Marlena De Lacroix's "Only the Bests" List 2008

[miajere]

Please do, and when you do, make a video.

I'm only kidding, but relieved people have a sense of humor. The man is human, he's not meant to be perfect, but as a professional, he sometimes may need to hear when things are going right, and some things just ain't right. I hope people do the same for Obama. I don't mind a temple of Carlivati, but I'll be damned if someone tries to worship the false idol known as Brian Frons.

Vee out for blood is an understatement. "Stand down soldier, stand down!!" LOL.

[rhinohide]

I am sure this will come as no surprise to you, but I don't get you. LOL. I mean that in the kindest way possible. I feel the same way about the OLTL daily thread that you seem to feel about the Y&R thread. It's not that my opinions aren't well received or I get bashed for them. It's that if you're not part of the SH is Venus mentality, or Todd and Marty are such compelling drama, you're simply ignored. And I realize that's a function of the handful of people who are posting in that thread right now. It cycles. Right now, the people who choose to comment on OLTL on this message board are all very pleased with the show and it's focus on Marty, and that translates into thinking Carlivati is a good writer. While I personally am not at all happy with the show's current focus, I can separate my personal preferences, and I still think Carlivati has constructed good stories and the execution (with the exception of the scripts IMHO) has been strong.

Marceline and I couldn't be further apart when it comes to what we've enjoyed on the show over the years, in fact we've been very vocal adversaries at times. And you know I watch almost every day (at least I start watching -- I frequently stop before I finish the show). I still find that she makes very salient points about what is good and what is not so good in Carlivati's OLTL. I don't know where she's getting her input in order to make her value judgments, but I don't see her reasoning as flawed because she's not watching the show every day.

[All My Shadows]

I appreciate this post a whole lot! Thanks, marceline.

[rangethatrover]

[rhinohide]

You didn't just say that again did you? Sigh!

Talk about agenda?

[rangethatrover]

Oh Rhino, I forgot. I totally think you are right about feeling in the OLTL thread the way I do in the Y&R thread!!

I do feel very unwelcome there!! I feel like I just don't see what everyone else sees. Y&R has ALOT of boring, draggy, and annoying elements. Ahem. Fishers. Ahem. Tyra and her cloying, annoying singing daughter.) I always stop my posts because they are 50% critical and I just know that dude from Hollywood will be like "OH NO! You are wrong JUST WRONG! Y&R is perfection!) I love celebrating the good things but I can only comment on Kay/Marge and the lighting design and music so much. lolllll Everyone over there is all "Y&R has GIVEN US ANOTHER PRECIOUS JEWEL AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT!" Give me some Syrup of Ipecac.

And listen, there are times I read the B&B thread and I just want to TAKE OVER and go YOU PEOPLE ARE INSANE! HOW CAN YOU WATCH THIS GARBAGE! B&B SHOULD BE THE LOWEST RATED SOAP ON THE AIR! YOU ALL HAVE BAD TASTE! THIS IS WHY SOAPS ARE MADE FUN OF!!

But alas, that would be wrong. And I would be banned. lolllllllllllll

If that's how you feel listening to me constantly rave about Susan Haskell's (EMMY WINNING) performance, I do understand. I'm sickening!

BUT I WATCH Y&R EVERY DAY and have watched since 1985 when I was 9.

[rangethatrover]

Rhino, She is a horrible actress. Why can't I make you see that?

Anyway, you HATE my Susie. You just hate her. You KNOW you do. You just aren't as mean and immature about it and rub it in my face the way I rub Archer's in yours.

You KNOW you love me.

I though Missy's hair looked pretty last week!! There ya go!

[miajere]

Earlier you asked when I stopped watching- I wasn't regularly watching after Christmas and was only catching 2 a week by March.(Scott Bryce was wrapping up on ATWT and I just couldn't miss it.) By May sweeps, barely one a week...by 40th anniversary, I was catching youtube clips, and watched for certain days- Todd/Starr, Tina's arrival,Cord's visiting, Nash's funeral....I usually leave after Y&R now, and if not, I'm usually watching ATWTs Paul and Meg show.

There have been days where I don't bother to turn the tv on at all when the clock strikes 1pm. I've "youtube"d some Todd and Marty clips- some posters just can't be trusted to give it to you straight. Same goes for Todd and Tea. I don't trust anyone's personal account on the show, but most of the time, don't care for the stories they're talking about.

[rhinohide]

Don't project now. I don't hate SH. Not in the least. And I can recognize when she gives a technically proficient performance and openly admit it. I just don't care about Marty and it's entirely about the character, and I could give you loads of rationale about why my opinion is justified. I make a huge distinction between the character and the actress.

With regard to your judgement about MA's talent, you're entitled. Again I make a huge distinction between the characters and the actors, and Natalie is my favorite character. But when you make statements like "I hate Melissa Archer" without even qualifying that you just think she's a bad actress, you sound irrational, and it's hard for me to take anything you say after that as intelligent commentary. Plus it also sounds like a committed position, from which you refuse to consider alternative viewpoints, or even allow yourself room to shift your opinion. And nothing you've ever said to me indicates you're willing to consider my opinion and take it under advisement. You just discount it and brush it aside which doesn't promote reasonable discussion.

ETA: I have affection for you. Love? Perhaps too strong a word. LOL.

[rangethatrover]

I stopped watching for 3 years or so at the beginning of John McBain's takeover of the show. John and Evangeline as well as the acting of whatshisname and Goldsberry bored me to tears. I had never been so bored by OLTL. I was surprised how much viewers liked these two characters, even here they used to win all the polls, ect... I found OLTL souless and it had no edge. It became a really bland soap opera. I don't even remember who was writing at that point..Was it Higley?? Didn't Malone create Evangeline during his second go around? Its all a blur to me. Hell, I wasn't even that big of a fan during Tomlin's reign. The show was too light and campy. And I hated that chick who played Jen Rappaport. The show was the Jen Rappaport hour.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

People in the Y&R thread do disagree a lot. It's a popular opinion to NOT LIKE the Fisher and Winters clans, you can read the current week's thread to see that. The younger actresses on the show also annoy quite a few of us, and for most of last year, the Y&R discussion thread was filled with fights between people who hated those actresses and people who liked them. You can ask Toups, he had to constantly delete certain posts that were deemed offensive and get the discussion back on to the show. It wasn't until the show got decent in the late summer/early fall did people start focusing much more on the positive aspects of the show. No one is denying the show has some rough spots, but it also has some very good strong spots that often outweigh the rough parts. Y&R seems to be a less polarizing show than OLTL. It appears that OLTL fans are the ones fighting amongst one another, not trolls who have no history watching the show. OLTL seems to have always been this way, ever since I've been here on SON, there's a group of people who like the show and a group who don't like the show, DAYS and GH have a similar trend here. Y&R fans, for the most part, hate the show when its bad and like the show when it's decent, for the most part.

[rhinohide]

That was Malone and Griffith.

AND YOU DIDN'T HATE JESSICA MORRIS! STOP SAYING THAT. LOL.

[rangethatrover]

With regard to your judgement about MA's talent, you're entitled. Again I make a huge distinction between the characters and the actors, and Natalie is my favorite character. But when you make statements like "I hate Melissa Archer" without even qualifying that you just think she's a bad actress, you sound irrational, and it's hard for me to take anything you say after that as intelligent commentary. Plus it also sounds like a committed position, from which you refuse to consider alternative viewpoints, or even allow yourself room to shift your opinion. And nothing you've ever said to me indicates you're willing to consider my opinion and take it under advisement. You just discount it and brush it aside which doesn't promote reasonable discussion.

Interesting.... I do criticize Archer's acting alot. (But honestly I think Alderson's and WIlliamson's perfromances can be just as bad, if not worse. When Alderson's name comes up for emmy consideration I always giggle)

I LOVED Natalie when she first came on. In all honesty, I have not even thought about that storyline in a long time, Archer played a GREAT bitch. When she and Seth? were plotting against Viki I thought she was a great find... And I forgot how much I loved Roxie too back then. I always dig when new characters come to town and are plotting against major characters and it is a mystery- that is classic soap to me. I like suspense more than romance...

But back to the topic at hand, I am trying to think what made me turn on Natalie. She became one note and boring to me. The writers never gave her any DEPTH. I find her whiny and shrill. I never bought her for a second as being Viki's daughter either.

Another mistake was Bree Willamson and Archer combined, as sisters. The dichotomy between Erin Torpey's Jessica and the character of Natalie was GREAT. But Bree has always come across as a complete bitch, even though Jessica is the supposed "heroine".. I think the show should have left Natalie as a hardcore bitch because Archer played that really well. I don't buy her in emotional scenes that require well, emotion. (See the secret room during November sweeps) And I know I am critizing the actress again...

But I had forgotten how much I liked Natalie as a schemer AND I loved her and Roxie as a mother daughter duo.

[ZaraB]

I did get a chuckle out of Marlena's best story of the year pick. Overall, I've liked what Carlivati has done with OLTL, even if I disagree with much of it.

He's doing what he's paid to do, but I find it rather telling that the writer's face is better known that many of the actors. The debate over his writing has finally been overshadowed, but it took the Todd/Marty storyline to do it. I haven't recognized ANY of the Manning clan for months: Blair with John McBain, Starr desperate to have Marcie adopt her baby, Todd in wuv with Marty?-- but the story has people talking. Some are tuning in even as others tune out. And Nelson's very dramatic changes of opinion, moving from gushing to scorn within a week, certainly also call attention to the story (if it doesn't do much for Branco's credibility). I still would love to be a fly on the wall during some of the production/story direction sessions. His misses are as spectacular as his hits, and I'd like to know the story behind the stor -- how did 1968 get hijacked by Rex and Gigi? How did Mendorra come to be more about the Vegas and their women of the moment than Carlo and Tina?

[rangethatrover]

It appears that OLTL fans are the ones fighting amongst one another, not trolls who have no history watching the show. OLTL seems to have always been this way, ever since I've been here on SON, there's a group of people who like the show and a group who don't like the show, DAYS and GH have a similar trend here. Y&R fans, for the most part, hate the show when its bad and like the show when it's decent, for the most part.

You are totally right. I almost made a comment to the effect of "Isn't this what Days and GH fans are known to act like?" But I figured that was going to upset people. lolll

The only thing that bothered myself and a few others were the people hating on the show that do not watch anymore.

How can you trash a writer on current storylines that you do not watch. That's all-