OLTL: Discussion for the week December 21

[EricMontreal22]

Nah I think the bad on this show (and all the good) can be blamed on Valentini and Carlivati. Frons likes his blondes and I think likes John, but really saying the bad is cuz of him--when he seems to micromanage this show way less than any other, is similar to the AMC fans who think any good is due to Agnes.

[All My Shadows]

I don't think that it's necessarily the characters that need to go. It's the storylines. This Rex/Gigi/Stacy thing has been going on way. too. long. There are plenty of things that they could do with Rex and Gigi. Same for Todd/Tea/Blair. Those two women need extensive therapy so that they can realize what dumbasses they are in regards to this idiot.

Also, I have to disagree with Kyle and Oliver being Carlivati's most successful storyline so far...well, it depends on what we're judging his success by. It's all JMO, but there have been better-written storylines (and strands) under RC. I can think of a number of couples that get better writing.

[DRW50]

I think there are different levels of what Ron enjoys. I don't believe he cares about John/Natalie, I doubt he cares about John at all. He seemed to initially want to phase him as much out of Marty's return as he could, and have Marty on her own or with Todd, then suddenly, almost like a mandate, Marty/John were back together. Then, after a year of being phased out of the canvas, Jared is killed, and John is back to being Natalie's protector after he had barely interacted with her for two years.

I do think Ron loves Tea and has heavily rewritten stories to try to prop her. Anything from the past which ever worked against her, like going out the window, or the island story, has now been made into some sort of triumph for her. She has a cadre of supporters to tell her how wonderful she is in all her muggy martyrdom. This also ties in to Todd, because Ron didn't seem to realize, if his comments are any indication, how some fans might turn against Todd last year. Now as a result we have had a do-over for Todd's character, where, if you are a new viewer, you might believe that Todd loved Marty, then loved Tea, with the rest of his time spent having kids (who are OK because they love Tea too!) with some pathetic woman he barely tolerates. They've set up this whole alternate universe where Todd and Tea are soulmates and now they have the overaged miracle child to complete their love.

I think if they wrote for Blair in a way which isn't about Todd or some other man they need to remind us she's not good enough for, then she would be fine as a character. I think if they wrote for Tea as someone who is cutthroat and fun and not weeping and wailing about her husband and daughter, she would be fine.

I put the Todd/Tea/Blair crap on Ron but I wouldn't be surprised if Rex and Gigi are more Frons. Rex seems like a Frons favorite. I'm just tired of seeing two people who can't do any dramatic material constantly put in dramatic stories, and in too many stories. Gigi is a cipher, and Rex, for all the ties they keep inventing to make him more relevant, is also a cipher.

[Khan]

+1

[Ann_SS]

I think that OLTL and GH have similar problems. RC started off strong, but he is not a good storyteller. The show is full of characters who do illogical things as plot points. Like Guza loves Sonny and Jason, RC loves Todd and will write any story that makes him a type of anti-hero. Tea and Blair fighting over Todd and Marty in love with him is incomprehensible.

OLTL also features too many bad actors. The show would be better if RC would recognize the limitations of his actors, but he refuses to so they constantly get dramatic material that they cannot handle. I give RC credit for having the police force full of good guys who get to be heroes and I find his male characters far less misogynistic than those on GH.

[You're Soaking in it]

x2! (also x2 on the comment about rooting for Clint and Bo & Nora simultaneously!)

[Khan]

WORD.

[MichaelGL]

Would the Rex/Gig/Stacy story be getting as much flack today, if three different and capable actors were in these roles?

The Todd's raping Marty for a second time and hitting rock bottom as well, seems to defy logic seeing how he seems to have come out smelling like a rose. IMO it should have been the exit story for the character of Todd Manning, rather than some attempt at redemption for the character.

[Khan]

You could have Alfred Lunt as Rex, Lynn Fontanne as Gigi, and Eleonora Duse as Stacy, and IMO, the story would still make all the characters involved look incredibly stupid.

[All My Shadows]

It would from me. It's a lame story that's been dragging on too long. I'm not even sure who this triangle is written for. I liked it at first, but once "bag of blood" became a daily piece of dialogue, it was too much. None of the three are written as mature adults.

[Khan]

Let's put it this way: when the story is so bad you don't even root for Rex and Gigi anymore...? You know it's time for everyone involved to move the hell on.

[Cheap21]

No bc the triangle just plain sucks especially since the whole premise with Stacy being in love with him for more than 10 years bc he helped pick up her belongings after they fell out of her backpack was stupid as hell

[EricMontreal22]

Well said. Couldn't they have given her a backstory where she honestly WAS with Rex in SOME real way back then? And he chose Gigi instead? It wouldn't even need sex to make some sort of weird sense--but I sense RC and crew felt that would tarnish thepurity of this Rex/Gigi super couple...

[Khan]

Stacy's motivation for wanting Rex all to herself was "stupid as hell," to quote Cheap; but I think Stacy's introduction, in and of itself, was what really doomed the story.

When it comes to introducing new characters, what's true for life is, I think, also true for soaps - meaning, first impressions are everything. ATWT's Lisa, for example, came on as this polite, dowdy, mousy-haired girl from Rockford whom Bob was "getting serious about"; yet, even in those first few appearances, there was a glint of mischief in Eileen Fulton's eye that made you think, "Hmmm, what is she really about?" She came across as "normal," but she also had a little mystery to her to keep you intrigued. Subsequently, the more we got to know the "real" Lisa, the more we relished in her basic dichotomous nature.

Now, compare that with CH's Stacy, who strolls into Llanview and immediately steals her sister's dress, shows up at some swank party, and (IIRC) has cheap sex with some dude she picks up @ the ball on her sister's floor. Immediately, it's telegraphed to us that we're supposed to hate her. What's more, though, is the fact that she's already too obvious and OTT. There isn't that similar dichotomy to hook us in or keep us guessing.