meegannie
Blue Crack Addict
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/71601.htm
HOT MONKEY LOVE
By KAREN INFANTINO
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March 24, 2003 -- SAY hello to daytime's newest, albeit strangest, supercouple.
An orangutan named Precious made her debut last week on NBC's "Passions," and will soon begin having carnal thoughts of lust in the afternoon with her love interest, the soap's resident hunk Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald.
Quirky characters mixed with classic love stories is one reason the barely four-year-old soap has quickly become No. 1 among teen girls. The notion of pairing Precious with Luis is what sets it apart from daytime's other offerings.
They haven't met yet, but according to the show's creator James E. Reilly, the minute the orangutan lays her big, brown eyes on Luis next month, she's smitten and that's when the elaborately filmed love scenes will begin.
A lovesick monkey as daytime's newest diva?
"It's the latest example of Reilly's commitment to push the envelope," says Sheraton Kalouria, head of NBC's Daytime Programs.
Believe it or not, Reilly's been hatching the idea for years, after reading an article about monkeys that are trained to help disabled people.
"We are certainly stretching the limits of credulity," says Kalouria. "But it is, after all, a soap opera."
And this is "Passions" we're talking about, the place where an axe-wielding psycho named Norma terrorized the town while carrying her father's skull around. "You just have to throw out as wide a net as you can," says Reilly, "and once that gimmick works, you have to keep them watching based on the stories."
Animal rights activists take note - there's nothing weird going on. Precious has only joined the cast to put a new twist on the old soap staple - the love triangle.
Getting in line behind Beth Wallace and Sheridan Crane for Luis' attention, Precious is a caregiver hired to feed and diaper old Mrs. Wallace. That is, when she's not dreaming of Luis, played by tall, dark and handsome Galen Gering.
"I'm usually just the romantic stud guy," says Gering, "and I don't get a lot of the comedic stories that we have on our show. It's been a blast."
In fact, Precious (actually played by two orangutans named BamBam and Tango) and Gering hit it off so well, the trainers are starting to get worried.
"If the animal starts bonding with you, they don't respond to the trainer," he explains.
Gering says Precious dons a "full-on ball gown" for the tango scene scheduled to air mid-April. Reilly promises it's just the first of many fantasies that will air through this summer.
"Well, let's just say that Precious has a very rich imagination," Reilly laughs. "And just as we play with the human characters on 'Passions' where they have their fantasies, Precious will have hers. There's going to be fantasy weddings, children, feeding each other strawberries."
As Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, Gering flashes his biceps way more than his badge, and doesn't mind playing second banana in an orangutan's daydream - except for one thing.
"Precious has a pretty strong odor," he says. "It's a permanent scent."
Ahh, isn't that what all those sexy shower scenes are for?
*sets VCR
HOT MONKEY LOVE
By KAREN INFANTINO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 24, 2003 -- SAY hello to daytime's newest, albeit strangest, supercouple.
An orangutan named Precious made her debut last week on NBC's "Passions," and will soon begin having carnal thoughts of lust in the afternoon with her love interest, the soap's resident hunk Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald.
Quirky characters mixed with classic love stories is one reason the barely four-year-old soap has quickly become No. 1 among teen girls. The notion of pairing Precious with Luis is what sets it apart from daytime's other offerings.
They haven't met yet, but according to the show's creator James E. Reilly, the minute the orangutan lays her big, brown eyes on Luis next month, she's smitten and that's when the elaborately filmed love scenes will begin.
A lovesick monkey as daytime's newest diva?
"It's the latest example of Reilly's commitment to push the envelope," says Sheraton Kalouria, head of NBC's Daytime Programs.
Believe it or not, Reilly's been hatching the idea for years, after reading an article about monkeys that are trained to help disabled people.
"We are certainly stretching the limits of credulity," says Kalouria. "But it is, after all, a soap opera."
And this is "Passions" we're talking about, the place where an axe-wielding psycho named Norma terrorized the town while carrying her father's skull around. "You just have to throw out as wide a net as you can," says Reilly, "and once that gimmick works, you have to keep them watching based on the stories."
Animal rights activists take note - there's nothing weird going on. Precious has only joined the cast to put a new twist on the old soap staple - the love triangle.
Getting in line behind Beth Wallace and Sheridan Crane for Luis' attention, Precious is a caregiver hired to feed and diaper old Mrs. Wallace. That is, when she's not dreaming of Luis, played by tall, dark and handsome Galen Gering.
"I'm usually just the romantic stud guy," says Gering, "and I don't get a lot of the comedic stories that we have on our show. It's been a blast."
In fact, Precious (actually played by two orangutans named BamBam and Tango) and Gering hit it off so well, the trainers are starting to get worried.
"If the animal starts bonding with you, they don't respond to the trainer," he explains.
Gering says Precious dons a "full-on ball gown" for the tango scene scheduled to air mid-April. Reilly promises it's just the first of many fantasies that will air through this summer.
"Well, let's just say that Precious has a very rich imagination," Reilly laughs. "And just as we play with the human characters on 'Passions' where they have their fantasies, Precious will have hers. There's going to be fantasy weddings, children, feeding each other strawberries."
As Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, Gering flashes his biceps way more than his badge, and doesn't mind playing second banana in an orangutan's daydream - except for one thing.
"Precious has a pretty strong odor," he says. "It's a permanent scent."
Ahh, isn't that what all those sexy shower scenes are for?
*sets VCR
He was awesome...
