The Quartermaines (cont.):

Monica: "What is this, the lush league?"

Alan: "Your lover, Monica. Go on, go to him--and please don't deny it. I see all the signs. You're cranky, you jump out of bed first thing in the morning, you can't wait to get through dinner to check your voice mail."
Monica: "You're an idiot."
Alan: "You're insulting, you're impatient."
Monica: "And I'm pregnant."

Edward: "Oh, me. What's the use of having a family picnic if the family doesn't show up?"
Monica: "Which makes us what?"

Monica: "You are the father, Alan. Deal with it."

Monica: "Why, why did I think that you would be glad for us?"
Alan: "Why should I be?"
Monica: "Because, Alan, it would give us a chance to raise another child."

Lila: "Your grandfather was worried about you, that's all, dear."
Edward: "Well, let's hear your story, young lady--and it'd better be good."

Edward: "Well, I don't think it's asking too much to expect Emily to come to a family picnic."
Alan: "Why would she want to spend the day with us, anyway?"
Monica: "You have to reduce her to tears?"

Edward: "You know, she seemed genuinely contrite."
Alan: "Sure she did, after you browbeat her into tears."
Monica: "I'm concerned."
Lila: "Well, at least she's home and she's safe."
Edward: "Yes, no thanks to either of you."

Monica: "I don't know what Emily is so upset about, but if you're going to blame me--what?"
Alan: "You astonish me, you know that?"

Alan: "Maybe I overreacted before."
Monica: "Oh, you?"
Alan: "It's just the idea of another child."
Monica: "It's kind of exciting, isn't it?"
Alan: "It's unexpected."
Monica: "Yeah, that's what I thought at first."
Alan: "You think we can pull it off this late in the game?"
Monica: "We managed to get the first part right."
Alan: "Oh, god, I would just love a second chance at a family."
Monica: "Well, listen, I don't know for sure."
Alan: "When are you going to know?"
Monica: "Bobbie brought over a pregnancy test."
Alan: "That you buy over the counter?"
Monica: "And that is what we were whispering about, thank you very much."
Alan: "I get jealous, I know."
Monica: "Yes."
Alan: "I can't help it."
Monica: "I mean, I shouldn't, you know, make a real appointment."
Alan: "That's up to you."
Monica: "Kind of like not knowing."
Alan: "Yeah, as long as we don't know for sure--"
Monica: "We can hope."
Alan: "Yeah. Yeah."

Terry: "Monica's story, by the way, has me reserving judgment. I don't like the sound of it, but it may work out well. I like the Edward possibilities--why obsess about great grandchildren when you can start over with a fresh grandchild right off the bat. I can see it making Emily feel even more insecure. And I like Monica and Alan. Lila talking babies with Monica would be fun, too. Surely to goodness if this is a real pregnancy, they'll have to let Monica deliver a happy healthy baby--we've had enough miscarriages and dead babies on ABC. Surely Felicia Long-Name's edict about 'more Calgon moments' and less 'darkness' will cover this situation."

Judy: "I'm reserving judgment too. On one hand, it is nice to see Alan and Monica get a story, but on the other hand (and I'm going to come off sounding ageist), I'm not wild about the whole late-in-life pregnancy idea in general. I imagine the Cheryl Tiegs pregnancy prompted this."

Joan: "Somehow I keep thinking that since she still hasn't gone to see an OB-GYN she's not really pregnant."

Judy: "Cynical me smells a badly-timed story. One that's not occupying much priority space in Guza's brain, at the moment. Love to be wrong, though."

Arda: "I'm not sure what to think of Monica's pregnancy either. It may turn out to be a good story, but I'm not 100% sold on it. I do think that if she is indeed pregnant, this would be one baby who'd be delivered healthy."

"As to the 'Calgon moments'--I cringed when I read that. Of course, I don't quite know what Felicia Minei-Behr (?) has in mind, but my mind went to insipid Jax/Chloe stuff. And I like things somewhat dark--or perhaps complicated is a better word. I don't like escapist romantic stuff, though. But if Monica's pregnancy could be deemed a 'Calgon moment,' I could live with that."

Terry: "I think we're all in sync in being pretty skeptical of her actually being preggers. A doctor who doesn't rush to an ob-gyn for confirmation? I smell an excuse to drag out the possibility before shooting it down. So, if she's not pregnant, what' going on? A menopause story? Cancer redux? Just an excuse to adopt?"

Amy: "My God, it really is Little House on the Prairie, where the Ingalls keep adopting more as the other kids grow up...."

Judy: "And I think she's pregnant."

Amy: "I still don't think that she's going to end up pregnant, but that then she and Alan will have to decide whether they want to try again while there's still time. I'm probably way wrong...."

Terry: "I quite agree on the Calgon comments. I do worry that she wants vanilla stories, rather than the complicated stuff Guza can give us on his better days. I was complete in sync with her assessment of OLTL, and was pleasantly surprised that she made the point that it is unwatchable these days even though its ratings are up. Maybe she won't just worship at the demographics shrine (but I bet she will). I was concerned that she thought AMC was basically okay, since I think it's lost its way big time, but perhaps she means that its core characters are basically in place, the new kids have been blended in fairly well, and there isn't any large section of the canvas that needs to be completely excised. I found it a tad disconcerting that she didn't mention GH much at all--what to make of the silence? Or did her statements just not fit with Michael Logan's vision of GH, maybe, so he left that part out? Maybe she said something unflattering about Geary or praised Chloe or something and he couldn't bear to print it?"

"I do hope she isn't going to screw with things too much. I can't believe the layers of execs with their hands in the GH pie--and I get the impression that they get to micromanage when they want to the extent of giving storylines and new hires the thumbs up or thumbs down. I would hate having to write by committee to that extent--a committee of like-minded writers is one thing, a committee of non-writers and writers combined with various agenda and various senses of what to do would drive me mad. I'm reminded of the late lamented Action TV series, where the writer is constantly bombarded with stacks of 'notes' from each new associate on the film--the new producer, the latest contributor of big bucks, each new actor."

Continue to Next Page of Review

Back to Front Page of Issue

Back to Top