OLTL: Has anyone else given up watching this show?

[dc11786]

Well I loved Cascio and Rayfield's work. Leora's death was sad and I remember David seeing Laurie in her graduation gown and thinking she was an angel. I loved certain members of the younger set: Micah Alberti and Amanda Seyfried. Both talented younger actors who were later fired by McTavish for some odd reason. Alberti's mini-Tad the Cad act was golden and Seyfried made Michael Jordan's Reggie tolerable (I thought Jordan was overrated). I loved Alexander Cambias and his relationship with Kendell. I liked the fact that Erica's problem with Lena and Bianca wasn't that they were lesbians, but simply Erica didn't think Lena was good enough for her duaghter. I love how Erica tried to maneuver Bianca into the orbit of some lesbian model who wanted to whisk her away to Cherry Hill for the weekend. The groudnwork for the Jack is Greenlee's father was well done and I loved Anna Stuart as Mary Smythe. Tad and Ruth talking about the loss of Kate around Mother's Day was anothe touching moment. I wish someone had allowed Mia and Edmund to play out some more. I really liked Kenny and Simone.

That said, I can see the problem people had with it. The show did seem inudated with new characters and fan favorites were probably pushed aside. It's too bad Cascio hasn't been allowed to headwrite somewhere else. Maybe she could breathe life into a flatlined Guiding Light.

[EricMontreal22]

But you know as sad as I found leora's death it wasn't until there was a killer scene with David and Anna coming to terms with leora's death--two scenes tha totok up the full 'act"--i saved it cuz I liked it so much--even my mom called me up and said it was some of the best writing and acting she ahd seen ont he show--that was couple of weeks after McTavish officially took over the show (for a brief whiel after her ocmeback we had a number of great "build" scenes like that--sadly it didn't last.

I read Alberti was fired at Frons request--dunno if that's true. He was talented. So was Seyfried who of course has gone on to quite a bit of success--but I think she was fired partly because MCTavish (smartly at the time) was cutting off all the new characters who had no relevance to the core families--of which there were a lot. She was an unfortunate casualty.

Anyway I did love a lot of the stuff you mention, Mia and Edmund, Simone and Kenny who was adorable (unliek the pointless cna't act Boyd) etc, (though you mean Michael Cambias not Alexander--right?) and miss Anna Stuart as Mary ( a character who shoudl return IMHO0 and some fo the other quirkier aspects.

I wonder exactly what Casciso does at OLTl's writing staff

[rhinohide]

I think disgruntled viewers are completely justified in calling for Ron Carlivati to be fired. There were a lot of people on this board who weren't impressed with him from the get go. He made a lot of decisions that infuriated many of the fans. He broke up couples (or stated he would not reunite couples) that many fans cared about. He brought back characters many of us didn't care about. He didn't bring back characters many people wanted. He backburnered or wrote off characters some people really liked. He pushed other characters front and center that many people didn't care about. In short, he did a lot of things that all head writers do, but he did it quickly and definitively and he pleased some people and pissed others off. I don't think the calls for his exit are coming from people who were pleased in May and are suddenly unhappy. I think people who haven't been happy with him since day one want to see him out of there, and they see a chink in the armor and they're capitalizing on that. If they're not getting the soap they want, they're perfectly within their rights to claim that he's the worst writer ever and want him fired, based on their personal preferences. People watch the show for their own reasons and ultimately it comes down to personal preferences and who is being entertained.

I am highly disappointed in Ron. I grew to hold very high expectations that have not been met. At first, I made a conscious decision to go along for the ride, for a time, because I wanted to continue to enjoy my soap. For a time, I was pleasantly surprised and I was being entertained even though the soap wasn't going where I wanted it to, but it's now become painful for me to watch, so I quit. My tuning out hasn't made OLTL one bit less entertaining for others! And why would I want that? The only reason I can think of is that if there are enough people who want what I want, then Ron will write it. But in my experience, that just doesn't happen. Shaping the opinions of others on this board won't change the process or the outcome. It's just not that significant or impactful that it justifies me trying to persuade anyone that they're wrong to enjoy what they enjoy.

[David_Vickers]

Hell no. ONE LIFE is not as good as it was, but it still is one of the 3 best soaps on the air right now----the other 2 being DAYS and AMC. I'm still watching GH, although it's the worst it's ever behind IMHO, and am about to stop watching that crap. Stick with ONE LIFE, by the end of October I think the show will be must watch tv.

[rhinohide]

I hope you're right Mulder. I am counting on it. You will let me know when that happens, right?

[DavidEvanSmith]

See, I love your philosophy, though I guess our visions of the show differ greatly...

In the last year, I've loved the overall trajectory of the canvas. You don't name any names for the couples and characters that you're talking about, but I know that what I'VE seen in the last year is:

• A romance for Viki that was: Organically-developed, motivated by character, and age-appropriate (unlike Ben)
• New characters woven into the canvas slowly and organically, through fan faves first, not played in a bubble with other newbies (Talia was woven in slowly through the LPD for two years and was recently tied to Carlo Hesser; Jared was played with Jessica, Natalie, Renee, the Buchanans; Gigi was played with Viki, then Marcie, then Rex; Charlie was played with Viki and Dorian, then Jared to anchor the Charlie and Jared stories and spin both stories in a new direction)
• A steadily-increasing focus on veteran characters like: Bo, Lindsay, Clint, Nora, Dorian, Viki, Todd, and Blair.
• A building of a teen set that showed promise: Creating the romeo/juliet pairing of Cole/Starr, against all odds, and sporadically weaving in Langston and Markko, until Langston's story was gradually expanded and built upon through Starr/Cole/the Cramers. Markko is the weakest link as far as character development, but has been developed through Langston, Cole, and the Cramers (mainly Todd with the meathook and Dorian with the pregnancy scam)
• Reinvigorating a core family (Buchanans) through the loss of the patriarch: Asa's death (with the actor still alive) could have fallen very flat and he could have faded off with little fanfare, insulting staunch fans of Phil Carey's contribution to OLTL, but Asa's death has driven a bulk of story for characters like Bo and Clint, was a centerpiece of the BE takeover, and the actor still makes occasional appearances which are touching and still develop characters like Bo.
• A steady flow of returns or guest appearances by well-regarded past characters: We have seen the much-clamored-for ORIGINAL Tina Lord, Cain Rogan, several installments of David Vickers, Addie Cramer, Carlo Hesser, Pamela Stuart, Mel Hayes, Max Holden, Cord Roberts, Kevin & Joey, Alex Olanov, Susan Haskell's Marty after a much-maligned recast fiasco. Not to mention Ben (though I could have done without), Erin Torpey, and previously-mentioned Asa since his on-screen death.

The only characters I think might not be "cared about" by a large group of fans would be Pamela Stuart, and maybe Alex Olanov. And I sure wished I'd never seen Ben Davidson or his plaid shirts again.

So the things Carlivati has done in my list here have satisfied me, and unless I'm out of touch, most long-term OLTL fans. I've not heard many detracting remarks about the characters mentioned above, and they were largely the focus of the first half of the year.

I won't defend 1968 or even cringe-worthy Mendorra, but Carlivati's shown me he's in touch with the characters, what drives the characters, and what the audience has been wanting for a long time.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

I'll be honest. I loved RC up until the anniversary shows. I liked one of the plots during that too. It was Viki's trip to Heaven. And, seeing Dorian with Mel again.

But, Mendorra and 1968 were horrible. The stuff leading up to Mendorra was pretty good. But, the way that they finished the storyline was way too hokey and laughable. Also, boring.

1968 didn't have anything decent about it at all. To me. It was just nothing but Rex and Gigi pimpage..and I have seen so much of them that I'm sick about it.

Today's show and the rest of this week's have sort of gotten back to normal. I loved Dorian's breakdown in the courtroom today. When she called the judge a 'soul-less son of a bitch" she said EXACTLY what I was thinking.

The things I don't like are making Todd evil again. That's so `1993 Todd' , the Rex and Gigi stuff, and the way they got rid of Carlotta's Diner. That place had a long history in the show. And, IMO. They shouldn't have had it burn down. I also don't like Tess this time around. She's alot less complex than she was in `05-`06.

Ron isn't a hack. He's just going along with what Frons wants now more than what he did in the beginning. And, that really has to stop.

[Vee]

I'd take the opinions of certain posters a lot more seriously if they didn't admit to stopping viewing around early September 2007, or in other cases, somewhere around October or November. Yet they want to claim they are the only ones speaking the unvarnished truth about Ron Carlivati. Please, how would you know? You stopped watching over a year ago!

The fact is most of the people who have been saying it "from the start" said it because RC did away with something they wanted, or didn't do their couple or did another one. "Oh no, Evangeline is gone, she's the heart of the show! Oh no, Todd got his baby! Oh no, not more Todd and Blair! Oh no, not Nash! I want John and Natalie! I want Todd and Evangeline! How dare they focus on the old people while [John/Jessica/Nash/Cristian/Evangeline] has no story!" etc etc But you know, that always happens. Almost every new writer will do away with something we like or add something we don't. I didn't like that he brought back Bo and Lindsay, but I coped because the rest of the show was so good. What is the test of a fan is if they were watching for one or two things, or cared for the whole show. And all these choices RC made are not any kind of different choices and judgment calls than any other new HW would make when coming aboard and frankly, judging by fan reaction at the time, most of those choices were well received. And frankly, anyone who was more comfortable with the Dena Higley era and her choices doesn't have my respect or consideration anyway. People who stuck with the show in the last year, and appreciated some of what RC has done, but are now upset with the show have a lot more weight in my book than any of the petulant peanut gallery who only watched for their fanbase.

[MTSRocks]

Surprisingly, All My Children is the best ABC soap right now.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

^I agree.

AMC has gone back to being the 'crown jewel' as they used to call it.

It's my non-miss soap here lately.

My ABC soap rankings for when I first started watching all ABCD.

1)GH 2)OLTL 3)AMC

My ABC soap rankings currently

1)AMC 2)OLTL 3)GH

[Vee]

Not to me. But, I think people who are jumping on that bandwagon are just as guilty as those they claimed "jumped on the bandwagon for RC." The difference is I think RC started out much better, and that I will be willing to admit I am wrong if Pratt turns out to put out a consistent show for an extended period of time like Carlivati does/did. Because right out of the gate, IMO, Pratt's show is at best a mixed bag...just like OLTL, but unlike AMC, it took OLTL almost a year to get here.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

That's why I'm not going to say Pratt's always going to be a great writer like I thought RC would be. I don't want to have a letdown.

But, so far..so good. If it slips like OLTL did. I'll still keep watching. Just like what I'm doing with OLTL. But, I'm not going to be exactly happy.

[Toups]

AMC is getting a lot better, but OLTL is still better (I'm getting more emotion out of watching OLTL than AMC) than AMC right now. I do think that both soaps will be rockin in October and November. ABC has a great 1-2 punch right now.

[JackPeyton]

The thing, everyone is not going to agree. Some people may love OLTL right now. Some may hate it. Some who loved it a few motnhs ago may now hate it, and others who hated it may love it. Does it matter? I dont get the point in name calling, bashing, and fighting over a tv show. If you like it you like it, if you dont then you dont. Post why, respect others.

I personally hate OLTL right now. I loved it at the start of summer. Now do i think RC is a hack? No, because what did he hack? The show has been awful for years. he has done a lot of good, more good than bad IMHO. Ratings do not equal quality so i dont even factor those in. I am sure it will get better again soon, every writer has ups and downs no matter what.

[leevo64]

I understand why some people don't like the current crop of stories, but why does that negate all the good he did? Even his most preposterous of plots have character development - 1968 was an important story to tell for Bo. Mendorra... okay, so it will go down as Carlivati's big mistake but it didn't DESTROY anything, it was just a crappy story.

And while everyone is ranting and raving about the hack job he's doing, has anyone actually been watching? Yesterday's episode was really good - the custody hearing was so sad, this new character Vanessa is beautiful and played by a good actress, and the Gigi/Rex/Brody/Shane stuff was suspenseful and scary. Things are getting really exciting and nobody's watching because they are all too busy whining about Mendorra.