| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on OLTL | |
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REFLECTIONS
BY JILL…..
Sometimes I watch OLTL,
and I actually like most of what I see. I
know, that doesn’t happen too often…which brings me to all the times I
don’t like what I see. This week
I’d like to share with you “THE THINGS THAT MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO
ME.” Now, this is a topic that
could go on for days and dozens of pages, so I’m just going to touch on the
things that have bothered me recently, (since that’s more than enough to chew
on for one week)…and how I would have written them differently.
You know, there’s a bit of the soap writer in all of us fans!
I’d like to begin with a
character that I dearly miss, and whose departure continues to feel like a waste
of great potential….that character is Sophia Pellegrino.
I have said in the past that I was very sad to see them write Sophia off
the show, but my gripe is with the way in which they did it.
I shouldn’t be surprised at how they wrote Sophia out of the show,
since the didn’t even give either of the Buchanan boys as much of a sendoff as
Sophia got, but I don’t know why her final goodbyes were left up to Kelly and
Antonio. I can see that she would
have a tearful goodbye with Antonio. After
all, she is madly in love with the guy (who is not good enough for her), and she
did save his life, putting herself in the condition she’s currently in.
Kelly, on the other hand is another story.
I know that Sophia and Kelly had mended their fences, but aside from the
fact that Kelly was a way to “get” Roseanne, I can think of plenty of other
people who should have been there for Sophia’s send-off.
Where was John Sykes? Aside
from being a cop who should have been there to say goodbye, he was very close to
her and was a very significant part of her transformation into a “good
girl.” And what about Rae?…Fine
time for her to be off in Port Charles with her undeserving daughter, Skye, when
the girl who was more of a daughter to her than Skye could ever be, was laid up
in the hospital, paralyzed and basically alone.
Rae, John, and Sophia had such a great relationship…they were like a
family. I think it was terrible
that neither Rae nor John was there to give Sophia a proper sendoff. They also neglected to write Rae into the script when
Sophia’s brother was killed in prison. Sophia
would have gone to Rae first and someone should have told the writers that.
At least she had the other cops to support her, and Kelly was there for
her, too. Smart girl that she was, she also turned to Ben, who lent a
wonderful shoulder in her time of sadness.
It would have been nice if they had been smart enough to have Ben come by
the hospital to brighten her spirits before she left…..after all, she did have
a very funny and interesting relationship with him from the moment she set foot
on that show…kind of like a big brother/surrogate dad kind of relationship.
Too bad he was stuck in a parallel universe with Gina!
I would have enjoyed his final scenes with Sophie-A.
OK…since I brought up Ben
(purely by chance….LOL), let’s take a minute…or an hour…and talk about
that whole Ginabobina storyline. Talk
about “a story in a box.” That
whole storyline was like a mini-show in itself.
It existed in a vacuum, devoid of any interaction with the people closest
to the lives of Ben and Viki. It
was truly unbelievable that a storyline like that could go on for months and
involve no one except Ben and Viki….oh and Jackie McNaughton…excuse me.
It was more than ridiculous that two people like Ben and Viki, who are
involved with families and businesses, were hardly missed, or not at all.
I know they said Viki was on a speaking tour, but come on, the woman runs
a major newspaper and they had just tossed Kevin out to go to Texas.
Was Zack unexpectedly promoted to take over the management of the Banner?
For sure, Viki would disappear with no one watching the store and nobody
would find it the least bit strange….NOT!!!!
We already know that Ben doesn’t rely on Crossroads to keep himself in
fajitas and marguerites, otherwise he’d be there on a regular basis and sell
some drinks, so him being absent from the bar couldn’t have been a shocker to
anyone. BUT…and here is the big
BUT…it made absolutely no sense for Sam not to know what was going on with
Ben, that he was living at Gina’s dungeon of a house, and that Viki was
missing. For the life of me, I
cannot believe or understand how the writers made Ben so dumb for so long.
Had he consulted his brother, maybe Sam’s legal mind could have turned
on the light a bit sooner. It was
painful to watch. There’s no way
he should have agreed to stay with Gina. They
could have had him spending time there (so Viki could get her daily dose of
“Must See TV”) and he still could have sought out the support of his big
brother, Sam….which he has done many times in the past.
A few more people wondering what happened to Viki, like Sam and Nora,
would have been much more realistic.
I hate to go on about the
Gina storyline, but you did get off easy last week not having to hear much about
it…LOL. One of my biggest gripes
about this story was that Jessica, who supposedly speaks to her mom every day,
even when she’s away, did not go to Ben or anyone, wondering where her mother
was all those weeks, until Ben started putting two and two together (and not
getting five), and went to see if she’d heard from Viki. All of a sudden, Jess mentioned that it was strange that her
mom hadn’t called…and she hasn’t been able to reach her. Make sense to you? Not
to me!
Did the writers think it
would be believable to remove all the vital characters from the lives of Ben and
Viki for all those weeks and not tie in anyone who was important to them?
Joey and Kevin never called wondering where Viki was.
Renee, who was supposed to be planning an event with Viki before she
“went away”, never wondered where she was until Ben called her to see if
she’d heard from Viki. I mean,
for those of us who follow the story with at least half a brain, this was
unacceptable. And how stupid was it
that Jackie and Harry, who are “in the mob” and even knew Rourke, didn’t
have a clue that Gina was the boss of the Russo crime family?
Are we ever going to find out that Gina’s body was never found, or are
we just going to be surprised when she, or someone else, comes back to smack Ben
and Viki in the face once again? Thank
goodness that Ben and Viki have started interacting with the world again now
that they’re back home. They
should both wear signs that say, “If you don’t see or hear from me within a
week, CALL THE COPS!”
AND…talk about Ben and Viki
being totally removed from everything…Last week, there was a very obvious
bungle at the police station. When
Sam was arrested and Asa was crowing over the fact that Sammy Boy was finally
going to get what’s coming to him, Ben asked Bo if they needed an audience. Bo told Asa to go home to his new bride and Ben didn’t even
flinch. Shouldn’t there have been
some notice taken by Ben of the fact that Daddy Dearest has a new wife, since
Ben dearly loves Renee and would know this would hurt her?
It was ridiculous that the writers had Ben pay no attention to the fact
that Asa remarried before the ink was dry on his divorce from Renee.
I know Ben was worried about Sam, but it would be just like Ben to pick
up on that juicy little tidbit of information and send a wisecrack in Asa’s
direction. Too bad writers, you
missed an opportunity to make me laugh and get some credit from this writer.
OK…we shall move on.
What about those Rappaports? Now
there’s a group of characters that exist in their own little world.
They’re stuck in a very bad imitation of “Murder On The Orient
Express” and the thing that I find makes no sense at all, is that all this
murder hoopla is over a character that was on the show for less than a year.
Apologies in advance to the Colin fans…I know you wanted him back this
summer, as a twin or anything else…and maybe you’ll get your wish one day.
It might be too soon for me, though.
Colin spent a year on OLTL as a major creep, and he has turned a
normal, upstanding family (barring Lindsay, of course) into a band of
manipulators and liars. Here’s
what’s so sick about me…I still care and want to know who the heck did it! I’d like to give whoever it was credit where credit is due.
To be honest…and I can’t
believe I’m saying this…I think they really need to throw Todd into the mix
in the Colin murder mystery. Lindsay
would really flip out with another loose cannon to follow around and make sure
their mouth is kept shut. The
wardrobe department would have to provide her with roller blades and a roll of
duct tape so she can zoom around and tape everyone’s mouths shut.
And you know Todd, he’s so good at revealing secrets…he’d have some
real fun with this Colin fiasco. Maybe
he could break Sam out of jail and hide him in a monastery for a while until the
real killer is revealed…he could even dress up like a priest this time…after
all, he was so impressive as a nun. With
the way he feels about Lindsay, Will and RJ….Todd would have a field day with
this one. See what I mean…they
just don’t drag the right people into the right stories.
Todd is way too obsessed with Blair and her baby.
If he got involved in Colin’s murder case, Blair might have a
moment’s peace and Starr would sure benefit from less time spent with her Dear
Old Daddy.
Does it make sense to you
that they brought back Gabrielle? I’m
sorry, but I can’t see where they needed someone like her around.
I sure hope her marriage to Asa is one of convenience and not the “real
thing”, because if Asa pays any attention to how she crosses and lifts those
legs of hers, he’s going to have Heart Attack #42 and meet his maker before he
gets to lift another glass of bourbon, let alone destroy Max. And as for Max, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me
to have him be the one to try and teach Al that Asa is a user.
Max, you invented the word! You
paid so little attention to you kids that new viewers wouldn’t even know you
had any.
Okey Dokey….here are
some of the things I’d like to see happen, that would make sense to ME!
Give those actors who play
Jackie McNaughton and Harry The Hook a couple of nice contracts.
Let’s get them each a nice gal and let Viki be Harry’s romance
consultant. That way he can be
close to her….LOL…and still have somebody who loves him back.
Maybe we can give Jackie to Renee….think Ben could live with that?
These guys are priceless and are already slipping through the
cracks…BIG MISTAKE! Hey Mr.
Tomlin, scoop them up before someone else does!!!
Let’s get The Banner up and
running again. Put Viki back at the
helm and let her do what she does best…well, what she does second best.
Bring back Kevin and Joey
Buchanan….FAST! They are
necessary to the show, in my opinion, and need to be recast right away.
PLEASE KEEP John Bolger…I
know this may already be a moot point….but I adore John and Rae.
Don’t break up this romance, which has never been properly explored.
Like Ben and Viki, I think these two are keepers.
If you must have a crop of
young actors, I can survive that, or I’ll try, but let’s get some that not
only look good, but can also act. I’m
not mentioning names…we all know who needs a bit of the advantage Erin Torpey
had from working with Erika Slezak all these years.
Bring back the girlfriends
AND the boyfriends. Let’s see
more of Rae, Viki, Nora and Renee interacting…as well as Ben, Sam, Bo and
Hank. They were a riot together
during all the Viki/Ben wedding festivities last fall…and how much do you love
the talks between Rae and Viki? I’d
pay money to see more of those conversation like the one where Rae was concerned
about “getting naked” with John. Rae’s
description of John’s kiss had me hysterical, along with Viki.
Can we please get Renee to
stop giving a hoot about Asa? We
need more of what we saw last week…Renee being a carefree, vital woman, and
making Asa jeer so much from jealousy that his teeth almost fall out.
Let’s have Ben do what Sam
asked him to…KEEP AN EYE ON LINDSAY! I
think it would be a riot to see Ben really tailing her and spying on her while
she runs around town trying to cover her butt.
He’d get a good laugh and so would we.
Let’s have Aunt Viki get a
hold of Starr for a few months and straighten her out a bit.
Don’t replace Will.
I have heard rumors that we might get a new Will when Jason Shane Scott
leaves the show this summer. Is
this necessary? I think not.
Let’s get Jessica a new man…someone mature and worthy of her.
I think the character of Will is a done deal.
I’d like to see Rae help
Viki deal with the ordeal she’s just been through.
How much time are they going to let pass before they address the horror
of what Viki went through? I hate
that they probably had Viki and Ben discuss the whole thing to death off
camera…once again. You just know
that’s what they did.
Let Asa and Gabrielle take
care of Max…and then PLEASE…let someone take care of Asa! I’m
not suggesting any names…you can figure it out.
Bring back Dorian.
If we have to have “bad guys”, then I say get the best.
And why not resurrect Mel to keep her in line…just a bit…LOL.
Hey, if Roseanne can practice voodoo, I can resurrect Mel.
ABOVE ALL….one thing, and
one thing alone would make me happy and make more sense than anything
else…..and that is….
BRING BACK THE
ROMANCE!!!!!!!! Is there anyone who really ever got hooked on soaps for any
other reason? I know I didn’t.
Yes, we need some intrigue…Yes, we need some trouble and mayhem…but
we are overrun with murder, greed, deceit, and backstabbing.
We need a lot less of all of these things and a lot more LOVE IN THE
AFTERNOON!
Enough said!
See ya next week….
Jill
FAN FEEDBACK
AND QUESTIONS ON LAST WEEK’S COLUMN
______________________
Andrew writes:
“Finally! A column on Llanview's hottest, greatest, awesomest
couple!!!! BEN AND BLONDIE!!! Not only am I a die-hard fan, I'm also a BnB freak...haha.
And I know it's hard to convert people but it's so possible. I have converted a
few people myself. I'm thrilled that you did such a wonderful column on BnB and
let all those anti-BnB people see that there are more than just a few of us out
there. Please TPTB let them have some fun! Give us BnB fans peace of mind!!
Thank you!!”
___________
Margie
in the UK writes:
“Jill, I am so glad to you
dedicated your column to the "Best Couple" in daytime!!!! I so agree
with the points you have made.
Dear
Margie: I sure do agree with you
about the skeletons. With Ben and
Viki, it’s like Halloween all year long….skeletons, monsters, gremlins, ax
murderers…LOL. I say enough of
them being put to the test…how about a nice honeymoon around the world…for
about 6 months…then TPTB can give them a couple of little problems…you know,
the kind that can be solved in a day…I could live with that.
___________
Nancy
writes: “’Ben and Viki “survive” together better than any couple
I’ve seen – so why are the so often the “side dish” rather than the
“main course?” Come on writers. Come on Mr. Tomlin. You’re
sitting on a goldmine here! You own
the diamonds and you sideline them for the zircons!
You have the filet mignon and you use the hamburger!
GET THE PICTURE?????? "
“Jill, you definitely scored a
Gold Star, an A+ on this Reflection - I loved every word.” I LOVED
the above paragraph, you ARE sending it to Tomlin, aren't you???”
___________
