Jump to content

One Life To Live stripped down


Recommended Posts

  • Members

All I want for X-Mas is a stripped down version of OLTL in 2010. For a show that seems to be coming in under budget, it surely has a bloated cast! With it's move to a new studio that is supposed to save it money, can we wish that the show would strip down its cast as well?

There are so many needless characters on this show and the recent announcement that Crystal Hunt (Stacy) has been let go is definitely a step in the right direction. Now I hope that the story leads to the dismissal of Amanda Setton (Kim) and Scott Clifton (Schuyler) with her.

Am I the only one that was hoping "Ross" would have offed "Destiny" the other day? Do we really need her on this show now that they seem to be wanting "Matthew" with "Danielle"? She is not needed and is annoying to watch. And speaking of Ross....can Michael Lowry's time be up as well? I find that character as appealing as watching an old lady checking out at the grocery store.

I understand the connection of "Noelle" and "Maurice" as a reminder of Paris, Texas, but honestly, I'd rather see "Viki" talking to someone...say..in her own family! January LaVoy and John Rue are recurring but can't you use that money to give Ilene Kristen another day? I'd rather watch "Roxy" in a drunk haze trying to tell "Trout" which way he should be swimming.

"Amelia" and "Nick" can finish their current stories and fade out in the new year as well. I understand their uses now, but they are not needed long term. Again, can we focus on the main families?

I know there are people whom are liking Cris and Layla, however, i find them boring! David Fumero has passed his time for me. With the mess between "Evangeline", "Sarah", and then the "Montez" fiasco, I am done with him. The two should leave town and take the faux "Carlotta" with them. I'd rather watch the main families on this show than a fractured spinoff.

And here goes...i will catch Hell for this one too...but...with John Brotherton no longer on, are we going to need Brian Kerwin? I think they should have him fall deep off of the wagon and roll into a pothole never to be seen again. Sorry, but he has no other connection on the show now and I'd rather see "Viki" go back to "Clint" and "Nora" with "Bo".....

alright...let the pasta fly!

That would trim down:

Crystal Hunt (Stacy)

Amanda Setton (Kim)

Scott Clifton (Schuyler)

Michael Lowry (Ross)

Shenell Edmonds (Destiny)

January LaVoy (Noelle)

John Rue (Maurice)

David Fumero (Cris)

Sandra Santiago (Carlotta)

Tiki Sumpter (Layla)

Brian Kerwin (Charlie)

"Amelia"

"Nick"

The return of Gina Tognoni (Kelly)is needed and hopefully Dan Gauthier (Kevin) will make appearances as well. Plus, I have a feeling it is only a matter of time before Thorsten Kaye will be back as "Patrick". You know it will happen.

Please...let's have a more focused ONE LIFE TO LIVE in the new year...as in Buchanans/Cramers. They are far more entertaining than any of the day players. Cut the cast and then you would have more money to use on the vets we want to see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 33
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I don't see how having a host of recurring characters removes focus from the Buchanans, Cramers, and Lords. Most of the recurring characters and sideline contract folks are connected to them in some way anyway. It adds a sense of community, IMO, and makes the show feel alive. I'd swap some recurring/contract players around, but I think that OLTL's current cast is fine the way it is...some exceptions, of course, but it's decent.

As a true-blue Pine Valley person, it pains me to say it, but the difference between lifeless, empty, hollow AMC and lively and vibrant OLTL is extremely noticeable when you watch them both. With OLTL, you have clearly defined families that have a nice number of members, so when you have these so-called family gatherings, there's actually a lot of people there, and not only that, but you get to have several storylines running in the same scenes. AMC, on the other hand, has only fragments of its family groups left, and that's why this year's Thanksgiving episode with a few scenes of the Hubbards was the best we'll probably get in the way of family togetherness.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

No.

No.

Many of these people you name are not on contract; they're recurring players and aren't hurting anyone IMO. I love that Llanview has a huge population of contract and minor characters, a huge multicultural mix, and I love Viki and Charlie and I even like Cris and Layla. Also, Kim is pretty much a hit with a decent amount of people, and Sky is a shockingly nice guy on ABC Daytime. If we pare it down to just Bukes and Cramers we end up with Days of our Lives at its worst.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The problem with OLTL's "main families" is how they have been damaged over the past decade.

If I have to choose between watching day players and watching Viki, Jessica, and Natalie enabling Todd after he helped kill Jessica's baby and almost killed Natalie, then I'll choose day players.

Mitch's return has been a great spark, but generally, the relationship between the Buchanans in recent times has been little more than Viki and Clint wringing their hands over their daughters, and an occasional sprinkle of, "David is evil." Clint has barely been a factor in the Bora reunion and the story with Kim is also mainly about her. With JvD on recurring this may not change. Other people who once helped fill the family out like Tina, Joey, and Kevin, are at best occasional guests, at worst distant memories.

Addie is rarely around and Blair no longer has interesting relationships with anyone. GT's Kelly, if she is written similarly to how she was the last time, will just look down her nose at Dorian and Blair. Dorian has nice relationships with Langston and Starr, but how long will it be before Langston has to go to Cassie/Adriana route of, "What a burden to be near Dorian, she wants to control me, I hate her"?

That's not even getting into dead space like John, Rex, Gigi.

If OLTL is going to make cuts then I think the cuts need to come at the top, as I think some of their big names, or what they consider big names, are suffocating the show. The smaller characters, and their more organic friendships, are what make the show hum, if you ask me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think most of the characters listed above add to a sense of real community and diversity. John, OTOH, you could easily cut, which frees up much of this money in and it of itself. And Todd as well, unless they want to recommit to the character's redemption and/or bring Roger Howarth back, which would accomplish the former automatically - he would not play this material IMO.

As for David, he's played as lovable comedy now. Only the Buchanans have issues with him; we haven't been encouraged to see him as 'evil' since 1995.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Now that ATWT has been canceled, is there any chance Roger Howarth would return? (Assuming OLTL survives that long.) Now that Mitch is back, and Todd looks like Mitch's brother Walker, it could be interesting...

I like that there are so many recurring characters on OLTL; what I don't enjoy are some of the characters themselves. I don't care as much about who they bring back as much as who I wish they'd de-emphasize (or write out): Gigi, Stacey, Greg, Destiny, John McBain, and Rachel can all go: they're not great actors, their storylines are uninteresting, and I can't think of any way to make the characters interesting.

I like Schuyler, Marty, Shaun, Starr, Cole, Langston, and Marko, and I'd like to see them on screen more, but the writers don't seem to know what to do with these characters. (And once Cris & Layla officially get together, I'm afraid the writers won't know what to do with those two, either.) I'd rather see them bumped to recurring than languish with no storyline, or forced into bad ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

OLTL under RC reminds me (structurally) of what I've read of Harding Lemay's AW. The show is populated primarily by several longstanding families, with more of the "core" members still intact than MOST shows can say. And the canvas is positively overflowing with treasured and talented recurring characters that add depth and dimension to Llanview.

I *love* it. It still feels (to me) like the best of the old school soaps. The stories (whether good or bad) have a trajectory that actually goes somewhere, and they layer them amongst bigger umbrella stories.

It's not perfect, but then again, I can't think of ANY show, even in their golden ages, that didn't have SOME problems with casting and story. More than any other show left on daytime, OLTL gets it consistently RIGHT more often than not.

And I hope it lasts for a long, long time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Here's the place to share some memorable criticism. You don't have to agree with it, of course (that's often where the fun starts). Like I mentioned to @DRW50, Sally Field was a favorite punching bag in the late '80s and early '90s.   Punchline (the 1988 movie where she and Tom Hanks are stand ups): "It's impossible to tell the difference between Miss Field's routines that are supposed to be awful, and the awful ones that are supposed to be funny." -- Vincent Canby, New York Times. "It's not merely that Field is miscast; she's miscast in a role that leaves no other resource available to her except her lovability. And (David) Seltzer's script forces her to peddle it shamelessly." -- Hal Hinson, Washington Post. "As a woman who can't tell a joke, Sally Field is certainly convincing. ... Field has become an unendurable performer ... She seems to be begging the audience not to punch her. Which, of course, is the worst kind of bullying from an actor. ... She's certainly nothing like the great housewife-comedian Roseanne Barr, who is a tough, uninhibited performer. Sally Field's pandering kind of 'heart' couldn't be further from the spirit of comedy." -- David Denby, New York   Steel Magnolias: The leading ladies: Dolly Parton: "She is one of the sunniest and most natural of actresses," Roger Ebert wrote. Imagining that she probably saw Truvy as an against-type role, Hinson concluded it's still well within her wheelhouse. "She's just wearing fewer rhinestones." Sally Field: "Field, as always, is a lead ball in the middle of the movie," according to Denby . M'Lynn giving her kidney to Shelby brought out David's bitchy side. "I can think of a lot more Sally Field organs that could be sacrificed." Shirley MacLaine: "(She) attacks her part with the ferociousness of a pit bull," Hinson wrote. "The performance is so manic that you think she must be taking off-camera slugs of Jolt." (I agree. If there was anyone playing to the cheap seats in this movie, it's Shirley.) Olympia Dukakis: "Excruciating, sitting on her southern accent as if each obvious sarcasm was dazzlingly witty," Denby wrote. Daryl Hannah: "Miss Hannah's performance is difficult to judge," according to Canby, which seems to suggest he took a genuine "if you can't say something nice ..." approach. Julia Roberts: "(She acts) with the kind of mega-intensity the camera cannot always absorb," Canby wrote. That comment is so fascinating in light of the nearly 40 years Julia has spent as a Movie Star. She is big. It's the audience who had to play catch up. And on that drag-ish note ... The movie itself: "You feel as if you have been airlifted onto some horrible planet of female impersonators," Hinson wrote. Canby: "Is one supposed to laugh at these women, or with them? It's difficult to tell." Every review I read acknowledged the less than naturalistic dialogue in ways both complimentary (Ebert loved the way the women talked) and cutting (Harling wrote too much exposition, repeating himself like a teenager telling a story, Denby wrote). Harling wrote with sincerity and passion, Canby acknowledged, but it's still a work of "bitchiness and greeting card truisms." The ending was less likely to inspire feeling good as it was feeling relieved, according to Denby. "(It's) as if a group of overbearing, self-absorbed, but impeccable mediocre people at last exit from the house."
    • I tend to have two minds about Tawny (Kathy Najimy) fainting during Soapdish's big reveal. You're the costume designer, if anything, you should have known the whole time. I guess it's an application of what TV Tropes calls the "Rule of Funny." Every time I watch Delirious, I always want the genuine romance in John and Mariel's reunion at the deli counter to last longer. Film critics had their knives out for Sally in this period. I'll start a separate thread on the movies page.
    • I don't think so, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was Dumas this whole time.
    • Tamara Tunie was serving up grand dame diva fierceness.
    • Nick told Victoria that he and Sharon had married in England.  Victoria was shocked.  Then she realized he was kidding.  He confirmed it was a joke and they're platonic. I don't even know what to say about that.
    • It's funny you say that because part of the entertainment of the trials on the show are all the day players who come on as witnesses and jurors.  I'm certain it was like the Law and Order of its time. It employed so many New York actors, that if you look close enough, there's usually someone vaguely recognizable in the courtroom.
    • I will defend Dante.  People already suspect he may be a bit unstable from time to time (from his time as a prisoner).  And, he's taking care of other people's kids from time to time.  So, he has reason to be cautious with those in his care.
    • Josh continues to try and milk Abbott/Newman rivalry. First it was Billy/Victoria, then Kyle/Summer, then Noah/Allie (that worked out well) and now Kyle/Claire. Do we have any inkling when Billy Flynn will arrive and who he will play? I'm sure Cole's illness will mostly play offscreen. What's in store for Nick and Sharon? Is it time to put them back together? I can't see any other romantic options. Nick has no children on the canvas to play off, as Christian is never seen. Sharon has only Mariah onscreen.
    • I would appreciate (if they're not coming), for future scripts to refer to them by their iconic hairdos.  For example, if Hope needs to call Chelsea because Bo has Sepsis, I'd like Shawn-D to say, "My Mom called Chelsea (the one with the sassy short black hair) for an update." Also, new rule, if Melanie does return, she needs to dye her hair back to red.  I googled who she was five times during Victor's funeral.

      Please register in order to view this content

    • Broderick, thank you for all of the info [I edited for space]. I am so grateful for everyone filling in the blanks for me. I suspected the Nora/Eliot scene was very important and it was setting something up but I didn't know what. Can't wait to see it play out. The two actors had such a great back and forth. I should have made the Paige/Patty Hearst connection. I thought Paige was in love with Brian from the first episode I watched but it seemed as if they were brother and sister. Steve kept being affectionate with her so I assumed he was the love interest. Then she was affectionate with someone else and well..she's a very busy woman. I can't wait to see Frances Fisher show up. (I'm trying to be vague because I don't know what would be a spoiler in this storyline) Now it makes sense why Draper would be upset. I didn't get the whole background of why he didn't go to NY. I'm a sucker for good acting, so I might still side with April and Margo, if the writers don't give Draper more to do besides yelling.  He had more chemistry with Logan, but I know that's not happening.  Something else I noticed: the show really takes care with even the smallest parts. The acting is superb. Too often, I noticed on older soaps they don't take care with the recurring or day players (Ryan's Hope was so bad with this that I couldn't make it through some episodes). It's only been six episodes, but so far, the casting department was spot on.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy