Paternity

[MJ85]

You're channeling Will, not Wade.

 

In a way, I actually have to agree with him, only because if Wade and Elizabeth are now basically "at war", that means now it can get personal, despite it being said some time ago that Elizabeth's schemes are about the money, not about personal scores to settle.

[rjo]

Hi Guys,

It is interesting that Mark has a way of sucking you into his stories. First he has this conflict between Brad and Will, finally when that seems to be resolved George finds a spy on is ship, now Wade comes in and saves his grandma, It is impossable to have a favorate character. You can't have just one. Nobody can weave a story like Mark. Cliff hangers, confrontations, passion and sex all there. How will this battle come out? Who will win, or better yet who will lose it all? Larry Hageman just died, the guy who played JR on Dallas. How fitting that we should have this storyline. I agree with many readers, I think the Senator is going to divorce his devious wife. He has finally had it with her. I can't blame him for a moment. Hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

[centexhairysub]

rjo's comment made me remember those great nighttime soaps from the 80's, I just loved them all... Said to hear about the passing of Larry Hagman, he was a great JR Ewing; that constant smile of his was just always a little creepy... This all made me think about Elizabeth and Wade going to war with each other... Elizabeth sort of reminds me of Angela Channing from Falcon Crest. I always thought that Angela Channing was the smartest of all the villians of that era; but the one redeeming quality was that she truly did love her family and her winery. She just wanted everyone to do what she wanted, how she wanted it done, and when she wanted it...

[rjo]

Falcon Crest, I always wanted her Grandson Lorenzo Lamas and the cute blond assisitant of her's or was he a young attorney get it on. I always wondered how people like Elizabeth became that twisted. It's not the money, It's the power, Power does aweful things to people. We always thought ABC was the worst . I am not sure about that any more. Maybe Elizabeth is worse. What do you think about a poll? Who is the worst?

Edited November 25, 2012 by rjo

[Mark Arbour]

Falcon Crest was my favorite of the '80s night time soaps. I don't think that Angela Channing was any more caring about her family than Elizabeth Danfield is. I think she would have a certain level of respect for Elizabeth and her evil ways.

[PrivateTim]

I don't remember Falcon Crest, but I think it was based loosely, very loosely, on the fueding in the Mondavi family between Peter and Robert, but I don't think it ever reached the levels of intrigue that probably existed on FC.

 

That is what Wade should do, buy a vineyard in St Helena and become a gentleman rancher.

[Mark Arbour]

I don't remember Falcon Crest, but I think it was based loosely, very loosely, on the fueding in the Mondavi family between Peter and Robert, but I don't think it ever reached the levels of intrigue that probably existed on FC.

 

That is what Wade should do, buy a vineyard in St Helena and become a gentleman rancher.

 

Interestingly enough, Dynasty was actually "based" closer to Escorial. While officially set in Denver, the house they used in the show is the Filoli Estate, which is close to Palo Alto, and was my loose inspiration for Escorial.

 

 

 

[centexhairysub]

I always found it very interesting that Earl Hammer, who developed Falcon Crest, was also the person behind The Waltons. That always stuck me as weird, one show about this wholesome loving family and the other about a group of backstabbing money grubbing two timers... LOL...

 

I still remember that final speech that Angel Channing, Jane Wyman, gave to end the show... She actually wrote the speech herself and it was quite long and had a really nice montage of all the main people from the shows over the years... In it's final season only three of the original cast was still on the show.

[rjo]

We used to have parties to watch the show and then go to the bar. Today with so many channels and so much out there you don't have that excitement. Mark you could bring back a fashion CAP parties and make CAP primetime hit TV show on Showtime.. In fact the last ones we had were for Queer as Folk. Think of how many hot boys, even JP was really cute back then and the thought of Wade and Matt well that is something else, Jeff Hayes entering JP's room at Christmas 1962. Any way it would be interesting.

[PrivateTim]

My favorite estate in CA is Bellosguardo in Santa Barbara, the Huguette Clark estate. Her father, William A. Clark, a truly colorful character, built it in the 1920's and Ms. Clark last visited the estate in the 1950's. It was maintained by a staff that had never met her as if she'd appear any day. She turned down an offer of $100m for the estate. When she passed away last year at roughly 105 she had not seen the estate in over 50 years.

 

Inside Huguette Clark's Massive Homes

[methodwriter85]

We used to have parties to watch the show and then go to the bar. Today with so many channels and so much out there you don't have that excitement. Mark you could bring back a fashion CAP parties and make CAP primetime hit TV show on Showtime.. In fact the last ones we had were for Queer as Folk. Think of how many hot boys, even JP was really cute back then and the thought of Wade and Matt well that is something else, Jeff Hayes entering JP's room at Christmas 1962. Any way it would be interesting.

 

 

Do you know what kind of budget a CAP Primetime show would have to have? The car tab alone....

 

The last primetime soap I remember everyone watching and talking about that was season 1 of the O.C. It wasn't huge ratings-wise, but every teenaged girl and guy(and a lot of twentysomethings) were watching the show in 2003-2004. I think it helped that the show appealed to both guys and girls, and it was new and fresh when it came out. (Seth Cohen and his hatred of evil water polo players...lol.) It's a shame the show imploded in season 3...it massively improved by season 4, but by then the audience had left.

 

 

The O.C. came at exactly the right time- Tommy Hilfiger and "urban" fashion was on it's way out(well, for white kids, anyway), and the Hollister/80's revival prep/ boho looks were on their way in in 2003. It definitely had a massive influence on teenaged fashion- Seth's striped polos over long-sleeved shirts especially, and the ruffled peasant skirts on the girls.

Edited November 27, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Daddydavek]

Wade's plan to free his grandmother and get back at his mother is accomplished. Whatever Senator Danfield planned for later in the week may now be a moot point, but then again, Mark usually finds some novel way to twist the skewer, so there maybe more.

 

Dare I say I wonder what Will is up to?

[GLH]

Oh Lordy! Wednesday nights it was Dynasty, on Thursday nights it was Knot's Landing, and then on Friday it was Dallas and Falcon Crest. Until I went to work on second shift in late '82, EVERYTHING revolved around those three shows.

[B1ue]

What stupid lawyers. Asking questions they don't know the answer to, in front of a judge no less.

 

Good for Sean. And for tall, lanky Mexicans named Gabriel everywhere.

[centexhairysub]

Well, this chapter was so good, I just had to read it twice... I really liked how Wade and Nana were able to keep Elizabeth and her team in the dark in regards to Nana's true condition... Nana being that clear headed really blew them out of the water. I was so glad that JP and Wade had figured out what Elizabeth was up to with the land deal months ago. The fact they were that on the ball enabled them to be ready to refute Elizabeth's charges, even if they came from someone else.

 

With Gabriel in the courtroom, you just know all of this is going to come out and when it does the shit is really gonna hit the fan. I can't wait to see Elizabeth's face when she finds out that a reporter was in the courtroom as a friend of Wade's... It isn't just that the issues with the competency hearing will come out, but all the blowback about the land deal will as well, plus some juicy little personal tidbits...

 

If the Senator is actually planning on leaving Elizabeth, this might all make that easier. As I noted in the review section, the Senator can claim Elizabeth did all of this behind his back and he just can't deal with all of her double dealing and back stabbing any more. He might even win some sympathy for having put up with such a bitch so long... Plus, don't forget he just got re-elected and has six years to let the voters forget about all this... A new bright bubbly younger wife might help with that...

 

Elizabeth is still going to be dangerous no matter what, she may not have as much reach without all the money but don't forget, she has her own trust established by her grandparents no doubt... Plus, Elizabeth knows a lot of secrets, even if she can't prove them all, knowledge always gives you some power....

[Clydee]

Jesus...what a great chapter! Mark, you outdid yourself! It makes you appreciate Wade Danfield even more! He's a great guy, honest, generous, loving, hot...the perfect man! Oh, I forgot...rich! At least rich for now. I wonder what nana will do with her money now? I also wonder what Wade's mother will do now.

Well, I don't expect Wade will get much of a Christmas present this year...at least from his mother.

Thank you, Mark!

[methodwriter85]

Over in reviews...Mark on the 2000 election...

 

Glad you liked it. Yeah, writing about that election hasn't been fun, which is why it's kind of playing softly in the background.

I was 14 during that election...it was kind of funny that it was taking so long, but other than that the election didn't register all that much with me. I'm guessing the same would be true with Will. With Wade, his main concern would his dad...his political viewpoint tends to be more about the state as opposed to the federal, which we saw when he chatised the GSA club for writing letters to the White House instead of writing them to the senators.

 

2004 is going to be a whooooolllleeee different story. If we follow these characters during the 2004 election, I really can't see it playing softly in the background. Will's going to be 18 and starting college, and realizing that people are rearing up to amend constituitions to take away his right to get married. And then there's the little war in Iraq and Aghanistan- even if Gathan doesn't go, it's inevitable there will be some Claremont kids going off there.There's no way the Tonto Incarnate is going to take a passive political role when the stakes start reveal themselves by ''03-'04.

 

My first election was 2004, and when I think back on it I just can't get over how incredibly nasty the tone of it was. People were just so pissed about the Bush administration by that point. I remember reading posters likening Dubya to Hitler, and the chant "Fuck Fox News!" at the Republican National Convention Center protests. My jaw dropped watching this:

 

 

 

"Drop Bush, not Bombs!" Damn, that takes me back. There was a student walk-out at my school to protest the coming Iraq War and that was one of our peace chants.

Edited November 28, 2012 by methodwriter85

[rjo]

it was a very interesting year (2000). Little did we know things would get so much worse a year later, I had a friend who lived in Flordia at the time and he said the election was fixed. Over all the years I have been voting, George W Bush was the only president I did not vote for.

 

On another point, Chapter 72 was masterful. It shows two things, Mark is a craftsman when it comes to these situations, The other point is what a truly good person Wade is. He is someone who thinks of others before himself and even more willing to put himself in danger for what is right. To good for public life or maybe what we need more than ever in today's world,

[Daddydavek]

In a reply today to a post from Private Tim regarding the latest chapter, Mark wrote the following:

 

Reply from Mark Arbour (author)

 

Based on your charming personality, I would suspect you'd have no trouble at all finding someone willing to choke you. :-)

And I say that lovingly.

 

When I read it I thought it was so funny I almost fell off my chair. Naturally, I decided to repost it here in the forum.

[GLH]

Oh my!

[Mark Arbour]

In a reply today to a post from Private Tim regarding the latest chapter, Mark wrote the following:

 

Reply from Mark Arbour (author)

 

Based on your charming personality, I would suspect you'd have no trouble at all finding someone willing to choke you. :-)

And I say that lovingly.

 

When I read it I thought it was so funny I almost fell off my chair. Naturally, I decided to repost it here in the forum.

 

I couldn't resist. I'm guessing Tim laughed too. He has a good sense of humor.

[PrivateTim]

What stupid lawyers. Asking questions they don't know the answer to, in front of a judge no less.

 

Not stupid lawyers, arrogant, expensive lawyers who thought they KNEW the answers.

[methodwriter85]

RE: Tim's joke in reviews...it's a joke, but in my case, I think older men can be pretty fucking sexy. Case in point, Michael Fassbender:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNvanwUH8w

 

I'd take an older, seasoned guy like Fassbender over a wrinkle-free, blank-faced 20-year old twink any day.

 

Another sexy older man? Ben Affleck. Woof. Watching Argo, I totally remembered why I had such a crush on Affleck back in the '90's. He aged great.

 

Edited November 29, 2012 by methodwriter85

[sat8997]

I think older men can be pretty fucking sexy.

 

 

Sam Elliot.

[rjo]

As I was reading the comments here and the reviews of this latest chapter, Mark wondered how Nana could have known Wade would save her and who helped Wade become the person he is. I think the answer is Roscoe. Long before JP, Uncle Roscoe saw Wade and who he could be and helped him along the way. After Roscoe died, JP guided him some more. When I said Wade was the true southern gentleman I truly believe it. Today in this world people seem to be out for themselves. What can they get. Wade is not what way. In many ways he reflects the latest generation not looking at what divides us but what unites us. Some people wonder what will happen to America? I think you only have to look at the present 20 yo generation and see we will be in good hands long into the future. Here in Minnesota we rose and defeated the marrage and ID amendments and restored the state legislature to democratic. What was even more important people came to vote by the thousands. Lines of voters young and old black and white rich and poor. It did my heart good seeing that. America maybe not always do the right thing but she always finds her way back to what is right. That I think is much like Wade. finding his way to what is right.