"Where'd she go?"

26 February 2025: I first saw Michelle Trachtenberg as Lily Benton way back in 1993. She must have been about eight. When she appeared in the last scene of "Buffy vs. Dracula," I clocked her as Lily right away. And then I just marveled at how well she played the very difficult role of Dawn--a character meant to be a lot and immature and annoying, but also just a kid. She nailed it. 

I keep thinking of the last scene of "The Body," where she asked, "Where'd she go?" as she reaches out to Joyce, with the scene ending just before she touches her. 

Hard to believe that kid is gone. I hope she rests in peace. 

Friday things...

15 December 2023: Gonna do a little list for this post...

1) Fall 2024 course evaluations got released today. I never really worry about these until the moment before I look at them and then I think to myself, "Is this the semester where it all turns? Where I am revealed to be an imposter?" Well, the "not-an-imposter" streak continues, at least for another semester, because they were really lovely.

2) Spent a big part of today working on the syllabus for my Dickinson seminar. That also meant spending time thinking about the last time I taught it--that strange, tough semester that was Fall 2020. That course, that material, and that group of students turned out to be one of the most important teaching, sustaining, and meaningful experiences of my life. Eager to give it another go.

3) Good reviews and the realization that man who made Paddington 2 also made it were enough to persuade me to see Wonka. And you know what? It was delightful. Very sweet and fun.

4) Just watched Susan Lucci win a lifetime acheivement award at the Daytime Emmys and man, do I miss my soaps. They really did help form me.  

Trying not to get too excited...

...but how wonderful if this were true!

Sigh...

Well, it's official. No more AMC or OLTL. I really do wish AMC had a better ending. And I think it's too late for OLTL to change theirs...

Missing AMC...

On a day like today--a rainy day when I am working from home--I really miss All My Children. It was the perfect have-it-on-in-the-backgroud-while-I-work-on-the-laptop show, in part because it coincided with lunchtime. (We have all week off for Thanksgiving--very cool.) Good thing OLTL is still there (for now) at 2:00.

And this news (a bit old at this point) is quite worrying. Really makes me wish they had given us more of a proper ending.

Two more episodes...

That's all that's left of All My Children. It's kind of surreal. I am also amazed at how quickly I've gotten sucked back in after about a year of not watching. It's gotten so that when I see a commercial for "The Chew" (the stupid show that will take AMC's timeslot), I mutter a curse under my breath.

Anyway, today's episode, which I just finished watching featured the return of Sarah Michelle Gellar. It was lovely and silly and fun. And that's not all: Tad and Dixie, my all-time favorite AMC couple, got engaged (again), and yet another beloved Pine Valley denizen came back from the dead.

There have also been lots of great flashbacks this week and episodes devoted to each of the main families. That's been a nice treat for long-time fans.

There's talk that with the proposed move to the online format, original plans for an ending that tied up all the loose ends has been scrapped in favor of a cliffhanger. Not sure how I feel about that...especially if the rumors of (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT?) a shooting/bloodbath finale are true.

SMG back on AMC

What terrific news! I first knew SMG on All My Children, where she was just fabulous as Kendall Hart. Yeah, the other actress has made the role completely her own now, but it's still wonderful that Sarah is coming back to say goodbye to AMC (at least AMC on ABC).

Now if only my other saw-and-loved-him-first-on-soaps-and-now-he's-a-Whedon-icon-love could come back to OLTL. Come on, Nathan!

Two awesome things from last week...

Soooo busy this week, but I am taking a micro-break and posting (really briefly) about two of the most awesome things that happened last week:

1) Back from the dead! Saved!

2) 3000! And #3000 was a homer. And he went five-for-freakin'-five. And drove in the game-winning RBI. Awesome.

A sad day for TV

ABC cancels All My Children and One Life to Live. I am more upset about this than I thought I would be. Those are iconic shows for me--I grew up watching them and still catch up on them when I get the chance. The end of an era...

So long, Myrtle Fargate...

Sad news for All My Children fans. Some of you know I grew up watching this soap and am still a proud (albeit occasional) viewer. Myrtle was a great character and I'll miss seeing her.