| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….Well, Margaret is back in rare form, isn’t she? Talk about a “love/hate” situation. She’s got the whole “love/hate” thing going on all by herself…sick as it may be. How else could she claim to love Todd to distraction on one hand and nearly fatally stab him in the gut on the other hand? What a piece of work! I loved Todd’s reaction when he saw that she was pregnant. It was like, “Oh no…can this possibly be happening to me? Haven’t I been through enough?” I still don’t think that baby is Todd’s. And here’s a question. Did I miss something? How exactly did Margaret get Todd’s gun in her own hand? I didn’t have time to rewind, but I know I was wide awake…LOL. I have to admit that I was cheering a bit when Todd had his hands around Margaret’s throat and was close to choking the life out of her. I wonder if he would have shown the same restraint as John did with Hayes if Margaret hadn’t gotten the better of him.
And I have to give credit to Asa. After all, it is a rare occasion when true words actually come out of his mouth…and truer word were never spoken when Margaret told him how much Todd loved her and he said, “Manning hates you. He wants you dead.” One of these two is crazy and for once it’s not Asa….LOL.
One thing I am really enjoying is the brotherly relationship between John and Michael McBain. These two are a riot to watch. John walks around sulking half his life away and Michael can’t stop himself from trying to tease him out of it. It’s a wonder John doesn’t haul off and pop Michael a good one…but you can tell these brothers really love each other and Michael only means well when he tries to help John. I did find it hysterical when Michael came over to John’s apartment the morning after John had tied one on and John wanted no part of Michael lecturing and teasing him. The funniest line was when John headed off to the bathroom to “lose his cookies” and Michael yelled after him, “Do you need me to hold your hair sweetheart?” These two brothers brighten my day when they are together in scenes.
I think we’re in one of those One Life to Live cycles where there are too many obnoxious people on the show and they take up entirely too much airtime. One is Layla Williamson. I hope the writers are going to let us know soon what her purpose is, because so far I haven’t seen one. She’s nothing but obnoxious and as far as possibly involving her with Antonio, I just don’t see it at all. She’s had maybe two or three moments when she showed a tiny bit of compassion for her sister or Antonio and aside from that, she’s a self-centered brat. Like I said…way too much airtime.
Then we have Spencer. Can’t forget him…the writers won’t let us. Just like with Layla…if we don’t find out soon what he’s got on David (and it better be worth the wait), I will be the first one to request his departure from Llanview. Actually, I wouldn’t mind if he left now, but that’s not happening. Now we’re getting a new Paige to replace Kimberlin Brown. Do we need a new Paige? Why put Bo through another relationship with a woman with lethal secrets?
OK…I have spent a lot of time defending Antonio…standing behind him when the fans that hate his guts refused to see him as a changed man. Don’t get me wrong…I feel bad for what he has been going through with Jessica and his custody battle for Jamie, but he annoyed the heck out of me the other day when he finally got Jessica back to Llanview and wouldn’t stop arguing with her about why she wouldn’t make love with him. Now, was that the most important thing he could think of when she just got through telling him she’s got two personalities and one of them wants to kill him? Give me a break Antonio. Don’t make me sorry that I believed you had changed. Getting angry because Jess wouldn’t make love with him was wrong for any reason…but I guess she finally shut him up when she told him that Tess was anything but devoted to him and his bed. He didn’t seem to enjoy hearing that and I hope he feels very small when he realizes that she was just trying to protect him. Imagine how horrible Jess feels about what Tess has been up to.
And how bad did you feel for poor Nash after he and Tess admitted they were falling in love with each other and then he was left standing in the pouring rain, totally disillusioned, thinking himself a fool. I could have cried for the poor guy.
On to Hayes’ hearing. Wow…that was wild to watch. I can’t remember the actor’s name, but he sure is doing an incredible job. He makes my skin crawl and I am so glad that I am not the kind of person who has nightmares, because I’d see him in my nightmares every night if I did. I’ll tell you what they needed in that courtroom. They needed a good dose of Judge Fitzwater. She wouldn’t take any crap for Hayes or his ridiculous lawyer. Hayes just sent a chill up my spine when he was leaving the courtroom, stopped in front of John and snickered, “You’ll never find Natalie.”
And what about Natalie? How long has she been missing anyway? I guess she forgot all about her daddy when she was writing her goodbyes on the wall.
So, Nick is out of his coma…do you think that between what John found out from Evangeline’s hypnosis and what Nick might be able to tell him he might finally find Natalie? I have to tell you…that hypnosis session was totally obnoxious. If Evangeline said one more time, “I can’t stop thinking about John” I was going to spit. It was way overdone…just like it was overdone to have Natalie keep dwelling on only John when she could have flashed back on a ton of things if she really thought she was about to die. Just my opinion, but having these two women being so desperate about John makes them look desperate and weak and it just rubs me the wrong way. And why was John so excited to find out that Natalie was on the east side of Llantano Mountain. LOL…them make it sound like the mountain is about 2 feet wide and they will spot her in a minute. Duh…it’s a MOUNTAIN!
And poor Roxy. She’s in so much pain and I would have loved to see her get a good grip on Hayes. Roxy just might be able to scare a confession out of him. She’s wild enough to do it…LOL. And I loved the way she got mad when Rex tried to calm her down and she said to him, “You disappoint me. I raised you to be a pit bull.” Well, Roxy, most of the time that’s just what Rex is, but these days he’s more of a cocker spaniel and I, for one, love the transformation. He still has just the right amount of edge but he can be a decent member of society and that will make him more interesting if he’s not just a rotten kid.
And finally…why is there no restriction on who can hop down to the jail and visit Hayes? That’s totally stupid. Not that I think it was such a bad thing that Marcie and Rex drove him over the edge. What I want to know is…when John went down to see him and Hayes thought he was his grandfather…why didn’t John just go along with him when he begged him to let him out and say, “OK, Grandpa will let you out…just tell me where Natalie is.” Am I crazy?
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Linda writes: “Rex and Bo, what a team. And now with Bo looking out for how Rex behaves in the courtroom etc. I love it. Maybe those two will bring back the smart police. So tired of the dumb cops that can't solve a crime. But I want Viki to have a love interest. If she doesn't she is stuck with back burner story lines. Wouldn't it be fun to make a list of dream candidates for her new guy! More David too, I love his humor. Hoping Nora isn't pregnant though. I'm just as tired of losing babies as I am with over doing the murders. Come on writers aren't there any other kinds of plot lines?”
Dear Linda: I think Bo and Rex are the brightest spot on the show most days. Such an unlikely pair will always be a crowd pleaser. Hmmm…Viki with a love interest…well, everyone knows what I think about that but I’d be interested to know your list of candidates for a new guy for her…so send it to me and I’ll post it for opinions. Of course it won’t bother me a bit if all your suggestions are “new” Bens. I personally hate the “losing baby” storylines…I’d be happy to never see one again.
Cynthia writes: “I keep reading various articles that the gal who plays NATALIE is leaving. Well, I see her in the FINDING pictures, etc. What gives?”
Dear Cynthia: Melissa Archer’s future on the show was in question for quite a while when she was in contract negotiations. She will be staying with the show…I don’t know the length of her new contract…but I’m glad she’s staying. I want her around long enough for Natalie to redeem herself as a decent human being with a positive future…with or without someone named John McBain.
Valerie writes: “I know many have stated their dislike for Spencer, but really, he is an amazing actor. He was on General Hospital some time ago and I loved his character on that show (and I watched GH for a very short time). When I heard he was coming to OLTL, I thought, "Great, he was awesome on GH!" Well, surprise, surprise, I can't stand the character either. It takes a good actor to pull off both personas to the extent Paul Satterfield does. One final point….does anyone else feel that the ages of the characters on the show just don't add up? I think it was Antonio saying to Layla "you're just a kid". Wait a minute; if Layla has been in L.A. for a while doing acting work, she's got to be in her early twenties, at least. How old can Antonio be? 26? 27? Is he that much older? I remember Natalie bartending at Rodi's for the first time, was she 21 yet? If Natalie and Jessica are twins, they can't be more than 22 or 23 (Jessica finished college not that long ago). The same with Kevin being Duke's father. I know soaps are not supposed to be totally realistic, but it is just so obvious that the show is in a time warp. I wish TPTB would try a little harder in that regard.”
Dear Valerie: I can’t disagree with you…I can’t stand the sight of Spencer either. I have to say that I’m tired of these obnoxious characters coming on the show and upsetting everyone’s lives…yes they are obviously good actors to get such a rise out of us, but enough is enough. As far as the subject of age goes, on soaps the ages of the characters never make sense. They either age from 5-20 in a year…or they have grandkids at 30…lol. I agree that the silliest situation is Kevin and Duke…In real life, these two would only be father and son if Kevin became a dad at age 12.
Amy writes: “I love Nash! I do not know him from the other soap he was on, but, this guy will not be long on Day Time TV. He needs the big screen! I'm sick of Dorian. She has no real storyline any more other than as a foil for David and making trouble in her own family. She needs a story line or less airtime. To me, bringing Clint back shows that these writers have no ideas of their own. Why re-hash old news? I really do not like Layla Williamson. She comes on way too strong in that she seems to really be overacting. You know, I loved Michael Easton on Port Charles and was thrilled when One Life got him. However, creating a character with such restrained emotions is the exact opposite of the vampire he played that we all loved. Let him show major emotion and that John character will be great.”
Dear Amy: Yummy, I love Nash, too. He does have the most demonstrative face…they eyes and the mouth speak volumes, don’t they? He’s a wonderful addition and I can’t wait to see how they fit him into life in Llanview. Dorian really annoys me, too. These days she’s got me in one of those “I have no patience for Dorian” periods where all she does is bug me. As for Michael Easton, I never watched him on Port Charles, but I did watch him in his first soap role way before that on Days of our Lives. I loved him then and I never mind him dominating my screen these days either. John is a really good guy at heart in my opinion and I never get tired of watching him….I may get a bit frustrated…but never tired of him.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2005
