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OLTL - Monday, April 29th 2013 Discussion Thread

ReddFoxx

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DeliaIrisFan Collaborator

DeliaIrisFan

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On a day when I made my second life-changing move in just half a month, it was unexpectedly comforting to be able to come home and watch an original episode of OLTL. Not very long ago, I truly never thought that would happen again, and I can honestly say that it made some other things that I never thought would be happening to me right now seem a little less unnerving. If nothing else, thank you, OLTL, for that.

That having been said, my first impression was that much of this episode was quite well-crafted. I don't want to dissect it too much, because truthfully, nothing that could have aired today could possibly have saved the genre in and of itself. I think a lot of the problems from the past 15+ years of soaps' network TV incarnation stemmed from overinflated expectations along those lines. But I do hope they're on the right track: that this Viki/Dorian political scandal is more than a semi "ripped from the headlines" gimmick and is leading somewhere; and that, dare I say, there was some little throwaway detail today that I missed that could prove to be akin to Sadie Grey having a daughter named "Clara," months from now. Assuming that kind of groundwork has been laid, Prospect Park really needs to trust that and let the team they put in place see it through. They're never going to get the free publicity with these shows that this reboot brought, the dye has been cast, so hopefully they won't blow that goodwill by micromanaging these shows to death like ABC did and making obvious u-turns that reveal a lack of investment in stories and characters in which viewers are being asked to invest.

In that vein, at the risk of making one overly optimistic prediction that I'll live to regret...I do like the Jeffrey character a lot, and I am hoping that he and his portrayer might finally be the ones to beat the curse of people of color on OLTL being tossed to the curve every time this society takes a step backwards in time. Prospect Park could presumably shut down production tomorrow, but dare I say that I don't get the sense that they would have any interest in dictating the mass firings of actors who play characters/stories that allegedly threaten the moral sensibilities of viewers they regularly spit on, in every other regard?

Also, again hopefully not jinking myself, I'd like to think that the legal troubles with ABC mean that the Tale of Two Todds will be wrapped up in an obligatory fashion, and we'll move on. There was virtually nothing about rape or sexual abuse in today's entertainment, and that went a long way in helping make it actual entertainment.

Finally, I'll echo what others have said about the quiet scenes and the subtext. Those things, alone, won't make or break a soap opera either - in fact, writers and producers who've strived for them in this latest era of daytime drama on network TV tended to get fired even more quickly than those who thought explosions and catfights could make or break a soap opera - but I appreciated the subtle touches. If meaningful, but plausible, things continue to happen in the coming days/weeks/months, then taking the time to establish characters we actually care about will be the ace in the hole.

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