OLTL: Discussion for the week October 19

[SFK]

Right. And what's tough is that once you've had a taste of a love story, it's hard to go back to the background as dayplayer body guard again and watch your brother date your ex-gf. That's why I worry about his future, though they could always give him a Moe and Noelle type-relationship with some dayplayer actress. Maybe he needs to get with that girl Greg was with when he and Rachel went on the double date. That girl was good, she seemed like a strong actress. I remember thinking that they should have saved her for an Evangeline recast.

[DRW50]

I know what you mean, but I think that would still work, just as a talk-to. With the history between Rachel and Tea, I don't think she works as Tea's prop.

As for Shaun/Greg/Rachel, I think the story was kind of rushed and Greg isn't a strong enough character to be with Rachel. I wish they could put her with Skyler.

My favorite part of the Evans family is the parents. They're great.

[Ann_SS]

I would pair Rachel with Brody who is one of the few talented leading men. They would be passionate and intense.

[DRW50]

I don't think Brody will get a story which isn't about Jessica. I think if she hadn't needed a leading man, he would have been gone long ago.

[Vee]

Carlivati seemed very enthused about Brody when they put him on a contract. Gushed about him in the press. Lawson is a find. The problem is that while I think RC's OLTL does value "good men" like Brody or Charlie (or Jared, though his character is more ambiguous), it often comes up at odds with the ABC definition for male leads on its soaps - brooding loners, misogynists, or dark criminal heroes. That's why it was little surprise to me when Nash was killed off - he was simply a good guy who loved his wife. Granted, Nash's character was also, IMHO, paper-thin and badly-constructed by Dena Higley, leaving him vulnerable and without much room, but he was also "too good." I fear someday Brody or Sky will run up against that comparison to John or Todd in the future. But I don't think it's about OLTL. If OLTL had no interest in these men, they would not cast them or write for them.

I'm all for Schuyler and Rachel, but I still like Greg and Rachel. I think Tilford is a bit of a mess but the chemistry is there, the scenes are often very well-written and I admire the time and effort they've really put into fleshing out black characters. And with Rachel and Tea, while I'm glad they recognize the history, they've fallen into an old problem - everything is skewed around Tea and characters like Rachel have unrealistic attachments to her (Rachel should never want to speak to her again) because they can't solve the problem of her core character, which is gray and ambiguous at best. To try to make her over into more of a heroine they have everyone fall at her feet, but that doesn't change who she is or the things she does, the things they choose to write her as doing because they know the character is at core a wild card. If they were able to accept her as that the way the audience has, things would be fine - yet they also want her to be Lily Walsh. The show is of two minds on Tea and it has been for many years. They've yet to reconcile it.

[DRW50]

I agree that this is more about ABC Daytime than Ron.

I think Brody was initially just there to be an obstacle for Rex and Gigi. I'm sure Frons was looking forward to going through the crazy vet route to the end. Just have him written out after he kidnapped Shane. Or let's say that Brody rapes Gigi. Gigi is traumatized. Rex is angry that she isn't able to put out, so he has sex with recently arrived Stacy. Gigi accepts that this is her fault.

I think this is the type of story Frons would have wanted.

The combination of Mark Lawson's performances, and Jessica being alone, I think it was just good timing.

I also wonder if Sky's initial backstory meant he would eventually go psycho and try to kill Todd, or Starr, or Stacy, or some of all three. They seemed to want to make him insane or full of hate over his mother's death, which would be another way of making sure viewers weren't angry at Todd for his actions last year. Then something changed, although I'm not sure what plans they have for Sky. If he's up against Rex he can't win.

[Ann_SS]

Maybe, but I give RC and FV credit for having an ABC soap where the cops are the good guys who rescue people. I think they like good guys like Brody and Fish and wait for it.. John. Rex and David haven't been been a bad guy in forever. Sky is a good guy down to his toes. Elijah and Ross also seem like relatively good guys so far. Yes, Todd is glorified, but he is the exception not the rule.

Real Andrews tweeted that he was up for the role of Greg on OLTL. I wish he had gotten the role instead of Terrence Tilford.

[Toups]

That's shame. Real's a way better actor than TT.

[DRW50]

I think Rex is a "good" bad guy. He's OLTL's Ryan. He likes to run women into the ground, with a lot of talk about how great he is. They had him blame Gigi for his screwing her sister, and she agreed.

I wonder if he wasn't cast because of his age. How much older is he than the woman who plays Rachel?

[alexisfan07]

Real's six years older than Terrell and 13 years older than Daphnee. But casting him might have actually helped age the character, since Daphnee's a bit younger than Rachel as it is.

[Ann_SS]

I had not considered the age difference as a reason that Real did not get the role. OLTL should consider recasting the role of Greg with Lamman Rucker who I find scrumptious and is quite talented. Although I still enjoy Greg and Rachel, Terrence Tilford's performance has been a disappointment.

Rex, Ryan, Zach, Nikolas and Patrick are all versions of the same guy who gets to screw around, the woman are blamed and eventually take them back. Overall, I still think that the men on OLTL are of better character and are nicer. When the cops are the good guys that is always praiseworthy in my book.

[Cheap21]

Id hardly call Ross good. The guy is pretty shady. His brother wouldnt necesarily be a good guy either. Really havent seem much of him to really for an opinion but he doesnt quite come across as the hero type

[DRW50]

I don't think we're supposed to like Elijah or Ross. The problem is that when Tea says, "I'm scared of Ross!" you almost have to laugh, because she has repeatedly moved heaven and earth for a man who beat her up and who also left her to die on the very island where their strangely old daughter was conceived.

[SFK]

Real is cool, but he's not right for the Evans family. Real needs to be cast in an awesome Dominican/Puerto Rican/Afro-Cuban family on daytime. If we're talking Taggerts here, Matthew St. Patrick would have made for the better Greg.

Daphnee(# of e's?) DuPlaix is hot... are you all familiar with her, "*other*" work? HAHHHT.

[Vee]

Oh, we are totally supposed to like Elijah and Ross. They could hardly have pimped Lowry's Ross to us harder, and the guy works. He's a little shady but he's a lovable cad in the tradition of Max. There's no 'evil villain' there.

As for Sky, I think they may have planned some kind of a 'revenge' story that was aborted, but he was never played as a bad guy and still isn't now. He's a bit protected because of Frons's choice, Scott Clifton, and because of Clifton's empathetic performance and the writers clearly liking him. I kind of wish Sky was still teaching school as a positive character on soaps that actually has that job - I know of very few teachers on daytime. He's a tortured good guy. If the writing was a bit deeper and more nuanced for him, he could remind me a lot of Andrew.