All My Children 12/29/10

"Hi, there is an enormous eyeball staring at me! Oh, wait, that's a lamp."

     Apparently, Pine Valley only celebrates a muted Christmas Eve and then dives right into the New Year. I was expecting to see Christmas morning in our favorite dysfunctional fictional town, but instead found myself wondering why Crystal's Restaurant and Confusion were open, and why no one mentioned Christmas. I thought Thanksgiving was a bit skimped over, but at least there we glimpsed a bit of Ian's play. I feel the stories in "All My Children" are getting better, but showing how the holidays are spent would add more content and a needed buffer to forestall the on-coming drama, something to keep the story interesting and going strong.
     But, I digress.
     Today's episode we found Jake being whisked away by a phone call as he was needed in the under-staffed ER at PVH (perhaps, the rest of the town was actually celebrating Christmas). Although simple Amanda urged him to pretend his cellphone was "in the shop" (a faulty excuse as I have never heard of anyone saying this, especially with all of the 'Crackberries' out there), Jake pulled himself away from her always-present lips and said duty awaits. And duty did await:  Jake and Cara were granted the opportunity to prep a patient for the operation table. Jake's graphic detraction of bloody matter being removed from the patient in a hospital cubicle while neither doctor wore a face mask was rather disconcerting to me. A nurse dawdled in the background, but she was unneeded as Cara played her part, injecting the patient with morphine and making her doe-eyed glances at business-as-usual Jake. Afterward, the duo walked out of the cubicle and into the hallway. It was here that Jake pulled off his bloody examining gloves and discarded them into a pan. Did I mention this was IN THE HALLWAY? Not only do doctors make out in the hallways and visitors crack into staff computers, but they can also discard bio-hazardous materials in the open. No wonder Angie is blind!
     Brot, Natalia, and Tad met up in Confusion after a night-long stake-out, which proved fruitless. Exhausted, a bleary-eyed Tad warned the new couple that life is too short not to let personal matters grow:  queue the PDA.
     However, to JR, life is not too short to let personal matters grow...at least when it comes to left-in-the-wings Annie. Annie barged into JR's mansion and assumed a dozen pink roses laying on a side table was meant for her. Silly, dim-witted girl! How did she not suppose the roses were for another woman who actually resides in the home? Like Colby? Anyway, Annie's assumption was quickly proven wrong as the roses were really for Marissa--a thank you for offering joint custody of AJ with JR (in other words, "Thanks, Marissa, for giving me the opportunity to share my son with you!"). This enraged our poor self-doubting Annie, but she later found oodles of flowers in her paid-for hotel room...along with pink roses (Marissa's favorite, shh, don't tell!)...which led to Annie's rage taking over and thus, leading her to rip apart every single rose stem. Perhaps, JR has forgotten Annie has a very serious history of mental dysfunction and this could just be the fuse that sets her off.
     Our recently-remembered imprisoned Scott was greeted with two visitors:  Marissa and JR, separately. Marissa came in first, donning a short skirt blazing with zippers, and promised she'd get Scott out of prison and help him make a new name for himself. JR, however, visited his "cuz" and was rather bullying in his manner, taunting the prisoner with "I'm going to be out in the cool free air for my New Year's Day. Will you be partying with your cellmates?" Ha ha...oh ha, good chap! Meanwhile, the prisoner guard sat nearby playing with his cellphone. I guess he wasn't having cellphone problems.
     And to our sweet Amanda. When Jake returned from PVH to promise her he'd ask Angie to keep his shift and Cara's on different schedules, Amanda was all for it. But, then, she told him, "Nah, nevermind. Annie has gotten me paranoid. You can keep working with your ex." But, when he left to shower, Amanda surreptitiously called a government agency about Cara's Green Card status, impersonating Jake's sizzling ex. Oh, Amanda, you sneaky little gal!
           Due to the New Year holiday, "All My Children" is done for the week with new episodes. So, I will try my best to keep current on the opinionated recaps.  Happy New Year and God bless!

All My Children 12/28/10

"I'm gonna keep it, and I'll work at the Fusion office in NY. No prob!"

     Once revived by Greenlee by some shoulder-shaking, Madison woke up from her place belly-down on the frozen ground in the park. (Should someone tell her pregnant women should not be wearing narrow 4-inch heels?) Greenlee assured her she would not harm her and take her to the hospital. She did, and while there, she and Madison made a secret pact:  Greenlee would set her up with digs and a job in New York with Ryan being none the wiser...aha, think Ryan will eventually find out and this will bite Greenlee in the you-know-what?
     On her way to Fusion--under the assumption that she was going to contact her mysterious NY contacts on behalf of Madison, Greenlee jumped into the elevator and pressed the button for Floor 5. (Ya'd think she would avoid elevators as she has a strong phobia to them), but of course, the elevator doors shut and--whump!--the elevator stuck fast. Panicked, Greenlee soon realized she was not alone. Her estranged BFF, Kendall, was on the other side of the trapped elevator...huzzah! Instant rescue (thankful for this instant escape plan as we really didn't want to watch a panicked Greenlee on Christmas Eve), thanks to Kendall who assured a sobbing self-pitying Greenlee that she didn't want her dead in place of Zach. (Anyone else think Kendall should be blaming herself for Zach's demise as he couldn't get her to sit still in the Greenlee/David murder trial? Sheesh! Kendall practically begged Zach to get his nose in all the drama.) This realization of wanting to go back to being chummy with Greenlee came to Kendall thanks to a visit from the friendly Father Clarence who mystically reminded her of her meaningful friendship.
     Father Clarence also enlightened Erica to her true love for Jackson. Perhaps, they will be re-married again soon...If Caleb doesn't interfere.
     Colby tricked Asher into coming to the hospital so that he could run into his father, Caleb, who happened to be there eyeing the newborns through the glass pane. Hmm...can I believe Caleb would go to the hospital to do this? Was he checking in on another patient...maybe I missed that when I was looking at an erroneous charge that came in the mail from the furnace company...

     And so, my friends, as I battle the never-ending cold I have had for nearly two months, I have another "All My Children" episode to watch. Good day and adieu!

All My Children 12/27/10

"Uffff!"

Christmas Eve has fallen upon our cozy Pine Valley. With it, we have seen both Marissa and Scott change physically, dramatically. Both are more attractive, in my opinion, but I am not sure how I yet feel about the new Marissa:  I don't buy her act yet, but then again, I don't have to cringe now when I see her. She no longer plays giant to JR, nor is her ready toothy grin missed. No heartache there. I like Annie with JR, but now that there's a new Marissa in town, I just may like the custody-battling duo back together again.
     So Cara and Griffin popped into Crystal's Restaurant for the Martin Family Christmas Eve party...with tomales and the fixin's, no doubt! I found it a bit odd they brought food supplies (except for shortening, cumin, chili powder, and a couple other items, of course) to a restaurant. Okay, I get the idea of family traditions, but I think they should have called ahead with this idea as Crystal did not look thrilled. Oh, and did we all notice Amanda's glance at Jake when Griffin proclaimed Cara as the best tamale creator? Heh heh heh, that dame!
     Angie outed Brock and Natalia's obvious relationship in front of Jesse, and neither parent had any qualms with the pair hooking it up against the midnight oil. And did anyone else notice blind Angie making eye contact with Jesse? I hear she's getting some time off from "All My Children" soon and I say, "well deserved". This story bores me now.
     Madison took a tumble in the park: Nooooooooo! I applaud the actress for the slippery ice fall. It looked very realistic. However, I was annoyed that #1 Greenlee found her and #2 Madison is somehow...unconscious??? She cried out, "My baby!" and blacked out? It wasn't that big a stumble. This did not make me very happy. I like the Madison-is-carrying-Ryan's-baby storyline.
     And to Kendall:  well, the posthumous present from Zach turned out to be a journal he wrote while they were abroad on the high seas earlier in the year...this is plausible, except he had written a note to her on the first page of the journal stating that he wanted her to read his thoughts and feelings during their time away from Pine Valley. Because I like to keep things realistic, I wondered to myself if he always keeps the first page of his journals blank, or if he had started the journal with this message, already knowing he'd give this to Kendall? Anyway, it was a creative present, but I must admit that when she opened the gift, I first thought it was a book of poetry he had written...either way, I can see we are in for some juicy written Zach-bits.
     That's all for today, folkssssss!

All My Children 12/22/10

"What is it, Binks? The tape measure I wanted?"

     "All My Children" is done airing new episodes for this week. We viewers of Pine Valley were left with a cliffhanger wondering what was in the wrapped Christmas present labeled "For My Wife":  a gift for Kendall from the now-deceased Zach. I had to fill my husband in on this ending as it was hilarious to me to picture what my husband's Christmas gift to me would be...probably a standard-size bed pillow or the ironing board I put on my wishlist this year--not very sentimental...Okay, maybe I'm not the typical wife as I use Christmas as the time I can responsibly place my necessities on a gift list (see spend-thrifty). Unlike my ordinary gift, Kendall will probably open it to find an endearing photograph of she and Zach on the beach encased in an exquisite crystal frame.
     Also, on "All My Children", Amanda informed Jake that she had invited his ex-wife, Cara, to their family Christmas party. This, despite all the jealousy running rampant with all parties involved. Why would you invite your husband's long-lost ex to your family function? It's not like Jake and Cara are on good terms. It's not like Cara is an overweight frumpy plain Jane. Cara puts Amanda's good looks to shame....Oh, and on another note:  since when is it okay for a doctor to be making out on the hospital floor (another of Jake and Amanda's PDA displays)?!
     Speaking of Cara...does anyone else find her sibling relationship with her brother, Griffin, a bit too close for comfort? I don't believe them as brother and sister. Her little sisterly punches remind me more of a flirt sneaking in a teasing touch of some kind aimed at her crush...But, they're new to the scene yet, so maybe this will become more believable as siblings with time.
     And now to Greenlee....I am one of the few who liked seeing her and Ryan get back together (this assumption is due to the message boards and spoiler reviews I have read over the past couple years). I admit, I had stopped watching "All My Children" for about 5-10 years, so I missed when she first moved into Pine Valley. I started watching again when she was trying to get pregnant and Ryan basically pushed her away "for good". This was, geez, I dunno, 10 years ago? Anyway, because that was when I met Greenlee, I felt sympathy for her, so she won me over...and now that she has come back and David is the one presently in a coma, I am now changing my opinion of her. I like Madison and thought it was a brilliant twist to find out she is now pregnant. "All My Children" is getting some better topics. Maybe it is because of my liking her in a relationship with Ryan that I was angered by Greenlee's bullying ways. I hope Madison pulls Ryan away somewhere secretly (even if it is his closet) so she can tell him, "I'm pregnant, you creep! And it's yours, so suck it!" Whereupon, he can either say, "Oh, then let's get together, yeah, yeah, yeah!", orrrrrrr....he can say, "Okay, I have another bastard kid with Kendall, so this won't change anything with Greenlee and me, but let me know when you need a Lamaze partner, and I'll be there."
     That's all for now. Merry Christmas!