ATWT: SOD "Who wants out"?

[Chris B]

THANK YOU! THe show is in last place among 18-47 viewers, the bulk of it's fanbase is older people. These are the people who have been watching for years and years...they want to see the characters they started watching for!

[SpiritualJunkie]

There you go! So you understand where I'm coming from with Ellen Dolan's comments..riight?

Ooohh..I completely disagree. I can't stand Maddie and I don't know if it's Alex Chando or just the way she plays her character but her voice grates on my nerves. Zach Roerig has improved and has chemistry with Jennifer Landon but I don't think he'll be nominated for an Emmy anytime soon..he's like this year's version of Agim Kaba. I LOVED Jesse Soffer up until they paired Will with Celia and Gwen. After that, they dropped the ambiguity of Will's stableness...and made him some romantic teen hero. I don't think he has any romantic chemistry with Jennifer Landon. I liked Will & Casey's friendship..but they managed to ruin that.

Like I said, I have NO problem with actors asking for a storyline. I have a problem with her saying that the Doc story was her favourite...of course, she's entitled to her own opinion but that takes away her credibility as an actress who looks for well-written material for me. The aftermath of the Doc story was good but the setup was horrible which made the aftermath predictable. It's like it didn't matter how crappy the story began just as long as they got those really intense scenes at the end. I doubt most fans can say they truly enjoyed that story.

My point isn't straying away from what was said, though. Ellen said the Doc was her favourite story...I disagree and even feel that says something about what she looks for when it comes to story material. Eileen said for the first time that she didn't mind having kids on the show...well, makes me wonder what she thought about other past young actors who were just as talented, if not, more.

Agreed...but I was just as amazed by Craig Lawlor. I remember cheering Adam on when he blamed Billy & Jennifer for Bryant's death. And as much as I hated Kim Onasch, I always thought Craig & Jennifer's dislike of each other was portrayed really well...which was really showcased when Bryant died.

I never liked Peyton List, either but look how popular she became when they paired her with Dusty. Jessica Dunphy was great with the adults! One thing you have to remember about the current teen set is that they interact waay more with the adults...I remember when Zach Roerig's Casey was stuck in scenes with mostly Will & Celia...no one liked him then. Poor Jessica was stuck in Oakdale Three hell for about a year before they started developing her character and putting her in meaningful scenes with the vets. I loved her scenes with Marie Masters, Ben Hendrickson, Kelley Menighan Hensley, John James, Kathryn Hayes (as awaful as the Chris/Ali pairing was), Helen Wagner (loved the Nancy/Ali friendship!), Trent Dawson, etc.

[R!ck]

*sigh* I always wanted a Henry/Allison pairing. Those two would have been great!

[Chris B]

Here is exactly what Ellen Dolan said:

She simply mentioned the only two stories she's got in recent years. Nowhere does she say that they were her favorites, only that she saw potential if they had followed through. Look at the Nick/Carly storyline, it's been absolutely horrid, but most will agree that the fallout has led to some great stuff. I think the idea of Doc was interesting, but the story was a poorly written mess.

The bolded part definitely squashes your take that Dolan thought this was her favorite storyline. But she also brings up a good point...why are Jessica and Margo relegated to just being the cop or laywer? I know many think L&O: SVU is the reason Tunie isn't on much, but in one of the press interviews for the 50th Anniversary, she mentioned that she wishes she had a storyline and that the Africian-American presense returned in Oakdale.

Back in the day, ATWT was rivaling Y&R in terms of talent and volume of their black cast. Now? It's an absolute joke in that department. This is why while I think Jean Passante does a good job with who she does write for, there is room for improvement.

Here is the rest of Ellen's letter so you can refresh your memory.

I happen to agree with everything she says about the lack of strong women, besides Meg and Gwen, who do we have? Barbara is an abso-frickin-lute joke tormenting her kids, Katie has lots all her bite chasing after Mike, Carly needs her bite back (which could happen now she's away from Jack), Emily is crazy, Lucinda isn't on, Jessica isn't on, Margo isn't on. You see my point? Besides Meg, Gwen and MAYBE Lily, strong women don't seem to flock to Oakdale.

BTW, here is your response to her letter from the thread:

[Shawn]

Like most of you, my vote is on Ellen Dolan. She has had nothing to do lately.

Although, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Tamara Tunie. Seriously, the girl has been MIA forever except when she brought the divorce papers to Jack a while back. Besides, she's on Law and Order: SVU as a billed cast member in the credits, so its not like she'll be jobless.

[All My Shadows]

I think Jennifer has gotten some of her strength back. She's been throwing Dusty around quite a bit since he's returned. Just yesterday she gave him a pretty saucy "We are leaving NOW" when he started going off on Emily at the hospital.

I agree with everything, but I have to say something to ATWT's defense. There's a lack of strong characters period. Will is definitely not strong right now, neither is Nick, Jack or Hal. Jack and Hal are letting women run their lives. Luke is definitely in an unstable area right now.

The thing that sets ATWT apart from the other soaps that have a lack of very strong women is that the women aren't the only weaklings around. The characters on this show seem to suffer together.

[Adam]

Tamara Tunie has been off contract at ATWT for a few years now hasn't she? Isn't she just recurring.... cause she signed a contract with L&O?

[Ms. Walsh]

I think she's still on contract actually.

Everyone's mentioned the show having weak female characters, but I've definitely noticed how weak the male characters are. ATWT hasn't had a strong male ensemble in ages. The show has taken strong characters like Jack and Dusty and made them into complete wimps, half the men are as dumb as stumps or whipped by women (Hal, Henry, Holden, Mike, Nick, Tom, Casey) and the rest are"emotionally fragile" (Paul, Will, Luke). The only one who doesn't fit those categories is Bob, but we never see him.

Hopefully, w/ Damian and Simon coming back, it will help...

I think the problem is because we never see any of the characters work. It's at work that we see people at their most ruthless and strongest IMO. Aside from the OPD (which is pretty much a joke), the occasional scenes at the hospital, and whenever it fits into a storyline (like Katie's ever-changing occupation, Will working as a janitor, or Jade at the library), nobody works on the show. And pretty much all the characters are supposed to have jobs. If the show wrote a business storyline w/ Walsh Enterprises or another of the big companies in Oakdale and made the OPD a legitimate police station, it would be an improvement.

[WTGH]

I understand where Ellen Dolan is coming from, but she's not alone in the neglected department.

Kathryn Hays, Eileen Fulton and (until recently) Marie Masters were SEVERELY backburned.

Ellen isn't the only long-term character without a storyline.

[SpiritualJunkie]

I loved their very first scene together when Alison was looking for Henry's approval so that she could move into Katie's home and she was like, "I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs..." and Henry said, "Well, are you Miss Polyanna Perfect?"

Sorry, I should have said that I wasn't only referring to that letter she sent out to her fans. I remember reading an interview with her during the Doc storyline when she praised that story and I heard that at the recent fan luncheon, she was asked what her favourite story was and her answer was the Doc story.

Hmm..maybe she realized that the Doc story wasn't that great? Let's hope!

Yeah, it's unfortunate...a few years back it was actually pretty good. They even had the interracial relationship with Ben & Lien. I liked Isaac and which they had paired him with Molly instead of putting him with Bonnie. I liked Bonnie until the Sarah mess. Ben's always been a tad boring...same with Curtis. Marshall was great but the rape storyline just killed him.

As for my response to Ellen's letter, I still stand by what I said then. I totally agree with what she said but I still gotta wonder why she ever thought that Doc story was any good. I'll let it go now because it seems like she realizes how badly written her character was during that time.

I don't think a character necessarily needs a job to be considered strong or stable. A lot of strength comes from within, really. The problem with most of the characters is that their lives are based entirely on who they're romantically involved with..and most of the show's character's are too dependent on their romantic relationships. Will with Gwen, Maddie with Casey, Emily with Paul, Katie with Mike, Carly with Jack and it goes vice versa for most of these relationships as well unless a third party is involved..which makes the whole thing even worse. I love romance as much as the next person but it'd be nice to see focus on other relationships...that's why I like the Emily/Henry friendship. It's strictly platonic and we were shown different sides to both characters...I saw a strength develop in both characters which would have never resulted from their respective romantic interests. Same with Meg/Emma...the mother/daughter relationship seems so real and through that relationship, we see how truly vulnerable Meg is despite the strong person she tries hard to be.