General Hospital's Ted King Abdicating

Guess it wasn't my imagination when i sensed talented and tantalizing Ted King has seemed bored of late with the storylines for his General Hospital gangstahottie Lorenzo Alcazar. i have to say, i applaud Mr. King's decision to opt out of a job that he finds is no longer meeting his standards for challenging his considerable creative abilities. It does not appear that he has any projects pending for the immediate future, and let's face it, no matter what your occupation, it's tough to make the step to leave a secure position before having another lined up. But he's leaving on his own terms, and i have no doubts he'll land on his feet.

Ted King's Farewell Letter to GH fans:
http://www.tedking.com/letter.htm

Nip/Tuck Season 5 Promises A Galaxy of Even More Stars

Madonna, Rosie O' Donnell, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock

Nip/Tuck Creator Ryan Murphy and Cast Dish With Extra's Jerry Penacoli at the 2007 William S. Paley Festival at the Museum of TV and Radio

"Nip/Tuck came out of the gate in 2003 like gangbusters. It's the most watched scripted show in basic cable of all time, and for its four years on the air has the best ratings in the 18-49 demo as well. With production scheduled to begin in June, "Nip/Tuck" is about to launch season five and FX has given the Warner Bros. skein a healthy 22-episode order."

Source: Variety.com

video credit: extratv.warnerbros.com

Catch A Fire: sookie says Tate Harmon is the One Life To Live Arsonist

Chris Beetem does his job very well. Mr. Beetem portrays Llanview's most recent [if i may be permitted to mix metaphors], local boy done good prodigal,Tate Harmon.

Back in the day Tate was a rising highschool star athlete who had a cup of coffee in the majors---the career was cut short when he got into a bit of trouble with steroids, and subsequently suffered a career ending injury. To make amends for his past, Tate returns to Llanview High to speak to the students and convey the message that 'roids are the road to ruin and not worth the risk. Having recently gone through steroid drama with some of their peers, the students take his message to heart. There is a healthy dose of hero worship for him from them as well as the teachers, parents, and other adults around town,
including blondelicious Rex Balsom.

An introduction to Tate is made possible via Rex' sweetie Adriana. Adriana is clueless as far as RBI's, double plays and the like, but she knows her man is a fan of Tate's and as she is about to interview him for one of the local glossies, she makes the intro. It's actually kind of sweet seeing Rex being thrilled and in awe of his hero.

But for me, there was something about this guy that seemed off from the gitgo. i couldn't put my finger on it, but something about him creeped me out. As i was watching the OLTL ep that aired on Monday 3~5~07 it became clear to me why. Not only is he clearly on the make for Adriana, but he's my prime suspect as the Llanview arsonist.



Now the being on the make part for Adriana in and of itself is understandable---she's beautiful, has a nice bod, has tons of dough, etc.
But the fact that he's duplicitous about it bugs me. i have an immediate dislike for anyone who pretends to be someone's friend, while they're sniffin' around that supposed friend's lover. i know, he's not taken it to the level that Nash and Jessica have, but that's another rant for another time.

Back to why Tate is my suspect for being a firebug. Soaps are all about exposition. However subtlely played, exposition is the thread that runs through every ep to guide the viewer. i can't recall the exact lines of dialog, but when he was about to speak at the school, there was an exchange between himself and the chancellor that the gist of which was he had been in town for weeks but had been keeping a low profile---ostensibly because he was unsure if he would be welcome after his misdeeds. i say his low profile had more to do with wanting to keep his whereabouts and activities off the radar of the firefighters and the police.

Tate's reaction when he found out that the latest arson victim is Adriana's brother seemed too intense. It was as if he was thinking to himself that if he had known that Antonio and Adriana were brother and sister he wouldn't have burned his nightclub to the ground, not to mention the other properties of Antonio's that were torched.


The circumstantial evidence that earlier pointed to Antonio's brother Cristian Vega, [who was eventually vindicated]---just a red herring.

UPDATE:4~24~07...Well i guess my theory of Tate being the arsonist has to fizzle out given that the major clues of the suspect [whomever they may be] point to the perp as being a member of a supremicist group by the name of "one pure people". Which means that it couldn't be Tate since he is openly pursuing Adriana, a Latina. That would definitely not go over well with members of a racist group. Unless his true motive for pursuing her has nothing to do with a genuine attraction, but instead as a means to divert suspicion from him being a suspect in the hate crimes. No, that's too convoluted even for a soap plot twist. Who's the arsonist? At this point, i'm clueless.

UPDATE & SPOILER WARNING:5~18~07


i struck my previous update that retracts my speculation that Tate Harmon is the Llanview arsonist. my motive: i was doing some *research and was reminded i should always trust my first instinct. Turns out i'm not clueless after all. :-) i love it when i'm right.

*thanks to soapcentral.com's ABC Scoop Diva, RavenBeauty [SPOILERS AHEAD]Speaking of Tate: Red Hot Spoilers Rumors News Gossip & More!

[mp3 credit: Warner Brothers Recording Artists Talking Heads From their 1983 release Speaking in Tongues "Burning Down the House"]