OLTL: Rachel Spoiler

[SFK]

Yeah, what I liked is that DD kind of picked up where EB left off. Or, I guess I should say where MM left off before she got strung out, but I NEVER bought her or SG as Rachel, they just did not feel like Nora and Hank's child to me. The chemistry was off. But, as I was saying, I felt like DD was set to play all of the growing up Rachel had yet to do as she got sidelined in the process. I realize that DD doesn't have the celebrated soap career of GT or anything, but I really looked forward to Rachel sticking around for a long while and giving Nora and Hank grandchildren, having an awesome relationship with her younger brother, and I thought that was so cute how Matthew had this pretty older biracial sister, I dunno, it's just the little things...

[alexisfan07]

UPDATE:

She last airs Tuesday, March 23!

http://abc.soapsindepth.com/latebreakingnews/

[DeeeDee]

Wow.

[Ann_SS]

OLTL loves to get rid its more talented actors and keep and feature the crap. Rachel should have been in a triangle with Schuyler and Greg. However, only white can't-act-worth-a'lick princesses can have more than one romance and triangles. It was the same thing with Marcie/Kathy Brier. Marcie had to be tied to Michael and couldn't have another romance although she was a better actress than that horrific Farah Fath playing Gigi.

Farewell DD, small comfort, but you are more talent than most of the remaining crappy actresses on OLTL.

[DeeeDee]

Amen.

[Vee]

I haven't heard anything about OLTL being over budget in many years. More like the money they used to have went to someone else or something else on the daypart.

The fact is that Rachel got the rock for other people, and even though Greg was a failure, he's staying because he is a Fronsian addition and she isn't. On any other network, Greg would be dropped instead, or at least recast to give that relationship another spin or a fair shake in a triangle with Schuyler (for whom buzz with Rachel has been building for a year). Greg/Rachel didn't have a chance after Chairgate, and I say that liking TT. No one would've cared, and there was no way to make anyone care. But I could've watched much more hospital intrigue with him going after Sky over his relationship with Rachel, scheming to become COS, because that scheming stuff is a role I think the character could've actually worked in.

[Eric83]

I loved Destiny and the Evans' parents, but the Greg/Rachel/Shaun triangle was just filler to the TPTB. As sad as it seems, if she had interacted with more of the white people she probably wouldn't have been viewed as expendable to them as she was.

Like I said Rachel and Sky had alot of chemistry, and that story idea I posted in the last page, could've brought alot of drama and conflict without changing someone's paternity. Greg was just a big mistake IMO, because he dragged Rachel down. Rachel/Shaun was a better choice, they could have used that to get her mingling with the Cramers, etc.

[DeeeDee]

But that's not Greg or Terrell's fault.

It's OLTL's.

He was given next to nothing & expected to make a miracle happen then treated like crap when he couldn't.

Terrell is stiff & will never be Don Cheadle or Andre Braugher but he is a solid enough actor.

His work especially with Rachel before & during Matthew's trial were fine. Plus some of the dialogue that he was given during Shaun's melodrama were unworkable for just about any actor. Could Slezak, Woods or Strasser sell "A brain is not a foot"?

The Evans family had actors that could have been recast or allowed to grow but they were given less than next to nothing to work with outside of being bit players in Shaun's drama & even that was underwritten the minute Shaun came out of the coma.

And yet Rachel existed before the majority of the White characters on OLTL's canvas.

Natalie, John, Rex, Gigi, Starr, Cole, Sky, Matthew, Kelly, Brody,

At the expense of a Black male character.

If everything were equal Sky/Rachel would be great but it isn't especially when Daytime treats minority couples like garbage.

Examples: Antonio/Talia, Cris/Layla

How did Greg "drag Rachel down"?

If anything it was OLTL's stupid decision to have them start making out during Shaun's coma so they could do the contrived romantic triangle when Shaun woke up & Rachel's idiotic Tea sycophancy that turned a lot of viewers off the couple.

A triangle that wasn't even a triangle since Shaun/Rachel were never really a couple to begin with.

[Eric83]

Honestly DeeeDee, I hate Terel Tilford's acting and Greg was a boring character. I see where you are coming from though. The actor and character was just a victim of bad writing. A re-cast for him and a Greg/Rachel/Sky triangle would have been great with a better actor and better writing.

They should have intertwined Greg, Marty, Sky, and Kyle at the hospital, the connections to other characters would have helped IMMENSELY.

I can't believe how bad they messed Rachel and Greg which could have been something with better writing, connections to other characters, and a better actor for Greg.

[DeeeDee]

That's fine but why wasn't it an issue before Greg/Rachel were marginalized.

Few to none had anything negative to say about them as individuals or a couple until OLTL stupidly threw them together during Shaun's coma.

A recast wouldn't make any difference if the writers don't value minority actors or characters enough to treat them equally.

Greg could be played by Don Cheadle, Andre Braugher or any other fantastic actor of color & the character still would have been horribly underwritten, blamed for not making miracles happen then fired.

THAT should've been OLTL's plan from the beginning.

[Eric83]

Agreed on everything you said DeeeDee.

An alternative to that could have been building on the Evans' not liking Rachel and Greg being together, and the uphill battle Rachel would have to face to win them over.

With the right use of connections that story could have involved Rachel, Greg, Shaun, The Evans' Parents, Destiny, Matthew, Dani, Marty, Sky, Kyle (being Greg's co-workers and all), Tea, Nora, Bo, and to a lesser-extent Cole. (Rachel could have still been counseling him on his drug addiction, and Rachel could also dicscuss her problems with Greg, etc.

Once they did all that maybe a Greg/Rachel/Sky triangle could have happened.

[DeeeDee]

Exactly.

Frankie, Tonye & Daphnee could've carried the story. Add in a growing Shaun/Shenell, a workable Terrell & Kearra & there was plenty story for OLTL to build on.

Indeed.

The hospital was the perfect place to have characters like Dorian, Marty, Greg, Kyle & Sky interact that wouldn't have marginalized them to being irrational (Dorian), irrelevant (Marty), emasculated (Greg), underwritten (Kyle), or supercouple speed bumps (Sky).

[Eric83]

Was Kearra the actress who played Vivian?

If so, wasn't Vivian also a doctor?

They could have had Rachel have insecurities about Greg's close working relationship with Vivian. It really is sad, it wasn't like many of these actors were commanding huge salaries.

OLTL is its own worst enemy.

I don't even blame Frons, RC could have done all of this with the Evans' family.

[tina m]

I was a big fan of DD and enjoyed her portrayal of Rachel. There was so much potential with the character, having ties to Nora, history with Tea, a friendship with Sky.. three characters who are different story lines, she could've fit in anywhere.

[Leia]

Which is the problem. When is Gigi or Rex ever in danger because their stories flop? Their airtime is never impacted. Will we get rid of Jessica once this awful teen story is wrapped up? Rachel and Sky's story was much better than this teen Jess story yet they are continuing with it.

March 30th as an exit for Rachel is insane. Just insane but I'm glad she leaves town with her life in tact. I have no such faith Layla will benefit that much.