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

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REFLECTIONS BY JILL…. 

Well, well, well…I guess the wishes of a gazillion One Life To Live fans came true last week. Our dearly beloved (not) Executive Producer, Gary Tomlin, who refused to ever lend us an ear, has been replaced. I have to say I was a bit surprised that it happened so quickly after the new head of ABC Daytime took over, but Brian Frons seems to have a feel for what’s going on and since he is one executive who reads and answers e-mail and other forms of fan correspondence, I think he quickly got the message that we were quite an unhappy group. Good for you, Brian.

Replacing Gary Tomlin with Frank Valentini, who as the press released stated, “has lived in Llanview for 17 years”, was a brilliant idea in my opinion. He knows and respects the important relationships (what’s left of them anyway) and he supposedly has a good rapport and a lot of respect from the actors. I’m looking forward to him making a big difference in what we see every day and giving us back at least some of what we’ve been wanting to see.

It is rumored that all but a very few of the actors have been told that no jobs are secure with the new writers coming in. That’s good and bad. We sure could use a good slash of the machete when it comes to the young crowd on the show. People like Shawna, Molly, Chad, Emily….all of these characters started out having some purpose and never really amounted to much in the way of interesting storyline. The fact that Molly was used to get Lindsay out of prison was a joke and trying to put Chad in some kind of a relationship with Blair didn’t seem to work out either. I say we should bid a fond farewell to these four immediately…they will all probably do better on other shows with better storylines written for them.

So…new Executive Producer…new writers who know the show’s history…new hopes, new dreams…what are we looking for? Here’s what I’d like to see.

In addition to getting rid of some of the young people, I’d like to see some good, realistic, grown up storylines for those that are left. Melissa Archer as Natalie can handle anything. I think she’s proven that more times than I can count. Let her have a shot with Cristian. He hasn’t had a girl who was completely dedicated to him alone in ages…if ever…and he deserves that. Natalie deserves to be loved the way he loves her and when was the last time we saw a good, old-fashioned, sweet romance? Don’t ever get me started answering that question. 

So, if we’re going to give Natalie and Cristian a shot, what are we going to do with the evil Mitch Lawrence? Thank you GT…who needed this guy back in the first place? Can we make him disappear off the edge of the quarry just as quickly as he appeared? I guess marrying Natalie wasn’t a dumb enough plot line…now I hear he’s going to go after Jessica to spite Viki. Now here’s a dilemma that could definitely bring Niki back in to Viki’s life…and now, we don’t need that. We better get rid of Shawna and Molly before Mitch recruits them and they start terrorizing Llanview…geez, what a thought.

I’d like to see some kind of quick resolution to the Keri/Antonio/Liz storyline. This one was horribly planned from the beginning and needs to be fixed. Obviously, we know the baby is Antonio’s, but I think the truth needs to come out, be dealt with, and let Antonio and Keri work it out without all the people around them butting in. Liz can go back to Chicago. I don’t see a place for her after the baby is born…if she stays around that long. And who knows what the stress of finding out about the father of the baby will do to Keri? Like I keep saying…this story is nasty…let’s be done with it.

Troy and Nora…this pair needs to be dissolved as quickly as possible. They just don’t fit and I can’t wait to see what Nora is going to do when she finds out what happened to Joanna. Spill it already…what did Troy do to her? I mean, we can all imagine, but let’s hear it already and let the chips fall where they may.

I’m kind of getting a kick out of the idea of Asa wooing Roxy. He might just find out she’s more than he bargained for. However, Asa expecting Max to do the same with Rae? Excuse me…Ewwww….At one point Rae thought Max was her son…let’s not get carried away here. Rae needs to have a good old-fashioned courtship with Hank. These two have tons of potential.

I read that it’s official…Joey Buchanan is headed back to Llanview and very possibly Kevin could be coming behind him. I have wanted this for ages, especially since Viki is currently without Ben. She needs her kids around her…all of them…and Natalie needs to know her brothers.

What do we do with Jen? This poor, confused little girl, whose mother is the kiss of death as far as raising kids and whose father just isn’t around enough. Wouldn’t it be something if she and Al got together and decided to change their lives for the better? It sure would take a lot of work, but it would be an interesting journey.

With the confirmation out that the role of Jessica will be recast when Erin Torpey leaves, I do not want to see Rex continue to make it his quest to have her. It’s sick and twisted and just because Jessie will be played by a new actress doesn’t mean it will be believable for Rex to go after her when he started out as her brother.

Could we possibly bring back Ben on one of Mark Derwin’s breaks? You know, maybe a dream sequence, maybe to come to Viki and comfort her. Come on, we know you can do it, Mr. Valentini. We know GT didn’t care if he ever saw Derwin again, but we don’t think you feel that way.

Gee Mr. Valentini, you’ve got our work cut out for you, don’t you? Something tells me you’re going to do a great job and that there will be a lot more happy fans out here waiting to cheer on your changes. I wish you luck and an open mind.

Over at Life with Bonnie…things keep getting better. Mark Derwin has a good amount of airtime and he has taken so much to his new role that even his most devout fans, such as myself, watch the new show and see him as Dr. Malloy and not as Ben Davidson. This is a tribute to his talent and may I say there is a good amount of ad-libbing on the show, which is delightful.

See ya next week...
Jill Berry

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS

From: Hank writes: “With Michael Malone coming back to the show, do you think Nora would get her sense back and dump Troy and go back with Bo?!?!”

Dear Hank:  You never know what could happen now. With a new Executive Producer and Malone coming back…anything is possible. I can tell you that Brian Frons is attentive to the fans so you should write in and make your point heard. 
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Sanlu1969 writes:  I also think the writers of OLTL are being irresponsible when they do not even talk about safe sex What’s with them are they so hungry for a prize winning show they forget the age of the fans and that they have a responsibility. Get on the right track OLTL.”

Dear Sanlu:  I agree with you about the show sometimes being irresponsible about safe sex. Sometimes it’s a big part of the storyline, like when Jen was deliberately trying to get pregnant. That wasn’t very smart, but in other cases, they do practice safe sex and we just don’t always hear about it…like when Jen announced she was pregnant and Cristian was shocked because he said they were always careful. Sometimes it’s the grown-ups, like Liz and Antonio, who make the dumbest mistakes.
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HippieChild38 writes: “I don't understand something. Why did ABC allow Roscoe Bourne to come back after what he did on All My Children? He had a great role as "Jim" and wonderful chemistry with Julia Barr but he didn't like where his story was going so he just didn't show up for work one day. I remember I was furious because I really loved him in the part and TPTB were forced to recast. The actor who was recast did a good job but he just couldn't convince me he was Jim. Now they're letting him back? What if he quits again? I don't trust him one bit.”

Dear HippieChild38:  Wow, I don’t watch All My Children so I had no idea that this situation took place with Roscoe Born. I can’t pass judgment since I don’t know the whole story, but it does sound a bit like a temperamental actor, doesn’t it? I’ll have to ask some of my AMC friends what that’s all about.

 © Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002