It was a total 180 approach from what he did on Another World... But I think it had to be. Rauch's success on that show came before General Hospital completely changed the trajectory of how soaps were made. That doesn't deny Rauch's work on launching Texas, but I wouldn't laud the 90-minute expansion either, because that was overkill for even the most ardent soap fan. I feel with One Life to Live he was able to apply some of his inspirations/ideas for Texas to the Buchanan family, as both the soap and the Buchanans had been created in the image of DALLAS. That, plus the show's own version of DYNASTY's Krystle/Alexis rivalry in Viki/Dorian would let Rauch parlay the same soapy intrigues succeeded in primetime along with a similar upgrade in production like Gloria Monty gave General Hospital.
Under Rauch, One Life to Live's first two years were compelling - with Niki Smith's return, Tina's parentage reveal, Asa's secret wife, David and Jenny's romantic exit right up until the re-introduction of Clint's romance with Maria (a backstory as old as February 1980) and Mitch Laurence's cult. Surrounding himself with a veteran writer like Peggy O'Shea, Rauch effectively used backstory to tell story... and as compelling and entertaining as it all continued to be, the show rebukes continuity and retcons what Gordon Russell and Sam Hall fleshed out their entire tenure. I think O'Shea's involvement helped maintain the spirit of the show, but once she leaves, and Robin Strasser leaves, and Barbara Treutelaar leaves, and then Andrea Evans (with Jensen Buchanan, James DePaiva, and Fiona Hutchison in rapid succession) leaves, it's just never the same show again - even under the next regime of Gottlieb/Malone.
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Lust4Life76 ·