OLTL Tribute Thread

[soapfave06]

Continuing my random era rewatches:

Summer 1986:

-The show phases characters in and out at warp speed, this really sets the standard for what’s to come as they struggled to build outside of the Buchanans and Max/Gabrielle, which hurt the show by 1990 greatly. 
-I’m really surprised how deep they went with Asa’s prejudice, Cord feeling he is not good enough for Tina due to being working class and half-Mexican, Maria even slapping Cord when he allows himself to feel shame for his heritage, so on. 
-This is the beginning of Rauch disposing of all black characters as Lisa Baron has been kidnapped due to father Bart’s dirty dealings, such a waste as Laura Carrington is a breathe of fresh air. Lisa seems torn between Josh Hall and Cord’s sports reporter friend, Mike Rivers, but now Ed, Bart, Lisa, Josh and Mike have vanished almost overnight. We always hear of Ellen Holly and Lillian Hayman being dumped but this was very blatantly done. There is also a black Lt. at the LPD named Bill Monroe and very diverse casting for the extras compared to what I’ve seen in 1987-90.
-The show moves FAST: Mitch has been released, started a cult and been killed with Dorian on trial for his murder in barely three months time, and it’s super fun to see Cassie as a strong woman on a crusade to save friend Joy; Viki and Tina putting aside differences and placing themselves in jeopardy to bring Mitch down; Dorian fighting to rescue Cassie, etc.

-It’s a shame a show set in the publishing industry didn’t maintain a standard of strong women, dangerous undercover assignments, etc instead of focusing on…rape. 

-It is almost effortlessly good as it builds a Tom/Viki/Clint/Maria quadrangle and Dorian is torn between her past with Herb and affair with Jon as she stands trial. Tom and Maria fit right in and the chemistry is there, compared to the horrid Roger/Viki/Clint. 
-The O’Neill’s are being phased out and almost seem out of place outside of their ties to Mitch from Harry’s death a year earlier…Cassie and Rob are about headed out…The Sanders family is slowly being introduced alongside Daniel Wolek with an almost gay toned friendship with Jamie Sanders. 
-Mari-Lynn, who plays as a Barbie in Peril, is slowly introduced with Tom revealed as her father. 
-Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I’m bored by Asa and Pamela- Pamela almost has no purpose. I wish she would have been power hungry and eyeing a role at BE keeping her at odds with Asa or something. 
-The best is the great use of history: Rafe is on the phone with Ed, whose helping Carla care for Sadie (I’m surprised they mentioned Carla and Sadie since they were dumped a year earlier); Viki recalls the car accident that killed baby Megan after she crashes her car while pregnant with Jessica; Tom’s return brings memories for Clint, Viki and Larry. 
 

-Missed Opportunities from this era are definitely losing Cassie and Lisa, Ava Haddad is perfection as Cassie and her friendship with Lisa is enjoyable; the miscasting of Daniel Wolek and Josh Hall is unfortunate; Allison is quite interesting as she tries to move past the cult, I wish they could have kept her after the Jessica kidnapping arc as a consistent sociopath. Viki/Clint/Tina/Cord/ Max/Gabrielle could have used a group to offset them and Lisa/Cassie/Josh/Daniel/ Allison would have been great, as fun as Mari-Lynn had she and Wade weren’t exactly anything to write home about. 

Fall-Christmas 1996:

-Not much to say as literally the entire show revolves around Todd, Todd, Todd. Viki’s entire purpose is Todd and killing Kevin in these episodes. Wtf. 
-I did enjoy the original Todd and Blair angst as I haven’t seen much and the toxicity that revolves around them. I hear nothing good of it, but interesting to see Blair/Marty/ Patrick/Todd quad.

-It’s nice to see Hank, RJ and Carlotta so involved in Llanview going-ons. 
-I wanted to try to like Antonio-Andi but I guess since he is undercover it’s not a good time for this. 
-Patrick and Marty bring down the Men of 21, not sure this is the climax but it was very..boring and low stakes with a basement blown up and an arrest at an airport with equally boring Max and Maggie. 
-The show feels aimless as Joey, Kelly, Drew, Rachel, Jessie, Christian are just…there. This wouldn’t be so mad if Viki and Dorian had something, anything to do of note. I did enjoy the Kevin/Cassie/Andrew triangle though. 
-Did the show do anything with Jessica and OG Christian? They have great chemistry, had broken up at some point and discussed trying to get back together-compared to what GH (coming off Robin/Stone) and AMC (the Kevin Sheffield story) was doing with their younger set at this time, seems like a lost opportunity to not better utilize Jess/Chris. 

[danfling]

I never felt that Guy Davis as Dr. Josh Hall was a miscasting at all.   I thought that he was great in the role.

I also never felt that the Danny-Jamie Sanders friendship was "gay-themed."

I am glad that you mentioned Mike (Eriq LaSalle)!   I had forgotten that he and Cord were friends, but I thought that he could have been utilized in an effective way (which never happened).

You also did not mention Bobby Blue (Blair Underwood).    I thought that the relationship between Bobby and Vikki was really good and was successful at showing the audience yet-another side of Vikki's personality.  Bobby would have been a good foil, later, against R. J.

Wanda was just beginning to have a romance with Virgil (John Fieldler)...

[soapfave06]

It’s hard to tell with Guy Davis as he is given little to do, so he just seems “there” but there was a great, extended scene of Ed and Josh confiding their issues in each other and I did enjoy it, but Josh was played very straight laced and based on his history I think he should have had a bit more attitude and savy. Speaking of Josh, I believe he was at Rafe’s bachelor party and now with Mike, Lisa, Bart and Ed gone, he isn’t even shown directly on camera, is kept completely off to the side. I’m not sure what happened in August 1986 that led to this mass exodus. 
 

Mike Rivers had great potential, he and Cord come off as genuine friends and it works well since they both work at The Banner. Another actor played him before Eric and I quite liked both. 
 

I think Bobby Blue has left town at this point, I’ve seen episodes with him and I must say I think Lisa/Bobby could have been something MAJOR and Bobby and Viki/Niki are fantastic. There was also a little schemer named Stella, who clashed with Lisa and tried to bring Bobby back into trouble. 
 

 

[danfling]

I had forgotten about Stella.

You are exactly right about Dr. Josh Hall.   Guy Davis had very little to do!  And, a little more personality would have been a welcome.

I think what happened during that summer was that two original cast members (although both of them left and then returned), Ellen Holly as Carla and Lillian Hayman as Sadie, were dismissed.   The Hall family had a big storyline coming, but the storyline was moved over to the Sanders family.  The show's producer wanted as little connection to Carla and Sadie as possible, so Lisa, Josh and Ed were all dropped.   The character that John Amos played took up where Ed's character was dropped.  Fortunately, Ken Meeker as Rafe was kept for continuity!

The dropping of Lisa and Josh came about the same time that the Dr. Ivan Kipling storyline and the characters of Dan and Annie were dropped.   Cassie, Rob and Guiletta were all kept and moved from the country back to Llanview.

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by danfling

[Jagger1966]

I completely agree that Bobby and Lisa could have been something major because I felt the chemistry between Blair Underwood and Laura Carrington was off the charts.  I always wondered why Bobby disappeared so suddenly, whether it was Underwood's choice or Paul Rauch's.  Same with Laura Carrington, the last scene I remember of her was Lisa visiting her father in the hospital after she was rescued from her kidnapping.  I'm not sure if she ever appeared again or was even mentioned.  Lisa and Josh just seemed to disappear without a trace.

[Vee]

I'd like to see that scene.

I had heard before that Ed might have been sent off to reunite with Carla and Sadie in Arizona or wherever, but I've never known if it was true. Sounds as though it might be. I know Ed apparently returned briefly a year or two later but I don't know in what way. I still remember that late '70s episode that went up not long ago where they clearly, shockingly appeared to be testing the older teen Josh (I don't believe it was Laurence FIshburne) with Julie Montgomery's Samantha.

I still don't get how they introduced a mid-late '20s son of Josh in 2000 - Jared Hall, the wooden ADA with a checkered past. He didn't last long after JFP tested him poorly with the returned Ellen Bethea as Rachel. Al Freeman did come back for a day or two for Jared's dumb storyline (I think he cheated on the bar?) but I barely remember it and I don't believe it's on YT.

I always wanted (and would still want) to bring Josh and the Halls back. Though at this point if the show were still alive, instead of a viable recast I would want to see Ellen Holly and Al Freeman, Hayman, etc. honored by seeing if Fishburne was willing to appear for a day (a la Nathan FIllion) as a tribute to them. And I would simply bring on either his kids, or other cousins/relations as contract players.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Vee

[soapfave06]

I’m glad someone else noticed it, I watched just a bit from February 1986 and they were actually very frontburner, in almost every episode and the chemistry was off the charts. I’m not sure when Blair Underwood left but I think Erika Slezak mentioned in an interview he left for prime time, so it was his choice. 
 

From the episodes or maybe edits on YouTube, Lisa had a small scene with Cassie where she was preparing to go undercover in the cult and investigating a drug to counteract Mitch’s drugged iced tea, in the same episode, she and Mike make plans for a date, and Josh had been pursuing her before she was kidnapped, but then all three have vanished suddenly. 
 

I know Laura Carrington was on GH within the next year so I’m not sure if she chose to go to LA or if the show dropped her, but it was quite a loss. 

I’m hoping Ed appears one more time, but he took part in a drug raid at the Waterside Inn for Mitch’s cult, it was cool to see Mitch and Ed square off, I think that was his last scene and in the early August ‘86 edits is the offscreen phone call Rafe has with Ed where Sadie and Carla are mentioned directly. 
 

I remember Ed appearing in 1988 at one point in my watching, but I’m not sure if they just pretended he was in Llanview all along or he was visiting. 
 

Ed doesn’t even appear at Rafe and Delila’s wedding, a shame they didn’t get Lillian back for that as Sadie. 

I think that Josh Hall in ‘77 was Guy Davis, who played Bryan on GH I believe, and I was shocked they tested him with Samantha. They were more daring in the ‘70s than today, but oddly that went nowhere and they dropped Josh, though I am not sure Guy was well received or given the chance. 

It should have been so easy to honor Ed and Carla and that lane attempt with Jared Hall just didn’t work. I wish the Gannons would have been Josh and a brother (since he was adopted) or they introduced Jared or Josh later on with actual care and integrity. 
 

I did save some March 2000 episodes at one point, and he did cheat on the Bar, it’s a shame a pairing with Ellen Bethea did not pan out as I LOVED her Rachel, and a shame that her return itself did not work out. 
 

Daniel Wolek and Josh Hall were two characters that should have been on the show IMO to honor the Wolek and Hall families. 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by soapfave06

[danfling]

Even back in the 1980s, I felt that the departure of Blair Underwood was his own choice.  In the fall of 1986, his first primetime series, Downtown, premiered on CBS.

I think that the show was delighted and honored to have cast him in the role of Bobby, and that some of his final scenes were with Erica Slezak as Vikki.   They were probably hoping that he could possibly return later to the show.

Ed's return to the show was a visit.   

I have seen the episodes on which the show seemed to be leading Samantha Vernon and Josh Hall to a storyline.  I, too, thought that it was strange for the times (the 1970s).

I do not remember thinking that Bobby and Lisa would be well paired, but it has been so long ago that I may have simply forgotten.

I think that the departure of the Hall family brought about the dropping of the Lisa character.    The network was probably happy with this actress's work so she was cast in the serial General Hospital.

I think that the same thing happened earlier when Jeffrey Byron was dropped as Richard Abbott #4 and then was cast on All My Children as Dr. Jeff Martin #5.  I really think that his addition to All My Children changed the storyline.

[MissPalmer]

Does anyone know the date for Ed Hall's last episode? Was it in 1988?

[soapfave06]

I am officially hooked on 1986, this show moves insanely fast and every scene is well-written and produced and the background music is insanely good. The action scenes, and there are a ton of them, are very much above the daytime norm and very well choreographed. 
 

In three months Mitch developed a cult, the leading ladies infiltrated the cult, the cult members went nuts and staged a protest at Llanview Hospital, tried to burn Cassie and Rob alive then went after Tina and Cord on their honeymoon with a machete, Rafe went undercover to expose corruption within the LPD, Dorian stood trial, went to prison and before Llanview could breathe they are now facing an ever going crack production ring which was shot to the frontburner with half the cast robbed at the Pony’s Ball, not to mention the side plot with the Barons and Brad with Llanview having their own horse racing gambling issue. 
 

However this all moves naturally, Llanview feels like a true community, the family scenes are top notch and feel so real, they rarely miss a beat in making you care about all the characters. With that said, they continue introducing characters at rapid pace but do well to keep the Sanders tied to Herb and Dorian and the Dennisons tied to Viki and Clint. 
 

The use of Tom’s introduction continues to use history well as Wanda recollects to Clint how she once deeply loved Joe before he ended up with Viki.
 

They have set up the quadrangle with Tom, Viki, Clint and Maira fantastically well and used to propel the Tina and Maria feud and the secret of Cord’s paternity. A birthday party for Kevin coinciding with a welcome home party for Viki built to the big moments of Viki seeing Tom for the first time and (fainting rather dramatically) Tina and Maria taking the claws off fully for the first time so, so well. 
 

Dorian in Statesville uncovering the connection of the warden to the crack ring is also fantastic and the action scenes of Dorian and Susan beating the crap out of each other are phenomenal camp. 
 

Also, to update, they randomly brought Lisa and Josh back after over a month offscreen for the Pony’s Ball and to cause tension for Connie and Brad. Lisa sees her father off before he heads to Statesville and gives Brad her father’s thoroughbreds at the local stables; Brad is shot playing hero in the robbery and Josh treats him, but Lisa and Josh share no scenes and again haven’t been seen in weeks. 

The only minor complaints are the lack of story for Wanda and Larry; the slow erasure of any diversity and Pamela and Asa, which feels like such missed potential, and I’m not too familiar with Delila but I wish she were doing more than complaining about how much Rafe works since we know it doesn’t go anywhere. 
 

July seemed to be the end for Mike Rivers; September seems to be the true end of Josh and Lisa, and for sure Richard Abbott, Cassie Callison and Joy O’Neill have left town while former cult member Susan Bates has been murdered rather brutally by Vince and Jamie. 

From my memory of watching the classic episodes, I believe it was around March or April 1988. 
 

I would have loved to have seen Ed back to take part in an investigation to the Faux Bo plot, maybe working on a higher level. It would have been great timing with the 20th Anniversary that summer. Of course Ellen would never have been asked back nor probably agreed to return, but it would have been a good chance to close that chapter. 

[AMCOLTLLover]

Who was the better written villain on Oltl? Was it Carlo Hesser or Todd Manning?

[soapfave06]

I found Carlo and the entire Hesser family rather boring, especially coming off the 80s with some of the most menacing villains in the history of Llanview. I think it may have been a more fun twist to have Carlo almost Stefano-lite (not in the vein of brain chips and mad scientists) concerning Viki but ultimately I’m not sure he added anything to the show. 
 

As for Todd, that would never fly today but I think he served a great purpose in his time but the show made a grave mistake focusing probably 90% of the show on him and the 90s and for what became of VicTodd the less said the better, he was unbearable by the time he was yelling and beating Cole for what felt like an endless time. I do feel the Tale of Two Todd’s was a fantastic story despite the rewrites that was unfortunately halted by Victor’s murder and the cancellation though. 

[danfling]

Carlo Hesser was the more evil of the two you mentioned.

However, I thought that Dr. Ivan Kipling or Mitch Lawrence were even more evil.

[chrisml]

I think Todd ruined OLTL. They had to write themselves into pretzels to try to redeem Todd, and then he overtook the show for the rest of the series as @soapfave06 pointed out. It's one of the reasons I bailed on the show for periods because I grew tired of it. I don't think Todd was worth all the trouble except that we wouldn't have Starr, but that's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make.

[danfling]

I loved the way the Todd storylines were written as well as their results.

I just did not want Todd to ever reconcile with Blair after he returned from Ireland!  It would have been better if they had moved to other people.    

I liked Blair with Chad the bartended and Todd with either Rebecca or Tea!

I especially liked the scene in which Todd sees Victor before the old man's death.