| Dueling Divas (From SOW, January 23, 2001) (Bits and pieces not pertaining to I&E have been cut out) |
| Linda Susman: I imagine it took every ounce of self control for Port Charles -- a little anemic in the hot-blooded romance department -- to have played it nice 'n' easy with the proven-popular Thorsten Kaye. How tempting it would have been to plunge the newly arrived, sensual (and seductively cerebral) Ian Thornhart into a torrid romance STAT! Instead, PC wisely focused on character anatomy while doing some (restrained) chemistry testing, until it hit on a winning formula. How ironic that Ian's first story, a well-thought-out plan, is the arc called "fate." Carolyn Hinsey: I agree about Thorsten, who is one of the few actors in daytime as talented as he is sexy. If ABC puts him on a billboard this summer, he'll have earned it. But we're halfway through "fate" and I don't really like the story. I didn't buy Eve's complete about-face from loving Kevin to loving Ian, and the whole "Oh, no, we're kidnapped and locked in the basement and everyone thinks we're dead!" storyline screams '80's rerun to me. If PC is going to play musical lovers every 12 weeks with these arcs, it will become a miniseries instead of a soap, and I won't have any reason to invest in the characters. However, I did like Lucy and Kevin reuniting because that piece of the puzzle was rooted in history, PC can put those two on a billboard too -- but that's it. Linda: I loved when Eve was thrown by that car! What a well-orchestrated Friday tag -- very Edge of Night-ish. And I appreciated the speed with which Eve and Ian's incarceration wrapped up (and like-wise how Lucy and Kevin's recoupling happened). You've got to agree that quickening the pace was a relief from those drawn-out plots that hold viewers hostage for weeks and even months. Carolyn: Do I have to agree? Really? Actually, I half agree. Quickening the pace on a dumb story is good because the story will be over faster. But picking up the pace is no substitute for a good story. All of those "events" on PC don't work for me without good story to back them up. Linda: It may not prove to be a perfect solution (it's still a work in progress), but if transitioning to the new format required that story be shoved down viewers' throats pretty quickly, at least PC was saavy enough to do it with four of its most popular players. Carolyn: OK -- put all four of them on a billboard, and let's call it a day. |