OLTL: Discussion for the week June 9-13

[rhinohide]

Were they in the previews? I don't recall.

[dm.]

Haha that's a hilarious scene! Nice video.

[TC]

I liked her well enough, just as I did last week. I can see how she'd go unnoticed before, but I've never understood some of the off the wall criticism and hatred I've heard for her.

When you say Anne Heche, do you mean looks-wise? There I see it, but much as I am surprisingly impressed with her, I'm not ready to compare her talent to Anne H on AW.

[rhinohide]

I meant looks. But I remember Anne Heche when she first appeared on AW, and not thinking she was all that in the talent department. I've subsequently been proven wrong. Or maybe not. Maybe Anne Heche wasn't as good as she eventually became. Hmmmm!

[dm.]

I remember people not liking Justis. But why? She didn't actually have any bigger storyline (if you don't count her arrival last summer with Hunter) during her short stay here... maybe she'll shine when her mother returns...

[detroitpiston]

My problem is/was that she has no zest, or life to her performances. And if your playing the great Tina and Cord's daughter you have to hava all that and more. Which is why I wish the show would have cast FF in that role instead of Gigi.

[JackPeyton]

great post, and i couldnt agree more. However if BE brought him on, even with a record, then its on them not him.

But was Sarah raised by Tina? IMHO, it works for her to be almost nothing like her mother.

Fronsie would never allow it, IMHO

welll... she is 16 prego and has an insane father that might kill her so... lol

Thank god he isnt with Todd, no telling what might happen being with that psycho.

[chrishntr]

I found today's show kind of slow compared to what it has been the last couple of weeks. But Tina is BACK tomorrow. WAHOO!!!

Loved the conversation between Charlie and Natalie, can't wait to see more. Man Rex looks pissed but I'm looking forward to his scenes with Roxy and Charlie tomorrow.

I really hope that Renee, Rex and Viki can forgive what Jared, Natalie and Charlie did and honestly that's all I care about, don't care one bit about Nora because I find her and have always found her with a higher than thou attitude and as long as Charlie has Viki and Natalie has Jared and Rex can still have that relationship with Charlie, I would be a happy camper.

Always fun seeing Addie and I wish that her and Blair could have talked more about Blair's father. I am very intrigued.

I'm so EXCITED for tomorrow. TINA

[Cheap21]

Natalie is a damn hypocrite. Seriously, she has NO room to judge Roxy when she's getting beaten down for her own paternity lie.

and thats probably why. People expect more from the daughter of one of the show's greatest supercouples. She has absolutely no screen presensce. She is blah and very forgettful. Im hoping she does better when Tina arrives, but Tina is a larger than life character. She's going to steal any scene she's in and will take away from Justis' Sarah as the focus will be on her. For her sake, I hope she can keep up but I have my doubts

WHY the hell would ABC spoil the Marty return in the previews? I know its in the promos but not everyone sees those. I already knew but for those who didnt that would have been a GREAT cliffhanger and shocker.This is one thing I hate about modern soaps. Internet and the own network's ruin surprises like these which were so sweet back in the day

[Vee]

I take exception to the claim that OLTL is not good, just "fun." OLTL is, to me, incredibly well scripted daily now, on par with the glory days of Sheffer's ATWT, or current (pre-Griffith/LML, anyway) Y&R, and GH, whose only saving grace for the past six or seven years has been its dialogue staff. Unlike GH, OLTL now has an extremely solid, adult dialogue staff able to write both wit and sophisticated layering, and the stories are also damn good. Yes, some are simply classic soap concepts - the business story, the widow, the fake heir, the forbidden lovers, the father with a secret son - but all of them are incredibly well-crafted and structured. Carlivati may not be breaking new ground each week, but who says he has to? And more to the point, who in daytime has constantly shattered the ceiling since the 1970s, except perhaps Linda Gottlieb's OLTL, which was a product of the rebellious early '90s and, as Malone and Griffith later showed, not necessarily about their writing?

I think OLTL should be a socially aware, realism-rooted show, and I think it is still, even with humor, lightness and a touch of fantasy. Let's not forget that for better or worse, OLTL's highest ratings came in the '80s, with Tina and Max and Cord and company. If you're going to demand to honor one period (the 60s/70s, which I don't think get enough respect and I hope we'll see them get some during the anniversary), you have to be willing to honor another (the 80s). I think RC's forged a great balance of down to earth, intelligent and socially conscious storylines about realistic, human characters with lighter fluff and soapy escapism. After so much darkness, that's what OLTL should have, I think. You can have both, and don't ever let anyone claim that Gottlieb and Malone didn't do fantasy - because they did Luna and Max vs. the ghost of Bobby Ever, and Suede Pruitt the doppleganger, and Megan's Midsummer Night's Dream, and so on. I think Carlivati has struck that same balance that they had, as evidenced by his usage of the '90s as well, with characters like Mel. And unlike Malone, he doesn't let the message get in the way of the character - to me, what RC did the other day (Monday) was make Michael and Marcie human and not just walking slogans or icons for the first time.

So no, I disagree with anyone claiming OLTL is merely comfy escapism. It's much more than that. It's damn well done.

[TC]

She was brilliant on AW. It's her later career that wasn't alll that. Much like Ryan Phillipe as Billy on OLTL, IMO.

[Ryan]

Vee I'd like to marry you...and your post.

[TC]

Great, thoughtful post. I wish you would contribute more often, Vee. But am willing to settle for quality over quantity.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I agree, a lot with what Vee's said. However, OLTL has had so many "identities" over the years, and certain fans are attached to certain eras of the show. When Agnes Nixon created OLTL, her goals were for the show to be about diversity and social relevance. When the show debuted, there was a core Jewish family, middle-class Polish immigrant family, and an array of African-American characters. Diversity isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I think of OLTL these days. All soaps have been struggling with diversity granted, but OLTL was founded based on it, and that's the only gripe I have with OLTL these days. So in this respect, I can see how some see OLTL as fun escapism right now and there's nothing wrong with that, it's satisfying enough.

[Vee]

I would love to see the Woleks and Halls back myself, and I hope the anniversary doesn't come and go without at the very least liberal referencing to them. I agree OLTL's multicultural canvas is not what it should be, and the one real flaw I find with OLTL (aside from Bo and Lindsay, and the Starr and Cole story which RC is stuck working with) is the lack of African-American and other minority representation. But given that RC has still been on the job less than a year (his first continuous solo, non-Higley scripts began in September '07), I will give him time to bring that back. And right now, I'm just glad it's not Evangeline.