Having praised Jackie Babbin, Connie is now going to bat for Haidee Granger
The Palladium-Times. Wednesday. May 19. 1993
'Loving' peps up BY CONNIE PASSALACQUA
A s the traditionally colorless, personalityless "Loving" journeys toward its 10th anniversary next month, something near-miraculous is happening under executive producer Haidee Granger, "Loving" suddenly seems colorized. Under Granger, who took over last summer. Loving" now has incredibly rich looking sets. In fact, the glass bubble church in which Trisha (formerly played by Noelle Beck) and Trucker (played by Robert Tyler) were remarried looked to be one of the most expensive soap sets eve. "Loving"s new music is also rich, seeming to swell up out of nowhere in every scene Thanks to the new production values, Corinth finally looks and sounds like a three-dimensional town.
It has only been in the last few months, however, that Granger has hit story-line pay dirt-Former head writer Millee Taggart returned with a new love triangle, which, to put it mildly, is hot. Former prig Shana (played by Susan Keith) is now in her late 30s, and, natch, her biological clock is ticking. To father her child, she asked department store magnate Leo Burnell (played by James Carroll) to spend a night with her, after which-only on soaps, Leo fell in love with her. But Leo has also long been in love with the impetuous Ava (Lisa Peluso)
As written by Taggart. the love triangle is full of humor. Humor ... on "Loving" Yes! Peluso, under normal circumstances can be incredibly whiny is a deft comedian. Even Keith, who has always played Sturm und Drang heroines on soaps (including One Life to Live" and "Another World"), is exposing her funny bone In his first important soap role Carroll is a rarity - a 30ish leading man with fresh charm. The whole story line has been an unexpected delight. Unfortunately, the rest of "Loving" is dull by comparison.
By
Paul Raven ·
