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

[rhythmchyc]

There I go screaming at the TV again because of those great cliffhangers.

At Vickers with his make-shift capris, running around like a chicken with his head cut off. And "10 million minutes."

Even as Dorian and Vick shook hands, that moment seemed so false because Dorian wouldn't reveal the whole truth.

I wasn't as appalled as everyone else at Ron for Todd mind-raping Marty but these last few episodes have been really tough. With Todd performing the physical therapy, them holding hands today, or anything showing them touching is really grossing me out. What really got me, though, was how he described the incident with so much truth but sheathed it in a great big lie by not telling her he did it. Initially, I thought he was gonna tell her McBain did it, because that would solidify his whole plan to get her to hate him. But by keeping the rapists anonymous, it seems, that he has a whole other motive now. But WTF is it?? He wouldn't want her to remember that he raped her, would he? Especially since he didn't paint he and his buddies in a positive light. Does he want her to be afraid of him?

And Robin Strasser should be like Judith Chapman on Y&R earlier in the year and be in like every single episode from now until eternity.

[Ryan]

Blair calling herself an "abused wife" sickens me. She and Todd have a sick and twisted relationship that she can bash when she is on the outs.

[Cheap21]

Im so glad they showed thast montage of Viki and Dorian as friends. I loved their friendship and wish they would go back to that. I hated Higley for restarting the feud for no reason. Dorian has hated Viki and gone after her over the years but she's almost always had a reason for doing so in her mind. Before it was bc Viki accused her of killing Victor Lord, she blamed Viki for Mel's death, Viki's alter kidnapped her, etc... Dorian hating on and attacking Viki in the past couple of years has been completely unprovoked and made no sense even for Dorian. I dont like how Ron C kept it going on without giving Dorian some type of motive. Hopefully now he can bury this feud

[Gordon24]

Good eppy today.

Dorian and Viki's flashback was very cute, I never knew they were friends. Since I have been watching (October of 07) they have always had this love/hate relationship.

David was funny as always asking Viki where Addie is by naming the food she wanted to eat. Charlie showing up was perfect timing for David and Viki, that was an awwww moment for me.

I really enjoyed Brody & Gigi's conversation after she pulled back from his kiss. IMO, it showed where she is in her head right now. While she still has feelings for Rex she wants to see where everything is at for her son before she becomes involved with anyone. Gigi did look a little flustered though, I say she should give into Brody!lol The note was a nice touch and makes me wonder if Shane will stumble across the letter and put two and two together?

*Wardrobe malfunction today, sort of: Yesterday when Brody kissed Gigi she had on light blue jeans, today they were dark. The scenes were obviously shot on different days.

[Ripley Todd]

The Dorian/Viki scenes went where I was hoping they would. I didn't want her confessing that she drugged and boozed up Charlie because I want the war to be restarted but by Viki. This sets it up perfectly. There are no words for how much I love David and Viki together. I could watch them all day long. I died laughing when he ran into the cart and then walked into Viki's room with his pants rolled up to his knees. And then her reaction when he leaned over her and was telling her what that dish was...was also really funny. I also enjoyed the Addie/Charlie scenes...they have a really sweet friendship.

[detroitpiston]

Looking Back: Viki and Dorian

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^I love the scenes they showed in that clip, I forgot how good OLTL's background music used to be! That score was magnificent in the first two scenes they showed!

[EricMontreal22]

Under Gottlieb I think OLTL had the best music. It's a shame they won't show us any of Vicki with first Dorian Nancy Pinkerton though

[Vee]

The Todd and Marty stuff is creepy but fascinating and well written to me. But I understand how YMMV. I don't think they are going for a legit romance angle.

[Juliajms]

I'm not really sure what Todd is up to either. The other day it seemed like he wanted to send her off to start a new life never knowing what he did to her. Maybe thinking that if Marty never remembers it that's the closest he can ever come to wiping the slate clean. But now that he's told her, I'm confused again. He seems genuinely remorseful, but here he is keeping her from her child and hurting her all over again. Maybe he thinks she'll forgive him if she sees that he's changed (not that I'm sure he really has) and he tells her the story over time, from his perspective. I don't think he's trying to make her afraid of him, quite the opposite. I just can't believe he doesn't realize that she's going to hate him all over again for keeping her from her son.

Blair's logic concerning Marty is so messed up. You never know when Blair is going to start denying that it was rape. She goes back and forth on it so much.

I'm starting to like Brody. I feel bad for him because he's so close to losing everything that's holding him together.

[evermore]

I agree, Vee... the Todd/Marty scenes these last few days have been very well done. I know that the maniac side of Todd who hates Cole and raped Marty isn't entirely gone, but it was insightful to see him describing how the guy who raped Marty "felt small." Awful that he ever raped her, awful that that he's pretty much kidnapped her now, but nice that the writers are using this situation to turn the tables and force Todd to take a good long look at himself too. I hope this doesn't turn into a romance, at all, but as Marty's trust in Todd seems to be growing by the day, it will be amazing to see Susan Haskell's Marty regain her memory and react. I wonder if they'll stall a bit by having Marty remember being raped by Todd before his plastic surgery (ie, Roger Howarth's todd instead of Trevor's todd) before she regains all of her memory.

I was surprised that I liked Brody today. didn't Adriana pay him a fortune to come to town before Dorian offered him even more money to leave? I'm a little confused because he put Dorian's money into Shane's college fund, but what happened to the money Adriana paid him? Seems like he shouldn't have any cash problems, but since they're making a point of having him look for a job I wonder what the writers have in mind.. will he end up working in construction with Charlie? Waiting tables with Gigi? Maybe striking up a friendship with Layla? (She helped bring him to town, so it would only make sense. except that it seems like the writers don't want to write for Tika Sumpter.)

Charlie and Addie were wonderful together, too

Sara & Cris went over the falls several days ago... where's the follow up to that storyline been? I don't care about any of those characters but for the love of God PLEASE bring Tina back to Llanview already!!! Andrea Evans has been wasted in this stupid storyline so far

[Marco Dane]

I spoke to Andrea on Facebook she is a true gem ! I hope she stays on the show long term !

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I LOVED Gottlieb from a production stand-point, though I didn't like a lot of the storylines from that era (and how preachy a lot of them came off to me back them). However, Gottlieb totally revamped the whole show, the sets, lighting, direction, and music were all flawless during that era of OLTL.

I love this sweeping score from one of the episodes during Megan's death week back in 1992. The score was gothically sweeping, much like how Y&R was scored up until a few years ago. What I don't get is, OLTL still has the same composers (they were hired by Gottlieb), yet the music on the show isn't as good as it used to be. It goes to show how much an EP's vision really guides the overall details of a soap.

[EricMontreal22]

Y&R what did you find preachy? i got turned on to the show cuz of AMC's promos for the Billy Douglas storyline so I was young--and prob ready to be preached to. I know the DID Vicki story with her dad's sexual abuse though actually really really helped a person very close to me realize her own story--so I'm a bit defensive.

But I will agree--as much as OLTL was gorgeous (and bright) during Rauch--under Gottlieb it reminded me--from that opening on, kinda how an ideal romance novel should be. And I use that term in the best possible sense--it looked like how I would want an amazing romance novel to unfurl onscreen. Even at 13 I thought it looked superior to AMC or Loving

With a daily show you basically choose and hire peopel to write new, music CUES. Gottlieb and prob JFP made that part of their business as all EPs should--and as much as I don't want JFP on any show--so few do

[SFK]

The Linda Gottlieb leading into the Susan Bedsow-Horgan era was the last time Dorian was written just beautifully, imho. Dorian had a certain, and I hate to use this increasingly overused word but, *gravitas* that she's been lacking ever since the JFP regime.

I was very drawn to Gottlieb's OLTL. The bright fun OTT Rauch OLTL was magnificent in its own right, but there was something seductively sophisticated about Gottlieb's and later Bedsow-Horgan's Llanview. It was reminiscent of how Knots Landing morphed in its final seasons from an '80s into a '90s show. Gottlieb dimmed the lights, suddenly it was always 5pm like what John Conboy did for Y&R. It really "felt" like a Mid-Atlantic suburb, especially during the winter months which is hard to explain, but folks from the region may understand what I'm getting at. It had the posh and the lower middle-class elements all mixed together, it was dark, but I don't mean serial killer dark... it was shaded and shadowed; it was still a soap opera, but whereas Rauch's OLTL felt more like a vacation, this newer OLTL hit you with heavier stuff like rape and AIDS and incest and suddenly you found yourself thinking and feeling. It created an atmosphere where Viki's DID could turn into a very serious and real issue where perhaps in the past that s/l fell more into the category of novelty. In later years, I read fans' memories of watching Edge of Night in the late afternoon, and this era of OLTL is probably the closest I'll ever get to that unique soap watching experience. That DID s/l would have been all the more enjoyable to watch on a cold dark winter evening.