| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….Finally, we know what is wrong with Nora. I was getting so tired of her walking around grabbing onto walls for the past few months, wondering if she was deathly ill, pregnant, or who knows what. People have written in asking about Nora’s “flat on her back” situation (I hear rumors that Hillary B. Smith doesn’t care for Nora’s current condition) and since word has it that Hillary is currently in contract negotiations, Nora’s recovery probably hangs on whether or not the actress signs a new contract. This happens all the time so I guess we just have to hang on and wait to see what Nora’s fate will be. I’m sure it will provide us with tons of great scenes for Matthew and Bo, so I don’t mind if she stays asleep for a while.
And of course, Spencer comes to the rescue once again. Are the no other surgeons in that darned hospital these days? He was downright nasty and inappropriate when Bo asked to see Nora and he questioned whether or not it was Bo’s voice that Nora would want to hear. He’s just horrible and if anyone out there likes him…don’t even write and tell me…LOL!
Do you think Dorian has bitten off a little more than she can chew by going up against Spencer the way she did? Why did she put all her cards on the table by telling him she stole that disk from his hotel room, not to mention stealing his hotel room key? Not smart, Dorian. I can’t see her on the winning end of this fight. I mean, she’s tried to best Viki about 1,000 times and she hasn’t won yet. What makes her think she can best Spencer?
Anybody care for a piece of that banana bread Dorian baked? She’ll never need a gun with a weapon like that on hand.
THREE CHEERS for Antonio getting Jamie back. Not that I’m Antonio’s biggest fan these days, but since RJ so easily returned to his criminal ways and is so ridiculously appalled at being arrested for what he truly did, I’m not sorry he lost Jamie. It’s Lindsay who worries me. She’s over the edge on this one. It creeps me out that she keeps calling Jamie “our child.” Poor Linz needs some help getting over Jen’s death, or at least learning how to cope a bit better. Of course, she’ll never get over it, but she latched on to Jamie for dear life and even RJ knew that wasn’t healthy. I hated that Lindsay made that scene, telling Jamie she didn’t have to go with her father if she didn’t want to. Way to confuse the kid Linz!
Oh, and wasn’t RJ a bit out of line when he came up to Viki in the courtroom at the hearing and commented on her presence saying, “Ah, Viki Davidson…putting her on the stand is like getting six witnesses for the price of one.” She slammed him back in true Viki fashion, so I just laughed at him. Between RJ and Dorian, the multiple personality jokes abound.
And for those of you who think I am totally inflexible in my opinions, brace yourselves. I saw a glimmer of decency in Layla last week. She certainly behaved a lot better than Lindsay did and it didn’t seem like her behavior was selfish like it usually is in my opinion. She behaved in a way that was totally in Jamie’s best interest and whether or not it’s totally sincere (it appeared to be), she knew what was the right way to handle herself to make Jamie’s transition as easy as possible…and I admire her for that.
Well, on to the Tess/Jess Mess. And what a mess it is! I’m waiting for her to be on the table ready to terminate the pregnancy while Antonio, Layla and Nash all run into the room. Maybe then we’ll meet another personality…Bess????
And that was some bit of history we got about Nash, wasn’t it? Hmmm…a former girlfriend whom he pushed into an institution and her family who has enough against Nash to have a restraining order against him. I can’t wait to hear more about that, especially since Bruce asked Nash what he expected to get out of Jessica’s family. Nash vs. Viki…now that’s a battle I can handle watching.
OK…now we’ve waited almost as long for Margaret’s body to be found as we waited for Nora’s illness to be diagnosed. Jeez…finally she’ll be found. Honestly, I thought that fisherman out on the lake was going to get a big surprise by reeling her in. I know, I’m bad, but the thought crossed my mind and it would be such a “Margaret” thing to have happen, wouldn’t it?
I really thought Todd was going to confess it all to Viki last week. I guess he figured she had enough to digest learning that he had been raped and nearly choked Margaret to death. And of course, he might lose Viki from his side if he confesses something as bad as drowning her and an innocent baby.
And it annoys me to no end that Todd is treating Blair like such an idiot. She’s even smarter than he is and he’s insulting her by not coming clean. She can take it.
I love having Viki back in Llanview…the voice of reason and decency. I liked the fact that she apologized to John for what she said to him at the police station. He was very gracious to her and I did think he’d just implode in his seat when she told him that she was happy that Natalie has moved on with someone as honorable as he is. Good thing John didn’t have a big gulp of beer in his mouth at the time or Viki might have been wearing it. Honestly, I do think that John is an honorable and very decent man. I don’t forgive the fact that he’s holding a big secret from Natalie and like all other soap characters that start out with deception, this baby has snowballed big time. He has to tell her before she finds out on her own. In true soap fashion, I’m sure that won’t happen. This secret is crawling right up John’s back and is about to strangle him. How will he handle the fallout?
So Carlo is the one controlling Cristian. One thing I can say…David Fumero sure knows how to act like he’s got a headache. I can almost feel the pain when Cristian doubles over from those headaches. I wouldn’t mind seeing Carlo go up against Spencer, but knowing how Carlo hates the Buchanans, he might just team up with Spencer….oh no! I got the creeps when Carlo told Cris, “No one resigns from Carlo Hesser’s services!” Remind me not to apply for a job with that guy.
And in closing…is it necessary for everyone in Llanview to know that Adriana called out Rex’s name while she was in bed with Duke? It was bad enough that she did it, but was it necessary for her to have to explain it to Kevin after Duke spilled the beans to dear old dad? Jeez, is nothing sacred???? She already had to tell Hugh about it. How many minutes do you think it will take for all of Llanview to be talking about Duke kissing Ginger? Let’s move on children!
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Rosannabs writes: “Hmm, I'm curious Jill. Do you actually watch the show? I'd have to say you don't because how can your commentary put Evangeline in a negative light? It's incredulous to say the least. She's the only one in this mess who still has integrity. You made reference that Evangeline was doing this to get back at John, when she CLEARLY stated that wasn't the reason at all. You also don't seem to put the blame where it really lies--on JOHN. He and Natalie's relationship is built on lies. PERIOD. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. He is lying to her and doesn't seem to have a shred of regret about it. If you're going to be so OBVIOUS to comment on your favorites at least get the facts straight. Lastly, since it is so readily apparent that you haven't been watching the show, then you also haven't noticed the blatant red flags that have already spelled doom for the John and Natalie relationship.”
Dear Rosannabs: Well, I guess this topic is far from dead…too bad…guess we can’t all move on with our lives. Hmmm…I guess that if Evangeline states that she’s not doing what she’s doing to get back at John we should just take her word for it. We should never assume that she’s acting on human feelings and emotions that she is having trouble controlling and in a very human way wants him to hurt like she’s hurting. If we believed everything based on what the character say, where would we be? We’d believe everything Dorian says (very dangerous, no?) and we’d believe everything Todd tells his wife and children (again, dangerous, no?). And as far as John goes, I have never, ever declared that he was blameless. I have recommended therapy for him more times than I can remember and have said many times that he needs to get his head on straight before he deals with any relationship. However, the writers want him to deal with Natalie right now and since I do actually watch the show (thank you very much) as well as having watched tons of others, of course I notice the red flags. How many couples are happy for more than a week before trouble sets in? Please! When did I say that the road for John and Natalie would be easy?
Wanda writes: “Will somebody please get this website an opposing commentary column? Your September 28th column was almost exclusively about that quadrangle of Van, John, Nat and Cris. It was so obviously biased in favor of John and Nat it wasn't even funny. You have every right to your opinions. But as long as your opinion is the only one viewed by fans on this website, the fans are being shortchanged. Not all fans see it the way you do. It would be nice to let them have a spokesperson too. At least you allow the fans to write in with their own comments. That brings some saving grace. But the website needs a column that offers balance. Not just your frequently inflammatory rhetoric.”
Dear Wanda: Perhaps you should send a sample of your writing into the website and give commentary writing a try. It’s really quite a lot of fun, even when people call you crazy, stupid, blind and any other silly adjectives they can think of. I find it quite interesting that people respond the way they do. Do you think that if I came out and said that I loved and was behind John and Evangeline all the time their fans would mind…or is it only that I don’t agree with them? The reason I write so much about John/Evangeline/Natalie/Cristian right now is because they have such a front and center place on the show at this time. When Margaret took up most of the airtime for months last year, I was more focused on her storyline than any others. Listen, if you were reading my column a few years ago when Ben and Viki were the “big couple” on the show, you would have seen lots of mail posted from the Viki/Clint fans that hated Ben with Viki. I loved Ben and Viki more than just about any couple on daytime…and believe me, the mail wasn’t pretty…but I can tell you this unequivocally…I have never seen people put nastier things in writing than what I receive from fans who hate that I support John and Natalie…and I just find it sad…pitiful and sad. And for the reader who wrote that I should write a real commentary and not my opinions…please go to Thesaurus.com, where you will find synonyms for “commentary” which include words like “opinion” and “point of view”.
Maria writes: “Thank you for your column about John, Natalie, Evangeline and Cristian. The story is heading in the right direction, I hope. John, Natalie and Cristian have a long, complicated history together and I am glad the writers are mostly concentrating on that. I really love John and Natalie together. They are my only "root for" couple on Daytime. They truly are better than I ever expected. I hope when all is said and done, Natalie and John come out of this together and happy. Their rich history, tender relationship and electrifying chemistry keep me rooting for them. Thanks again for the column. You read my mind.
P.S. Some of the mail you get from readers is hilarious. Thanks for including that!”
Dear Maria: I hope
they come out of it together, too. I figure if they’re going to be together in
the end, we’ve got about 3 years of torture to go through first…but hey, what
else have I got to do instead of watching One Life To Live over dinner
after a hard day at work? And regarding the mail, I give everyone a voice…that’s
what I consider fair.
© Copyright by Katherine
Thurston, 2005
