The Nelson Ratings -- September 8, 2008

[Vee]

Has anyone ever told you you project?

[Jess]

I think there is some truth to that. Add to it that he is dumping every character created by Higley and destroying other characters. However, Nelson went so over the top with his praise for RC when RC started as writer that it is hard to take anything he says now seriously. In my opinion, RC was overrated from day one, he is boring and he is totally unoriginal. Even his campy stories are rip-offs.

He writes for four characters now: Rex, Antonio, Jared and Todd. By extension he creates weak or dumb women around each of those characters. Rex, Antonio and Jared are the heroes and Todd is the bad guy. For once the show isn't about Michael Easton. John McBain is merely in the Todd is a bad guy story.

[daysfan]

Okay in Ron's defense, he writes for strong women two, such as Dorian or Viki, although I wish he'd have the Dorian story featured more. And Erika's on her vacation so there's really nothing anyone can do about her. And he actually has Blair acting like a strong woman most of the time rather than just some housewife. And I don't feel like Antonio is one of his central characters that he writes for. I also think that as for dumping Dena's characters, almost every single HW in the business of soaps dumps the previous HW's new characters who haven't been on for a long time. And most of Dena's characters fans WANTED to be dumped.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Carlivati fizzled, so what? Did anyone honestly expect consistent greatness in this current climate of daytime television? Carlivati is lucky some fans were happy with the show for as long as they were.

OLTL isn't as good as it was a few months ago, in fact, I find most storylines to be boring or ludicrious. However, it's up to Carlivati to turn the show back around, if he can't do that for me by the end of the year, then I'll really know there was nothing special about him.

[NYC123]

IMO this is just a block. If Ron is able to get back OLTL better in Novemeber I have to appluad him. I still think OLTL is good but not as good as it was pre-strike.

[EricMontreal22]

I'd agree with that Kyle. However that said I seemed to be in the minority that I, shockingly, didn't think Gary Tomlin did a bad job during the strike. I know the major agreement on here is that he took all of Ron's momentum and made it a campy mess... (ironic...)

[miajere]

I've been thinking the same thing...I think this man has been working in the cave for too long- he really needs to get out and take a look at how society has changed....I mean, we've watched Tarty for over 5 years on Law and Order SVU.

Strong women??? I don't think it's about strong women, it's about modern women....There are what 3-4 women on the show who are educated- Dorian, Marcie(starving for a baby), and Marty(dumbed down)-(maybe Vikki). There is only one representation of a truly single woman- Layla, and Jess(crazy). Gigi's playing house with Brody....With shows like Sex and the City come and gone, you think they'd get the picture that women are desperate to dump their entire family for a man. I'm being harsh--- but I really think that's where television culture is going- making realistic portrayals of men and women in relationships with one another- working, romantic, social....yet RC thinks the 80's version of Tina still applies today. Don't get me wrong, I like Andrea Evans. But in the essence of reviving all these characters RC has forgotten why they were so popular- they appealed to the women of that time period. Blair finally using her words isn't strength, especially when it's only to snoop around a man who emotionally abused her for years(her words, not mine).

There aren't alot of strong women out there, and women don't always make the wisest choices, but they can still resemble something from this decade if written properly. I was excited about Gigi- a single mom, working hard, with raising a strong boy on her mind- but look at her now- she goes back to 1968 with Rex on her mind. Natalie was becoming interesting at BE, but she's worked at Rodi's, the police station, and now where's she working? Even if she did choose Jared over her job- that angle was never expressed. There's more to being a strong female character than b*tch slapping a dude.

[Jess]

I like Dorian, but a strong woman she was and no longer is. She took over a business because she is a spurned lover -- I don't think so! Of course in RC's world, she probably is only a campy boob as head of BE now. Also, a strong woman is not always living in another woman's shadow. As far as Viki, she once was a strong woman, now she is just a love lost woman who dies and goes to heaven once every 20 years. When was the last time she was at the newspaper? As far as Layla, she is such a great character and has been relegated to everyone's best friend. Of course, there isn't much she can do. The character is on once a month. Then again, she was a Higley creation. Poor ol Sarah is doomed to being rescued by the Vegas. Talia has the same role. Then we have Tess -- a truly great character ruined by RC. Jessica and Natalie could be very good characters, but nope, they both prop Jared. Had they really wanted Jess to be a strong character, there would be no Tess today and instead there would be an angry Jess.

[rhinohide]

We should be seeing Dorian running BE, making bold business decisions, and driving the business. Instead we see her approving billboards or something at La Boulaise in between manicures while dressed in a peignoir. At least when the Buchanan's controlled BE we saw them at work, and fighting takeover attempts. If Dorian is savvy and shrewd enough to pull off that takeover, we should see more of that and BE should be more central to the stories. Hopefully that's where Ron is heading again.

As for Layla? Sigh! I love that character and I hate that she's always relegated to "supporting". But I have to say there's a place for those characters. In the good old days, a character could be in a supporting role for years and then when the time was right they could be elevated to the front burner. There's something to be said for that system. I've watched Layla transition from being only Evangeline's sister who existed primarily to do the dirty work (stealing files from John's room and getting all up in anyone's grill who dissed her sister), to Adrianna's advisor who was wiser and more mature and more honorable. The beauty is that all this time in the background has really developed some layers to Layla's (no pun intended) character that are there to be mined at any time. I just hope they will be, because I think there are many interesting possibilities and Tika has grown so much as a performer I'd love to see her get some material she can really sink her teeth into. I thought she really showed her chops in her scenes with Robin Strasser.

I think the most glaring weakness I've seen in Ron's writing since Nash's funeral is that he is no longer developing stories, brick by brick, so to speak. Everything leading up to the BE board meeting stacked up like building blocks one over the other leading up to this huge crescendo, and then we saw everything dismantled. Since then Ron has reverted to stunts. Mendorra, 1968, all were stunts. I am starting to see the return to the building block approach. The pacing is back. So I still have hopes that November may turn out well. But at this moment, I am not really enjoying the structure I am seeing being erected.

[miajere]

AS for Layla, she reminds me Catherine Chancellor's maid from Y&R- Ester- background but with enough character to be essential.It's sad really! I don't think Layla's character would be such an issue, if OLTL wasn't so mysterious in it's lack of development for African American characters in the past year. Carlotta hasn't been a strong presence in years, and Thalia is no longer who she said she was. It's all too circumstantial, and quite alarming for many viewers. But she's an example of a character who, if presented with a job- reporter?- would help in weaving many of these stories together- and would provide her with enough character to do something with during the week---and without a man!!!!It keeps to the structure of the show in utilizing the newspaper- but allows her to utilize those acting skills she supposedly needed before coming to the Llanview. It could be that simple- motivated, educated, presented with moral dilemmas, but not constantly playing shoulder to cry on. The actress has enough talent to sell this with attitude, and yet looks smart enough to get the job done. No one's saying she couldn't meet someone along the way, but if that guy were someone she's trying to get a story on-just more layers.

When Thalia came on, she was great- slowly introduced and integrated- her scenes gave her room to grow- and yet as of last March she was just Antonio's unemployed girlfriend, and now some guy's wife. She had potential as a strong female cop- until they needed to find her a man, instead of letting the chemistry happen on it's own.

I think the weakness in RC's writing, is not understanding what makes the show tick- what makes it unique without the camp, without the time travel, fake countries, and rape cases. He doesn't understand why people came to love the show beyond the obvious...OLTL used to be that show that you found some of television's most unique characters involved in social situations, that called upon their experiences to make decisions. It was the show's characters that made watching another paternity case different than watching it on any other soap because these characters would do things that would blow your mind. Yet he wants us to believe that these characters are dumb enough to put their darkest secrets in a box at a party???

BE board meeting had elements of OLTL- in the way that a Crammer woman would do something like that to get on top- but the histrionics attached- such as Nash's death- were horribly integrated into this story....Natalie and Jared had enough in their story without having to be pulled into Tess and her issues. But RC likes to call this an umbrella.

[Vee]

I didn't love OTT OLTL in the past and yet I've loved most of RC's past year of OLTL. I think he totally understands the show. I think too much camp is not a good thing, but I also don't think lighter fare is out of the question. And I think he's made Dorian stronger than she's been since the 90s.

[ZaraB]

RC was good last year, and the show peaked just post-strike for May Sweeps, just in time to insure the Best Writing award. Since then, something has changed - and I have to believe there is now some interference that there wasn't last year. THe 1968 story had every promotioned promise of a Bo/Asa story, and the spoilers indicated some explanation of the circumstances around David Vickers birth. It played out to be the now promotion-favored Gigi and Rex storyline. I' don't believe any trained writer would have done the 1968 story the way it came out -- heavy handed, implausible, and pointless - without some type of interference or mandate. However, I never believed any ABC would last long without interference.

[rhinohide]

I agree, something HAS changed. The question for me is what? And are they forging ahead anyway, or is it changing again? I hope I am seeing changes. Just because Carlivati took some risks that may not (or may have in some people's eyes) panned out, doesn't mean that whatever comes next can't be really good. He took a show that was pretty awful IMO and created some excellent work product. He demonstrated to me, at least, that he's capable of producing excellent material. Just because I haven't liked the last few months that doesn't change. And I still think he could create excellent material for what comes next. It's a point in time thing and it's specific to what is airing right now.