We've put together a special year-end list of the top ten most-read Two Scoops columns over the past 12 months. To check out the list and see what came out on top, please click here.
Happy New Year to you, my dear readers!
There was a lot of love flowing to wrap up the year in Port Charles. Robin and Patrick celebrated their first anniversary. Robin and Patrick are one of the few solid couples on canvas, but they rarely get a love scene, so I appreciated seeing them actually kiss and make love. In fact, I applaud romance, in general.
By some odd miracle their anniversary fell on the exact day Robin stopped taking her anti depressants. Thus, she was able to imbibe with Patrick and toast their first year together. That's good news for viewers because now Robin will be able to go out with the girls in 2010 for some tequila shots again. When Robin and Patrick ended their evening at home with baby Emma, I noticed Emma had grown quite a bit. She looked like a different baby, but some of my Twitter peeps assured me she was the same baby. However, I remain highly suspicious.
I realize the writers are trying to throw a wrench into the Robin/Patrick machinery by bringing Patrick's old college girlfriend, Lisa ,into the mix, but frankly...Zzzzz. Lisa has zero chemistry with anyone on canvas, so I don't see her coming between Robin and Patrick. However, the powers that be also noticed that and thus have hired a new actress to take over the role of Lisa. Perhaps the new one will have more sizzle with the handsome Dr. Drake.
Robin and Patrick's plans for New Year's Eve fell through when Patrick got roped into a surgery with Lisa. Although Robin was disappointed, she didn't fly into a tantrum like most women (me) would have done when her plans were ruined . Of course, Robin just stopped her antidepressants so she might still be artificially happy.
The real shocker to me was that Lisa had no chemistry with Sonny. I have seen inanimate objects sizzle with Sonny, so to witness a scene with Sonny and a woman with absolutely no "Boom Boom Pow" was disconcerting. Thankfully, Olivia showed up and livened up the joint as she always does. Sonny gets so much wine thrown at him that he should have a dry cleaner on speed dial.
Olivia's beau, Johnny, got an anonymous sh ot of an empty grave and put two and two together and made a beeline to Jason's penthouse. Jason realized he had no choice but to tell Johnny the truth about Claudia's death and Michael's role in it.
Brandon Barash is one of the finest performers on GH, he brings so many layers to a character that could easily be played as one-dimensional. Jason and Johnny have a tentative friendship. They harbor a respect for one another even when their interests vary. Their encounter this week was half reasonable discussion and half fistfight. It left Johnny sliding into the Christmas tree on Jason's pool table, but then they parted friends, and it all seemed believable.
The scene where Johnny tried to wrap his head around what happened to his sister, which culminated in Johnny suggesting to Jason "Maybe now you can feel a shred of compassion given the sick colossal mess you helped make." was a powerful bit of drama. Even after her death, he's still defending her and trying to make people see what he saw in her.
I think anyone who has a messed up family member can relate to the Johnny/Claudia dynamic. You understand mentally that the person you love made their own choices and suffered the consequences of their actions. But you can't help but feel sad for their circumstances, even when you know it was their own doing. Brandon Barash wears all those conflicted emotions on his face.
Jason convinced Johnny not to try to exact revenge on Franco for digging up Claudia's grave, and sent him on his way. But I seriously think Jason could use all the help he could get to track down Franco, because Franco is a serious whack job.
Franco was in his studio randomly painting "CO77X over and over again in all 64 of Crayola's colors, and I can't figure out why he is doing that. He also gathered up some nice new rope and I do know why he was doing that.
Sam had a romantic hot tub night planned for Jason, which is funny because it's nine degrees in upstate New York today, but there she was disrobing in her bikini and no steam was coming off the water into the freezing air. I hope she cleaned that hot tub out since the last time she used it with Lucky a year ago.
Jason didn't come when Sam expected, but Franco did. While Franco was in the midst of kidnapping Sam, she got a floral delivery. Franco accidentally pulled a roll of duct tape out of his pocket instead of a tip. Hey, flower delivery guys, if that ever happens when you are delivering flowers to me, call 9-1-1. Oh wait, no one ever sends me flowers. Hey, "Wine of the Month Club" guy, if you ever deliver my booze and some dude pulls out duct tape instead of a tip, alert the authorities.
By the time Jason arrived, Sam was long gone, and Franco was having the world's creepiest dinner for one. I was so afraid when he lifted the cover off his plate. I was terrified it was going to be Sam's severed head.
While the intrigue is high, it was romance that reigned supreme in Port Charles. Dante arrived at Lulu and Maxie's place and informed Lulu he would pick her up in an hour and she dress formally . His announcement led to a delightful scene between Maxie and Lulu, filled with snappy dialogue, costume changes, and girly confessions. Their friendship is genuine and I delight in it.
After several outfit changes, Lulu settled on a dress, and she and Dante went on an official date. He took her to the opera, and Lulu liked it so much she had hot limo sex with him afterward. Score! I love this couple. I'm rooting for them to make it through the inevitable fallout when Dante's secret is finally exposed. Lulu is very cynical about love, but Dante's persistence and overall good character are making Lulu consider believing in love again.
Kristina and Molly's mission to hook up Alexis and Mac ended up with Alexis and Mac stranded on the side of the road when Alexis' hybrid broke down. But on the up side, Mac and Alexis had time to have a real conversation and connect over Steve McQueen movies and a certain green Mustang. The road they are stuck on is covered in ice, but their hearts are thawing. Last we saw them, they were dancing gleefully in the snow together. Precious.
The couple I am most concerned about right now is Lucky and Liz. Readers, I can't help myself, I am rooting for them even though I know Liz doesn't deserve it. All that history and romance and magic, it has to mean something, doesn't it? Now that Jonathan Jackson is back, the writers are actually writing for Lucky again. That's no slam on Greg Vaughn, just a fact. Lucky's character has been fleshed out since Jonathan Jackson returned, and he's interacting with a lot more people.
When Elizabeth presented him with his old guitar, my eyes filled up with tears. And when he broke into song with "My Girl," I wanted Liz to dive across the table and ravish him. It was good to hear him sing again.
Every scene with Lucky is better since Jackson returned to the role. The scenes he had with Michael this week were breathtaking. Lucky thinks that Michael knows who killed Claudia and is covering for Sonny or Jason. But the fact, of course, is that Michael is covering for himself. Watching the two of them dance around each other was delightful. Both actors have such intensity that their interactions are electrifying.
Michael was drinking and driving - is that the AJ coming out in him? Is he acting out over Claudia's death, or does he think he's invincible? Is he going to develop a drinking problem like his biological father? At least Sonny finally took Michael's car away, which he should have done after Michael thought he hit Claudia last summer.
There is so much more story to tell. I truly wish AJ wasn't dead. Killing him off was a bonehead move in the first place. However, if the current writers want to do some of the revisionist history I was whining about last week, I give them my stamp of approval this one time to resurrect AJ. Imagine if AJ were in the mix, a court would probably find him the fit parent in a custody battle--oh wait, they just made Michael 18 at the worst birthday party ever!
What's driving me mad this week is Maxie's insistence that Spinelli have sex with someone else to make up for her sleeping with Franco. That girl could have seriously used a mother to give her some moral guidance. That whole idea can only end badly and everyone can see that except Maxie. Writers, give us a break. Hey writers! Either break up Spinelli and Maxie or fix them, but I can't stomach another two weeks of Maxie badgering Spinelli to cheat on her.
Readers, if you didn't get to hear Soap Central founder Dan J. Kroll on his recent radio interview on The Next Best Thing, I highly recommend you to listen to it here: http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=43548. Dan talks about how he started this site and much, much more. You can also download the show as an MP3 or from iTunes. And make sure to set your calendars for January 8, 2010 to hear the new Soap Central Live radio show at 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific time. The show airs every Friday and you can check it out here: http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vshow.aspx?sid=1661
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Spinelli call Anne Hathaway and ask for Mia Thermopolis? Will Franco paint CO77X on Sam's booty in spray paint? Will the nurses in Lisa's surgery nod off mid-surgery because Lisa is so boring? Will someone, anyone, please come and beat the crap out of Kiefer? Will Max and Diana find a romantic fly-fishing location against all odds? Will Carly ever realize it's a bad idea for her to host parties?
