07.30.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
Watching a show at 11 p.m. is a strain on even my rather impressive TV-watching stamina, so I’ve been setting a tape and watching NIGHT SHIFT the next morning over coffee. Episode two of the series proved stronger than the season premiere, which suffered a little from being an info dump for new viewers and introducing newbies Claire and Kyle.
Actually, the Izzie and George er, Claire and Kyle stuff still annoys me. Their whole locker room conversation about bad roommates and worse dates was highly zzzzzz-worthy, as was their bid to move in together — except for the dig at the docks and how the area is Mob Central. LOL! “Newbies in small doses, please!” is probably the most consistently broken rule on soaps. But I do like Kyle and think he’s a fresh addition to the hospital staff. (Not to mention that NS continues to be more diverse than Day Shift by having people of color AND a gay guy. Go, NS!)
I also continue to enjoy new doc, Saira, even if it’s odd that Robin went from having several friends in the workplace to just one. They’re fun together, and Saira’s gentle humor is a great complement to Robin’s fiery temper — and Leo’s.
Yes, I’m going to talk about nuAngryLeo. I know that he’s a bit jarring for people. The character is being written differently and, thus, Ethan Rains is playing him differently from the iPod-havin’, mellow Dominic Rains version. Still, I don’t actually mind him being more intense. We’ve never had much Leo face time before. He’s always been supporting other people in scenes, and now he not only has a “Golden Boy” brother in the picture but a love interest and a conflict about adoption that really got him fired up. I feel like we’re catching him in a rough period, and the bonding scene between Kyle and Leo at Jake’s only cemented that. (One more difference between GH and NS: Jake’s was actually FULL.) How cute was Kyle assuring Leo that any differences in how they were treated as kids was because Leo was a screw up? That feels more like the guitar-playing Dr. Leo we all know and love.
Now to the other characters we know and love. Just how BIG is Robin’s apartment that she, Patrick, Jagger, and Stone can all live there? Is it the equivalent of a clown car or what? (Remember when she shared Courtney’s loft with Lainey and Kelly? Equally hilarious!) And just how wrong is it for me to really enjoy Patrick constantly kvetching about Jagger’s lack of clothing? If he doesn’t stop it, I’m going to think he’s got a mancrush. As Robin would say: “You’ve got cru-uuuush. You loooove him.” I also really love that we’re getting to see Patrick and Robin be doctors. (Doctors! In a hospital! Imagine that.) Poor Patrick as a harried Chief of Staff is a compelling change from the self-assured doctor who plays God in the OR. Administrative work is a whole different ball game.
Speaking of new ball games… I can’t WAIT till Granddaddy Scorpio shows up in the picture next week! The previews alone have me grinning, and it looks like Robert’s reaction to Robin’s bundle of joy will be a bit different than Anna’s. Man, I love this show.
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
07.26.08
May the Schwartz be with youuuuuuuu.
I will concede that there has been one, small advantage to the calorie count revolution: My new fixation with frozen yogurt! See, prior to this cruel twist of regulatory fate, whenever people would talk about Pinkberry or its various knockoffs, I would just tune out. It seemed to be such an obsession with the pseudo-health conscious gym rat set that I figured, okay, as a chick who drinks Yuengling, loves steak, and adores chocolate, what the Hell do I care about yogurt? I even give Tasti D-lite a wide berth. Give me the real deal or GTFO, you know?
But then the storefront on the corner of 34th and 3rd began making its transformation from Latin Corner (which had barely been there a year) to something called Red Mango. I love mangoes. They’re my favorite fruit. They remind me of hot summer days in Kolkata, eating aam and wrinkling my nose at the red, earthen containers of mishti dahi, sweet yogurt, that Mom would have brought from the nearest confectionary shop. Mangoes, I liked, but yogurt…? Not so much. So, anyway, even here in the States, we’d have mangoes whenever they were in season. I love mango ice cream and mango margaritas… I pretty much like everything mango-related except mango lassi.
So when I saw the Red Mango going up, I was immediately intrigued, and immediately had to Google and see what the store was. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a Pinkberry-esque fro-yo place. Now, I have to admit here that when I heard the term “frozen yogurt,” I had two mental pictures: 1)It was just soft serve ice cream, which is what would pass for fro-yo back in Ohio, or 2)It was your Dannon variety yogurt, just a little cold. It turns out that it’s somewhere in between! AND it’s good for you. A small serving, which is more than enough for me, is less than 100 calories.
Yes, I have succumbed. I have tried both the original and green tea flavors, and the tart tang is unmistakably that of “real” yogurt, complete with active cultures. But, somehow, the fact that it’s cold and whipped makes it more palatable. Then, there’s the toppings. At Red Mango, you can get everything from Cocoa Krispies (totally tried that!) to various fruits. Would you believe that it took me until my third visit to realize that they actually had mangoes? (What can I say? I’m not always very smart.)
So, just a few days ago, I did what Fate had no doubt been waiting for me to do… get the original, sweet yogurt, garnished with mangoes. Mishti dahi and aam. And, lo, it was like the Heavens parted and a troupe of apsaras began dancing in my mouth. I finally get it. I finally get why the two flavors go together. And my sense of nostalgia for Kolkata was all wrapped up in those tart-sweet bites.
Hot summer days in New York aren’t quite the same, but thanks to Red Mango, they’re a little closer to home.
07.24.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
Thanks to the 40th anniversary episodes, I felt compelled to tune in to ONE LIFE TO LIVE last night on SOAPnet. I shouldn’t have. I really, really shouldn’t have. I was going to post a really vehement, bile-laden ramble about Marty and Todd. Instead, I’ll just let the Instant Messenger session I had with a poor, defenseless, non OLTL-watching friend do the talking for me.
Me: Susan Haskell’s Marty has chemistry with Trevor St. John’s Todd. That is SO wrong.
Poor Defenseless Friend: I don’t actually know what that means.
Me: Todd, then played by Roger Howarth raped Marty back in 1993.
PDF: Ah, okay.
Me: Gang-raped, no less.
PDF: Ewww.
Me: It was one of the most brutal scenes I have ever seen on daytime. Now, Todd found amnesiac Marty being held captive and is letting her secretly convalesce with him…and he’s poisoning her against people he hates, neglecting to tell her she has a SON, etc.
PDF: Ooooh. Evil. Super evil.
Me: Completely! They need to get her out of that room! It’s all Stockholm Syndrome-y…except she doesn’t know she’s a prisoner.
PDF: Cree. Pee.
Me: Todd and Marty just wandered to the subject of college. (I gather he’d initially told her they knew each other from school, and that’s how he gained her trust.)
PDF: Ah.
Me: College is when he raped her.
PDF: I assumed as much.
Me: It gets worse! Marty is paralyzed or has problems from the waist down. He’s helping her with her physical therapy.
PDF: Ewwwww.
Me: And he’s flashing back to Marty dancing on a table, drunk. “So we were friends?” she’s wondering. “We slept together,” he says.
PDF: Ewewewewewewewewew.
Me: I KNOW. They can’t show the rape because it was a different actor, but that table dance was the same night, I think. Oh, wait, they CAN show the rape if they want because Todd got plastic surgery! That’s how they explained the recast.
PDF: LOL.
Me: I know. Soaps are crazy. And what’s worse, she wouldn’t realize it was the same guy!
PDF: Oh, that’s effed up.
Me: Apparently he WILL tell her that she was raped.
PDF: But not by him, naturally.
Me: No, I think not. I may have to curl up in fetal position.
PDF: Aww.
Me: I was hoping to tune in and watch silly time travel stuff. Oh, EW. “You actually told me that I wasn’t very good in bed,” says Todd.
PDF: ACK!
Me: She did that… which is what led to him raping her. To prove his manhood.
PDF: Gross.
Me: They are *laughing* about this and he’s touching her legs. Oh, God. OMG. Marty’s apologizing for hurting HIM.
PDF: Ewewewewewewewewew.
Me: You’re lucky you’re not actually watching.
PDF: You *could* change the channel.
Me: True, but it’s like a trainwreck. I want to see JUST how awful and inappropriate this show is going to be.
PDF: Incidentally, I am VERY unhappy that Dr. Julian on NIGHT SHIFT is no longer played by the same hot guy.
Me: Yeah, the original actor’s little brother is wee in comparison and also attractive, but not the same hot.
PDF: See, I don’t even find him particularly hot.
Me: I still like NS better than GH, though.
PDF: I like Antonio Sabato Jr. in a towel!
Me: Marty just asked Todd what caused her change from party girl to med student. The Big Reveal is looming.
PDF: Dun dun dun…
Me: My brain has died. From horror. Todd just put it right out there: “You were raped.”
PDF: Eesh.
Me: I should probably watch a clip of kittens or something to cheer me up. Or Antonio Sabato, Jr. in a towel.
PDF: Yeah, that might be wise.
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
07.23.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
Want to know the best way to spoil a perfectly delightful 40th anniversary celebration? Slap an atrocious black wig and dark makeup on a milk-pale redhead and direct her to suffer through a Spanish accent that makes Speedy Gonzalez sound more authentic.
Oh my God, ONE LIFE TO LIVE…. just when I had chilled out from my LAST racial issue rant, you go and rile me back up! There’s a word for it when you deliberately darken a white actor in order to caricature a minority. I’m sorry, but Melissa Archer is not Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder and I really have no idea why the execs at ONE LIFE thought it was a good idea to have her play Maria Vasquez Roberts in such a fashion. Sure, I get that they’re using actors from the present to represent the past, but if it’s not going to work on a basic level, don’t even try. Heck, if they had to do the Natalie-as-Maria and Jared-as-Clint parallel, why not forgo the makeup and the accent? We can suspend that much disbelief since we’re already suspending for the whole time travel story. Instead, we got Archer in brownface while January LaVoy, who is naturally of a darker complexion, was standing right next to her. No. Just … no.
I loved almost everything about the July 21 and 22 episodes, from Tina and Carlo at the falls, to Bo and Rex’s trip back in time, to Mel and Dorian, to Viki’s wonderful trip to Heaven…. and I hate that the more I think about it, the more unsettled I am by that one really insensitive choice.
For a comparison, let’s look at the newly-premiered GH: NIGHT SHIFT. On that show, we have Afghani actress Azita Ghanizada playing Indian doctor, Saira Batra. Does it annoy me a little that they didn’t cast an Indian actress? Yes. But she’s not walking around with an oversized dot on her forehead and asking people if they want a slushie. Ghanizada isn’t raising any red flags or setting off my perimeter alarms, except for the one that instinctively recognizes she’s not from India. (It’s like gaydar… desi-dar, I guess.) Ghanizada isn’t in brownface, isn’t a parody or a caricature. She’s doing fine. Of course, I also credit head writer Sri Rao for that. When you have minorities behind the scenes, it makes it a lot easier for a show to get things right.
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
07.20.08
The obligatory calorie count rant.
New York state forcing all chain restaurants to post calorie counts? Sucks. I can say this with personal authority because the policy has thus far ruined my enjoyment of Baskin Robbins, Chevy’s, and Ruby Tuesday’s. I’m sorry, but anyone who goes to a restaurant in general is probably not going there to eat healthy… unless you’re going to some frou-frou health joint and drinking wheat germ. When I go out, it’s with the expectation that I’m going to be a little bad, and I really don’t want to know how bad. Seeing these calorie counts that rank well past 1100 and into the teens for chicken dishes, for burgers… it just made the idea of eating dishes I normally would have enjoyed er, unpalatable.
I now look to the lowest count when I hit the Baskin Robbins ice cream counter. I had a Corona Light at Chevy’s while waiting to get into Dark Knight at the AMC Empire, because the thought of drinking a 500 calorie margarita made me cringe. At Ruby Tuesday’s, I narrowed my choices down to dishes that were all in the 500-600 calorie range, my jaw dropping at some of the numbers for their much-touted burgers. And it’s not that I’m stupid — I know full well how bad some of these dishes must be, but for the purposes of going out and enjoying a meal outside my house and my bevy of Lean Cuisine dishes and three days’ worth of homemade biriyani, I really just want to exist in a pleasant state of denial.
If a handful of people are dumb enough to think McDonald’s is good for you, how is that the problem of the rest of the residents of this state? The rising obesity rate is not the restaurant’s fault; it’s the fault of people who don’t control how often they eat out and what they eat when they’re out.
I never considered myself some kind of crazy hedonist, someone fond of excess and into flouting the rules. But when it comes to food? Just back the hell off. There’s too many countries where people don’t even have the option of chowing down on a Smokehouse Burger. Worrying that, oh noes!, some privileged Westerner is going to add a few inches to their waistline unless someone tells them how many calories there are in the damn thing is stupid and condescending.
I’m SO sick of this generation of Americans refusing to take basic responsibility for themselves and then our government stepping in to fill those gaps. Everything has to be regulated because god forbid someone make their own, mature decision. We’re going to tell you how bad or good your food is for you, we’re going to tell you which TV shows are appropriate for what ages, what books you shouldn’t read, what medication you shouldn’t take, and everybody’s going to be hypersensitive and politically correct because god forbid we hurt someone’s feelings. It’s ridiculous that citizens are being reduced to children — and willingly so. Yes, please, put parameters and constraints on my stomach, my uterus, my brain…
Pretty soon people won’t have to think at all. And is that the future we’re headed for? Orwellian? Where we’re a bunch of automatons, brainwashed, sanitizing our history and sleepwalking through our present and future?
Is a big ol’ margarita, a double scoop of rocky road, and a cheese-laden chicken dish really that detrimental to society? Come on.
07.18.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
My favorite soap of 2007 returns on Tuesday, and I couldn’t be happier. No, seriously. If GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT was a person, I’d be throwing my arms around its knees and crying, “You’re back! Never leave me again!” Sure, it returns with a different cast, and different stories (I’m SO bummed that we’ll never know what happened to Lainey and Cody or Andy and Kelly), but at the core, it’s the same: It’s about a hospital, it has familiar faces, it’s cutting edge, and it’s diverse.
No, it’s not just diverse, it has an Indian head writer in Sri Rao and an Indian lead character in Saira Batra. ZOMG. Soon we’re going to take over the world! Ahem. Just kidding. In all seriousness, though, I love the fact that we’re going to see Leo and Saira right alongside Patrick and Robin. Do you know how long I’ve waited to see my heritage reflected on a soap opera? I can’t even tell you. Pretty much since the womb? Then, on top of that, you have two brown people getting involved with one another. Eee! Is it too early to start waving my Leo/Saira banner? Can we give them a nickname? (‘Seo’ sounds like a cell phone company; ‘Laira’ sounds like the lead in a Philip Pullman book.) I’m almost more thrilled by Leo and Saira than I am by Antonio Sabato, Jr. returning as Jagger — and let me tell you, I’m pretty darned thrilled about that. I have never gotten over Jagger and Karen’s offscreen breakup on PORT CHARLES and refuse to believe he cheated on her with his partner. (La-la-la-la. Didn’t happen. I’m not listening.) So I’m absolutely delighted to see Jagger back and reuniting with his old high school pal, Robin. I feel like I’m a teenager again, watching him work at Kelly’s under Ruby’s watchful eye and flailing over the adventures of Tristan Rogers’ Robert Scorpio.
But despite the hearkening back to the past, NIGHT SHIFT’s return, to me, is a return to the here-and-now of daytime: A fully integrated cast that includes veteran favorites, tight writing, stories that move quickly and slick production values. I look at this show and I think, “Man, why can’t GH itself be like this?” The potential is right there. Then again, if GH had all of this going on, we wouldn’t have NIGHT SHIFT, would we? And that would just be a shame!
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
07.11.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
I’ve already admitted I basically have GENERAL HOSPITAL on for background noise these days. Who wants to tune in for young guys going psycho with axes, roughing up women and getting killed, right? Yuck. It’s summer. Where’s the romance and where are the abs? This is half the reason why BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL and AS THE WORLD TURNS were so much fun this week…gratuitous shirtlessness abounded! Bless you, Eric and Donna, for throwing a pool party. We should have a pool party every Friday on every show during these steamy summer months, while the other four days a week are devoted solely to vets and family-driven storylines. (Swimsuits optional.) That’s the other half of why B&B and ATWT were so much fun this week: Forresters and Hugheses and Stewarts, oh my!
Uh, wait…did I have a point somewhere in there? I think I did. Ah, yes, GH is depressing. But instead of continuing to kvetch, I propose an idea to shake things up. It’s actually an idea I co-hatched with Samantha, our intern: “Hit Jason on the Head; Win Steve Burton an Emmy.” That pretty much sums it up, though it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Picture it — Jason gets into his umpteenth Mob brawl and lands in the hospital with a cracked noggin. When he awakens, he is Jason Quartermaine again. Bewildered, confused, more than 10 years older, he now has to be told that almost his entire family is dead. No Alan, no AJ, no Emily, no Lila. Can you imagine? All there is left of the Qs are Monica, Tracy and Edward, who would be so, so shaken and ecstatic about Jason Q’s return. Then, slowly, his awareness of his life as Jason Morgan comes back, too, and he has to reconcile his two identities. You know Steve Burton would be awesome. That elusive Lead Actor Emmy he’s been missing these last few years could be well within his grasp.
Not to mention that it could be the perfect way to bring back Vanessa Marcil’s Brenda, because she’s one of the few people left that Jason would know from before. His prom date and housemate, she and his old pal Robin would both try and anchor him and help him grapple with who he’s become. The ripple effect of Jason’s transformation would touch Sonny, Carly, Elizabeth, Lucky, and baby Jake… and probably impact the whole canvas. Man, I’m actually salivating over the possibilities like somebody put a big, juicy steak in front of me.
That’s better than gratuitous beefcake.
That would make me tune in again.
Wishful thinking, right? I know. Thank goodness NIGHT SHIFT starts on July 22!
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
07.08.08
Julia Quinn serves up a delicious Cavendish.
HarperCollins sent me an ARC of Mr. Cavendish, I Presume, by Julia Quinn, and I presume that was due to my raving about The Lost Duke of Wyndham here. Despite the fact that there are no soap actors on the cover this time, I was utterly delighted. I started it reading it at my desk at work (hey, I deserve a lunch break!) and continued tearing through it when I got home. The companion piece to The Lost Duke of Wyndham, Mr. Cavendish, I Presume is unique in that it tells almost exactly the same story from two different characters’ points of view. Honestly, that’s rather remarkable in the field of romance. I like being surprised, I like creativity. After reading the billionth retread of Duke McHottie and Lady Heaving Bosom flitting about the London ton, it’s experiments like this that revitalize the genre.
Where TLDoW told the story from Jack and Grace’s perspectives, Mr. Cavendish is wholly Thomas and Amelia’s tale. Thomas, the current Duke of Wyndham, and Lady Amelia Willoughby, have been engaged since the cradle and barely know each other. Just when they’re finally beginning to make each other’s acquaintance (with some obligatory tonsil hockey in a garden, no less!), the “rightful” Duke of Wyndham, Jack Audley, appears, throwing everything into a tailspin.
Quinn wrote the books simultaneously, and it shows in the brilliant parallel scenes that appear in both works, but I found the scenes that didn’t crossover more appealing, because they established Thomas and Amelia as characters in their own right. Jack overpowered everyone in his own novel. Here, the reader gets to see that Thomas has just as much wit, passion, and intelligence, and that Amelia is perhaps more clever than Grace. In fact, Amelia’s sharp tongue and penchant for sarcasm was a really nice surprise. Grace was a little too reserved and classy for me, which is why Jack was more memorable in their book than she was. The same can’t be said for Thomas and Amelia, who make a great match.
I know that Quinn has long been a household name in the industry, and I’m chagrined to admit that I had never read one of her books until now. (I guess we can thank As the World Turns Ewa da Cruz for forcing the introduction!) Both of these novels are entirely worth the read. I recommend going back-to-back, with the accompanying snacks and beverages of your choice.
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume hits bookstores on September 30 and retails for $7.99.
No, you can’t have my copy.
07.04.08
Soap Opera Weekly: Blogging With Mala
I guess it’s fitting that on a day so resonant in American history, I’m all giddy over soaps nodding to their history. Daniel and Chelsea on DAYS OF OUR LIVES may skeeve me out, but their union can be lauded this week, because of the hilarious conversation between Doug, Bo, Julie and Hope about how Bo and Hope’s relationship didn’t exactly warm the cockles of Doug’s heart. How funny was Bo trying to trump up excuses for why Daniel is bad for Chelsea and Doug countering with Daniel being adoctor as opposed to how Bo was just a shiftless no account? LOL! And, okay, I admit that Daniel and Chelsea were cute for a few seconds when they arrived at the Fourth of July bash together and Daniel got hauled off for a lecture by Victor. But I am NOT surrendering! Nuh-uh. I remain strong in my anti-Chan stance. (Y’all are giving me about two weeks before I cave, aren’t you?)
Flipping channels to CBS, I got a ginormous kick out of Tom and Margo’s 25th anniversary party on AS THE WORLD TURNS. It was just like watching a real family get-together, complete with bickering and that one relative that always gets inappropriately drunk (Hi, Chris!). When Lisa chided Casey for interrupting her already distracted toast with a “Quiet, Casey, or I’m gonna shoot you!” I fell out. Anyone else think that wasn’t just Lisa talking to Casey but Eileen Fulton talking to Billy Magnussen? The whole Hughes clan just has such a natural, believable vibe. Scott Holmes (Tom) and Ellen Dolan (Margo) really seem like a snarky married couple, and it’s a shame that new viewers like myself missed their heyday. Luckily, we got flashbacks! Yay! I’m a self-proclaimed flashback junkie. I can never get enough of them. And it was namecheck central, too! Cricket, John, Andy, Sabrina, Lien, all of Lisa’s husbands…I almost cried, I was so giddy.
The one sour note was that these beautiful scenes of family togetherness were juxtaposed with Paul wrapping up Sofie’s body and burying it. Was that reallynecessary? Are we really supposed to think Paul is a hero for covering up a pregnant girl’s murder? It’s despicable. Sofie may have become unhinged, but she was, at the core, a sweet girl and a loving mother. Dumping her in a hole like a dog burying a bone in the backyard was a terrible indignity.
Another show engaging in a terrible indignity this week…? GENERAL HOSPITAL, by having a war veteran attack two young women. Epic fail, guys. I would say more on the über-sore subject, but I’m saving my full Logan rant for print. Check out a future issue for my ire. Until then, Happy 4th of July!
originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com
07.01.08
A bit of linkspam to kick off July.
Check out my latest entries at Blogging With Mala…I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but why do soaps, soap actors and soap viewers all get such a bad rap? Sometimes, I feel like everywhere I turn, all I see is scorn for the genre. Sports fans are lauded for their loyalty, for having pricey season tickets, lucky chairs and lucky hats. The cast of the SOPRANOS, the showrunners for LOST…they all get kudos for being SO talented. But soap operas are the redheaded stepchildren of media.
Where the Hell is Matt? – a surprisingly heartwarming vid featuring a guy dorkily dancing his way around the world. I sniffled.
NPH. Nathan Fillion. Joss. I think that says it all.
Bollywood Remix. WHY have I not gone dancing with my people? Shame on me! Who wants to go to Tonic this summer?
Speaking of Bollywood, Karan Johar has a blog. The mind wobbles.
Last, but not least, HAPPY CANADA DAY!
