OLTL—Wednesday—7/21

  
Not a particularly eventful day.

The twins, Jessica and Natalie, find out they are both pregnant; but they don't tell each other since neither of them is sure of their baby daddy.
(This is worse than a trashy novel.)

Eli dances around McBain's suspicions.

Gigi gets accepted to Llanview U.  Rex heads for Boston to check out the lead on Bennett Thompson.

Viki and Charlie take off for a well-deserved island get away. 
(After all of the exhausting fake love scenes they had last week —
they need it!)

Todd and Tea finally get some alone time.
  

OLTL — 7/20 — Bennett Thompson

  

Yesterday's OLTL was SO boring, I didn't have anything to say!  It was just a rehash of Friday's stories with nothing new except that David's muffins didn't make anybody ill except Natalie and Jessica—so they both head for the ER.  This is the beginning of the storyline that ABC has been promo-ing for a couple of weeks.

From now on, I am only going to hit the highlights of what happened on the show and comment on what I liked or didn't—instead of trying to cover every "he said," "she said."

Today was much more interesting than yesterday and so here's my favorite stuff.

Charlie/Dorian/Viki/David...blah, blah, blah.  Hope that story is over!

Best line of the day:
After Viki tries to explain to David what is happening, David says, "I feel like I'm watching LOST. Does anybody know what's going on now?"

Christian talks to Evangeline and tells her that he still loves her and will always love her, but now he has fallen in love with Layla.  He cries and begs her to come back to them.

Layla and her mother get into a hateful argument and could have killed each other if they weren't more civilized. Layla tries to make her mother understand, that Vange might already be gone. But since the Living Will was never filed or notarized, it is more-or-less worthless, so Mrs. Williamson is not going to let them pull the plug no matter what.

Kelly and Rex are getting closer to figuring out the mystery of Bennett Thompson. When Kelly consults with Eli about what her next steps should be—he tries to convince her to give up the search.

At the ER, it turns out, the muffins are fine, but, Natalie and Jessica are both pregnant.  Uh-oh.  Brody's got some 'splaining to do....

Lisa Williamson finds the business card of an attorney among Evangeline's papers and she calls the number.  Eli answers the phone.  She asks for Bennett Thompson. 

Dun dun da......

 

True Beauty Episode 8—7/19 —The Final Test

That was it for Season 2.  Whether or not the series returns is anybody's guess.  I haven't heard any buzz at all.  Did anyone actually watch it?

It has its appeal—the voyeurism and the personalities behind the facades—but it seems like America isn't interested in seeing ordinary people act badly, they like to see "celebrities" acting badly and/or doing just about anything.

Erika and Taylor are preparing the suite for Amy's return and hoping against hope, she will.  Craig's return is a surprise to both of them.

Craig to the confessional camera: "I think they wanted Amy to come home." Duh...

The ménage à trois, as Craig has dubbed them, copes with what it is.

The Final Three:

The Final challenge:

Play host to a celebrity for the night—wine and dine and kiss butt.

The "celebrity" turns out to be Jackass Steve-O and his sidekick.  Nobody is that thrilled.  Some crazy stuff ensues.  They drink, dance and party until 6:00 a.m. and then Carson presents them with their real challenge—to memorize lines and star in a commercial as The Face of Vegas.

Erika has a melt down and says she is over it and has had enough and wants to quit. It is noted by the judges, she is the only one who complains, but she sucks it up and finishes the task at hand.

They all looked great on the camera, performed as best they could under the circumstances, as tired as they were and they all did a great job. They did so well, they all "win" the challenge. Beth then gives them a key to a room in the basement of the hotel and they are instructed to go check it out.

When they get there and sit down facing a set up with multiple screens, Vanessa comes onto all the screens and says, "Welcome to the Judges' Spy Room."

The reality of the situation is explained—that they have been "Punked" more-or-less and that they are part of "True Beauty."  They are shown videos from the hidden cameras, and they see their dark sides.  They are embarrassed and humiliated in front of each other, then told to go back to the suite and prepare their defense.

They are so exhausted they sleep and then get ready for the final face off.  The ending is anticlimactic, to say the least.  Each gives their spiel and the judges make their decision.

And the winner is:  Taylor.

The end.

P.S. I'll let you know if I hear anything about what actually happens to the winners after they "win."
  

OLTL—7/16 — Temper, temper

  
At least today's surprising twist made up for yesterday's blah storylines. So how crazy is it that Nate's mother is the Ford boy's mom also?!?!  Only on a soap opera...

Can we look forward to our teen girls, Starr, Langston and Dani trying, but failing to resist the charms of the new bad boys of Llanview? Now, that's some kind of storyline.

Charlie and Viki continue with their matchmaking plans.  It's good acting, for sure, but still embarrassing to watch.  Like I said yesterday, PLEASE, leave the love-making to the teenagers (oh, and Blair—she still steams things up).

Christian and Layla are still struggling with her mother over Evangeline's care and are pushing for permission to go through Vange's papers to see if she had a living will.  Layla knows Vange can't live without life support, but Mrs. Wlliamson just wants to take her home and tries to shame Layla into thinking she would be "killing" her if they give up.

Cole talks to Hannah and she tries desperately to drop a hint to him by repeating the same phrase she has told others, "Everything I did was for you (Cole)."  But, Cole is a little slow sometimes, so he didn't catch on, yet. John McBain isn't convinced that Hannah is guilty and shares his theories with Marty.  He thinks she is covering for someone.  Marty is still grieving and would just as soon accept Hannah's confession and move on.

Blair and Eli, and Todd and Téa share their good news with each other.  Todd smarts off about something and Eli threatens that he had better watch his mouth. Todd wants to know, "Oh yeah, why's that—'Ellie'?" And Eli says, "Because I still haven't forgotten that you killed my brother (Ross Rayburn)." Todd and Téa look at each and they both realize it is time for the truth to come out.

Téa tells Eli, Ross is not really dead, but is a fugitive, so she can't reveal his exact whereabouts.  Even Blair is surprised by this news and emotions start to heat up.  What?!?!  Eli:  "Tea how could you do this to me?" 

Tea: "I'm sorry." 

Todd: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.  He's too busy feeling sorry for himself to be happy his brother's alive."

Eli:  Oh, is that right, Manning?

Todd:  "Yeah, that's right."

Todd to Téa:  "Did you even know Ross had a brother until he            showed up?   And how old was Dani?"  

To Eli:  "You didn't even meet her until she was in high school.  Boo hoo, Ross.  You're so full of it, you don't give a damn about your brother."

End of discussion, Eli loses it and Ka-boom, Todd gets a fist in the mouth.

When it is apparent the tension still hasn't cooled, Téa pushes Todd into the pool and then Blair can't resist doing the same to Eli. 

Well, that was exciting!

I guess I need to mention:  Viki kisses David and Charlie kisses Dorian.  Please make it stop.

See ya next week......
 

OLTL—7/15—The guy doesn't smell right...

Here's what happened today:

Gigi and Rex were hanging by the pool—snooze.
Viki seduced David—snooze + kinda c-r-e-e-p-y.
Charlie seduced Dorian—poor Dorian. She's vulnerable right now. She'll probably believe Charlie and then, just get her feelings hurt—shame on Charlie and Viki.

(Actually, shame on the writers, but you know what I mean...)

OK, I'm old, but, I don't really want to see old people acting like teenagers. There are plenty of teenagers on this show at the moment.  So nix the bad love scenes with the oldsters!!  PLEASE.

Then we had to be subjected to another day of Layla and Evangeline's Mother from Hell. I know I said she is a great actress, but why do they have to make her so mean and scary?!?!  Even Christian is afraid of her.

My second favorite scene of the day:

Matthew and Destiny.  Destiny looks GREAT and has really blossomed in her role.  Now that she is on contract, maybe we can look forward to more storylines, instead of what has been happening lately—background filler.


My favorite scene of the day—
Jack to Blair about Eli:

"When he thinks nobody's watching, he's Ross Rayburn in a nicer suit."

"I know people—the guy doesn't smell right."

LOL
  

OLTL—7/14—More Hannah Bananas

  

Like Hannah said before, "Everything I do is for Cole." There seems to be a method to her madness and, in my opinion, it's smart of Hannah to keep repeating that same phrase over and over.  Eventually, someone IS going to catch on.  Practically everyone is suspicious already—but not because they think she is not guilty—because they think she is faking the breakdown to avoid jail.  Nora did mention to Eli that she hoped he wasn't coaching his client. Hey, isn't that the JOB of the defense attorney, to coach the client and tell them what to say and definitely, what NOT to say?

Marty is too close to the situation, like she said, to be objective and shouldn't even be involved in Hannah's evaluation.

I can hardly wait to see what Hannah will say to Cole during his visit.  He begs her to tell him the truth, but she really believes he is in danger, especially after everything Eli has done.  So, will she risk it?  My guess—eventually, but probably not this week. This storyline has to play out for awhile.

Here's a quick rundown of what some of the other characters said/did today: Blair says "yes" to Eli, Jack isn't impressed, Markko finds Langston in the park with Ford, but convinces him to take a hike. Langston begs for forgiveness and Markko is more than willing to forget her—they kiss. Nate visits James in the hospital to apologize, but Ford shows up and tells him to take a hike. You know how it is.... He had to take out his frustrations on somebody.
 

Highlight of the day:
  
Todd to Tea: "Will you marry me?"

 

OLTL—Tuesday—7/13/10

  

Eli runs into Ford in the park and Ford pushes Eli for some answers.

How has Eli been able to convince Hannah to confess to two crimes that Eli actually committed? And, WHAT does Eli have against Marty Saybrooke? 

We'll have to wait a bit longer to get that answer.

Eli suggests that there is always the possibility that Ford's brother James could still be in danger of dying, given the nature of hospitals and all.....  Ford gets the "hint" and they come to a mutual understanding.  Ford promises not to ask anymore questions.

David Vickers Buchannan has inevitably overstayed his welcome at Bo's and he is asked to find somewhere else to live. "What?!?!? You're kicking me out?"  So David moves on to his next meal ticket and seeks out Viki at Llanfair.  She has already gone for breakfast at the Buenos Dias Cafe with Charlie.  David offers his homemade muffins to Natalie and Jessica telling them that Noel made them. They both eat and enjoy a muffin, but then almost immediately become extremely ill.  From the promos I have seen recently, this is the beginning of a new storyline.  More to come....

At the Buenos Dias, Viki offers David a room at Llanfair in an attempt to make Dorian jealous so she will take David back and leave Charlie alone. We'll see how that turns out.

Today's storyline of interest:
John McBain is suspicious of Hannah's breakdown.  She was completely lucid, standing her ground and determined to make a deal for her testimony about the real "pusher" in exchange for immunity.  Then, after five minutes with Eli, she has a breakdown and confesses to pushing Marty and bludgeoning Ford.   McBain is just not buying it.

John has Eli come into his office for some casual questioning, in front of Brody, just to see Eli's reaction, and then shares his suspicions with Bo. They decide among themselves to keep their theory hush, hush for now.

Stay tuned....

7/12—True Beauty—Stop Smoking!

  

This week's episode was actually painful to watch. We're down to the final four and they are running out of activities to entertain themselves, so they play Truth or Dare for awhile, then decide to go to the pool. A full bar with more alcohol than usual had been set up for them to imbibe or not. Taylor drinks way too much, then slips and falls on the concrete. Ooooooh.

After spending the day in the sun, they return to the suite, where Carson is waiting for them. He presents their next challenge, which will begin as soon as they can get dressed. They are going to be trained as blackjack dealers and then turned loose on some high rolling players.

The Secret Challenge:
As each contestant rides the elevator one-by-one down to the gaming floor, a "pregnant" actress is in the same elevator smoking and drinking. Will the contestant say anything to her? Three of them express their concern for her baby. Amy is oblivious.

Amy has never even played blackjack before and is poor at math, so she is very worried. The others are confident they can handle it with no problem, but it does turn out to be much harder than any of them thought it would be. Taylor's alcohol over consumption has him relaxed, but he is unable to handle the cards as well as he would have normally. Erika is personable and competent in the task. Amy and Craig both had problems with some of the terminology, such as "double down" and were judged by the pit boss to be the worst dealers, so were placed in the bottom two. Taylor squeaked by.

The Final Straw Challenge:
When Craig and Amy are waiting in front of the hotel for their ride to the final face off, they are presented with an opportunity to help a young mother who is having trouble loading her luggage, baby and stroller into her van. Craig helps, Amy walks by and ignores her.

Craig is chosen to continue and Amy must then endure the video tape of all of her indiscretions: bad mouthing the other contestants, peeking at the interview questions in the elevator, ignoring the abused bride and ignoring the mother loading the car and completely oblivious to the smoking pregnant actress.

She nearly has a nervous breakdown while she watches the tape and asks to leave, but continues to watch. As she slinks out with her head down and shoulders forward, she looks completely dejected and humiliated. Her confessional reaction is the same as all the others, that she has not been depicted as the person she really is (as she sees herself). Really painful.

  

OLTL – 7/12/10 — Everything I do is for Cole

 

Just as I thought--Hannah is in big trouble and Eli is playing his "respectability" card.  Hannah is standing up to him admirably, but her weakness is Cole.  When Eli finally convinces her that Cole is his next target, she willing goes along with his threats and fakes a nervous breakdown.  (This seems a bit far fetched, even for a soap opera, but I don't see any other way for the writers can keep this game going.)  So she will await the next phase of Eli's plan in the comfort of St. Anne's----nice. 
(Hey, why not, I wouldn't mind going there myself!!)

Nora tells the gruesome twosome (John and Marty) that she won't be able to give Hannah an immunity deal in exchange for information, mainly because Ford has ID'd her as his attacker.

Starr just can't get James out from under her fingernails and Cole isn't blind to the situation.  James calls her "Twinkle" and she flirts right back.  Ford has enough of the "romantic comedy" and asks her to leave.

Blair and Todd have a tête-à-tête in regard to Eli's proposal and Todd tells her to go for it, but he wants to know--does she love him?  She says she does.

Poor Layla--her mother couldn't have been any meaner to her.  Mother Williamson is determined to keep Evangeline going, even though her organs are now starting to fail.  What a tragedy.  Too bad we couldn't have gotten Renee Goldsberry back.  I think most fans still want that.  Oh well......  She's on to other things now.

Talk later......

 

Saturday—7/10/10—Hot Fun in the Summertime

  

  
Last winter, we were all freezing here in NYC. The landlord wasn't supplying enough heat, as required by law and the tenants had to get the City Council Neighborhood Advocate involved, etc., etc.

Now it is Summer and a crazy heat wave has come early.  We are HOT!!  Last week, several heat records were broken with one day going over 103 degrees. Yeah, I know, we take it in stride, because what can we do?  Nothing!!

That's okay.  Usually, when I go to the grocery store and something that I like is on sale, I buy a lot of it, then I have a store room of goodies to pick from, and I don't have to go out into the heat.  Because remember, in NYC, we WALK practically everywhere, especially to do neighborhood errands, so that heat can be brutal.  Forget it.  I just stay in the A/C until things chill out a bit.

Welcome to Summer.