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Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
A Real
Tearjerker (SID 10/24/2000)
"She thought he
was dead. He wanted her to think so. What happened when the two saw each other
again was one of the most emotional and endearing scenes on AMC. Alex didn't
know that when Dixie sent her to the hunting lodge, her life would change
forever.
Alex opened the door... and he stood: her 'dead' husband Dimitri! She was so
shocked, she couldn't believe that what she was seeing was real, or was it just
a figment of her imagination? Alex stepped forward slowly and tentatively and
reached out to touch a man she had loved and thought she lost. Could it be
possible he was alive? No words were exchanged, but the looks on the faces of
Finola Hughes (Alex) and Michael Nader (Dimitri) told the whole story. Her
disbelief turned to tears of joy. Although he wanted her to leave and forget
she'd seen him, Dimitri cried when Alex put her arms around him and kissed him.
She would never let him go... and he knew it.
Dimitri tried to explain that he'd been kidnapped, and once freed, he thought he
was still dying... that is, until David convinced him to try a new treatment.
Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing, realizing that she had contributed
to David's treatment, and in the end it had helped her love, Dimitri.
As reunions go, these were quite emotional and touching scenes, especially
because of the acting of the two stars involved. Bravo, Hughes and Nader.
Hit...
AMC's Erica Swoons, As Usual (SOW 8/8/2000, Stephanie Akner)
"AMC's Erica Kane has oft been
chided by her fellow townsfolk for being too melodramatic. But when she was
poked fun at for fainting after finding out within mere moments that Dimitri and
Stuart, both of whom had been presumed dead- and whose demises she had mourned,
as they had been family members- turned out to be alive, perhaps human
would have been a better way to describe her.
If Erica's
reaction was human, then everyone else's was subhuman. Not only did Hayley,
Brooke, Bianca and even Edmund not faint upon seeing Dimitri, they hardly
noticed. Ditto with Stuart. That's because everybody knows that the dead will
return... soon. But Erica's response was appropriate: in life, the dead don't
return. That's why death is sad.
As an AMC fan and
avowed optimist, I'd like to think that perhaps the show's writers were poking
gentle fun at soaps when Stuart and Dimitri's loved ones expressed bemused
nonchalance at their resurrections. Soap fans, after all, know that when there's
no body, there was no death. The characters' blase reactions show they're jaded,
not cold. They know the game: React to the death, mourn the death, and then,
when the time is right, disregard the death. What's not to laugh about? Two
characters returned from the dead on the same day!
If this is true-
and I hope and believe it is- then the fun was appropriately placed. While the
writers had their fun, they resisted doing it at the expense of potential
dramatic moments. Alex and Dimitri's reunion was touching, and Stuart and
Marian's, along with Stuart and Adam's, were life-affirming, and not just to the
imminently flatlining Adam. Erica's fainting might have been melodramatic, but
only because she's a drama queen: She's the only person in all of Pine Valley
who still thinks that dead people are, well, dead."
Hit... A
Banner Day on AMC (SOW 8/8/2000, Gabrielle Winkel)
"I hope your vcrs were working
for the July 10 episode of AMC. It rates as one of daytime's not-to-be-missed
hours. AMC provided the viewer with a little bit of everything, pluse a
long-awaited revelation. We finally learned the entire story of Alex and Anna
Devane- they're twins! -and saw again what a monster Charlotte really was.
Samantha Eggar (Charlotte) gave a brilliant performance on her final day. I
loved it; it was perfect closure.
But that wasn't all. Dixie learned that Dimitri was alive, then David
immediately told her it was a big secret. Ryan and Gillian made love after a few
days of 'We can't do this until I ask Jake for a divorce.' That couple keeps
getting hotter! But for me, the most priceless moment was Eugenia (the darling
Meg Mundy) tripping over the dead body of one of Charlotte's henchmen. The poor
duchess keeps finding dead men in the living room of Wildwind. Her most amusing
act was when Ryan asked her via cell phone if the man was dead; she kicked the
body and then replied, 'Yes.' This episode should be graded A."
Hit... AMC's
Dimitri is Alive and Fairly Well (SOW 7/25/2000, Gabrielle Winkel)
"Dimitri's back! Yeah! I must
say I was growing attached to the airing of AMC's Edmund and Alex, and went so
far as to question on these very pages the need for the return of Michael Nader
as Dimitri.
How wrong I was. I'll eat crow. The return of the passionate count has upped the
stakes of this already front-burner storyline. I forgot how wonderfully brooding
and intense Nader is, and how much fervor he brings to the role. He looks rested
and handsome and ready to do battle for the woman he loves.
Of course it's a perfect soap scenario, borderline corny, but I don't care. How
breathtaking to see Dimitri, a man who had willed himself to stay alive to be
with his wife again, come back only to see her in the arms of his own brother.
Nader turned the chapel of Wildwind into his own stage where he cursed God for
this devastating turn of events. And, fortunately- for continuity's sake-
Dimitri still has his blinding headaches to remind us of his not-yet-cured
illness. It's gothic and it's great.
The long-awaited reunion of the Marick brothers- Dimitri and John Callahan's
Edmund- in the Wildwind mausoleum was worth the wait. Time has not lessened the
chemistry between these two actors. So now, viewers have the delicious wait as
Dimitri is seen by everyone else in Pine Valley, but of course, not Alex. Not
yet."
A
Perfect Day in Pine Valley (SOW 5/16/2000 excerpted, Gabrielle Winkel)
"Every so often I see an
episode of AMC (the show I officially cover) that meets all of my needs. The
April 17 episode was a delight and worth writing about.
Edmund and Alex made love for the first time. How romantic was this? The
charming cottage in Wales, the roaring fire, the two survivors of broken hearts
and a rocky beginning finally acknowledged there is something going on between
them. These two went through a lot before they could even be civil to each
other, let alone be friends or lovers. The tenderness between Alex and Edmund
(Finola Hughes and John Callahan) was sexy and romantic. Does Dimitri have to
come back?"
I Am Woman (SOD
4/11/2000)
"While there's nothing wrong
with soap knights racing to rescue their damsels in distress (fantasy is
part of why we love daytime), it's also refreshing to see the not-really-weaker
sex step into the fray when the going gets tough, which is what happened
recently on DOOL and AMC.......
Meanwhile, on AMC, a gunman ran through the mall firing shots. With the cops in
hot pursuit, the creep grabbed Alex and put a gun to her head as Edmund stood by
helplessly. Suddenly, Alex pulled off martial-arts moves worthy of Jackie Chan
and laid him out. We (and Edmund) were impressed.
Daytime isn't unaccustomed to females getting physical (there are able cops like
ATWT's Margo), but they're still the exception. You go, girls... er...
women."
AMC Grabs the Brass Ring (SOD 2/1/2000)
"Every so often, All My Children airs an
episode which, if there were a panel of judges, would receive a perfect 10 as its score.
The Jan. 4 episode was just such a show.
Set during the glorious
Crystal Ball, every character looked their best and spoke from the heart. There was a
little humor, a little intrigue and lots of honest emotion. The episode was perfectly
plotted and beautifully scripted.
Liza and Adam battled
verbally. This time it was Liza who did the conning. She said everything he wanted to
hear, and when he believed they had reconciled, she hid his passport and left town with
Colby. Liza almost succumbed to Adam's charms, but ultimately held her ground.
On to David and Erica, who
have (mercifully) gotten past their sappy gushing stage. The dialogue in the limousine to
the hospital (he needed x-rays) was charged and snappy. They were obviously connected as a
couple, no longer mincing words. 'Erica, who are you going to believe: the man who makes
love to you every night or the woman who just pushed him down the stairs?' David asked
bluntly.
And these were just the
couples who had already left the ball. Edmund tried to get Alex to open up about what was
bothering her, but she soon put up her emotional wall and headed to the mausoleum to be
with Dimitri. There, like a wounded bird, she crumpled up in front of her late husband's
crypt.
Also in the episode,
Gillian and Jake toasted their future, Jack and Brooke bantered a bit, and Greenlee and
Leo made a bet a la Dangerous Liasons. Mateo and Hayley tiptoed to a reconciliation, and
Ryan danced with every girl at the ball except the one he really wanted. It was
perfect."
Alexandra the Great
(SOD 10/12/99)
"From the beginning, All My Children's
Alexandra Devane was a woman with something to hide. Aside from the natural curiosity
about her connection to General Hospital's presumed-dead Anna Devane (a role originated by
Finola Hughes, who's now playing Alex), there was the mystery surrounding Alex's arrival
admist the sirens and chaos of Dimitri's 'death'.
As if it weren't enough of
a stunner for Dimitri's loved ones to learn that he had 'died', they found out moments
later that the count had taken a bride- a woman they'd never heard of. 'No. I won't allow
it,' was Alex's introduction to Dimitri's mourners at Seaview Hospital as she objected to
an autopsy being performed on her husband. After the shock wore off, Dimitri's friends and
family slowly accepted Alex, but Edmund knew there was more to the story.
Was there ever. As Edmund
eventually discovered, his brother was alive, in hiding, and deathly ill. Throughout,
Hughes stuck a delicate balance between Alex's 'grief' and her guilt about fooling his
family. And make no mistake- the actress faced a tough assignment since Alex's arrival
signaled the departure of the count and his popular portrayer, Michael Nader.
AMC's writing team was up
to the challenge. They eased us in and out of Alex and Dimitri's romance via well-written
and acted flashbacks. Perhaps that's why it has been so satisfying to watch Alexandra
unfold. Sure, we were initially suspicious, but seeing the depth of Alex's love for
Dimitri made us sympathetic to her. This character may be new, but her tie to Dimitri
binds her to Pine Valley- and to all who knew him.
Hit... Finola's Foray
to Pine Valley (Robert Schork, SOW 9/14/99)
"At crossover-crazed ABC, it's often hard
to discern who is who when favorite characters from one show pop up on others. While it
remains to be seen whether this will ultimately develope into a true crossover, Finola
Hughes' Alex Devane- whoever she is- has made a distinct impression on the Pine Valley
scene. Thanks to a wonderful marriage of carefully crafted writing and highly skilled
acting, head writer Anges Nixon and Hughes together have sparked the most intriguing new
entrance storyline for an AMC character in recent memory.
For her part, Hughes has
electrified the atmosphere in every scene she's been in, cleverly imbuing Alex with just
enough of Anna's trademark characteristics to keep the audience guessing: is she, or isn't
she?
The only obvious pitfall
that lies ahead for the show is if it teases the audience with the Anna angle too much and
ultimately doesn't deliver the divine- er, Devane- goods. But no matter who she plays, ABC
Daytime and its audience are very lucky to have Hughes back in the fold."
