A Provisional "Thumbs Up": A Former Movie Reviewer Chimes in On GH

Okay, I admit it. I caved and watched GH. I looked around the boards, to be sure it was safe, and I saw it was, so I watched it. I even watched it live one day.  I wasn’t excited but I wasn’t let down, although one day did have me applauding again, talking back to the television, and being my silly fangurl self. But, overall, there’s room for improvement, let’s say. But beggars can’t be choosers.

 So for the one scene that made it all worth it.  You guessed it.  The Todd/Tea smackdown.  For a moment, I wondered what show I was watching, as it was so OLTL.  Our actors, our characters, our writer.  And Mannings in jail.  Now that’s OLTL!!!

Now, for someone who is allegedly a huge Tea fan, I’m not sure what Carlivati is going for here. But, then again, I’m never sure what he’s going for as he’s, well, an enigma, I’d say. How’s that for playing nice?  At any rate, she came off as a malicious, shrieking harpy who is out for blood.

Todd, on the other hand, came off as an unrepentant offender who neither regrets nor has guilt about his actions. Yet his delivery made his words seem suspect, as Howarth let the pain and grief come through in how he said the lines, not the words themselves.  But, maybe you have to watch closely to get that…or know Howarth’s Todd.   I believe I saw much to show me Todd’s guilt and regret, but Dude’s got a temper and he was classic Todd. He let her have it and he should have.  She’s out of control.  And I loves me some angry, unforgiving Todd berating someone but this exchange had so much going on below the surface, it was a pleasure to watch.  That’s my guy!!

I did love how he said that he would happily tell the kid he killed Victor. I applauded that and said “Yeah, Todd” out loud . Then he calmly- for him- explained his reason for doing so.  And, although I’m biased, I whole-heartedly agreed.  He actually made a lot of sense and I’m pretty sure a new viewer would agree, as well.  SNV was a douchebag and, now, it seems everyone can know it!  

He then clearly laid out everyone he loved- Blair being first, of course.  At that moment there was that curious edit to Tea and Starr, giving one another a knowing glance, which makes me go “HHMMM”. Why were they so seemingly uncomfortable when he said he loved Blair?  Wasn’t that a given? Makes me think that something’s going on with Blair that’s keeping her away- more than Sam being sick. Is she weakening to Todd already?  What a shock. I’ve said it before, but it’s so fitting. Blair Cramer Manning, a tower of Jell-O, well, when it comes to Todd, anyway.  Poor, lovesick kid.

Tea then clearly explained that he’d “worm his way back into the hearts of his family” and I almost fell off the couch.  What was that about?  An assurance of where we’re headed, as we know Tea’s never wrong.  And when he said that she wasn’t alone as she had Dani and her brother with the funny name, I about fell off the couch again, and I’d just steadied myself.  Maybe I need to see a doctor. I still can’t believe how Carlivati separates that girl from her bio-father. He shows less than no interest in her and, personally, I couldn’t be happier. 

Tea got more and more angry, mixed with her trademark smugness, and  spewed venom, ate hair, and got more shrill by the moment. Okay, she thinks he killed her husband, I get that, and she’s pregnant.  But I still think she hates him for loving Blair more than anything. She was always railing at him. Now, she just has more reason. Here’s a hint- if you want a new audience to like a character, don’t make her a screaming harpy who’s persecuting a love sick, traumatized man who’s lost everything and acted out in a moment caused by PTSD.  That makes her look bad. Although I like Lozano quite a bit, her interpretation of Tea is over the top on a good day. It’s a bit much now, though.  She needs to finesse the new audience, not rip into them on her second day. It’s unsettling and she’s not likable.

Strangely enough, Blair is and she’s not even there.  Maybe that’s why.  But I doubt it. And what’s with the Blair obsession?  I thought Todd was obsessed with her but I wasn’t aware of the fact that the writing staff were, as well.  Aren’t TPTB the ones that said she wasn’t needed and they wanted to “shop Todd around”?  Well, if is this is how they’re doing it, color me confused as I don’t see that happening on my screen.  In fact, I see the opposite.

I see her name coming up daily. I’m not surprised to see Todd get wistful over her, as I assumed Howarth would do that in his interpretation no matter the writing, but I can’t understand the constant reminders that she not only exists, but that her husband- or ex-husband to his chagrin- is completely devoted to her.  Hell, even Carly seems smitten!

The “that’s your other ex-wife” exchange was odd at best, revealing at least. Carly saying she liked Blair better and Todd, swallowing his pain in his pursed lips, saying “Me, too” was so sad and sweet, showing his grief and longing for her.

In fact, as I would have expected but am pleasantly reassured to see, Howarth has taken every opportunity to express Todd’s deep regret in losing her at all and his dedication to get her back. It’s one of the things I love about him. He’s so good at the little moments.  The tone of his voice, the look on his face, the use of silence and sighs.  He’s showing Todd as depressed and lonely and, it seems, truly in love with Blair.  No matter the writing, it always seemed that he could express Todd’s feelings for Blair and nothing’s changed.  Eight years didn’t seem to matter to his interpretation or ability to inhabit Todd completely.  And, it seems, that he’s just moved Todd to a new locale in that regard. For that, I’m thankful…but waiting with a skeptical eye. I don’t trust these guys…yet.

Todd and Carly's scenes were about Blair and Starr and her feelings for Johnny.  I see no heat. I see no passion- except for the ghost of Blair who seems to be in every scene with Todd.  She's not on screen but she's in his eyes, the way he sighs, and the fornlorn looks when he speaks about her.  I'm pretty sure that this is NOT the way you build a potential romance, meaning a man who seems to be pining ceaselessly for his ex-wife who is known to still love him, as well.  So anyone pining for something new for Todd will probably be sadly mistaken.  Even though, I must admit, that I’ve seen only about two people interested. Hell, even Carlivati basically ignored the idea while he went on and on about Sonny/Carly/Johnny.

And, really, Howarth isn’t bringing the flirt. We’ve seen Todd flirt- a lot  in his last stint. He can bring in the Toddian charm when he wants.  He doesn’t want to. That’s obvious.  One never knows what the future holds with these guys but seeing the future is probably about 90 days, I’d say, not happening “Codd” fan.  Sorry.

And this is all I’ll say as an unabashed, unfiltered Todd and Blair fangurl.  If they ain’t bringing Blair back, they’re pulling a fast one and making themselves look like idiots. But, I put nothing past them. Yet, if I were the betting kind, I’d say it’s a safe bet Blair’s back…and with a vengeance.  Maybe, just maybe, this could be an interesting show. If they get Viki, too!

I’m not sure how I feel about the rest of GH, as I think it’s all dark and drab and uninteresting.  I think “integrating” these characters into one show, though, is still a mistake as there is a glaring difference between them. Well, not all of them. Some of them.  I think John works as a GH character because although I find Easton likable and have nothing against him at all, I think the character is drab and dark and uninteresting. So, he’s perfect.  The only time I thought he was entertaining was when he was in scenes with Howarth or DePaiva.  Interesting.  I guess they make everyone better.

But, in general, all I see is a lot of talk about nothing with characters I find unappealing.  Except Tracy, who’s still as fabulous as she was in the 1980’s.  That Jane Elliot is so good, she’s  OLTL caliber!! But I digress and that’s the topic for my next entry.