| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….Lots of action last week…especially at Statesville Prison. How hard did you laugh at how easy it was for the civilians to park themselves right at the gate in the line of fire? Did Bo think that putting a cop on Natalie would keep her under wraps?
Lots of interesting relationship interaction in the wake of this prison riot. None could be more profound than the relationship between Bo and Rex. It wasn’t hard to figure out that Rex would be devastated by hearing that Bo was in the center of the mess at the prison and get himself over there as soon as possible. And once again, Rex was the one to expose the bad guys when he heard that creep, Haskell, talking to Carlo on the phone. How funny was it when Rex barged onto the scene and said, “I’m with the Llanview Police Department.” I thought Bo was going to knock him out. Rex should definitely enroll in the police academy…he’d be a star.
I love the relationship between Rex and Bo. It’s obvious that Bo considers Rex like a son and Rex looks to Bo as the father he never had. It was so obvious when Bo was furious to see Rex at the prison risking his life and yelled at him saying, “I will not lose another kid. I will not bury someone else I care about.” The scene quickly turned around when Bo was shot and Rex was terrified that he would lose him.
And the scenes at the hospital were so emotional…from when poor Matthew saw his father bleeding on the stretcher, to Matthew and Rex acting like brothers waiting for news of their dad’s condition. Who would have dreamed anyone would get Rex into a chapel to pray. Leave it to Matthew.
Talk about relationships when people are under fire. None were more obvious than Cristian and John. It was a testament to what good guys these two really are that they saved each other several times and wouldn’t let the other die or be left behind. Honestly, I really thought that John had convinced Cristian to take the tape with Carlo’s confession and run. And I was waiting for John to say that dreaded line, “I can’t feel my legs.” Come on, that’s what always happens, right? But I have to say that I was as surprised that Cris came back to help John as John was. And wasn’t it great when John rigged that listening device and recorded Carlo spitting out his confession. I loved that part best. Carlo was so proud to blurt out the whole thing.
Did you find it the least bit strange, or very stupid on Carlo’s part, to form such a tight bond with a loose cannon like Hayes Barber? Obviously, Hayes was aware of everything that Carlo had done to brainwash Cristian and force him to kill Tico Santi. Why would Carlo let a sick puppy like Hayes in on information that could bury him and free Cristian? I wouldn’t trust Hayes with my favorite flavor of ice cream, let alone a major confession. Hayes should have been the first one Carlo locked up so he couldn’t get in the way.
Oh Natalie…what are we going to do with you? This girl simply cannot stay out of trouble. She sure wasn’t very discreet when she was listening to Rex’s phone message telling her that Haskell was a crooked guard and he was working with Carlo. The terror on her face was such a dead giveaway. I was hoping she’d hold it together until she could tell that lame FBI guy that Haskell was on the wrong side of the whole mess. And of course, it was so easy for Haskell to drag Natalie right past everyone and into the prison. Bo would have had a better chance of ending the fiasco if he had locked up all the guards and the FBI and handled the whole thing by himself.
I’m a little tired of Evangeline going around blaming herself for Cristian’s plight now. Too little, too late I’d say. I had to laugh when Evangeline was talking to Layla and Layla implied that now that Cris was back John would be available for Evangeline to scoop up again. Evangeline got mad because everyone assumes that she wanted to free Cristian so she could have John back once Cristian went back to Natalie. Obviously, if Evangeline looks down deep enough she will have to admit that this is at least partly true. After all, at the end of Friday’s show when she thought John might be dead inside the prison, she did cry out, “I can’t lose the man I love.” Oh yeah, she’s over him and this is all an altruistic campaign to free Cristian. I’m not saying her motives aren’t noble to some extent, but enough with the “I’m only doing what’s right” line.
And what a treat, having Spencer Truman operate on Bo. That made me cringe, especially since he had just finished failing to save Ginger. And we got another clue about what Spencer has on Paige. I guess Spencer was involved with someone dying on the operating table in the past, but he did say that Paige was the one who was responsible for the man’s death. Interesting…and how the heck is David involved. And I can’t let a week go by without voicing my disdain for Spencer. What a pig…that’s all I could think when after operating on Bo he said to Paige, “I’ll get back to you on the price for saving your boyfriend’s life.” I’d suggest that someone take a scalpel and cut out this man’s heart…but that would imply that he has one.
Another fan I was talking to last week said that maybe Paige was the doctor who was responsible for John’s father’s death on the operating table. Now wouldn’t that be interesting!!!
I felt bad for David when he ran into Dorian and she told him she was doing fine and he said, “I miss you every day.” Poor David…I hope he gets the chance to put Spencer in his place one day soon.
OK…on to the storyline that I have the most mixed emotions about…the emergence of Niki Smith. I have to tell you…I hated the thought of Niki coming out again…I still do…but I also have to say that there is nothing like watching Erika Slezak in action when Niki takes form. Erika looks like she’s having more fun than she’s had in a very long time, doesn’t she? Niki’s visit to that bar was a riot. It’s amazing to see the transformation Erika goes through…the way Niki’s manner of speaking and facial expressions are so different from Viki’s. Niki didn’t do such a good job of impersonating Viki though when she ran into Clint, Jessica and Nash in the bar. Tess sure figured it out though. Obviously, Niki is going to give Clint a run for his money. She still has to figure out why she’s out in the first place. And I have to admit that I died laughing during those scenes where Niki tried to seduce Clint. When she called his girlfriend “Houston” I cracked up…and the way she just looks at him and shrugs her shoulders is a real hoot.
I loved the scene where Clint left Nash to guard the bedroom door and not let Niki out. She was a riot when she sat down on the floor and tried to get him to let her out.
More kudos to Nash this week for being the grown up in the Nash/Tess/Antonio/Jess Mess. Out came Tess again and Nash had every opportunity to take off with her, but to her dismay, he had to remind her that her family and all the Buchanans were worried about her and they couldn’t keep running all the time. He also told her that she has to deal with Antonio, which obviously made her day. It’s interesting that Tess hates Antonio but Jessica doesn’t hate Nash at all. Obviously, Antonio really adores Jessica and he has put up with a lot and is still standing by her in an unwavering fashion, but Nash is a force that can’t be ignored and I can see him becoming easier for Jessica to have around as time goes by. Nash is playing his cards exactly right…he is unselfishly doing what’s right for Jess/Tess. I have to admire that.
I’m finding Michael’s behavior interesting these days. Obviously, he’s very jealous of Hugh’s relationship with Marcie, which was evident when he saw Hugh sitting in Rodie’s with Evangeline and asked him if he was trying to work his way through all the women in Llanview. However, Michael was as worried about Natalie when he found out she was at Statesville as he was about Hugh’s relationship with Marcie. What are Michael’s true feelings for Natalie?
And Todd…oh boy, they are really digging a deep grave for this guy. I don’t believe he killed Margaret, but he is the proverbial “boy who cried wolf.” He’s been guilty of so many nasty things that nobody believes him any more, even his family. That was a pretty hard bite to swallow when it was revealed that not one, but two autopsies proved that Margaret was dead before she hit the water. Blair seems to be at the end of her rope…I hope she doesn’t pay Spencer another visit. Maybe the next time he’ll answer the door naked hoping it’s her again. I think Margaret was a much better swimmer than she let on. After all, that back dive she took off the side of the boat was not the dive of a woman afraid of the water. Lots of people are speculating that Spencer killed Margaret and set it up to look like Todd did it. After all, let’s face it…all lab results are subject to tampering in Llanview. Wasn’t it the former Medical Examiner who was arrested for being blackmailed by Daniel Coulson to changing Jen’s autopsy results? I imagine Spencer could have that done without blinking an eye.
And in closing I have to go back to my biggest laugh of the week…and a nostalgic moment it was…back to Bo’s surgery. Did you get a flash of déjà vu like I did when Asa found out that Spencer was operating on Bo? Come on, you remember. Asa did the same thing about 6 years ago when his beloved “son” Max collapsed on the hospital floor and Ben had to operate on him. Of course, Asa hated Ben’s guts at the time and didn’t know he was his long lost love child by Renee. Asa said the same thing he said years ago. “You let that quack operate on my son?” He threatened Spencer’s life if Bo died exactly the way he threatened Ben’s life if Max had died. Talk about lack of originality! At least this time someone should have tossed some scrubs at Asa and told him to scrub in if he thought he could do a better job. Some old coots never change and neither to some storylines!
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
James writes: “I've watched ONE LIFE TO LIVE almost from the beginning. I've seen characters with dual identities, watched them comeback from the dead, and even now, have seen them take over the dead. One thing I can't get used to is other actors taking over roles of leading actors. Yes, In the case of Bree Williamson, taking over for Erin Torpey, we got to see a different prospective of Jessica, but, I can't accept this new actor, playing the role of Clint. Clint Ritchie was the Clint I grew up with. He was an intricate part of the cast, a leading actor. I'm not saying this actor is not good, it's too early to judge, but he doesn't make a believable Clint, in my eyes.
Dear James: Actually, I think that a lot of the replacements have been very good and sometimes better than the originals. At some points I have felt the way you do and most times I am pleasantly surprised that a new actor can do as much or more justice to the role as the original. In the case of Jessica, I think that Bree had a lot to prove because we watched Erin Torpey grow up as Jessica and when I first saw Bree, my reaction, as well as many others, was that she got the role because she resembled Erin so much…but Bree more than proved herself in my opinion. She has the sweetness and kindness of Jessica and with Tess gives her a more mature and edgy element, which I thoroughly like. As far as Jerry ver Dorn’s Clint goes…hmmm…I like him very much as an actor. Do I think he’s Clint? Realistically, he’s an appealing Clint, which may or may not be true to the character…it depends on your vision of what Clint was. I think they brought him on as a softer and very attractive Clint, which says to me “let’s bring back Clint and make him fit into Viki’s life.” The problem for me is that he hasn’t fit into Viki’s life for a long time and they’ll probably squeeze him into it no matter how they have to do it. Just my humble opinion.
Helen writes: “Where is Jessica from a few years ago...does she have a fan page?”
Dear Helen: Erin Torpey, the original Jessica, left the show quite a while ago after many years of growing up on the show to pursue a career out in Hollywood. She has said she is very interested in music (she sings) and she has been in some spots on television. She most recently was in a movie that came out last summer, Dirty Deeds, which I think was in a very limited amount of theaters for about 10 minutes. I tried to see it in spite of the awful reviews because there was another actor in it that I kind of like…lol…Mark Derwin. To show you how limited the movie’s presence was…I live in New York City and couldn’t find it in one theater anywhere near or around this big city. I’ll have to catch it on video or something one day and sit through it, which I will gladly do just to catch a bit of good old Ben. By the way, I did go to erintorpey.com and the home page is under construction and said “coming soon.”
POPI5150 writes: “Evidently, you have some problem with real talent as displayed by Renee Goldsberry and the lack thereof of Melissa Archer. The writers made a major mistake by creating a triangle in the first place. The love scenes and mere interaction between John and Natalie appear strained and contrived and not interesting and realistic as John and Evangeline. It is too bad that you interject personal feelings and not objectivity in your commentary.”
Dear POPI5150:
I think one week I’ll just type up everything that happens
on the show without any opinions so that people can read it and form their own
opinions. OH, wait a minute…that’s what we at this site call A RECAP!!!!!!! I
know this because I used to write them myself. Recaps don’t call for an
opinion…commentaries DO! I’d like someone to point out to me when I ever said
that Renee Goldsberry didn’t have talent. I’ve never said that because I don’t
feel that way. I think she’s a very good actress and I feel the same way about
Melissa Archer. Melissa proved herself from the day she set foot on that set and
held her own in every major dramatic scene they threw her into right alongside
Erika Slezak. If that’s not talent, I don’t know what is. As far as love scenes
go, I suppose I can call John and Evangeline’s love scenes intense, but it
always seemed to me like they often used sex to avoid serious discussions and
uncomfortable situations. Do I think the writers did justice to John and
Natalie’s initial love scenes? NO, I don’t. The choreography was non-existent
and it was over and done before the fans got to enjoy it. But for me that
doesn’t mean the deep feelings aren’t there. Sorry you don’t agree…something
tells me we’ll both survive the disagreement.
© Copyright by Katherine
Thurston, 2005
