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.

The. Sanest. Person. On. This. Message. Board.

The. Sanest. Person. On. This. Message. Board.

well thats the first time anyone has ever said that about me!

but thank you.

Edited September 26, 200817 yr by JackPeyton

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.

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.

I enjoyed the show tremendously under Carlivati's pen up through Nash's funeral. Shortly thereafter the wheels started to come off, and I became very bored.

I liked Rex and Gigi until they became IMO the center of Llanview. Now I don't care if Brody kills Rex, Gigi and Shane. I just don't care.

I NEVER cared about Marty ever. I was always Marty neutral. Didn't hate her. Didn't love her. I've tried to approach this current story with an open mind and treat it like the psychological thriller that it is. But day after day of Todd and Marty in one room and him lying to her has become boring for me. There hasn't been sufficient progression to keep me engaged, and what progression there has been, their sexual relationship, has gone too far and I find it repugnant.

I think Tess is the most ridiculous villainess ever and I can't bear to watch her anymore. Natalie stuck in a room throwing pillows and talking to herself (or the monitor) is boring. Jared stupidly stumbling into Tess's web makes him very unappealing to me. Tina's participation, although under duress, is not the least interesting or endearing to me. The best part of that story is the dog.

I don't care about Starr and Cole or what happens to their baby.

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.

There are many other parts of the show that I enjoy, just not enough to suffer the above. I think many viewers and posters suffer the delusion that what they think represents the majority position. I don't know why they believe that, but it seems almost everyone does. I don't claim to know what the AUDIENCE wants and I really don't care what anyone else wants. I only know what I've wanted and what I was enjoying before this. I endured the summer from hell with aid of my FF button, and when I started fastforwarding the majority of the show, I realized it was a senseless exercise. I am waiting for the resurrection of the BE storyline and the Buchanan quest to restore their legacy. I am waiting for Viki to return and rebuild her relationship with Charlie, and rescue her daughters. I am waiting for Marty to be discovered (but I don't care that much). I am waiting for Dorian to get her comeuppance. When I start seeing these stories elevated, I'll be ready to tune back in. I will be invested in these storylines, and there are others that I will find peripherally entertaining.

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. 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.

I completely agree. But I argue that their opinions are as valid as anyone's. All that matters is are they being entertained? If they're not, no matter the underlying elements, the show sucks. This isn't a committed monogamous relationship. There is no infidelity or betrayal. If you're no longer entertained, stop watching. It doesn't make you wrong. If you're being entertained, enjoy, but don't think that makes you right. You're just one of the lucky ones who is being entertained.

Where differing opinions become so polarizing IMO is when any of us presumes that WE KNOW what the AUDIENCE wants to see. That we as individuals are representative of something larger than ourselves. That one poster has the definitive finger on the pulse of the larger viewership. I just don't believe that any single one of us has that clarity. We only know what entertains us personally.

well thats the first time anyone has ever said that about me!

but thank you.

LOL! He must have missed your Brittney avatar. Sane? Pfffffft. Luv ya JP.

LOL! He must have missed your Brittney avatar. Sane? Pfffffft. Luv ya JP.

I am definitely not watching as much as used to. It was good around Nash's death and the anniversary but has gone down since then. I still DVR it but only watch it if I am in the mood or have time.

I think they tried to recreate the Dorian vs Niki/Vicki feud with Nat vs Tess but it is not working. Tess seems more like a caricature than a sinister villainess. The room that Nat is locked in looks pretty plush and who cares about Jared?

And a little teaser: something great is going to happen to this show.

Going back a few pages, bc I've stayed out of this thread for the past few days...

I didn't know what to expect of Pratt, and he has done some amazing work so far at AMC...he clearly knows who the characters are and are bringing back people who will enhance the canvas.

Isn’t that what RC sort of did during his first few months?

IF he gets his comeuppance, right now I don't have much faith in that. The ONLY way Todd could be remotely redeemed is to lose his kids(all contact), lose everything. He needs to hit rock bottom and then be redeemed by HIS own actions.

If Ron has done anything during his tenure so far I think it’s been giving Todd his comeuppance. Just look at where he was while looking for Marcy, and where he is now. Looking back at that, I pretty much have faith that RC will have Todd get what’s coming to him. Whether Todd will understand what he has done is wrong, well that's another story, and rooted in the character.

As for the people calling Carlivati the next Marland, at the time, that's what they thought. I read Branco's articles about his love for Carlivati, and I read Ewing's article comparing OLTL to old school GL, and they always backed up their opinions with comparisons that made sense.

And if I might add it was an example, IMO, of how good his stuff was earlier this year for people to compare him to Marland and others. His stories connected like some of the soap greats had once done, also while captivating the viewers. You didn’t know which story would branch out into another one. Of course we know now he isn’t like Marland or any of the greats, but IMO he’s still quite talented.

I always get bored during the summer. It doesn't matter who is writing the show or what stories are featured, I always get bored. My main reason for watching the show is on a long 3 month vacation every summer. It is a testament to my love for this show that I still tune in even when she's off on a stupid trip to Africa. This summer seems worse to me than previous summers, but I can reckon anyone go back to what I've written last summer and I've said the same thing. I just am frigging bored because my reason to watch isn't here. There are stories that still entertain me. It pretty much depends on who is featured on any given day as to if I watch or not. Charlie, Clint, Dorian, Dallas, and Tina are pretty much the only reason I'm watching. I don't watch anything with Rex/Gigi or Todd/Marty or Starr so I ff all their scenes. I'm waiting very impatiently for Viki to return and for the Viki/Charlie love story to pick up. I loved RC from the moment he started penning the show until after the anniversary show. It feels like the life went out, but that is just my perspective on what I'm seeing on the screen right now. I am getting excited about what is coming up so I'm cautiously optimistic that things will pick back up and I'll get into the show again.

Edited September 26, 200817 yr by Ripley Todd

So, um, getting back to the original question... how many of you have actually stopped watching the show?

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!

Amen! And this is so going in my sig!

Amen! And this is so going in my sig!

Thank God I turned off that feature long time ago! So I don't have to look at such quotes, cr*ppy art etc.

Edited September 26, 200817 yr by Sylph

Thank God I turned off that feature long time ago! So I don't have to look at such quotes, cr*ppy art etc.

Well good for you.

Unfortunately, the button I have to negate your passive-aggressive middle-aged teen angst appears to be broken, Sylph.