Holiday leftovers
Watched a movie with my nephew on Friday - one that I think would make a great B/K AU or a Stabler/Beecher crossover: "Midnight Run." I originally pictured LT as the Charles Grodin character, with Meloni taking on DeNiro. Then I thought it would be fun to reverse the perhaps expected roles. But if it was Stabler/Beecher, I think Stabler would have to be the ex-cop/bounty hunter. But can't you just picture the two of them, in all those close quarters. The snark, the swearing, the sexual tension. The sex!
Okay, so it will be a little different from the movie. But I really think it's a good idea. I just don't know if I have the patience to try it. I'd like to do some kind of Stabler/Beecher epic, but I already had another whole complicated idea... So many ideas, so little writerly patience.
Before I do the "Five favorite scenes" meme that's been going around, a pic of CM and his kids. I don't think I've ever scene Dante before. (There's another one at the same site.) It's priceless that he's going after big sister's balloon, trying to get at least one when she has two, but she's having none of it. Hee.
I think most people know me as an Oz/SVU fan, but General Hospital was my introduction to online fandom. It was my first soap, but I gave it up from time to time. I started regularly taping again in 1998, when the writers revisited the infamous Luke and Laura rape. That storyline gave rise to two of my favorite scenes:
1. GH March 17, 1998: Luke faces the wrath, and the shattered illusions, of his son.
Lucky, who has idolized his father for his entire life, has been dealing with the aftermath of his friend's rape when he discovers that his own father is a rapist. In a shattering, 14-minute near-soliloquy, Luke tells his version of the ugly story. It was an incredible moment: almost 20 years after the fact, after the rape was whitewashed on the show and in the public's mind, the actor relives the awful truth. Using flashbacks from the actual episode, Luke rips out his own heart - and his son's - and destroys their relationship, in order to someday, hopefully, salvage it.
The Luke/Lucky relationship is probably my favorite in all my fandoms. And watching these two amazing actors - Tony Geary and Jonathan Jackson - play those scenes, and so many following, was a real pleasure. It's the kind of storytelling only a soap can provide - the same characters seen, day in and day out, over years, through generations. It was bold and brave, and GH hasn't come anywhere near that level of writing or acting in years.
If you've never seen it, or just want to relive it, you can go here for an in-depth review or here for a downloadable RealPlayer clip, which sadly doesn't have the beginning of the Luke/Lucky confrontation or the end of the scene.
2. GH May, 1998: The flip side of that scene - Lucky confronts his mother with the truth
The day many folks sat up and noticed that little Lucky wasn't really a kid anymore. A bitter, disillusioned Lucky blindsides his mother, whose homecoming is ruined when she is forced to see what her lies and half-truths and, most importantly, her absence, have wrought. Laura has no idea that Lucky knows the truth about that "one awful night" as she eventually deems it. She doesn't know a lot of things - and Lucky makes sure he hits her with every single secret he's discovered, and every secret he's kept.
If you weren't a Lucky fan, you probably thought he was obnoxious and out of line. Which he was - and wasn't. He was cold and cutting and viciously cruel and sarcastic. He was also right. And Laura, true to her deceitful, denying nature, couldn't face it. She couldn't admit that Luke had raped her. She didn't admit it then and she never admitted it to Lucky at any point. They'd find their way back to each other, mostly because Lucky worked it through things on his own. But that confrontation proved to me - and to him, I think - that his mother would never be able to sacrifice the illusion of "Luke and Laura" even for the psychological health and well-being of her child. Link to a discussion of the scene, though it doesn't do it real justice.)
Standout lines: "If I was anyone else, any other man, would you be afraid to be alone with me right now here in this room. Or would it be something else to you - I mean, would you find it exciting?"
And: "Because you told me it was love at first sight. So what did you mean? Did you mean when the song was playing and the lights were going and he had you pinned down... I know, I know - I'm too young, too simple-minded. You were a tease and Dad was a drunk. And he thought he was going to die."
And finally: "You know, growing up, whenever you had me in school, the one thing the other kids - you know, the normal kids - were afraid of was that they were adopted. It never occurred to me. But that's how it feels, right now. That you lied to me - my whole life - about who my parents were."
Go here to view the clip.
Honorable mention GH scene: Jason replacing Carly's wedding and engagement rings, and placing them on her finger.
3. Oz: B/K farewell scene in "Cuts Like A Knife"
A monumental moment in the B/K relationship and a shipper's dream: Keller sacrifices himself for Beecher, and rides off into the sunset, the hero. After a season of agonizing miscommunication and anger and angst, both men finally realize how much they love each other. As callmerizzo noted, everything about the scene - lighting, setting, writing and especially, acting - is perfect. When he leaves, and promises Beecher that they will be together again ("Back here or in heaven"), CM flashes a smile unlike any other we've seen Keller give. It's devilish and angelic all at once. And so sexy. He's almost glowing. In contrast, the pain on Beecher's face is so real - he's bruised, but in more pain from losing Keller just as he understands how much he loves him.
A perfect farewell. Ruined by what was to come, but for that brief, shining moment... sigh.
(Scroll down to bkpgdbye.asf on this page to relive it.
4. Oz: Keller/Mukada in the gym
Keller at his most feral. Fr. Ray tries to get Keller to help with Beecher, who is apparently working off his grief and his loneliness, by fucking his way through Em City. Keller rebuffs Mukada in that uniquely Keller way: a near lethal mix of bravado, machismo and libido. You really have to see it to understand. (Scroll down to kmukinoz.asf)
Honorable mention Oz scenes: All the B/K kisses, especially the NYEve and laundry room ones; Keller/Barlog and the blowjob of death; the Ryan/Keller fandango moments and the Sr. Pete sessions. Okay, yes, that is practically the whole B/K storyline. Sue me!)
5. SVU: Stabler interviews the serial killer in "Execution"
I love the way CM takes Stabler from sympathetic to sneering. His understated, contemptuous laugh when he asks, "Do you really think I could think any less of you?" is beautifully delivered. Scenes like this one made me realize that I enjoyed Stabler as a chaaracter, in his own right. I was no longer watching just to get a glimpse of Keller shining through. If Brodus had actually killed Huang, it would be a perfect scene.
I also love the Stabler/Cabot scenes in "Execution," as well as the scene where he has to admit to Cragen that he was played by the perp/witness.
Honorable mention SVU scenes: The interrogation scene in "Pique," as well as the Stabler/Cabot faceoff; the Stabler/Fin scenes in "Rooftops" and the Benson/Stabler scene at the end of "Futility."
Phew - I'm so much wordier than other folks!
Okay, so it will be a little different from the movie. But I really think it's a good idea. I just don't know if I have the patience to try it. I'd like to do some kind of Stabler/Beecher epic, but I already had another whole complicated idea... So many ideas, so little writerly patience.
Before I do the "Five favorite scenes" meme that's been going around, a pic of CM and his kids. I don't think I've ever scene Dante before. (There's another one at the same site.) It's priceless that he's going after big sister's balloon, trying to get at least one when she has two, but she's having none of it. Hee.
I think most people know me as an Oz/SVU fan, but General Hospital was my introduction to online fandom. It was my first soap, but I gave it up from time to time. I started regularly taping again in 1998, when the writers revisited the infamous Luke and Laura rape. That storyline gave rise to two of my favorite scenes:
1. GH March 17, 1998: Luke faces the wrath, and the shattered illusions, of his son.
Lucky, who has idolized his father for his entire life, has been dealing with the aftermath of his friend's rape when he discovers that his own father is a rapist. In a shattering, 14-minute near-soliloquy, Luke tells his version of the ugly story. It was an incredible moment: almost 20 years after the fact, after the rape was whitewashed on the show and in the public's mind, the actor relives the awful truth. Using flashbacks from the actual episode, Luke rips out his own heart - and his son's - and destroys their relationship, in order to someday, hopefully, salvage it.
The Luke/Lucky relationship is probably my favorite in all my fandoms. And watching these two amazing actors - Tony Geary and Jonathan Jackson - play those scenes, and so many following, was a real pleasure. It's the kind of storytelling only a soap can provide - the same characters seen, day in and day out, over years, through generations. It was bold and brave, and GH hasn't come anywhere near that level of writing or acting in years.
If you've never seen it, or just want to relive it, you can go here for an in-depth review or here for a downloadable RealPlayer clip, which sadly doesn't have the beginning of the Luke/Lucky confrontation or the end of the scene.
2. GH May, 1998: The flip side of that scene - Lucky confronts his mother with the truth
The day many folks sat up and noticed that little Lucky wasn't really a kid anymore. A bitter, disillusioned Lucky blindsides his mother, whose homecoming is ruined when she is forced to see what her lies and half-truths and, most importantly, her absence, have wrought. Laura has no idea that Lucky knows the truth about that "one awful night" as she eventually deems it. She doesn't know a lot of things - and Lucky makes sure he hits her with every single secret he's discovered, and every secret he's kept.
If you weren't a Lucky fan, you probably thought he was obnoxious and out of line. Which he was - and wasn't. He was cold and cutting and viciously cruel and sarcastic. He was also right. And Laura, true to her deceitful, denying nature, couldn't face it. She couldn't admit that Luke had raped her. She didn't admit it then and she never admitted it to Lucky at any point. They'd find their way back to each other, mostly because Lucky worked it through things on his own. But that confrontation proved to me - and to him, I think - that his mother would never be able to sacrifice the illusion of "Luke and Laura" even for the psychological health and well-being of her child. Link to a discussion of the scene, though it doesn't do it real justice.)
Standout lines: "If I was anyone else, any other man, would you be afraid to be alone with me right now here in this room. Or would it be something else to you - I mean, would you find it exciting?"
And: "Because you told me it was love at first sight. So what did you mean? Did you mean when the song was playing and the lights were going and he had you pinned down... I know, I know - I'm too young, too simple-minded. You were a tease and Dad was a drunk. And he thought he was going to die."
And finally: "You know, growing up, whenever you had me in school, the one thing the other kids - you know, the normal kids - were afraid of was that they were adopted. It never occurred to me. But that's how it feels, right now. That you lied to me - my whole life - about who my parents were."
Go here to view the clip.
Honorable mention GH scene: Jason replacing Carly's wedding and engagement rings, and placing them on her finger.
3. Oz: B/K farewell scene in "Cuts Like A Knife"
A monumental moment in the B/K relationship and a shipper's dream: Keller sacrifices himself for Beecher, and rides off into the sunset, the hero. After a season of agonizing miscommunication and anger and angst, both men finally realize how much they love each other. As callmerizzo noted, everything about the scene - lighting, setting, writing and especially, acting - is perfect. When he leaves, and promises Beecher that they will be together again ("Back here or in heaven"), CM flashes a smile unlike any other we've seen Keller give. It's devilish and angelic all at once. And so sexy. He's almost glowing. In contrast, the pain on Beecher's face is so real - he's bruised, but in more pain from losing Keller just as he understands how much he loves him.
A perfect farewell. Ruined by what was to come, but for that brief, shining moment... sigh.
(Scroll down to bkpgdbye.asf on this page to relive it.
4. Oz: Keller/Mukada in the gym
Keller at his most feral. Fr. Ray tries to get Keller to help with Beecher, who is apparently working off his grief and his loneliness, by fucking his way through Em City. Keller rebuffs Mukada in that uniquely Keller way: a near lethal mix of bravado, machismo and libido. You really have to see it to understand. (Scroll down to kmukinoz.asf)
Honorable mention Oz scenes: All the B/K kisses, especially the NYEve and laundry room ones; Keller/Barlog and the blowjob of death; the Ryan/Keller fandango moments and the Sr. Pete sessions. Okay, yes, that is practically the whole B/K storyline. Sue me!)
5. SVU: Stabler interviews the serial killer in "Execution"
I love the way CM takes Stabler from sympathetic to sneering. His understated, contemptuous laugh when he asks, "Do you really think I could think any less of you?" is beautifully delivered. Scenes like this one made me realize that I enjoyed Stabler as a chaaracter, in his own right. I was no longer watching just to get a glimpse of Keller shining through. If Brodus had actually killed Huang, it would be a perfect scene.
I also love the Stabler/Cabot scenes in "Execution," as well as the scene where he has to admit to Cragen that he was played by the perp/witness.
Honorable mention SVU scenes: The interrogation scene in "Pique," as well as the Stabler/Cabot faceoff; the Stabler/Fin scenes in "Rooftops" and the Benson/Stabler scene at the end of "Futility."
Phew - I'm so much wordier than other folks!