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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
I’ve noticed lately that several of our beloved…and not so beloved…characters on OLTL have changed dramatically…some for the good, some for the bad, but there are definite noticeable changes. Some of them I really welcome, and some are very eye opening. Although it is a very obvious example of how so much on our show is plot driven rather than character driven, I like the way it sometimes keeps us off balance and in my case, changes my feelings about characters I had written off for good. Let’s talk about some of these characters and see if you agree with me.
I’ll save the most obvious for later, since I have the most to say about her, but let’s start with my favorite old codger….
Asa – Who would have believed that one totally ridiculous sentence of community service would make Asa Buchanan, of all people, decide to straighten up and fly right? Certainly not me, but Judge Fitzwater sure knew what she was doing. Asa seems to spend his days now going around Llanview making amends and doing good deeds…like offering his precious mansion for Al and Jen’s wedding in spite of the fact that he hates Max and Gabrielle…like asking Renee to be his date for the wedding…like backing off his high horse when his first reaction to Al marrying a Rappaport was not a nice one. And how shocked was I when he walked into Llanfair and told Ben he wanted everyone to get together for a “family” dinner? I don’t know what shocked me more…Asa wanting to have the dinner or Ben thinking it was a good idea and telling him he’d call him about it. Are we still in Llanview? I love the fact that Asa is finally realizing that in order to have his family around him; he has to be a part of the family and not the dictator. He did revert a bit to his old self the other day when he cornered Gabrielle and warned her about getting her hooks into Bo. I guess I can give Asa a bit of latitude on that one because when it comes to Gabrielle, my trust threshold is very low, too. Old Asa will never get over Gabby and Max screwing up his master plan to get rid of Max. It was big of him to let them into his house again.
Speaking of ….
Gabrielle - What has happened to her? I think when she put her clothes on and let her hair grow she soaked up a little bit of class and smarts. I was shocked that she so earnestly tried to get Al to tell the truth when she first found out he could walk. She sure knows what it’s like to mess up a relationship with lies and schemes…as does…
Max – I am going to say it…I know the men in the white coats are going to come for me, but I cannot tell a lie…I am liking Max these days. He sure isn’t the Max that he’s been for the past several years, but he is a man who is coming to terms with what he’s done in his life by reliving it in his son. It’s very painful for Max to see Al becoming the unattractive and manipulative person that his father is, or was, and it’s more painful for Max to now have it thrown in his face about what a terrible father he was when he abandoned Al and his mother. It saddens Max to see what Al is becoming and as hard as he tries, he can’t get Al to see that he will regret for years what he’s doing now. I love it when characters take a good, long look in the mirror and realize they don’t like what they see…it happens so seldom. When Al told his father that this was the only lie he would ever tell Jen, you could see the realization in Max’s eyes that Al just didn’t get it and was just the man his father was not proud of being.
For Max and Gabrielle, it has been a rude awakening to see their sweet son turn into a moral clone of themselves. And nobody can tell Al to cut his losses and tell the truth, any more than anyone could have gotten Max to fess up about not being Asa’s real son. I am finding the whole Holden family dynamic very interesting. Will Max and Gabrielle be able to stay legitimate, or is it just a matter of time before they take another detour? And will they be together? And will I be able to stand it? LOL!
OK, we might as well finish off the family and talk about the most annoying character….
Al – Does anyone remember the sweet, innocent boy that was Al Holden just a mere year or so ago when he came to Llanview? Now I realize that lots of people were unhappy with the former portrayer of Al. So we found a new Al and we got a huge physical change, which was a bit hard to get used to. What I cannot seem to get used to is that along with the physical metamorphosis came a complete personality change. This was very hard to adjust to in the beginning and although I thought it would get easier to see Al as he currently looks and behaves, it has not worked for me. The complete turn-around in Al’s personality just doesn’t cut it and although I totally agree with the masses who dislike the young storylines we’re getting, it would be easier to take if Al were still Al…but he’s not. For Al to so easily have become a liar and a manipulator is totally unrealistic. Yes, I know he thinks he loves Jen and can’t live without her, but he is over the edge and the Al we know…the one who has been Jessica’s friend for years…would never do what he’s doing. He would never have done all of the scheming he’s done with Natalie, especially when he knew it would hurt Jessica. This is, in my opinion, one of the reasons why no one likes the young storylines….they are just not believable and the true personalities of some of the characters have been lost.
The one who shocks me the most, and pleasantly I might add, is….
Natalie – I guess it finally took seeing Seth and Jessica really together to open her eyes and realize he would not be hers. And it took a friend like Cristian who stood by her and helped her track down Jessica and Seth for her to realize that some people do care about her no matter what. Who knew that Cris being so nice to her and just being a good friend would make her feel guilty enough to spill the beans? She sure left herself wide open and I am very impressed that it happened when it did…right after she heard her “mother” say she hated her. That should have been enough to keep Natalie nasty for years, but she has changed. Melissa Archer continues to impress me with her honest, emotional and heartfelt performances. I can’t wait for her to finally have a relationship with her mother and her entire new family.
Well, the award for the biggest change obviously goes to….
Viki/Niki/Whoever she is – My most recent problem with this character is that even though I never wanted Niki back at all, I used to be able to laugh at her, or with her. She always appealed to my silly, as well as sarcastic sense of humor. I can’t say that any more. I think the writers have even ruined Niki. Now they’ve got her being mean to children…ignoring that baby Jack was running a fever…and even though it used to be very funny watching her drool over a cute guy’s butt, that’s not even funny any more, in my opinion. There are already enough people in Llanview who should have realized that Viki is not herself….Bo, Rae, Cristian, Asa and don’t even get me started on Ben. He better find that smart stick again, and fast. I’m sure Niki’s got some nasty plans in store for him and I hope Viki gets control again before Niki does something that will embarrass Ben into seclusion. (Note to Dr. Rae: I adore you Dr. Rae, but after your trip around the soaps, I have made sure your desk in the City Room at The Banner is waiting for you. You need go back to writing a love column….it’s safer for the whole town.)
Yes Ben, the smart stick…find it….
Ben went through a period there where he was suspicious of everything when it came to anyone hurting Viki or his family. We need more of that. I know he seems to think that something is not right with Viki, but sending her home from the hospital the other day to rest and actually seeing her leave should have sent a red flag up. Viki would never have left the hospital while someone in her family was sick, especially since she hadn’t even gotten to see Blair yet. Viki would have insisted on being there for Blair and Ben should have been surprised that she just left. Here we go again…plot driven! I wonder how far TPTB will let Niki go when it comes to messing with Viki’s family….I fear it will be further than I like….it already is!
Well, those who don’t like change can take some comfort. Some characters will never change…RJ is going to go to the grave thinking up ways to destroy Keri and Antonio…Starr will never give up her love of reptiles…and Lindsay…what can we say about Lindsay. I hear she’s going to be getting some revenge on Nora and Troy from behind bars….are we surprised? She’ll probably wind up being the John Gotti of Statesville Prison, with a private cell, filet mignon every night with a nice bottle of red wine, and a dozen henchmen doing her dirty work “on the outside.”
See ya next week......
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND
QUESTIONS
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Debbie writes: “I read about the firing of the actor who plays Seth. So far I read of no explanation as to why he was fired, but I did read that the actor himself is upset and feels he has been treated unfairly. I read that he said they made him work and during mid-day they called in into the office to let him go. If this is true the staffing people, producers or casting people whoever is responsible for this should be ashamed of themselves and something like this can really make a fan lose respect for the people behind the camera.” I would like to read and find out why the actor was fired because in my opinion and I am a One Life to Live viewer for over 30 years, in my opinion the actor was doing a wonderful job. If they want to fire actors I can name several they can let go beginning with Keri and I can add to the list. If they mistreated this individual they owe him a public apology and I for one am sorry to see the actor go. No offense to the new actor taking his place but he will not be accepted as Seth right away, if at all. Shame on the people at One Life to Live.”
Dear Debbie: According to the actor who
currently plays Seth, Brandon Routh, he was unfairly fired and it was not in a
very nice way. His version of what happened, which is probably what really did
happen, is on his website as well as in the latest issue of Soap Opera Digest so
you can find it and read it all for yourself. Just to put my own two cents
in…lots of actors are let go this way and having been in the business world for
many years, I can personally say that it’s not much different there. I worked
for a company that downsized tremendously and people who had worked there for 40
years were given a shopping bag and an escort out the door the same day. It’s
cruel and heartless and unfortunately, it’s done in many places and in many
professions. By the way, I totally disagree with you about Keri. I think she’s
a breath of fresh air…I love her pairing with Antonio and think she’s a
wonderful addition to the show.
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Rosemary writes: “The question I want to ask
is: how stupid can Jen Rappaport really be? She comes in and sees Al standing
when he is supposed to be paralyzed and have no feelings in his legs and when he
explains it off by saying that he was supporting himself with the couch or
whatever bogus reason he gives she believes him? I'm not a doctor or anything,
but as far as I know if you are paralyzed with no feelings in your legs you
can't really just stand up with close to no support with either a spotter or
with parallel bars. This whole Jen/Al/Christian storyline is just a complete
downer. Hey Al, "GET OVER IT!! SHE DOES NOT LOVE YOU!! SHE LOVES CHRISTIAN!!"
The writers really need to start rethinking these storylines before the show
really goes downhill.”
Dear Rosemary: I completely agree…Jen does
have to be pretty dumb. She’s typical “soap opera” dumb. She did it again just
before the wedding when she bought Al’s bull story about going to Switzerland to
heal his legs. Yep, she needs a wakeup call all right!
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Marilyn writes: “Please tell the writers to get a real live grown up man to play the part of Sam. He has the weakest character that I have every witnessed. He looks like a little kid and acts like one. No grown man (who is supposed to be a lawyer) can act as dumb as that. I don't like Troy (the character) but at least he looks old enough for Nora. There are very few strong characters in OLTL. And the plot is getting really stupid and boring.”
Dear Marilyn: Now Marilyn, you know my rule…no
bashing actors…only characters. In case you didn’t know this, Larry Lau is
certainly a real, live, grown-up man. Is it hard to see him as Sam sometimes
when we have such a strong connection between Kale Brown and this character?
Absolutely! I had my doubts about Larry as Sam, but I have to say, I like him
in the role now for the most part and any time he does something that I don’t
agree with or something I think is not “Sam-like”, I have to blame the writers
and The Powers That Be for not giving him more material that would make him fit
the role of Sam better. He happens to be a lovely man personally and very happy
to be on OLTL. You might be surprised to know how many of our most
beloved actors are not.
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Celestiallilyjill writes: “I think your rant
about GT and the Emmy nominations was completely uncalled for. GT has a right to
be disgusted that none of his actors got nominated. If you had read the article,
you would know that the shutout had to do with the way all the shows bloc vote,
not the quality of the show. Look at how many nominations AMC got, and they are
one of the worst shows on the air right now.
As far as what Gary's done with the show, I guess it just depends on your point
of view. I think he's done a wonderful job. Jill Farren Phelps ran this show
into the ground during her tenure, and GT has done a wonderful job turning it
around again. I'm sorry you're not happy with Ben and Viki's storyline, but that
shouldn't be all that matters to you. I'm a huge Todd and Blair fan, and I'm not
particularly happy with their storyline right now but I can honestly say I'm
enjoying the show as a whole more now than I ever have in the past.”
Dear Celestiallilyjill: Nice to meet you,
too. I have one question. If everything depends on one’s point of view, then
why are you so mad that I have mine? Let me just say that I would never comment
on GT’s interview had I not read it…so your implication that I haven’t is
wrong. I know all about block voting and the politics of award shows and it is
still not all that goes into who gets nominated, although it is a big part. As
to whether or not GT has done a wonderful job of turning the show around…had you
been a steady reader of my column, you would know that he has gotten plenty of
credit from me in many articles for positive changes he has made to the show.
But he is failing in many areas and next week I’ll print some of the dozens of
letters I received about the Emmy nominations, which state exactly that. I felt
the same way about JFP…she did great things for the show and she did some very
dark things to the show which I didn’t care for. Oh and by the way, if Ben and
Viki’s storyline were all that mattered to me, I wouldn’t watch every minute of
every show, every day, to see what’s happening to everyone else. In addition to
being a columnist for this website, I also write recaps, which means that I
watch every show, whether Ben and Viki are on or not, and on the days when it’s
my turn to recap, I spend an hour afterwards typing a thorough recap of
everything that went on that day…impartially…whether I liked the show or not. If
I only concentrated on Ben and Viki, I’d never bother doing that. Oh and one
more thing…Yes, I am a huge Ben and Viki fan, just as you love Todd and Blair.
Nowhere that I’ve ever been on the Net have I seen any commentary that doesn’t
slam Ben and Viki into the ground. I think they deserve better and people who
read my column will always get better when it comes to this subject…praise for
the often-ignored talent on the show.
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Virgil writes: “You keep referring to TPTB in your dialogue, on the website. What does that stand for?”
Dear Virgil: I am so sorry. I do sometimes forget that some people do not know all the silly lingo some of us use. TPTB translates to “The Powers That Be.” It’s just a quickie way of saying what some others call, TIIC (“The Idiots in Charge’)…but I never use that one….LOL (which means Laughing out Loud!)
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
