OLTL Discussion: Week of May 7th

[oltlwatcher]

I haven't been around the boards in a while, I like this weekly discussion forum, cool

I just wanted to say I really did like the actor playing Henry. He was not supposed to die in the original story, He was going to be talked out,No one was going to die or get shot: Bo was going to meet with the kids to talk about the treatment of Henry, how it can affect other kids, Henry was going to go trial, all of that was taped when Johnathon Groff was there.

I know they only had him back for a little while because of the actor's schedule but I don't know why they had to kill him. They could have still had Bo talking to the student body about the same thing, Henry could have gone away to a hospital or something,, they could have left the door open for him to come back at some point.

[Juliajms]

^ I wish they would have kept the door open for Henry too just in case the actor wanted to come back. But it's not like they couldn't create a new role for him in a few years if he wants to give soaps another shot.

I liked the Jess/Clint Nat/Vikki scenes too. Family scenes like that are always good.

I miss Evangeline too. I still hope something is worked out.

[poohbear19]

I'm confused with the Tess revelation. Why make a big deal over it? Antonio, Natalie, Viki, and even Jessica herself said that it was something Tess did. Then, since Michael said that Hep C can be contracted by shared needles, they all have said that Tess must of did drugs. Jessica was treating it like it was a big secret that everyone needed to know, they didn't need to know... what they all figured anyways. If anything, the only drama that made sense was Bree's test results.

I loved Dorian at the school, could have did without the Clint phone call though. I have always liked Dorian and Starr's relationship better than Starr and Blair. And Marcie and Langston at the end was cute too.

[Jess]

I agree with poohbear. There wasn't much point to the Jessica reveal. I guess showing someone shooting up appealed to the writer's sense of sensationalistic storytelling.

I like many of the family scenes on Thursday. I agree that older character could do more than just be props for their kids, but it was nice to see characters interacting on Thursday. You know, OLTL has some fine actors. However when you see the generational scenes, you realize what top quality actors it has of the senior generation. It is a waste they are not used more.

I loved Viki/Nat/Clint/Jessica. I enjoy Carlotta/Antonio, Roxy/Marcie/Michael/Nash/Brennan were good, Dorian/Starr were great as always. I enjoy the Starr and Dorian dynamic a great deal. I hated the phone call and not because it was Clint and Dorian. It was childish and inappropriate for the settings. Nash and Brennan are very cute.

This was a show where the plot points were weak. The triangle is very tired and all the plot points in the world can't make it interesting anymore. It's truly time to move on and I don't see Higley doing that. The teen story is back to the same ol same ol again.

The weak plot points allowed OLTL to fall back on what it needs to do more of and that is the really neat character interactions. The actors made those interactions though. The show itself was a little weak.

[chrishntr]

I didn't understand why all the drama either, everyone already deduced that it was Tess that contracted Hepatitis C and I know that I should be feeling sorry for Jess but at this moment I really can't. Although I do feel for Jess as a mother, thinking that she could have passed it on to Bree.

[Jess]

I did feel for Jess. I think Bree is doing a fine job showing a scared young woman. I just think the storyline is far-fetched, particularly the turbo Hep.

I do think there is a difference in the way I look at it though. There are those that think Jessica and Antonio "are the couple in love here" I don't. I think they are boring and that he is a bully and she is lame around him. They are not a good couple. I also don't see the poor Antonio thing. In fact I think it's stupid and an ongoing problem with the character of Antonio. He never takes responsibility and the character is never held responsible. Yesterday he told his brother that Jess is not the woman he fell in love with. Cris said, and you married her anyway? That is where Jessica and Antonio are both at fault. Antonio is not a victim here. He's as guilty of entering a marriage for the wrong reason as she is. He and Jess are both the bad guy if there has to be good and bad in every story. There is also a problem when his wife and his brother are both afraid to tell him things because of his probable reaction. That actually is a pretty good story if it wasn't in the poor ol Antonio frame.

Yeah, I feel bad for her to the extent that she is ill and in love with a man she can't have. I do think the plot point is old and tired. Very very tired. I also think an affair with the princess on the show was a good idea, yet risky. So the fact that she is gravely ill with a slow disease is just stupid. The argument that somehow she deserves some recrimination from God for hurting poor ol Antonio is just silly to me and once again allowing him to get by with never taking responsibility for his bad behavior. He is an adult in this too.

[SlezaksOLTL]

Jess, I too love your Banner. Wow, I wish OL would stop the madness now, every single person on this show is stuck in one.

The only thing I am feeling on the show right now is Viki's pain and heartbreak. Her scenes with Natalie and Jessica are heartbreaking. The rest of the show is pretty awful.

Is there any chance whatsoever of Dena H. being fired? If AMC got rid of McTavish, why can't Ol get rid of the worst writer out there? I think this show is dying because of Dena.

[cal3]

I have no hope that Dena will be out. She is in her 3rd year of writing. They have to have outs where she could have been dismissed and you have to wonder if her contract hasn't already been renewed since she's in her 3rd year.

[Jess]

Friday's show. I like that Saint Antonio is being phased out and Asstonio being brought back. I really like Jerry verDorn as Clint and enjoyed his scenes on Friday. I thought Erika did an excellent job. I do wish that she was given something to do other than crying with her children. It is a waste.

I think the Jessica and Nash scenes together are very sweet. Brennan is so cute. I wonder what is going on with Natalie and the Baby. Is this foreshadowing? I'm very disappointed in what they are doing to Miles, but that is because I like Miles. It might be an interesting story.

I like Thalia and Assontio. She is tough and I think they will be a nice couple. When Nash said you treat her like property, I said Yes Yes Yes. When Talia said youonly think about yourself, I'm sure the Nash haters said Yes Yes Yes. LOL.

Rex just pissed me off. But I really like Bo and Rex together. I don't think the gay thing was necessary. I am shaking my head thinking of the possibilities. Let's see Tate will be the arsonist and the hate group leader because he is a bitter closeted gay man. Nah, not even Frankie and Dena would do that twice.

[Ridge]

A little late in talking about earlier on this week, but I had to comment. What has happened with OLTL? It's gone from like 7 to 2 in 2 weeks time. All of these "morale" and "public announcement" storylines are coming across very out of place and OLTL used to handle them very well, now it is embarassing.

First of all a GAY Aids Awareness where Tate is outed?? This has to be one of the most offensive SL's ever, especially for a show that somewhat handled it better earlier on. Associating AIDS automaticaly with being gay is wrong first of all, and then making this blanket statement that it is wrong for Tate, even when he isn't, is another. They have just destroyed the character of Rex for me, which is bad since for the past 2 years he was awesome to watch. (Didn't care for him much before then).

And then Jessica's Hepatitis C SL. I've been really enjoying the Jess/Nash/Antonio triangle, it wasn't forced and Jess and Nash have a natural chemistry. For whatever reason this show seems to think it has to go through a list of medical disorders and incorporate it into every fricken storyline (remember Al's garbage virus? Gag me), but Hepatitis C? What is the show getting out of this, especially with a character so CENTRAL and important like Jessica? I think they have just crossed the line with this plot development. Hep C is incurable, debilitating, and so contagious. So Jess is not going to have more kids? Antonio's going to have it? Bree? Nash? And if Jessica is instantly sick from it, her kidneys are next to go? Is that going to be November sweeps? Jessica needs a kidney?

I've been enjoying OLTL a lot but they made several wrong decisions this May sweeps.

[ZaraB]

After overkill for so long on John/Natalie, they jumped right in with both feet, now overkill on Nash/Jess/Antonio. The problem is that many are not having the predicted response. It's as if TPTB believed the audience would support Nash/Jessica due to the ridiculous sex scenes (fire, quarry, on Todd's desk) without stopping to think about character ramifications - one of the things ES pointed out in her interview. THe audience has a far longer attention span than the writers these days.

Jessica is no longer the sweet young woman who many watched grow up (with Erin Torpey's face) - but who is she now? They moved right from the blink-of-an-eye integration into the wedding/triangle without bothering to establish any real personality for Jessica. Even before Jamie's accident, the weekly seesawing with Nash was beyond frustrating into anger at the character's lack of spine regardless which guy the viewer favored. With a good number of soap viewers being young mothers, there is a great amount of anger at all three characters right now after Jamie's accident. To now make the triangle now the center of this sudden, retrofitted medical crisis is more parody worthy than the serious drama it is being written as. The well of goodwill is dry no matter how good the performances are.