One Life To Live - last chance revamp

[Leia]

With OLTL at the bottom of the ratings,cast overhauls and talks of cancellation,what do you think needs to happen to revitalise the show?

What stories need to be dropped?

All things Jessica, All things Ford.

Which characters should go?

Ford, Hannah and Jessica if they can't find a way to write for Jessica as a character. Marty should join Patrick.

Are there any characters/actors that need to be brought back?

Jared, Rachel, Evangeline, RJ, Jamie, Lindsay and Kevin.

Should Viki be in a front burner story or is it time for her to take a back seat and let newer characters take the floor?

She should be in her own front burner story but also used as the common thread that connects all of the characters. They can rotate her back and forth but she should never be without a story.

What is left for Viki to do anyway?

Run a successful business empire which should set-up feuds, rivalries, alliances for the future generations. One reason why the Lords and Buchanans are so weak as a family unit is because she doesn't have a main story that can create umbrella stories for her family.

Is it time for Todd,Bo,Nora,Blair etc to be written off?

Todd should be written off. Bo and Nora should get married. Blair needs a story away from Todd.

Looking back to the Malone years and the restructure that took place.Nora tied to Bo,her ex husband and daughter introduced,Carlotta turned into a core character and her children introduced. Should a similar revamp happen now?

I feel so. I would go for 3 major weddings, one major character death matched by one return from the dead, one major community story and a business project. I would put the focus on families, romance and friendships.

3 grand weddings for each sweeps- Rex and Gigi, Bo and Nora and Jessica and Brody. It is the next logical step of their stories. I think Bo and Nora should remarry as planned with a very low-key but grand community wedding in an outdoor location. Rachel would return to be her Maid of Honor as well as Hank (short-term) and RJ longterm. I would put Rex and Gigi into a fun and flirty engagement as they plan their wedding. They would face a shortage of money and Rex would have to sell his club back to RJ to give Gigi the wedding of her dreams. I would have Gigi turn into a Bridezilla who gets caught up in the idea of having a perfect wedding. She could go through a string of wedding planners who fire her because of her attitude. When she sees the most beautiful wedding gown in a magazine and contacts the designer she would find out that the design belongs to Adrianna and Layla who have started a new joint venture for Logan's.

Charlie would be contacted by a European criminal Lord who brokers bodies for Mitch Laurence. He would inform Charlie that Jared is alive. Charlie would need evidence first but struggle with withold this information from Viki. He would decide to consult Viki and together they would meet with the Broker who agrees to return Jared but with an astronomical price tag. Viki would have to front Charlie the money which would make Charlie guilty. They both can't tell Natalie for fear it would devastate her but Natalie would find out when Charlie leaves his briefcase open. On her own, Natalie would travel to locate Jared's body with Viki and Charlie hot on her heels encountering Bo and Nora on their honeymoon. All of them would work together to try to find Jared who was kept in cell and treated inhumane. They are devastated when they can't so they have to give up the search and return just in time for Rex and Gigi's wedding day which is anything but perfect. Layla and Adrianna battle with Gigi over the use of their one of a kind wedding gown which they had planned to give to a bride on one of those wedding shows. Gigi has to agree to let the wedding show follow her around. The day of Gigi's wedding, Adrianna promises her that her wedding will be a disaster broadcast publically. The wedding is a disaster with everything going wrong. Just as things get under control and Rex and Gigi are about to be married, Jared walks through the door of the church stunning everyone. He seems okay but everyone can tell something is very different.

Layla and her mother would fight over using an experimental drug on Evangeline. Layla's mother would forbid the use of this drug but when Layla has to take care of Evangeline one weekend, she would give her the drug. Evangeline would wake up but not be able to remember breaking up with John. Layla would catch Evangeline up to speed but Evangeline would realize how much she still loves John. John who is in a low place in his life would remember being happy with Evangeline and they would try again.

Lindsay is released from prison and wants to try again with RJ. RJ and Lindsay would have to address problems with a young Jamie who is now dating Todd's troubled teenager son who is dealing with his father and grandfather's monstrous legacies. Blair, Tea and Marty would come to turns in a world without Todd. Marty decides to leave town to dedicate her life to helping rape victims in Ireland. Tea and Blair would battle over Todd's estate. Daniella and Starr would be torn between their mothers and deal with their brother and all of the trouble he gets into. Starr decides to run The Sun with her mother but Tea and Daniella want to sell it. Kevin would return to town and convince Viki to offer to merge The Sun with the Banner.

[SFK]

Great ideas all! Sometimes I had to stop while reading and remind myself that these things aren't reality... yet (wishful thinking).

The actress who played Angela, is she the one who passed away a few years ago>? I remember someone involved with Dorian around that time period had died, she was young.

[marceline]

Angela Holiday was played by Susan Diol who to the best of my knowledge is still alive.

[DRW50]

Leia, you have a lot of great ideas. I'd love to see RJ again, and possibly another round with Lindsay. I have given up on black characters ever being given a shot on OLTL, but with your ideas, they might.

I think Vee mentioned this before but they should bring back Fraternity Row and have Layla as one of the stars. That would be a good story. I think they could also have a young diva actress on there who reminds Viki of Megan.

[Vee]

I think there's many, many ways to use R.J. and I will have to expand on that shortly.

[Leia]

I love your ideas and I've given up on black characters but the poster asked for our ideas and I'm biracial so I always include them.

I think the key is killing off Todd. His death touches everyone on the show and if they did it right, they could play the death, funeral and aftermath for years. Everyone in town's relationship with Todd good or bad is a way to move the characters all around into different points without making it contrived like Stacy's death was. It centers Viki, Blair, Tea, Starr into a lot of future stories. They can have Bo, Nora and Jessica deal with their history with Todd. John would be effected and I would even have Evangeline who wakes up from her coma take another lease on life. The death of Todd Manning is that huge story the show needs that they can market too. The trick is that they really have to kill Todd this time. No bringing him back. No recasting with RH. He should be killed and they should build up to his death making it very unpretty and witnessed by his son, Blair and Tea. We would need one of his sons to be the age where he gets into a lot of trouble because of who his father was and his fear of becoming just like him. I would say it should be Jack but the other one works just as well.

I would have Tea and Daniela sell their shares of The Sun to RJ which would then give him a stake in the business story with Viki and Kevin. RJ would partner with Dorian who would fall into alliance with Blair and Starr. RJ would have his own demons too as a result of Todd's death. Jamie would be dating Todd's troubled son.

[MontyB]

The person you're talking about is Kellie Waymire. She played Emily. She was the one who was having such a good time at the Spring Fling yelling,"Marty, you sure love to party". She was later involved in a story with Dorian. She passed away around 2003 or 2004 and yeah I think she was in her mid 30's.

[Melroser]

Give Jessica back her memories and focus on the Layla/Cris/Natalie/Brody/Jessica five and mixing it up some. I'm not sure which pairings I'd root for the most if written well.

I would bring back Dan Gauthier to mix it up with Blair. She goes after him again to piss off Kelly for being 'involved' with Todd. I would hire a new Joey Buchanan (Jeff Branson?) and go with a Todd/Blair/Kevin/Kelly/Joey five.

I'd have Starr start to feel sorry for Markko being played by Langston and have the two get closer, making Cole and Langston jealous and destroying the 'happy' four muskateers with Cole, Langston, and Markko all eventually leaving.

Get rid of Ford, Greg, Tea, Danielle, Eli, and Gigi. I would try to keep Rex at first, only because I enjoyed the character somewhat before the whole Gigi and Shane fiasco.

I would cut back John as much as possible, and since Michael Easton is into his comics now that might work.

I would still feature Viki and as some said she should be in a business/corporate story so i would lead her into a fued with Todd over the way he is running The Sun by trashing all of Viki's immediate family and friends. This brings her into a showdown with him and her going back full-time to the Banner and trying to put Todd out of business.

I'd let Bo and Nora be together but maybe not feature them as much, and I would not make Rex his son. I'd write a story that involves a P.I. case and leads Rex to Matthew's involvement. Somehow Rex is responsible for Matthew getting arrested, instead of helping to cover it up, and this puts a riff between he and Bo....and lets Matthew go away to Juvie!!

[SFK]

Oh, thank you Monty! I don't know why I kept mixing those two up in my brain.

[Mr. Vixen]

Push Viki to a front burner storyline. With the amount of connections that she has, something big with her would be the easiest and most interesting way to create a large umbrella story that could involve many other characters. Viki becomes ill with breast cancer. The struggle of the disease bring Viki and Clint closer. Nora and Bo got married (more on that later), and Clint took it hard. He was distracted while driving away from the wedding, and was in a minor car crash. He was brought to the hospital and given some stitches. While he was there, he ran into Viki. She collapses in his arms and reveals that she was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Clint vows to turn all of his focus on Viki to help her through this struggle, mostly because he loves and cherishes Viki, but also because he needs a distraction that will help him put his life back on track.

Viki's condition is worsenes, which causes much panic amond Natalie and Jessica. Jessica, still not having her memories, relies more and more on Cris, though he is trying to push her away. Brody receives a letter from an Aunt he hasn't heard from in years. The letter reveals that Brody is not " a match" This initially confuses everyone in town, but later Brody reveals that his mother is extremely ill and needs a blood transfusion if there is any hope of prolonging her life. Brody's aunt had sent the letter because his mother could not bear to tell her son that she was dying.

Brody is extremely heartbroken by the news, and has no shoulder to cry on. He brings his mother to Llanview and is horrified to see the horrible condition she is in. He tries to confide in Jessica, but she pushes him away, feeling no connection to Brody or his mother. Natalie, who is heartbroken over her mothers worsening condition, becomes extremely close to Brody. Both of them bond over the ailing conditions of their mothers, and they slowly fall in love.

The main focus of the show, Viki's worsening condition, reignites a love between Clint and Viki and they agree to marry in the chapel, with Viki thinking it will be her last chance at love. (Clint's marriage to Kim has been annulled, and she left town looking for another new life). They wed in the hospital chapel, with close family members and friends (Yes, DORIAN is there too), all very emotional. After the wedding, Dorian and Viki share some of their positive memories with each other, and agree to lay their feud to rest.

Seeing her mothers ailing condition, and seeing Natalie very much with Brody, Jessica begins to regain her memory. Once she as regained her entire memory, she immediately wants Brody back. Natalie is very much in love with Brody, and doesnt want to lose another man. Brody has fallen in love with Natalie, but with Jessica remembering him, he begins to question whether or not he still loves her.

Todd becomes increasingly close with his siter, and vows to become a completely better person, which he says is in honor of his sister, whom he assumes will die. Todd decides to try and make amends with some of the people he has hurt most. He comes to an understandment with Marty, Todd, Blair, and Cole and each can see his sincerity in the apology. They agree to lay all demons aside, seeing how torn up he is over his sister. Blair and Tea agree to help him through the time, and each grow closer to Viki, forming a friendship that will be important later.

Starr and Cole win a cash prize of 100,000 dollars from a school auction, and they agree to spend much of it on an honorary banquet for Viki, who's condition is worsening. The entire town comes together to celebrate Viki's honor. Starr announces that the remaining money she has won will be used to start the Viki Lord foundation. Many members of the town, such as Tea and Dorian donate large sums of money to the foundation. Starr and Cole are on the verge of breaking up, when Starr starts to believe that Cole is on drugs again, because Cole's vengeful crush Megan planted them to sabotage the relationship. After the banquet, Starr returns to the apartment to find a very out of it Cole in bed with Megan. Starr immediately ends it with Cole. (Later it is revealed that Cole was drugged by Megan at the banquet, and Starr and Cole briefly reunite.)

Starr, in her pain from the breakup, goes to visit Viki and their bond begins. They become very close, which in turn, helps form a sister-like relationsip between Starr and Natalie and Jessica. When Brody decides that he cannot be with either woman, due to his feelings for both tearing him apart, Starr is the one who is able to draw the sisters back together, by reminding them of all of the good memories they shared.

Viki makes a surprise, but slow recovery. This brings Todd closer together with Dani, who sees how much he cares about Viki and how much he has changed, and begins a relationship with him. Starr and Dani have a love/hate relationship which starts because Starr is scared Dani will turn on Todd again and drive him back to his old ways. After Viki makes her recovery, she makes an unusual friendship with Roxy, who has become ill with liver problems due to her excessive drinking. After Roxy is released from the hospital and Viki has made a full recovery, Viki takes Roxy into her home to help her recover.

After Viki's recovery, Todd decides to leave town while he is at peace with everyone, because he fears he will backtrack if he stays in Llanview.

Rex and GiGi decide to get married, and the wedding hits a roadbump when GiGi finds out that Rex had been laundering money through his club, and that he had known of the murder of GiGi's beloved aunt, who had been caught in the middle of a drug raid unknowingly and that he had actually helped the murderers cover it up because he owed them money. GiGi realizes she can't be with Rex, and she realizes that she doesn't know him at all. GiGi leaves town with Shane and tells Rex he is welcome to see his son whenever he wants. Rex becomes involved with a torn apart Layla, and the two have a casual romance before Allison Perkins returns once again (for the final time), and reveals that Rex is indeed Roxy's son. SHe reveals that Roxy had been scared to tell Mitch all those years ago that Rex wasn't his. Roxy instead lied and told Mitch that the baby was his, because she was scared for her life and the life of his child. Mitch was unaware of this until later, so he decides to ruin Roxy's life by making it look like Rex was not her son, and letting her grow close to someone who was not her son, and later planned to reveal that Schuyler wss not her son either and that her real son HAD died, because he knew that Roxy would be ruined if this happened.. Allison reveals that she only returned to tell Roxy because Mitch was stabbed to death in prison and his "mission" is over. (Mitches body is SEEN being creamated..NO MORE RETURNS)Roxy (who is still secretly battling alcoholism) and Rex reunite, and Rex decides to leave town to spend more time with Shane.

Viki fears that Dorian and Clint are growing too close, and worries her marriage is in trouble. Dorian later admits that she is very much in love wih Clint, though Clint says he has no feelings for her. Charlie returns to town (he had left), and Viki welcomes him back into her home when she realizes he has gambled away all his money and has nowhere to be. Charlie and Roxy immediately become friends, with both of them struggling because they secretly still battle alcoholism. Charlie admits that he has feeling for Roxy, and they begin a relationship. Charlie later reveals he still loves Viki as well, and Viki questions whether she still loves him as well, because she is increasingly worried about Clint and Dorian's relationship. Dorian constantly tries to push Viki to Charlie, and begins scheeming and blackmailing to make it look as if Charlie and Viki are having an affair, which hurts Clint. This creats a nice litte five-some with Dorian Viki Charlie Clint and Roxy. Ultimately, Dorian's lies are exposed and Viki and Clint reuinite. Dorian goes after Charlie, but he chooses Roxy and the two wed. Dorian is extremely hurt and alone, and vows to destroy Viki and her family. This reignites a logical feud between Viki and Dorian. This will also usher in Adrianna and Cassie's return, because they are worried about their mother.

Meanwhile, Brody and Jessica's relationship begins to strengthen, which hurts Natalie. Later, Rex calls Natalie and reveals that he has found JAred is still alive and has been held captive by Mitch's followers, as were Mitch's orders. Rex (who returns briefly) and Natalie team up on an adventure story in which Roxy tags along. They bring Jared home. Jared and Natalie are extremely happy together and wed. This eases the tention between Natalie and Jessica. Meanwhile, John and Marty decide to leave town together as they vow to start over and leave behind all past demons.

Kevin returns full time to Llanview and is quickly followed by Joey. Joey and Kelly immediately reuinite, hurting Kevin immensely. Kevin meets up with a fresh-in town Rachel and they immediately hit it off. Kevin initially entered the relationship as a way to make Kelly think he had moved on, but later fell very much in love.

Marko proposes to Llangston, and she tearfully admits that she was cheating with Ford. Markko is heartbroken but tries to forgive Llangston. They decide to try and work through the trauma together, though Markko and Starr start to feel more than friendship for each other.

Cassie sets her sights on Eli, much to Blair's dismay and a fun little triangle develops there, which ultimately results in Cassie havign a reunion with a man from her past.

Brody's mom dies after a long battle, and failure to find a blood donor. Jessica, Natalie, and Brody work through the event together, and just after Melinda (his mother) dies, Jess finds out she is pregnant with Brody's child (a girl) who they shall name Melinda

And THAT is just a start!

[wingwalker]

Well at first I'd get rid of: Rex, Gigi (and thus Shane too), John McBain, Todd, Greg, Ford, Hannah, and Markko. Or least if I had to keep Todd, I'd recast or get RH back and write him more like old Todd.

I'd bring back: Layla's sister Van, at least one of Dorian's daughter's Cassie or Andriana, at least one of Viki's son's Kevin or Joey, Kyle and Fish.

I'd like to see them bring in a strong black actor and have real black male lead.

I'd end the Jessica is 17 storyline and stop with all the "damsel in distress" stories the Buch twins constantly get.

Have some corporate story lines with Buch Enterprises, etc. This could give Viki, Clint and some others story.

A storyline that brings causes Dorian to be out as mayor and back at the hospital as a practicing Doctor.

I'd re-establish the Kyle, Fish, Layla, Cris quad. Not saying Layla & Cris need to always be dating, but I loved the friendship these four had. Have the next Kish story, focus more on Kyle, since Oliver drove much of the story. Kyle's background is very unknown and inconsistent, explore that. Doesn't have to end up a "insert Cramer, Lord, Buch, etc" but diving into Kyle's past could explain a lot of why he's like he is. Perhaps he lied and was actually given up as a child so has abandonment issues, which explains why he never really moved on from Fish after college, invited Nick to his place after the bashing to recover, seemed so attached to Sierra so early on and wanting "the truth" out and Fish to step up.

That's about it. I really don't have a whole lot of thought out story ideas.

[BadBoy93]

My Ideas

.Have Mitch killed in a massive WHODUNNIT storyline in which everyone is a suspect

.Have Mitch`s two brothers make a return and introduce new members of The Laurence Family

.Have another Buchanan go back in time...Matthew & Danielle maybe

.Downplay Rex & Gigi

.Downplay John McBain

.Make Todd Manning a monster again

.Viki & Dorian more front burner

.A New Black Family

[Vee]

Yeah, I'm late. Bite me. Been busy.

Um, anyway. These are just a few ideas, not all. For me, key to everything would be reestablishing something that recently seems to be on the wane; showing a diverse canvas of people, of different types, ethnicities, and social strata, all intersecting. People with everyday problems, dreams, worries, everyone from the major characters to the smaller supporting players or recurring characters. This brings me to my first crazy-quilt, a bunch of stories shoved into a blender together. It's a relatively C-level storyline - I'm not going to talk about much stuff for the big characters right now, though I have it all in my head, because I've often discussed big ideas for bigger characters here on the board and I don't want to repeat myself again and again. If you want to know, ask. In any event, some of these stories may be smaller or less central but they bring to mind the kind of attention to detail I care for.

The General Populace, Money Troubles, and R.J. Gannon - Take Gigi - due to raising Shane alone, she never went to college. That's a real situation, it happens all the time. Assuming that she now has room to make up for lost time, Gigi decides to go back to school at Llanview U. Rex (who would be off the frontburner, probably for good) agrees to hold down the fort for the family income, yet secretly he is once again on shaky ground with Ultra Violet and his P.I. business. The truth is Rex is not the greatest businessman, and he is in danger of losing UV for good. He never lets on to Gigi the kind of trouble they're in, and soon he's in danger from an old rival.

R.J. Gannon has returned to town along with Rachel, who's been helping him raise Jamie (now aged between 13-16) in Chicago; Antonio is still on the Carlo Hesser operation with the feds, so the lion's share of Jamie's upbringing has been with Grandpa R.J. and Cousin Rachel. Carlotta and Cristian are anxious to take a firmer hand in Jamie's care once again, as their relationship with R.J. is decent yet still iffy. While Jamie befriends Jack - much to R.J.'s chagrin - R.J. begins taking on a variety of new, legitimate business ventures. He's been on the up and up for some time now and intends to stay that way for Jamie's sake. Yet, it still sticks in his craw that Rex and the Vegas own and operate his old clubs, specifically Capricorn, which was named for Keri. After a civil discussion with Blair he takes back the club, but agrees to keep Cristian on as manager. Ultra Violet is another story - Rex considers it his and hates R.J., won't give it up. Unfortunately for Rex he may have no choice, as his finances are dwindling and R.J. is resourceful and ready to push him out. In desperation, Rex finds himself faced with the possibility of turning back to crime - specifically, a heist with an old buddy from his grifter days - to keep UV. (Ultimately, he would commit the heist, a botched job, but not keep the club.)

As R.J. schemes to take back Ultra Violet and squeeze Rex, he is faced with a new problem, one which ties directly into stories for Cristian, Layla, and Shaun - yes, Shaun. Former crime boss Vincent Jones, R.J.'s young "replacement" in the Higley years, has returned (probably recast), blackmailing Layla to help him use Capricorn for some underhanded business by threatening to reveal a deep, dark secret he's learned about her years in L.A. Yes, Vincent's legit days are over, and he's now running drugs and stolen goods through Angel Square and the harbor area. R.J. is incensed by what Vincent is doing to his old streets, and personally offended by Vincent's arrogance when the younger man calls him a joke, a faded former big shot. During a conversation with an respected, old-school felon in the neighborhood, R.J. is told that if he wanted to, he could easily run Llanview's criminal underworld in a relatively safe way, and have all the power again. He's sorely tempted, yet determined to stay clean for Jamie.

The choice is taken out of R.J.'s hands, however, when Vincent's thugs trash the Buenos Dias, injuring Carlotta and Rachel and nearly abducting Jamie; Layla is also put in the hospital after a vicious beating. It's all Godfather III sans Sofia Coppola - just when he thought he was out, R.J. is pulled back in! He quickly murders Vincent himself and begins making plans to take back the whole of Llanview's criminal underworld, while trying to legitimize and tame it, and works to keep his activities secret from his friends and family. With this tortured rise to power, R.J. would become sort of a black Stefan Cassadine. It all seems to be going well, until he meets a mystery woman played by Y&R's Victoria Rowell.

As for Shaun - yes, Shaun - this is another bit where just a little bit of effort for a day or two every now and again can flesh out a recurring support player. One episode, we see a simple day in Shaun's life, his early morning routine, his workout, etc. He also goes back to school to earn a degree in business, and while at Llanview U he befriends fellow non-traditional student Gigi. Shaun is keen to open his own private security firm, but is unable to secure any capitol due to his old ties to shady Vincent Jones. When Vincent returns, Shaun is drawn into the story with Layla, Cris, R.J. and others, forced to pick sides, his friends or his old boss. When R.J. kills Vincent, Shaun is there, and inadvertently is drawn back into criminal activity when R.J. promises to help fund his firm and pay his tuition in exchange for his loyalty on the street.

The Banner - The papers return and they are in trouble, like every other print newspaper in existence. After a long stretch in St. Anne's, Jessica returns to work at the Banner as a reporter, and agrees to her mother's request to take Gigi on as an editorial assistant; Gigi is doing double duty there and in school at LU. Unfortunately, Jessica's silver-spoon lifestyle and Gigi's lower-middle-class roots rub each other the wrong way, and they're barely tolerating each other's company. The new managing editor at the paper is a cruel, eccentric taskmaster, someone likely to be discussed another time, and he refuses to let Jessica skate on nepotism. Under the gun, Jessica does the unthinkable: she pulls a Stephen Glass or Jayson Blair, and begins fabricating very successful, very fictional stories. Over time, it's Gigi and several others who discover the shocking truth, on the night Jessica is scheduled to win a renowned journalism award during a gala at the Palace Hotel.

Down the road - disgraced, Jessica turns icy and starts up her own telecommunications firm, Lord Communications, taking on Todd-esque tactics and alienating much of her family and friends. This will allow for a new frontier in business and similar business stories on the canvas, and delineate Jessica as an adult character.

Blair's Father - Blair finally goes in search of her father, a man Addie and Dorian are very quiet about. They seem to have a difference of opinion about the circumstances surrounding Blair's conception. When she gets no joy from either of them, she checks the records of one of Addie's old institutions and investigates several men who could possibly be the culprit (Blair's father is allegedly an orderly who raped Addie), and the last name on her list is a longshot - a presumed-dead redneck named Bobby Lee Ventura. Heading down to the more backwoods parts of Florida, Blair goes in search of any sign of this man. She finds a run-down trailer park, his last known address, currently managed by a surly (yet, of course, gorgeous) and secretive young hick named Taylor. Taylor claims to know nothing of Ventura, who he says died some years prior and left debts unpaid. Blair begins to suspect there might have been foul play, or at least more to the story; she also doesn't know how Taylor came to run the trailer park, and he seems to be hiding his background. Sensing something is off, Blair keeps digging, and eventually spots Taylor on the phone with a mysterious man. Noticing some papers in his trailer, she discovers the name "Robert McClarent," and tracks the name down.

Robert McClarent (who would, ideally, be played by daytime legend Nicolas Coster, of Another World), it turns out, is a fine Southern gentlemen and a serious mover and shaker in the Sunshine State; he is a tycoon, an entrepreneur, and a land developer. Curious about how McClarent could be tied into all this, Blair attends a black tie soiree for the man and meets him. He's all charm, but he's hiding something he doesn't want Blair to know about - she's never met him, but he quickly seems to know who she is. After their first meeting, McClarent himself visits the trailer park under the cover of dark, while Blair's at her hotel, and beats young Taylor to a pulp. Robert McClarent is in fact a glittering disguise, an alias for Bobby Lee Ventura, who is very much alive and has reinvented himself from redneck rapist reprobate into a king of industry. Yet he can't quite shake the old swamp mud off his shoes, so he lets his latest bastard child - Taylor, Blair's half-brother - run his old trailer park for him, so long as he keeps his mouth shut, lives in poverty, and never tells Blair a thing. He regularly visits to beat the crap out of the young man and show him who's boss, to vent the sickness and rage of his true self that he can never show as Robert McClarent.

Despite Addie's ambivalence about what happened to her thanks to McClarent's snake-oil charm, the man is a rapist, a manipulator, and an animal. Eventually he of course is found out and confronted by Blair, then Addie. The story would close with the old trailer park burning down, and Blair and Taylor exposing their father at a charity gala, then heading back to Llanview together, where raggedy young Taylor would be bound to romance some young lady or another.

The Gays - Honestly, these days I don't know. I'd like to see Kish back, at least in supporting roles, but I'm not sure you can totally go home with them again the same way we had them before. Maybe a different type of story. I'd just as soon have them there to help support a new gay couple, perhaps C.J. Roberts and Larry Wolek's grandson, an idea I have floated far too many times. I'm not going to get into it again right now, I've talked about ideas for the Woleks and the gays many times on this board.

After the nasty and unceremonious ousting of Kish, however, I got fairly malicious and spiteful, and wondered if perhaps I'd push the envelope: Make Jessica have a lesbian fling, and scandalize the people in Peoria. Reveal Rex and/or David's bi past! Then, in a couple years when Jack is 15 or 16, make him gay or at least bi too, at around the same age when Michael Malone wanted to make Joey Buchanan gay - the affiliates would lose their [!@#$%^&*] - and have him get found out by having Dorian walk in on him making out with some soccer or football buddy, and she'd be apoplectic and gasping for air for the rest of the episode. I envision Langston coming home and finding Dorian sputtering, then dragging a few pertinent clues out of her and collapsing into hysterical laughter. Further, if Jack turns out bi, Jamie Vega can be both his faghag and his potential love interest! Who knows who would be in the role, but I imagine Jack would approach his sexual orientation with the same crass, blase disregard he has for every other social moray in the current show.

I realize none of this is terribly exciting as a revamp. I've put a lot of bigger ideas in a cupboard, or aired them on the board before, so forgive me for not wanting to rehash it. As Carl mentioned, I'd bring back Fraternity Row with Layla as the star, moving her out of the same old sphere with just Cristian and the C-level players. Kevin and Joey would be back, and there was a huge story with Carla Hall's family which I think I've alluded to before that would tie into a major secret about Llanview and the Lords, dating back to 1968. Karen Wolek would appear. Tina would be back for good. Mitch would be killed off once and for all. Asian characters would be introduced. Andrew and River Carpenter would return. I would indeed "kill" Todd for awhile, eventually bring him back with Roger Howarth, but in the meantime turn the fight for his estate into a feeding frenzy and power struggle for the family. A Todd "murder" mystery and subsequent fallout could drive a year of the show.

[Leia]

I'm so sad Vee because I really want to watch your soap. When I read this I can see RJ as a Doctore figure from Spartacus torn between doing the right thing for Jamie's upbringing and tempted by his past. Jessica in an adult story and having a lesbian affair, how would that play out with Brody?

[DeeeDee]

No Nat?