OLTL: Discussion for the week July 21st - 25th

[Toups]

I understand you trying to 'diss' it by referencing Passions but it's no where close to Passions' over the top stuff (okay, I give you the poision food! LOL But I can't really say that belongs to Passions). All the stuff that happened in today's episode happened on One Life to Live back in the 80's - Viki in Heaven, Time Travel and a Roberts woman going over a waterfall.

Damn I wish I saw OLTL back in the mid-to-late-80's.

[JackPeyton]

im honestly not trying to just diss it. i wasnt happy when i heard about this in the first place but then reading fans reactions and finding out the history i got excited. i just hate how its actually playing out. its like a parody of a soap opera.

i get all this happened int he 80's (and really, why is OLTL only honering the 80's? but whatever...). However it didnt play out well like it did in the 80's (okay, fromw hat i have seen and heard the time travel is better, but thats it). Again. My issue isnt exactl;y with whats going on - but how its playing out. Passions doesnt campy over the topness on soap operas. Passions owns doing it in horrid style and being a parody/rip off of a soap opera.

Besides, i doubt comparing oltl and passions to you would be an insult (and i do mean that in a nice way, because i know you love passions and jer). I dont know exactly what it is thats not working for me. Maybe the directing? Maybe the acting? The overall storyline idea is okay, but the dialoge is horrid - and i never pay attemntion to dialog but days and oltl right now stick out as horrid.

Again, maybe this is just because i didnt watch it then. Maybe its because i wasnt looking forward to it - but even then i was really pumped about the tess storyline and i just want it over as well.

[SoapQueen89]

Someone just needs to wake up from this nightmare. Totally B movie vibe from this episode and I was waiting for the twisting of the moustache. I would of been happy with a nice montage of the last 45 years rather than this mess. UGH. I know I won't be watching this week.

[Gordon24]

I absolutely FLOVED Part 1 of the Anniversary Episodes. What was so great about it for me was the writing because even as a viewer who is not too great with the history of OLTL I still was able to understand the past storylines and see how they tie into what is going on today.

There were so many great touches which made the episode so enjoyable:

The opening credits

The old TV with OLTL playing and the 1968 news broadcast

The shows creator playing GOD, Agnes Nixon

Viki's lifeless body being shown while her soul is up in heaven

Viki's clothing changing color as she goes up each floor on her way to heaven

Asa trying to get in touch with the man upstairs so he can move up a floor

The 1968 cast and their southern accents

The 1968 wardrobe & make-up.

The flashback of Tina going over the waterfall.

I can't wait to watch tomorrow!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

You know, Monday's show was entertaining. However, I'm gettiong sick of the Mendora crap, and I hope it's wrapped up soon. I liked Agnes's apperance, and it was nice to see Asa again. I could've done WITHOUT Ben and Nikki Smith, I'll never buy Ben as Vicki's true love (no matter how JFP tried to force that on the show during her reighn). Seeing Erin Torpey as Megan Victoria must've been confusing as hell for a lot of older viewers, as far as I'm concerned, she'll always be MY Jessica.

My only real gripe is this isn't really paying tribute to OLTL's overall history. They're only paying tribute to OLTL in the 80's and the Post-Buchanan invasion. Ron Carlivati has such a hard on for all things 80's OLTL, I wished he respected the 70's as well, which IMO is OLTL's true golden era. I guess they can't though, as much of the pre-80's core set is gone.

I would love it if the Woleks, Reilys, and Siegels were mentioned during this anniversary celebration week. They might not have a significant part of the show right now, but they've had a huge impact on the show's overall history, it would be kind of disrespectful to not even acknowledge their existence.

I guess I can at least hope for a slight reference from Viki regarding the Marco Dane trial, where Karen's now LEGENDARY breakdown on the witness stand happened. That's probably OLTL's most defining moment in pop culture history.

[quartermainefan]

Loved today. Best OLTL episode I have seen in maybe 20 years. Tina, Viki, Bo and Dorian all sharing center stage with a nice cameo by Asa and RealJessica? Sold.

[EricMontreal22]

I think any longterm viewers might disagree. The original groundbreaking Niki Smith storyline was played by Gillian. I dunno why she left the role but it was her decision--the show would have liked to have kept her (was she a soap writer between that and her coming on AMC as Daisy around 1980? I know she wrote for soaps). It's funny the few pics I've seen of her Vicki she looks so diff than how I remember her as Daisy.

I have a feeling Joanne Dorian never caught on in the role--I can't even find pics of her--anyone have any? It's a bit like Dorian Lord--the original DOrian, Nancy Pinkerton was very popular but when she left, the second Dorian Claire Mallis never seemed to take off really--and then RObin S came into the role and made it her own.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

She started writing for soaps when she was on AMC. She started out as a story consultant in 1986, and when she left the show in 1989, she become a scriptwriter. In both cases it was for AMC.

I sense she was one of Agnes' favourites. Her history with Agnes goes back to 1964, when Agnes created the role of Robin Lang on GL, which was played by Gillian Spencer. I don't know why she left the role of Vicki, and I know they didn't trust Erika with the DID storyline until YEARS later.

[brimike]

Not to get all mushy. But this is why I love SON. Because JP comes along, the LONE VOICE IN A MINORITY, and he's totally cool expressing his opinion, and everyone is respectful of it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know this isn't the first time I've "gone there" in a post. But I feel like it needs to be said once every few months. Because it really is pretty unique on the Internet.

[Matt]

People act like OLTL and AMC are the only soap roles Gillian Spencer ever had. lol Before OLTL, after a couple of minor roles on 'Edge of Night' and 'Secret Storm', she was Robin Lang Fletcher on GL from 1964-1967. Robin was Meta Bauer's step-granddaughter. Robin was killed off when the character threw herself in front of a car. After OLTL, she played Jennifer Ryan Hughes on ATWT from 1972-1975. Jennifer was Kim Reynolds (now Hughes) sister as well as the mother of Barbara Ryan and Frannie Hughes (played memorably in the 1980s by Julianne Moore). It was Spencer's Jennifer who married Bob Hughes (who later cheated with Jennifer's sister Kim). I believe Jennifer, too, died in an auto accident. When they celebrated Kathryn Hays's anniversary on the show in 1997, they placed Kim in a coma and had her visited by Jennifer's ghost, played again by Spencer.

[JackPeyton]

how did that play out? Did she do it to kill herself or...? dont wanna start to get too far off topic but i am curious.

[dtchicago]

Here is my assessment thus far...

-The Mendorra stuff is so stupid that its entertaining. I just can't wait to watch dumb Sarah go ever the edge.

-The dialogue between Dorian and Mel is fantastic, so is the chemistry between the actors

-Erin Torpey truly looks like she could be Erika Slezak's daughter. Its nice to see her back.

-I loved the 1968 opening

-Farah Fath looked fantastic and I was digging the accent, same with Peter Bartlett

-Agnes Nixon had tears in her eyes... very touching

-Melissa Archer looks great with black hair

-Can we get rid of David Fumero already

-Tina didnt look upset enough considering her daughter is about to "DIE"

-I think the heaven sets were relatively well done

-Niki Smith was a hoot

-The direction for the location shoots was top notch

-The water is yucky

-The heaven stuff is my favorite

-This one of the most entertaining episodes ever!

[cubsgirl]

I am only part way through Monday's show, but I think it is good. It is definitely a show that was written for the long time fans to celebrate the history of the show. As a newer viewer I might not have gotten all of the sentimental moments, but I could see how long time viewers would enjoy it. It makes me think back a couple of years ago to the DOOL anniversary that we had maybe a moment with the whole online family tree and that was about it. This entire show was written to celebrate the show unlike the Days one. Greatest soap episode ever written, I wouldn't go that far, but not horrible.

[SFK]

To the poster who was saying how we KNOW that Viki really isn't dead and we KNOW that Bo and Rex won't be trapped back in 1968 and we KNOW that Sarah will survive the falls, well we KNEW all that back in the late '80s too. That's just the nature of soaps, we can sense when we're being prepped for a nail-biting excursion or a tragic ending.

I have really enjoyed the anniversary stuff, my favorite moment so far has been the scene with Agnes and Viki. And has Erin Torpey ever looked better?? Death becomes her. I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes just a *little* though when they showed that clip of Megan rejecting Viki.

Viki (almost in tears): Why did she want me to see that?

Me: Because for whatever reasons, that's the only clip they could scrounge up.

I guess they did an okay job of justifying the Charlie forgiveness thing, but to me, it seemed like they were only finding Viki/Megan clips with other actors in them and the classic lupus material seemed inappropriate.

Re: Gillian Spencer, my mom always said how GREAT she was as Niki, and Erika Slezak confirmed this. She said in her Archive of American TV interview that she was a little nervous about handling the Niki stuff when they first revisited it only b/c she'd heard how wonderful GS was at it.

Re: Joanne Dorian, yeah, I guess she didn't catch on. It was a Robin Strasser/Margie Impert-type situation where they hired a reasonable lookalike. Also in the interview I mentioned above, ES tells the story of how her agent was *surprised* to say the least that OLTL called her in to read for Viki b/c Joanne Dorian was also one of his clients and OLTL hadn't told him that they were letting her go. Joanne was married to Michael Zaslow, and through their relationship with CD Mary Jo Slater, they are Christian and Ryan Slater's godparents. She still acts in NY theatre, and a Google image search will provide a few pics of her.

[MTSRocks]

Come back Erin, because Williamson is just awful. OLTL better tone down the camp and end the Mendorra crap STAT.

Is there any clips of Gillian Spencer out there?

Ohhh and I've held back in saying this but Thom Christopher needs to tone it the f.uck down!