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Thursday, February 28, 2008
AMC’s Zach, Greenlee should stay just friends
I’m enjoying Zach (Thorsten Kaye) and Greenlee’s (Rebecca Budig) friendship on All My Children. (Although I still think I would appreciate it more if Sabine Singh were still in the role. But, oh, well.)
What I don’t like, however, are the not-so-subtle innuendos flying from everyone’s lips, Zach and Greenlee’s included.
Some examples (and I paraphrase, of course):
Erica to Kendall: Zach and Greenlee have gotten really close.
Greenlee to Zach: They say men and women can’t really be friends because sex always gets in the way. Why didn’t that happen with us?
Zach to Greenlee: Maybe we got out in time.
Greenlee to Zach: Do you think if we’d been in that bomb shelter longer something would have happened?
Zach to Greenlee: What happened with us is more intimate than sex.
Oh, yeah, and let’s not forget their parting glances — Zach’s over Kendall’s shoulder, Greenlee’s over Aidan’s.
Ugh.
I don’t know if anything will come of these little comments and sly looks, but I do know that it disappoints me that soaps have so few true platonic male/female friendships.
Most of the ones that develop usually have a history of sex between them. Cass and Felicia on Another World. Carly and Jason on General Hospital.
But male/female friendships without sex can be done.
My favorite? GH’s Jax (Ingo Rademacher) and Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn).
I’ll admit I used to want them together romantically. And still think they’d make one rockin’ couple if GH ever decided to go that route. But I’m relatively glad they didn’t.
It’s so refreshing to see the scenes between Jax and Alexis and know that the feelings are genuine and based on nothing more than the simple fact these two love and respect one another.
I could see that being the case with Zach and Greenlee, too, if only AMC has the guts to write a male/female relationship that doesn’t fall back on sex to make things “interesting.”
I know it’s a soap, and I know there’s nothing much soapier than a best friend/husband romp.
But really, AMC, I’m much more intrigued to see how you can build a strong relationship between Zach and Greenlee that doesn’t rely on the constant tease of “will they, won’t they.”
Men and women can be friends. Honestly. It happens. So why don’t you try writing that kind of story for Zach and Greenlee?
I think you’d be pleasantly surprised.
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