| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Well readers, you certainly made yourselves heard last week. When I wrote about not having received one “loving” email about the character of Mitch Lawrence, I truly had not received any. Since that day, I have received nothing but mail devoted to Mitch and how much everyone loves him. Of course, nobody really loves him…they love the edge he’s brought to the show. They love the fact that he’s the best villain One Life To Live has seen in ages…if ever…and they love waiting in anticipation for his next volcanic eruption. Thank goodness no one has accused me of hating Roscoe Born. I hopefully made it clear in past articles that I do think he’s a wonderful actor and have followed his career on several soaps. I, too, think he makes an incredible villain.
The problem is that I am not a big fan of villains. I don’t like my favorite lovable characters’ lives turned upside down and terrorized. Roscoe is definitely up there at the top of my list of villains who scare the “you know what” out of me. I have said this before…most of my fellow soap fans question why I even watch soaps since the villains are the ones who make the shows worth watching. I used to be more accepting of villains when there weren’t so many. There used to be a better balance of mayhem, romance, comedy and tragedy. Now it seems that the villains rule the roost and a tiny romantic peck on the cheek is a lot to ask for.
I don’t disagree with anyone that Roscoe Born is doing a great job of reviving the horrible Mitch Lawrence, in spite of the fact that when he yells at Viki I nearly fall off my couch every time. He’s sure got that shock factor down pat. Anyway, stay tuned and I shall let you read a few letters from Roscoe’s biggest fans in the “Feedback” section.
Switching over to comedy for a moment…I was not able to contain myself while watching the classy Renee Devine sashay around The Break Bar chugging from a bottle of whiskey. Patricia Elliott is such a wonderful actress, no matter what she’s playing and she is terribly underused on One Life To Live. The same goes for Nigel. All he has to do is point his face at the camera…His facial expressions crack me up before he ever opens his mouth to speak….again, terribly underused.
I am getting a little tired of Liz. I don’t like the way she jerks Antonio around. She seems way too selfish to me when she is desperate to hide the truth one minute and seems ready to blow everything out in the open the next. Let’s just let Keri overhear the truth…let it all blow up and let’s deal with it already. We see the same thing from this group every time they are on screen. And I also think they should get Hank out of that group and put him in more scenes with Rae. He doesn’t need to be the self-righteous one all the time. We can save that for the courtroom.
I’m really crazy about Bo lately. I love how he takes care of his family and I love the way he is going after Mitch “off the record.” I also thought it was pretty cool to have Gabby participate, trusting her to have changed. She sure seems to have changed…do you think it will last? Having her give Viki the scarf with the wire hidden in it was interesting. I have been wondering since Niki Smith “left town” how Viki would react to Niki giving Gabrielle that wonderful job at The Banner. I figured Viki would explode and fire her immediately. I guess Viki is at the point where she’ll accept help from anywhere…good for her…she needs it. And thank goodness she has Bo right by her side. Hey, if it can’t be Ben, Bo is my second choice for valiant leading man…of course, only as a brother in law and friend…LOL.
Are we going to find something interesting for Sam to do? It’s not working with Blair. I hope they find something interesting to involve Larry Lau in before he becomes wallpaper like so many other actors who were underused or not properly used. He deserves a chance to shine.
Bonnie Hunt had a really funny Christmas show last week…I don’t know what it is, but they have a very good combination of actors on that show. I know some of you think I only watch because of Mark Derwin…and it did start out that way, but when I find myself laughing at the little boy next door, or the piano player, or the maid, then I know it’s a truly funny show. Oh well, to each his own.
See ya
next week...
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
In deference to the Roscoe Born/Mitch Williams devotees…here is your equal time:
Lolita writes: "Roscoe Born is a great actor. Have you even been paying attention to OLTL? Mitch is one of the best villains to grace OLTL.”
Lily, for "Roscoe Born Online" writes: You have now gotten at least one email that is NOT anti-Mitch. LOL. Obviously I'm biased, but nevertheless I love seeing Mitch back in Llanview. I'm tired of petty "villains" like that stupid Jen and I'm tired of Todd's "comic relief villainy." I say, keep Mitch as long as it takes to shake up pretty much everyone in town -- and that should resolve the problem of how boring and repetitive the show has become.”
Wayne writes: “Hello, My name is Wayne. I have been a big Mitch Laurence fan for around 20 years now. His performance on today's episode was absolutely incredible. When he yelled at Viki my heart got stuck in my throat, that's how convincing he was. When Mr. Born displays anger you can really see it in his eyes and in his facial expressions. He is an incredible actor! Mr. Born truly deserves to win the daytime Emmy for best soap opera actor. No one in daytime soaps even comes close.”
Sandra writes: “Consider this your one piece of
positive feedback about Mitch Laurence. Llanview finally has a no-holds-barred
villain again, and Roscoe Born is playing him...once more...to perfection. Since
Gabrielle has turned into someone totally unrecognizable, Asa seems to have been
rendered powerless, and Todd is...well, TODD, it's about time there was someone
in town again to boo and hiss.
As for the Bonnie Hunt show, um, are we watching the same show? Tuesday night,
ABC? Maybe the ratings aren't too good because it's supposed to be funny, and it
isn't. Bonnie herself is appealing, and Mark Derwin was a great addition to the
cast, but the rest of the show is consistent in only one thing...the laugh track
seems to have taken over the entire section where the audience should be
sitting. I keep tuning in because I'm hoping for a turnaround, but it seems to
be a lost cause. And the soap spoof they did a few weeks ago put ME into a
coma...”
Dear Mitch fans: OK, OK…as long as he doesn’t hang around for too long,
I’ll endure the big old meany….and Sandra, regarding Bonnie Hunt…yes we are
watching the same show…I respect your opinion…that’s why they call this America.
________________
DJCJ writes: “I am a 21-year veteran fan of OLTL and I find it ridiculous that you can say that it is a good idea to recast the character of Clint Buchanan with John Reilly. All of the years and memories that I have of my favorite soap have been with actors like Clint Riche, Ellen Holly (ex-Carla), Robin Strasser (ex-Dorian), and Andrea Evans (ex-Tina). These actors are irreplaceable in my book, as well as many fans hearts as well. Clint Riche has left his 20 years of fingerprints all over the show, and the fans, the producers, and all of the executives at ABC daytime know that is true. In order to keep OLTL winning best show Emmys in the future, we need these gem actors like Clint Riche back full time. This is irrelevant, but just so that you know, I am a male viewer of OLTL and I am damn proud to say that. So pass my comments along to ABC daytime, and e-mail me back if you think you are brave enough to handle my comment(s).”
Dear DJCJ: I think it’s great that you’re a male viewer. We don’t have enough. I have plenty of male readers who write in all the time who have watched the show forever and I love hearing from them. I have never been a huge fan of Clint’s, but I do think at certain times in the past couple of years he has been needed on the show (now is one of them) and we all know that he turned down the last offer to come back to the show because he didn’t like the length of the stay he was offered. Much bigger stars than Clint Ritchie have been replaced successfully. I see no problem with someone else playing Clint. I don’t feel that he’s in the same category as Robin Strasser, who in my opinion, could be one of those irreplaceable actors. Oh, and as far as my being brave enough to handle your comments….yours are mild….I eat critics like you for lunch.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
