| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Wow, several things threw me off kilter in the past week or so on One Life To Live. People behaving the way I never thought they’d behave…people feeling the way I never thought they’d feel and of course, people doing things I never thought they’d do.
I have to start with Roxy because I was shocked, surprised and delighted with the scenes between Roxy and her mother (if you can call her that). I’ve always loved Ilene Kristin and the humor she has brought to the show, but it has been such a treat getting to know what really makes Roxy tick. Ilene did a wonderful job of making Roxy a real and feeling human being in the scenes with her mother and how wonderful was Sylvia Miles as that horror show of a mom! When she was berating Roxy for what she brought her and for how her life is worthless, I cringed and felt Roxy’s pain in my heart. And when Max came in and Roxy finally broke down and took responsibility for the way she has always treated Rex and Natalie, she brought tears to my eyes. I feel a Best Supporting Actress Emmy coming her way. Between Niki, Roxy and Roxy’s mom, I wonder if there are any trashy clothes left in New York. I think our wardrobe people have successfully bought out all the costume shops.
What I love most about Ilene’s performances is that one day she is a vulnerable woman just begging for some man to step all over her and the next minute she’s delighting us with her lack of “class” and the hysterical way she twists the English language. Will she ever figure out the correct way to say “hypoglycemia?” I sure hope not.
Talking about feelings…what’s with Max and Asa…they both actually have feelings for Roxy. What a turn of events this is…just the fact that they both have nice things to say about her all of a sudden is a riot. You go Rox!
Under the category of those doing things I never thought they’d do again, call me naïve, but I never thought Lindsay would stoop to the level of letting Troy know she still has feelings for him and actually taking him back into her bed after he humiliated her so badly. I guess she figures that holding sex over his head is even better than a dead wife secret…but it’s icky nonetheless. As crazy as she is…and as intent she is on destroying Troy’s life as she is, I did think she had more self-respect than that. And Troy…if I ever saw a more pathetic excuse for a man (sorry Troy fans…he’s a sleaze) I can’t remember when. Is sex his answer to everything on this earth? I never dreamed he’d be so stupid as to think he could sleep with her again and his problems with her would be over. I’d say that Nora better wind up the Mitch Laurence case quickly because she’s going to have her hands full when she goes on trial for Troy’s murder. (NO, this is not a scoop!) I have to say though, that I sure wouldn’t mind her knocking off the other MacIver brother. I was just wondering if that big, old wheel from the funhouse survived the fire. Maybe Nora could put it to good use again.
Oh, and what a new team we have now…Jen and Mitch Laurence. I thought he was supposed to be a brilliant guy. Hasn’t he figured out yet that nothing Jen tries ever works out? I read today that the young woman who plays Marcy has been put on contract status. Oh boy… Marcy, Jen and Mitch…now there’s a team made in Heaven.
I was so glad that Jess put him in his place and wiped him out of her life (like that will last 5 minutes). When she walked out of Mitch’s house with Todd, was that supposed to be sadness and feelings we saw on Mitch’s face. “Jessica, please don’t leave me.” Hah…I wasn’t very convinced.
Now, to the one person who continues to shock me. Every time I think he’s made me mad enough to throw him off a cliff, Todd Manning throws me a curve and makes me feel good about him. When he went after Mitch and talked about Viki being the best person he knows and that no one should hurt her like he did, I was cheering for him. I was also hoping that Jessica would have given him an extra few seconds to seal off Mitch’s windpipe, but no such luck. I love the way he took care of Jessica and talk to her about her mother. When Todd shows his true feelings for the few people in his life that he loves, that’s when I see him as such a great actor. RH was wonderful in those scenes and I applaud him.
I see good things ahead for our show with new writing once again and Frank Valentini at the helm. The next several weeks should take us into some good storylines and a great year ahead.
See ya
next week...
Jill Berry
FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
PACINODJ writes: “Hi, I am a very big fan of Roscoe Born, but I truly believe the writers of OLTL are not doing justice to the great actor he is. Why is he so robotic? I know that is not Roscoe's decision. I would like to see Roscoe Born stay on the show for a very long time, but give him a heart, and a sense of humor. He cannot be all Evil...They have changed so many characters into airheads, why not change Mitch Laurence, too, only to be a little more likeable -- like explaining why he does the things he does.”
Dear PACINOPJ: I’ve
always been a big fan of Roscoe’s also, but for this storyline, I do really
think the robotic thing works for the character. It adds to the image of him
never letting anyone or anything rattle him and as for me…he scares the heck out
of me sometimes, which I am sure is the desired effect of the writers. I wonder
if he would be as effective if they gave him a heart. Some characters are just
unredeemable and I think he’s one of them. He’ll tear his way through Llanview
for a year or so and then get bumped off…just my opinion
________________
CALJETT55 writes: “As a male viewer for the past 15 years, I just wanted to commend Erin Torpey on a job well- done. As Jessica, she has always been an amazing actress--especially when she finally started to grow up and take on more serious storylines--but I don't think I have ever been exposed to her caliber of acting as I was during this last week on OLTL. She was simply amazing and brought tears to my eyes (a feat only brought on by two other actresses on the show, Kassie DePaiva and Catherine Hickland)during her scenes with Mitch and Viki. OLTL is letting a true talent go--but we are all anxious to see her succeed outside of the show. I think I speak for everyone when I say "Good Luck" to Erin and "we will all miss your portrayal of Jessica."
Dear CALJET55: I
completely agree with you…Erin is a wonderful actress and I will miss her
terribly. I have loved so much of her work it’s hard to decide what I loved
best, but I think it would have to be the baby Megan storyline. Her scenes with
Viki in the gazebo when she realized Megan was gone wrenched my heart right out
of my chest. You are so right; we all wish her luck and will miss her very
much.
________________
“HippieChild writes: “I'm thinking OLTL is long overdue for some type of whodunit murder mystery. What do you think of the idea of offing Jen and making Cristian the prime suspect? That way an interesting storyline would develop and at the same time get rid of a go-nowhere character that has been a pain in my butt since day one. Tell me what you think?”
Dear HippieChild: I love a good murder mystery, but I think that since so many people cried out for Jen’s departure last year and it didn’t work, it’s not about to work now when a lot of people think Jen is doing better as “Mini Lindsay.” LOL…I’ve always found Jen a pain in my butt, too…but I have no clue as to her tenure on the show and since she’s involved with Mitch, who knows how far she will go.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2002
