OLTL Tribute Thread

[DRW50]

Thanks. Well I knew I recognized him from somewhere.

 

I wonder why Brooke stopped getting so many commercials. She was a natural. Maybe she became too familiar...or aged out or whatever.

[DramatistDreamer]

I came across this and thought you OLTL fans may recognize her.

 

Talking PBS's Arthur, Soap Operas, and Donkeys with Playwright Cusi Cram

 

[DRW50]

Thanks. She has those Cramer genes - she still looks a lot like Robin Strasser, and like the Melindas. 

 

Did you put it in the WETN thread?

[DramatistDreamer]

There's a WETN thread?  Good to know.

[DRW50]

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[DRW50]

I think Vee posted this before, or mentioned it, but it's a clear example of how the Malone/Griffith return was being marketed - very self-aware, reminding viewers of past favorites and how the future was going to be as good or better. I wonder if it clearly not turning out that way was another reason why Valentini and Frons ended up flushing so much of the show.

 

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[DRW50]

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[cassadine1991]

Love that that YT account has those videos out; it's too bad how Malone's returned turned out

[allmc2008]

I don't know anything about the 2nd run.  What was bad about it and why did it go down hill?

[DRW50]

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[John]

Renee Elise Goldsberry reflects on her time on OLTL

http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/renee-elise-goldsberry-talks-the-frustration-joy-her-eventual-decision-to-leave-oltl/2016/08/16/

[Khan]

"The formula of soap operas makes it really hard for an African-American to get any traction. There’s always a family that’s central to the story on a soap opera, and if the show loves you, you will turn into the long-lost brother or you will get married, which is easy to do for a white character. But as an ethnic person, they bring you on to be smart. You get to be the lawyer or the doctor for the family. No one sees where you live, they never bring you home. There might be one episode in February where they talk about your family because it’s Black History Month. Your character might be on once every three weeks. You walk into a room and you say something really smart and noble, and then you walk out. And you only make money when they write for your character. You couldn’t win the game as a person of color, no matter how talented or beautiful you were."

 

Yep.

[marceline]

And black soap actors of all ages said "Amen."

[Vee]

marceline and I had a private conversation about Renee not long ago along some of these lines.

 

Hewing back to the post above about the "Storm of Change", I remember that I was incredibly excited when the casting notice went out for the Evangeline character in either late '02 or early '03, because to me the character sketch - ambitious young black professional - was emblematic of the characters the Malone/Griffith/Gottlieb regime had trafficked in in the '90s when I started out with the show. I felt certain this meant the black canvas was going to become a real thing again. But they didn't use her enough, and later on I was frankly down on the character and the performance. (As per what DRW50 said, I think the blame for what became of Malone/Griffith II is likely an equal or near-equal split between Fronsian micromanagement and Malone having just plain bad ideas mixed in with mostly scrapped good ones.)

 

I always thought Renee was beautiful and very talented, but after the first six or so months I never thought much of Van on the show. I thought the character became a cardboard saint very quickly after starting out somewhat duplicitious and driven (with no major airtime), when I felt that ambition was much more where REG's energy lived and breathed - I thought making her a stock heroine neutered the character, like so many black characters on soaps, and I didn't like how R.J. was thrown under the bus for her (among others). And I didn't think Goldsberry was able to imbue the bland writing for Evangeline with much more beyond the schlock she was given. But everyone knows how I feel about that.

 

I honestly didn't really have a dog in the John McBain wars because I had soured on Michael Easton almost immediately after the tiresome stopgaps, triangles and quads began with John, Natalie and the various women they hurled at him over the years before and after Evangeline. My issue was with the character and how they wrote her. But what is undeniable looking back though, what took me longer to appreciate, and what marceline and I talked about recently and what I think REG touches on a little bit here, is that today it would be absolutely unthinkable for them to give a black woman the kind of major exposure and centralized airtime and story they gave Evangeline.

 

Part of the reason I didn't appreciate it then is because it's somehow even worse of a problem in the industry now than it was in the early 2000s - and not just because there are fewer soaps. I mean, you look at the difference between how hard they played REG in 2004-2006 or so vs. the scraps given to women of color on OLTL later on (who can forget the recurring Evans family's whiteface piefight?), or on Frank Valentini's GH today, or really any soap standing today, and it's stark. They pushed her hard. Whether or not I cared for the character's storylines, that was a major push for an actress of color, and daytime never bothered again. Today - a decade later! - it would be seen as dangerous and radical. They'd never put Vinessa Antoine (or whoever) with Roger Howarth or Billy Miller, etc. on GH. They'd never put Mishael Morgan with Jason Thompson. And the beautiful, charismatic Donnell Turner playing Curtis has been reduced to white Rebecca Budig's platonic hand-holding friend/servant for a reason.

And what she says about Black History Month is so true. Remember the godawful One Pure People white supremacist storyline right before she left, where they trotted out every black recurring player to hang out and do some photo shoot with the Banner or something. It was godawful. They couldn't commit to any longstanding characters of color but here's, uh, Shawn, Vincent and Vincent's entourage posing with Nora, Bo and Matthew. Give me a break.

 

I'm so glad she's doing well. I just wish she'd been used better when she was with us. But I wish a lot of things when it comes to daytime, OLTL, and the characters of color.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Vee

[DeeeDee]

Tim Stickney said the same thing not long after he exited OLTL (for the final time).