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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Well, let’s review…What’s been going on in Llanview for the past week or so? We finally got Todd off the island…thank goodness…do we have to go back there any more to see Tea and Ross? I hope not.
Let’s start with the silliest thing going on and that is…pregnancies abound!!!
I think I already might know a bit more about Liz than I want to. She’s been trying to have a baby with her lover who recently died. She lost a baby years ago, which would have been Keri’s younger sister, in a very mysterious way. She claims the baby was taken from her quickly and she never even got to see her. Uh-oh….here we go…the connection is starting to form. Follow me…if you will….
Rex, the smarmy little stinker, lets us know that Roxy did not give birth to Jessica while Roxy lets us know that her ex-husband (or whatever he was) stole the baby. Are we supposed to put 2 and 2 together here and for Heaven’s sake come up with the fact that Jessica might be Keri’s long lost baby sister? This is all a bit too weird for me. I mean, come on, it’s waaaayyy too weird that if Antonio is the father of Liz’s baby then Keri is volunteering to carry her sibling and the love child of her mother and her fiancé. The most intelligent thing I can think of to say about this is….ewwwww! I think I need to put a flow chart or a family tree diagram or something on the wall so I can keep track of what’s going on. And of course, Antonio will put all of this behind him and not tell Keri about the woman he slept with. Why not add one more complication to the list?
I was a bit shocked when Bo took it so well that Antonio was shacked up with a woman at that motel…until I remember that our writers can’t go for very long without repeating a storyline…and I remembered that the same thing happened to Bo….remember? He was so upset over things going wrong in his life…he took a ride on his motorcycle and a beautiful, young woman ran it over in her desire to get as far away from her problems as she could. They later accidentally ran into each other at the Cherryvale Inn…one thing led to another and they anonymously slept together…Bo and Melanie! Same set of circumstances…same story…although Antonio’s story is going to turn out to be a lot tackier than Bo’s did. I wish Bo’s had continued…to this day. I wonder how realistic it is to actually spend the night with someone and never even ask their name…sounds pretty weird to me.
Well, we can’t talk about pregnancies without talking about ridiculous little Jen, can we? I finally realized that she has lost all perspective when she told Lindsay, “Wait until you hear what’s happened. You’ll be so proud of me.” Oh Jen, you have lost it girl! One thing I will say for Jen…she’s a bit more watchable now that she’s emulating her mother…lol…not that this is a good thing…just more interesting. And then we have Al, who would sleep with Jen hanging from a helicopter if she asked him to…not worrying about protection. It was a good contrast when Cris mentioned to Jen that they were always careful. I read in the scoops that Jen gets her wish this week…is she really pregnant? I hope not…but you know she will be.
Word has it that Will Rappaport will be returning to Llanview. I’ve heard that the actor has been cast but no name has been released yet. I wonder if he’ll be the same old Will, or if he’ll have grown up and will keep his mom and sister in line.
And what about Al? How ridiculous is it that the Commission of Police knows he set that fire and can’t do a thing about it? I know, I know…he needs evidence. What a time to do things in a real-life way.
Gabby sure scored some points trying to take the blame for Al. Geez, the fact that she’d be willing to go back to prison to save her sonny boy got her a quick ticket right to Bo’s bed. Actually, I do like Bo and Gabby together…I want Bo to be with someone and if Gabby can behave herself, I can live with her being with Bo…for now…but I don’t really think she can behave herself for that long…so we’ll see.
Ok, now to the Witch of the Week…you got it…Jessica. If I could have reached through my screen and slapped her myself I would have done it. How awful was she to Natalie? I know Natalie has done some bad things to Jessica since she came to Llanview, but Jess is over the top here. She’s so mean and deliberately nasty and degrading to Natalie. I wish things had worked out differently the other day just so Natalie could have smugly looked her in the face and said, “I told you so”, right before she gave Cris a big kiss. BUT IN NEVER HAPPENS THE WAY I WANT IT TO! Does Jessica think she’s the queen of picking the right men? Seth is not exactly what I would have wanted for her. Yes, I think he loves her, but there is no real chemistry there at all. Maybe Jess just needs everyone to be “semi-happy” like she is and not have the real thing. She needs her mom back to remind he who she is and what kind of person she’s supposed to be.
Speaking of moms….when is Viki coming back? I sure do miss her. I think the worst weeks of the year are the ones when Erika Slezak is on vacation. Her talent and class are sorely missed on the show.
OK…I know you must have notice that I haven’t mentioned “you know who” during this entire article. Well, we can’t have that….so here is my little review of the first episode of “Life With Bonnie.” Now, I fear that if I don’t rave about the show, there are going to be those people who believe that I want it to fail because I want Mark Derwin back on OLTL. Not true. I’ve been all over the Net and the reviews by the fans go from horrible to acceptable to “needs work” to great. “Needs work” would definitely be my opinion. I think Bonnie Hunt is a very funny lady and no one needs to hear what I think of her co-star husband again, so I will just say that there was way too much action smashed into that little half hour and I am looking forward to future episodes where we can get to know the characters better on a more intimate level. So, stay tuned, I’m looking forward to see how the show unfolds.
I have heard that Brian Frons has responded to some fan letters directly, so keep writing about whatever you have to say…we need our opinions heard.
See ya
next week...
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Before I answer any questions, I just want to say that I have gotten a lot of
mail from people who claim to continually hear a banging noise in the background
while they are watching OLTL and they ask what it was…saying it is very
annoying. Leave it to a New Yorker like me to be so used to noise that I swear
I have never heard that noise, but since so many people have heard it I did ask
around and sure enough….you’re not all crazy…I am…there is a banging noise and
it is caused by construction work outside the studio in Manhattan. Time to blow
out these NY ears of mine.
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Eric writes: “I a 24 year old, living in
Manhattan, who has watched our show since the crazy Eterna years. I was so
hooked, years ago, to watching Tina, Dorian, and Gabrielle and (unfortunately)
two of my three all-time favorite characters are long gone. (I also loved Blair
when she was Asian). I, like you, have come and gone during periods and didn't
find the Phelps years as bad as everyone made them out to be. I was also a fan
of Lanie. How ridiculous has it been to see almost every character at the
airport last week just because the show is too cheap to tear down the
set. Cristian's there, Al's there, Asa's there, Nora's there.........and for
what?”
Dear Eric: You’re more courageous than I am…I ran fast from that Eterna
storyline…couldn’t take it. I still hold out hope that someday we will get
Dorian back…of course it will be when Ben is back to go up against her with
Viki….lol. Hey, you have a good eye…I like your comment about everyone being at
the airport because they were too cheap to change the set. I’m sure you’re
right…and it was pretty silly.
________________
Margaret writes: “I agree with how you feel
about Mark Derwin and that no one should be surprised that he practically ran
into Bonnie Hunt's arms!! I hope that they will be a hit since they are both so
talented!! I think we're all getting tired of the show going nowhere and of
looking at great actors being wasted!! Fiona Hutchison and Kassie DePaiva are
starting to look like my own co-workers who come in everyday because of their
mortgage payments!! I hope things change fast or we will all start to change the
channel when OLTL is on!!”
Dear Margaret: I totally agree about the talent being wasted on OLTL. I’d
love to see some great, serious storylines played out by Kassie and of course,
Erika. We got a chance to see Kassie’s brilliance several times recently and I
hope we get to see a lot more. She’s a great talent. And as far as talent is
concerned, put Erika Slezak in a storyline with anyone or anything and they will
shine.
________________
Safiy writes: “Maybe you can help me comprehend why Jen and AL are having unprotected sex (no condoms). I understand the writers are trying to get a good story. But in this day and age, no one, should be having unprotected sex. The storyline to me is about revenge. It is the basic get your boyfriend back by making him think you’re pregnant. I do not understand why Al has not mention one thing about protection. OLTL does not think about a character getting any kind of STD's unless it is good for the story. I have am a young adult and I have been watching OLTL for quite a number of years, but I am very bothered by this. By not addressing that issue I feel that, OLTL is encouraging unprotected sex. Do you think I am over reacting since this is just TV..???”
Dear Safiy: NO, I don’t think you are over-reacting. Television sets
examples for a lot of people…especially young people. As far as Al is concerned,
I think they want to make the point that he’s a very desperate young man and
would do anything for Jen without thinking…even if it’s not smart. They did make
the point of having Cris say to Jen that they were always careful…so that was
responsible of them. You are part of the age group that the soaps want to keep
around for a long time and you should make your opinions known to the people in
charge. Your voice does matter.
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Jill writes: “I've just finished reading this week's article and I have to admit that I feel your pain. It was a little more than a year ago that OLTL lost another great relationship, that of John and Rae. At the time, those of us who loved them some much, most of whom are Ben and Viki fans as well, were saying exactly what you're saying now. We felt that Gary Tomlin never liked John and Rae - never even gave them a chance. Once he took the helm, we rarely saw them together, and when they were, the scenes were brief and unfulfilling. Not only did they never make love, they barely even got close enough to touch. How many real couples, committed and sensitive to each other's needs do we see? Couples that we can root for, pray for, cry for? Ben and Viki used to be one of those couples, but GT has taken care of that, too, hasn't he? Their loving, spontaneous relationship has long since been forgotten, lost to Niki's crazy rantings and plotting. All that's left in Llanview is raw sex and lust. When was the last time you saw a good, sexy, romantic scene like Ben and Viki's pre-wedding massage or John and Rae's high dive scene in the park. JFP's regime maybe? It's been a long time - a long, long time. Gary Tomlin doesn't care what his fans think, unless of course, those fans happen to fall in the 13-19 demographic. Too bad he doesn't know that they won't be watching a few years from now. They will have moved on and so will we.”
Dear Jill: I couldn’t agree with you more. It
sure does seem like the days of the beautiful romances are over. I, too, was
very distraught over the destruction of Rae and John. I talked about them
endlessly in my column because I love them both individually and I adored them
together as a romantic couple. I would love to get some of the old stuff back…it
seems like it’s lost forever.
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© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
