"Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live

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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….

Last week I was very upset at Gary Tomlin because I felt I had gotten to the point where if I had to watch one more minute of Niki Smith I would explode. And like so many times when I verbally let Gary have a piece of my mind, I thought maybe I was a bit harsh…maybe things will work out…could he possibly have some wonderful plan in the works for the characters I love most? But I have to say that after watching last Friday’s show, I’m not sure I was tough enough last week. I feel no remorse…I regret no harsh words…and after Friday’s show, I am even more shocked to see just how far he will go with Niki Smith.

I think I will scream like a maniac at the next person who tries to tell me that this is just another logjam in the lives of Ben and Viki and that they will come out the other end of this nightmare stronger than ever. 

How in the world could anyone under the heading “TPTB” feel that it was either believable or necessary for Niki to actually be the one to send Ben out the window…and who could believe that it makes sense that it was deliberate? The only way it could have been believable was if it were accidental, or if Niki somehow got Natalie to inadvertently bump into Ben and make him lose his balance. Most people I know never thought it would be such an intentional move on Niki’s part. I had known for quite a while that Ben was going to have that bad fall, but I was shocked that she actually shoved him out the window herself. I don’t see any way out of this and the reason is that it is going to take so much time for everyone to heal from what has happened in that family. Between Viki’s much needed therapy and Ben’s recovery time, who knows when we’ll see any semblance of the old Ben and Viki again…or their family?  And the reason this is all so horrible is because Mark Derwin will probably be leaving for his hiatus to do the “Bonnie” show before Niki is Viki again…and Erika Slezak will have her long vacation in August…so tell me GT…do you even have plans of making this work out…or did real life events fall into your lap as something you consider a blessing? I don’t even think you have a clue how to fix this. And do you even know what Niki’s secret is?

Well, enough dwelling on what we can’t do anything about, right?  There were some things I enjoyed last week…believe it or not…so I will momentarily dwell on the positive.

I am really interested in knowing Rae’s story. I know she turns out to be a fraud, but I can’t imagine what the story is. Obviously she was never really a psychiatrist…but hey, those of us who have seen her professional work in Llanview already knew that, didn’t we? Could she have made a bigger mistake in her entire life than convincing the entire board at St. Ann’s to release Allison Perkins into society again?  If nothing else ever goes wrong in her life, that one move should haunt Rae until her last days. Wow, talk about making one mistake and having it snowball. Letting Allison out of St. Ann’s was like hitting the 10-pin in bowling and watching each pin fall…one after the other.  That’s how the people closest to Rae are crumbling in Llanview right now.

And all the “young” soap historians like me out there….help me out here. Don’t I remember the actor who plays Rae’s ex-boyfriend Mark (or whatever he was to her) from one of those old wonderful soaps like Search for Tomorrow or Love of Life?  I don’t even remember his real name, but I remember him from way back…you know, when soaps were desperately dramatic and romantic and you waited with baited breath for Monday to come.

OH, and how funny was it that Rae was sitting in a coach seat between a guy sleeping on her shoulder and a baby staring her in the face? The baby did a really good acting job.

I'll bet Antonio is going to be sorry he didn’t get that ring on Keri’s finger when they still felt like celebrating. Who knows what kind of a damper Rae’s past has put on their trip.

Ok…now it’s time to change my mind on a very unlikely couple. I was dead set against Gabby and Bo becoming a couple. I had no trouble with them being friends because I figured if she got back into her old down and dirty habits, all Bo had to do was toss her out and remind himself to stay away from troubled women. But lately, something is different. Maybe it’s because the relationship is not being rushed like others sometimes are…and maybe it’s because even though I still think there’s a possibility Gabby could revert at any time to her old ways, she seems very genuine this time and although she obviously has feelings for Bo, she is not overtly trying to snag him. I don’t believe that she tried to get her own apartment just to see if he’d ask her to stay and I do think she feels on several levels that she’s not good enough for him. Call me crazy, but when Asa went to Bo’s place the other day blustering like a disgusting old fool about Gabrielle being “used goods” and that Bo wouldn’t want to be “the last one” to have her, I starting routing for Bo and Gabby more than I thought I would.   By the way, the only reason I am even letting myself consider Bo with Gabrielle is because I have finally given up hope that they will find someone for Bo that I’d totally approve of….like Melanie. I know she wasn’t a popular choice, but I think she and Bo could have been great if given the chance. Alas, more spilled milk not to cry over. 

Did I see a glimmer of something the other day between Nora and Sam? It was my feeling a while back that given time for Sam to recover, and given time for Nora to face the fact that she made a big mistake with Troy, Sam and Nora could find their way back to each other…older and wiser and more appreciative of what they had. I think Nora is already missing some of the family bonding she had with Sam and Matthew and that’s why she was so eager to have Sam stay and play a game with she and Matthew instead of sending him home. Jogging, hiking and bike riding just aren’t cutting it for her….LOL.  I can’t wait until she finds out Troy’s “African secret” and realizes he’s not as wonderful as she thought he was. I really shouldn’t say that because I have no idea what the secret it….but it sure can’t be good.  And what about little Matthew? Is this the most adaptable kid you’ve ever seen…Daddy gets half the day and Dr. Troy gets the other half…and no evidence of an emotional scar on the kid. Now that’s realistic, GT….NOT!

I am happy and sad to see the old Blair back…happy because she’s rid of Todd for a while and sad because she’s going back to some of her old ways and I think she’s come a long way to leave a lot of that behind. It is a very loyal thing she’s doing to try and get Sam back what he wants most…her way of going about it is going to be comical, to say the least. Will Troy bite?

Kudos for last week’s performance by Kristen Alderson…which she deserves every week, but last week her scenes as Starr with Blair were wonderful. She showed maturity and emotions far beyond her young 10 years when Starr faced up to the fact that her father, whom she idolizes, could tell such a horrific lie and let them think Jack was dead. I thought it was a lot for a young child to digest and Kristen pulled it off like the veteran she is.

I think something really good better happen on OLTL and it better happen quickly. I don’t like being down about my show as much as I have been lately. I read last week that Robin Strasser has been invited back to reprise her role on Passions. I guess with all the drops in ratings and dissatisfaction among the fans there was no good reason for OLTL to try and get her back…yeah right! Another big mistake…Robin could have been the first glimmer of hope coming back to our show….now that we’re losing Erin Torpey, are we just going to lose the entire Buchanan family. I really like Natalie, but she’s not a replacement for Joey, Kevin and Jessie.

See ya next week...
Jill Berry
 

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
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Durius writes: “This whole "Viki/Niki" topic has forced me to finally say something. I usually just sit quietly and listen and laugh at what other people say. But I agree with you... this storyline has got to go, not only because it's bad, but because it's killing the show. I frequently go to this soap opera website that lists the ratings for the show, and OLTL's ratings have dipped into the 2.6-2.9 area... a place they haven't been in a LOOOONG time. I think the fact that this happened right when the "Viki/Niki" occurred is no coincidence. MILLIONS of people are sick of Viki and her multiple personalities.”

Dear Durius:  Obviously, you’ll get no argument from me about Niki.  She can’t go fast enough for me. I agree with you about the ratings, and even though all soap ratings are down these days, I agree that better choices on OLTL would have prevented the drop where our show is concerned.
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Dee writes: “Hi Jill. Absolutely LOVE your insights to One Life to Live.  I have a question for you....when you mention "rumors" or "spoilers" floating on the Internet, what sites are you referring to?  I seem to only visit the same old sites and don't seem to be getting any of these wonderful "rumors".  I would appreciate any "new" sites you could recommend to me.”

Dear Dee:  Since I have a real job in addition to the fun they let me having writing this column for About.com, I don’t get to scan as many sites as I’d like to every week. My boss has this nasty habit of hanging over shoulders and doesn’t appreciate my soap obsession at all (which is why my desktop photo of Ben is only displayed on my home computer…LOL). I think you have to scour a lot of the message boards for the rumors. There are people who post on message boards at many sites and sometimes they are in the know from someone who works at the studio, etc. There are those people who claim to know someone “on the set.”  I always doubt those….LOL. Sometimes they just make up a bunch of bull…but it’s fun anyway. I don’t have time to search the boards, but I have a very dear friend in Iowa who makes laundry time fun by doing just that. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t hear half of the things I do. I go to the usual sites…all the magazine sites, Soap City, SoapNet, ABC.com. I really like turtle-run.com for previews and I do have a weekend obsession for Media Domain, but I never take anything there seriously…I just go to have a good chuckle and see what the argument of the week is about. If you are in the middle of the Todd/Tea/Blair war…or the Nora/Bo/Sam/Troy/anyone war…bring a weapon…LOL.
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And from a good and wise friend….

MarleneS writes: “Bravo Jill (and Katherine): While my favorite couple since February 1999 has been Ben and Viki (I do miss Blondie), I feel that Gary Tomlin has no sense of what the viewers want on any level.  Hiring writers who haven't done their homework on characters already on canvas, using gimmicks in hopes that the viewers won't notice the poorly written stories and then dismissing complaints as "crazy Internet posters" insisting focus groups are the only ones worth listening to.  In a recent article he even blamed SoapNet (nice move Gary, let me think, who owns SoapNet...could it be your bosses?) for the reason ratings are so pitiful. I used to watch all of the show. The actors on almost every level were actors not pretty faces reading lines then posing for the camera. Would they hire Carlo Hesser again?  Probably not, he's not "pretty". Nora, Bo, Hank, Carlotta all used to be smart characters, funny and interesting to watch. Now we have them acting like idiots and doing things completely out of character simply because the writers and Tomlin "love" the actor. We all know how well the old Seth worked out yet Tomlin wrote and created the part because the actor was SO good. That told me the show was in trouble...that his vision doesn't allow for what the viewers want to see only what HE thinks we SHOULD want. As for his trashing my favorite couple? Hey the man has dug himself in so deep (in my book) that he's speaking Chinese. I'm pinning my hopes on the next EP.”

Dear Marlene:  I, too, miss Blondie so very much. Aside from that, I’d be foolish to try and add anything to your comments. Thanks for reading and always having something worthwhile to add.

 © Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002