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

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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….I think it’s time that the powers that be at One Life To Live shed a little LIGHT on our show. Is it just me, or has this show been progressively going in a very dark direction lately? Although it annoyed me at first, I really did enjoy the Music Box Killer storyline once we found out that Haver was the killer. Haver was about as sinister as you could get…or so I thought…but it was a well-written storyline and the rest of the show wasn’t so depressing. I felt there was a pretty good balance. For me, the current storylines we are watching today are starting to make Haver look like a walk in the park. I have to laugh when I look back and think about how just a few years ago, so many OLTL fans were screaming because Jill Farren Phelps had taken the show in such a dark direction. For the most part, I didn’t agree with that because although there were some dark aspects at the time, Jill’s reign gave us some of my favorite storylines and unlike those in charge today, she DID know the meaning of the word romance, which is so sorely lacking in today’s storylines.

We currently have at least three storylines that we are fed just about every day, which are very dark and for me the balance is gone. It seems that with the change of the actor playing the role of Paul Cramer and the decline of his scruples with that role, every storyline involving that character has an evil tone. I’m sure a lot of people would say that we needed fresh storylines and these are somewhat original, but to tell you the truth, they are just too nasty for me most of the time.

Even though we don’t have to watch All My Children to follow the story of Kelly, how she got her baby and what she’ll do to keep it, we do have to constantly watch Kelly sink to incredibly new lows to protect her secret. What happened to the old Kelly who was smart and funny and a decent person? The old Kelly would never have let herself sink so low in her insecurities as to commit crimes like stealing a baby and stealing money from her husband’s company to preserve a marriage to such a “not worth it” man. It wasn’t bad enough that the writers put her in debt to Todd for the rest of her natural life and beyond…but now we have her scum of a brother, Paul, to contend with who would serve up his own mother on a platter for a few bucks. Oh, and is there anyone out there that thinks Kelly is stupid enough NOT to know that the baby was stolen? The other day when Paul mentioned the “crime” he committed for her she seemed a bit shocked that he’d use that word. I guess it gave her some comfort for a while to let herself believe that POSSIBLY Paul got the baby legitimately…hah! Come on, Kelly! Did anyone not see the day coming when Paul would blackmail her? Hey, maybe Asa will find out that Kelly stole the money from his company and he’ll railroad her the way he railroaded Will Rappaport. Or maybe he’ll just take little Ace as payment for her disloyalty. That would make him happy. I wonder how long they’ll blame Todd for that transfer of funds…you know Kevin will automatically think he did it. Gee, for once in his life Todd is innocent of something…picture that!

Speaking of darkness…does anyone think it’s just a bit inappropriate in the times in which we live…where tragedies like Columbine and numerous other horrors exist in schools…that Marcie would be writing a book based on a club she belonged to in school called “The Killing Club”, where students got together and imagined killing off people because they didn’t like them, or because they weren’t accepted? I can see Marcie being hooked on mysteries…I read lots of murder and mayhem novels myself…but I wasn’t comfortable knowing that she belonged to a group like that…even if they were harmless. I think that on its own I might not feel so strongly about this storyline, but combined with the fact that so much on the show is so dark, it only adds to the discomfort.

Let’s not forget that once again, Viki’s health is in trouble. Now wouldn’t it be nice if with all the craziness that’s going on we could have Viki truly happy for a while? I think there’s enough trouble in Llanview without heaping a pile on Viki again. Even if she never got any worse than she is now, her family is going to kill her with kindness. I actually think Kevin is more annoying to her than Todd is these days. Kevin is so worried about Viki, but even knowing how it upsets her when he fights with Todd, he doesn’t think twice about doing it right in front of her. It’s kind of funny when the only sane person Viki can talk to and relate to is Dorian, isn’t it? I love the conversations between Dorian and Viki and every time these two actresses are in a scene together it proves over and over again that we need more of them. It was a nice touch when Dorian held Viki’s hand and took her pulse to check on her. Someone doesn’t have to be ill for these two powerhouse women to tangle and make them worth watching.

And then we have Starr. I do think that Starr has made more than her share of trouble on many occasions without even leaving her house…and although I do think the storyline about Starr finding a kindred spirit on the Internet and getting involved in something she can’t really handle sends out a good message and warning to viewers young and old (or older), I think I would enjoy it a lot more if I could count on something a bit lighter in the following scenes to balance the darkness a bit. 

As much as I adore Roxy and Nigel…and David and Dorian…there isn’t enough levity these days for me. It just seems like all of a sudden every storyline is bogged down with a sinister tone.

Take Natalie and John for example. I was perfectly comfortable with these two taking their time growing closer to each other. I expected the bumps in the road…who doesn’t? The problem is that Natalie has now become like another Kelly. Is it necessary to take her character down the road where she comes off like a jealous, needy woman when the guy involved isn’t even her significant other yet? Instead of having her use her brain, which we all know she has, she is resorting to getting drunk, hanging all over Paul (there’s the nasty culprit again), going after Kathryn instead of maintaining her dignity, and making remarks to John which make her sound like a jealous, betrayed wife rather than what she really is now…his friend who knows they share feelings and needs time to let the relationship develop. I hate to say it, but she’s taking up where Jen left off.

Now…I saved the worst for last. That’s right…Good old Dr. Long and the organ-stealing plot. I was wondering how they were going to handle this storyline since rumors have been flying all over the Net lately, saying that Viki is going to need a heart transplant and that she’d be getting her heart from ten different places…from Ben (forget I said that) – to Cassie – to Carlotta – to Lord knows who. I think she will need a transplant, but this is another case where no one knows anything and everyone is coming up with “what’s really going to happen.” LOL…didn’t we learn anything when Ben didn’t die on Valentine’s Day? Anyway, Richard Bekins is great in the role of Dr. Long. He makes my skin crawl and of course, he’s in cahoots with Paul, the other skin crawler. The thing that bothers me is that this storyline is making my skin crawl much too much. I hated that scene the other day when Dr. Long insisted to that poor woman who had just lost her husband, that he had signed a form allowing them to harvest his organs. The woman kept insisting her husband wouldn’t have done that and Dr. Long so solidly stood his ground, pretending to be compassionate while the helpless woman just stood there desperate to be heard. That scene made me so uncomfortable I couldn’t stand it. If we’re going to continue to see situations like that one, I, for one, am not going to be too happy about it. 

I am glad that Michael is onto Dr. Long and he and Marcie do add a bit of levity to the situation, like when Marcie talked Dr. Long to death to keep him from going into his office and catching Michael snooping. AND…I hear that Dr. Larry Wolek will be back for a short stay and I hope we’ll get a good transfusion of GOOD from him. Hopefully he’ll be around for Viki when her troubles start to get out of hand.

Well, well, well…I’ll bet you think after all that complaining I have nothing good to say. You’d be wrong. I did enjoy Michael and Marcie finally making love last week…they were very cute and romantic, although I’m not sure I’d have put them on the roof of a crummy hotel for their first time, on the ground where birds “do their business”. Just my opinion. LOL…I know that the M&M fans would have been happy to see them make love at the McDonald’s drive-thru…so I’m glad they’re happy.

I do like the fact that Michael and Marcie are working against Dr. Long. At least there are people that already have a clue about what he’s up to. And I really like that Michael and Dorian are going to work together to figure out what Dr. Long and Paul are up to and are keeping what they know to themselves. Good for you Michael…you don’t want Dorian working against you…keep her on your side.

And as crazy as they make me most of the time, I am glad to see Todd and Blair getting along even in small ways for their kids. Maybe I’m just glad we don’t have to hear the “you raped me/no I didn’t” argument any more. 

I loved the scenes between Viki and Starr. That is a wonderful relationship and you can really see the love between them. Even little Jack was cute with Viki…but as I’ve said in the past, Erika Slezak can make anyone shine…she’s that good…just one more reason to give her a crack at a recast for Ben if we don’t get “the real thing” back. She’d make it work…no doubt. Hey, you know I couldn’t let an opportunity go by to mention Ben when I’m talking about things I like.

I’m also happy to see Ron Walsh back. Could it be…just a handsome, nice guy looking for a nice girl? Oh my goodness…could we possibly find a good woman for Ron and have a nice little love story? Dare I hope?

And finally…to end this semi-rant on a light note…was there anyone not rolling on the floor laughing when Viki and Antonio bumped into each other in the hallway and she got a gander at his…ummm…assets? Leave it to Viki to take it all in stride and act as if it were no big deal. As if that wasn’t funny enough, her line to Jessica when they discussed it later knocked me out when she said,“Well, he was very clean.” Viki is just priceless. I love her attitude and Antonio’s embarrassment was just icing on the cake. Way to go Erika…you never let Viki cease to amaze me!

See ya next week...
Jill Berry

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS

Leland writes: “I would like to know what happened to "Hank Gannon"? How and why did Coulson take his place?  Did I miss something? I thought Hank Gannon did a fabulous job, but was ignored in the show. What a pair he and Evangeline would have made.” 

Dear Leland:  I completely agree with your thoughts about Hank. He was very, very underused and the story was that Hank began teaching at the university and all of a sudden Coulson took his place as District Attorney. From what I read, Nathan Purdee was put on recurring status and he decided not to accept that and left the show completely. Who could blame him? There were many missed opportunities to write for this character and unfortunately, he went the way of a lot of older actors who are not appreciated. I hope he’s doing well.

Bobbie writes: “I tape soaps every day due to my hectic schedule. I like watching without the commercials. We had power outages and lots of company the last two weeks here so I've just run thru what I DID get really fast. I thought I got all the info on Viki before I taped over, but I missed what the Dr. told Vicky about her heart condition. What was the diagnosis? I keep getting info now that "dances" around it, but doesn't repeat. What I heard sounds similar to mine, so I guess I'm just Really curious!”

Dear Bobbie:  Viki had a bunch of tests and when the doctor asked her how long she’d been having palpitations she admitted she’d been having and ignoring them for years, which is hard to believe, but that’s what she said. The doctor put her on medication, a strict diet and recommended an exercise program, which Viki has been following. The tests showed that she did previously have a mild heart attack, but for now she’s just being monitored and taking care of herself. I guess her condition is going to deteriorate pretty quickly. We can already see little signs of fatigue and stress getting the better of her. That’s about all we know right now…hope it helps.

LadyLanceSHU writes: “I just read your "Reflections by Jill" for April 8, 2004 about the 2002 annual One Life to Live luncheon. I am going to my first one this August and am very excited! I was just wondering, since you've already been there, how long do they allow for the autographs and photos with the stars? Did it seem like fans were able to get pictures and autographs from their favorite OLTL stars or were the lines too long? Thanks a lot!”

Dear LadyLanceSHU:  After the lunch part of the event is over, there is about a 2-hour autograph and photo session where the fans can line up to meet the stars, get autographs and photos. There is a line for each star. Be prepared…the lines are loooonnnngggggg and hopefully you can get to all the lines you’re interested in and meet everyone you want to meet in that time. I know that some of the stars in the past have stayed later than they had to just to accommodate everyone, which is really nice. Of course, they do encourage not taking up too much time when it’s your turn at the head of the line since so many people are waiting, but if you’re prepared to stand in line, I’m sure you’ll be happy that you did. I hope you have a great time! 

Debbie writes: “Hi there! Could you tell me the name of the actor who played John McBain's boss - the white haired guy who wanted to suspend John after Haver was shot?  Also, I know he played in a sitcom many years ago.... can you tell me which one? Thanks!”

Dear Debbie:  The actor’s name is Alex Rocco. I don’t know exactly which show he was in that you’re referring to…but there is a great website that I use (thanks to my friend Janice)…it’s www.imbd.com (Internet Movie Database) and if you do a search on any actor’s name it will give you a complete history of all of their movie and tv roles, the dates and the names of the characters they played.  I did the search on Alex Rocco but there are tons of movies and television shows he was in and they’re all listed.  Go look him up and I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for.

 © Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2004