Up to March 13th 1992. 

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"The past always comes back to haunt you."

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So what is happening right now?

Well, I'm going to try and go through everything, without missing crucial things. Another sleepless night for me in Llanview. I'm starting to basically live in front of the TV, while my husband complains of my absence.

🫀

 Leanne and Kevin visited Asa to announce their marriage and upcoming baby. Asa decided to play it cool and acted nice in front of everyone... but when in private with Leanne - he told her that one wrong move and he'll rip her heart out and serve it for dinner.

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 Alex and Carlo have a little problem - the diamonds they are looking for have accidentally ended up as little Al's new toys. He's been rolling them down in the living room for days. And now... a bigger surprise - Tina Lord found them while Al was playing. God, Tina has some kind of lucky streak. First she got expensive land for 1 dollar and now she has a pouch with diamonds. 

🍷

 Cain manipulated Asa, enabled him and made him drink... so that Asa can be as vulnerable as possible when he found the old letters from Carlo Hesser to Renee (that Cain tightly put in one of the books in the library). ASA LOST IT. The huge blow-out ended up with Renee slapping him. Cain was laughing in the corner like Iago from Othello. The result from this fiasco - Asa tried calling Blair. Hmmm.

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 Dorian could not stop thinking about her missing antique family heirloom brush (that Blair stole couple of episode ago) and wanted to talk to Blair about it. When she came knocking at Blair's door - Agatha was there to meet her.

Overall - 10/10!!!!!!!!!

Clip of the day - Dorian and Agatha see each other for the 1st time.

Edited June 22Jun 22 by Maxim

On 6/12/2025 at 5:45 AM, Maxim said:

I've been keeping a secret from you guys for weeks now. 

I started watching this show (ONE LIFE TO LIVE) a month or two ago with Blair Daimler's first episode. I was encouraged by a soap friend, who is a mega OLTL fan. I had previously only tried out 1986, but somehow got bored 20-30 episodes in (mostly because I couldn't familiarize myself with the characters). This time I've not commented on the show for so long, because I was not even sure I would enjoy it. I didn't want to give empty opinion on something before I watch at least couple of months. 

Note - I think the period I started watching is couple of weeks after Michael Malone's first episode as a credited head writer. I have to check my hard drive to see what the episode was and add the date later. It was in early to Mid October.

So here are my thoughts so far. I've managed to get through October, November, December 1991 and just started 1992 days ago. 

• The show is so well written in terms of dialogue and characterization. It's intelligent, sharp, not melodramatic or over the top... and everyone has their own voice. Every character is completely different and has their own way of relating to the world in the soap.
• I was instantly charmed by Cassie! (seeing her go through her hellish wedding, getting verbally and physically attacked by the sinister Alex Olanov, was beyond entertaining! I went back couple of months prior to catch up on some scenes that I have missed from this particular storyline - I binged the Lake episodes where Alex tried to drown Cassie  - I loved them... Tonja Walker is one of a kind. Even Glenn Close's Alex in Fatal Attraction was not that menacing!
• One thing I didn't like... that has connection to Cassie, Bo and Alex - the return of Bo's presumably dead... wife... Sarah. Who is this woman and why are they shoving her in my face? I am not a fan of these return from the dead storylines and it derailed the show for a week or two in my opinion.  
• Blair and her quest for fortune and power is what I CAME FOR. It was interesting seeing her try to get her hooks into Cord, but then they just... killed him, which was... a huge WTF moment for me. Felt like casting issue. I was sure they were building up to an affair... and then Boom.
• Now I'm seeing Blair getting particularly focused on Max... and Asa at the same time. She has just been discovered as a liar a couple of episodes back... I just love "All About Eve" storylines like this. And her mentally ill mother that she is hiding away in the apartment... is just so gothic and sinister.  And they've build it up so well - we saw glimpses of what Blair is capable even in the beginning - she stole Luna's tip... now we seen her lie and try to manipulate everyone at the newspaper. Tina is the only one that really sees through her. I think you get my point - I'M LIVING FOR BLAIR.
• On the contrary I'm having problems with Luna - she just is too forced for me at this point. They are trying to make her happen, but I'm not feeling it. She really annoys me. Too much humor, too much chatter. The actress is good and I've seen glimpses of substance ever since she got infatuated with Max, so I'm going to give her another chance to grow on me!
• Asa - I'm obsessed with this guy, he is so cynical, so egotistical, so untrustworthy, but so charming at the same time. I adore his relationship with Renee (a wonderful actress if you ask me) and can't wait to see if and when Blair will derail it. He's been inviting her a little too much lately.
• Max... I'm not too fond of...  he is really making this girl Leanne crazy. Her - I'm pregnant, but who is the daddy storyline is the most cliche soap opera, but it works perfectly. 
• Jason - I'm obsessed with - Maybe my second favorite character after Blair... His relationship with Dorian Lord is... fascinating to say the least. I know people like this in my real life. Couples like them. If you can even call this a couple. They are so different, but so alike in the same time The actors have crazy chemistry. So far I haven't seen anything too evil or devious from Dorian Lord... she is very relatable with her toxic relationship with her daughter. She is probably my 3rd favorite character after Blair and Jason. 

So, yeah... I was not wanting to comment, because I was not sure if this show will be for me, but it is. It's better than anything I've seen from a lot of other soaps... and quite frankly it's the best classic soap I've tried out so far. OLTL and AMC so far have been my favorite. I'm continuing my AMC journey too and have yet to make some comments in the AMC topic.

So yeah... compared to 1986, where everyone was really campy and screaming out the dialogue... this particular period - late 1991, start of 1992... has something special that I like. Of course I can't judge 1986 that harshly, because I haven't seen as much I have seen from 1991... but still. There is a big difference. That's just my opinion. 

I'm thankful to my friend that he asked me to watch this period every single day for the past year and I finally said - OK, I'll give it a try. Even though I have zero time to watch soaps... I've managed to sneak in an episode or two before sleep most of the time.

Can't wait to see more from Llanview in the coming months. 

P.S Forgot to say - I don't care for Megan... at all. Maybe because I'm only seeing her sickness, lupus, kidney failure storyline, but she and Sarah just... are a fast-forward material for me - the only fast forward material. 

One other character I'm not perfectly sure about is this Tomas Ripley-type of scam artist - that we just revealed his real name to be Cain Rogan. I just don't like how Asa is giving him too much power already. I have a hunch that he may be Asa's long lost child... but we'll see.

P.S 2 - I liked the storyline about Jane and her abusive husband. I will loved to see more from Jane, but they have written her out so far. Victoria and Megan kidnapped was very suspenseful! And Luna showed us her fighting skills in the end of that storyline. 🤣 I hope we see Jane again some day. The actress had potential.

Erika Slezak complained about the Jane story in the press (which sums up her disdain for the Gottlieb era), saying viewers can't care about guest characters. 

I am very fond of Megan, most of which I'd put on Jessica Tuck, maybe one of the most unconventional soap stars, thrown into, frankly, insane storylines for a newcomer, but viewers still took her into their hearts. This frail story is probably not the best intro to her...

I am also a big fan of Jason's so I'm glad you are too.

Thank you for the Blair clips. Something I notice - and I'm not sure how intentional it is - is that in the early moments, there is an undertone of Blair playing up the submissive Asian female stereotype to win everyone over. Mia is just so good, believably playing the meekness yet her sly ways are obvious. It's an interesting contrast to cousin Cassie, as Laura Koffman often struggled to play her material in a way that went beyond hysterical, even when Cassie was meant to be strong.

Elaine Princi is the perfect fit for the Cramer women story. She has a strong physical resemblance to everyone, and the tragic and melodramatic backstory is perfect for her talents. Robin Strasser has her moments - particularly her connection with the divine Pamela Payton-Wright - but I will never believe her Dorian made sense in that group, especially the raggedy version from the '00s to the end.

I never knew Mia's Blair had that music cue early on.

The Renee and Asa scene you mention where she weeps over him telling her to go adopt some kid is interesting in hindsight as a decade later the show would retcon and claim they had a son (a dull-as-hell son...). It actually does fit with that sequence, somehow.

You aren't wrong about early Luna...that astrology clip was tough to take and felt like something rewritten from the '70s. We were clearly meant to see Cord as an abusive tyrant (no wonder John Loprieno quit - they got Cord badly wrong, and Gottlieb/Malone would continue to not understand him when he returned a few years later) but I just find the whole thing annoying. 

That scene where Cord gets Blair a job at the Banner felt very strange. I got the sense Bob Woods and John thought the whole thing was [!@#$%^&*] and didn't care about hiding their opinion. 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

The Renee and Asa scene you mention where she weeps over him telling her to go adopt some kid is interesting in hindsight as a decade later the show would retcon and claim they had a son (a dull-as-hell son...). It actually does fit with that sequence, somehow.

I clipped that part, but forgot to put it in the post.   

One of my favorite scenes from the show so far.  

 

Thanks @Maxim 

Phil Carey was having the time of his life in this period - even if he was another who IIRC had no use for Gottlieb, she did know how to maneuver Asa. He was horrible at this time, but it wasn't really out of character.

This was also Pat Elliott's best run on the show, as they tapped into her penchant for old school melodrama without tipping over into caricature.

The press (from what I remember) criticised the Jane story/the telenovela storytelling. I see the critics' point as Jane should have been woven into other stories and there should have been more consequences for other characters. Erika Slezak just seemed to have an issue with Gottlieb from the beginning. A real shame because I think Gottlieb's positives far outweigh her mistakes. 

I thought this discussion about the Billy is gay/homophobia storyline in the Book "To be Continued...Soap Operas Around The World" by Robert Allen would be interesting. The comments are enlightening if not unsurprising. 

A lot of actors (including Erika) had personal and professional issues with Gottlieb. A lot of them did some of their best work under her. And a lot of them were wrong. It happens on daytime.

Malone's later comments are a typical product of the time and the pragmatic mindset of what a show (particularly a soap) could be allowed to showcase in the afternoon in the early '90s. I don't particularly judge him for it, as times and network tolerances did change, he did some of the greatest gay storytelling on daytime and kept trying for more LGBT story right to the end of his time at the show in the 2000s. I feel more strongly about them dropping the ball on Mia Korf's Blair today, even though she did leave by choice to do a major play (which flopped spectacularly) and even though I loved KDP's Blair dearly for many years.

I do hope the remainder of fall '91 goes up in full soon.

Edited June 23Jun 23 by Vee

3 hours ago, Vee said:

A lot of actors (including Erika) had personal and professional issues with Gottlieb. A lot of them did some of their best work under her. And a lot of them were wrong. It happens on daytime.

Malone's later comments are a typical product of the time and the pragmatic mindset of what a show (particularly a soap) could be allowed to showcase in the afternoon in the early '90s. I don't particularly judge him for it, as times and network tolerances did change, he did some of the greatest gay storytelling on daytime and kept trying for more LGBT story right to the end of his time at the show in the 2000s. I feel more strongly about them dropping the ball on Mia Korf's Blair today, even though she did leave by choice to do a major play (which flopped spectacularly) and even though I loved KDP's Blair dearly for many years.

I do hope the remainder of fall '91 goes up in full soon.

I have a difficult time judging Malone for his comments - they were true then and they are true now. If Ryan had wanted to make appearances, we might have had the same material Michael and Brad had on AMC a few years later (some extremely chaste reminders that they are a couple), but that was the most we would have gotten. I think they missed a trick not doing more with him later (and the role could have easily been recast as I've never thought Ryan was anything special), but considering the fate of other gay characters on OLTL, maybe it's for the best.

Edited June 23Jun 23 by DRW50

And in fairness, RP did make a number of appearances as Billy for at least another year or two.

Pure speculation but in addition to Gottlieb being a very decisive personality eg not really ready to listen to anybody, perhaps there was a bit of resentment from long running castmembers to someone they saw as a newcomer not understanding 'how things are done here' 

Like any workplace, a new boss comes in with some set ideas, isn't the warmest of personalities and rubs people the wrong way with their expectations that everyone has to be on board. Cliques form around those who are enthusiastic about the new leader, those who go along and keep their heads down and those who resent their perceived power being threatened or simply are unhappy about the changes.

To be clear, I was not judging Michael Malone for writing a story in the nineties. The story is still relevant today even more so in the current climate. The "unsurprising" part was more about the Joey bit since we have discussed that before. I give OLTL credit for the story because they did more than most other soaps did their entire run with Billy's story and the AIDS quilt. Compare that to AW's handling of the HIV story which was pathetic. 

re: Gottlieb. I think Gottlieb coming in from movies and saying she was going to revolutionize daytime probably annoyed Slezak and others.  That quote showed up in a lot of articles about her and I know Slezak repeated it in her Academy interview where she listed Gottlieb as her least favorite producer.  I think you're onto the workplace dynamics of it @Paul Raven

Compared to many producers, Gottlieb did revolutionize her soap. She did not revolutionize daytime, but delusions and all, that's a quote which gets attention, and at the time OLTL needed attention.

I'm just sorry that in the long run, her biggest revolution for OLTL was a gang rapist.

I do think Slezak, and likely many others, resented the outside nature and arrogance involved. In the same interview, she praises Frank Valentini for working his way up from being Rauch's "slave."

Edited June 23Jun 23 by DRW50

Up to March 23th 1992.

🦊

"The battle of the foxes."

 

I can't slow down. When I'm addicted to a soap, I can go on and on and on... I've managed to go through 6 new episodes, which if you count the time is close to 240 minutes or 4 hours! Once again I fell asleep near sunrise and this time had to wake up 3,5 hours later. 

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So what is happening right now?

 Alex wants her diamonds. She is demanding Carlo retrieve them for her as her wedding present. In return she promised to convince the mayor (more like... blackmail) into allowing some hardcore crime investments in the city. When Carlo arrived at his old house (now occupied by Max Holden) to collect his precious jewels, the only thing he found in the basement was a scared little kid - Al Holden, who started screaming for his daddy. The diamonds were missing.

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 Renee and Asa's marriage is in jeopardy. Asa has fallen off the wagon (with the help and enabling from Cain Rogan), is now heavily drinking and pursuing Blair Daimler. He had lunch with her and basically tried to buy her off like she was some kind of sex worker. She refused his advances (to make him even more interested, of course), saying "I'm not for sale". What a messy old man. A drunken messy old man. It makes me mad, because Renee doesn't deserve this. 

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 Tina is being manipulated by Cain Rogan and sadly... seems to be falling for it.  Now she has even bigger dreams - she believes she will become the 90s Coco Chanel or something like that. She plans to use Cain in order to illegally sell the diamonds she took from little Al, get filthy rich and start her dynasty. Oh, Tina, Tina. It would be funny if it was not... pathetic. 

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 We are finally getting a more leading storyline for Sheila - I adore her. Hank is trying to insert himself into her life and replace Troy. These two handsome men may have THE SAME mustache, but are so different. The good vs the bad boy. I'm team Troy all the way. 

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 Bo helped Sarah overcome her addiction and stood by her through the worst stages of withdrawals. This storyline is very triggering and dark. I'm not sure how I feel about Sarah. I like Cassie.  And I'm more invested in Bo/Cassie as a couple. But I also see that Sarah loves Bo very much. Not my favorite triangle, but I'm tolerating it nicely. Bo lied to Cassie about where he was all this time. This will be a big, big problem. And it should be. Lying to your life 4 months in the marriage is a huge red flag. 

🔷

 Now let's get to my favorite part, shall we? The battle of the foxes. Almost simultaneously Blair and Dorian were trying to expose each other. Blair was working on finding concrete evidence linking Dorian to Victor Lord's mysterious death while Dorian hired a private eye to find stuff about Blair. Dorian wanted an answer to one simple question - Who the hell is this girl? She found out that... Blair Daimler is not even her real name. Then things got really sinister, when Blair managed to sneak a "confession" document into Dorian's work documents. Dorian signed it without knowing! She fell into the trap. 

 In the most sublime moment when the two women were finally facing each-other without masks, Blair took out the signed confession and threatened to use it... if Dorian doesn't make her EDITOR in CHIEF of "The Intruder". 

Clip of the day - Blair blackmails Dorian.

Thanks @Maxim the rivalry between Blair and Dorian is very entertaining. You could say Dorian should know better, but the days of Dorian being quite so sharp had already been in the past. Elaine and Mia click as rivals, helped by the show not having them compete for the same man.