OLTL Tribute Thread

[DRW50]

Someone uploaded this to Archive not long ago. It's February 8, 1988. I know a ton of this period of the show (the Wild West story) was up on Youtube at one time so if you've been around long enough it won't be new to you, but I'm posting again anyway. If you have a problem watching the video you can download by clicking on the mpeg4 button and then clicking again to download the file.

One Life To Live (Feb 8th, 1988) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

[Sapounopera]

[John]

Question about Cassie

Ava Hadad returned in 1990 when Elaine Princi began as Dorian.

Laura Koffman began in 1991. Did Hadad exit and Koffman started right away or was there a gap between Hadad and Koffman's stints?

[Vee]

There was a significant gap. Haddad only returned for a brief guest run in '90, I believe. She was long gone before Laura Bonarrigo was hired the following year.

Edited August 15, 2024 by Vee

[John]

Thank you. I asked because the 1990 episode I saw, Haddad said now that i moved back home

[SFK]

Cassie had moved to Mendorra following her mother. IIRC (the episodes were on YT), Cassie appeared in a couple of episodes first before Princi made her debut. As Vee mentioned, Ava didn't stay long after Cassie and Dorian returned to Llanview.

Strasser once said that for Laura Bonnarigo-Koffman, it took some getting used to adjusting to a new actress playing her mom. Strasser quipped, "How do you think I feel!? You're my FOURTH Cassie!"

[DRW50]

Nice to see you posting again - there have been a number of new AMC and Loving/The City episodes and clips up you might enjoy.

[SFK]

Thank you! It's nice to be back. And thank you for the tags, lots of classic material to catch up on.

[Paul Raven]

1. Edmonton Journal July 12 1991

SCOOP Rauch talks about his departure from ABC CONNIE PASSALACQUA United Media Hollywood

TWO months ago, when executive producer Paul Rauch suddenly left One Life to Live, we wrote that it was a profound loss to daytime. Two weeks later, Rauch, the medium's most innovative producer, landed a job with Santa Barbara. Recently, Rauch finally caught up with us to expound a few points. Of his departure from newly costcutting ABC, he says, "It was a mutual decision, because I felt I could not run the show based on ABC's new financial policies.' Toward the end of his reign with One Life to Live. he says, he had brought his show in $1 million under budget.

But he still feels his creativity was being stifled by the new thinking at ABC Daytime. "It seems that it's de rigeur now to play slice-of-life (stories) there," he says. "No one wants to take risks on daytime anymore," Rauch adds. "But in this medium, you have to take risks or you die."* Rauch, never a gusher, seems clearly thrilled to be working with Santa Barbara head writers Bridget and Jerry Dobson. "They're great writers," he says.

"They are not afraid to take chances. They're not afraid to have something not work. They have what no one else has in this business right now a sense of originality."* Rauch takes a final swipe at ABC when we ask if he thinks the network will achieve anything by hiring actors and producers at lower salaries. One example is Dirty Dancing producer Linda Gottlieb. "They do want to hire  people with no background in daytime," he says."They do want to hire since Jack Wagner (formerly people with no background Frisco Jones on General in daytime," he says."I'm not sure how financial criteria equates with success in a medium that requires specialty. All I know is I've been doing this 35 years."

As Rauch says, producers always have to take risks. And that includes clearing the way for new story lines.It seems that the majority of the Lockridge family (the characters said to be the most like head writers Bridget and Jerry Dobson) are being phased out. Nicolas Coster (Lionel) left a few months ago, and Paul  now Louise Sorel, who created the role of Augusta,  has been written out too.  Also going is Shell Danielson. who played daughter Laken Lockridge.All this is mucho strange,  since Jack Wagner (formerly Frisco Jones on General Hospital )has just made his debut as brother Warren Lockridge.

In light of Linda Gottlieb's success at OLTL, Rauch comes off as a bit arrogant. Especially when he never achieved success at any of his subsequent gigs. He jumped on the bandwagon of shock/awe  stuff that grabbed viewers short term and cost $$$. In terms of originality going back to 'slice of life' was actually a bolder move than underground cities, time travel etc.

 

[j swift]

It is crazy if you consider it within the context of that story.

It would be like if Grey's Anatomy suddenly started stories using prat falls and fart jokes. 

We simply accepted that given the continuation of characters and sets, it was the same show.  Yet, in actuality, it was a wildly different show with a different tone, storytelling style, and focus.  Looking back, it is truly remarkable that fans of the Rauch era kept watching during the Gottlieb era.  Taste is subjective, and I am certain there were fans of both, but it was a stark contrast within a very short period of time.

 

[Franko]

Is Pamela Blair playing the female talk show host in the July 9, 1991 episode?

[slick jones]

It sure is.

[Franko]

She certainly made the rounds on the NYC soaps.

Also, as sweet as Max and Asa making amends is, I feel like they've been having variants of this scene for quite a while now.

[DRW50]

It helped that many Rauch-era viewers had already cleared out by that time, but I notice from various reviews at the time that it was not as well-received then as it was later on.

[Franko]

I know why they eventually had to age/recast Joey with Nathan Fillion, but I'm liking the smartass-comic relief quality Chris McKenna had in 1991. I dunno, maybe I'm a softy for kid actors.