OLTL Tribute Thread

[oltl1]

If memory serves correct, Walkers Max found out he wasn’t a true Buchanan and felt everyone he loved / trusted had lied to him and that he didn’t know who he was anymore, so left to “find” himself. His relationship with Asa was strained from that point on (although he did pass as Asa’s son again under JFP) and upon DePaiva’s return, he did hook up again with Lee Ann. Agreed on Lee Ann being a hold over but I am surprised at the amount of story she received and that Malone anchored her to the Buchanan’s with Duke, as I always found Bleeth hard to watch. As for Max and Luna, I believe Walker and Max we’re off the canvas when Batten was introduced

Edited August 4, 2020 by oltl1

[slick jones]

 

Ditto, and I'd add Dorian LoPinto to round it out.

[Jonathan]

Hearing about the Who's the Boss revival led me down a rabbit hole of Judith Light videos.  Judith's answers in this interview are so thoughtful especially when she talks about the autistic boy at 5:23.  You can tell she was appreciative of her time on OLTL. 

 

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[All My Shadows]

I remember her telling that story on her Intimate Portrait wayyyyy back (which was the first time I'd ever seen clips of the scene), and homegirl broke completely down in tears as she told it. She's always so honest and genuine any time she discusses OLTL, and it's never in a "Well, that's what I did before I became somebody" way. She considers OLTL the beginning of her being somebody, and I love that.

[BetterForgotten]

And really, the career she has for an actress her age in both theater and prestige TV has been pretty amazing. She really ended up transcending both the "soap star" and "sitcom mom" negative Hollywood crap that typecasts so many people.  

[Vee]

I know what I'd do if anyone ever lured her back briefly to OLTL. It just kills me no one did. (Ron's alleged idea for her in the final weeks was very stupid.)

[cassadine1991]

Wonder what would’ve happened to the show had Malone stayed longer as HW the second go around??

[Vee]

It was bad enough when he did. I remember that run vividly. I was extremely excited about it, and then increasingly disappointed. It was very creative and also often very bad. It resembled DOOL (which at the time was written by James Reilly). I remember @EricMontreal22 and I regularly marveling at the insane pretentious excess and fantasy episode crap over the years. But you can't say they were bored or phoning it in, that's for sure. It's surreal to go back and watch - there's ridiculous stuff they did, like the Rear Window subplot with Michael, Marcie and Dorian, or the Matrix twins at Roxy's hotel, that I can't stop recalling - and there are certain aspects of it or characters held the test of time, or lasted long. I find his apparently equally messy AW run also a fascinating morbid watch. I think Malone would've been a boon to any OLTL as a consultant, and still had a lot to offer in a controlled position but he couldn't be allowed to HW again.

 

Two idle thoughts of the night.

 

1) I've thought this for a long time, but there are striking similarities between Martha Byrne and Kristen Alderson, not just physically as adolescents and young women but in background as child actors who grew up on their shows. The difference is Byrne was given some of the best writing daytime ever offered, while Alderson generally got total crap as a young adult. Watching '80s ATWT you watch Lily grow from a spoiled poor little rich girl prone to constant rages and tantrums into a woman, you can see a lot of what Starr could've been with better, more nuanced handling than the teen queen they turned her into. Yes, Marland's ATWT often treated Lily like she hung the moon, but she was still far more dimensional and nuanced than the teenaged Starr.

 

2) I would've loved to have seen what Pam Long could've done at OLTL without Jill Farren Phelps. I have no idea what if anything she was responsible for dreaming up alone in '98. I've always respected her GL run, and how textured and deeply personal it was to her, and have watched too little of it, only large bits and pieces over the years. I also always respected how she embraced bringing Roger and Holly back, when IIRC it was not her idea. I don't know where to start to dig in to her backlog though.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Vee

[Vee]

I was watching a GH '95 episode with a fascinating therapy session with Bobbie and Tony Jones (spearheaded by Kevin Collins), and this led me down the rabbit hole of comparing and contrasting - I remember the therapy sessions Viki had with Susannah Hanen pretty well in '95, but most of what I recall or have reviewed of them are super dramatic, with the alters popping out and big reveals and so on. Those scenes were excellent, but I was curious about more quiet, thoughtful stuff. This led me to one of the more polarizing elements of Claire Labine's run on OLTL - Maude Hayes, the sex therapist played by the legendary Helen Gallagher. I knew these scenes existed but I don't think I've ever seen them. I'm not going to say all Labine's OLTL stories were genius because they most certainly weren't, but this stuff is fascinating. You would never see scenes like these (or the ones with the Joneses on GH) on modern daytime. And that's really what the daily medium should be for.

 

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Edited August 6, 2020 by Vee

[John]

Wsasnt Karen gonna be married to Herb Callison & that Aubrey would have been revealed to be Katrina Karr's daughter, the one Karen switched with Jenny's dead baby

 

[Vee]

Those were the rumors/claims, and yes they were all very stupid.

[John]

I think I read somewhere that Judith didnt think Karen would ever marry Herb and why wouldnt she still be with Steve, who her real life husband used to play and I agree

 

Its like on GH for its 50th. They wanted John Stamos & Demi Moore back and to reveal that Jackie & Blackie were married. Made no sense

 

The Aubrey being Katrina's daughter could have worked if they had Nancy Snyder return as Katrina

The fact the One Life killed Jenny off in the late 90s made no sense. Brynn Thayer would have loved to return

Edited August 6, 2020 by John

[Vee]

How could it have "worked?" Aubrey sucked as a character and there was no point in making her Katrina Karr with no actors there. Just putting an Easter egg into a show means nothing if the character and story suck.

[John]

Worked was the wrong word but If they wanted Aubrey to be Katrina's kid then bring back Katrina. Regardless given it was Aubrey's last episodes it made zero sense to try & make that connection

[OzFrog]

 

Thank you for finding this. That kinda psychological based exploratory dialogue is what I love about soaps. Y&R did it beautifully for so many decades. And additionally, Erin Torpey is so cute as Jessica in those clips. She and Erika Slezak did mother and daughter so well.