One Life to Live Tribute Thread

[AlexGrimaldi]

This is - probably - the first OLTL italian promo (the soap started in October 1982 at 3 pm).

In the promo there are Bo and Pat having a romantic dinner, and then Judith Light as Karen. I guess the year is 1980. According to an italian site about tv shows, OLTL in Italy started - probably - from 1979 Us episodes. After watching this clip, I have some doubts about that. Is there any diehard fan who knows when Bo and Pat started dating? 

 

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[AMCOLTLLover]

Oh wow. What a find… I swear I would watch this OLTL even with Italian dub lol 

[Paul Raven]

Seeing Bo & Pat in that clip brings up memories of that coupling.

Obviously the plan was for them to be a major couple. They got the Paris remote etc but things changed.

How long were they together? Why did they break up?

Did Pat have any other love interests? I can't recall offhand until they brought back Tony and married them off.

Did Jacquie lose her leading lady status post Bo?

[Mona Kane Croft]

I believe two things impacted the situation.  First, Robert Woods reportedly always complained, when his romantic coupling was his own age.  He always preferred a younger love interest.  And he particularly disliked working with Jacquie.  Years later, he even disliked working with Hillary Bailey Smith, because of her age.  He openly said Bo was the kind of character who would date younger women.   

And perhaps more important -- ABC had decided to hire Paul Rauch as Executive Producer of OLTL.  Since Rauch and Courtney had a very negative history at Another World, TPTB did not renew Courtney's contract, just a few months before Rauch took over the reigns at OLTL.   

[AlexGrimaldi]

Here it is another clip.

I guess the US year is 1984 (probably June, given the fact that they're throwing a party to celebrate Cassie's graduation). Dorian makes an entrance and everybody is stunned because is no more on a wheelchair. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yTF2YHV--yY&pp=ygUXdW5hIHZpdGEgZGEgdml2ZXJlIHNvYXA%3D

 

[Vee]

I was watching a June '92 ep the other day and it still amazes me that Linda Thorson hung on as Julia Medina well into summer of that year - I think she departs very shortly after this after being a red herring in the first Carlo murder mystery (not sure how she leaves). I keep wondering if she did much of anything for most of '91 or '92 up to this point.

There's a lot of odd stop/start subplots or story points for various classic and/or Rauch holdover characters in this early Gottlieb/Malone period - Alex, for example, pingpongs from Bo to Carlo to her latest obsession here, Herb Callison (as well as Cain Rogan, IIRC).

Edited July 31, 2023 by Vee

[danfling]

Wasn't Pat Ashley paired with Adam Brewster?

[Mona Kane Croft]

Yes, but that was in the late-1970s, I believe.  

[j swift]

I had not considered that Edwina overlapped with Pat, until I was just reading her character bio. It's nice to see that the late 70s to early 80s had so many women portraying writers and journalists.

Also, I was just watching the promo for OLTL's remote in DC with Bo, Mimi, Asa, and Samantha, but I don't recall the setup for the trip?  Did it have something to do with Echo and her race car technology?  Can anyone fill me on the details of that plot?

Edited August 1, 2023 by j swift

[Vee]

So a surprising beat suddenly gets played in a March '85 episode, relatively early in Rauch's tenure and remolding of the show IIRC: Larry has gotten engaged to the doomed Laurel Chapin and is set to marry her on April Fool's Day (no comment). It's congratulations all around, including from Wanda who has just one central misgiving about someone I never expected to hear Rauch's era bring up: What about Karen?

At this point Karen has been gone from the show for over two years, I believe. Who's the Boss? is already a hit sitcom for Judith Light; she's not coming back. But they play this beat anyway and it's not a passing mention; Larry has to work to convince Wanda that he wouldn't drop Laurel the instant Karen waltzed back into town and that he feels certain Laurel doesn't have as dark a past as Karen. Which makes me wonder: Were they pondering a recast? Or was the parallel all just setup for what I see was apparently Roy Thinnes' second return as Alex Crown (Laurel's ex, the mob boss I think) and second death?

Here's where we get into the weeds: Janice Lynde's Laurel had been on the show since late '83 or early '84 by this point, and I believe she dies around Christmas '85. I would assume most of the Coronal/Chapin saga from the previous creative regime had already played out by this point, yet at this juncture there clearly there is a bit more to come. I'm just surprised the implication in this scene is that with less than a year left in Laurel's tenure and her being phased out, Larry still doesn't know about all of her past with Alex Crown.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Vee

[MissPalmer]

 OLTL started with the August 4th, 1980 episode ( Asa's big party) in Spain and in Germany, so I guess that the Italians watched this same episode as episode number 1.

 

[vetsoapfan]

I don't now remember why Pat and Bo broke up, but JC did not lose her leading-lady status on the show.

TPTB introduced a character named Adam Brewster and were obviously planning on making him a romantic interest for Pat. Unfortunately, the actor was not attractive or appealing at all, had no chemistry with Courtney, and was dispatched relatively quickly without much fuss.

Courtney had much more success with actor Tom Fuccello, who played Pat's ex-husband Paul Kendall. He was adorable, charismatic, and the actors oozed chemistry. Watching Adam/Pat scenes versus Paul/Pat scenes, it was clear that even the writers were shifting alliances towards Paul.

The year before ABC let her go, Courtney was being tried out on-screen as a love interest for Michael Zaslow as David Renauldi. They sizzled together, too, and would have made a great couple, but ABC put politics before audience favorites, and a while after Courtney was dismissed for alleged "lack of storyline," The Roach descended upon Llanview and (IMHO) crippled the show.

[Mona Kane Croft]

But Pat's romance with Adam Brewster occurred around 1979, and her relationship with Bo took place several years later -- around 1982-83.  

[Vee]

Didn't they also test Clint and Pat early on, or am I crazy?

It was wild to discover that apparently Ivan Kipling's weird run-in with the teen scene lingered into 1985 and maybe early '86, supposedly with Cassie clearing his name in Laurel's death before he left town and that possibly facilitating a break-up with Rob. Am I correct that after Jenny faked a marriage to Brad and left in '85, that they returned to David/Jenny for one more remote in '86 in Vienna?

[Paul Raven]

Did some checking-when the Adam Brewster romance was squashed, they went with the Pat/Maggie twin story, Clint had some interest in Pat at this time .Then in 1980 they went full steam with Pat/Bo. Asa wasn't happy and tried to break them up. Pat encountered Olympia and went into investigative mode, eventually leading to a break up with Bo, for most of 81 she was investigating Nicole/Olympia and close to Clint but just as friends. Tony Lord returned late 81 so he and Pat were involved and then married.Tony was written up so Pat was in limbo thru 82.

So by the time her contract was up, it seemed pretty clear that there was little interest in Jacquie/Pat. She was not frontburner and probably on big money.

With so many changes, they probably decided Viki and Dorian were enough in that age group and Jacquie was dropped.

That butch haircut didn't help...