General Hospital-Who loves a Texan?

I do. It's embarrassing, I mean, I have a boyfriend I'm crazy about, but dang it, I have a crush on Logan Hayes. How cliche. How horribly cliche, that the bad boy allure goes on, long after I'd dated it out of my system and found a cool guy instead.

So Logan and Maxie kissed, Coop walked in and it was absolutely thrilling watching Maxie try to talk her way out of it. I love that actress, she is oddly wooden, but still very effective. I think it must be difficult to be the show's black sheep and not overplay it. But I love that she doesn't really lose her cool. She doesn't get flustered. She is never rendered speechless. I am the complete opposite.

I have to tell you, I was going to be seriously pissed off if Coop bought her lame story. Frankly, I don't understand Coop and Logan's friendship. It strikes me that they sabotage each other's happiness at every turn, particularly with the ladies, but they still call one another friends. Just the other day, a young fellow at the liquor store told me I had beautiful eyes, in front of my boyfriend. He told me I looked great in my dress, that my hair was good-in front of my boyfriend. My fellow told me this violated guy code. So doesn't warning a new lady love off of your best friend seem like a violation of code? Like how Coop warned Lulu? Head scratcher, that one.

I love Lulu. She is a terrific female character because she is one of the more three dimensional ones. I am so impressed with the show's decision to let her have an abortion-I was dreading the usual "I miscarried", or the "I'm going to keep it" cop-out that so many shows do because they don't want to risk offending their anti-choice/pro-life viewers. Anyways, they gave the situation enough gravitas that you could never accuse them of taking it lightly or insensitively. So, I'm waiting with baited breath as to whether she will find out about Logan and his deal with Maxie-it's so very Dangerous Liasons/Valmont!

Jason Morgan. Would it kill the writers or the actor to, I dunno, show more range? I mean, we've seen him crack a smile, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could shed a tear once in a while, or stare out a window searchingly. I know the "Stone Cold" thing is supposed to be the contrast to his big, mushy heart that pines for Elizabeth and his son Jake, but I just don't believe it. I don't believe that all these women-Carly, Elizabeth, Sam, would all take him over someone like Lucky, who is vulnerable, yes, a bit insecure, sure, but more human. I have to be honest, I hate courtroom scenes, they drag on, they rarely thrill me, although I love the lawyer lady, I forget her name. She is the perfect foil for Rick Lansing, who is fast becoming the Prince Humperdink of Port Charles. Someone give him some dignity back, so we can respect him a bit more. I know he has "issues", inferiority complexes and such, but I don't like such stark representations of good and bad characters, particularly when we are expected to rally for Jason, who is, in fact, a hitman, and not for some mixed up, crazy DA who is still wounded from playing second best to his brother, mobster Sonny Corinthos.

Can I just say how much I love Spinelli? Seriously, when he first was introduced with his throwback to the mid nineties Valleygirl/surfer vernacular, I was annoyed. But he is the sweetest, best intentioned dude on the show, and I love that he is in love with Lulu although I want something to develop between him and Georgie.( Someone give girlfriend a storyline! Please!)

Carly is starting to get on my nerves. I've always liked being half-annoyed, half-endeared by her character, but right now, she is in annoyance overdrive. Her devotion to Jason is lovely, but seriously, go find your husband! Jason has a lawyer, a crime syndicate, a secret baby and Elizabeth to keep his head and heart together, Jax has a crazy Russian spy throwing herself on him, post-beatings. Priorities?

And Sam. I'll end off with Sam. What is she doing, going after Lucky? Lame. This revenge thing is so disappointing, because she was the victimish, kind of useless mob moll for a long time, although a likeable one, and then she started getting more empowered, and I felt that, I really supported that, and now she is throwing it all away, that "I don't need a man to be a somebody" rhetoric in order to get one on Elizabeth. Hmm. Stating the obvious here, she isn't punishing Jason, is she? Elizabeth ruined her life? She's the one who slept with her mother's husband! I mean really!

Okay, that's it for now. We'll see what happens today.

The Armchair Critic introduces...

This blog is dedicated to critiqueing all the books, movies and television I watch. I am not trained in critique. I am simply a young woman with a lot of observations and opinions, and I am not bothered about being right. Having an opinion you are willing to stand by is brave and noble, so long as you accept that other people may disagree with you. I aim to be braver and nobler. I promise not to be cruel. There is a definate trend in cruel journalism, and I have no interest in meanness for entertainment. That being said, if I don't like something, I won't sugarcoat it.

Anyways, I'd like to start off this blog by writing about General Hospital-the soap opera. Oh, how I love thee. Truly fine writing, lovelovelove the teen storylines, I am hooked. I have trouble finding other people's blogs about the show. And I want to write about it like it is a viable form of social commentary, because it is. Don't laugh. I'm serious.

I'm still sort of new to the show, I have only been watching it for about a year, but I feel qualified to comment regardless. I am not one of those fans who go to see the stars' appearances at malls. I do not read soap opera fanzines. There are no oversized "I love Luke and Laura" T-shirts in my closet, and I do miss the show from time to time. Anyways, watching this show got me through a really hard time in my life, because it was escape that rung true, do you know what I mean? I never felt silly for believing in some of the storylines.

I will also post about movies, because I watch a lot of them. I do love coming of age stories and foreign films, particularly French films. The French, their cinema would have you believe, are born precocious and fine-boned. French women don't worry so much about their weight and they can run in heels. French men can hide their confusion about women behind their floppy hair and clenched jaws in a way North American men can't seem to master. And French children have the most delicious balance of wisdom and innocence. I have been to France, so I know I am making gross exaggerations, but in my head, it is a dreamlike nation of sophistication, and warmth(yes, the French folks I met were as warm as anything) where one well-shod national foot is still stuck in the past, where pain au chocolat is a food group, and coffee is for those who will actually sit down and enjoy it. (There is little need for take-out coffee. I respect this greatly.)

Okay, I will post later tonight about General Hospital, when I am home with my own computer.
I look forward to having a reader or two.

Yours in soap operatic nerdery,
Monika