| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Some of the things I love best about soaps are those family moments that we never get enough of. You know what I mean…the funny moments, the sibling battles, the “too bad I’m related to you” moments. Family dynamics fascinate me and last week on OLTL we had several. I’ll start with just a few and then get to my favorite.
I continue to be baffled by the Manning family. Have Blair and Todd not caught on yet to the fact that Starr is ready to throw baby Jack out the window…well, hopefully she won’t go that far. This kid is crying out for attention and they keep patting her on the head or buying her things, while Blair carts the baby around with her everywhere she goes, in spite of the fact that she has a nanny sitting at home with Starr. How lame was it for Blair to fall for that story Starr made up about an ugly, mean man with a stick outside the window? Something tells me Todd wouldn’t have fallen for that one. Now I read that Starr is going to fake her own kidnapping and that Ben and Viki will be the ones to notice she’s missing. Would somebody please sit down and spend some time with this kid? At this point I’m sure Starr would think a game of checkers or Monopoly with mom and dad would be better than getting locked in the reptile house. Maybe Aunt Viki should teach them how to have a good, healthy family game of Scrabble. Can you imagine the words Todd and Starr would come up with? It might have to air on cable.
OK…Vegas and Gannons…you’re up next.
What is happening to Carlotta? Gee, I did wish for her to get more airtime, GT, but I wanted her TO BE CARLOTTA! Obviously, she has a right to hate RJ, just like half of Llanview, but come on Carlotta, your boys are MEN and can take care of themselves. How many mothers of grown sons would just use a key and let themselves into their son’s apartment just because he didn’t answer the phone? I’m sure Antonio wouldn’t hesitate to drop into the diner if he wanted something to eat. I wonder if Carlotta is sorry she didn’t take Viki’s advice now to let her kids lead their own lives. That was quite a little moment when she barged into Antonio’s apartment to find Keri and Antonio….um….indisposed. She got quite the little eyeful, didn’t she? I hope there was nothing breakable in that bag of food she brought over...LOL. Somebody better warn Cristian…if he ever brings a girl home again…to get a good chain for that door and make sure mommy doesn’t have the key.
Now on to RJ. Boy oh boy, I just loved his expression when he found out that Keri and Antonio were still together after the raid on Capricorn. How shocking for him that he could do something so nasty to set up Antonio...and then have it backfire. The shining moment for me was when he opened the gift that he thought was from Keri, and it was from Antonio. I’m betting RJ could have chewed up and digested a box of nails at that point. I just loved it and I loved the fact that because of his love for Keri, Antonio didn’t tell her that he knows RJ set him up…but instead he went and did something that he knew would make RJ crazy…he didn’t let RJ get the better of him. Well done Antonio! I can’t imagine what RJ has in store for him next, but at least Antonio and Bo are on the same page…knowing that RJ is on the warpath.
OK…can anyone guess what my favorite family affair was last week? That’s exactly right….it was Jessica’s adoption party. Talk about family dynamics…this party was chock full of the good, the bad and yes…even the ugly, or maybe the unfashionable…LOL!
Believe it or not, my second favorite place to find Viki and Ben is the kitchen at Llanfair. I’ve almost forgotten what the first place looks like, so we won’t go there. Back to the kitchen. These two do the casual, family stuff so well. I guess it’s because Viki has always had such a strong love of family and Ben has always wanted the family he has now. It makes it very special to both of them. I loved seeing them preparing food together, bantering back and forth and especially sharing time with Renee, who as Viki’s best friend and Ben’s mom, should have been thrown into the family mix with Ben and Viki a long time ago. They are all a pleasure to watch. You can tell that Ben loves having his mom around and having a relationship with her and it is evident that Renee loves being included in her son’s life. LOL…and unlike Carlotta, I’m sure Renee knows when to get out of the way.
Ben’s love for Viki and his support of her is complete and unending…from leaving her alone when she’s going at it with Todd (he knows she can handle Todd)…to standing behind her and backing her up when she’s confronted with problems like Allison or Roxy. I should really get some pom-poms so I can do a proper cheer every time Ben threatens to throw one of those pests out of the house. And how sweet was it of Ben to give Viki that beautiful pen with the ribbons on it to sign the adoption papers? I can hear all of you naysayers…and I still intend to convert you all. How can you not love this guy? OK, I’ll stop…for now.
Oh, and regarding Allison and Roxy…how great is it to have Uncle Bo as Police Commissioner. I love the way he’s always ready to arrest someone who annoys Viki. He’s so much like his brother…and I don’t mean the one who lives overseas.
Speaking of the brother who lives overseas, did anyone think that Nora’s line was a bit lame when she said, “Well, actually, Clint is here…in signature?” I could have lived another 50 years without having to digest a line like that one. I know they needed to have Clint somehow be a part of that day, but they could have at least given him a good excuse for not coming home for Jessie’s party…oh, and for never bothering to meet his new daughter. He could have had a broken leg, or something believable that would keep him from traveling. Come on writers…you can do better than him just signing papers. And what about Kevin and Joey who have never even met their new sister and are not there to be supportive for the one they love so dearly. I say it again…bring back those Buchanan boys.
To add some humor to the day, how about Todd coming into the kitchen and tossing his coat on top of the food….then putting it on the floor when Viki made him take it off the table? LOL…was this guy raised in a barn? I’m sure Llanfair might just have enough closet space for him to have hung up that coat. I have to say that I do find it really interesting and nice that Todd has such strong and protective feelings for Jessica. he’s one of those people he lets down his guard for and I love that. It was a very sweet moment when he asked her, “So, I’m still going to be your uncle, right?” And you just knew he was going to warn Natalie not to mess with Jessica.
OK…on to the main man of the day at Jessie’s party….Grandpa Asa! Asa was a riot that day, from the moment he was escorted into the kitchen by that policeman. At first, even I was a bit disappointed that Ben would degrade Asa by making him wait on people on that special day, but it became obvious very quickly that it was Ben’s way of making Asa pay his debt, but more important, it was his way of making Asa a part of Jessie’s day, which he knew was important to Asa. I loved Asa and Renee fighting over the trays of hors d’hoeuvres while Viki and Ben looked on in amusement…then left them alone to fight it out.
I even felt a bit sorry for Asa when Al came into the kitchen and wanted Asa to sign the papers dissolving Al’s adoption. It was quite a poignant moment when Bo came in and Asa told him what was going on and asked Bo if he wanted to disown him as well. Bo’s answer was so perfect…saying he couldn’t do what Al did because he was connected to Asa by blood and he was stuck with him. In spite of all that Asa has done, Bo’s love for his Pa was very evident and even though he’s going to make Asa pay his debt to society, he was also showing him that he loves him, especially when he told Asa he’d be working with him at the station. At first I thought the 150 hours of community service Asa was forced to do was a joke, but it seems that it’s teaching Asa some lessons he needed to learn. I hope they remain with him…fat chance! He sure had enough reminders of what he did to his family, especially when Judge Fitzwater walked in. What a good waiter Asa was when the judge took something off his tray and he said, “How about a damn napkin?”
As usual, Natalie continues to have two agendas. It was very nice and sisterly of her to give Jessica that journal as a gift, but the sincere look on her face only lasts about five seconds before she was being resentful again. And now that she’s going to enter into a very unholy alliance with Al to get Seth back, who knows when she will be able to put her demons behind her and be a member of her family.
Don’t you just love how Roxy “dressed up” for the occasion. Now that was certainly a sight when she marched into Llanfair with her little disposable camera. (LOL…I have to admit, I use them all the time and they take great pictures.) She is a piece of work and such a great addition to the show. I hope she hangs around…WITHOUT ALLISON, of course, because I get some of my best laughs out of her.
We were treated to some really good family moments last week. Is this a record? Have I actually enjoyed two weeks of OLTL in a row? By Golly, I think I have! GT, I dare you to give me a third.
See ya next week......
Jill
FAN FEEDBACK AND
QUESTIONS
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Dkeyanna writes: “I am hoping that eventually a couple will get together and stay together longer than a month. And on the Jen and Al storyline, I don't care either because it is so predictable. Everyone knows Al is going to walk again, everyone knows that he will not tell Jen, and everyone knows that it will take a century to realize it. My question is do you think Todd and Blair will reconcile after this secret comes out? And do you think it will come out soon or will it be 2-3 years?”
Dear Dkeyanna: It seems that there aren’t too many fans of OLTL who
care about what happens to Jen and Al, or anyone in that storyline. You’d think
by now TPTB would have made a change. I’m very surprised that they haven’t.
It’s just not working and it needs to be scrapped. Regarding Todd and Blair…I
was thinking that they would reconcile for sure after the secret about the baby
comes out, but now with all the news of Roger Howarth leaving the show some time
around June, even if it’s temporary, who knows what will happen to Todd and
Blair? If he were going to be around for a while, I’d say she’d give him a hard
time for a while and then forgive him, but your guess is as good as mine at this
point.
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Monica writes: “Hi Jill! I was wondering if you
know of any plans for a Max/Lindsay/Sam triangle, because I think that Lindsey
is a much better mate (haha!!) for Max then that loudmouth he's got now! Gabby
should taste her own medicine!”
Dear Monica: Wow…Max/Lindsay/Sam??? I never
thought about that one. I’d hate to see Sam get involved with Lindsay again…and
can you imagine the schemes Max and Lindsay could come up with to terrorize
Llanview? Personally, I don’t see either Lindsay or Max deserving a mate (at
least not a nice one), but I think Max and Gabrielle still have a thing for each
other and to that I say….who cares? The only time I can tolerate Max these days
is when he’s with Al because I think he’s truly sorry for what happened to his
relationship with his son and wants to rebuild it. Gabby can take a hike…for me
she serves no purpose to any storyline.
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Shirley writes: “I do so enjoy seeing most of the stories on the TV lately. What I do not get is why TPTB would think that there is chemistry between Bo and Gabrielle. I don't see it and definitely do not get it. But, the question is, Will they be bringing either of the Buchanan boys back? The writers need to realize that with everything going on with Jessica, they need to see that Jessica needs her brothers there. They are supposed to have a close-knit family. This would be the most logical thing for them to do. I would like to see the old Kevin and Joey back, not some of these new people. Also, I would like to say that I do love the storyline with Natalie, Jessica, and Viki. They are doing a splendid job. In all fairness, this is the best storyline in a long time to come to OLTL.”
Dear Shirley: I couldn’t agree more with
everything you said. I have been screaming in my column since the day we lost
Joey to get him back and when Kevin left, that was the last straw. Viki’s
family includes and needs Joey and Kevin. I say let’s get rid of some of the
dead weight storylines (teens) and bring back the Buchanan boys.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
