michelleforbes

(S02E01) "I think I've seen enough dead bodies to last me a lifetime." - Sookie to Sam

Have I mentioned how excited I am to have True Blood back? Yeah, I think so. At least 43 times around the Web. And tonight's season two premiere did not disappoint. It was everything Stephen Moyer said it would be when I talked to him last week -- dark, sexy, mysterious and bloody good.

For those of you who need time to catch up with your Tivo, I'll keep this front part unspoiled. But I won't be giving anything away by saying that they tied seasons one and two together very nicely. Some of the questions we had from season one are answered. Some are not.

There are many, many good actors and actresses in daytime. Some shine brighter than others simply because they are so supremely talented that they raise the level of the drama they are creating. There are two women I'm writing about now. They are both daytime actresses of the highest order. One celebrated her birthday yesterday, May 7th. She's One Life to Live's inimitable Dorian Cramer, actress Robin Strasser. The other, I'm sad to report, passed away last weekend. The incomparable Beverlee McKinsey was famous for two characters: Iris Carrington on Another World and Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light. Ms. McKinsey, who'd retired from daytime -- and acting overall -- in 1992 (except for a brief cameo on General Hospital) died on Friday evening from kidney failure after undergoing a transplant.

I remember vividly watching Another World when Beverlee McKinsey was front and center. She was a dynamic actress, a real scene stealer. She commanded your attention as the spoiled, grown daughter of millionaire scion MacKenzie Cory, Iris, on Another World. Her voice saying, "Daddy," is embedded in my memory.

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Mysterious. Mesmerizing. Interesting. Dynamic. Compelling. Any and all of these words accurately describe actress Michelle Forbes. She is one of the finest actresses in television, and yet she has maintained a distinct quality that makes her as elusive a performer to come around since Garbo! Intensely private, there's not much known about the Austin, Texas native. (However, I can tell you that she collects clocks -- broken clocks. As she told me, quoting the movie Withnail and I, "Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.")

She's currently making HBO's new drama In Treatment appointment TV, drawing her loyal following to find her latest work as she did in 24, Prison Break, Homicide and Battlestar Galactica. And that doesn't even take into account the millions who first discovered this chameleon when she first burst onto the scene in Guiding Light, and then Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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(S01E6-10) "She's a total tool...and a retard" - Sophie

We've decided to cover the entire week's offering in one review.

Laura:
So we finally get to see the gorgeous Michelle Forbes, too bad it was so brief.

I suppose it's no accident that last week when Laura was in turmoil, she was dressed in black and now, that she's decided to get married she's dressed in white. What I can't decide is if the weak attempt at symbolism was Laura's idea or the writer's. I almost lost consciousness due to being smothered by the Freudian imagery in this episode. Breast feeding, diving, upholstery, it all seemed a little labored to me, although, sometimes a plunger is just a plunger.

As much as I enjoy sexual tension, I really have very little interest in the relationship between Laura and Paul other than trying to figure out why he would continue to be her therapist when it's clear that she needs to get over him if before she can get over anything else.

(S01E01) "I'm not dangerous, at least not to you." - Laura

After watching the premiere of In Treatment, I am only sure of one thing. I do not have the patience to be a therapist.

I was really distracted during the first half of the show because I couldn't figure out why none of my nerd friends told me that Eliza Dushku was on this show. That confusion eventually subsided when I realized that it was Melissa George with brown hair. I guess when you're a cat burglar or a spy you have to be blonde, but when you're troubled young waif, it's best to be brunette.