OLTL Tribute Thread

[soapfave06]

Mia was amazing as Blair, rather she would have returned or not, they easily could have created a new character for Kassie. I don’t care to watch 96-early 2000s but was Kelly really necessary? Maybe that’s unpopular

Oh, I love that scene between Rachel and Sheila. I hate they moved away from Kevin and Rachel, but they could have created a more interesting love interest than Ben. Yawn. 

By the way, was there any dropped threads or opportunities the show missed post-DID? It just got so aimless it seems come ‘96, Viki had nothing to do, Carlo came back, Luna was dead, etc. Maybe David Vickers could have been a full fledge villain? Viki and Clint back together? 

[marceline]

I heard Alanis Morrisette's Uninvited on some TV show this weekend and it gave me all kinds of feels. I kept wondering why and then I realized...Todd and Tea.

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I loved these characters but looking back I can't help but be ashamed. This was a sick relationship.

[Vee]

Honey, life is too short for that. The times were the times, deeply imperfect though they were. I still love Luke and Laura, I still find Roger and Holly's relationship fascinating, I still was very into Todd and Blair and I have a lot of fondness for Téa. What are you gonna do, it's TV history in motion. It doesn't mean we want the show revived as Two Rapists to Live in the 2020s.

That being said, I hope you caught Alanis covering the Yellowjackets theme in a recent ep of that show. I heard the first notes and knew that voice anywhere.

[Khan]

There's nothing wrong with depicting relationships like Todd and Tea's -- or Todd and Blair's, or Roger and Holly's, or Luke and Laura's -- so long as all the complexities are acknowledged by everyone observing.  You only run into trouble when you try to paint the lovers in question as star-crossed super couples of the same level as, say, Phil and Tara, or Jeff and Penny.

[marceline]

Yellowjackets is the TV show I was talking about. I just started watching it this past weekend and like you said, those notes and that voice gave me some weird flashbacks.

[Vee]

The issue with all of those couples (except maybe Roger and Holly) is that there were times they were, and times they really weren't.

Very early in Claire Labine's GH run, actually, there was a very, very subtle and smart nod to L&L's past. I linked it here.

[titan1978]

Roger and Holly remains the exception to me because the show never revolves around Roger as an anti-hero. Other characters that are mostly good are not thrown under the bus to make Roger into something he was not.

Roger was allowed to have all the layers- he was sexy, loyal in his way, complicated, and capable of loving relationships.  But he was also the same Roger that raped Holly and wrecked havoc on Springfield more than once, and that edge never left.  And thankfully for GL they treated him and those relationships carefully (especially when the show was written well).

Todd and Luke were morphed into leads, Luke really became the hero.  But they were both treated with less sensitivity than Roger.

It is sometimes wild to remember not only Marty’s rape and trial, but also Todd stalking Nora and attacking Luna.  And then  he just ends up the town smart-ass.

[Khan]

That type of transformation could not happen today without a ton of pushback from the viewers.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Khan

[titan1978]

Agreed.

[DRW50]

My opinion on Kelly, especially Gina's Kelly:

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[soapfan770]

Robin Strasser spilling tea and I’m here for it:

 

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[Vee]

I remember the mags (back when they still had a shred of autonomy) suggesting the same - that Dorian and Mel's wedding was thrown together in the offices because the show no longer had regard for them.

I was shocked by both Laura Bonarrigo's firing (one of the first soap magazine stories or BTS machinations I ever became aware of as a teen, after Genie Francis' long maternity leave at GH) and Robin's subsequent ousting. I thought both were simply foundational, I looked up to Cassie as a big sister type and as a young viewer I didn't know they could be touched in that way. I never 100% forgave the show for what JFP did to Robin, and I don't think Robin ever fully got over it either.

Edited May 19, 2023 by Vee

[j swift]

At least she got a prettier dress out of that wedding than the one with Herb

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And, to be fair, there were enough press photos to suggest that JFP supported the promotion of the event (I know that I'll get dragged for the mere mention of supporting JFP, but as a producer, she had a say in the promotional budget).

Edited May 19, 2023 by j swift

[Vee]

Taking the industry standard perfunctory press photos isn't the same thing as having a real vested interest. Within a year of that quickie wedding Markle was gone, and within a year of that exit Jill had pushed Robin Strasser out.

[Khan]

Mel was Dorian's best pairing after Herb, and probably one of the best things Claire Labine ever did during her HW'ing stint at OLTL was create him as a new love interest for Dorian.