| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
I have to say that even in the face of a few near tragedies last week, I got some great laughs out of the shows. I think the more serious they try to be, the funnier it winds up coming off on the screen. I can’t figure it out.
Let’s start with Lindsay, Nora and Troy. I must admit that I died laughing when Lindsay knew that Nora was down in the river possibly drowning and she was pacing back and forth up on the bridge weighing the pros and cons of rescuing Nora. The funniest part was at the very beginning when Lindsay only thought she heard Nora’s voice. After all, according to Lindsay, Nora has haunted every aspect of her life…so why not now? She’s probably sorry she didn’t just jump back in that car right away and flee the scene. The debate Lindsay had with herself was priceless. And hey, you have to admire Linz…at least there’s one commandment she refuses to break…she couldn’t let Nora die. It was kind of like the time Lindsay and Nora were trapped in the dumpster that was threatening to crush them to death. I have always wondered if Lindsay would have let Nora be crushed if Nora had been in there by herself with Lindsay controlling her destiny. I guess now I know the answer.
And Nora…where the heck was her car? What was she doing standing out there all alone on the bridge without even being next to her car with the lights flashing? I guess not too many people use that bridge. Oh, and wasn’t it just a bit too convenient that Lindsay had a rope in the back seat of that getaway car and she knew just where it was? Talk about silly!
But by far, the best comment of the whole bridge fiasco was when Troy finally figured out that Nora was in the water. I’ll bet you think I’m going to make a comment about him ripping off his shirt. Nope…I fully expected that and was not surprised…but did any of you think it was hysterical and mildly inappropriate when Troy was getting ready to jump into the water to save his Lady Love and he said to himself, “Boy, that water is going to be cold.” Didn’t you think the last thing on his mind would be the water temperature? After all, this guy recently got off a wheel where he was bitten by a poisonous spider and almost burned to death in a fire. And he has supposedly been through every famine and disease in Africa. What’s a little cold river water?
OK…what about Al the Arsonist, Jen, and the near-destruction of poor Sam Rappaport’s house? Al took a page right out of Lindsay’s book…standing there with a wastebasket full of flammable papers, debating whether or not to toss the match. Just the fact that he could come to the conclusion that this is what Natalie deserves…to be blamed for such a horrible crime…makes him the lowest of the low in my book. This idiot actually had himself convinced that he was doing the right thing, down to getting himself an alibi over at Viki’s house.
And Jen…why didn’t she call 911 as soon as she saw the fire? I guess she thought fanning it with a blanket would make it go away…geez. The funny thing is that later on when she was in the hospital, we found out that she had enough time to analyze the situation and realize that her wastebasket was next to the drapes instead of by the desk where she usually keeps it. She hasn’t even lived at Sam’s house for months and that’s what she remembers?
Poor Natalie…I hope she figures out right away that Al was the one who planted her keys in Jen’s room and I hope she goes after him with everything she’s got. I can’t wait to find out what Cristian will do when he finds out that Al is not the hero he thinks he is.
I’m going to let it pass that Ben still didn’t figure out Viki was Niki even when he caught her talking to herself….or, I should say…yelling at herself. Poor Ben has had a hard time and he did get a good knock on the head falling out the window. This week his head should clear and we can possibly start to move on…but Niki was so ridiculous last week that I’d think everyone should have put two and two together by now…not only Cristian. At one point I thought it was pretty funny. Ben was getting so frustrated with her pushing her “Natalie did it” theory that I wanted him to just tell her “SHUT UP.” Then her suggestion that maybe Jen did it to get back at Natalie for trying to steal Cristian was so over the top I couldn’t even believe it. I was waiting for her to say that Lois probably did it because she was in love with Ben and couldn’t have him for herself…so no one else could have him either. Hey, that would make for an interesting storyline. Then maybe Pete, the gardener, could get in on the action. Pete, who has loved Lois from afar all these years and can’t get her to notice him because of her obsession with Dr. Davidson…maybe he did it. After all, he was the one who found the “How to Murder Someone and Get Away With It” book.
Now on to my favorite new almost-homeless Llanviewite….Rae. Can someone tell me why she can’t live in her own home? I’ve never heard of such a thing. I can see the police searching the place up and down for any records or patient files, but for her not to be able to live there? That’s ridiculous. If someone is an alleged murderer and they get out on bail, they can still go to their home! And when the heck is she going to shut Asa up and put him in his place. I keep saying Rae…you don’t have a confidentiality clause to stick to. Blow that old coot’s butt right out of the water on the front page of The Sun….OR…get him to put you up in the lap of luxury until you get some money back in your pocket. He’s got a big mansion and no friends or family. (Note to Dr. Rae: Rae, you had me hysterical when you were trying to find a room on line for $25.00 a night. Excuse me honey, but I think it costs more to board dogs at a kennel these days. What are you thinking?)
It was also pretty funny that in her drunken stupor, Roxy still realized that Allison was up to no good and that she had broken out of prison. Roxy should have pretended to be oblivious to what was going on…maybe then she wouldn’t have wound up in the basement possibly having her head bashed in with the “Woman of the Year” trophy. Allison sure did put some serious dents in that thing, didn’t she? I hope Roxy is ok…I’d enjoy hearing some kicking and screaming coming from the basement…and soon.
I don’t know how they’re going to figure out that RJ changed all the clocks in his house so that it would appear he was home all night, but I sure hope they do it quickly because if I have to hear Keri talk about the “New Wedding Etiquette” show one more time, I am going to spit. I think we spent half of a show that day listening to them talking about that Wedding Etiquette Show. Could we have been any more bored? The only funny part was that RJ still had to sit through the show with Keri.
Well, time for some serious stuff this week when Niki gets found out…FINALLY! I have one thing to say to TPTB. We all know that Mark Derwin is leaving early this month, if he hasn’t already, to shoot his new series, “Life With Bonnie.” Whether he’ll be doing the coast-to-coast thing and doing both shows over the next several months…I’d bet it’s safe to say that only he and his dog know for sure…lol. It is my sincere hope that in the recent past some great scenes were shot and that the fans will get some satisfactory resolution to Ben and Viki’s heart-wrenching situation. My very real fear is that this will not happen. In any case, Mark, your fans wish you the greatest of luck and success in your new endeavor. With much sadness we will miss Ben terribly…and hopefully only temporarily. Geez, if we could only get Bonnie to move that show to New York!
See ya
next week...
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND
QUESTIONS
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Beth writes: “Jill, my question to you is…do you see a future for Troy on OLTL? I am a huge Ty Treadway fan and his departure last year made me crazy. I guess it made many people crazy......that is why he is back. Do you know anything about his plans to stay at OLTL?’
Dear Beth: Yes, Ty’s departure last year did
make a lot of people crazy and that is why he’s back. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt
that he had Gary Tomlin in his corner because as we know, there have been
several people released from the show who were very beloved members of the cast
and despite write-in campaigns and lots of yelling by the fans, nothing was done
to bring them back. I still terribly miss the actors who played Kevin, John
Sykes, Sophia, etc., and no amount of complaining has brought them back. As far
as Ty’s plans to stay on at OLTL…all I know is that when the rumors were
flying a few months ago that he was leaving, he emphatically told all of us who
attended the Fan Club Luncheon that he was staying. How it will work for him
doing one show in NY and one in CA…..I guess that remains to be seen.
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Joanna writes: “Hi Jill, does anyone else hate the "jail" scenes? They are sooo phony. How are they going to get Lindsay to stay out of jail? It seems to me that the show is getting disjointed! Nothing fits.”
Dear Joanna: I didn’t hate the jail scenes,
but some of the stuff did look kind of phony. I guess if you consider that the
studio is only so big and all of those inmates have to look like they belong
there, it makes it a bit difficult to have it look realistic. What I didn’t find
realistic is that in the beginning, Lindsay had no makeup on and her hair was
plain, but after a few weeks in jail, she started wearing makeup again and doing
her hair. I found that pretty unrealistic since no one else wore makeup or had
stylish looking hair.
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Dolores writes: “Jill, I am a "senior" and have been watching OLTL since wa-a-a-ay back when. I have to say, the latest storylines are the worst I've seen. If the writers don't get rid of Niki FAST, they're going to lose a lot of viewers....like me! he same goes for Al lusting after Jen. I hope Cristian turns to Natalie for good and tosses Jen. She's a loser. I wonder if the writers see these letters that we write???”
Dear Dolores: I have to agree with you that some of the storylines are way past due for the trash bin. My feelings are well known about Niki…I never wanted her back in the first place but I said that as long as she didn’t hurt Ben, I’d put up with her…like I had a choice. Well, look what she’s done…nearly killed my beloved Ben. Yep, she’s gotta go…and fast. As far as Al and Jen go, I wouldn’t mind seeing the two of them get together and ride off into the sunset…right out of Llanview, PA. As far as the writers seeing letters we write…I have to say I truly have no idea whether they do or not. My good friend Janice considers me the eternal cynic when it comes to this subject because I always say that writing letters is a waste of time, but I will admit that I broke down and wrote several letters recently to all of TPTB to get them to realize what a find they have in Mark Derwin and to push them towards keeping Ben involved on the show as long as possible. Dolores, between you and me, shhhh….there is not a lot I wouldn’t do to keep him on the show.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
