| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Llanview is filled with interesting families. Over the years we’ve all watched them grow, change, love, fight and carry on (literally). At this moment in time, all of Llanview’s families have one thing in common…they all have a major fly in the ointment that they are trying to deal with…some are very serious and some are even humorous, but in every case, the family could certainly do without the…shall we say…disruption. Some of them even have more than one fly in the ointment. Here’s my take on how each one deals with those who try to tear their family apart, and what I think they need to do.
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The Mannings – I am starting with the Mannings because we see more of them than anyone else on the show…although some other are quickly gaining on them. Obviously, Todd has a lot of demons and luckily for him most of them only appear in his dreams, but the one major problem he’s had over the last few months has been David Vickers. Now, as annoying as David is, and as much as he threatens to destroy Todd’s life, I love the guy. He’s funny, charming and not at all hard on the eyes. LOL…in my book, cute villains are allowed to exist, as long as they’re torturing bigger villains…so I say, bring David back yet again. And did anyone find it totally ridiculous that Todd was able to get a couple of French gendarmes to arrive at the docks at a moment’s notice to arrest David? I would have expected Todd to do something else…like hang David over the water for a couple of days, slowly dropping him deeper and deeper until David was more worried about drowning than he was about Todd cutting out his tongue. The funniest thing to me is that while Todd is laughing it up thinking he’s gotten rid of the only thing that can destroy he and Blair, there lurks Gabrielle now knowing the biggest and most damaging secret of Todd’s life….and she has no secrets of her own left for him to hold over her head. I’d say he’s a man in trouble. Gabby is more than a fly in the ointment…she’s going to be like a mosquito that keeps buzzing in his ear that he can’t get rid of. Hey, can you see Todd chasing Gabby around with a fly swatter?
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The Rappaports – This family is totally a mess and the reason is two-fold. The biggest pest to the Rappaports is Troy…and I am lumping all of the following people under the Rappaport heading….Nora, Sam, Jenn, departed Will and Lindsay. Troy has to be #1. This guy is nothing but a pain in the neck. What is his purpose? Is he really intent on getting back at Lindsay for what she did to Colin and Nora? He thoroughly enjoys getting between Sam and Nora, which I can’t stand. I’m not sure what he likes better…duping Lindsay, getting between Sam and Nora, or romping around shirtless in his undies. And I know you all are going to think I believe that the other pest ripping apart this family is Lindsay. Well, WRONG! Lindsay has done enough dirty work in the recent past to turn the lives of everyone upside down…and that includes, Jen, Al, Cris…all with one little ballpoint pen and a home pregnancy test. But Troy is doing more than his share to repay her, so I will leave her alone for a while. The other pest is Nora. Again last week she jus couldn’t keep herself away from Troy. I don’t even know why Sam has put up with it to this point. If she didn’t have a thing for Troy, she would just go and tell Lindsay what he was up to and be done with both of them. That, of course, would mean moving on with her life, which Nora just can’t seem to do. Between Nora, Lindsay and Troy, those Rappaports don’t stand a chance of ever being a normal family.
One more thing about Lindsay. I’ve been hearing several people who normally want to see Lindsay strung up and hung out to dry (like me) saying how sorry they feel for her and how horrible it is that Troy is playing her the way he is. It makes me think that I’ve been a bit hardened by all that Lindsay has done when I say that I just don’t feel that way at all. When I watch the scenes between Lindsay and Troy, as slimy as I think he is, I never feel sorry for Lindsay. I still think she deserves some severe punishment for what she’s done all these years and maybe some people feel that hurting her emotionally is below the belt…rather than locking her up. Maybe I would have felt sorry for her if she hadn’t done what she did to Jen…her own daughter. That was unforgivable and if Al never walks again…that’s on her head, too. When she hurts her own child I have a lot of trouble seeing the hurt little girl inside of Lindsay…I just see her hurt kids.
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The Buchanans – What happened to these Buchanans? They are all over the place and I wonder if there is hope for them. Sure there is…the hope is that Asa will do some major groveling…Ben, Bo and Renee will give him another chance one of these years…and we’ll see some of the stuff we used to love. I have to say that the major destruction of the Buchanan family started with the biggest pest, Max. Posing as Asa’s son started so many disasters in that family…starting with Grace’s death over 2 years ago. If it had been revealed when Max first found out that Ben was Asa’s real son, then Asa might have learned to live in the same town peacefully with Sam and the feud wouldn’t have carried over to the point where Asa felt like he had to hate everyone Sam ever said hello to. I am in no way excusing anything Asa did from that point on. He’s a selfish, domineering old buzzard, but had he known Ben was his son when Max found out…whoa…entirely different storyline could have ensued.
Have you heard that part of Asa’s punishment for his most recent infractions is going to be community service and that he will be working at The Palace? Oh, I have so many ideas for what he could do to repent. He definitely has to work for Renee…maybe as a busboy…or a dishwasher…or a chambermaid…oh, how about a towel boy at Serenity Springs? Can you see Renee scolding Asa for not putting mints on the guests’ pillows…or for not properly scraping the dishes or filling the water glasses? This is going to be such great comic relief.
And can we talk about Bo Buchanan for a minute? Can I count on the writers not to “hook him up” with Gabrielle? Geez, I would hate to see that. People are already talking about it and all I can say is that if Bo couldn’t accept what Melanie did, then how could he ever warm up to Gabrielle? I am hoping that Bo’s very wonderful, chivalrous side is rearing its handsome head and that’s the extent of his involvement with Gabrielle. Oh, and about Gabrielle stealing that dress…how stupid was it to dress that manikin in her clothes? She lived in those clothes for days all over Llanview. The guy who sells newspapers on the corner could have identified that outfit she left in the store. Gabby, you’re a pain in the neck, but I know you’re smarter than that.
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The Vegas – Ah, the Vegas…I really like all of them. Poor Cris…what’s he going to do now with Jen devoting herself to Al? Cris, get another girl…PLEASE! Has anyone read the piece in Soap Opera Weekly where fans voted on their favorite and least favorite storylines? There’s no denying it…the Jen/Cris/Al storyline won about 99.9% of the votes for least favorite storyline. Maybe Soap Opera Weekly should have written that they got that information from a focus group and then maybe Mr. Tomlin would listen to what people don’t want to see.
Anyway, back to the Vegas. No disputing who the fly in the ointment is here…it’s good old RJ Gannon. He keeps saying he wants to turn over a new leaf and have a good, legitimate life with his daughter. Who is he kidding? He may not have run any drugs lately, or hidden any dead bodies, or put any more hits out on his employees, but he is doing everything he can to keep Keri and Antonio apart. What does he want….maybe someone like himself for Keri? Oh, perish the thought. Since there is only one smart stick in Llanview and I insist that it stays in Ben’s hand, Keri better find another way to wise up. She’s being manipulated by the master. I know that Carlotta doesn’t want Antonio to be involved with Keri because of RJ…and she’s wrong, too…but I don’t see her doing what RJ is doing. It drives me crazy when RJ does something to get in their way and then plays the little innocent boy. Who could fall for that? And Keri is the one who studied criminology. I really want Keri and Antonio to have a chance and Keri moving into RJ’s place is like the kiss of death. LOL…it would be a real change of pace for Antonio to go there to pick Keri up for a date since all the other times he’s been there, it was to arrest RJ. I say give Keri a clue about what RJ is doing or she doesn’t stand a chance to be happy. I think it would be really great if Keri would let her Uncle Hank into her life. He could be such a positive family influence for her and someone she could truly trust.
And my favorites…and the best…
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The Davidsons – As if this family hasn’t been through enough in the past several years…now they’ve had to be revisited by that little tarantula, Allison. Who knew she’d be building a whole web at the Davidsons’ doorstep. I measure how good an actor is by how much I love or dislike them. If they can make me feel strongly one way or the other, they rate as good actors. Barbara Garrick is a great actress. I cannot stand Allison’s guts. I was sure hoping to get rid of her once Natalie wrote her off, but boy, was I wrong! Now she has Roxy “Miss Manners” Balsam under her wing and God knows what they’ll be cooking up next. I vote that the prop people on One Life To Live go out and buy a few more smart sticks….Jessie needs a really big one. Some people believe that Roxy is really going to be sick and that whatever she’s got could mean trouble for Jessie as well. Is this going to go that far?
There is one way, in my humble opinion, to nip this Roxy illness story in the bud…and provide material for lots of good storylines. It’s very simple…Ben the bartender has to become Dr. Benjamin Davidson again. I am hoping against all hope that the recent suggestion by Larry that Ben resume his profession and work at Troy’s new clinic will become a reality. Could Dr. Ben coming to Jessie’s rescue after that catfight with Natalie be a sign? Just think about it. Ben could be involved in lots of good storylines, as well as being able to keep an eye on Dr. Shirtless…oops…I mean Dr. Troy. If anyone can smell a bad guy a mile away it’s Ben.
And what about that catfight? The grounds of Llanfair haven’t seen this much action in a decade. Allison has brought nothing but trouble and more trouble with her. I wonder who else will pop up from Roxy’s or Natalie’s former life to surprise Viki. And I can tell you this…I read that Niki Smith is coming back and I’ve been told by people who read tons more scoops and spoilers than I do, that she is really coming back…not just as a voice and a vision to Viki like before. For this alone, I could drop kick Allison down Regency Drive myself….along with THE POWERS THAT BE at One Life To Live. I know that the last go ‘round had us all laughing hysterically at Nikki, but that was when she hadn’t take over. It’s totally ludicrous to think that after all Viki has been through she’d need Nikki to come out and fight her battles now….Nope…I won’t buy it!
Oh, and about that Soap Opera Weekly poll about favorite and least favorite storylines? Aside from several votes for Todd, Blair and Baby Jack, the overwhelming winner for favorite current storyline was the Viki/Jessica/Natalie storyline. It warms my heart to see in print once again the intelligence of the fans. Are you FOCUSING on these fan opinions Mr. T? You’d be wise to do so.
Well, so much for the pests in Llanview…something tells me we should buckle up and prepare for some crazy rides…after all…it is Sweeps Month…and a can of Raid will never wipe out the trouble some of Llanview’s residents are heading for.
See ya next week......
Jill
FAN FEEDBACK AND
QUESTIONS
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Sheila writes: “The shows last week were great, especially the musical dream of my fave, Todd. I just wish somehow TPTB would let him get the truth out. I was hoping the Jen and Cris story was coming to an end, but I don't think that will actually happen. I love the Viki/Jessica/Natalie/Ben story (I didn't at first). I am beginning to warm up to Jessica and Seth. I agree with you about Nora.....they have turned her into a total dummy. I was also hoping that RJ would really change since he has Keri, but it looks like he is up to his old tricks. Thanks so much for your column today, I laughed and laughed as I read it. Keep up the good work!”
Dear Sheila: Thank you…I’m glad I made you laugh. We have to laugh at some
of this stuff, don’t we? I have to admit that I didn’t like the Natalie/Jessica
storyline at first either, because Natalie was so mean and hard to take…and also
because I just couldn’t bear the fact that Jess was not Viki’s real daughter. I
still have my doubts about whether Natalie really is Viki’s daughter. I think
Natalie and Jessica could be twins, too. I guess with Viki as a mom, you can’t
help but mellow a little bit and now I’m able to accept Natalie and I am
enjoying watching her try to fit in. Now if she and Jessica can keep from
killing each other we’ll have some real progress.
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MISSJMR writes: “I'm a Keri/Antonio fan and hope they get past RJ real soon because they are to old for father 's approval/disapproval to matter. I hope they get a great first time love scene on 2/14 and move on to other drama that could be in their life.”
Dear MISSJMR: I agree that Antonio and Keri are a bit too old to be told by
their parents whom they can date. Carlotta should back off and RJ should
certainly back off, since he should concentrate on forming a true relationship
with Keri and not try to control her life…especially without her being aware
that he’s doing it.
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Mallory writes: “Short and to the point (unlike the story lines running on OLTL) I pretty much agree with your assessments. The stories are boring and go on ... and on ... and on ... and on. Too many of them focus on the "kids" in an attempt to draw a younger audience. Get rid of Gary Tomlin, bring back the old Sam (as in the prior actor who had more chutzpah) and move the story lines back to pre-Tomlin days. It's gotten boring and predictable.”
Dear Mallory: You sure aren’t alone in wanting a replacement for Gary Tomlin, although I’m not quite sure I’d like to go back to the PTB that were in charge just prior to Mr. Tomlin. As I’ve said before, under the reign of Jill Faren Phelps and “writer of darkness” Megan McTavish, we sure did need some lightening up. I will, however, be eternally grateful to Ms. Phelps. She did, after all, invent Ben and Viki, who continue to make my day whenever they grace my television screen.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
