AMC flame
Jay Johannes
This is getting so bad that I have to scream somewhere. Please
indulge my ravings.
The amount and type of rehashed plot that is coming out of
AMC is really too much to tolerate.
For example, Erica has just been deceived and lured into
the Canadian wilderness by Alex [nee Adam], who hopes to
seduce her in order to spite Jeremy. The plans have gone
wrong, and there has been an accident which effectively
traps them [landslide this time, plane crash last time].
Jeremy, of course has found out about the deception and
races off to the woods in order to play RCMP type hero.
They have just finished playing the flashbacks of last summer's
abduction, and now they go off and come up with a plot
that is so similar that anyone watching can only
laugh at it. Do they really expect to be taken seriously?
If the writers want to play 'Perils of Pauline' with
Erica, they could at least find something new. Maybe
just have Alex have his boringly awaited heart attack
while climbing into bed with the sleeping Erica, perhaps?
A much better device would be for Adam to announce that
he and Erica are still married during the wedding
to Jeremy. (Remember, he sent Stuart to get the divorce,
so it isn't binding).
I guess I have been picking on the Erica subplot, but
less severe examples can be found with Palmer/Nina,
Adam/Ross, and Jessie/world among others. Is Agnes spending
too much time on her other soaps? I dont know, I dont watch them.
There has been so much lost potential in the last year.
Jessie at the police acadamy would have been great.
Tad's turnaround to a responsible character is overdue.
He would make a good lawyer, and the show needs one
(Who's going to defend Tom?). Instead they wasted
an entire summer on this computer disc garbage.
(even 8 year olds know about backup copies)
Sorry to ramble, but I feel better now.
Jay Johannes
Pat Boren
> This is getting so bad that I have to scream somewhere. Please
> indulge my ravings.
Me too! I think of AMC as my favorite soap, but lately I can't
stand it. Why? Because absolutely no one on the show is "good."
I'm sick of good characters going bad, completely changing who
they are, just because the old person was "boring." Nobody is
ever happy, and EVERYone is deceitful and cheating. Ok, I know
we're not all perfect, but we're not all bad either. Take Tom,
for instance. He came on the show as a good guy, and as soon as
he gets the girl, he's a jerk. Same thing for Adam and Bob, and
now it's happening to Ross. Can only wonder what's in store for
Jeremy or Greg.
I'm also sick and tired of the "dumb broads" -- have all the women
taken stupid lessons from Jenny, Donna and Devon? Why doesn't
Angie tell Dr. Voight to get lost and at least let Jessie know
what's up? (Which brings up another thought -- just once I'd like
to see someone be honest with their partner about someone else's
come-ons. Real people clear the air to nip things in the bud SOME
times!) Why can't shrewd Erica see thru Alex and Natalie's schemes?
Does Robin have to be as stupid as Jenny when it comes to Greg's mom?
This complaint of mine goes way back, too -- Devon with Sean,
Donna with Phoebe, any woman with Tad... For that matter, how could
a Palmer EVER be beaten by a Cynthia?
Stories I'd like to see:
o I can't stand Tom, so I'd like to see him put away for Gilles'
murder or hit by a bus and killed.
o Erica & Jeremy as a happily married couple, ala Robert & Holly
on GH. Just because a couple is together doesn't mean stories
are dead. In fact, a whole new realm could open up.
o Brooke dredging up who her mother really is.
o Tad keeping his sense of humor (anyone notice when he stopped
running around to be serious about Hillary, he really got
serious and is pretty boring now?)
o New characters in the baby boomer group showing contemporary
problems facing them: job burnout (yuppies changing careers
midstream), having "last chance" babies, things like that.
o A little more humor (so do something with Brian).
Thanks, I needed that!
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
--
Patricia Boren
decvax!randvax!boren
bo...@rand-unix.arpa
Daniel W. Tyack
I keep expecting her to say "auntie Em, auntie Em".
Maybe someone needs to tell her to tap her ruby slippers together
and think of Kansas and all will be well. At least she is
better than the last one (the one with the nostrals that were
so big you could drive a Mack truck through when she flared them).
Stephen Kurtzman
>
>> This is getting so bad that I have to scream somewhere. Please
>> indulge my ravings.
>
>
>Me too!
Me too!
>He came on the show as a good guy, and as soon as
>he gets the girl, he's a jerk.
It's even worse. He didn't become a jerk so much as people started saying he
was a jerk and then he started acting it.
AMC has not been taking the time to develop characters it used to. A really
good example is Jessie's nasty temper. This temper was only displayed about
a week after people started talking about it. This is a cheap device for
giving a person a characteristic without taking the trouble of developing
it.
>
>I'm also sick and tired of the "dumb broads" -- have all the women
>taken stupid lessons from Jenny, Donna and Devon? Why doesn't
>Angie tell Dr. Voight to get lost and at least let Jessie know
>what's up?
This is a sore point with me also. If Angie is an intelligent young woman
burning up med school with her brilliance why is she such a dip in every
other aspect?
>
>Stories I'd like to see:
> o I can't stand Tom, so I'd like to see him put away for Gilles'
> murder or hit by a bus and killed.
No, Tom is one of the few people on the show with the potential of being a
nice character. Poor Kate was the last one they had.
> o Erica & Jeremy as a happily married couple, ala Robert & Holly
> on GH. Just because a couple is together doesn't mean stories
> are dead. In fact, a whole new realm could open up.
They need to do it fast. Erica's inability to keep a husband/boyfriend/love
is getting old. I wish they had done this with Mike. Mike was fairly
intelligent and made a nice contrast to Erica. They could have shown some
real growth in Erica. Instead they have changed to some Himalayan hocus
pocus. (Another problem with the show -- too much supernatural garbage;
first it was Kantu, now it is RL Peyton.)
> o Brooke dredging up who her mother really is.
Yes. And then have her grow up.
> o New characters in the baby boomer group showing contemporary
> problems facing them: job burnout (yuppies changing careers
> midstream), having "last chance" babies, things like that.
The idea sounds good. But, please, no more women desparate to have children.
They have done that one to death.
> o A little more humor (so do something with Brian).
Only if they approach it correctly. Opal Gardner was hilarious. Recently the
humor has been typified by the chase scene at the end of the
call-girl floppy disk story. That was so insipid it was painful to watch.
My wish list:
o Billy Clyde comes back to Pine Valley to steal his daughter (Emily Ann).
o Ross leaves Chandler Enterprises because of his differences with Adam
and joins Cortlandt Electronics. This would give several avenues for
stories:
1. Tension between Ellen and Ross as Ellen tries to get Ross and Adam
to reconcile. Of course, the tension in the home makes Julie want to
go back to the orphanage. All sorts of problems ensue as Julie
becomes a problem child because of the unrest at home. This would
give fertile ground for story lines. (In fairness to the AMC
writers, some of this story line has been alluded to).
2. As Ross and Palmer come to know one another, they develop a deep
personal bond. We can see how Ross overcomes the hostility at
Palmer for abandoning his mother. Ross can feel guilty about
abandoning Adam -- the man who was a real father to him.
3. Ross can be thrown together with Andrew at Cortlandt Electronics.
The past is dredged up and has various effects on them. They never
come to trust one another.
4. Ross and Palmer try to destroy Chandler Enterprises. Chandler vs
Cortlandt -- the clash of the business world titans.
o One week in Pine Valley, everyone thinks things through before they act.
They make intelligent decisions and many heartaches are avoided.
Well, maybe the last one is too much to hope for.
Marguerite Czajka
I'm glad someone else has noticed this! I've been telling people
for weeks that Nina reminds me of Dorothy. I keep expecting to hear
her say "There's no place like home!" Hopefully she'll grow up when
she regains her memory. But I also like her better than the first two
- watching either of them drove me crazy!
Marguerite Czajka
during a show and was never referred to again. I don't remember where I
read it but it seems like this happened near the start of the soap. Do
any long time watchers remember anything like this?
Marguerite
...!iwvaf!maggie2
Scott
> > so big you could drive a Mack truck through when she flared them).
> I'm glad someone else has noticed this! I've been telling people
> ........................ But I also like her better than the first two
> - watching either of them drove me crazy!
Sorry, I must disagree. I have been watching the show since about 78
(Just before they lost Tara) and for me, Taylor Miller is the ONLY
one who could play Nina with any believeability. The interaction
between her and Pete Bergman was truly wonderful and really enhanced
each others talents. Since she left, I have not seen anything more
than "an actress". Taylor actually duped me into believing she was
really Nina. Maybe she is like that in real life. Who knows.
Addison
ihnp4!ihlpa!ibyf
My brother? I always thought of him as mom and dad's science project.
Noemi Berry
>> - watching either of them drove me crazy!
>Sorry, I must disagree. I have been watching the show since about 78
>(Just before they lost Tara) and for me, Taylor Miller is the ONLY
>one who could play Nina with any believeability. The interaction
>between her and Pete Bergman was truly wonderful and really enhanced
>each others talents. Since she left, I have not seen anything more
>than "an actress". Taylor actually duped me into believing she was
>really Nina. Maybe she is like that in real life. Who knows.
I agree - the 2nd Nina overacted terribly - she was always in a
crisis, and those NOSTRILS!! This one is better, but I'm surprised they
chose an actress with different color hair - usually they try to get someone
who resembles the replaced person, no matter HOW untalented. Case in point:
Sheila, Jenny's "replacement".
Taylor Miller is/was the ONLY Nina - but I was surprised to see her
on a talk show - she was snotty and arrogant, nothing at all like Nina.
I guess she really IS a good actress!!
noemi
Stephen Kurtzman
> I agree - the 2nd Nina overacted terribly - she was always in a
>crisis, and those NOSTRILS!! This one is better, but I'm surprised they
>chose an actress with different color hair - usually they try to get someone
>who resembles the replaced person, no matter HOW untalented. Case in point:
>Sheila, Jenny's "replacement".
I must point out an error here. AMC does not always try to maintain
superficial appearances when characters are changed. The example of
Sheila/Jenny is not good because Sheila's story was her resemblance to
Jenny. Counterexamples to this rash generalization are: The original Tad vs
the new Michael Knight - Tad ran away as a twerpy looking simp with a
serious inferiority complex and came back as a handsome arrogant womanizer.
Compare the recent change in Charlies. The first was dark haired and average
looking. The current one has fairer hair, and is fairly good looking. The
first Mike Roy was taller and darker than the second Mike. The second Mike
also had an English accent missing in the first one. The first Kent Bogard
was a light haired all-american boy type; the second was a dark-haired
European (noticeable accent) type. The first Lars Bogard had a thick
European accent; the second had no noticeable accent. Various Taras have had
different colorations (one had black hair, the last had brown hair). I think
the new Greg is different enough in build from the old one to use as a
counterexample. The two Lizas were different in build.
One of the things that AMC does do with every personnel change is to change
the character. The writers seem to write to the strengths of the actors.
Consequently, the characters change personality when actors change. I won't
cite examples since character mentioned above verifies the observation.
> Taylor Miller is/was the ONLY Nina - but I was surprised to see her
>on a talk show - she was snotty and arrogant, nothing at all like Nina.
>I guess she really IS a good actress!!
Funny thing, I always thought Taylor Miller's Nina was a very nice albeit
stuck-up rich bitch. While she was always nice, I always sensed a little bit
of ice underneath. It was just enough to make the character intriguing.
The second Nina was too stuck-up, and the current Nina is too much like a
very little girl.