Once upon a time, I was in graduate school. And while I was in graduate school, I watched a lot of TV. I mean, A LOT. An insane amount. Like, at this point in my life, I don’t even know nor understand how I managed it.

Hint:  I had a TiVo and VCR (this was before dual tuner TiVos were a thing) and a really crap sleep schedule.

So, yes, back in 2004-2006, when I was working on my Master’s degree, I watched a lot of television. And for about a year or so, I was super into As the World Turns.

 

I had watched the show off and on for years. My grandmother was a diehard soap fan, so whenever I visited her for breaks, I always got caught up on the shows she watched. I mean, it’s entirely possible I got hooked on the show during a visit with her. Who knows? All I know is that I watched it pretty much every day while I was in my MA program.

So why did I pick it for this list? Well, it still has one of my very, very, very favorite scenes/plot lines of all time. OF ALL TIME. It has been seared into my consciousness, and I hope I never, ever forget it.

Basically, what happened is that Emily was in love with Paul and planned to marry him, but at the last minute Paul dumped her, saying he didn’t want to ruin her life. Never mind that he had already made her an accessory to a switched baby plot. Never mind that. So, Emily was so distraught that Paul dumped her on New Year’s Eve (yes, I seriously remember when it aired because it was so fantastic) after she had lied for him for months that, when he walked away from her, she shot him in the back.

Now, that was delicious enough. (And how the year ended. Did I mention they were on a cliff? So, yes, that was the cliffhanger.) BUT IT GETS BETTER.

After shooting him, she tells him she’s sorry and that she loves him and she didn’t mean it, but then she gets freaked out and PUSHES HIM OFF THE CLIFF after she thinks he’s dead. It is seriously one of the best television moments ever.

And God bless YouTube because I can post it right here.

 

 

I had an LJ icon of Emily shooting Paul with the text “accept rejection.” I mean.

Anyway, Emily was completely out of her mind and after Paul recovered (of course he survived after he got pushed off a cliff and then run over by a car while out in the middle of nowhere with no adequate medical supplies), she would still tell him she loved him and ask him if he thought they would work. AFTER SHOOTING HIM IN THE BACK AND PUSHING HIM OFF A CLIFF.

God bless us, everyone.

For the A to Z challenge, I’ll be blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for B!