspect that her therapy session was the end of that.

[Vee]

How far back do you want to go, Linda? Because the Jesse that came back from the dead was IMO compromised the moment we learned he deliberately stayed away for twenty years without contacting the authorities or anyone. And they compounded that about a hundred times for me when it turned out that no, he actually wasn't on the run the whole time, he was actually shacking up as a bigamist with another family and (as marceline said) his white wife. And then there's Lucy and Ellie.

Jesse was not exactly as pure as the unborn even before the new AMC started up. He's got a lot to pay for.

[katie_9918]

*popcorn ready*

[LindaTNo1]

I am talking about the Jesse Hubbard of the 80's, the real Jesse Hubbard, the authentic original himself. The strongest and true to himself Jesse Hubbard of the 80's. As I said, I am a babyboomer watching the show for over 40 years so I know who the WHOLE SUM of the parts of Jesse Hubbard. Most agree that Frons/Pratt failed to do their homework when 2008 rolled around and did a horrible job of writing the character of Jese Hubbard. They did a disservice to Darnell and to the character IMO.

Jesse and Rebecca were NEVER legally married. Natalia took her mother's last name of Fowler.

Trauma and torture and fear will change a person so it is understandable the changes that would come as a result of what Jesse suffered at the hands of the Robert Gardner thugs. They threatened to kill Frankie and Angie so he stayed away to protect them out of fear for their lives (the shack scenes following the train station reunion scenes).

Robert Gardner was working in the FBI so going to authorities was out of the equation because Jesse was being watched the entire time. He always was looking over his shoulders, checking staircases and dimming lights to hide himself (Tad's PI office and the Hubbard loft).

Jesse was not exactly shacking up with Rebecca. She was his psychiatrist treating him the year he was in the mental hospital with a complete breakdown. She gave him cover and well, human nature had a brief blip and Natalia came along.

Most fans will agree that the stillbirth/baby switch storyline arc was a complete disaster and failure of the writing team who screwed up with that storyline. Fans wanted to see a live baby Hubbard. Thankfully, Lorraine Broderick cleaned up that just in time for the Hubbard family finale to the ABC run.

Those of us who were alive and old enough to be there from the start of AMC have a great appreciation for the characters in their original authentic selves and understand the true identities therein. The real true Jesse Hubbard we know and love because we know his strength and brilliance and have a better knowledge and understanding of his background and why he is the way he is BEFORE the Frons/Pratt fiasco failure in writing his character.

I know the fired writing team started out by repeating the Frons/Pratt themes with Jesse (2008 going forward) and I am happy they were fired. Fans are ready to see the real and true Jesse Hubbard, the strong and secure Jesse Hubbard in his original self.

I do understand that even though the writing was horrible and terrible, fans who just came on board later on or just started from 2008 have a limited and restricted knowledge of Jesse Hubbard and so they only see him from 2008 and want him to pay for his mistakes, but that is not the total sum of Jesse Hubbard from the beginnings of time.

I hope that the new writing team will finally be ready to bring back the true, strong, wonderful and charismatic Jesse to the canvas.

[marceline]

This is a perfect example of what I call the tyranny of nostalgia.

[Antoyne]

So basically you want the character written how he was THIRTY years ago as a teen\twenty something? There are no words.

[Steve]

Yup, Jesse was hardly a one-dimensional hero! He cheated on Angie back in the early 1980s with Yvonne and in 1987 he refused to live in the same house as Cindy because he thought he'd get AIDS from her.

[greens_dupres]

Linda, I can really appreciate that you've watched the show from the start. That's awesome that you're obviously a loyal fan and saw it unfold from day 1. And I do understand that there is a significant difference between watching stories unfold in real time and watching old clips. But I don't think that fans who have been watching 10, 15, 20, 25 years (which I think is most people who post here regularly) and have serious history and investment with the show- or even 5 or those who are new to AMC entirely with PP- can't have valid opinions about Jesse or any other character or AMC. Honestly, the constant subtext that if you're not a baby boomer who was watching in January 1970, your opinions are somehow less valid or should be dismissed as something lesser is off-putting. I wasn't born when Jesse debuted and I fully admit my knowledge of the Hubbards is much more limited than other viewers BUT the truth is the writers are presenting the Jesse we see onscreen as the "real" "true" Jesse and we're all entitled to our opinions of what we see playing out. Further, you mention "original self" of Jesse from the 80s- why shouldn't any character over the course of THIRTY years be able to evolve from their original characterization based on experiences and relationships? Isn't that why we watch soaps?

Also, this might be unpopular but I really liked the baby switch story. I didn't really feel like Angie & Jesse needed a baby and though I think the resolution was rushed due to the cancellation and didn't love that they killed Madison and Angie's babies in quick succession, it was the first AMC story that I remember being real must-see tv for me in a few years at that point.

[Jonathan]

Loved this too. Like I said previously, up until this story, it was always the white folks getting their babies switched!