OLTL: SOAPnet March Preview

[catsmeouch]

Listen, I watched Passions and Jim Reilly did a great job of making it clear the Russell family was an integral part of the show from the very beginning. The Julian/Eve/TC triangle drove the show for several years. They even had the rare "black villainess" with Liz. Whitney and Chad's love story, plus the possibility of being Eve and Julian's love child, was a big deal and was milked for years. They even had the double minority with black lesbian Simone. All these characters were front burner throughout the show's run. And I haven't even mentioned the dynamic Valerie/Vincent character.

Shows that have minority families from the get-go like Passions and Generations are in a better position than OLTL, DAYS, GH, etc. It is almost impossible to bring on minority families when there is only so much room for characters, and most of the characters are connected to the core white families.

If you are interested in black-centric soaps, Tatyana Ali stars in one online.

[DeeeDee]

+1.

[catsmeouch]

To put it succinctly with respect to OLTL, I'd hate to see a legacy character like Starr get the boot in order to keep Layla on the show because they need a black character.

[Eric83]

And BTW, when it comes to soaps, whites seem to be the minority. So they have been placating to the minority for decades. I think it's time for a little diversity. The show doesn't need to go all black, but a little balance would be nice.

[Khan]

Okay. You might have a point where DAYS and GH are concerned. But do you even know the history of OLTL? No? Didn't think so.

[DeeeDee]

Ironic huh?

[Eric83]

Well then Todd, John, Rex, Gigi could all get the boot then.

[catsmeouch]

I remember Jared Hall, but I don't care about the Halls. The Cramers and Lords are where it's at.

[DeeeDee]

And all of Llanview's families are NOT White.

The ones who ARE White are just the ones who are used.

[catsmeouch]

No, I like all of those characters except for John.

Because they've been part of the show's core for decades.

Whites aren't being shoe-horned. All the currently-airing soaps were created around white families. So your point's not valid.

[SFK]

Well once upon a time there was a woman named Sadie Gray and she had a daughter named Clara...

And if you want to talk about dropping core characters, look no further than the constant adoration and propping of Todd Manning... the preoccupation with the kissing of his ass has pushed Viki's own sons out of the picture. But I haven't seen ANY evidence of core characters being lost to minorities on this show anyway. Hell, they can't even write for the core characters half the time so no real loss regardless. But then to that I'd say, why can't Viki or Dorian have a biracial niece or nephew? What would Starr and Jack have looked like had Mia Korf stayed on as Blair? Would Starr and Jack have even existed? It should never even have to be an issue of placating the minority audience, if TPTB are doing their jobs, creating story that reflects our world and their audience, if they truly CARED enough, a fully integrated show would come so very easily and seem less like p.c. agenda driven bull. I just resent it when I'm made to feel like I'm asking for too much, you know?

[Khan]

LMAO!

Pretty much!

[catsmeouch]

So you support creating a brand new black family that's lived in Llanview forever. That's exactly what I don't want---that would come at the expense of characters like Jessica, Kelly, Matthew, etc.

If you want diversity, there are tons of other shows you can watch. Maybe just not soaps.

[Eric83]

But the fact that some of these whites (Rex and Gigi) weren't brought on connected to these families, makes their race a moot point. Fact is they are NOT Buchanans or Lords, yet they are still being shoved in my face.

[catsmeouch]

Rex's sister Natalie is a Buchanan.