One Life to Live

[Cliff Barnes]

Just thought I would start a general thread for this show. I used to be a big fan in the 80's but since then I just marginally pay attention to it. The most interesting thing they seem to have going right now is Jerry VerDorn as a very villainous Clint Buchanan. While I like the use of an old character played well as a good menacing complex character, I am torn on this one because A-he is not the late, original great actor, and B-he used to be one of the really great nice guy, if temperamental, characters. With the loss of Phil Carey and Asa I can understand them wanting to make Clint the new lovable troublemaker in town, but the problem is he is not as lovable as Phil was, nor is he really channeling the original performance in this case. So, I just don't know what to think-but I suppose it's better than anything else they could do at this time. Any other thoughts on the show as a whole?

[Daniel Avery]

This is the only soap I watch with any regularity these days.

Turning Clint into the new Asa-like villain has not been a total success, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because a) I know they need a power-broker type of villain, and b) JvD can sell just about anything. The writers tripped a bit by making Clint so angry at Bo/Nora NOW as opposed to last spring when Clint/Nora broke up. He seemed to have moved on and then wham! They went back to Clint being PO'd at Bo and Nora.

I love, love, love that they created a storyline that includes the older characters of Viki/Charlie/Dorian/Clint, even if that dolt Rex has to be involved. Re-activating the character of Echo (and having Kim Zimmer back to play her) was a great way to use some genuine flashbacks and to give Queen Victoria a chance to act all snippy again. Anything that gets Dorian and Viki in scenes together (and being all snarky) is tops in my book.

Not sold on the new Joey yet, and this Aubrey woman is un-necessary, but better than having yet another Ford brother. Three is two too many, if you ask me; James seems to be the only one I can tolerate. Many fans are complaining about the Ford family taking over the show, but I have seen these temporary invasions before. They've already killed off the evil daddy (a walking ham sandwich) and it looks like the mother is being written into a corner.

The Marty-goes-nuts plot is unrealistic but it sure does give Susan Haskell and Melissa Archer (Natalie) some cool scenes. Only on soaps can a woman who looks 23 months pregnant slap a woman and threaten to kick her ass--and make it sound absolutely truthful. Looking forward to the Big Reveal, if not only to see if John McBain will actually show a trace of human emotion over the baby possibly not being his.

Also barely registering on the side of consciousness is Todd. He sleepwalks through his scenes as if the actor can't be bothered to care. The higher-ups might love him, but someone with his rap sheet should never be written as a romantic hero.

She's been MIA for several weeks, but I just love Destiny Evans. She's the Greek Chorus of Llanview. Hope she is back before Christmas!

[johnbrown]

You remind me of the old days Cliff. This show is good. And ya good information Daniel

[Daniel Avery]

Though Dorian and Viki always grab my attention, I'm especially pleased to see them unite against the common enemy--Echo. Not that I especially dislike Echo--it's just fun to see D&V become reluctant frenemies.

Hoping they pin Eddie's murder on Inez, though it would be okay if they just come up with any excuse to get her out of the picture. She's the "easy" out, since she's not on contract and other than causing trouble for Bo/Nora, has no real purpose. If the introduction and death of Eddie are any indication, the mystery surrounding his death will also be wrapped up in record time.

[Daniel Avery]

I was really looking forward to the Bo/Nora scenes where she finds out about his quasi-ONS with Inez. Hillary B. Smith (Nora) was great, but what was the deal with Bob Woods (Bo)? He acted as if Bo was still drugged! I can understand if an actor dials it back a bit to let his scene partner carry the scene, but Woods acted as if he didn't even want to be there--disoriented, unable to show any genuine passion for what he was saying.

Marty promised not to tell John about Natalie's baby being Brody's, so it looks as if she will tell Jessica instead. Real smart, Marty--tell your so-called BFF that her fiance slept with her sister. You know, the BFF with fragile mental health, high blood pressure and a history of miscarriages?

[Daniel Avery]

Two boys born to two sisters on the same day. Gee, ya think there might be a chance of a baby switch? Someone better keep an eye out for Alison Perkins!

[Cliff Barnes]

So, some of the rumors are starting to fly about big returns for the end of the show. Ravenbeauty is reporting that they are potentially interested in bringing back Larry, Karen, Cord, Tina (Andrea Evans), Max, Nathan Fillion as Joey, and Cassie. I have also heard elsewhere on soapzone that Dan Gauthier as Kevin is another possibility. I think these are all great moves and I hope they pan out-clearly Frank Valentini and company are remembering the important characters from the entire show and ending it the way it should end. A Cord and Tina reunion with the original actors would be wonderful, of course, but I am really glad about Dr. Larry. He was the other original character besides Vicki to last a really long time, even if his appearances were very rare by the early 2000's when he vanished, and the actor Michael Storm was there even before Erika Slezak (interestingly both Erika and Michael were Vicki and Larry number 3 respectively). It is absolutely right that he should be there at the end and I really hope that one in particular works out.

[TJames03]

Joey, Kelly, & Dorian are out.

Sad as I was hoping that the final Jan. scene of OLTL would have been of Viki & Dorian. Ain't gonna happen. Robin Starsser tapes her final scenes in July.

The downfall of this show started in '79 when Clint first appeared. gradually, every family BUT the Buchanans were written out. No more Woleks, Grays, Lords, et al.

[Daniel Avery]

Re-reading some of the thread, it's fun to see so much of what I wrote never came to fruition.

I would not take much stock in anything Ravenbeauty says--they're wrong three times for every right thing they say, and the right ones are usually snatched from other sites. Unlike AMC, I don't see OLTL making that much of a deal about bringing back old characters. Perhaps it's because AMC is on a much more limited schedule, and OLTL might focus on visits from old characters later on (say, August or September announcements for Oct/Nov appearances).

I hope OLTL will resist the urge to bring back old characters just for the sake of saying they did; the reappearances should relate to the current story, not just "Oh, look! It's Aunt Gertie from 1975! Nice to see you." Tina, Cord, and Kevin are still characters that could show up practically anytime because they are related to so many people on canvas. Larry? Karen? Not so much. ABC has cut the budget of OLTL once again, so any money spent on special guests should be integral to the stories. It's been said that several actors asked to be let out of their contracts early, which would free up a certain amount of cash, sop maybe that will help.

Though most reputable sources still insist Robin Strasser is leaving early because she needs back surgery, I see the occasional snarky remark from online folks that RS is using that as a good "public" excuse for simply wanting to get out of OLTL. The fact that no one mentioned her back problems prior to the show's cancellation makes me wonder, but whatever the case, she is taping her final scenes next week. I hope they have the foresight to pre-tape some stuff to be inserted into the final eps featuring her and Slezak.

I HATE the exit story they wrote for Farah Fath's Gigi--she deserved better than being bumped off by a teenaged sociopath who will probably not even go to jail (and who still can't act to save his life). Rumor is that John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex) and Austin Williams (Shane) will be out by September, probably leaving town in the wake of Gigi's death to start over. If the plan was to have them leave early, why not just have them leave town as a happy family together???

I've never been a Todd fan, so the Two Todds story (which the show seems to think is their "A" story now) doesn't really interest me.

Ditto the Jessica/Tess mess. I can't believe the writers can continue writing a "romance" between a man who raped Jessica when she was a in a fragile mental state (she thought she was a teenager!?), and then write he fell in love with one of her multiple personalities and wants to keep her from being re-integrated (in other words, keeping Jessica from her daughter and all of her family). The icing on the cake, of course, was Ford and Tess rolling that nun at St. Anne's and making out while the nun sat there tied up and struggling--essentially re-raping a mental patient. Now that Jessica has re-emerged despite Ford's best efforts, I hope she can leave early too because that character has been utterly destroyed. It's probably something they are saving for the very end, but the best way to get Ford out of our hair is to discover Ryder really is Brody's son, after all, and have him leave town. Or maybe those vulture docs at Llanview Hospital might harvest his organs when he goes in a for a sprained ankle.

[Cliff Barnes]

Joey, Kelly, & Dorian are out.

Sad as I was hoping that the final Jan. scene of OLTL would have been of Viki & Dorian. Ain't gonna happen. Robin Starsser tapes her final scenes in July.

The downfall of this show started in '79 when Clint first appeared. gradually, every family BUT the Buchanans were written out. No more Woleks, Grays, Lords, et al.

Well that's your opinion. I love the Buchanan's and consider that the golden age of the show.

[TJames03]

Well that's your opinion. I love the Buchanan's and consider that the golden age of the show.

Oh, god no. The Buchanan's sucked. They would have been OK had there beena balancing of families, but they took over and some of the worst years/storylines involved them.

[Cliff Barnes]

Well whatever, ya know, I'm not gonna fight with you about it. You feel how you feel and whatever, doesn't make either one of us right, it's just an opinion. If this is your board and we all have to feel that way I'll just go and talk over on soapcentral or something.

[Daniel Avery]

It's the very nature of daytime drama that core families change over time. As some characters run out of story (or actors leave), others are brought in to continue (or at least augment) the stories. If you don't change and grow over time, you end up with a borderline-incestuous mess like B&B, where everyone in the Forrester family has slept with everyone else's partners and stories are in an endless loop of deja vu all over again. I was not around when the Woleks, Grays, etc. were around for "comparison," but if those same people were still driving story after 40 years, I doubt the show would have lasted until 2011. And saying the show started going downhill in 1979 is hyperbolic considering the show lasted another 30 years.

We tend to look back on the past as "the good old days," but in most cases we were all bitchin' about the show just as much back then as today.

When asked about the most memorable plotlines of the show, most people cite things that involved the Paul Rauch/1980's era of the show and the Michael Malone/1990's era. Both featured the extended Buchanan family, including of course the in-laws/adopted relations and such like Viki, Tina, Cord, etc.
The Buchanans drive most of the current stories (heck, a few weeks ago we saw four of them hospitalized at the same time!), and though no soap is ever perfect, I think they're doing an above-average job when faced with amazingly difficult obstacles. Most critics in the soap biz agree that OLTL is the best show on the air right now. Of course this designation changes every year or so.

[Cliff Barnes]

It's the very nature of daytime drama that core families change over time. As some characters run out of story (or actors leave), others are brought in to continue (or at least augment) the stories. If you don't change and grow over time, you end up with a borderline-incestuous mess like B&B, where everyone in the Forrester family has slept with everyone else's partners and stories are in an endless loop of deja vu all over again. I was not around when the Woleks, Grays, etc. were around for "comparison," but if those same people were still driving story after 40 years, I doubt the show would have lasted until 2011. And saying the show started going downhill in 1979 is hyperbolic considering the show lasted another 30 years.

We tend to look back on the past as "the good old days," but in most cases we were all bitchin' about the show just as much back then as today.

When asked about the most memorable plotlines of the show, most people cite things that involved the Paul Rauch/1980's era of the show and the Michael Malone/1990's era. Both featured the extended Buchanan family, including of course the in-laws/adopted relations and such like Viki, Tina, Cord, etc.
The Buchanans drive most of the current stories (heck, a few weeks ago we saw four of them hospitalized at the same time!), and though no soap is ever perfect, I think they're doing an above-average job when faced with amazingly difficult obstacles. Most critics in the soap biz agree that OLTL is the best show on the air right now. Of course this designation changes every year or so.

Yeah I agree that a show's nature like this is to change. That is simply what happens in anything that runs for so long. I am not in love with every era of the show, but I think they have done a pretty good job all around, relatively speaking. The one thing I did wish was that they had kept Dr. Larry around on contract, even if it was just to play the token doctor/senior cast member who isn't used much role. GH and AMC both had their original characters like that stay around for a very long time, 40 years or so, Dr. Joe and the original GH people, not to mention Dr. Bob on ATWT. Larry should have gotten that same treatment just because, I always liked how he was a survivor. However other than that I have always understood that the plot has to move on. I actually like GH and the mob stuff the most, that's my favorite, but I like to catch up with the others when I can, I have respect for all of them.

[TJames03]

True, families change, but the Buchanan's should have faded away ages ago (same for the Newman family on "Y&R" as the same sh*t is repeated over and over again).

A little off-topic, but I was glad they killed off Gigi. She was another newbie take took over the whole show.

The only show that has to always stay true to its core family is the Martins on AMC and the Hortons on DOOL.

[Daniel Avery]

With all the announced early departures, I'm left wondering who will be left by December!

I can think of eight or ten characters I would have preferred dying over Farah Fath's Gigi, but she's young enough and got a good enough resume to end up either on another soap, or guest-starring on primetime shows. Unfortunately her on-screen and off-screen love John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex) has "soap opera acting" down to a science. All that mugging, twitching, and awkward "acting choices" are bad habits that he won't be able to shake after all these years. She recently tweeted that she's already in LA auditioning (which gave away to the fans that something was going to happen to Gigi), but I guess he's still in NYC.

[TJames03]

TPTB really kept Gigi's death a secret.

I am just disappointed that Robin Strasser & Erika Sleazk will not have the final scene in the final ep. I hope that they make RS's early departure good.

[MacandKarenfan]

read in soap Opera digest that robin Strasser's dorian will leave with gina tognoni's Kelly and tom Degnan's Joey, while tuc wadkins stays on the canvas as David vickers Buchanan.

[Daniel Avery]

But I doubt Watkins will stay to the end, since he's never willing to commit to any lengthy stay. Granted, his job on Desperate Housewives dictates his schedule somewhat, but if I were Frank Valentini I would not just let him show up whenever he wants. It has really played havoc with Dorian's character, since the show seems unwilling to write anything for her that doesn't involve him.

I'm loving how everyone is reading Jessica the riot act for letting Tess loose to cause all the trouble she did. For years and years everyone coddled poor Princess Jessica and excused her behavior because "Oh, she's just sick and can't control Tess." It was made pretty clear that Jessica purposely lets Tess out to deal with the tough stuff, and to hurt all the people who hurt her. About time they called her on it. Time to pull up your big-girl panties and cope, honey.
That a-dor-able Brody deserves so much better. I'm still pro-Jess/Brody, but lately I'm just more pro-Brody than anything else.

I have this dream scenario in my mind where Robert Ford sprains his ankle and goes to Llanview Hospital. Those evil, organ-harvesting doctors grab their grease pencils and draw lines all over him, dividing him up quicker than you can say "B-negative".

[TJames03]

It will be kinda boring if Dorian is written off going with David.

I would make her departure more dramatic.

Perhaps even killing her off....