AMC: Week Of July 15, 2013 Discussion

[EricMontreal22]

Didn't we see her threatened with a needle at some point? You can have forms of heroin related drugs in pill form that can cause similar issues, but... That said, I assume it had to do with being pumped with so much she nearly ODed as well--at least in part.

[EricMontreal22]

Agreed--and Ellabelle, you're right about emphasizing the sexual tension between them, but I admit I didn't mind having a bit of a lighter element to the story (and I felt we did get quite a bit of education.)

As for the bachelor auction--I admit I find them dumb, and a soap opera (and actually sitcom and tv in general) cliche, although I did just have a facebook status uypdate from a friend who was advertising that he's just been put into a charity bachelor auction so I guess they do sometimes happen in the real world.

[Vee]

What's to say? Two more great shows. Everyone's covered a lot of that already. The parallel structure with Bianca/Miranda and Angie/Cassandra was brilliant, and you could tell this was a huge Agnes Nixon social issue tract when Angie had that long monologue raging about politicians telling women how they could or couldn't get pregnant, almost directly into the camera - with spellbinding work by Debbi Morgan. One has to wonder if that was what it was like when they had Amy Tyler and co. writing lettters about Vietnam in the old days. Debbi could easily win another Emmy for all this stuff. She was incredible.

I get Angie's POV now because they explained it, and wisely tied it into Cassandra's origins on The City, which I remember from when I was a kid. She believes something good has to come from this horror, and she's also, frankly, still hurting from losing Ellie (and more recently and less dramatically, Lucy). I think this story has organic conflict and all the makings of a huge, dynamite storyline which is "social issues" in a way soaps generally stopped really knowing how to do well some time ago. I'm very excited about what I'm seeing. It's like dusting off the old wheel and showing it still works in the 21st century. I'm not entirely sure Sal Stowers is up to it based on what I've seen of her, but I'm giving her a lot of chances (much like Laura Harrier on OLTL).

Brooke Newton is still a bit too much. But she is fine in the More segments and such, clearly more grounded - she's apparently some sort of cheerleader-turned-actress. If she could realize she could tone it down, I'd be a lot happier with her because I think there's no reason she can't work in the role if she just takes it down a few notches. That said, her conflicts with Opal, etc. are gold and very well written and played.

I loved that Pete got on Opal about finding love, or at least passion in her life again - the Glamorama, or something else. And I hope Opal denying that she will open her heart again is a signpost that she will, and soon (possibly with Dimitri?) - I think now more than ever, Jill Larson and Opal are an entry point for so much of the audience, a mature heroine for the audience to identify with in a way they rarely have before because for so long, she's been relegated to just being everyone's talk-to and Erica's major domo. Opal has so much more going on on the new AMC, she's allowed to be seen as a beautiful older woman, and God, she is stunning and vibrant. I just can't get enough of her and I think they can't get her into a storyline of her own soon enough. So I hope that stuff with Pete was about that for her. I think so. And I thought he was just right with her - still a sweet son.

I liked that they had Zach and Miranda together again. I thought they rushed the beat on Zach and Lea and his being betrayed and all that crap. Whatever, dude, Jesse was dirty. I also thought that while the Angie and Jesse confrontation was good it was a bit rushed. She talked about some of his past bullshit but not enough, and not for long enough. This is an issue both shows are still slowly coming to grips with, AMC less than OLTL but it's still there - working within the thirty-minute timeframe and the 'accelerated' pace while still doing character beats. There are a lot more on both shows than anything I see on network right now, or at least GH on ABC, but some are still getting lost in the shuffle, or getting slightly too truncated, like the Hubbards' scene. Still, it was quite a good second episode.

I loved Colby's crack about the yacht. I wonder how many fans caught that.

[EricMontreal22]

I wish I had something to add to your comments, Vee, about this week's AMC and OLTL but I honestly don't--but what a pleasure, as it usually is, to read your detailed thoughts about both shows. I think this time I pretty much completely agree with you about both.

I will say, because I forgot to before, I liked that we saw Angie actually go to a competent shrink (a rarity on modern soaps) and I hope they continue to use his character. As someone who has been to his fair share of shrinks, that was the first time ina long time where a therapy session on a soap actually played out at *some* length (even in the new rushed format) and where the shrink actually spoke, well, like a shrink.

[greens_dupres]

This was absolutely my favorite week of AMC so far. Won't say much since a lot has been covered much more eloquently already.

The choice to end on AJ/Miranda just enjoying each other's company at the end of up ep 40 instead of the more obvious Jesse getting arrested tag was a great one given the structure of this particular episode. I can't remember the last time a soap ended on something so simple, so charming. I backed up the last two minutes just to take it in a second time.

I just love the way Joe Martin is being used on this AMC. And that's where having someone like Ginger Smith (and of course Agnes) involved is just such a gift because showrunners with less history with AMC could have easily overlooked the need for Joe without Tad, Jake etc., which would be a shame because his presence is a valuable one.

The Opal/Colby scenes were so much fun although I was surprised Opal basically said Liza wasn't interested in raising Colby. I know Opal was in protective mama mode but that seemed way nastier than I would have expected from Opal. Brooke Newton (and the writers) do need to calm down on some scenes with Colby- the one in Jane's was particularly cartoony and OTT. But I think the writers and the actress do have the right idea generally of who Colby Chandler should be & I am really looking forward to her scene next week that's previewed in MORE because its time to give her some more depth. I will say though that the actress didn't try to overly wink at the audience to deliver the inside joke about the yachts. You either knew the history and got it or you didn't think anything of it. I liked that.

I was surprisingly happy to get back to Pete/celia this week. Not necessarily because I really like them but because it felt like it was about time. Its amazing what adding a scheming b*tch to the mix, giving the story a little rest and giving Celia more to do in a supporting role with Brooke, Dimitri and Colby has done for my tolerance of them and Celia particularly. JLP also looked really beautiful- heavier makeup, a better outfit. I wonder if its a conscious choice to move away from the uniform and pastels, the fresh out of high school narrative. Although with the guardian element, I guess they can't drop the Bramwell angle entirely.

Agree with Vee completely that using Cassandra's history to help explain Angie's position on the pregnancy was really helpful & just good writing. I didn't even watch The City but it just worked so well. I also thought Sal Stowers was better in her scene with Dixie alone than her first scene with Angie.

[Vee]

Didn't people mention some other suspicious scene with Jane this week? I didn't see it, but I saw the phone call a few weeks ago. I'm still interested in what they may do with her.

JLP did look beautiful. I'm trying to give Celia a chance, and I do think she's had enough time off that I do want to see more of her story. I'm just not sure Price can handle it.

[greens_dupres]

So there were a few things that appeared in the past two SOD recaps that seemed to be cut after they went to press. The first one said that Jane was shaken when a customer recognized her from California. She places a mystery phone-call (that we saw) & has a near-miss with Lea. According to last week's issue, Jane and Lea were supposed to have a scene where she tells Lea that she was recognized. I didn't see anything this week with Jane unless I was totally zoning out but I'm curious to see what pops up in SOD. I thought maybe they dropped her story entirely as a result of the ep reduction but then it seems like they would have cut the phone call as well. I'm interested to see where they go with her too.

[allmc2008]

My high school did one every year called the "Senior Male-Sale".

[Vee]

I'm assuming they've been cutting stuff for time and pace. I'd rather they not cut Jane or her story entirely - the slow use of the character is growing on me.

In PP's defense, I've often seen stuff cut from the recaps for network soaps. It happened at OLTL in 2003, when Robin Strasser pushed back against a retcon with Dorian and Mitch which made it to print but not to air, and it happened on a recurring basis at OLTL and GH under Ron and Frank. It happens sometimes.

[EricMontreal22]

"JLP also looked really beautiful- heavier makeup, a better outfit. I wonder if its a conscious choice to move away from the uniform and pastels, the fresh out of high school narrative. Although with the guardian element, I guess they can't drop the Bramwell angle entirely".

In the MORE episodes with the costume designer, they did say they wanted to fairly quickly show Celia becoming more sophisticated and into her own via her wardrobe.

[LindaTNo1]

As a victim of rape, I would love to see scenes of Cass getting into group sessions with other victims without her meddling mother. Assault victims family support but not family pestering and badgering. Angie needs to step back and let the professionals do their job. the show could use actual rape victims (myself) for authenticity and realness. Make it organic and totally true. The show is short on time so I am not sure how that would work. The 5 day a week 1 hour soaps have more time for things like that. Cass scene with Dixie was alot better because a person just seems more relaxed talking to someone else other than family. I have been there and I know. Cass does not need her mother influencing her in any way and it is Cass who decides Cass.

Angie does need some mental health/emotional health counseling herself so I was pleased that she got her first session going. A person cannot help others when it becomes clear that they cannot help their own self.

[allmc2008]

This may seem trivial but I liked how the episodes have a very short teaser then the opening as opposed to several minutes then the opening. I like the nice focused teaser/prologue feel of the good old days with only one scene or so.

[EricMontreal22]

Hrmm it seems to depend--the last episode of both AMC and OLTL had over 5 mins of the prologue act pre-credits...

[allmc2008]

Forgot!!

[ThisIsHeavy]

I will probably get hated on for this, but I had a real problem with Angie in Episode 40. She went to a therapist office and proceeded to tell a stranger all of her daughter's business. It's just a thing I really can't stand (probably because my mom does the exact same thing). But that really wasn't her story to share. Other than that, I really liked the episode. I am hopeful they will go in the opposite direction with Cassandra than what they did with Bianca, but maybe they are hoping to recreate the magic of that whole storyline so who knows.