I wish characters could stand alone and not be so dependent on pairings

[TC]

Sure we expect encounters, relationships, full fledged romances, and beyond... but I've never been a fan of THE SUPERCOUPLE. For me it's a concept that works better as the exception than the rule, and it seems to have been forced, mostly unsuccessfully, for the past 30 or so years.

Here's where it bothers me most - now you non OLTL viewers please bear with me and try universalise my example. Today OLTL had two big returns. Tina and Marty. Tina I see as a stand alone character, but for the life of me I can't see Marty as more than an attempt to make her and John star-crossed lovers. CONTRIVANCE. BUILT-IN FAILURE.

[JackPeyton]

agree.

[MoTheGreat]

I agree too. This also what's wrong with soaps. You get characters that can't stand alone so these writers rush them in relationship after they just got out of one. They are support by who they hook up with because most females want to see the guy shirt off. I say ok she get the guy shirt off a couple of times. What's next for them as separate characters & a couple. I'm referring to CKLily.

[TC]

Mo that's another well-made point. Lily and Cane are two reasonably well-established characters whose union has become lesser than the sum of its parts.

[detroitpiston]

Mo, I can alway depend on you for a good CK bash!

[MTSRocks]

Honestly?

It's especially worse on the Bell soaps these days.

[Vee]

Marty was brought back primarily for the Starr/Cole pregnancy story, IMHO. I think Susan said as much too in Entertainment Weekly. John was secondary.

As played by Susan Haskell, she has never needed a man to be a prominent and compelling heroine.

[TC]

I still feel the spectre of Brian Frons interference and the push for this romance, which to me will fall flat. My lack of confidence in this has nothing to do with Susan Haskell, though I hope she and MARTY are not damaged by it .

[TC]

Lily and Cane aside, do you really think so? I couldn't stand Heather until they paired her with Adam. Watch tomorrow's show. Supercouple? No, but like I said, it's a flawed pursuit.

[EricMontreal22]

Isn't OLTL for some reason a show that's really associated with supercouples? More than AMC (where the supercouples are primarily young love ones--which they've trundled out--till the mid 90s successfully--every few years) and even GH where the term really came from. Not as much as Days though I guess...

[Vee]

I think OLTL runs pretty low on supercouples. Nowhere near GH or DAYS, and I think even AMC has more.

[TC]

But Eric has a point in that there's been no less effort on OLTL's part to stem the flow. One could argue that OLTL has had a multitude of unsuccesful attempts, mostly involving Michael Easton in recent years. I'd put AMC's Ryan in that category.

The closest OLTL has to a sustained SUPERCOUPLE is Todd & Blair.

Nothing compares to the madness that is DAYS over Bo and Hope. But they are the one that works. The exception. As were Luke and Laura.

Maybe I started this because I despise couple nicknames.

[EricMontreal22]

I agree with all that (RYan on AMC hasn't really had any success since Gillian--MAYBE Kendall the first time before Cameron first left the show)

I still think though, from all I read, that OLTL really was built around supercouples in the 80s--I admit I'm not coming up with much to back me up but I'm sure I read that somewhere lol.

[JackPeyton]

i love couples names when they are cute.

like days' Shawn & belle being Shelle.

or on GH with Liason

actually thats a lie i like alla couples names even when they are not cute. lol.

[MoTheGreat]

I'm ok with Heather & Adam because Heather wasn't link to anybody. We might have see her with Daniel, Cane, & I think Brad. But she wasn't in a relationship with any of them. She was all about her job then her father. I think it's time for Heather to get some.