I agree about the story probably not amounting to much, but it seems like ever since the strike a lot of stories that haven't gone well are more likely to be seen as well, if this or that had been allowed to happen, then it would have worked. I think that's sort of a way to be able to keep watching the show, as it's not fun to say, "Well these stories were always going to suck," even though with a few exceptions that probably were OK before being meddled with, a lot of the stories probably weren't going to work no matter what.

A lot of the time that Gabrielle and Tina are mentioned people just remember them for camp. The thing with Tina and Gabrielle is they were both very serious in what they did. Even if the scenes with Tina were funny, she wasn't intentionally funny. She also was not overly malicious, as Stacy was. Tina also had motivations, she grew up feeling like something was missing and then when she realized her true paternity she decided to get what was hers. Gabrielle was not really a comedic or campy or love to hate character -- she was often just plain nuts. But again, viewers often understood why, and we were shown that SHE thought she was doing the right thing for the people involved, whether she actually was or not. That's why she could try to suffocate her comatose husband, why she could steal a woman's baby and pass it off Michael Grande's, and viewers understood.

I know I sound very unfair here but I think that Ron and Gary Tomlin and others who have tried to duplicate this era really don't get why this worked. I think that confusing tone has been a problem with OLTL for ages and it's gotten really bad over the past year, as I, and judging by the ratings, presumably others, have had no idea why we are supposed to root for people like Todd, Rex, or Gigi. And Stacy, she was such a confusing, plot-driven mess, one minute she was serious the next she was bad camp. If we knew her backstory then we might have cared more but she had some of the dumbest and flimsiest back story possible.

Brilliantly said.

I need to pay attention to this interview when I have a clear head.

Please do so as soon as possible.

Langston told Ford what it was like living on her own and missing her parents. Given her past, how could she view Starr and Cole's all too common story as more romantic than the fact that Marrko stood up to his family and was willing to be disowned to be with her????? She can write a musical about a glorious teen pregnancy - one that the high school can't wait to produce, but not about her own loss and Marrko's love for her?

BTW, I'm not knocking teen pregnancy, I just don't understand why the writers are pushing the 'star crossed lovers' thing with Starr and Cole to the point of pretending their storyline would be promoted as a great love for the ages to a high school crowd. If the actors can't sell it, there aren't enough plot devices in the world that will (see: Rex and Gigi). Add Teen Tessica and it's beginning to feel as if someone in the writers' room should be in therapy dealing with old high school issues.

wow as far as OLTL goes..i hope these stories get better....im not feeling the whole Langston thing...

And the thing is, it's not even the idea of the story -- Langston being tempted to cheat on Markko -- that sucks. I was watching Fairman's interview with David Gregory, and he said that he initially read it as Ford, being from a big flashy and glamorous city, being an object of curiosity for Langston, who's always felt a wee bit bored with (supposedly) small town Llanview. That could/would have worked, but only if they could have taken the time to slowly tell this story, but alas, daytime doesn't take things slowly anymore. If they do, it's not done slowly in order to cover every possible base in the story but to keep the camera hogs on screen as long as possible while writing as little story as possible (ie: hearing "bag of blood" in the dialog for months on end).

Since he couldn't very well admit that his show is pretty bad and that 99.9% of the criticism is justified - and that he wouldn't be writing the majority of things that are now happening on this show if he weren't being micromanaged by the network, which I personally would like to believe to be the case, having been a fan of some of the things he has done and came so close to doing on OLTL - I actually think he was kind of diplomatic. He acknowledged that there are well thought out criticisms of the show being posted on the internet, which he has found himself agreeing with. What he said about the rest of the criticism just being mean-spirited and pointless was BS, but I'm sure there are some - not many - fans out there with agendas who are just looking to find fault when those agendas are not happening. By equating that element with the intelligent criticism that he admits is out there - even though it's hardly 50/50 - he managed to validate at least some of the criticism while avoiding publicly stating that much of the product is deserving of criticism these days. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but I can't hate the guy or believe that the majority of what's wrong with OLTL is his fault. Carlivati looked pained every time Fairman praised him for the Kyle and Fish story, and how could he not have been, knowing what was coming down the pike?

When Carlivati eventually leaves OLTL/it's canceled, I would love to see a candid interview with him about his experiences. He's clearly seen a lot in his years at OLTL, and to have graduated from law school (a good law school, at that) and been hired and promoted so many times as a writer he must be an extremely smart and articulate guy. I think that some of his interviews have belied that, probably because he is trying to avoid saying that will get him into trouble. Unfortunately, if the "professional" journalists who by and large have access to soap writers these days have nothing more meaningful to ask him than whether John and Natalie will get back together, it's probably easy enough for him to keep the conversation at that level.

Yes but this whole interview was done 5 or so weeks back wasn't it? When the show still had some possibilities

RC sounds like someone else in this interview. When he first took the position his enthusiasm was poignant towards Llanview, the fans etc. Now he sounds like some of the Headwriters out there who have a slight antagonistic attitude towards the fans.

This is another example of a soap journalist who turned into a gushing fanboy and lost the ability to cover the subject with any depth and nuance. All the soap journalism amounts to these days is what's going to happen next and to whom.

Edited March 28, 201015 yr by Leia