Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv.soaps


Being the ABC soap fan that I am, I went and saw both Aspen Extreme
with Finola Hughes (ex-Anna Scorpio on GH) and Hexed with Michael
Knight (Tad Martin on AMC) back to back this weekend!  The actress
who played Carol (Bill Eckert's truck dispatcher ex-girlfriend on GH)
also made a brief appearance in Hexed.
 
Here's a summary of Aspen Extreme (without the ending):
*********************************************************************
The story is about two friends (T.J. Baxter and Dexter Rutecki) who
leave their boring lives in Detroit, Michigan and head to Aspen to
try out for 5 coveted spots as new ski instructors for the season.
T.J., an aspiring writer, is a suave with-it guy, good looking and
smart.  His pal Dexter is a not so with-it guy who is somewhat of
a hick and looks up to T.J. for guidance. 

They arrive in Aspen in a beat-up Volkswagon van and make friends
with the local lady DJ-Robin Hand who helps them find a place
to stay.  She "doesn't date ski instructors because they have a
tendency to not be around the next ski season" but befriends them.

T.J. and Dexter wow the ski school head but unfortunately only T.J.
makes the cut.  He pencils Dexter's name in on the list and talks
the ski school head into giving Dexter a chance saying that he won't
join either unless Dexter joins.  The guy gives in so the two begin
their adventures as new ski school instructors.

Enter one Bryce Kellogg (Finola Hughes) a rich dame in the skiing
industry who always gets her pick of the new crop of ski studs at
Aspen.  She takes a liking to T.J. and invites him up to her ritzy
mansion and the two become "involved".  She encourages T.J.'s dream
of being a writer.

Life continues with Dexter hanging out with his new pal Tina and her
questionable friends and T.J. seeing Bryce whenever she's available.
The two have a harrowing experience skiing one day and turn to Robin,
whom they befriended when they first came to town, for help.

Later, Dexter gets into serious trouble causing T.J. to come to his
aid at the expense of his pride.  After this incident, the two pals
become estranged as T.J. moves in with Bryce and Dexter turns to drugs.

Robin comes to the rescue (again) to patch up the two's once strong
friendship.  Dexter comes to T.J. with a proposal to ski as a pair
in the upcoming prestigious Aspen 8 race (where two partners ski in
criss-cross paths leaving figure 8 tracks in the snow).  

This leads to an unforgettable climax as T.J.'s and Dexter's lives
change forever.  What roles will Bryce and Robin play in their new
lives?  Tune into Aspen Extreme for the heartwarming conclusion!
***********************************************************************

This movie was actually quite good to my surprise!  It was well-written
with a few surprises here and there.  All the actors and actresses
were believable in their roles.  It was nice to see Finola all dressed
up in glitzy outfits (befitting her character) even though she didn't
have a lot of scenes in the movie.  Hope you guys enjoyed the teaser
review above!  I'll post a similiar review of Hexed too.

                                   May  Lee
                                   a.k.a. Ms. Purple!!