| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….I guess the writers thought we needed something really interesting to watch last week to take our concentration off the Tico/Antonio show…so they gave us something else riveting to watch…Asa stuck in a hole. Is it just me, or did any of you wish they’d just leave him in that hole and toss Tico in with him? There has to be something wrong when they take a man Asa’s age and the best plot they can think of is to get him tied up in the woods and dropped down into a hole. Did he really get out of that dilemma by climbing up a rope? I guess that’s where Bo inherited his special powers that allowed him to scale the elevator he and Nora were stuck in so he could climb out the top. Gee, all I got were my mom’s eyes.
Just about the only good thing about having to watch Asa’s stay in the hole was getting to see Addie. I’d say her description was right on target when she told everyone, “I saw a big monster in a hole and he looked just like Asa.” I don’t know why anyone even doubted for a minute that it was Asa. Bo was smart…he took Addie seriously right away.
I did get a kick out of Bo trying to keep Renee from worrying about Asa when he reminded her that Asa has already survived two funerals. I think it’s even more significant that so many women have survived his numerous marriages. Was his most recent marriage to Renee #11…or was it #12? Oh well, who can keep track? And I definitely felt cheated seeing only a tiny bit of Roxy and Nigel last week. I guess we’re going to be having crumbs thrown at us where Ilene Kristen is concerned. What a waste.
I’m sure getting tired of seeing Asa marching around with his guns cocked and ready to shoot someone. He does look like a deranged old cowboy…even if he is sane…most of the time. I think we need to find something a lot more interesting for Todd and Blair to do than to keep messing with Asa. It’s boring and I don’t know of one person who cares where Blair and Todd live…or if Asa gets to keep his house. I hear that Todd and Blair will be tying the knot…yet again. These two need some spice injected back into their storyline…and fast.
And I guess we can’t get away without talking about those annoying Santis. I don’t know what was more obnoxious to watch…Antonio pouting about his fate and allowing Sonia to creep into his life…or Jessica remaining in the same room with Tico for more than ten seconds. I guess I’d have to say Jessica and Tico annoy me a lot more. I think Jessica needs to wear a special alarm that goes off to let her know when she’s in the presence of a man who is a MAJOR LOSER! She sure hasn’t been able to figure it out for herself. I was hoping that when Tico continued to badmouth Antonio and she told him to just shut up she’d be wise enough to write him off completely. No such luck. And was it necessary to give Tico even more fuel by having Antonio accidentally knock Jessica to the floor during that argument in their apartment? I thought it was ridiculous how Tico kept reminding Jessica that Antonio was obviously out of control when he knocked her down when he just gave his mother enough of a shove to kill her. How ironic was that?
So now we know that Jessica is going to marry Tico. No matter what the reason for this insanity (and I hope Jess is just setting Tico up for a fall), I can’t see the need for the writers to continue to make Jessica look like a fool. I don’t mind her getting Antonio out of her life…he’s got too much baggage in his life that he refuses to deal with in a rational way…but do we have to watch her be dragged into yet another situation where she looks like a fool? Enough already.
Do you think it’s just a bit laughable that Antonio is all of a sudden acting like the Godfather of the Santi family? It’s not so effective when you’re lying tied up on the floor with a thug holding a gun on you. I guess Antonio is not worried that after Tico killed his own mother he wouldn’t think twice about having him squashed like a bug.
Oh, and in case anyone was missing obvious storyline plots…how cliché was it to have Tico send Jessica out to the motel to find Antonio locked up with Sonia…and how many people didn’t think Sonia would answer the door AFTER she made sure her blouse was hanging off. That was really an original scene…NOT!
On to the gala. As always, the best thing about watching these big productions is that they hold the same interest for me as watching the Academy Awards or the Emmys…I like to see what everyone is wearing…LOL! With one exception, the ladies did look wonderful, especially Dorian and Adriana who were stunning. The exception was Sonia. I think the hair department got a little bit too carried away with a love of the ‘60’s with that hairdo. She could have hidden Tico in that monstrosity. I know…someone is going to write to me and tell me how stylish it was, but I think they overdid it on a basically beautiful woman. Obviously, the gala hasn’t heated up enough for me yet so I had to dwell on the shallow aspects of it. Hopefully when Viki shows up this week things will heat up.
Speaking of Viki…I don’t believe there’s a person out there who can convince me that the show hasn’t missed her in her absence. Those who think that mature characters like Viki are best served on the back burner need their heads examined. She has been very sorely missed all this time. For me, she brings interest to every storyline she touches, from her quest to find out where her “real” son, Kevin went…to dealing with her two daughters who can’t seem to get their lives straightened out…to her interaction with the Love Shack kids and Roxy…to her on again, off again rivalry with Dorian…well, you get my drift. Every storyline has suffered without her presence.
Spoilers say that Viki is going to be shocked at the prospect of Jessica marrying Tico. It’s going to be good to have her voice of reason back in Llanview because she had Tico pegged from the beginning and I loved it when she told him to his face that he wasn’t fooling her a bit trying to insinuate himself into Llanview society.
I was thrilled when Jessica and Natalie made the wise (shocking) choice to move back into Llanfair. Finally, Natalie is dumping Paul and finally both she and Jessica will have to face their mom more often as they try to straighten out their lives. Do you think Viki will make the difference for these two young women? I hope she has better luck with them than she’s going to have with Kevin. I’m certainly not going to mind seeing Viki in Kevin’s face, although not even his wonderful mother has been able thus far to make him realize that he’s lost his mind.
And speaking of Natalie, I like seeing little bits of the real Natalie coming back. Little flecks of common sense look good on her and I really like the fact that she and John are finding their way back to each other…even as friends for now. It doesn’t seem like the John/Evangeline relationship with have much more steam. There is a real connection between them, but it doesn’t have a lot of emotional depth, which I think has been there for John and Natalie from the start. For all the John and Natalie fans (myself included), hope springs eternal. I’m so ready for them to have a real, grown-up relationship…and I’m very anxious to see how the writers handle the “return” of Cristian.
I guess we have to address Kelly and David. She sure didn’t waste any time stepping into his face for that kiss, did she? Hey Dorian, one of “your girls” is doing you dirty behind your back! I don’t think Kelly even thought about it for a second. I guess this is one more thing we can blame on her instability…must be the pills…hmmm…good excuse. Of course, David has been pretty irresistible lately. He gives Kelly everything she needs to maintain her sanity…he’s sweet…he’s compassionate…he listens to her…and the most dangerous of all, he makes her laugh, which is something she badly needs right now. This is going to be very interesting to watch.
I hear that Dorian will also be very busy trying to chill the impending relationship between Adriana and Duke. I have to say that they are a very cute couple and I think Melissa Gallo is doing a very good job of making Adriana a character that we care about. Good for her. I think getting Adriana away from River was a great idea. I wonder about rumors of a recast of the River character…I hope they’re not true.
My biggest laugh of the week, believe it or not, came from Antonio. I was trying to count how many times he has broken into Tico’s house and I lost count. I think it’s almost as many times as he’s turned in his badge, but I’m not quite sure. I also think that Tico has mistakenly used the same security system that Asa uses because people seem to be able to walk into Lionsheart uninvited as easily as they walk into Asa’s mansion. I’m waiting for Tico to start yelling out Asa’s favorite line, “Where the hell is my security?”
Once again my week with One Life to Live was filled with the same question I’ve been asking for months now after I foolishly thought I would like Tico and that question is for Jessica. Why did she ever rescue Tico from that vault?
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Renate writes: “With the news that Cristian
will be returning to Llanview, what do you think this will do to the
relationship between John and Natalie? I am a huge fan of John and Natalie so I
am rather disappointed to hear Christian is coming back to town.”
Dear Renate: I wasn’t thrilled to hear that
Cristian was coming back to town either. Although I’ve always like Cristian, I
never saw the chemistry between him and Natalie. She has tons more chemistry, in
my opinion, with John…and I have always felt that Cristian had a ton of
chemistry with Jessica, long after they broke up. I think whatever happens
between Natalie and Cristian will depend totally on what the writers have in
mind for David Fumero and how long he’ll be hanging around this time. Is he
going to be Cristian in the flesh…or a ghost? I prefer the ghost storyline,
where he finally gets Natalie to accept his death and move on…but I never get
what I want or what I predict, so who knows what will happen? Natalie’s love for
Cristian is huge so if he’s back in the flesh, John could be the big loser. I am
anxious to see how this all plays out.
Elizabeth writes: “After reading your column religiously and watching OLTL with practically the same critical eye and attitude, I only have one thing to say. THANK GOD VIKI COMES BACK SOON!!!”
Dear Elizabeth: AMEN, GIRL! It sure wouldn’t bother me one bit if they had Erika Slezak pre-tape enough scenes before her vacations so that we never have to notice she’s gone. Wouldn’t that be great?
Patti writes: “My roommate read a rumor in a
soap magazine that OLTL is going to kill the Tico story. Hallelujah! My question
is: Is this true? In my opinion, it can't happen too soon. (And they need to
bring Roxie back. I'd love to see her have her own story!)”
Dear Patti: I have heard from several
sources that the Santi storyline will be terminated sooner rather than later. I
agree…this is cause for huge applause. I haven’t heard from one person who likes
this storyline…which is strange…because even when the majority of the fans
dislike a storyline, I always hear from some people, if only a few, who are in
favor of it. Not this time. I can honestly say that I haven’t heard from one fan
that wants to see Tico and Sonia stay in Llanview. As far as Roxy goes, my
feelings have been well voiced. I hate that we’ve basically lost her.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2004
