10th July 1999

Results Part Two...
I had no idea that I would recieve any emails defending Tim let alone the amount I did. I have to get something straight first. To the two, and you know who you are, people who sent me abusive emails, do not do it again. I actually have nothing against the actor, just the charcater and that is all the writer's fault. After my usual weekly commentary I will reveal some of the more printable comments on Tim. I also have some more storylines which just arrived too late to be in last weeks column.

So what has been going on in Britain :

Computer geeks everywhere moaned at Cole and Annie.
I shouted, "kiss 'im," a lot.
A Big Spider just crawled past me which was scary.

I am actually now worried. I have this fear of spiders and now that one has just scuttled across my desk I really am feeling funny now. It was one of those big ones which you could see the eyes of. IT's the type of thing that makes you go eugh - bit like Benjy then. Oh that boy, whining to Meg about not being able to keep the spider, oops sorry meant to say kitten, my mind is elsewhere. then Tess coming in to start shouting at Meg was just plain "mean" on her part - tee hee.

Cole and Annie searching Gregory's office resulted in me shouting "kiss 'im" at Annie a lot since they were so close yet so far. That scene also brought out the computer geek in me. Gregory I must say has a very funky looking computer sitting in his office the sleek designs of the tower case and the monitor were totally inspiring. However, he must have one hell of a fast computer with tons of memory. Cole and Annie were playing a video clip full screen with now distortion and no jumps or breaks in picture quality or sound. Also when Annie pressed a single key and deleted something -no, you got to go through multiple key presses to delete something. On top of that it was on CD. Unless you have an electro-magento drive which would have been a big bulky machine which was obviously not there, you can NOT delete from a CD. Hence the name of computer CDs in CD-ROM (Compact Disc - Read Only Memory). As for Cole finding a back up. why did he not just go into the recycle bin (or trash can on an Apple Mac) or use the unerase function found under MS-DOS. All right that was incredibly sad of me but hey I know computers, kind of explains why I do chemistry based things for a living!!!

Talking about bizarre oddities (no not Tim - yet). In the bar that Ben and Maria visited after he "rescued" her from Mrs. Moreau, there was a juke box that looked suspiciously like the one that Ricardo has. My goodness here we have a high ranking police man and he does not even notice that some one has stolen his juke box!!! Also one of the signs from The Deep was there as well. the two neon cocktail glasses.

Today we got treated to a major clip show of Antonio and Gabi as they finally recovered the tape - or so they thought. Let me say this, that both Antonio and Gabi suited short hair.

And on this plot I sympathises with Carmen. She is right but everyone refuses to listen to her. I know what she means when she says that the cards told her. I am a big believer in the Tarot, I have to be otherwise I could not do readings for other people. The cards never lie, they only tell it as it is. It is up to the person to interpret it. But because Carmen relented she is now the woman who cried Gabi.

Time for one of Uncle Ian's bed time stories. Today :

Once upon a time there was a mad Spanish spouting woman called Carmen. She liked to keep to herself except when it came to the affairs of her two sons. One day, her eldest son was getting married to the fairest woman in all the lands, well not quite but who cares. Carmen was asked to watch Princess Gobbi while Prince Ricardo went off to save the day. While watching Gobbi Carmen thought it would be fun to call out, "philanderer." Prince Ricardo came running along with Friar Antonio.

"What's going on?" demanded Prince Ricardo.

"Sorry, only playing a trick," replied the sorceress Carmen.

Later that day while Carmen worked away at her spinning wheel casting a spell for sleeping beauty. The big bad wolf knocked on the door.

"Can you give me directions to Grandma's house?" Asked the wolf.

"Dios Mio, can you not buy a map? Anyway two doors down on the left although I think I saw a girl in a red cape arrive about 5 minutes ago."

After shutting the door on the Big Bad Wolf Carmen returned to her room only to find "Ye Olde Worlde Flick Book". Flicking through this she found the evidence she needed to confront her son about his "fair" princess.

"Philanderer," Cried Carmen again.

"I do not believe you," replied Prince Ricardo who had just arrived. "You have told one to many lies and now you are not believed. I cast thee out of this family. Go now and never darken our drawbridge again."

So Carmen left.

And now you can all say it. I have finally flipped and I am probably certifiable after writing that story. Yes, I feel for Carmen. She is only telling the truth and now she is suffering.

It was a complete scream watching everyone take the mickey out of Annie's habit of talking aloud. Sean said, "how will we know what Annie is planning?" Cole replies, "We'll just listen, she always speaks aloud to her self." Also Gregory has finally gone insane. today he seemed just ever so slightly round the twist - and unlike me it is not in a good "I think I'll just write a fairy story way."

I had a comment about M pretending to be Caitlin but for the life of me I can not remember what scene I was referring to. Probably when I re watch it I will be able to explain this sentence to you but until then Any suggestions?

I have also managed to get some comments in defence of Tim from myself. Yes I am now about to defend Tim. this week he was great. He finally stood up to Meg and said to her that her ego must be so inflated if she thinks that he is only going out with Tess to be with Meg. Personally I agree with Tim but when you've had a man obsessing about you as long as Tim has then you have cause to worry.

So Tim is finally getting back on track is he? Well maybe we can revisit the days like the Kansas spree with Annie or his days with Caitlin when she went into full on slut mode. Those were the days. He also got a hair cut this week. Yes, it is still spiky but at least it does not look as though it is towering three feet above the poor boy.

What made me watch Tim with an open mind, well it was all your lovely comments in defence of Tim which you sent in to me. It really helped me change my mind. that and the fact that the writers are giving him a new lease of life.

Now to those comments in defence of Tim and I'll just say this, most of the emails I recieved were from Brits. It seems that none of you in America actually like Tim, is that true? Anyway, here goes:

From Gavin Sims at gelboy@rocketmail.com

Tim is awsome. Hes not a dopy sod like Casey, not boring as sin like Antonio and Micheal, and his character is always doing something, yes its usually to get Meg back, but he loves the little womble, so lay of Tim, I watched Sunset since the start and always have stuck by Tim.

From V J Carr at carr@clue.swinternet.co.uk

My defence is that Tim didn't look as nauseating in the 50's get-up, (in Annie's 'Search for Dignity' daytime soap-dream) as he normally does when he wears the loo-brush on his head. Also his hair is as high as Tess's, so they're well-suited.

From Jess at jess@grangerworld.freeserve.co.uk

Hey there, here's another storyline and you'll notice that I defend Tim! Meg has rapidly been declining from little miss perfect Dorothy from kansas to the wicked stepmother, and just seems to be full of bitterness and pain now. So when maria, benjy-brat and Ben go on a nice family outing without her, meg finally snaps. She goes to Tim and hires him with all those Evans' riches to find some serious dirt on maria to get her out of their lives-as yet Meg isn't going back to Tim, but he reckons if he does a good job then they'll be back at the altar in no time- mius an affair with the maid of Honour. Tim digs around and finds something nasty about maria-like she really has been lying, or the pawn of satan is really Derek's son-after all the DNA of twins is the same isn't it?
Tim's had a tough life with drunken and abusive parents and all he wants is a bit of happiness-he feels as if he deserves it after his childhood-and it comes in the form of the Cummings family and Meg. BUt we see a hint of decency when Tim, now hopelessly fallen for Tess, decides that he can't upset her by packing her and her best mate off back to boston and instead goes off with Tess driving Meg to desperate measures....
She kidnaps Benjy tells Maria to leave them alone and eventually is commited to be roomies with Virginia. Casey finally finds out what a little weasel Sara is and goes off to comfort maria, while the two grumpies Ben and Sara have the same terrible love/hate relationship that Annie and Gregory are in. If at all posible benjy should see Father Fit and Gobby commiting mortal sins and then innocently yet annoyingly blab to Uncle Thickardo and Grandma Carmen. heehee.....

For those of you who did not understand that last sentence check out my second column with the British nicknames for SB characters. The column can be found in the new archives section. While we are on the subject of storylines, here is one that did not make it into last weeks column :

From RoseGinger@aol.com

I really think Annie and Cole should get together! Him and Catilin are SO BORING!!! And when Annie and Cole were working together, you could tell that there was attraction there! I really think that if the writers put Annie and Cole in a relationship, the soap would get more viewers! And on a side note, I'd LOVE to see Sean and AMY together! Like, if Sean became evil like Gregory, and him and Amy terrorized the residents of Sunset Beach! That would get more viewers too! I hope the writers are reading this!!!

You are probably closer to the SB writers than you think Rose. and with that I shall draw this weeks column to a close. Thank you to everyone who wrote in, sorry if I could not fit you in. If I have room I might put some more in next weeks column.

I would also like to thank all the people who have been kind enough to write in about The Brit Perspective. I do write back to everyone so if you have not recieved a reply then I am sure it has just got lost "in the post".

Beofore I turn into Gwyneth Paltrow and start crying I'll take my leave but not before I make one last request. Send in ideas for any more polls or for any future suggestions to the email address below.

ANOTHER WEEK ANOTHER COLUMN

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20th July 1999

A Bit Short...
This week's column is rather short because I'm currently writing this Tuesday night roughly two days late. I've been really busy with work and organising shows. Heck, I did not even see SB until Monday night. Anyway sorry it is just a quickie this week I promise I will give you something better next week.

This week :

Wedding rehearsals.
Benjy got a kitten.
Nothing else was even remotely memorable.

Carmen is still running around trying to find a working video. I just caught the one that aired today in which she saw it and it was brilliant. More on that next week although I must say she seemed to be laughing and crying. Oops!!!

Cole had a haircut. Then he had his hair back and then it was cut again. slight continuity error on the parts of the editors.

Talking of haircuts. Benjy looked better with his new style for the wedding rehearsal. Thank goodness they finally got rid of the pudding bowl look!!!

I loved Greggie and Livvie's fight in Bette's house it was great. Gregory came over to talk civil to Olivia and the whole thing ended up going into one huge argument.

Francesca back. I doubt it. (actually I've read the spoilers so I know what happens) It all seems a little too convenient. Although it was fun to hear Bette's line. Bette asked, "who was that on the phone?" Olivia replied, "on the phone?" Bette said, "No dancing naked on the coffee table. Of course on the phone." Then later her line, "I know how to deal with perverts for heavens sake. (pause) don't go there."

Antonio, please blink. You stand there staring for hours and hours and you rarely if ever blink. Please it is very disconcerting watching you as your eyes bug out.

On a final note, the continuity announcer on channel 5 got the best line earlier in the week. Upon commenting on Annie's line, "I'm softening things because that's what I do." The announcer replied, "not in this studio you don't"

Anyway what do we have to look forward to next week. Well a longer column that is for sure. Plus a new poll. What is it going to be on this time. Well tune in next week to find out, by that time normal service should have resumed.

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FROM THIS MOMENT ON

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Before I start this weeks column I would like to put out a request. Please help. This is a request from a Brit Perspective reader who came to me looking for help. Can anyone name the song which was used during Gabi and Antonio's flashback scene while they were burning what they thought was the tape of them "making love". Please send all suggestions to I.E.Hopkins@Dundee.ac.uk. The episode aired a couple of weeks back in Britain. It would be a great help, thank you very much.

25th July 1999

Wedding Blues...
After the quickie of last week I'm giving you something rather more satisfying. What have I got up my sleeve this week. Well I found my original mail to Jennifer Ofiana and believe me it was surprising to say the least. I told her and I quote :

"Comment on S.B. from the british perspective and talk about up coming plot developments (which will be current episodes) from a non American view."

I just realised I have not been doing the second part. Anyway, I thought of doing that. But then I decided against it. So I thought up something even more odd! Just wait and see. So what else do I have to introduce you too. Well there is a new poll as well. Here it is :

Imagine you work as an SB writer. You need to create one character. It can be a real person, a person from another television program or even someone from your own imagination. Who, or what would you create. Send in your suggestions to I.E.Hopkins@Dundee.ac.uk The poll will close in two weeks time.

However, what has been going on this week :

Something old : The Gabi, Ricardo, Antonio plot.
Something new : Carmen's video actually worked.
Something borrowed : The scene where Carmen and Gabi shout in Spanish.
Something blue : Olivia at Francesca's return.

Before I start my comment I just want to make all of you jealous. I sitting here tucking into the most delicious strawberry gateaux. Scrumptious!

Anyway, Casey said that the earthquake was probably just an after shock. Excuse me but after shock. the term after shock, either implies a highly alcoholic drink or a shock which came after a bigger shock. Since there was not a previous shock then it was either a tremor or an actual earthquake. Yes, you can have small earthquakes, we have them in Britain all the time. Before you start thinking I have gone mad, I actually do geology (one of my many courses). In Britain we actually experience hundreds of earthquakes throughout the year most of them are about 1 or 2 on the Richter scale. However, about four or five times a year we experience an earthquake which can chart as high as 4 (and very rarely 5) on the Richter scale. A level 4 quake can result in some mild shaking, cupboard doors, maybe, coming open and things basically being shifted around slightly. They are most definitely able to be felt as well and can be quite scary if caught in them. Having never experienced one myself I can not actually verify that last statement though. So, there you go, you have just learnt something new - who says you can not be educational AND fun!

It was fun to watch Carmen in the Earthquake, she looked totally mad as she gripped that table and laughed her head off. Carmen should definitely get a plot of her own, she is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters. Maybe she could team up with Spike and they could run a sort of detective agency. Carmen could sense the crime before it started and Spike could be the dogs body doing all the leg work ;-)

Although one thing which does annoy me about Carmen is her insistence on speaking Spanish. Once my dad explained that "Dios Mio" was basically the Spanish version of "Holly C**p" then that was that sorted. (I apologise to everyone here. My dad did not quite say that - but still, whatever) However, Carmen and Gabi have this fixation on shouting at each other in Spanish. Here's their conversation to me :

CARMEN:
Blah blah blah, Spanish word, blah blah.

GABI:
blah, Spanish word, blah blah Spanish word.

CARMEN:
Blah, Spanish word (which is probably quite rude but I do not understand it) blah blah blah.

It just goes right over my head and I totally switch off. Apart from that the other problem is I am really beginning to dislike Gabi again. I had started to like her after the entire Paula incident and now she has totally dropped in my estimation. As Carmen said, "whore is too good for you."

Mind you, at Gabi's after rehearsal part at Surf Central, her and Sara were a hoot. They looked completely pished. And Gabi being arrested, come on, who did not guess it was going to be a stripper.

Now, to other plots. Sara to Casey, "I'm the one trying to save this relationship." Go Sara, go Sara, go Sara. Finally, telling Casey that he should not just run off with Munchkin all the time. I mean , how would you like it if the person you were going out with kept disappearing off to help your brother, sister or best friend. I would not put up with it, been there, done that. I my case though it was slightly more severe but still this column is not about my life (although it would make an interesting column) it is about SB. Meg should sort her own problems out by slapping her wimp of a man and then by kicking Maria and Tess out!

There I said it, I vented my frustration. Ben is not just a weak man, he is a very weak man who can not say no. good grief, I know you want to see your "son" but Benjy has not seen you in five years, I think he can live away from Ben for just a little longer. Many families in the real world do live apart and although it can be very hard on them they cope. Why can Maria not just do this. Why does Meg not just put her foot down once and for all and why oh why can Meg and Annie not have a good bitch fight again. I hear in America they have just had one. Woo-hoo I remember the last one when Annie opened that door and BAM Meg punched Annie in the kisser.

The best line of today has to go to Carmen. Maria said, "Evil spirits didn't come." Carmen replied with, "They should have." Oh how I laughed.

The title of this weeks column comes from a song. If you know who the artist is I have a prize lined up for you. I will give you a clue. It is a song about weddings. Name the artist competition entires can be sent to the usual address I.E.Hopkins@Dundee.ac.uk You have one week so get cracking.

For this song themed column I have come up with my most bizzare topic of the week. Searching through my CD collection I realised I have far too many CD's so I decided to look through them and find the perfect song for SB characters old and new. Sad I know, but fun all the same. Unless noted it is the title of the song which I think fits the characters.

Gregory - Killin' Time : Tina Cousins
Gregory (again) - One More Murder : Better Than Ezra
Annie - Takin' Back My Heart : Cher
Annie (again) - Bitch : Meredrith Brooks
Tiffany (remember her) - Runaway : Cher
Meg - 5,6,7,8 : Steps
Gabi - The Downward Spiral : Nine Inch Nails
Virginia - Are You Still Mad : Alania Morissete
Maria - You Belong To Me : Vonda Shepard
Maria (again) - Drowned World : Madonna
Gregory and Olivia - The Ballad Of Tom Jones : Space with Cerys (You have to hear it)
Antonio - Save A Prayer : The Mavericks
Francesca - I'll Get You Back - Bis
Bette - "Diva" : Dana International
Caitlin - Stupid Girl : Garbage
Caitlin (again) - Freedom Comes Freeedom Goes : The Fortunes
Ben - Making Your Mind Up : Bucks Fizz
Cole - Sweet Talkin's Guy : Chiffons
Sean - Knock On Wood : Eddie Floyd (Sorry Sean fans)
Emily - Sugar Sugar : The Archies (Sorry Emily fans)
Benjy - There's Your Trouble : Dixie Chicks
Benjy (again) - Tragedy : Steps
Benjy (yet again, he is too easy) - Good Riddance - Greenday
Mark - Take Me To Your Heaven : Chalotte Nilsson
Casey - To Be Your Hero : Steps
Tyus - Anything song by The Cure
Tyus (again) - Medication : Garbage
Ricardo - Dumb : Garbage
Micheal - Baby When Your Gone : Bryan Adams With Melanie C
Brad - Don't You think? - Natalie Imbruglia
Amy - Look At Me : Geri Halliwell

Here is where I must draw the column to a close. Any help with the song, Any feedback, competetion or poll entires send them to the address below. Next week, the general silliness will continue as I try to pair the characters up with films!!!

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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

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31st July 1999

Competition Closed...
The song artist competition is now closed. The question was, "who sang, From this Moment On?" The answer as all entrants got correct was Shania Twain. I'll announce the winner next week as I'm just waiting on any last minute entries. This column is written and sent away on Saturday (or Sunday as is the case today) and then posted on Monday so there is still a small gap where people can write in and miss the column they actually were trying to write in for.

What is still open is the character poll. Imagine you work as an SB writer. You need to create one character. It can be a real person, a person from another television program or even someone from your own imagination. Who, or what would you create. Send in your suggestions to I.E.Hopkins@Dundee.ac.uk You have got two more weeks.

So what happened this week :

Gabi and Ricardo got married - almost.
Sara and Meg had a big fight.
Gregory demanded to see Francesca's autopsy report.
I was shocked to learn that Tyus is a gambling man.

Phew, what a lot to take in. I know, I've been writing a lot about Gabi, Ricardo and Antonio lately so this week I am going to talk about lots of other things. Sara does not deserve that shmuck Casey. When Sara and him were kissing after the "wedding" and Meg walked in the bloke looked totally guilty. Casey is supposed to be going out with Sara but he still looks guilty whenever Meg catches him with Sara. As for Meg, can she not see what she is doing to her sister. Admittedly Meg may not realise that Casey fancies her but she has to see the twists Sara is getting into over it. Why does Meg not sit down and talk about it with her sister instead of getting all huffy whenever Sara brings the subject up.

Mind you, if Sara and Meg had not argued then Meg could not have delivered a brilliant line. When Casey returned and found the two sisters arguing he told them off. Meg then said that they were not arguing but that "sisters have a special way of communicating." Brilliant and totally true, I mean my brother and I have a very special way of communicating.

What about Gregory as he, AJ and Olivia went to Tyus's office in search of Francesca's report. I think they guy has gone totally mad. Apart from being totally possessive over his daughter, he grabs Tyus and physically threatens him. Good old Tyus stood up to the "mean" man.

As for comedy this trio managed superbly. When they broke back into Tyus's office they were acting like a brilliant comedy act. "You don't have to throw the taunts at me Gregory, especially when we have a report to find," was roughly what AJ said. Gregory came back with, "I'm quite capable of doing both especially when the target is you." Then later Olivia said, "you're not the one who has Francesca stalking you, driving you mad, turning you insane." Gregory came back with, "and that is why I never go to the theatre. I have all the drama I need right there."

This revelation about Francesca being alive is almost enough to bring back my interest in the murder storyline. Unfortunately I know what happens. Being on the staff of an American web site does have it's disadvantages, however I would not have it any other way as I really am looking forward to what is coming up. Let me say that the early hints of Gregory's madness are being played out right here.

For those of you in Britain not currently enamoured with the recent plotting of the Trey storyline I would just like to take this moment to let you know that big changes are coming. The real paternity of Trey will be revealed on Friday in America (I know who it is but I am not telling you here - go check the spoilers if you want to know) and it is who I thought it would be all along.

As for changes, Brad decided not to wear a big, loud Hawaiian shirt today and opted for something a bit more down to earth. Why could they not have done this sooner, Brad looks a lot more respectable like this, and older.

So now finally to the wedding. Carmen was brilliant, she is fast becoming one of my favourite characters. the expression on her face as Gabi and Ricardo was wonderful, she looked so confused and upset.

Hank had a great line, "Let's hop this doesn't turn out like Meg's wedding." "Honey don't," replied Joan. "Sorry, this one's missing a bride, we've got one too many."

What changed Gabi's mind. One minute she was asking Sister Extra to get her a taxi and the next moment she was back getting married. Maybe it was cut from the omnibus but I would really like to know.

Gabi running away from the altar was a bit duff. It might have been better had Gabi not laboured over the point going back and forward and all that. Ohhh that woman just annoys me now. In fact that entire plot just annoys me. I do not like Antonio I find him lifeless and a bit of a nothing. Ricardo and Gabi do not look good together (I just realised that today when they were talking after the "wedding" in Surf Central) and Gabi is now just one big walking whore as Carmen so nicely put it. One good thing Ricardo said was in his vows (I have nothing against Ricardo), "I will love you for the days of our lives." What an absolute hoot, the writers keep throwing these little references in for the more astute viewers to catch.

One final thing before I finish this rather long commentary is, how did Carmen get those pictures. Unless she has expensive video capture equipment she could not have got those pictures from the video. I doubt Carmen even has the knowledge to do it anyway. If she had taken it to someone else Carmen would probably have been viewed as a pervert or something. So how did she do it?

Anyway that is this weeks commentary over. I was going to do something similar to last week's song themes column but with films. I decided against it last night and have instead decided to tell you how a column of the Brit Perspective is put together. After two months (yep this is the end of my second month) I thought I might share how I put this column together. Now I know none of you just think it appears magically updated every week and I know all of you realise that there is some work involved.

To start with I sit and watch a weeks worth of episodes of SB. The omnibus airs at 2pm on Saturday afternoon and after catching snippets during the week I settle down knowing the plot roughly so that I can take notes.

For the next two and a half hours I take notes on the various plots and write down lines which I thought were quotable or funny. By 4:30pm I am normally falling asleep so I leave my column to fester. I normally work from 10am till 2pm so that is why after watching SB I am tired.

If it has been an exceptionally good omnibus full of exciting things I might be so excited that I will write about it there and then but normally I sit and think about what I want to say. By Saturday night I write the commentary on the episodes and then have a good think about what the topic for the column will be on.

This is the hardest part. I think I used up most of my ideas in roughly the first few columns so now I am relying on ideas to pop up on a week to week basis. From something which is annoying me to something which I think is absolutely brilliant I take it and highlight it in an extended topic which I then write about. Some weeks, as in two weeks ago I really can not think of anything so I just write a small column. Other weeks when I can not think of anything but when my brain is working better I think up a bizarre idea, like the songs for characters last week. Then I write that up.

On my computer is every single column I have written so far and printed copy in a folder so I keep a track of all my columns to make sure I am not going on about the same thing twice in the same month. The columns on my computer also act as a template. I take the column I have written using my word processor (after spell checking - normally) I transfer it into the HTML code of the web page. A few tweaks here and a little revision there to make stuff right for grammar' and grandad type things.

Then once that is done it is sent off to Jennifer Ofiana who runs Sunset Central, she puts the new Brit Perspective on the web and there you have it, it is done - or is it...

I then spend the next week reading and replying to any feed back which I get and I incorporate any ideas for topics, polls or competitions into my next column. Then the whole process starts all over again.

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