Probably my favorite 2 minutes of GH in history (close 2nd: Jax proposed to Brenda):
My favorite line: "Now is not the time to show off your answer-avoidance skills."
Second favorite: "I already asked you twice and you said no both times."
Oh, romance. Oh, love. How I long for thee...
And for anyone who doesn't think my poorly written last post is an example of pure character genius (I'm not humble when it comes to Jason - I was right - I've been watching GH for at least 15 years)...Jagger & Karen scenes can be found on YouTube.
Now, I must go and be spoiled or watching Liason say goodbye for the umpteenth time may break my heart. These scenes were everything I love about Jason & Liz. I cried and I laughed and I loved them both more for it. Maybe someday I'll get to see them say, "Our relationship & family matters more than anyone else in Port Charles"...but they are still too self-sacrificing.
Showing posts with label Sometimes it's really good. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sometimes it's really good. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Detailing
I love detail. Character elements that give mega information in byte-sized packages. I think they're marks of a good creation - a character who has more life than can be breathed out in a single exhale.
Like Johnny writing music on prison walls. I had enjoyed his story about sitting at the piano and making his father smile. His escape into music was a cute element of a troubled childhood. But the amplification of what could have been a simple memory into Johnny's figurative escape from a mental hospital prison.....lovely, perfect, enchanting...in my opinion. My Tivo is permanently paused on minute 51 so that I can listen to Debussy and watch Johnny draw music notes on padded walls.
Minute 53 wasn't bad either, as the subtext for Patrick and Robin exploded into concrete language. The statement, you can lean on me, was rich in unspoken truth - and I applauded the writers for not doing Baby Jake part deux but instead writing a moment where two people came to mutual understanding with hesitation and confusion.
Two minutes of television - that's all it was. But two minutes of excellent storytelling wherein a few solitary details told more story than a thousand pictures or a hundred word soliloquy.
Like Johnny writing music on prison walls. I had enjoyed his story about sitting at the piano and making his father smile. His escape into music was a cute element of a troubled childhood. But the amplification of what could have been a simple memory into Johnny's figurative escape from a mental hospital prison.....lovely, perfect, enchanting...in my opinion. My Tivo is permanently paused on minute 51 so that I can listen to Debussy and watch Johnny draw music notes on padded walls.
Minute 53 wasn't bad either, as the subtext for Patrick and Robin exploded into concrete language. The statement, you can lean on me, was rich in unspoken truth - and I applauded the writers for not doing Baby Jake part deux but instead writing a moment where two people came to mutual understanding with hesitation and confusion.
Two minutes of television - that's all it was. But two minutes of excellent storytelling wherein a few solitary details told more story than a thousand pictures or a hundred word soliloquy.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Lest I be misinterpreted!
Perhaps I was just in rotten mood on Wednesday...but never be concerned. I love my GH more every day (thank you, Garin Wolf). I complain about it the way a woman complains about her children - sure, you may like a little tweaking to the system but overall it's a love that endures the test of time. Nancy mentioned that she liked Claudia and Jason's interaction - I did, too. I'm not "on board" with the romance potential but that's due to one fact....
I'm so over Jason & the mob. I love Sonny - he's a mobster. He'll always be a mobster. He leaves but he always comes back. But Jason is a protector and I think his need to protect his family would so far outweigh his need to protect the mob that his loyalty to Sonny is threatened. But I will love him if I'm wrong. I've been watching for almost 2 decades just to see the time when Jason returns to the Quartermaines. I am an inconquerable Liason romantic, no matter how often it's half-slaughtered. And I still want Laura and the Quartermaines to get screen time. I'm an elephant - faithful 100% - no matter how often I'm disappointed. And please don't mistake disappointment for lack of love. I'm committed (see: elephant) to keeping a positive I love GH thread on this blog.
That said, I read a rumor that Jason could lose use of his hands and I am tripping with excitement that my hopes for a Quartermaine return could be imminent. I have so longed for an experience that forced Jason to need his mommy. I would particularly love it if he returned with a Lila replacement who could be the heart and maternal instinct of the Quartermaine family.*
While I'm on the subject of maternal instinct....when did I become a Carly/Jax fan? When did the writers remember that family life is full of interesting drama and struggle, too? (Oh - that's right - when the writer's strike gave me Garin Wolf. Have I mentioned today that I love him? I digress I know - but I really, really love him.) The scene in the nursery was so adorable and romantic - all in one kinda funny package mixed with green paint (But, Carly, I didn't mind the color - I thought it would make for a pretty park room). I miss Carly as the dysfunctional person she used to be - but the show needs a cool mom and family - and I've always kinda liked that Carly changed herself completely when she became a mother. It's a nice commentary on the power of motherhood...now if she'd only paid more attention to the psychosocial state of the kid before he got the gun - but soap operas are all about bad choices and their consequences - I wish they weren't being so "safe". Guns are bad deals in the hands of kids. At some point, they have to stop being so basic ice cream and get gritty. Still - I have liked Michael's storyline A LOT and am very grateful they've at least touched on the issues real parents are trying to confront: drugs, guns, and kids with no sense of establishment.
I'm so over Jason & the mob. I love Sonny - he's a mobster. He'll always be a mobster. He leaves but he always comes back. But Jason is a protector and I think his need to protect his family would so far outweigh his need to protect the mob that his loyalty to Sonny is threatened. But I will love him if I'm wrong. I've been watching for almost 2 decades just to see the time when Jason returns to the Quartermaines. I am an inconquerable Liason romantic, no matter how often it's half-slaughtered. And I still want Laura and the Quartermaines to get screen time. I'm an elephant - faithful 100% - no matter how often I'm disappointed. And please don't mistake disappointment for lack of love. I'm committed (see: elephant) to keeping a positive I love GH thread on this blog.
That said, I read a rumor that Jason could lose use of his hands and I am tripping with excitement that my hopes for a Quartermaine return could be imminent. I have so longed for an experience that forced Jason to need his mommy. I would particularly love it if he returned with a Lila replacement who could be the heart and maternal instinct of the Quartermaine family.*
While I'm on the subject of maternal instinct....when did I become a Carly/Jax fan? When did the writers remember that family life is full of interesting drama and struggle, too? (Oh - that's right - when the writer's strike gave me Garin Wolf. Have I mentioned today that I love him? I digress I know - but I really, really love him.) The scene in the nursery was so adorable and romantic - all in one kinda funny package mixed with green paint (But, Carly, I didn't mind the color - I thought it would make for a pretty park room). I miss Carly as the dysfunctional person she used to be - but the show needs a cool mom and family - and I've always kinda liked that Carly changed herself completely when she became a mother. It's a nice commentary on the power of motherhood...now if she'd only paid more attention to the psychosocial state of the kid before he got the gun - but soap operas are all about bad choices and their consequences - I wish they weren't being so "safe". Guns are bad deals in the hands of kids. At some point, they have to stop being so basic ice cream and get gritty. Still - I have liked Michael's storyline A LOT and am very grateful they've at least touched on the issues real parents are trying to confront: drugs, guns, and kids with no sense of establishment.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Garin Wolf, I think I love you
Garin Wolf*.
You wrote my favorite episode of Night Shift and 2 really wonderful episodes of GH this January. And Wikipedia even gives you credit for some of the best years in GH history - 1997-1998. I know you're a SCAB and probably not long to be seen at GH, so I decided to write you a letter for the whole world to see.
I love you.
When you write the show, there are lovely moments of human realism, like when Jason looked at Claudia, offering herself up like 2-day-old meat on special at the market, and said in response to her veiled offer of cheap nameless or not-so-nameless sex, "Maybe that should tell you something." Under your pen, I watched Carly & Jax have a conversation that could occur in any middle school child's bedroom in America (especially given a week of multiple school shootings). I watched couples try and be families, people learn about loneliness, and stammerers stammer in ever-endearing run-on sentences. The characters don't function in isolation and the characters lost that haze of "what's my motivation here" that has been painful to watch. You understand that Sonny and Jason have reached an ending. You're not afraid to paint Claudia as lonely and desperate (because Sarah Browne can handle that beautifully). You love Johnny's darkness and LuLu's dumbness (she went to a class - hallelujah) and Nadine's silliness (the duck is precious). You let those be qualities that produce plots not qualities created for plots and randomly shoved into whichever character needs screen time.
I'm watching Friday's episode again and lamenting the end of the writer's strike. Almost every moment is so rich in the qualities that make me love soaps. Elizabeth has personality. Sam's victimization seems more human and less shrill. Kate became less vanilla and more insecure. Your medical jargon even made sense. You also seem aware that hospitals are more than a single nurse's station. In your GH, there are physical therapists and a pediatrics unit. Why, if left to your own devices, I bet a dietitian would wander across the screen eventually.
I know it can't last forever. The cloud of Guza's ego is threatening the horizon. Soon, I will be treated to his ongoing hatemail to FOX meant to illustrate why he should be writing 24 instead of some lousy soap. I don't feel like you feel that way, Garin Wolf. When I see your name at the start of an episode, I put away my Tivo remote and listen to each word. Because you write people in all their messy glory and seem to love our characters as much as we do. So, here's my offer: wherever you find yourself, drop me a line. I don't care if you're writing Maxwell House commercials...I'll give it ratings. Because you deserve a fan.
So, thank you. I wish you success. You were a wonderful part of my recent afternoons.
Sincerely -
glo
*Now, irony dictates that one day I'll discover that Garin Wolf is the SCAB pseudonym of Guza. Nevertheless, I will go on with this letter because I hope that whatever alternate universe gave us Garin Wolf will keep spinning in line with ours.
Oh - and a shout-out to Nancy. Welcome. Thanks for commenting. Nice to have someone stop on by...
You wrote my favorite episode of Night Shift and 2 really wonderful episodes of GH this January. And Wikipedia even gives you credit for some of the best years in GH history - 1997-1998. I know you're a SCAB and probably not long to be seen at GH, so I decided to write you a letter for the whole world to see.
I love you.
When you write the show, there are lovely moments of human realism, like when Jason looked at Claudia, offering herself up like 2-day-old meat on special at the market, and said in response to her veiled offer of cheap nameless or not-so-nameless sex, "Maybe that should tell you something." Under your pen, I watched Carly & Jax have a conversation that could occur in any middle school child's bedroom in America (especially given a week of multiple school shootings). I watched couples try and be families, people learn about loneliness, and stammerers stammer in ever-endearing run-on sentences. The characters don't function in isolation and the characters lost that haze of "what's my motivation here" that has been painful to watch. You understand that Sonny and Jason have reached an ending. You're not afraid to paint Claudia as lonely and desperate (because Sarah Browne can handle that beautifully). You love Johnny's darkness and LuLu's dumbness (she went to a class - hallelujah) and Nadine's silliness (the duck is precious). You let those be qualities that produce plots not qualities created for plots and randomly shoved into whichever character needs screen time.
I'm watching Friday's episode again and lamenting the end of the writer's strike. Almost every moment is so rich in the qualities that make me love soaps. Elizabeth has personality. Sam's victimization seems more human and less shrill. Kate became less vanilla and more insecure. Your medical jargon even made sense. You also seem aware that hospitals are more than a single nurse's station. In your GH, there are physical therapists and a pediatrics unit. Why, if left to your own devices, I bet a dietitian would wander across the screen eventually.
I know it can't last forever. The cloud of Guza's ego is threatening the horizon. Soon, I will be treated to his ongoing hatemail to FOX meant to illustrate why he should be writing 24 instead of some lousy soap. I don't feel like you feel that way, Garin Wolf. When I see your name at the start of an episode, I put away my Tivo remote and listen to each word. Because you write people in all their messy glory and seem to love our characters as much as we do. So, here's my offer: wherever you find yourself, drop me a line. I don't care if you're writing Maxwell House commercials...I'll give it ratings. Because you deserve a fan.
So, thank you. I wish you success. You were a wonderful part of my recent afternoons.
Sincerely -
glo
*Now, irony dictates that one day I'll discover that Garin Wolf is the SCAB pseudonym of Guza. Nevertheless, I will go on with this letter because I hope that whatever alternate universe gave us Garin Wolf will keep spinning in line with ours.
Oh - and a shout-out to Nancy. Welcome. Thanks for commenting. Nice to have someone stop on by...
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