Ew!
I like to think of myself as the type of person who isn't easily ruffled and who doesn't often become shrieky and faint and in need of smelling salts, but lately All My Children has been so gross that I find myself all Helen Lovejoy "Won't someone think of the children?!" Or, more to the point, "Won't someone think of me?!?!"
Because this show is icky. It's full of icky people doing icky things. Ickily. Isn't Megan McTavish gone? Why does everything still have the faint scent of pathetic and grossness?
That wasn't originally intended to be a comment about Babe and Krystal, but, hey, a good segue is a good segue...
I know I often say that I like when shows dip into their history and make allusions to things that happened in the past, but I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea for Krystal and Babe to ECHO VERBATIM lines that Bianca and Erica had when they were reunited with Miranda after Babe and Krystal stole her
Bianca: Oh, no, no, no, I'm sorry, Miranda's not going anywhere.
Erica: Oh. Honey, it'll be all right. I'll be right here with the baby, right where you can see her. She'll be just safe in my arms. Sweetheart, on my life, I swear, I will never let anybody take your baby from you again.
And today (paraphrased):
Krystal: I'm not letting her leave my arms
Babe: Momma, we'll never let anybody take her from you again
!!!
It gave me chest pains.
Maybe there is something in the water at ABC Daytime, as I am apparently supposed to feel sorry that Jason on GH can't claim his son as his own, despite, you know, stealing his brother's child from him. Oh, but he apologized...to his brother's grave years after he died. That totally makes it okay. I don't know why the head honchos have such a lust for baby stealers. It worries me. Is being pro-baby stealing a movement that is gaining popularity? Lock up your children, America. Apparently Southern tramps and hitmen are totally justified in taking them on a whim!
Perhaps I am completely heartless (the odds are high), but I just could not muster up any emotion for Krystal and Tad. Part of that is because I have watched television before and therefore knew that nothing would happen to that child, but mostly because...you know, karma. In real life, not knowing where your child was for even thirty seconds? Harrowing. But with Krystal and Tad? Karma. Remember when they stole Miranda and helped Liza run away with Colby? Yeah. Karma. Plus, if I were a fictional character in Pine Valley and I had to hear Krystal all "Baby doll" this and "Sweet pea" that and "Your daddy is a bad man" this, I would sell Jenny on the black market myself.
Would it be forward of me to tell the writers that they don't know how to redeem characters? Because they don't. I realize that I am not an expert on this but I feel it important to offer my advice anyway: if you need to make other characters do evil things to make a character look good? That's not "redeeming a character". That's "lazy". And also "sending the show to hell in a handbasket".
I think all of the y's in JennY ColbY CareY's name are code for Whyyy is my gene pool so screwed up?
POP QUIZ: Your last attempt to find your other missing daughter led you to trap someone against their will and then due to bizarre circumstances, they died. You are them in the position of looking for another missing daughter. What do you do?
(a)Anything but trap someone against their will
(b)Handcuff yourself to a man with a decades long history of heart problems, then refuse to get him help when he has chest pains?
(c)No, seriously, ANYTHING but trap someone against their will
Seriously, Tad. Seriously. Sometimes, he looks about as bright as Jonathan when Jonathan still had his tumor.
Dude: Sean and Ava. WHAT THE HELL?!?!?
I can honestly say that if I ever met the identical half-sibling of one of my cousins, who I had become protective and fond of, I would not have sex with them. I just wouldn't. Because that would be GROSS, what with the identical thing going on.
I tried with the new Greenlee. I did. I tried for like five whole minutes. I just couldn't do it. She tried; she was cute and she was almost funny when she was shocked that Ryan was marrying Annie of all people (me, too!) and she and Kendall were appropriately weird when they were avoiding the subject of Spike--which reminds me: give the child a real name--but...she's no Rebecca Budig. Really pretty, though, if that counts for anything.
And why was she cute and perky? She left Pine Valley in a fury because she hated everybody so much. Why am I expecting writers to remember that? Silly me!
EW is so right! Krystal having her baby taken for a few days is nothing compared to the hell she and her babydawl put Bianca through, letting her think she drowned in a cold river. Then they generously allowed her to be her own child's godmother. Then they conspired to allow JR to think HIS son was dead, and ran off with JR's brother and named the baby James. They get to decide who is fit to be a parent and who isn't. So NO, I feel no sympathy for her and she is not redeemed in my book. So now Tad and Krystal and baby Jenny are the new Tad and Dixie and baby Kate I guess??? Never.
Posted by: Skip's Girl | May 08, 2007 at 11:30 PM
I hate Babe and Krystal so much, I think it is rubbing off on the actresses. Anytime I see them in anything other than AMC, I am still all like "I hate you Babe! I hate you Krystal with a K!"
Posted by: Mandy | May 08, 2007 at 11:46 PM
I must agree that these people know nothing off redeeming characters who have done despicable things. The current trend in soap writing is to let new characters do heinous things, have legacy characters go on and on about how wonderful they are and another character, usually a victim of the aforementioned heinous act, do something terrible to the newbie and somehow that's redemption. Then, they think, we can love this wonderful new character and are completely confused when the audience fails to respond positively. Morons.
Unfortunately, Tad and Krystal have done so much dirt that it's real easy for me to actually want them to not have their child. Besides the Karmic see why these people shouldn't be allowed near another child. Look at the offspring that they have reared: Babe and Jamie are awful people with the self awareness of dirt and the combined IQ of cheese. A brilliant poster on TWoP calls them Labercrombie and Bitch and I totally agree.
The only thing worth watching in recent weeks was Janet from Another Planet's smack down for KWAK. But where's the stinging condemnation of Puff Taddy. Sure she found them both unfit as a parents a I know many have soft spots for Tad the Cad, but the character as become a self righteous, sanctimonious, hypocritical murdering douche bag.
Posted by: ande mcbeal | May 09, 2007 at 12:42 AM