Can someone please explain to me the purpose of both Olivia and Dante as characters?

I'm at a complete loss as to why they were created.

Guza wanted Sonny to have a grown son ... I thought it was complicated at the time having a baby w/Konnie's cousin, a long lost he didn't know about. Also Frons is from Bensonhurst so he liked the characters.

Wait are John and Natalie really married? Someone confirm please.

Yes, there is nothing funny about mental illness. Whatever this story is suppose to be it stems from a traumatic experience in Kate's life playing this for laughs just cheapens that experience in my eyes. There are many people who are ashamed of their problems, who go through life hurting themselves and never seeking help because of the way society treats the mentally ill and this storyline just highlights the fact that we are suppose to laugh at crazy Kate/Connie who makes the funny faces. Not trying to be too heavy but sometimes I can't separate real live from reel life working in an emergency room doesn't help when you see the victims and survivors of these very things that are being made light of by the writers.

Not to mention it's basically taken as psychological fact now that DID almost always stems from severe sexual trauma, which just adds an extra bad taste here--that was the whole reason why Malone/Griffith claim they decided it was fair game to delve back into Vicki's DID in the mid 90s on OLTL--whether you hate the Victor rewrite (though he was already a sexual creep in his 80s rewrite) or not, it was partly as they felt they should address what people now more firmly understood about the condition. Even Higley, in her ugly way, did that with Tess/Jess and the beyond creepy child pornography story they gave her (again it's a subject I don't think soaps absolutely shouldn't touch but when you have to include scenes--with sound effects--of her parents watching the TV aghast--which is ridiculous anyway there's no reason, as the show claimed, that the parents would have to watch that to understand the condition)... So I dunno if RC is gonna give some even more traumatic reason for the Connie split or if it's still just this "part of me knows I shouldn't date a mobster" plot...

I seem like the big Kelli Sullivan defender here, and I guess I have been, but I do think that, as others mentioned, the directors and FV as EP (as well as the writers to a degree) are also responsible for how OTT her performance is.

IA, the material that Carlivati and Valentini produce encourages bad, OTT, and lazy acting. Even good actors like Haskell, VerDorn, and Slezak weren't immune from falling into the trap. It's a little less obvious on GH IMO because the most frequently featured cast members were already pretty bad, OTT, or lazy before they showed up.

Right, like PsychoMarty. I loved that in the OLTL Farewell Magazine Susan Haskell actually said she wouldn't miss Marty anymore because she was so pissed off at the way they had her exit, she couldn't wait to finish that material.

I liked Sullivan as Inga in Young Frankenstein the musical. She had a good voice and played the broad comedy well, although I never saw her highly acclaimed predecessor Sutton Foster so I can't compare them. Maybe theatre is just KS's niche or maybe she needs more training and experience in front of a camera but she is way too OTT at the moment.

I forgot she replaced Sutton. I'm not saying her acting on GH is good by any means, but the woman does have talent and I blame the directors and writing at least as much as her. It is true that someone with real soap experience, like Robin M is doing much better with her OTT material.

I think I might be able to enjoy the shameless awfulness of this if these guys didn't have such a long history of writing such blatantloffensive situations involving women, the mentally ill, and rape victims. God forbid a character happens to be all three.

I can't take anyone who would say such things about these talentless hacks seriously. Those two destroyed OLTL. Their insulting garbage forced me to quit a show I'd been devoted to for over twenty years and I still resent the hell out of them for that, especially since they turned the finale of 40+ year old show into nothing but a testament to their idiotic bs.

I don't dislike camp when done well but there need to be certain boundaries. For example, rape and mental illness are not funny. Don't twist things to try and make them that.

Exactly. I mean I'm a big True Blood fan, and 70% of that is pure camp, really. But the writers have always said it's meant tobe a pulp show.

I get what Carl has been saying (and others)--the fact that RC in particular does seem to think he's doing really brave drama in his interviews, goes on about how families are the center of soaps, etc, just makes it all the more off putting. Add to that that we did have to put up with (and continue to) years of Nelson B, Daytime Confidential, etc, telling us that his writing on OLTL was what a true soap should be, how it had all these groundbreaking elements and issues it dealt with, etc... That's not really his fault, but it still makes it all the more off putting.

I actually could see Ron Carlivati fitting in well on a show like B&B. He loves his camp and comedy and crazy women and thats what works for that show. He'd be able to do a little bit of serious drama here and there, but mostly focus on what he enjoys. I also could see him at DAYS. Those shows seem like natural fits for his writing type.

I actually could see Ron Carlivati fitting in well on a show like B&B. He loves his camp and comedy and crazy women and thats what works for that show. He'd be able to do a little bit of serious drama here and there, but mostly focus on what he enjoys. I also could see him at DAYS. Those shows seem like natural fits for his writing type.

Please, keep him away from Days.

His camp is just too much for me to handle. Days doesnt need any help in being campy and OTT

I actually could see Ron Carlivati fitting in well on a show like B&B. He loves his camp and comedy and crazy women and thats what works for that show. He'd be able to do a little bit of serious drama here and there, but mostly focus on what he enjoys. I also could see him at DAYS. Those shows seem like natural fits for his writing type.

They already did a story where Ridge raped Brooke (and Caroline) out of love. He wouldn't have any material.

I guess we could get some "comedy" of Hope having a crazy alter and having her talk like Rizzo and then having her get raped out of love. And then Steffy would pass a baby off as another man's and have months being taunted by Pam over and over and over.

He writes for parodies of parodies. Not soaps.

Edited April 20, 201213 yr by CarlD2

I actually could see Ron Carlivati fitting in well on a show like B&B. He loves his camp and comedy and crazy women and thats what works for that show. He'd be able to do a little bit of serious drama here and there, but mostly focus on what he enjoys. I also could see him at DAYS. Those shows seem like natural fits for his writing type.

No B&B needs to work on the content of the stories and improve them and it would be a really great show. RC would ruin it.

No B&B needs to work on the content of the stories and improve them and it would be a really great show. RC would ruin it.

Camp has to be done well or it falls flat. I see no sign of Cartini knowing how to create good camp. I am not entertained by watching people make fun of someone who is mentally ill.

For example, rape and mental illness are not funny. Don't twist things to try and make them that.

I don't see how that is different than what has been done for years before Cartini came along.

Can someone please explain to me the purpose of both Olivia and Dante as characters?

I'm at a complete loss as to why they were created.

While I actually don't mind Dante (IMO, every soap needs a regular and good guy and he fits the bill), I'm with you about that hoodrat. Then again, I haven't liked her since the day she stepped foot into town to "call Connie out for forgetting her roots" or whatever bullcaca Guza was trying to sell so that they could cut The Real Kate Howard down to size.

I don't see how that is different than what has been done for years before Cartini came along.

Yes, but they're supposed to be different, and make GH awesome again, and all the rest. They aren't supposed to be more of the same.

WTF?

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We asked #GH about John saying he and Natalie were married. The publicist said they would “address that at a future date.”