|
|
|
Former As the World Turns head writer Lorraine Broderick’s gift - and her gift to us - was the ability to take a conversation, or at first glance an inconsequential encounter, or what could have been written as hyped-up melodrama, and instead shape it into the most quiet, moving, sometimes heartbreaking, but often heartwarming moments. Moments that would cause your eyes to brim with tears. Moments that would have you sitting up and alert, but very still, as if moving one millimeter would break the mood or stop the scene. Moments that would make you empathize so strongly with a character that you would suddenly be transported into that moment and all those emotions playing out on-screen. I began to refer to them as "Broderick Moments," and in time, at least for me, they came to define Broderick’s tenure on ATWT. There are already signs that we may once again be blessed with this unique ability to express emotion through simplicity, in golden little nuggets of emotion that linger in the heart and burrow into a special little place in your mind. New head writer Hogan Sheffer has opened the faucets and has allowed feeling to flood all over an emotionally dried and cracked Oakdale. But he has also taken scenes and almost paused them, thereby allowing the audience to hear the heartbeat of the scene or, sometimes on a grander scale, the story. It’s Jake seeing Emily from behind and hoping. . .wishing. . .willing her to be Vicky. It’s Donna visiting Jake and removing his wedding band and placing it in his hand. It’s Lily packing the seashell candle from Simon as her only momento from the island. The best example this week of a "Sheffer Moment" was Lily and Simon’s dance on Tuesday. The dance was intimate, but it was also shrouded in a black gauze of loneliness. In Lily and Simon’s case, they were indeed the only two people in the world, and their dance symbolized both their dependence on each other as well as their isolation. Lily’s quiet humming (of "My Way", I think) was like a soothing caress, yet as the notes floated out and faded on the night air, it amplified their solitude. The camera lingered on the couple. When my mental clock indicated the scene should fade to commercial, it kept going (as it should have) because the additional length and the quiet underscored the isolation and their bond. Lily and Simon ended the dance very close, her head on his shoulder, their eyes closed, their fingers entwined. It was a slow dance of hope, the very hope Simon had earlier pleaded with Lily to hold onto. When they came together, hand to hand, heartbeat to heartbeat, Lily and Simon realized that they were each other’s best hope, and that it was hope that would keep them going. There was no dancing around that fact. And so. . .they danced instead. Happily married doesn’t necessarily have to mean boring, but that, regretably, is a concept that most soap writers can not seem to translate on-screen. This isn’t limited just to ATWT. On Guiding Light, supercouple Josh and Reva are apparently heading toward divorce. On Days of our Lives, supercouple Bo and Hope have been broken up and put back together more often than Humpty Dumpty. It’s a sad, but true fact that the options are limited for favorite couples who are married or, worse, considered by the fans as "destined" to be together and therefore carry that double-edged moniker of "Supercouple". With all due respect to the Lily and Holden fans out there - and I am one of them - even good marriages go through their ups and downs. On a soap those ups and downs are often more frequent and more dramatically UP and DOWN, like the wild, jerky lines on the readout of a polygraph test. That’s the nature of soap opera. Unless you have a really good writer who can create story for a happily married couple (Lorraine Broderick did it for Lily and Holden with the switched baby plot), the only choice seems to be to inject a third party into the picture to shake things up. (Example of Past Failure: Lily/Molly/Holden; Example of Past Success: Emily/Tom/Margo) Personally, and this is perhaps stating the obvious, I think supercouples need storylines, even if it involves temporarily or permanently splitting them up. Consider the alternative of languishing on the backburner with no story at all, or perhaps having a supporting role in a story, but still within all the confines of being a “supercouple” or “happily married forever” brings. Hopefully you agree. The key, then, as it is with any story, is to set the story up gradually and as realistically as possible. Lily/Simon/Holden/Rose was horribly set-up and not initially told well. But Sheffer has tried patch up and bring clarity to various components of the story (e.g., why the diamond was so important to Simon and Celia) while shifting the focus more toward character and less toward plot contrivance (e.g., Rose’s background and her motivation, defining Simon). So, having said all that, has the growing affection between Lily and Simon been realistic? You bet. . .well, as realistic as two gorgeous people being stranded on a desert island can be. Their attraction and growing affection has been told gradually, if not always realistically. Lily and Simon danced again on Thursday. This time the dance was purely romantic. The first indication was the choice of song Lily hummed - "The Way You Look Tonight.” Everything that preceded it was deliberately taunting, an almost slow tease to when the couple would lock hands and arms. It started with Lily’s palm frond imitation of Rose that beckoned Simon into smiled submission. Lily would only let Simon approach so far, but then she moved herself in and around him until she was backed up against him in an alcohol-fueled, but still basically innocent flirtation. The storm was approaching, so Simon - looking like the big, unshaved hero of a Harlequin romance novel -- swooped Lily up into his arms and carried her back to the cave. They arrived wet, of course, and then moved to the hot springs - Lily "making room" for Simon to slide in - and then, wet from the water and high on moonshine, they danced. This slow progression, this reluctant, hesitant coming together, built toward a kiss - a hot, passionate kiss. It was pure fantasy, romantic and as easy to slide into as that hot springs. It was. . .wonderful. But it didn't end there. The romance and the mood continued into Friday, where every Lily and Simon scene was simply outstanding, fantasy romance all the way and unapologetically so. I lapped it all up like a dehydrated man in the middle of a desert and still was not satiated. Lily and Simon kissed and then, wonderfully, appropriately, they silently danced again. Then they kissed again. Lily slapped Simon, "Because you wouldn't stop kissing me." What followed was a series of confessions and honesty, performed to perfection by Martha Byrne and Paul Leyden. Simon confessed his love: "Lily, I am deeply and I am sorry. . .regretably. . .madly in love with you." And Lily fought hard (Martha Byrne's eyes said it all) to maintain her fidelity, her morality, and the ties to her past while fighting an admitted attraction to the man before her. They argued it -- thrown together, forced together, fate, Lily's marriage -- before agreeing not to act on their feelings any further. But when asked if he could forget what happened, Simon said he could not. Simon: "I want to remember that we told each other the truth. . .and then decided to do something else." I thought it wouldn't get any better than that, but it did. Of course Simon had to ask for one final kiss. And so, once again, they kissed. . .and kissed. . .and were giving into their passion when Holden walked in. I can't give enough applause to Sheffer and the writers. It was classic soap opera as defined in the 60s and 70s -- romance, more romance, illicit love, fantasy, and the Friday cliffhanger. Who would have thought that I would ever become emotionally involved in *any* component of this storyline, much less championing it as the highlight of the week? But I am. When Simon asked Lily on Friday to reveal her feelings, he said, "I want the truth from *you* this time." Well, here's the truth from me: I loved the Lily and Simon story this week. And Holden's arrival on Friday already has me wanting more! Sheffer seems to respect the audience. It is most obvious in how he is telling the stories he inherited from former head writer Leah Laiman. If you recall, Laiman took Broderick’s ongoing storylines (most of them quite good) and quickly and carelessly climaxed them. It was like receiving a wrapped present, but one the family dog had gotten hold of, shook furiously from side to side, and then dragged to you with its teeth. It didn’t seem to matter that - good or bad - the audience had watched and invested time in each story and, therefore, deserved a good and satisfying payoff. Contrast that attitude with Sheffer’s approach. Sheffer has taken each story and, while it appears he will wrap some of them up in a timely manner, is also embellishing each story with depth, clarity, and a noticeable improvement in quality. Scheffer has cut his losses when necessary (Bye-bye Winston! Bye-bye Celia!) or used bad plotting or characterization to his advantage (Cooley and Holden’s sky high ride to rescue Lily and Simon). He’s even picked up abandoned stories and/or characters! For example, I was amazed to see Curtis wheeled into Memorial on Tuesday and the abandoned relationship between Curtis and Isaac revisited. At first I had unsettling flashbacks to the Leah Laiman "story of the day" plotting. But then I realized Curtis’ emergency room hospitalization served a bigger purpose:
A. It provided new insight into Isaac’s character. Apparently Isaac shucks and dodges responsibility, as evidenced by how he persuaded Ben to act as Curtis’ guardian. In the guise of brotherhood, Isaac soft-pedaled a "I’ll scratch your back" trade, hitting Ben where he knew it would get results: Denise. Those scenes were good because they were full of character insight. With the "warring factions" of Jack/Julia and Jack/Carly supporters out in full force, with still more viewers not wanting the triangle revisited at all, Sheffer is indeed revisiting Carly/Jack/Julia, but on his own terms. It includes a quickie wedding for Jack and Julia that, on Friday, was both comical and sad. Julia looked angelic in a white strapless gown, a beautiful vision, so out of place in that tacky wedding chapel featuring the "Hitching Post". With Hal and Barbara by their side (they also decided to renew their vows), Julia marched strong-chinned toward matrimony with Jack. (Barbara to Julia: "I rustled up some flar-ers fer ya.") The humor, which touched close but never went over the top, was offset by the sweet and touching scene between Barbara and Julia. Julia, almost in tears, admitted that this was the fartherest from her dream wedding that she could imagine, but that she wanted to do it anyway. Julia to Barbara regarding their surroundings: "It's like Jack's making a mockery of his own wedding." Friday cliffhanger number two: Carly's appearance. And no, I won't quibble about how quickly Our Miss Tenney was able to make it to Las Vegas. I will concede that implausibility because of the outstanding quality of everything else that preceded it, including the great scenes between Molly and Carly. I admire Sheffer for addressing the inconsistencies in the Julia/Jack/Carly triangle - most of it due to previous bad writing - instead of ignoring it. I guess I’m one of the few people who enjoy both sides of this triangle - Jack/Julia and Jack/Carly. The difference between the two women make the story all the more appealing and it provides some good material for Michael Park, who was really underutilized during Laiman’s tenure. Also, by not addressing this triangle, the audience would have been shortchanged and would have ultimately, I believe, wished for some kind of resolution. I truly believe Sheffer will bring some finality to Jack/Julia/Carly -- in the short-term or long-term. (To me, it doesn’t matter when.) We just need to have some patience and -hey! - sit back and enjoy the ride. Rose did an admittedly horrible thing - assuming someone else’s life. Thanks to good writing, the audience knew her motivation - true love, belonging to a family - so there was already some understanding and sympathy for Rose in place. However, if wasn’t enough, so the writers included on Monday a nicely written but, yes, too obviously heart-tugging scene between Rose and Lucinda when Rose asked Lucinda to watch out for Luke and make sure he would be okay about going to his first day of school. It wasn’t so much additional insight into Rose as it was a reminder of why and how Rose got herself so caught up in "pretending" to be Lily that she "became" Lily. What I took out of that scene was how we’ve come from having next to no focus on characterization to having character defined and then reinforced! Perhaps the scene was calculated, but it was calculated for all the right reasons. So far Sheffer isn’t trying to tell us how to feel (through scenes or other characters spouting off the "correct" view or value) as much as giving us characterization and motivation and allowing us to make our own decisions. He smartly has that motivation repeated so the audience is always aware of why a character behaving a certain way. An excellent example of this was Andy explaining his motivation to Hope on Wednesday and then later telling Denise he never intended things to go as far as they did regarding Ben’s hearing. Also on Wednesday, Bob traced some of Andy’s behavior to his alcoholism in a conversation to Kim. As if that wasn’t enough, Sheffer took it a step farther, having Andy attend a support group meeting with Sally. Suddenly Andy had to face - literally - one of the harsher realities of his deception. In a deliciously ironic line of dialogue on Friday, Sally told Andy, in an attempt to get him to share his story with everyone, "This is the one place where you have absolutely nothing to hide." How wonderful for the writers to take the time to show the direct AND indirect consequences of an action. The cruelty of Andy’s despicable little sham was suddenly right before his eyes, sitting all around him. That’s the difference Sheffer brings to characterization and motivation: He doesn’t just tell us. He shows us. And while he may want to generate a specific reaction for specific character (sympathy, compassion, anger), he doesn’t resort to cheap tricks and easy manipulations to garner it. That’s good writing on any level and the kind of attention to detail and characterization that a good soap needs. The aforementioned telephone conversation between Lucinda and Rose on Monday also allowed us to glimpse the Lucinda of old, although many scenes lately have done that. Lucinda is no longer a woman of power shown only through impotent actions such as working out with a buffed up trainer, or braying empty threats to fire Jake from the City Times. Lately Lucinda has been a woman of action and decision. Taking charge of a meeting with the media of Oakdale regarding Lily’s disappearance, working with Jake and Holden to find Lily, butting heads with Craig while spreading her maternal wings around Bryant, Lucinda finally seems to be her "old" self. Elizabeth Hubbard’s work this week was excellent. Quality material has served to tone down her broader take on the character, and Hubbard’s work has allowed Lucinda’s presence to be felt rather than merely seen. Lucinda isn’t the only character who has benefited from Sheffer’s pen. Denise has been transformed as well, moving from the one-note selfish and weak Leah Laiman creation into a woman who is making her own decisions and taking responsibility for those actions. Denise’s scenes with Ben on Thursday were all good, and could basically be summed up in this great line of dialogue from Ben: “You’re not frustrated enough to leave Andy.” Carly has returned to Oakdale a wiser and, yes, stronger woman. And her bite is back, if now only in small little chomps. Carly still knows her strengths and is not afraid to call it as she sees it. That’s why she is so insistent that Jack loves her and is rushing off to Las Vegas to marry Julia in order to avoid dealing with his lingering feelings for her. It’s why she told Hal on Wednesday, "If you’re his (Jack’s) friend. . .If you care about him at all. . .You won’t let him do this!" Chris, through his involvement with Emily, is finally becoming his own man. Emily, too, is changing, even while she appears to be reverting back to her old ways. For the first time that I can remember, Emily has a true friend and ally in Christopher, and it has added a new dynamic to both characters and to any story the two are involved in. I’m also loving, loving, loving how Emily is trying to ingratiate herself into Jake’s life through memories of his ex-wife. It’s a good story because it came about from Emily exploring the recent past (Lily/Rose/Holden) and Jake’s not-so-recent past (Vicky/Marley). How great to have one story kick-start another! With the developing relationship between Jake and Molly, plus their own rocky histories thrown in, the Jake/Emily/Molly/Chris quadrangle has the potential to be explosive and has enough built-in material to play out for a long time. 1. I missed a good five minutes of Wednesday’s episode after Julia came out in a white garter, white underwear, and holding her wedding dress in front of her! Jack fell off the bed. I fell off the couch. Plus I needed to be revived with some smelling salts. Good gosh, what a gorgeous woman Annie Parisse is! It was kinda like every straight man’s fantasy - pure (the wedding dress) and naughty (the garter, the stockings, the underwear) coming at cha all at once. HOT!!! 2. Lauren B. Martin’s upcoming departure: What a huge loss to our show. 3. Craig Lawlor - A real teenage boy playing a real teenage boy. And doing it so well, too! ATWT hires teenage girls to play its teen female roles, but mid-20s males to play the teen to 20 year old guys. How about hiring talented teens like Lawlor to play male teen roles? As appealing as Jennifer and Bryant are, I still see a teenage girl and a mid-20s guy trying to play 20. 4. Some of the dialogue this week, specifically, Carly and Molly’s not-so-cutesy astronaut analogy on Wednesday, reminded me too much of the clunky, silly dialogue of the past. 5. The show still can cross into humor too broad for a show that tries to be as realistic as possible within the confines of the medium. For example, all the scenes between Holden and Cooley this week - in jail, flying through the eye of the storm, whooping, hollering, etc. - were embarrassing and not well written. 6. The background music on ATWT has always been fantastic, but the better material seems to draw attention to how superbly most episodes are scored to fit each scene and mood.
Grade for the Week: B+ |
|
|