In this day of daytime dramas, I think hating on Ron Carlivati is just pointless. The man is doing a good job for OLTL, and instead of finding his minor faults, we should be embracing his many triumphs. I wish I could say the same for other soap writers, but they are far too delusional to understand the concept of creative writing 101. BTW I'm not saying that we ALL should love everything he does, but attacking his every misstep just takes enjoyment out of the overall structure of things.

I could not agree with you more!!

I have to say I am shocked to see that not everybody is thrilled with RC's work. During the DH the show was as good as dead.. It's not only the storylines that matter to me, I want to care about the people I am watching, this is the way to get a soap viewer hooked on a show.

(Again, sorry if my english is poor, I live in Greece and follow the soaps through the net; anyway, I hope you understand what I am trying to say )

Under RC I grew to love Viki again. The Paris, Texas storyline re-energized a very tired character and introduced us to a number of lovely characters and interesting situations. Viki and Charlie, their romance was so sweet from day one. BTW Brian Erwin would have made a great Clint Buchanan, don't you think? I love Gigi and Shane, seeing more of Roxy and Lindsay, watching Natalie and Jessica act like sisters, the return of Addie, Jared Banks, Todd and Blair. I can see that RC cares for these people and he wants to make us care as well. In my opinion he is the best things that has happened to soaps for a very long time. Characters interacting with each other, a blend of drama and comedy, watching Llanview as a community and not as a TV set, now this is something!

Every RC episode had some special moments and I can't even think of another soap right now that has this. Hearing people complain about him seems crazy to me, I am afraid that the times when we used to watch soaps and discuss them with our friends are so over. Now we have the net and we have spoilers up until July and we are no longer viewers. We are all little soap experts I guess...

Great post, Elsa! I think the key world you said there was community. Unde RC, Llanview felt like a real community.

Snark has a great post about Carlivati's SOW interview: http://snarkweighsin.blog-city.com/ndcw1.htm

I particularly loved and agreed with this part about Bo/Lindsay/Nora/Clint...

Quietly? Quiet is not the word I'd use to define Lindsay's hard-on for Bo.

Frankly, I think Tomlin had a better handle on this group than Carlivati did. I mean, under Carlivati, we have Bo, defender of truth, justice, and the American way, falling for Lindsay, who has committed every crime in the book--some twice--and gotten away with it. Bo, whose been known to be suspicious of people, especially people with criminal pasts, never even stops to think--"Hey, I wonder if she's faking this insanity thing? And even if she's not, isn't two murders at least one too many? I mean, do I want to sleep with one eye open for the rest of my life?" Not to mention that Bo was personally duped and humiliated by Lindsay--he can get over that, but not Nora's one-night stand?

Like so much of Carlivatis OLTL, I believe that the story came from good motivations. Four talented, older actors, in need of a story--Let's throw them together! If the story were focused on a triangle between the Buchanan boys over Nora, it would probably work, but forcing Lindsay into the mix just stretches things too much. It stretches crediblity that Bo would be interested in her. It also brings back the Nora/Lindsay rivalry, which, if I may be so bold, sucks and always has. It is a rancid leftover from the JFP/Tomlin eras, a poor man's Viki/Dorian. Lindsay in general has never been a very good character, and has survived mainly due to fans of Catherine Hickland.

Under Tomlin, the emphasis has been on Bo and Nora and their issues. As a side plot, we've seen Clint struggling with the ethics of what it takes to be the head of Buchanan Enterprises. Of course, we've also seen that Lindsay still has all the paperwork of her first husband whom she divorced (and later killed). My I.Q. dropped a few million points on that one. Still, I think Tomlin's approach was a step up.

I was so shocked to see Bo and Nora's connection explored during the strike. I enjoy Clint and Nora, but nothing will ever top Bora. Lindsay and Bo are a total dud for the reasons Snark mentioned and I hope they find something new for her. The triangle needs to be Clint/Nora/Bo. I'm going to be sad to see Carlivati back on this front. Tomlin also did wonders for Clint in general.

I'll miss the BE quad, yes, but mostly I respected what RC was saying, as a fan stuck watching like the rest of us. I don't think he was dissing Gary per se. I like Snark but I'm more into rejoicing in what I've finally got after ten miserable years.

Oh, and I have to quote this too. I mean, come on...we can hate on Kevin not being there yet, or Joey, or CJ, or I can whine that I don't have enough RJ or AA or gay characters yet, or that Bo and Nora are not together, or that NM or FM are gone or out, or that M&M lost Tommy, but really, in the end it is a good show.

In this day of daytime dramas, I think hating on Ron Carlivati is just pointless. The man is doing a good job for OLTL, and instead of finding his minor faults, we should be embracing his many triumphs. I wish I could say the same for other soap writers, but they are far too delusional to understand the concept of creative writing 101. BTW I'm not saying that we ALL should love everything he does, but attacking his every misstep just takes enjoyment out of the overall structure of things.

Edited April 30, 200817 yr by Vee