Zarf Mania Rolls On

As you've no doubt heard by now, AMC is embarking on a sensational/daring/socially relevant storyline involving the character of Zarf.  Yes, Zarf is going to be a bigger deal than any of us dreamed.  Zarf will turn out to be a transsexual, a biologically male character who views himself as a woman.  Jeffery Carlson, the actor who plays Zarf, recently spoke with everybody's favorite Daniel Coleridge to explain the storyline in greater detail:

TVGuide.com: Zarf will have a close connection to Bianca (Eden Riegel). Tell us more.
Carlson: Zarf instantly falls in love with her.

TVGuide.com: Wow! This will mess with many people's preconceptions. A lot of folks usually assume that a male-to-female transgender person wants to become a straight woman and pursue men romantically.
Carlson: Zarf is someone who is biologically a man that views herself as a lesbian. Plus, Bianca is a lesbian who is having feelings for someone who is biologically a man! Bianca doesn't know for a period of time that Zarf is a woman inside, so Bianca has feelings that she doesn't understand. They share an attraction. They share a kiss!

In other news, I'm my own grandpa.  So, where did this story come from?  And why launch it now?  The current issue of SOD has some answers:

According to Executive Producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, the idea originated over a year ago from Associate Head Writer Addie Walsh.  "[Megan McTavish] and I very much wanted to tell the story.  And we got very excited when we say Jeffery [playing Zarf] and realized that Zarf's rock star persona could actually work as the mask for the tortured soul underneath.  At the same time, we were [discussing Bianca's return]...we realized the puzzle pieces were fitting together logically.  It's those story gods telling you, 'Now is the time.'"

There's a joke to be made about those soap gods being named Crack and Mad Dog 20/20, but I won't make it, because I'm classy like that.

As a dyed-in-the-wool daytime cynic, let me tell you what I'm thinking: If AMC had this story over a year ago, I find it hard to believe that they've just been sitting around waiting for the right actor to fall from the sky so they can get on with it.  God knows casting has not been the show's top priority as of late.  I'm thinking that when Addie Walsh pitched this story, the first reaction was, "Addie, have you been in our crack and gin?  You know we can't tell a story like that.  It's too hot for daytime.  We have to tell safe, non-controversial storylines like rapes and kidnappings and murder.  You know, the staples."

Cut to a year later: The ratings are at an all-time low.  They're being beaten by community theater Guiding Light.  Viewer dissatisfaction is through the roof.  Budget cuts abound.  Cast members are dropping left and right, pushing the show into doing a tacky serial killer storyline that they know has the potential to backfire on them big time.

What better time then now to wrap yourself in the cloak of Agnes Nixon's patented social relevancy storytelling?  What better time to throw everyone off the scent of your declining ratings and backstage woes then to throw everyone a social issues bone?  What better time to get national publicity for something other than being yet another soap that's going down the tubes?

tags: all my children