One Life to Live - On the Road Again

[Khan]

First of all, I don't have that big a nostalgic hard-on for Katrina Karr. Although I believe the Jenny/Katrina baby switch story to be OLTL's, and perhaps all of daytime's, best-ever, it isn't the only (good) story from its past that I wish were revisited today. Not by a longshot. So quit harping about KK, Vee, and making it seem like I always do. Okay?

The truth is, Vee, we've agreed more often than we haven't; and certainly, when it comes to how you re-integrate long-absent characters and families onto any soap's canvas, I agree that you do it the way you suggested in your last post: by tying it into what's happening "here, now, today." In fact, I've always believed and espoused that, whether through my own direct statements, or through the many fanwankings I've posted here and on other boards over the years. (Of course, in the case of Echo DiSavoy, the revisit baffles me, since the original story wasn't all that popular w/ the audience watching back then! That's like DAYS suddenly deciding to bring back the Chandler family! But I guess all that's neither here nor there.)

You are not the first person to accuse me of living in the past, nor are you even the most clever at it. BITD, GL fans (or at least, those who probably thought the sun literally rose and set on Danny and Michelle's asses) accused me and several others of wishing the show would turn the clock back to the mid-'80's, or the last time we thought it was any good. And I say to you and to anyone else who sides with you what I said to them: if I thought what passed for OLTL today were even half as good as the OLTL from the Gordon Russell/Joe Stuart era, then you wouldn't hear a peep out of me; and if I believed along with others that the Gottlieb/Malone era was actually everything they say it was and more, you wouldn't hear a peep out of me on that either. For me, however, OLTL, like GL before it, is a hollow show these days, and has been since at least the mid-'80's. Not just b/c of the awful writing and acting, but b/c it refuses to believe its history would be valuable to anyone under the age of 25 (and so, does everything in its power to avoid recalling it). A soap, after all, is only as good as its history. Can't OLTL exploit theirs the right way?

But, you know...none of that matters to this guy at the moment. What does matter is that you had the nerve to say:

Which (IMO) was baiting and rude. I mean, really, Vee; WTF did I ever do to you?

[EricMontreal22]

Wow I think it's a great piece, though IMHO OLTL didn't fully come into its own under that regime till Josh Griffiths became co HW.

I don't remember Hudson King/Henrich Kaiser whatsoever though, lol.

[DRW50]

That was Cain. When he first appeared on the show he went under various names and disguises and jobs, I think trying to con Megan, and Cord/Tina. Then when he was just plain Cain they put him with Tina.

It's a shame Josh Griffith doesn't get more credit, and instead is remembered more for stuff like his Y&R run...

[EricMontreal22]

Aha! I shoulda known that...

Malone's OLTL was always superior when Griffith was there (just think how quickly his last year int he 90s sunk after him), even in the not very good recent run... To be fiar Malone is always quick to give him credit (I think he helped solve the problem they give above of not knowing how to handle the stuff between points A and B...). He has always said it was Griffith who really taught him how to truly structure a soap....

And yeah, Griffith hasn't really done much of worth elsewhere but the team fo him and Malone was a good one (it's about here that I think I should mention once again how sad I am we never got their late night soap 13 Bourbon Street--done with Gottlieb as well).

[applcin]

I may be in the minority but 1) I liked the 1888 story because Clint was my favorite and 2) I liked Nicholas Walker's Max better than JDP's. I quit watching the show for the first time during the Gottlieb/Malone era.

[DRW50]

I think a number of peopled like the 1888 story; their objection was that it was too long. I think that's what Rauch said anyway.

[EricMontreal22]

Wasn't part of the upset about the 1888 story the fact that it was made not a dream by the scab writers during the writer's strike? (Which was also when it started to go on longer...)