| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Well, in my humble opinion, we had another very good week on One Life to Live. Unwinding from Live Week, I was very impressed to see how well things flowed and pieced together, since last week’s shows were taped way in advance of Live Week.
What I really liked about last week’s shows was that a bunch of the so-called “bad guys” got put in their places and maybe were just a bit terrorized themselves. The bullies got a bit bulled and the master planners got a taste of some of their own medicine.
Let’s start with…
Asa – I found something, believe it or not, that Asa and Todd have in common. Yep, they are both delusional enough to believe that after one session of “being shrunk” by Dr. Rae, they are completely normal and “fixed.” Not only does each of these guys need about 1,000 sessions, but with Dr. Rae’s record, is she really the doctor they need?
What I really loved was the way Rae put Asa in his place when he barged into Bo’s apartment insisting that Gabrielle have a session with Dr. Rae so that the little “she-devil squatter” could move out and get out of his son Bo’s life. Asa started out well enough, explaining to Rae that she did so well with him, making him realize what he had done to his life that she needs to help the rest of his family…but as is always the case with Asa…let him run his mouth too much and the old coot comes slithering right on out again. I almost felt a bit sorry for Gabrielle who is, after all, a welcome guest in Bo’s home. Oh well, maybe once you plot to kill Asa he can never find a way to forgive you…lol! It was good that Rae was there to shut Asa up or he just might have gotten one of Gabby’s suitcases and tossed her in it.
By the way, I read somewhere that Dr. Rae will be going in another direction on the show and that she won’t be a shrink any more? Any thoughts on this? I love Linda Dano and her work…and I would love it if they gave her something more credible to do than being a psychiatrist whom no one takes seriously.
Ah, that leads me to Bully #2…who is actually Bully #1…
Todd – How far did Todd think he was going to go with his plan before it got to the point where Blair could never forgive him? His problem was and always has been that he truly believes that eventually she will forgive him for anything. This week I take my hat off to Blair for finally getting the message…she is married to a major psychopath who cannot get his act together and be sane and no matter how much love she gives him, it’s never enough to change him. He really thought he had beaten everyone when Starr got Blair not to press charges against him. He never counted on her being one step ahead of him. The anger and hurt Blair feels doesn’t even register in Todd’s mind because he doesn’t feel things the way others do, so the fact that she blasted him with the custody decision and that she asked for a restraining order against him only makes him want to declare war. He should be thinking about backing off for a while and trying to find some way down the road to earn her forgiveness…but that won’t happen. I’m glad that Blair is ready for a war and I’m glad she was able to wipe a bit of that smugness off of his face…go Blair!
Al – And what about Llanview’s latest little stalker. He sure had a sudden turn-around in his plans, didn’t he? Do we believe that he is giving up on Jen? He did sound sincere and he sure did put himself in the middle of a very humiliating situation when he confessed why he came to Las Vegas and that he even asked his father to lie for him. Confessing all of that in front of Jen, Cris and Natalie couldn’t have been easy. I’ll reserve judgment on him for a couple of weeks and watch what he does. I did enjoy the scenes where he and Max did some mending of their relationship and it does sound like Al has grown up a bit from this experience. Maybe he needed the humiliation that he caused himself.
Well, we have a whole bunch of little terrorists running around Statesville Prison…what about….
Allison, Lindsay and Tillie – Are you, like me, dying to know what transpired between Allison and Tillie during Allison’s last stay at Statesville? Tillie seems really terrified of our own little weasel, Allison. It must be something big because Tillie could crush Allison with her thumb. Tillie could crush a lot of people with her thumb.
I found it quite humbling for Lindsay, one of Llanview’s biggest terrorists, that she lives in such fear in prison that she asked Allison if she could work next to her in the laundry. And what a little creep Allison was to refuse, saying she works alone. I can’t wait to see Allison get what’s really coming to her. After all, she’s the cause of everything that’s going on in Viki’s life and who knows what else she’ll do as long as she’s allowed to breath?
I was happy that Lindsay, true to form, took one look at Nora and got her hatred and spunk back. I like the fact that Lindsay never changes. When she’s vulnerable, I don’t know what to think. I count on her never to change.
RJ – I loved the way Carlotta busted RJ with Keri’s credit card bill. Not that Carlotta is any role model for discretion and minding your own business, but someone had to come right out and put it in RJ’s face. He is one big bully who needs to find another way to make his daughter unhappy…so far his tactics aren’t working.
And let us not forget the reign of Niki Smith!!!!
I have such mixed feelings on this subject these days. This woman drives me mad with laughter and she drives me mad with frustration at the very same time. I didn’t think I would stop laughing the other day when she went to Troy to have him give Ben more work and asked Troy if he were seeing anyone. She is so over the top it’s hysterical and when Troy questioned her about whether or not she was feeling ok, her explanation about caffeine being the cause of her babbling was just too much.
Here’s the question of the day. Are there any people left in Llanview who don’t realize that Viki is acting like a maniac? Niki has slipped up in front of just about everyone and all they do is have those silly confused looks on their faces. It’s time writers….it’s time to end this and bring Viki back for good. I know you don’t plan to yet…but I just thought I’d let you know you’re overdoing it….and worst of all, now Niki is starting to hurt Ben. If she keeps it up, even the comedy won’t do it for me. It’s bad enough that Ben doesn’t have his loving, supportive, wonderful wife any more….now he has been smacked in the face by her little trip to England to see Clint. Ok, we all know she’s not going to England to have a tryst with Clint and Ben knows it too, but he’s in such a vulnerable position now that he doesn’t know what to think. When she turned down his offer to go with her on the trip he came right out and said he was disappointed and even a bit jealous…and she completely ignored him revealing those feelings to her. Between that scene and the earlier one where Niki made a big deal about Rex staying at the house, what is it going to take for Ben to realize his wife has flown the coop…so to speak?
Before I close I just want to throw in a couple of things that were real highlights for me last week…
Max and Roxy – I adore these two. Max is not nearly the creep I thought he’d be once he sobered up, even faced with that pre-nup. And Roxy, what can I say? She’s a delight to watch…and to listen to. I was sure glad that she cleared up for me just what went on in that bed on her wedding night with Maximillion when she said they “concentrated” their marriage. Geez, at least they didn’t do something dangerous like “consummate” it….lol!
Kudos, once again, to Kassie DePaiva – In addition to some very fine acting, her rendition of “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was beautiful. Have we found anything she can’t do well yet?
Oh, and a note to TPTB…I am not happy that you named the bartender at Capricorn “Kevin”…..this only leads me to believe that you have no intention whatsoever of bringing us back our real Kevin…and that’s a bad, bad thing.
See ya next week......
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND
QUESTIONS
______________
Joanne
writes: “I saw the first "LIVE" show last night (I tape them and
watch at night). I thought the cast did a Wonderful job, especially Kassie
DePaiva. She really has my respect as an actress. No one hammed it up too much
as Todd usually does (I don't know what everyone sees in that amoral character,
he's not funny to me). AND I also want Niki gone, I've seen enough of her and
her Ben bashing. Those two, Viki and Ben had such a beautiful love story, the
writers could use their imagination and put them into some kind of investigative
reporting story for The Banner, etc. to make their marriage interesting If they
MUST!!! Thanks for reading my comments!!!! I'm a faithful daily fan and have
been for many years.”
Dear Joanne: I sure do agree that the cast did
a great job when they went live and they were way too professional to ham it
up. With regards to Viki and Ben, it’s my favorite love story of all the love
stories I’ve watched on soaps and believe me…that’s a lot. I completely agree
that if the writers have to find a way to keep them interesting (not for me)
then they could come up with plenty of ways to do it that don’t involve Viki’s
sanity being tested.
______________
Lisa writes: “The actor that is playing Jessica's boyfriend now, his name escapes me at the moment, is what 28 years old? He is way too old to be playing that character! Please replace him with a younger actor.”
Dear Lisa: Steven Richard Harris is the actor
currently playing Seth Anderson. I don’t know his real age, but I don’t really
think he looks too old for Jessie. They sure haven’t given him much of a chance
to show us his talent yet, so I am reserving judgment, although I think he’s
done a good job so far with the scenes he’s been in. In his scenes with Jessie
I can feel more emotion than I did with the previous actor who played Seth and I
hope he continues to grow on everyone.
______________
Peggy writes: “I know that I am in the minority - but I am a big fan of Darlene Vogel. Did you see her on CSI the other week? Weird question: although she is no longer with OLTL, does she still get credit with winning an Emmy since she was on the show when it was being evaluated for the 2002 Emmy? This would also pertain to a lot of actors and actresses that have left the show.”
Dear Peggy: Yes, I guess you are in the minority when it comes to fans of Darlene Vogel, at least when it comes to fans of One Life To Live….but I have to tell you that I am a very proud member of that minority. I loved her character on the show and I was very sorry to see her written off the way she was. I still think she’s the woman for Bo and I can feel the daggers coming at me as I write this…lol. Great question about whether or not the actors who have left the show can take credit for the Emmy win. I really don’t know the answer to that, but I am going to try and find one. I’ll print it when I do.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
