Passions Problem #6: Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane
 

The one good thing about a bad experience is when you see it coming again, the
signs stick out to you like a sore thumb.

Well over a year ago, I told of my impending dread where I believed the
direction of Passions was going. People asked me how I could think this, and I
told them quite honestly that I had been through this experience before.
Another show, another network, but the same experience, so when I saw the signs
on Passions, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I am, of course, talking about the comparison that I made long ago between
Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald and  General Hospital's Jason Morgan. And, the
subsequent Head Writer  lust-bordering-on-obsession that the respective Head
Writer had for these characters.

In simple terms:

James E. Reilley is a current version of Robert Guza, Jr.
And
Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald is a current version of Jason Morgan

How did I know?

The signs were ALL there. This was the pattern on General Hospital. See if you
notice the Passions connection:

1. All stories must include Jason in them.
Present Day Passions - All stories must include Theresa

2. Everyday we see Jason. We know how Jason thinks and feels about anything
from world peace to a hangnail.
>Present Day Passions - I think someone wrote that Theresa has been  on the
screen EVERYDAY since summer, and we are approaching DECEMBER.

3. EVERY character was a Jason Cheerleader.
Present Day Passions - don't you think this speaks for itself? Come on, without
thinking, you can name 10 characters who expoused the 'poor Theresa' credo last
week ALONE.

4.  Those characters NOT in support of Jason, were either portrayed as:
villains or losers
Present Day Passions - let's whip up a list of Theresa detractors (Gwen,
Rebecca, Alistair, Ivy). - WHICH group do these characters fall into?

5. People would lose all sense of THEIR moral compass when it came to
supporting Jason. They could come up with ANY excuse to justify Jason. No
matter what their previous beliefs, or character traits, when it came down to
it, whatever they uttered was to bolster, support, justify the RIGHTNESS of
Jason.
 Present Day Passions - well, we have the formerly honorable Chad and Whitney
becoming master liars and enablers. Pilar - dragging a paralyzed woman across a
room. We have Edumb, chastising his mother for getting proof, while excusing
Theresa all the way. Sheridan forgot her friendship with Gwen basically from
the moment Ethan broke off his engagement to Gwen, completely forgetting her
past with men, in order to become a Theresa cheerleader. They even have Kay on
the Theresa cheerleader bandwagon.

6. Not only do characters lose their character compass in order to become Jason
cheerleaders, their characters individual stories were lost, in order to
supplicant Jason, because heaven forbid that ANYONE have a story on the show
that didn't focus around Jason.
 Present Day Passions - Chad and Whitney are prime examples of this. Once upon
a time, Chad and Whitney were vibrant characters. Whitney had principles,
conflict within herself, and was a person, in search of her future. I loved the
tension between Whitney and TC, as she struggled with what tennis meant to HER.
I even miss the conflict between her and Simone. I loved her adoration of Eve,
and missed the old days of how clearly they set up the dynamic between Whitney
and Eve.

Chad…well, Chad was one of the reasons why I didn't stop watching this show in
the fall of 1999. Chad was honorable, principled. He stood for the truth. Sure,
he had a chip on his shoulder, but growing up on the streets will do that to
you. I loved watching Chad grope in the dark as he watched and appreciated the
bonds of family up close in the Bennetts and Russells. The quest for his
parentage has been a heartbreaking one for Chad, but has provided the audience
with some stellar moments. I still  get choked up remembering Chad's reaction
to Crystal telling him about his parents and how repulsed he was to find out
about his father. There have been quiet moments, with the Russells, as a
family, which make me mourn the loss of Chad for this wretch we currently see
on the screen. What happened to Chad's love of music? Why isn't he trying to
get his career back in one way or another?

Chad and Whitney are but two examples. I'm sure that you can find others.

7. It was obvious that Jason was anything BUT a hero, yet the show was written
with him as the moral center of the show, even though he was a baby-knapping,
mafia enforcer.
 Present Day Passions  I don't know if Theresa is the moral center of the show,
but everyone else's morality is warped to justify her.

In the beginning, as I have said, the ONLY reason I watched this show was
BECAUSE of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. But, somewhere along the line, this train
took a VERY wrong turn.

Her 'Cinderella-wannabe' story morphed into one of an obsessed stalker.

What went wrong for me, and I still maintain this, is JER's insistence on
trying to portray Theresa as a heroine. THIS is the crux of ' The Hustle'.

People have compared Theresa to a latter day version of Erica Kane. Having
watched Erica from nearly the beginning of the show, I can understand the
comparison. The similiarities with regards to both characters being a 'life
force'.

But, I can tell you this. In NO WAY, did Agnes Nixon, EVER try and portray
Erica Kane as a HEROINE. She did bad things. She did good things. She wasn't a
straight up vixen, but, she was NOT the Heroine. She was a 'life force'.

I've always thought the best comparison to Theresa was Brooke Logan on Bold and
the Beautiful. Their stories parallel so much, it's eery. Same beginning story.
Theresa had her scrapbooks, Brooke cut Ridge pictures out of the newspaper.
Each wanted a rich Prince Charming.

The difference between Theresa and Brooke is that Bradley Bell never tried to
sell Brooke as a Heroine. She was always flawed, and there were always people
to tell her that she was wrong. Not the farcical ' villains', as we have on
Passions doing it, but meaty characters that always criticized Brooke. Brooke
lied and schemed against Ridge and Caroline, and ‘lost’ Ridge before she
finally ‘got ‘ him, and then, her happiness was fleeting. There was never any
doubt that Ridge was the love of her life, but, a good deal of the story was
her NOT getting Ridge, unlike the fairy tale swill that JER is shoveling.

I wish that I could say that this story has a happy ending. That there is light
at the end of the tunnel. There was no light for me as a General Hospital Fan.
The only way we found relief from Jason Hospital (The Theresa Show anyone?),
was when the actor decided to leave. Then, as now, I was told by those against
me about all the demographics that this character/actor received, even as the
HH and Demographic ratings declined. So, I don't know what this means for
Passions. I don't see anyone trying to help JER with his Theresa Obsession. So,
that means we ALL suffer.

SIP