OLTL Tribute Thread

[Khan]

That sounds like something I would've said about Joey Thrower and Robyn Griggs, lol.

On paper, the Kevin/Stephanie romance was ripe with possibilities, but TPTB just plain screwed up the casting on both ends.

Except, by 1991, "Words Get in the Way" wasn't as contemporary anymore.  (Even then, I was like, "Wow, that song is...kinda old?").  If Linda Gottlieb (or whoever) wanted to be contemporary, she might've been better off having Robyn Griggs sing something from Mariah Carey or Janet Jackson.

[Vee]

Exactly, which is why I said end credits aren't always worth much. (As we saw with Patrick Mulcahey ghostwriting at GH a bit early before his name was on the credits this year.)

The divide among fans for the Gottlieb era has always been there, but I am just very grateful we are able to see both the glory of the '80s and this incredible transition period these days.

I do agree about Robin's issues BTW, but personally that only happened for me when she came back again in 2003. Robin was deeply hurt by her being forced out by JFP, and I've long felt she came back determined to make herself indispensable to OLTL by bringing her performances up and up and up, feeling as though this would be her giving it 100%. She still did good work in the last decade-plus, but she was often too quick to go for the histrionic vs. prior stints for me.

I love how his letter to her said 'let's never let the words get in the way'. I am not going to back and watch the rest but haven't they known each other maybe a few weeks? And is this message not tantamount to him suggesting they just fúck?

[Khan]

Believe it or not, I'm grateful as well, lol.

I dunno.  It's tough for me to think of the last time I was SOOOOOOOOO excited to watch a particular soap everyday.  By 1991/1992, AMC, DAYS and OLTL all had changed so much from what I remembered; and by 1995, both ATWT and GL were shells of their former selves as well.  This was the period, I think, when I started getting more into GH and Y&R, but by the end of the '90's, even those two (along with James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten's stuff on GL) had turned into disappointments for me!

They definitely rushed the Kevin/Stephanie romance, lol.  However, if they had bothered to cast better actors who shared real chemistry, you might've been able to overlook that.  Instead, you got Robyn Griggs, who was as nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying to me as Kelly Ripa; and Joey Thrower, who was telegenic enough, but who was better suited for a Miller/Boyett sitcom than he was for a soap opera.

[Vee]

They were rushing a lot of things in late Rauch including Bo and Cassie and Max and Lee Ann, both of which are weird and in the case of the latter downright creepy. Laura Bonarrigo is particularly taxing at this point as Cassie is written so weak in the early months. I adored her by the time I started watching a couple years later, and I still think she should've never been discarded by JFP. She's still beautiful today, BTW.

Joey Thrower is cute but I can't imagine him in any of the stories of '93, etc. OTOH I do remember him being good during the Megan death stuff. I guess I'll have to revisit it in time.

I had no idea until the other day that Virgil the angel reappears very briefly, in an almost abstracted Twin Peaks moment, to Viki the day after Megan dies in '92. He's there in the hospital room and she knows without dialogue that he is there for Megan. They showed an extensive flashback to Starship Heaven to prime the audience as to who he is, but other than that he has almost no dialogue that I saw beyond calling "Victoria's" name. A bold choice which I appreciated - you knew why he was there.

Father Tony is very hot! It's weird to see him with Jason Webb, two characters from two different eras. They should not have let Mark Brettschneider get away.

Also: I love Chris McKenna and his Joey, but his asthma attack scenes are giving Sanford and Son.

Edited September 25, 2024 by Vee

[John]

I do wonder what Chris McKenna would have done with Joey if he had returned in 2003 or 2010. Bruce Michael Hall was ok and I did like Tom Degnan as Joey but I so wanted Chris to revisit Joey again but alas. 

[DRW50]

I may be wrong, but I think Robin mentioned struggling with how to play Dorian when she returned. I thought most of her material that first year back was so one-note and plot-driven, making her look as bad as possible (even killing her grandchild) to justify Viki and the sainted Sloan wanting to lock her up. Once we got to the trial and jail period for Dorian, I think Robin found her footing again and the story improved.

Edited September 25, 2024 by DRW50

[Vee]

I think they've all said they weren't sure what to do with Dorian until the trial - the Emily Haynes thing, etc. What's really bizarre is some recent and I think period reports (maybe from Malone himself, I can't recall offhand) which suggested they originally conceived of Joey/Dorian on paper with Chris McKenna(!!). That seems unfathomable to me. I have been watching him be tested heavily with Reiko Aylesworth's Rebecca in summer '93, and it's clear he just reads too young for her too.

I was pleased to see Robin expressing sympathy for how Elaine Princi was treated on Twitter awhile back. Princi did a very strong job pinch-hitting.

Edited September 25, 2024 by Vee

[DRW50]

I can't remember for sure but I think there was an SOD article from 1993 or early 1994 that also intimated this. 

That's very classy of Robin. I do think Elaine did a good job, and really hit her stride during the Blair/Addie story.

Edited September 25, 2024 by DRW50

[John]

Was Princi's contract up and they just wanted Robin back as Dorian?

[Soaplovers]

And Robyn Griggs was a recast to boot.  Although I liked her on AW though... so I think maybe it was an ill written character.

The show wisely moves Kevin into Leeann's orbit later in 1991.

When I look at Dorian in 1991, this was as good of recast as one could have as Dorian.  In fact.. it answers the question of what Robin Strasser would be like if she actually knew how to not chew scenery and acted more subtle.

[TEdgeofNight]

Pretty much. Robin returned to NYC in 1992 after having some success on Coach and Knots Landing. She wanted to get back into daytime and met with JFP at GL about taking the Alexandra role. That didn’t go well so Robin called ABC to let them know she was available and Princi’s contract was up and voila. Robin was back.

[Khan]

And it showed.  Her performances were just so manic.  But I don't blame Robin Strasser.  I think she was just doing the best she could with material that was written by someone who didn't really know Dorian.

[chrisml]

Elaine Princi was the Dorian I knew as I started watching OLTL during her run. When Strasser returned, it annoyed me to no end because she was terrible. I was baffled why some people were happy to have her back. 

[MichaelGL]

Looked at a promo of Dorian's return in the early 90s, I didn't know she was also with Jason Webb? So she was with both Jason and Joey? Thats....interesting. 

[Soaplovers]

All performers struggle to play a role when they resume playing a part.  Illene K, Brenda Dickson, and I believe Eileen Davidson had mentioned it took awhile to readjust playing the part after someone else had played it (Ellen Wheeler also indicated learning to replay Marley at first because of what Anne and Jensen brought to the role).

A lot of times, the writers have to adjust how the character is written based on how the performer plays the part.

Robin S tends to play more broad whjle Elaine P had a more sedate elitist way of playing roles.

Elaine's Dorian had the potential to be lethal...while Robin's Dorian was too campy to take as a threat.