04.25.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
Did anyone ever watch the short-lived Fox show ROAR? It starred a young Heath Ledger (RIP, Heath, RIP), and if you liked HERCULES or XENA or currently watch the BBC’s new ROBIN HOOD, it was in a similar vein. Lots of leather, swords, and people from New Zealand pretending to be British. There was a really cool villain cursed with immortality since he pierced Jesus with his spear back during the Crucifixion, but I didn’t really pay much attention to him. (I was 19 years old and HI, HEATH.) Fast forward 11 years and that really cool villain is now one of my favorite actors on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Yes, I’m talking about Sebastian Roché, whose pitch-perfect portrayal of Mr. Craig/Jerry has made me forsake any young, floppy-haired hunks with a penchant for leather who may be wandering Port Charles.
I’m one of those long-term GH watchers who will happily talk till I’m blue in the face about how my favorite period of the show was back when Sonny Corinthos was basically Coleman with less interesting shirts and the heroes were all cops, WSB agents, and doctors. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good antihero or bad guy. It’s a staple of soaps. For every Bo Buchanan, you need a Carlo Hesser. For every Lauren Fenmore, you need a Sheila Carter. And, for me, Roché’s Jerry perfectly fills that übervillain slot. He’s charming, just like ONE LIFE’s Carlo, and he has the potential to be incredibly scary and nutty like Y&R’s Sheila. The witty, urbane sociopath who shot Robin and let Alan suffer his heart attack without help during the Metro Court hostage crisis was badass.
But the problem is that he’s still around, right? It’s been over a year since that storyline and how do you take a guy that tormented half the town and let him keep breathing? That’s where Roché’s acting ability comes into play. Sometimes, an actor transcends the horrible act his character has committed. It’s not an uncommon phenomenon. Anthony Geary pulled it off after Luke raped Laura. Rick Hearst’s Ric is still around despite shoving Carly in the Panic Room and drugging his own wife. I’m not speaking for anyone else, just me, but Roché completely sells two things: 1)Jerry’s devotion to Jax and 2)Jerry’s hypnotic charm. Normally, I would scream for any female soap character worth her salt to give Jerry a wide berth, especially one as no-nonsense as Alexis, but how can you deny a duo that’s so darned appealing together? They’re hysterical. The one-liners fly back and forth, and there’s a definite self-awareness that Jerry is a nutjob but Alexis is drawn to him anyway. One of my colleagues who shall remain nameless couldn’t stand Alexis and is now a “J-Lex” fan. He/she admits that their recent smooch on the Haunted Star was the “one of the hottest soap kisses I’ve ever seen.”
Right now, Jerry and Alexis are in a wonderful flirtatious period, where Jerry still gets to threaten people and be smarmy, but he can take a break to woo his fair lady under a roulette table if he wants — and I like it. But that doesn’t mean I’d like to see Jerry whitewashed. If he and Alexis start holding hands and skipping through fields and gushing about how much they love each other, I will probably jab my eyes out with a fork. What I would like to see instead is Alexis going a little darker to match him. She’s a Cassadine! They could easily be the new Secret Cabal in PC, fighting from the D.A.’s office and using the veil of being white knight Jax’s brother as they thwart the Sonnys and Johnny Zaccharas of the world. They could use their combined powers of evil to actually serve the greater good.
Again, I’m not saying that Jerry should be lauded for it. If Monica and Robin want to walk up to Jerry every day for the rest of their lives and punch him in the face, they have every right. Just like Carly should be allowed to hit Ric every day because of the Panic Room. (Sort of like HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and the infamous “slap bet.”) Nobody has to forgive or forget the awful things Jerry did…but it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy him anyway. Hey, it’s not like he jabbed Jesus in the side, right?
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
04.18.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
I’ve been watching DAYS OF OUR LIVES every morning for the last two weeks, and I’m happy to report that the results are already visible: I’m happier, more cheerful, and generally ready to tackle the day. It’s like a cross between crack and brain bleach! The former because the hilarity of Nicole antagonizing just about everybody (and giving off major sparks with Philip) just sets me rolling … and the latter because after the past two weeks of “my” show, AS THE WORLD TURNS, I sorely need something to dissipate the steam building between my ears.
See, I tend to get a little overinvolved in my soaps. Fortunately, this is seen as a plus in my current profession. Unfortunately, this means that my habits of yelling at the TV, squeeing over hunks and babies, and totally ’shipping my favorite couples has accompanied me to the office. When I’m “on the job,” interviewing and writing, I’m as evenhanded as I can possibly be. But when you plunk me in front of the TV (which is easy to do considering there’s one on my desk), I get tunnel vision. I get sucked in. I get passionate. And what am I most passionate about? The issue of diversity on soaps. Which means, yes, it’s ATWT’s Ameera who has me about to burst a blood vessel.
I know a lot of viewers are furious about Ameera coming between Noah and Luke, but it’s a hallmark of every root-worthy couple on daytime that somebody is going to try and break them up somehow. Power to Nuke. It’s their turn. Unfortunately, it’s at Ameera’s expense. She’s a plot device who makes fellow noob Sofie look like a character who has been in Oakdale for decades. Ameera has no dreams, no motivation. She isn’t just played as foreign, she’s played as naive, and that’s ridiculous. I’m sorry, but any Muslim girl whose mother was liberal enough to befriend an American soldier isn’t going to act like some twit who just fell off the falafel truck and doesn’t understand when Noah says, “I like boys.” The sheer fact that Noah had to marry her to solve her immigration issues for her is so mind-boggling that I still haven’t stopped seeing red over it. Allah forbid anyone follow Holden’s sensible advice of hiring a lawyer. No, the Snyders must save the little foreign woman by wedding her to a strong, American man…whom she will, of course, fall in love with even if he’s gay! If that’s not staggeringly insensitive enough, then we have today, where Ameera kissed said American man. Come on, we all know she’s going to get shot down by Noah like he’s wielding an anti-aircraft missile. Is making her SO moony really necessary? Speaking of which, Casey got it with both barrels, too, considering that Ameera dashed his hopes rather cruelly. Why she would turn down a heterosexual cutie pie who was actually interested, I have no idea.
I understand that ATWT is trying. I do get that. But it’s not enough when Islam is a religion that’s still a mystery to many Christian Americans and the war in Iraq is such a hot-button issue. Portraying this girl as a cross between moron and man-stealer does cultural understanding no favors. Similarly, actress Tala Ashe is done no favors. She is lovely and has a definite spark. She could do so much. ATWT could have made Ameera a good example of the immigrant experience; someone who could be a strong, positive role model for young girls growing up watching soaps and desperately wanting someone to connect with. Instead, the dialogue she has to spout rings hollow, and the spinelessness of Ameera must be Hell on her back. I hope Ashe has a good deal with a chiropractor.
At least I have DAYS to numb the pain.
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
04.15.08
An un-birthday greeting.
For many others April 15 is simply Tax Day, the day a tithe goes to the Almighty Gov’t or the day the Gov’t giveth back. For me, April 15 also has the distinction of being my “un-birthday,” and every year on this day, I find myself reflecting on what might have been.
See, I was born over two full months premature, via c-section. I wanted out, low birth weight and potential health problems be damned. I was determined not to wait until April 15 to make my debut. I couldn’t stay floating safely in amniotic fluid one second longer. But what if I had? It’s a question I can’t seem to stop asking myself. What if I had gone full term? How different would I be?
It’s very likely that I wouldn’t have dermatitis, asthma, and migraines. It’s possible that I wouldn’t have vision problems. And without that bevy of health issues brought on by my early departure from the womb, it’s possible I wouldn’t have grown up quite as weak and sheltered. An underachiever in every way.
If my parents and brother had two more months to contemplate, would I have even been named “Mala?” That’s something unsettling to ponder. I know there were other possibilities being thrown about…Monica, Priya, Nupur. What would Monica be like, turning 30 today? Would she be a doctor, a lawyer, a PhD? The perfect desi Superwoman, balancing career and fiancé and cultivating that sense of ghar-sangsar? Would she be the antithesis of me, a person who has doggedly followed her own path even when it led her astray? Would she be pretty, would she be rich? As the song goes, “Que sera sera. Whatever will be, will be.”
I’ll never really know who I would have been. All I can do is wonder. All I can do is look at this day on the calendar, wish myself a “Happy un-birthday,” like the Mad Hatter at his tea party, and avoid looking too closely at the rabbit hole.
04.09.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
I’m Weekly’s news, AS THE WORLD TURNS, and BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL editor (and unofficial GENERAL HOSPITAL aficionado). It’s my turn to join the bevy of bloggers here at Weekly/Digest HQ and I must kick it off with a confession: I have just started up a fling with DAYS OF OUR LIVES.
See, I’m something of a timeslot trollop. My finger is always on the “last channel recall” button (it’s a channel surfer’s best friend) and if I can manage it, I try to watch at least two soaps at a time. At the one o’clock hour, I basically watch YOUNG AND RESTLESS, ALL MY CHILDREN, and B&B simultaneously (Gasp! I’m such a hussy!). At 2, I mostly stay with WORLD TURNS but sometimes sneak over to ONE LIFE. However, here in New York, at 10 there’s just GUIDING LIGHT to contend with…unless you want to catch the previous day’s DAYS on SOAPnet.
Well, that’s just what I’ve begun doing.
I had to let DAYS go when it moved to 2 PM here, because a second hour of three-soap flipping was too much for even my multi-soap stamina. I sat it down, I said “it’s not you, it’s me,” and bid Salem a bittersweet farewell. Now, I’ve done the same to Springfield. At least for a while. I can’t help it. 10 AM is just too early to be depressed, and in the wake of Jonathan absconding with Lizzie’s baby again and Gus dying, I was really starting to turn into a grump. Not so with my return to DAYS! It’s like I never left! Our first day back together, I don’t think I stopped laughing once. Between Nicole accidentally dousing Philip with juice during a food fight with Chloe and Hope pretending to be Kayla and sniping at Steve like a fishwife, I couldn’t get the grin off my face.
I’m not saying that I’ve stopped loving GL. I still care. We can still be friends. I’ll visitseveral times a week. I’m really good with keeping in touch with my exes. (Hey, I still watch SANTA BARBARA clips on YouTube.) But it’s spring and the light, snappy, pace of DAYS is definitely a spring fling that I’m enjoying. Thanks for taking me back, Salem…even though I can’t promise to be faithful.
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
04.07.08
If Penelope is “Pene-lopee,” why isn’t antelope “ante-lopee”?
In my quest to expand my gastronomic horizons (and, sadly, my waistline), I finally tried out one of the much-touted brunch places in Murray Hill yesterday. Okay so there’s, like, TWO much-touted brunch places in Murray Hill and this is the other one (Josie’s being the first). But, still, it was well worth the trip!
Penelope is a cute, kitschy, little place at 159 Lexington Ave and 30th, right on the cusp of Curry Hill, and their $13 prix fixe brunch menu is a deal that can’t be beat. They have about 6-8 dishes to choose from and each comes with coffee, juice, or an apple cider mimosa. There’s an ala carte menu as well. I actually saw a girl a few tables away taking pictures of her food, probably for a foodie blog, but I suck at that sort of thing, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. My friend L. had the Nutella French Toast, which she let me try a little of, and it was suitably delicious. They basically made little nutella sandwiches, slathering the delectable stuff between two thin slices of French toast, and then accompanied it with a selection of fresh fruit. Another friend, E., went the lunch route and had their BBLT, which is, as you might think, a double bacon sandwich. Yum. It was so ginormous she had a tough time tackling both it and her fries but she gave it her seal of approval. As for me, I went with the Pumpkin Waffles, which were an absolute sugar overload and definitely something I’d go back for. Accompanied by apple butter, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and pecans, I could barely finish the dish and the side of bacon I ordered. (Naturally, I finished the bacon rather than the waffles… I’m a pig. Which I suppose made me a cannibal.)
Though Penelope gets very busy and there was definitely a wait, the line moves fairly quickly. Our waitress was a doll and didn’t rush us out even though they probably needed the table. I would definitely go back there to try other things on the menu…and take advantage of the mimosa. I mean, come on, if you’re going to pay for a prix-fixe meal, might as well get something besides standard coffee, right? I learned that lesson too late. In my own defense, it WAS 10:30 in the morning and I tend to be a bit cautious about engaging in the drinky-drinky before noon.
