| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Well, after the Broadway Show behind bars, I guess it was back to reality for One Life To Live last week…or should I say, One Life To Live’s version of reality. There were a few things I thought were a bit over the top…and one major situation that I thought fell into the category of “too little, too late.”
First let me say to one of the characters that I have bashed mercilessly, “Lindsay, it’s good to have you back, girl!” I know she has made me crazy in the past, crazy to the point where I had to dedicated an entire article to my desire for her demise, but come on, lately the only lurker and trouble maker we’ve had to watch is Al Holden and he is such a poor substitute. It’s good to have Lindsay back in the saddle, even though I might take that back in a few weeks if she really wigs out. She sure handled RJ, didn’t she? RJ didn’t stand a chance and he should have figured that if Tillie has let Lindsay live this long in prison, she wasn’t going to hurt her that badly. One thing about Lindsay…she’s not afraid of anyone when it comes to getting what she wants and I think RJ would rather die than be revealed as the one who provided that drug that wiped out Nora’s memory.
OK…let’s talk about “over the top.”
I have always made it well known that I love this little actress, but are the writers going a bit overboard with Starr’s obvious crush on Dr. Troy? I know that little girls get crushes like that but I would think it would be a bit subtler, rather than Starr walking around Llanview like she’s Dr. Troy’s fiancé…lol. She was really over the top when Nora showed up at Sam’s place and mentioned that Troy was on his way to Starr’s house. It was funny the way she made Nora take her back home as if she’d be late for her date with Dr. Troy, and it’s funny that she knows Nora is her rival and comes right out and shows it…but sometimes it is a bit silly. I must admit to having a good laugh though, when Starr was going to walk Troy out to his car and literally pushed Nora out of the way saying, “Not you.” I do like the scenes much more when Starr is confiding something serious to Troy because she trusts him as a friend. Those scenes are wonderful.
I guess we can’t really blame Starr, can we? I mean, after all, this is a case of “like mother, like daughter.” If Starr was taught anywhere how to lay it on for the boys, it was from her mama, Blair. Could Blair be any more obvious when it comes to Troy? Is Nora going to figure out what her game plan is? And come on Dr. Troy…are you that oblivious to the women around you ogling your every body part? I think not.
Speaking of “over the top”….Niki was sure in overdrive this week. How could there be anyone left in Llanview who doesn’t realize she’s not Viki. Her behavior at the hospital was ridiculous. When she questioned Larry, it was obvious that it wasn’t about Ben’s life being saved. It was more like, “What do you mean he’s not going to die?” And please…can we take a minute to go over that scene where Larry told her she could go in and wait for Ben to wake up? Honestly, if she were really Viki, she would have been in that room begging her darling Ben to wake up and come back to her before Larry could finish his sentence. I couldn’t wait for her excuse when she said she needed to go home for something before she saw Ben…and when she said she needed to go home and get the fuzzy dice, my mouth just hung open in shock. Asa sure had a lot to say, but for once I was shocked that he didn’t say his usual, “Woman, are you loco?” Then when Jessie thought it was perfectly normal for her to leave Ben’s side to get the dice….I have one word…STUPID! Jessie is so intent on burying Natalie that she has lost all perspective, including the knowledge of who her mother really is.
One more thing that really rubbed me the wrong way also involved Niki and it was totally “over the top.” It was when she was in the chapel, supposedly praying for Ben and she had just one request for God, promising she’d never ask for anything ever again…and that request was to JUST LET BEN DIE! I know Niki obviously has no respect for the sanctity of any kind of religion, but I was surprised that the writers even included something like that in the script. I am not speaking as an overly religious person, but that offended me. I wondered what everyone else thought of that as they watched.
On a lighter note, how funny was Roxy when she came into the chapel and didn’t even know what it was? I did laugh out loud when she said, “A church in a hospital?” What will they think of next…a bar?” And when Viki told her to pray for Ben, leave it to Roxy to say, “OK, I’ll try anything once.” Roxy is such a great character…I hope she stays around for a long time.
Now, on to the “too little, too late” area.
Did you read all the spoilers that said Ben would come out of his coma at the end of last week? I hope you didn’t blink in the last seconds of Friday’s show, because you would have missed his fluttering eyelashes and him calling Viki’s name. That’s what we got.
What I found to be too little too late was that Ben’s family was finally gathered at the hospital and somehow it wasn’t very fulfilling at all. There were Asa and Renee at the foot of Ben’s bed. Asa was saying he’d do anything to have Ben come back to them. Did that ring just a bit hollow to you? Wouldn’t you have believed it was more sincere if we would have spent even 5 minutes every week having Asa and Ben work their way back to each other? Instead of having Ben always running off to the clinic or to Crossroads, why couldn’t we have had him going to spend time with Renee and letting Asa work his way back into his life? It would surely have made the hospital scenes more believable.
I would have also loved to see Ben and Bo bonding as brothers before it came to this point, but I did love the scene where Bo was talking to him and telling him the story of how he and Clint used to get in trouble and blame it on their “other brother.” That would have been a great story to hear Bo tell Ben over a beer at Crossroads, wouldn’t it?
Even Sam talking to Ben was not that moving because they have never let Mark Derwin and Larry Lau have time on screen to bond as brothers. Like I said…too little, too late.
And of course, the biggest tragedy is having Viki still as Niki and not being by Ben’s bedside every minute professing her love for him and trying to bring him back. When I originally heard that Ben was going to be in a coma, I didn’t like the idea that much, but I comforted myself with the thought that at least we’d get some good scenes of Viki keeping a vigil at his bedside. Silly me…why did I think it would happen in a sensible way?
Well…what’s coming this week? Will Rae be publicly humiliated? Probably. Will Ben finally open those beautiful eyes and point the finger at his beloved wife? I don’t think so. Will Natalie get a break? Not with Al on her tail thinking he has a way to get Jen back. Oh, and by the way. Did anyone think that Todd, Tea and Ross were eating huge portions of food for three people who know they might be on that island forever? I know it grows on the trees….lol….but come on. I guess I’ve seen one too many episodes of Survivor.
See ya
next week...
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND
QUESTIONS
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DivineMsL writes: “The actor that plays Seth Anderson seems to be crashing & burning. Both my 22-year old daughter & I watch the show, and neither of us feels any chemistry with the guy. Can you tell me if there's any buzz about what his fate might be? Also, is there is way we can keep that hottie that plays Ross even after they're all off the island? He's wonderful!”
Dear DivineMsL: I sure wish I had some kind
of insider information as far as whether we will be keeping Seth around or
not. I don’t really know what the problem is, but when he first started on the
show I liked the few serious scenes he had with Jessica. Then, like in many
other storylines, they dropped the ball and we never had a chance to really see
this young actor sink his teeth into the role. Now with the news that Erin
Torpey will be leaving the show, I don’t see a solid place for Seth, but I have
no clue as to what will happen to him. As far as Ross “the hottie” goes…yes he
is quite an attractive guy. Maybe they’ll pair him with someone in Llanview when
they get off the island. Right now, I’d just like to see them get off the island
because for me it’s been quite a boring experience.
______________
Susan writes: “I am really disappointed in the
Rae story line...making her a fraud. This is terrible. And her asking Keri to
not say anything until after the awards dinner is confusing. "People have
worked so hard on this dinner" -- just to give the award back! This will make
them look silly for giving her the award in the first place. Now she's a
criminal. Will she be Lindsey's new cellmate? Ha, Ha.”
Dear Susan: I agree…I can’t see her asking
to be given the award just to see her give it back. Now that her so-called
friend, the real Ray Cummings, has turned over the whole sordid story to The
Sun, who knows when the whole fraud will be revealed. I fear it will be at
the most embarrassing time possible for Rae, which saddens me, but like you
said, now she’s a criminal. Somehow I don’t see her crime the same way I see
Lindsay’s many crimes, but when I think about Allison Perkins and Viki Davidson,
I have to say that Rae’s hand in their lives had horrible consequences for them
as well as most of Llanview. I’m a huge Linda Dano fan and I hope they make this
right for her. And yes, it would be a riot to see her as Lindsay’s
cellmate. Let’s hope that if Rae gets “sent up the river” it’s to one of those
country club prisons.
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Denise writes: “I can't believe you actually liked Babes Behind Bars last week! It was pathetic and embarrassing. A few of the women can sing and did a good job. Some of the others though were nearly tone deaf -- it hurt my ears to listen to them. The production numbers were contrived and a bit on the hokey side. I hope they never do something this goofy again. I don't watch OLTL to see them sing and dance. Stick with the storyline and let the musical reviews go!”
Dear Denise: Awwww Denise, we need a bit of a laugh every now and then and I, for one, think it’s one thing Gary Tomlin knows how to do. As a matter of fact, I thought the actors who couldn’t sing very well were even more entertaining than the ones who could. Barbara Garrick’s rendition of “Ben”, demented as it was, was a riot…and although Catherine Hickland’s Lindsay doesn’t have the strongest voice and hasn’t got a bit of rhythm, I thought she was great. Yes the numbers were hokey and contrived…that made me laugh even more. For me, it was a nice cushion before watching Ben go flying out the bedroom window the next day…lol.
(Note: For those people who have written asking me what “LOL” means…and there have been several…in computer lingo it means “Laughing out Loud”…or “Laughing on Line.” Sorry if I confused anyone.)
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
