Deep Soap: Of Cats And Women

The Young & The Restless Gets Catty

The last time The Young & The Restless has a video go viral, it was was Brenda Dickson’s “Welcome To My Home.”  This time the show actually produced its own internet sensation.   The Mr. Kitty story, a mockumentary detailing the rise and fall of Patty’s taxidermied cat, who became an improbable fan favorite.  Deftly parodying the E! True Hollywood story,  this video allows the Y&R actors let their inner comedians out.  From Peter Bergman’s deadly serious introduction to Christian LeBlanc claiming that, “With the back of your head you do more than I can with my whole face,” to the photoshopped yearbook picture of the cat in a suit and tie, this video is flat out hilarious.  I hope TPTB will find storylines that allow Josh Morrow and Kristoff St. John to showcase their lighter sides, because they are much funnier than their straitlaced characters are typically allowed to be.

This video assumes that Y&R viewers are smart enough to get the joke.  In fact, it’s much smarter than the show has been for the past month.  The overwhelming popularity of Imaginary Bitches — which frequently costars Y&R’s Elizabeth Hendricksen, the huge advanced buzz for Crystal Chappell’s Venice, and the numerous other web series that current and former soap stars are doing in their spare time, show that their in an audience for original, soap related internet content.  Unfortunately, most of the content the shows produce is underwhelming.  The occasional interviews and behind-the-scenes footage that appear on the network sites are unimaginative and old-fashioned.  The Mr. Kitty Story has the snarky, deadpan tone of internet comedy down pat.  One Life To Live, I am throwing down the gauntlet: top this.

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Several years ago, E! saw fit to subject Y&R to the True Hollywood Story Treatment.  The resulting hour, which focused on incidents that had happened decades ago, including Brenda Dickson’s departure.  I remember how amused everyone was by its ridiculousness.   That may have been part of the inspiration for the epic tale of Mr. Kitty.  It is hard not to view it as an allegory for a certain popular actor on the show who was known for his minimalist performances and left in a huff after a contract dispute.   I cannot wait for Mr. Kitty’s exclusive interview to set the record straight.  For once the headline, “actor breaks his silence” will be accurate.

Let Us Now Praise Port Charles Men

I am swooning over two men of General Hospital.  It should go without saying that their names are not Sonny and Jason.  Johnny Zacharra is making me fall in love with him.  He is a happy exception to the law of forced soap break-ups.  Typically, the dumpee, believing that the love of his life no longer wants him, sleeps with another person.  Johnny, in contrast, has figured out that Claudia is blackmailing Olivia into breaking up with him.  Olivia’s repeated insistence that they’re through because she is still in love with Sonny is met with skepticism.  FIrst of all, Johnny has eyes and knows that he is way more appealing than Sonny.  Second, he knows Olivia well enough to know that she is in love with him.  Instead of picking up other women, he downed his sorrows in alcohol.  He is intelligent enough to realize that his creepy sister is responsible, and is not going to give up on Olivia. He made drunk self-pity attractive as he sat in the parking lot of Jake’s with his bottle, in agony without Olivia.  Then he quickly sobered up as he became Carly’s unexpected labor coach.  Though he knows absolutely nothing about Lamaze he gave her tips based on the pain management techniques he discovered after he was shot.

Then my other Port Charles love of the moment, Coleman, came out to help.  His initial method of pointing a shotgun at her failed to scare away her contractions.  Coleman is the rare GH man whose attitude towards women has improved pver time, evolving from a sleazy strip club owner to a smart ass appealing enough to catch the eye of a drunk Kate.  Confronted with a woman in premature labor, they did their best.  The unlikely duo accompanied Carly to the hospital.  Her line, “They’re actually helping.  They’re so annoying it’s distracting.” effectively sums up the scenes.  It was an unexpectedly humorous and entertaining take on a high risk premature labor.  It was nice to see two men band together to help a woman that neither one of them was sleeping with.  I hope GH continues to showcase men who attempt to do right by women instead of hurting them.