ONE LIFE TO LIVE and lack of 'recognition'

[DRW50]

Not to scapegoat Frons, and this also doesn't excuse how poorly written Tina's return was, but I think Evans being fired so quickly was probably down to him. That and the A Martinez firing were both very damaging to the canvas and I don't know if I believe they came from anyone actually at OLTL.

[EricMontreal22]

It wasn't like there was actually the option to keep either Marty or Tina but not both--was there? i thougth Evans didn't want to relocate anyway?

[Doyen]

I still say that the "name value," or supposed lack thereof, rhetoric is a bunch of bullshit.  No TV show that's been on the air for over 40 years is hurting in name value.  I never watched Wild Kingdom or the Electric Company, but have heard of them both.  The average Joe has heard of One Life to Live.  They may not know the difference between it and Days of Our Lives, or who Viki is, but they know the name.

[quartermainefan]

Susan Lucci and some AMC peeps don't want to relocate, it seems to not be a deal breaker. Anyway, OLTL has had more than one interesting actor/character they discarded for being too unique in favor of keeping Todd, Blair and Coma Cop. The guy that played RJ, what kind of raw deal did he get? Was he just too dark skinned for ABC?

[EricMontreal22]

I both agree and disagree. The name value thing is definitely overstated. That said--if you were on a gameshow and asked to name soap opera names, the average contestant would come up with General Hospital, Youg and Restless, AMC, Days before One Life. I've met two guys from overseas now where few American soaps ran at all who were aware of Susan Lucci and that she was on a show called AMC, and not at all of One Life--AT ALL. But does that matter here? Probably not at all.

On the other hand ABC does seem to feel this way a bit too. In the 80s what was the show they tried out their first attempt at making games based on their soaps with (first a board game and then How To Host a Mystery...). All My Children. In the 90s what was their first one they tried trading cards with? AMC--then GH then when they realize dno one wanted to buy stupid trading cards for soaps they gave up before getting to One Life. And when they did Daytime to Remember remember originally it was gonna be a month of AMC and then 5 weeks of GH (leading to a GH spin off, afterall, with PC's premier). Only after tons of complaint did they take one week from AMC and one from GH and squeeze two of One Life there.

Well Susan Lucci is, lets face it, in a valued position. OLTL did say something about Evans' flying out not being in their budget--but I'm definitely in agreement with you about who they've kept and who they've dumped

[Scotty]

Well "that guy" is Timothy D. Stickney, and he does a lot of theater (Shakespeare and such) that often take up six months or more of his time....so it would be difficult for OLTL to work around that very well.

[DeeeDee]

Even if Tim was available OLTL wouldn't use him.

How long has Hank been in the Buke attic?

[Scotty]

But at least they did dust him and bring him downstairs for at least a couple of episodes before returning him to the attic. LOL

[DRW50]

I'm sure if they need a scene to talk about how great Tea is, they could bring RJ back.

[EricMontreal22]

LOL

Tim is a great actor but he hasn't been busy in the hours OLTL films in, the last couple of years, and to suggest that's the reason he's been ignored, is beyond silly.

Kathy Brier (to name one of many examples) had a lead in a major Broadway show the entire time she was constantly on OLTL.

[DeeeDee]

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[All My Shadows]

I came across a quiz on Sporcle that has people name all daytime soaps that aired on the networks for at least a certain amount of time (I think it was at least 3 full years), and the top three guessed were GH (97.7%), AMC (95.5%), DAYS (90.9%), GL (86.4%), and a tie of B&B/OLTL/Y&R (77.3%). I'm surprised ATWT ranked under OLTL, but then I realize that in order to find this quiz, I had to search for "soap opera" quizzes, so it could very well be possible that the results are skewed because the majority of the people who took the quiz are soaps fans who are familiar with most long-running soaps (the only two soaps with 0% are Hawkins Falls, and surprisingly, LIAMST, which ranks below such forgotten fair as Young Dr. Malone and Valiant Lady).

[R Sinclair]

Reba.

OMG! I'm agreeing with you a lot, lately!

Quick! Bring up that damn book, again!

[cct]

Whereas, I agree OLTL has always been the red-headed stepchild of the ABCD lineup, and I agree the identity of the soap is somewhat lacking, even I, who has really never watched OLTL is familiar with the brand.

I'm not as well-read and informed on soap lore as you all are, but wasn't it started as being about diversity and class issues? And doesn't that somewhat persist to this day? At least I get that somewhat when OLTL conversation overlaps into other threads I read.

In the end, though, I feel like this brand thing is just a guise for fans who exist on soap boards. There may have been a brand initially, and some soaps may be better at sticking to it than others, but honestly, aren't they all about baby switches, daddy issues, evil twins, corporate takeovers, multiple marriages and star-crossed lovers? Really?

[Mr. Vixen]

I have to agree with this to some extent...

I think Erika Slezak has some recognition, but not outside of daytime like that of Susan Lucci, or even Tony Geary.