More new characters?

[cal3]

Miles, Jessica's 30 something uncle (presumably related to Mitch and Flynn) in a contract role starting the end of November.

Rhanda, Beth Ann Bonner's role debuing 12/21.

The show is already unrecognizable. Is this the show Michael Bruno's blind item was about. The one where he said there would be a mass exodus and it wouldn't look the same by the end of the year?

Enough is enough already.

[LadyDi]

Don't forget NuMarty and Cole!

I agree! There is only so much the audience can take. I do not understand why TIIC can't understand this? They want to increase ratings? That starts with the writing, not bringing on all kinds of "bandages" until they find someone that works.

If they want to go for the "wow" factor, bring back Hugh. Everyone believes he's gone...bring him back in some wild story. Maybe NuMarty can be treating him for amnesia?!? DH is not very creative. John's story was pulled directly from the newspaper. Hopeully she read today's news about the missing amnesiac who was found thirty days after disappearing. His picture was posted on tv and his family saw it from across the country. That could be our Hugh!

[SteveFrame]

Just think if Hugh is dead, and Spencer turns out to really be Asa's son - then Higley has managed to kill off 2 3rd generation Buchanan boys during her stint. That is a bad trend OLTL has going there.

[ZaraB]

That's if you believe she's finished with 'who is Paige's son?'. There are rumblings.

I'd far rather see a long lost child for Nora.

[cal3]

Duke's 4th generation.

Cord, Kevin, Joey, Matthew, Hugh are all the 3rd generation as the grandsons and Nat and Jess as the grandaughters.

Clint, Bo, Ben, Spencer are all the second generation as the sons.

CJ, Sara, Duke, Kevin Jr. are the fourth generation

Kelly's son, if Duke's, is the 5th.

[SteveFrame]

Thanks Cal. I realized I had my numbers mixed up and was going to come back and change it.

[cal3]

LOL no problem. Your original point is still valid. The next generation of the Buchanans isn't faring well. I also left out Bree (oops!).

I don't have any issues with Hugh's death because he'll never be a Buchanan for me nor will Spencer be anything more than FF material, hopefully soon to be worm food. Still I am more than irritated at what she's done to the Lord/Buchanans which for me is where the future does lie. That is if this show is to have any future, which is doubtful at this point.

[KMan101]

I can understand why people don't want new characters ... ESPECIALLY with Higley at the helm and unable to write for oh ... Lindsay, RJ, Nora ... Viki ... Clint ... not to mention how annoying a lot of characters are under her pen ...

Higley sucks ... so bad ...

But at the same time, every show needs some new blood, at least Higley is trying to connect them to current on-cavas people (Miles, NuMarty, Cole). Are they needed? Honestly ... no. Same for Vincent and Layla, but eh, they're here and we're stuck with them. I just keep thinking that it should be RJ in Vincent's role ... sigh.

And isn't the only reason a NuMarty was casted was because Susan Haskell was *thisclose* to signing, only to back out when she became pregnant?

[SteveFrame]

Shawn,

Every show does need new blood, but there is way tooooooooooooooooo much new blood on OLTL. They need some old blood.

As I have said before every major character that has any story has been on the show less then 4 years.

OLTL has more new characters than any soap on the air now. AMC is seeming to try to go there too.

For a show to pick back up lapsed viewers they got to have characters that are familiar for them to latch onto when they come back - if not they get frustrated and quit watching. Daily viewers of the show don't have that problem but older viewers and some time viewers do.

I am a long time viewer of GL, but they have alot of the Susan Haskell-type scenarios where the character is an old one but the face is new. I have started back watching GL everyday but when I first did I couldn't keep everyone straight anymore, and if there had not been alot of vets still around that I remembered I would have quit out of frustration.

My favorite show ATWT faces the same problem. They have alot of old characters and keep bringing them back, but just this year alone they brought back Craig, Lucy, and now Adam but all with new faces. To a lapsed viewer returning, it has to be confusing.

So yes I agree with you that soaps need new blood, but they need to introduce the new blood in the right way. As bad as JER is in some ways with writing - he does know how to bring in new characters and integrate them. They don't take over, they get involved with other characters.

With OLTL the new characters Spencer, Paige, John, etc. have come in and taken over the show. All the vets who could have served many of the same purposes on the show were pushed aside and many days the show looks like a new show that just started 4 years ago. It seems more like a spin-off of One Life To Live than the OLTL I have watched for 20 years plus. The majority of the characters that get the big story have more to do with New Jersey than they do with Llanview.