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Liveblogging "As the World Turns": The Nonstarter Wife
Today The Prettiest Little Plot Device This Side of Saint Olaf makes her farewell appearance, and although we shudder at the thought of the horrors that her presence has inflicted upon Luke and Noah (and us) over the past few months, we certainly don't begrudge her personally, and will be sad to see her go. Knowing that today would be Ameera's last day on the show actually got me thinking of ways that she could have been kept in Oakdale. Here's what I came up with:
It is revealed that Captain Pervy actually IS her father, and that she is therefore a US citizen and Noah's half-sister. She gets a job at Java and continues classes at Oakdale U and eventually becomes involved again with Butters ... until Emily learns about their affair and devours her alive under a full moon. or... Ameera evades the feds by going undercover ... as a man. But in school she attracts the attentions of an ambitious young Hebrew Studies major played by Mandy Patinkin and she must decide whether to reveal her true self in the name of love. In the climactic scene, she pleads for the spirit of her lost father figure to guide her, belting, "Pervy, can you hear me?" and finally... Ameera is allowed to stay in Oakdale on the condition that she take care of Diet Juno, whose juvenile delinquency is out of hand. Will the two women from different cultures teach one another about letting go, fitting in, growing up, and being a kid again? You bet they will!
Of course, none of these things will happen, and apparently even a fairly smooth exit isn't enough to keep Luke and Noah from going at one another's throats like two housemates from the Bad Girls Club. How does it all go down? Click on through the jump and refresh to find out, as it happens! Gentlemen, start your wives... 2:55PM EDT: Noah says that he doesn't want to break up, and Luke says that he doesn't want to be with him, either. Noah again uses the "I've got a lot to sort out" line, and Luke points out that he even got his hopes up when he saw that Noah wasn't wearing his wedding ring, but now he thinks he just doesn't want to be with anyone. Luke asks why he always ends up going after guys who don't want anything to do with him, and storms off. Preview Time!: No Nuke, but shirtless Butters and a porn revelation! 2:50PM EDT: Back at the Snyder Home for Horned-Up Estranged Spouses, Holden and Gilded Lily get it on in the kitchen and then take it upstairs. Meanwhile, Encyclopedia Meg is hot on the Case of the Updosed Mrs. Kardashian. Holden just came downstairs shirtless to grab his sodas, but Quaker Oats Lady was there to catch him in all his middle-aged post-coital glory. Awww.... Noah is in full-on jealous mode, like he has any right to be. Luke tells him that there's nothing going on, but that Reg is a nice guy and it actually felt nice to be wanted by someone who isn't totally effed in the head, and Noah actually tears up a little and gets justifiably defensive. Luke asks if he really just wants to end it all right there. Whaddaya say, kids? Should they put this dog down here and now? 2:38PM EDT: Henry just referred to Cafe Vienna as his "little wienerschnitzel". I guess that's better than his "little pepperkakor". Okay, neither's exactly flattering... and doesn't Henry know any food nicknames that don't sound like phallic references? This is making me a little uncomfortable. I love that these two scenes (Henry and company and Holden/Lily/QOL) are supposed to be going on simultaneously less than 3 feet from one another yet neither appears behind the others. Ha! Luke and Noah walk outside and Luke tries to patch things up again and Noah starts to go on again about how he needs time and Luke tells him to shut up and that they're getting coffee together. They teleport to Java and Noah finally gets around to the fact that he's jealous of Luke and his "new boyfriend". Luke finds it incredible that Noah even cares, but denies it all, and then gets a smirk and says, "but you came after me ... do you still want to be with me?" Alright, Luke - that's just a little mean. He definitely didn't meet with Reg to make Noah jealous, but now he's poking fun at Noah for reacting that way. Probably not a good idea... especially when Mayer's caffeinated! 2:30PM EDT: Meg just realized that she sent Mrs. K on the best trip of her life. Noah flips through paperwork and gives his professional opinion that Ameera is free. Um, really? She says she's not there to come between them anymore. Luke wishes her well in Los Angeles and tells her to send lots of pictures. Whah? So they're just letting her walk away? What happened to ICE being all super-suspicious and threatening to kick her out of the country? Maybe they don't recognize her without her head-wrap on. She wishes them goodbye and tells them she hopes they have a happy life together. "Mwah-mwaaaaaah..." 2:25PM EDT: Boring boring boooooooring ... Henry tries to convince Quaker Oats Lady to let him by into Metro but she ain't buying, and Holden and Gilded Lily go on their date. OMG - QOL just had her own ice-related makeout flashback!!! Meanwhile, General Foods International Coffees Cafe Vienna doesn't want Henry's "dirty money", meaning that it came from Bonnie, whom she calls a "maneater". Since when is Vienna one to turn down free money?! Wasn't she banging guys in the backs of limos for cheap jewelry just a month ago?! 2:17PM EDT: Meanwhile, Quaker Oats Lady comes to relieve Henry at his post and apologizes for not being able to pay him right away, and he responds by offering to buy the whole bar drinks all night (all four of them!), because he's filthy stinking rich. Meanwhile, Luke shows up at the PD and apologizes to Ameera for putting her into custody, and Noah's all, "Uh-huh!" and she says it was okay. She also tells them that she's had the marriage annulled and Noah's all, "I don't regret marrying you!" Oh, save it, Mayer. 2:14PM EDT: Meg tells Ice Truck Killer that she forgot to pick up a movie but he says that there's pay-per-view and that they can ask Mrs. K what she wants to watch (how about ... Trainspotting?). But she's out cold already. Oh crap! Special news breakin! Oh my hell - someone entered a Brooklyn school with a gun and they're evacuating it. Oh God that's effed. Please let nothing come of it. 2:06PM EDT: Holden is putting ice into a pitcher of soda and pauses, flashing back to his make-out session with Quaker Oats Lady on the roadside. Oh, right - because he got ice for her hand. Not because she is a cold fish. On cue, QOL shows up to drop off Pre-Curse Edward Furlong and the two get all "we can't believe what we did even though we did it arghgghghgh" and she leaves. Just then Gilded Lily calls to remind him what an absentminded mother she is and Holden asks her out for dinner. Meanwhile, Henry is working at Metro and Bonnie brings him a check for a ton of money, and Meg almost catches Sophie stealing morphine from her room switching out one of The Two Mrs. Kardashians' morphine for a stronger dose ... a dose that kills! Luke calls Noah, who is at the police station with Ameera, who was just released. When Luke hears he says that he's coming right away and Noah's all, "eh, don't bother" and Luke says he's coming whether he likes it or not. You tell him, Luke! Submitted by on Wed, 2008-06-18 13:56. |
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I'll Miss Ameera
You know, I think this
You know, I think this whole thing might have made more sense (at least in the soap-verse) if everyone HAD assumed that Noah and Ameera were related. Then Luke would probably have married Ameera and a lot of the conflicts would have had more meat to them. By that, I mean that all of this drama would have happened to a major established character instead of a newly introduced character (Noah) that people were still trying to get to know and care about.
Also, in my soap-verse (since I am the master of my mind), Dusty would have been revealed to be Noah's biological father, thus giving even more reason for the Colonel to oust Noah's mother and finally off her.
Ameera the path breaker (or not quite)
Ameera was a plot device, but she could have been much more, especially in these troubled times. I did ask you guys the question when she first appeared, whether she is the first Muslim woman character who covered her head on an American soap. I got the answer in a New York Times article on Nuke where that journalist seemed to think so. (come to think of it is she the first Muslim character on a soap, woman or man?)
Not that Soaps are the best venue to address Americas burning social isssues such as the issue with regard to Islamophobia, etc. But still similar to a sympathetic gay character helping the straight population to be more accepting, a sympathetic muslim character would have gone at least a teeny bit of a way for some Americans to get over their fears. Then again Ameera may not have been the ideal character for that, seeing that she was generally reviled. (not for being a muslim of course, but for being a cockblocker and a general downer of a person)
First Muslim character on a soap
I'm 90% sure that there was an Arab character on the short-lived Texas (1980-82), but his religion was not addressed; instead, he was involved in various nefarious oil business deals. There was later a similar character on the prime-time soap Dynasty.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Sofie Wasn't Stealing The Morphine...
Yep
I'm on Luke's side in all of
Agree
I agree because if you noticed in the show that Noah's facial exspressions said i want to be with you and i hurt not being with you and i enjoy you..... but Luke was being all pushy at the end and wouldn't let Noah have a chance to think through things. But i am just mad because everytime Luke runs out after a fight Noah has that reflex to go after Luke but never actually does.
The Thing Is....
Right
I Think...
well ya,
Noah basically tells him to get lost and then goes looking for him and is upset because he's with, just simply with Reg. Make up your mind dude.......but i do hope they get together.....
what a loser....
Noah is such a loser. that's my official opinion of him and i'm stickin' to it.
oh henry...
so his argument to Vienna for buying Metro is "think about it..the glam parties, the velvet rope, the celebrities". Yes, because Oakdale IS the "new hollywood". maybe Janet will show up without panties and flash the oakdale papparazzi.
visit my personal blog!...NOW!
snicks, dear...
although i do love you for what you bring to AfterElton, please do NOT put such vile pictures as janet, panty-less, in my gayboy head...
i do appreciate it your consideration :)
Wait a Minute!
That's it!?!?!
After all this, and the stupidity of New York, we don't find out what Ameera's secrets were, nor do we find out who the fake Ben Coyle, or the dirty cop really were, or who they were working for, or who Pervs was going to give Ameera to or why?
All of that is just being left unexplained. Seriously?!?!?!
I am SO PISSED.
www.thebittersuite.blogspot.com
Brock, welcome to Oakdale
I know...
I mean when they had a shirtles sailor giving Noah secret messages I knew they were just throwing this crap together, but I thought that they at least had planned some of the broader strokes from the beginning.
I mean I don't expect the explanation to make sense, but I at least expect some kind of explanation.
poor Tala Ashe, she really was wasted on this story line.
www.thebittersuite.blogspot.com
Is it usually this bad?
I get what you're saying but for those of us who hadn't watched a soap before Nuke is the dart-board storytelling seen with Ameera the usual thing?
UK sudser Hollyoaks has soap-type extremes but they plot out months ahead, you can find foreshadowing and symbolism like they almost care what they're writing.
My favorite part of the Ameera story was the shark. I'm sorry to see he didn't appear on today's poster.
Yes, this happens all the time...
...possibly because the time between taping to airing an episode is shorter in the US (approximately 1 month compared to 2 months in the UK and Germany, from what I understand), they can radically change a storyline if it's not going well, and often completely abandon a storyline--the number of characters who have simply drifted into oblivion in the middle of a story is legion.
I'm pretty sure that's what happened here; my guess is that they had some elaborate plot involving Ameera and Pervy, but the unpopularity of the storyline led them to just drop it, with plot details dangling there never to be answered.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Totally
So Basically....
I just can't find any sympathy for Noah right now
See, that's the MAIN reason, why I can't find any sympathy towards what Noah's dealing with right now. He's coming across as being really selfish right now, and I don't like it at all.
The one person that's been in his corner, on his side, and having his back, has been Luke. Now, when Noah pushes him away and tells him that 'he needs time' to figure things out, he really and truly thinks that Luke is not going to need to have ANOTHER person that HE could go to, in order to help him understand why his boyfriend has turned him away? Someone that's not his mother, father and/or grandmother?
Luke isn't looking for sex (at least, that's what TIIC are making sure will never happen) from Reg. He's looking for someone that's going to UNDERSTAND him. Looking for someone that's going to LISTEN to him. Looking for someone that's not going to SHUT HIM OUT, like Noah's done from the moment Ameera became the MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE in both of their lives, for the past couple of months.
Seriously, Noah's an ungrateful scumbag
The general consensus I got from the hetero female population was that a straight woman would never have allowed her boyfriend to marry another woman, even for a "good cause" and with the promise that it wouldn't involve any hanky panky. As one succinctly put it: "No f*cking way!"
In this regard Luke has been an absolute saint, and Noah has been a disgusting ingrate. Granted he doesn't have a lot of relationship experience but it ought to be clear to him that Luke has been amazingly supportive of him, despite the hell that he got dragged into between Col Pervy and Ameera. I mean, for pity's sake Maddie made it clear she didn't want to be in a relationship with him when he appeared to have feelings for Luke, even though he and Luke had done nothing more than kiss (and still haven't eight months later)!
Maddie is, naturally, orders of magnitude more intelligent than Luke. If Luke had any debate skills (clearly not a class he's taken) he might consider asking Noah what he thinks Maddie's reaction would have been if they'd still been dating when Noah met Ameera, who needed a green card marriage. Would she have gamely gone along with it? Or would she have kicked Noah in the nuts and told him to take his Bagdhad Bimbo with him when he goes to Hell?
Noah's utter lack of appreciation (or even awareness) of what Luke has put up with and done for him really makes him come across as a horrible person. You really can't get much more self-centered than he acts. Which doesn't really make him a dream soap opera boyfriend.
You got it....
The general consensus I got from the hetero female population was that a straight woman would never have allowed her boyfriend to marry another woman, even for a "good cause" and with the promise that it wouldn't involve any hanky panky. As one succinctly put it: "No f*cking way!"
A-fucking-men, Psionycx. That's what drives me up the wall, about the 'plot device' storyline for Luke and Noah. As a woman, I hate it when, you have female characters that bend over backwards for the men in their lives, yet they get crapped on and the writers of these characters AND storylines, think that THIS is what the female viewing audience wants to see?! I certainly don't want to see that with female characters, so why in the hell would I want to see that happen with a same-sex couple?
Maddie is, naturally, orders of magnitude more intelligent than Luke. If Luke had any debate skills (clearly not a class he's taken) he might consider asking Noah what he thinks Maddie's reaction would have been if they'd still been dating when Noah met Ameera, who needed a green card marriage. Would she have gamely gone along with it? Or would she have kicked Noah in the nuts and told him to take his Bagdhad Bimbo with him when he goes to Hell?
That's why I will ALWAYS love the character of Maddie Coleman and her friendship with both Noah and Luke. She nipped her 'relationship' with Noah in the bud, when she finally realized that he had more feelings for Luke than just friendship. She wouldn't allow herself to be used in any way, shape, or form by Noah, because he wanted to 'prove himself' to Captain Pervy. The 'plot device' could have been written better, but I'm not going to try and make up excuses as to why she wasn't. The whole thing was crap and TPTB have got to find a way to fix the NUKE situation, because at this point, I'm glad that Noah and Luke are broken up.
Nope. It doesn't make him a "dream soap opera boyfriend" at all. I have to say that how Noah's been written for the past couple of months, I feel like comparing him to Craig Dean from Hollyoaks. There was a time, that I truly LOVED that character and I wanted him to be with John-Paul McQueen forever and ever in their tiny village of Chester, up until he the moment that he ran off with his girl-friend, Sarah for a last-minute vacation, after he PROMISED his boyfriend, that he was going to end his relationship with Sarah for good. I felt like I was the one that got betrayed by what he did to JP. I feel like all of Luke's support, love and patience with Noah has been thrown back into his face.
I know that's not what TIIC wants me to feel, but that's how it is for me.
Love me less, but love me a long time - Les Chansons D'Amour
true, true
almost as if Noah is "so confused"....makes me want to ask, who are the writers and where do they come from?
i've never "dated" a guy, for any period of time, where there hasn't been some kind "love scene" ;)
Huh!
I understand the plot devices they are using to keep the two apart, but they're hardly original and so cliched. Come on... Did these writers just get out of school? And if they did, did they graduate with a low C? Not to mention, the posters on this board have come up with better story lines. Nuke haven't even consumated the relationship, which IMO is unbelievable for young, goodlooking gay men.
How about Reg as a stalker who kidnaps Luke, perhaps knocking him out with ruffied java on their next coffee date. Noah must save him, cutting through the jungles of Somewhere. At least there would be some action and real conflict. How about it ATWT?
Huh. What was Luke supposed to say Reg anyway? "Oh I'm sorry, I can't have coffee -- my half-boyfriend might get mad..."
Reverse the roles.
Luke and Reg really hit it off--Reg's balanced intelligence and confidence has Luke falling head over heels. This finally is the tipping point for Noah, who gets all Glenn Close/Jennifer Jason Leigh/Kathy Bates stalkerish insane....
But the obsessed, crazy stalker is a regular presence on ATWT: Emily obsessed with Paul, Adam obsessed with Gwen, Cleo obsessed with Will, now Sofie...how about Noah just joins the military and gets shipped to Afghanistan, letting Reg introduce Luke to the pleasures of man-love in the Snyder barn....
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Okay!
@ Joseph...
I concede; your plot is better and not just because of the hot man-on-man action!
Cyndi Lauper
Am I to assume that Cyndi Lauper's appearance on ATWT will be the aphrodisiac that gets Luke and Noah in the sack?
When is she going to appear? 2009?
And when Noah and Luke finally make-up can we assume that they will just hold hands? YAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNN.
This episode was so boring even the considerable talents of Brian couldn't make it interesting.
Shouldn't Van Hansis already have his own HBO series by now?
Info and Opinion
First Cyndi is going to be on ATWT July 3rd, 2008. Which is like 3 weeks away.
But i believe that when Cyndi comes on the show and shows Nuke that true love will always win, Noah drops the Army thing they have sex in the Snyder barn after the concert and they become a full out gay couple....
But i also realize that for a soap opera they need drama but on an interview with Van Hansis AKA (LUKE) he says that there is someone who contacts him who Luke doesn't not want to be contacted by... That can only mean that Luke's biological dad is coming back into the picture...
Luke's Dad
I read that interview too, and that's exactly what I thought! Unless....
Did James Stenbeck have any connection with the Snyder clan? I don't think so, but how awesome would that be?
Seriously
Ok....after deliberation - I am taking Luke's side.
First - TIIC at ATWT left way too many holes in the Ameera s/l not plugged up. As stated above in other comments.
Second - I am on Luke's side. Noah is just being a dumbass. And I think Luke should break up with him. Of course, we all know that it won't happen, but I am glad to see that Luke is angry enough to actually consider it.
Now will we get any NUKE time before La Cyndi shows up or are we just going to get more holes to plug.
At least Van's acting has been absolutely great the last two days. What a great young actor!!!
No Worries!
Well, that was a waste.
I guess they just wanted to sweep the Ameera plot under the rug (a rug in Los Angeles) and forget about the weird possibly interesting stuff in her background. Didn't Pervs mention something about some political group that wanted her? And he made it sound like she was some kind of troublemaker or something. Oh well, bye!
I thought the marriage plot was dumb, but it had some potential right up until the part where Ameera made a play for Noah and Luke was so easygoing about it. SHE TRIED TO STEAL YOUR MAN! After you and your family helped her and gave her a place to live! But he acts like it's just this amusing little mistake. That's when I realized NO ONE was going to be allowed to have even slightly realistic emotions and reactions in all this.
Oh well, at least Luke sort of realizes his patterns with wanting guys he can't have. I don't expect it to matter much but it's nice to some some self-awareness from him!Ugh! Noah!
That's exactly the kind of
Did the letter stolen from
Did the letter stolen from Noah's backpack at the start of this whole Ameera mistake/mess ever get explained ? or is it just another unexplained plot point to be forgotten and undeveloped ?
I am pro-Euthanasia
I say lets put Noah and this whole storyline out of its misery. It is so eroding the whole show. What the hell is Ameera going to do Hollywood, plat terroist in bad Lifetime movies?
I'm losing the will to care
ATWT is coming dangerously close to that point where they drive in one wedge too many and nobody cares about the couple reuniting anymore. The kicker here (and why the shelf life is probably expiring sooner than usual) is that the wedges they're using just make the boys completely unappealing.
Noah is acting like such an unmitigated butthole that I don't even WANT him to be happy anymore. And Luke is being such the annoying bottom. Not that there's anyting wrong with bottoms, mind you . . . it's just that he's the super-needy, low-self-imagey one in the corner of the bar who isn't even getting laid after last call. Where is Luke's self-respect? The question is not why he's always attracted to guys he can't have, it's why the writers insist on turning him into an unappealing, codependent mess.
If the obstacles had, at least, continued to be external, and not chip away at any integrity and attractiveness these characters had, I might stay invested. As it is . . . meh!
My bad mood continues as I rip into Mia Michaels in the blogggg.
Mia Michaels and ATWT. I love it intertextual at its best....
I hurt seeing my beloved Carly (who will somehow get blamed for Nuke's troubles in Oakdale's eyes) having to see Holden and FauxLily (looking quite foxy) almost ramming both their still married tongues down her throat. Let's go dancing... Gee were shall be go, Metro or the hospital lounge? I love it as the other day when Lily was asking the kids if they wanted Mexican or Al's. Gee, I wondered what their answer would be? I totally ate up all the lights off night thinking taking place at Carly's and the farm. So soapy and it shows that I am still a total sap for slow action and cheesy longing. That Holden is making up for lost time.
Brian - JJ/Edward Furlong - Classic!!!!!! Is it just me or is there something wrong with that kid. I am not talking about his being more tan than Bonnie as he's supposed to be perpetually resting "upstairs" but his demeanor at the farm gives me the impression that he's sniffing glue.
Poor Babs getting all drugged by "I am a good nurse Meg." Did I hear correctly when she said she going going to collect a paycheck? Guuuurl.... Bob just allowed her back into the rigorous nurse's program.... I have to move to Oakdale. I know it's probably me by I was wondering if the syrynge that she used (with a needle that was like 6 inches long) was the same one used by Evan Walsh when he poisoned self. There better be needle exchange program in Oakdale or Babs may still be more danger than nasty nurse Meg not looking at a label.
Sofie, Sofie, Sofie... Those Paul Ryan checks are amazing. Funds made available at once... I don't want to ruin anyone's afternoon, but I hope that the little demon (finally) does not get pregnant as tries to pass off her brat as Paul's. We all assume that she's a goner, but Goutman seems to have a chubby for Sofie's portrayer.
Ammera had really nice hair.
I rarely watch previous, but I saw Butters and Emily, my favorite new pairing in a long time.
Thanks ATWT for 3 fun days. Now if you could send Noah to Los Angeles, I'd be so happy. No Nukes... Even Luke is a little annoying (with reason) but I want fun so get him laid and develop another insta crush whomever you like and likes him back. I really don't want Luke's first time to be with Noah... I know kill me.
Guillermo's Media Guillotine: Entertainment, journalism, politics, and popular culture.
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Sofie
Is pretty good, actually. I thought she was outta here, too, but her story is genuinely keeping my interest. So, I don't mind them keeping her around for a bit longer.
As for Carly, I'm a big fan of hers + I love Maura's acting. I don't think she's a cold fish at all. The New Lily, maybe. But, not Carly.
That Holden is so wishy-washy. First, he gives Carly the cold shoulder + acts like their kiss never happened. Now, he's all up in her grill (as they say on The MTV). Still, I wouldn't kick that DILF out of my twin-sized bunk bed. Luke + his dad are both made of sexy.
As for Nuke, Luke's constant nagging is irksome. I think he should just leave Noah alone for a while + date other people. That's not to say that I side with Noah. While I (partially) sympathize with Noah losing the only dad he knew -- even though he was an ass -- I still think he's being a complete flake + he has shown his lack of loyalty to Luke for far too long. Again, it's time for Luke to stop chasing after Noah, take a step back, + consider some other options. I'm not sure about Reg, though. He's cute, but seems a little shifty.