Performer of the Week
As Curtis hovered between life and death on the operating table, he experienced an otherworldly encounter with his late mother, Irene, eliciting a poignant and soulful performance from Donnell Turner.
Curtis woke up in a grassy park, lying on a picnic blanket — and before he could even orient himself, he heard Irene, lovingly chastising him for finishing the potato salad. From the moment he registered the sound of her voice and laid eyes on his alter ego’s beloved mother, it was clear that Turner was fully locked in. Gazing at her in awe, his voice husky, tears pouring out of his widened eyes, there was no trace of Curtis’s signature swagger. In its stead was a glimpse into Curtis’s inner child, the mama’s boy who’d lost his mama. The words Curtis spoke were simple (“Is this really happening?”), but Turner infused his breaking voice with a rush of complex emotions, from confusion to wonderment. He clung to her hand, kissing it tenderly as he reverently drank in the sight of her face.
Then a voice from the real world — TJ’s — intruded, and Curtis’s head snapped in the direction of the sound. Irene dismissed it and tried to lead him in the direction of his late brother, Tommy, who was tinkering with her car nearby. He melted and prepared to follow her — until TJ’s voice got louder, and said the magic word: Trina. Reminded of his daughter, Turner visibly snapped Curtis out of his dreamlike state. With a heavy heart and a gentle tone, Curtis told Irene he had to go back. His eyes watered as he added, “But I don’t want to say good-bye.” He took shaking breaths to steel himself before folding himself into her loving arms, and then, with great difficulty, letting go of her hand and watching her fade from his view.
In illuminating Curtis’s love for his mother with such authenticity, he somehow communicated something universal about the pain of losing a parent. At once understated and impactful, the scenes were a triumph for Turner.
Thumbs Up!
YOUNG AND RESTLESS – Clash Of The Titans
Drenched in hate, revenge, jealousy and comeuppance, Phyllis and Christine’s bitter rivalry has percolated, Jill/Katherine style, for almost three decades. It has cooled in recent years as the ladies have mellowed and matured, and they co-exist in the same room with nary a snarky comment uttered. But what’s the fun in that? The mutual animosity between the women has been begging for the chance to go from simmer to boil, and Y&R cooked up the perfect setup, having DA Christine go after Phyllis for staging her death and murdering Jeremy Stark. On paper, Chris is simply doing her job, but the rich personal history they share brings extra gravitas to the story turn. When Phyllis turned herself into the police under Christine’s watchful gaze, disdain flashing in her eyes, while Phyllis looked back at her with a defiant stare, their loaded looks hinted at the fun in store for fans. Portrayers Lauralee Bell (Christine) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) are in their element bringing new life to this legacy conflict.
Thumbs up!/ Thumbs down!
DAYS OF OUR LIVES – Family Feud
DAYS delivered an epic confrontation when Brady, fed up with his calculating ex, demanded that Kristen tell him where their missing daughter Rachel was, bellowed that he was calling the shots regarding their custody agreement and punctuated his diatribe by pulling out a gun. In portrayer Eric Martsolf’s hands, Brady’s take-charge moment was captivating to watch, and given his anger and frustration, it tracked that he would resort to Kristen’s tactics (violence). But his impulsive decision backfired — because Rachel ran in, having heard her daddy threatening to kill her mommy. Her bearing witness to this frightening scene paved the way for Kristen to win full custody, but we can’t help but feel that it was a questionable move on the show’s part to involve a young child in a scenario involving a gun and death threats. It was dramatic, yes, but ultimately far more disturbing than it was entertaining. While the show did depict the event as traumatizing to little Rachel, surely there were ways to have Kristen best Brady in the custody department that sidestepped putting a child and a gun in the same scene.
Thumbs up!/ Thumbs down!
BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL – Hope Against Hope
It’s been a refreshing change to see Hope so take-charge with her life — e.g., beating Liam to the divorce punch and pushing back when Brooke and Wyatt questioned her new romance with Thomas — and based on the gleam in her eye during the scenes, portrayer Annika Noelle is clearly relishing the material she’s been given to play. What’s holding us back from fully embracing this “new” Hope is feeling like the show skipped key beats in her evolution. Since she was aged to adulthood in 2010, Hope has served as the de facto moral compass on the show. Other than a dependence on anti-anxiety pills in 2012, she has more often than not walked the straight and narrow, which is why it’s tough to comprehend this 180. Hope left for Rome fantasizing about Thomas but pledging her love to Liam, and all it took was a fashion show high for her to stray from her marital vows?! The Hope we’ve seen since Liam confronted her back in L.A. is noticeably sassier — not necessarily a bad thing — but we can’t quite tell if the writers are committed to her new direction or will turn on a dime again
Applause, Applause
Li and Melinda’s blind date on DAYS was adorable — them bonding over the white wine was a nice touch — and their portrayers, Remington Hoffman and Tina Huang, have crackling chemistry…. Great character-revealing scenes between Anna and Dante on GH when he persuaded her to let him help her smoke out her would-be assassin.
Picky, Picky
We’re curious as to how B&B’s Hope and Liam skirted around the mandatory six-month waiting period on California divorces…. What magic espresso machine did Crimson Lights install on Y&R, such that when Sharon brewed a drink for Chance, replete with frothed milk, it operated in complete silence?! … On GH, ALL MY CHILDREN visitor Jack told Lucy that he’d “spent some time in Port Charles” and “still had friends there”, then name-dropped Anna. But Anna and Jack knew each other from Pine Valley, not P.C., as Anna lived there for years and they worked together closely
Bryan Beckley
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