Inside this issue:
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Port Charles Street
by Smokey
Kind Readers,
In case y'all were wondering, my "job" here
is to pick out issues from or dear Port Charles, and explore them more
in depth. PC actually has alot of things to say, and sometimes it's hard
to pick out just one thing. I don't have to tell you that, lately, alot
of us aren't very
happy with PC, especially how the characters
are caught up in twilight zone stories. Actually, I really tried to find
something positive to
say this week. All I can think of is: Chris
is getting more air time his old adult self! And he's not acting like Humbert
chasing after Lolita!
Oh, yeah, Lolita...I mean Livvy. that just
brings me to what's stuck in my craw this week. The kids at the bike shop
aren't really so bad. I'm very impressed with their acting. They play their
parts well. I just don't think it's a good idea to shrink down adult-type
stories to fit these kids. At the risk of sounding "old", I know they are
18, but they're still kids. We haven't really seen them grow.
Alison attack
was an intense situation that Alison got through
all too quickly, without any emotional toll. Alison misses the process
of working the
tragedy out mentally and emotionally. She
just goes back to being somewhat of that spoiled kid. Jamal is trying to
get away from his past
(past? what was he? 12?) as a thug. First
it was Cedric, now it's Zach and bike racing. Next book it could
be a bully from kindergarten wanting more lunch money. What's up with Jack?
He's just there. We know he's Chris' brother, but what's with the animosity
between them? That would be a good story to really get into. If done correctly
and true to Chris Ramsey, this could be a meaty story to sink our teeth
into. It could even have the flashbacks that the writers so dearly love.
These characters have so much potential and talent that isn't being utilized.
Instead we get scenes of Alison fretting over
$25,000 (I should be so cursed) and Livvy rising out of the Port Charles'
river like a nude
Venus emerging like a pearl from an oyster.
I don't know if I should be embarrassed, or to roll on the floor laughing.
There are times when their naivety' comes through, as in their pact to
not keep secrets and always tell the truth. I had to giggle.
Life isn't that simple. And, we soap fans know that right around
the corner is the next complication that is a pact breaker.
I'm not comfortable with all the sex and lovey-dovey
going on with these kids. I'm not a prude. My real name isn't Dr.
Laura. I just think that the time we spend with these characters could
be better spent. All that
time smooching could be better spent on their
minds and spirits. I really want to know more about Jamal, besides that
he has a shady past.
Let him interact with cousin Dara, the DA,
more (she's not doing anything over on GH). In fact, I'd like to
see them interact with
adults more. And I don't mean that absurd
dinner of Jack & Livvy's with Lucy & Kevin. The dinner and
then coming home to Livvy's Grandma and her beau necking on the sofa was
thrown in there for some reason. I
know! It was so we could hear Livvy giggle!
I guess the kids think that they better have all the sex they can, because,
after thirty, sex is
laughable. And, since the horse has already
left the barn, I would hope that SOMETHING would get these kids to act
responsibly. Let's all say it together: condom...birth control...HIV....
I have a confession to make. Try not to laugh,
but I watch the Saturday morning teen shows on TNBC. You know, the ones
like "Saved By The Bell". They are funny, and they actually have
a message. My favorite is "Just Deal", which is has the look and feel of
a drama. It follows 3 main characters through their high school years.
You don't get kids at the mall fretting over prom dresses and football
games. They just deal with subjects like learning disabilities, the death
of a parent, anorexia, and race. I also like the fact that the adults aren't
buffoons who float around these kids like space cadets. Gee, parents and
teachers even help the kids through tough times! In one episode,
parents were interrupted as they were making-out on their sofa. The
kid rolled his eyes and told reminded them that the had their own room
for that stuff. The parents
were irritated and reminded him that it was
their house, and they didn't quit loving each other just because the kids
were born. All this in 30 minutes! Amazing! By the way, no one has slept
with anyone. There isn't time. They have real stories to tell.
The thing that bothers me most about the silly
way kids and adults are portrayed on PC, teen viewers have risen 29%.
Like it or not, the
characters are an example of sorts. Yeah,
yeah yeah, it's just entertainment. Maybe the teen viewers enjoy a story
that they don't
have to think about. Perhaps they relish
stories that have nothing to do with real life. I think they just need
a good laugh.
I don't think I'm living in the past. At the
risk of sounding like an old geezer, when I was a teenager, we grappled
with big issues like
gangs, racism, sexism, sex, drugs and rock
'n roll. We didn't have a computer buddy like Frank to help
us think about these things. Perhaps if we did have more of a mindful
connection to these realities, they wouldn't be realities still.
THAT would be a change in history we could have used.
Question Everything,
Smokey
[email protected]
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