Warning. PORT CHARLES as we knew it is hiding. Cloaking devices intact and working beautifully. Gone to the dogs, or in this case the Vampires, with a capital V. It’s become unrecognizable, unbearably dark and sinister – its evilness less than believable, shocking, titillating or fun these days. Those innovative visuals and production values, creative storylines and characterizations can no longer cover up the simple fact that Port Charles is overrun with inconsistencies, plot holes, characters acting out of character, devices that come and go and a vampire theme out of control. What most of us watch soaps for – romance, intrigue, stories about the human condition – the life and loves of inhabitants of a fictional town that rings true to something in our own lives, that offers us something we can recognize and identify with or root for, that we can make an emotional connection to, has taken a backseat to what I can only call sensationalism for sensationalism’s sake. Vampires for vampires sake.

And it’s not done yet.

PORT CHARLES has never been this lost before, trapped in its own aesthetics and loose string of unruly, riotous circumstances disguised as plot. The show has been masterful, since Tainted Love, since even Time in A Bottle, at creating stories fixed in the supernatural – time travel, vampires, slayers, angels returning to earth and so on –that were so convincing and plausible, even when good sense dictated otherwise, because the main point was not the supernatural twist, but the characters’ human reaction to and interaction with that twist. The supernatural played a role in the story, it wasn’t the entire story. DESIRE has completely turned this successful premise on its ear and made the message the medium (my apologies to the late Marshall Mcluhan). Has the device become the plot?

On the whole, it just ain’t working any more. Pieces of it, yes of course. Fleeting moments of wow, again yes. Surprising new chemistry, definitely, which is no mean feat for a show with such a small cast. Good performances. Always. Vignettes of scenarios that still ring of the fun, dark or otherwise, of days gone by, sure. But overall, I’m struggling to make sense of the vampire package that is being presented to us right now. And what’s worse, I’m tired of the constant vampire world.

Balance. My musings seem to inevitably take me back to that word time and again. I’ve come to accept that with the kinds of push the envelope, risky stories PORT CHARLES explores we don’t get much balance. It’s usually all or nothing which is generally fine because we can always count on its uniqueness to save the day, keep us invested. PORT CHARLES changed what we came to expect from escapist entertainment, that’s what made it special and different, in a word interesting. An epic story, rife with cool heroes (can’t get much cooler than an ex-angel/slayer turned human), intriguing villains (Caleb and Joshua are as intriguing as they come) and eye-widening action that shows us the money in no uncertain terms. Trouble is right now some degree of realism would go a long way in keeping me involved every day in an arc determined to take its theme as far as it can go.

I’m usually along for the ride all the way. This time round I’m worried the roller coaster is going to jump the tracks and take us all with it into oblivion.

DESIRE illustrates the limitations of the supernatural as a defining and sustaining style. All device, little plot. The characters need something else in their lives besides a vampire scenario to shape their personalities and direct their lives. Every thought, every word, every action can’t always be wrapped around the concept. What was once exciting and thrilling has become as one dimensional and flat as our TV screens. Nothing jumps out at me anymore. How can it. If you make the drama about the device instead of weaving an actual plot, whether character driven, storyline driven or best yet, both, once the initial “shock and awe” wears off there’s not much left to move us. If this is what co-head writer Barbara Esensten meant when she said it’s about “vampires and their counterparts reacting in human ways with love, hate, angst and heroism” Soaps In Depth, May 13th colour me confused. I’ll need someone who understands it all much better than I to explain it.

I’m all for shaking things up, putting relationships in the blender to see what mixes, but at this point the show is wrecking havoc on the very fan bases it depends on. None of them, in any combination or fickle loyalty can possibly be happy with the goings on in our little town. Rafe and Alison continue to wade through obstacles that can be likened to what you might find under your feet in a cow pasture. Caleb and Livvie have switched roles which only serves to keep them apart. The Rafe/Alison/Caleb/Livvie relationship dynamic came out of the blender with potential but those bubbles are deflating as they continue to relate to each other on a vampire level only. Kevin and Lucy appear to be over for good. Frank and Karen, toast. Ricky and Casey, over before they really got started. Jack and Reese have disappeared. Jamal and Chris continue to be shamelessly wasted. Lucy and Ian are fumbling and growing less interesting by the day, despite the fact that Ian is perhaps the only character being presented right now with some degree of humanity regardless of his obvious vampire issues. Aside from some unfortunate hissing, Ian is the only vampire character holding up the original idea.

Was the focus on vampires to the exclusion of everything else intentional? I’d like to think it wasn’t. I hope it turns out to be a means to an end. DESIRE feels like a middle child – caught between the excitement of Caleb’s return, the uncertainty of what that meant to the characters lives; traditional drama PORT CHARLES style of turning the villain hero, the hero to villainous actions, and to what has to be the can-humanity-be-saved conclusion of the next arc.

If this vampire theme run rampant has any chance of sustaining the show it would serve the audience and advertisers much better to get back to integrating classic soap drama and the supernatural on a level we can at least emotionally melt into again.

I trust this is a momentary blip on the radar of the excellence we’ve come to expect from PORT CHARLES. If you don’t hear from me next week, send out the search teams. I’ve gone looking for PORT CHARLES and my sense of direction leaves a lot to be desired. On second thought just send out the slayer.

And when PORT CHARLES wins the Emmy Friday night, as we’re convinced it will, disregard all of the above. What do I know anyways…

...until we muse again Port Charles Fans









*** Please note the views expressed here are those of the author and not the site.