Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

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This is my question. If Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) won an Emmy last season for Best Supporting Actress, why have the powers-that-be given her “half” the screen time this season? Her character was beginning to shape up into a complex, fascinating personality. Getting a glimpse of her private life had kept me interested.

The new character she is sharing time with, Blake (Scott Porter), as another private investigator for the firm has, thus far, been unexciting.

Another thing that has the hour dragging is this sudden interest in the kids–boring.

Alright, All My Children is one of my guilty pleasures.  I’ve become addicted. I tape every episode.

I was so happy to see Michael Nouri (Caleb) join the cast. He’s been a favorite of mine for years. I hope the writers keep him on for a long time.

And it will be interesting to see if Vincent Irizarry (David) can rise from the dead. (As I understand it, this type of thing happens all the time on the soaps.)

What I’ve noticed lately is the ladies on this soap opera are withering away. It’s like watching skeletons walk across the screen.

Susan Lucci has always been petite, but now there seems to be a lot of slimming down going on. Alicia Minshew, who plays Kendall, is tall and painfully thin. Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) (where did they come up with that name?)  and Christina Bennett Lind (Bianca) aren’t far behind.

It was refreshing to see Jamie Luner’s character, Liza, in her underwear recently. She actually has a “real” woman’s body.

I hope the skeletal look doesn’t become a trend.

That said, here’s a little something on Scott Chandler’s character.

Monday - ABC – “Castle” is back!

Tuesday - CBS – “NCIS” (my favorite) and “NCIS Los Angeles” have returned! And it looks like “NCIS Los Angeles” is giving us a double whammy. Make sure you stay tuned for not only the 9 P.M. slot, but for the 10 P.M., as well.

Thursday - ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” are rumored to swing in with some exciting episodes. I hope so, because they were becoming predictable last season.

Thursday - Fox – Have you discovered “Fringe?” (9 P.M.)

Friday - CBS – I’m planning on giving “Blue Bloods” a try. The story line sounds blah to me, but how can you resist Tom Selleck? Perhaps he can pull this dreariness out of the doldrums.

As far as Saturday is concerned, if it weren’t for the PBS lineups and “Saturday Night Live,” we’d be lost.

I suppose I should mention the season premiere of “The Mentalist” on Thursday on CBS. But think about this–have you noticed the formula for “House”, “Lie To Me” and “The Mentalist” are all the same? The lead character is always right. Each of them treat their colleagues as if they are merely there to kowtow to them. And they each love themselves very much. In spite of that, I seem to have been hypnotized by the Mentalist, because I’ll probably end of watching it from time to time.

Oh, well, there’s lots of new shows. If you discover one you love, let me know.

WHAT A CRYING SHAME!

Drawing by John Darkow-Columbia Daily Tribune

I remember the days when I had no choice. If I wanted cherry vanilla ice cream, I’d pass all the other brands and head straight to the Breyers section. No  question. Breyers has always been about $1.00 more than the other brands, but it was worth it. I always say, if you’re willing to swallow the calories, they should me A #1 calories.

Of course I’m talking about the days before Cherry Garcia. It seems while I wasn’t paying attention, the quality of all the Breyers ice creams were being cheaped-down, while Ben &  Jerry were using top quality ingredients in their ice creams. This has become my dilemma.

Do I eat less ice cream, because Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is a whole lot more expensive? Or do I accept the fact that Breyers ice creams have become mediocre, but are still pretty good in comparison to other cheaper brands?

This certainly isn’t the most pressing dilemma in the world, but it’s one I at least have control over. What do you think?

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How sad! And the oil is still gushing. It’s like the Exxon Valdez all over again–only this time on a daily basis.

A lot of people and politicians are asking why the well can’t be blown up.

From Rep. Phil Gingrey

“For the life of me, I can’t understand why BP couldn’t go into the ocean floor, maybe 10 feet lateral to the — around the periphery — drill a few holes and put a little ammonium nitrate, some dynamite, in those holes and detonate that dynamite and seal that leak. And seal it permanently,” Rep. Phil Gingrey (Ga.) said earlier this month.

Could it be BP is more worried about their bottom line? Do you think they care nothing about people or nature?

Oh, forget I wrote that. No one could be that greedy.