OLTL : Bring Back Bad Starr

[SFK]

ITA, and I would add that the actress playing her little sister Dani is also out-acting her at this point. KA's acting is pefectly... passable in most situations, it definitely gets the job done, but high emotion is not her strong suit. She's got the Linda Dano snotty stuffed up nose thing down which is a biological indicator of real tears, but she can be pretty screechy and cringe-inducing when she's playing upset, or oddly flat and uninspired. Like a lot of you, I was really surprised when Starr became the show's little teen heroine princess, I was for sure she'd be the bad girl. I can't say that I was majorly disappointed that this didn't happen though, as more often than not I was incredibly frustrated that Blair didn't snatch her little smart ass up. Blair was a doormat to men and to her own daughter, oooh, a major pet peeve of mine. Is it my imagination or did Blair finally pop her in the mouth one day then dissolve into tears and overly apologize?

[SFK]

Vee, now I can't shake the image of our little Starr in a labcoat with her *smart glasses* perched on the tip of her nose, examining reptiles and various creepy crawlies. She could be a doctor like her aunt Dorian. Is a veterinarian glam enough for a soap?

[Vee]

I think the main reason Starr is like this is Frons. He saw KA as the teen star and tailored her character's story and initial love interest (Cole) to the most bland, mainstream teen demographic as possible.

In 2008, Carlivati's initial attempt to return Starr to a bitchy persona - the Langston/Cole flirtation, which came at a time when Starr and Langston appeared ready to kick off a Erica/Tara family rivalry for years to come over Starr being the spoiled brat to Cole and Langston's grieving alienated teens - was brutally quashed when the strike began and it's been dullsville again since. For all Langston's uselessness of late, though, she still does remind me of tortured young heroines like Marty, and I think you could still play that rivalry against the former BFFs, especially given Langston and Blair's new bond.

[Bright Eyes]

Emmerdale had rich and eventually psychotic Zoe Tate as one.

[Vee]

I don't think a vet is glam enough. I'd go for some sort of researcher, into some sort of life sciences with animals or something else, and I'd have her visit to the Reptile Round-up as part of that. It also is a bit of a callback to characters like the Beaulacs on Ryan's Hope, who were doctors and research scientists. There's a dearth of unique careers in modern daytime, particularly for women. But I wouldn't have her roaming Llanview Hospital in a lab coat. There's enough regular doctors in OLTL history, though I think Kyle Lewis needs to come back on at least a recurring basis and Greg will need a replacement. Of course, I also want to see Larry Wolek on recurring as COS, so what do I know.

Wasn't Marty a surgical resident in the '90s, or what? I never liked that they just tossed her to psychiatry. IIRC Larry was her role model.

[Cheap21]

I think OLTL cemented Starr's place as the good teen girl when they brought on Danielle as Todd's new young bratty teen daughter. They gave her the angst and anger to play out with Starr settling into her role as a mom. With Daniell around and with more trouble on her way to come, I dont see Starr reverting as that just might make her redundant.

[Vee]

I agree that they've settled into that lazy, barely-thought-out dichotomy for Starr and Danielle. It doesn't really make any sense. The only logic is "well, we cast another teen girl, guess this is what we'll do." It's bullshit and it sells both of them short. I think Danielle is more earthy than Starr, but beyond that I'm generally at a loss as to what to do with her yet. I still think she should never really be bonded with Todd - that in and of itself would be a point of delineation. I think she'd still be good with Matthew. I think she could be more of an activist type. Beyond that who knows. The character wasn't really thought through beyond "we want to give Todd and Tea a kid, and also Kristen is getting older." And that's lame. There isn't enough Danielle there yet beyond her temper (which she took from Starr) to really know who she is or where to go, so one would have to start making it up now. So I would make her forceful and strong, yet not a bitch on wheels like Starr. And I think that's an interesting contrast because I see Danielle and Starr's mothers reversing those roles in some ways. I think Blair grew up a lot to raise those kids during Roger Howarth's many outs, whereas Tea still just does whatever. And I think they both have a place on the show, but what I think is interesting about that in how it relates to the younger girls is how Blair seems to have links to Danielle and Langston's earthiness, while Starr is off on her own trip - like Tea, IMO. I don't know. It may have to do with the fact that Blair's just had more scenes with the others than with her own daughter of late.

[SFK]

That's interesting. And the idea of a wealthy diva vet coming to work in stilettos, reptile and fur just tickles me, that's the kind of vet Dorian would have been.

[SFK]

I do like the idea of Starr doing SOMETHING that isn't *fashion*, even legitimate journalism like her aunt Viki opposed to her tabloidish dad (and even Dorian during her Intruder days) would be a refreshing change. If she did do something *girly* ( ), I'd hope that they'd at least have her revive the Melador name or something.

I guess it would have been a little too predictable (?), but from the moment we learned of Dani, I was hoping for some sibling rivalry with Starr if only to make Starr a little more interesting. Dani and Jack bitched a little, whatevs...

[Vee]

I'd just put Danielle with a recast Cole in a couple years. Cole's fresh out of jail, kicking another drug habit, disgraced. He and Starr try to give it another go but they're both too tarnished and changed, and so a secret affair begins with The Only One Who Understands. There's your rivalry. Most "sibling stole my lover" stories on soaps today are poorly done. There's only a few that have developed it long-term and gone anywhere interesting with it, which is why I was always fascinated by the meager bits of the Jack/Siobhan stuff from RH that I got to see. I'd do that kind of slow burn, even though I like Matthew and Dani.

[Cheap21]

I thoght that was exactly where they were going especially since their mothers hated each other. I thought daughter would be pitted agaisnt daughter as their respective mothers fought. I actually would have preferred a sibling rivalry at first before they got close

[SFK]

Honestly, I feel like Starr and Dani are similar enough at this point that if KA left the show, KM could easily slip into her place. Big differences being that Dani has no baby and she's imo spicier (OMG, I REALLY hope I spelled that right ) and more engaging and believable at playing teary shouting matches and the like. I think she's more "fun" to watch, like the whole adventure and craziness with James and Cole would have been more vivid with her at the center. Wow, I sound like I'm really slagging KA off today, and I don't mean to. Maybe I'm just feeling that Starr has become a little played out, not unlike Jessica, and maybe KA's gotten a little too *comfortable* (e.g., those "bad habits" Vee was referring to).

[SFK]

Exactly, and I almost felt like they were trying to make some PC statement by doing that, like, "Gosh, how cliche that young women have to be jealous and bitchy, sisters pitted against one another. Why can't there be love from the get-go?" Cuz that ain't interesting.

[DRW50]

I don't think that Alderson's look had a negative impact on the stories (although honestly I think the stories were poor to begin with). I think in some way it sort of added to the drama, because viewers could sense that Starr was still too young to have had a child and too young to be in this angst-ridden and sometimes very ugly relationship. If she was cast with some random 25 year old? As uninterested as I am in Starr, I think that thanks to Alderson staying around the character does have some believability, and a fan base.

I think the real mistake was in letting Starr keep the baby. I think OLTL should have had Marcie adopt the child as originally planned. Then Starr would have had more freedom in stories and this also could have set up material years down the road.

I don't believe that SORASing does much of anything to help in most roles. Remember all the talk about how Erin Torpey was too young to be a believable Jessica and how Bree Williamson would be more mature? Instead Jessica has been regressed and infantilized to a shocking degree.

[DRW50]

I think Missal is too low-key to be able to handle that type of material. I remember how terrible she was when she screeched at Destiny to show how "feisty" she was and how she was just like Todd and Tea. She is better when she's quieter and when the women in Danielle's life try to protect her.

The whole idea of Todd's insta-child and the endless fighting over him, especially considering what a terrible father he is, I think would have been too much too soon. Last year's story was all about denigration of women as Todd stood around smirking, zoning out, and pouting -- and they got a ratings drop as a reward.

Whatever their reasons, I think having Starr and Danielle get along is the better writing choice, then maybe they can clash later on.