Search over 1.4 million articles by over 600 experts
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. One Life to Live Fans

More from About.com

Browse Topics A-Z
"Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live
April 25, 2006
 Featured Links
• Previous Commentaries
• ASK JILL - E-mail your comments or questions

 
 Join the Discussion

OLTL Fans Forum
OLTL Couples Forum 
 

 Related Resources
• This week's Scoops
• More Spoilers
• Casting News
• Daily Recaps
• OLTL Events

 
 

REFLECTIONS BY JILL….This week I have a new person at the top of my hit list. His name is Cristian Vega and I’m starting to think that maybe we don’t have the real Cristian back…or else he has been so changed by his experiences over the last few years that he’s just not the same man any more. It was bad enough that he manhandled Evangeline a couple of weeks ago when she wanted to go to Todd before he was apprehended. As I said, I hated the way he carted her off physically and that he dared to treat her that way. No matter what his reason…and no matter how much he was worried about her…he was just an overbearing idiot and it seems from his most recent behavior that he hasn’t learned his lesson.

I was furious and couldn’t believe that he had the nerve to go to see Todd on death row and asked him to fire Evangeline so that she couldn’t work on his appeal. Who the heck does Cristian think he is? I was glad that Todd just laughed in his face. Cristian, of all people, has no right to question Evangeline helping anyone. When she originally decided to help Cristian get his conviction overturned, she didn’t even have any solid proof that his story wasn’t a bunch of bologna and she stuck by him, even when his story sounded ridiculous, until she got him freed. The fact that he would deny Todd the same chance as he had is really unbelievable. And I was shocked and appalled when he told Todd to leave Evangeline alone and said, “You’re going to die in five weeks anyway.” That was a pretty disgusting thing to say. And he was an overbearing Neanderthal when Evangeline showed up, asked him how he even dared to suggest Todd fire her and he said to her, “I’m doing this for your own good. If I have to I’ll carry you out of here the way I did the last time.” I have to say…any idea or feeling I had about Cristian and Evangeline getting together went out the window with those scenes. Evangeline deserves better and being alone is better than being with an overbearing idiot like Cristian has become.

Speaking of Todd, I was glad that he didn’t go easy on Blair when she came to visit him. He blasted her and she deserved every bit of it. I thought it was great the way he called her on the fact that she brought that video camera for him to tape a message to the kids. He was totally right when he said that she didn’t come for the video, she came because she can’t stay away from him and that she’d always have those feelings for him. She couldn’t deny it and she couldn’t stay away. I heard that Todd is going to get all the way to getting the needle in his arm with the first injection. Oh, who wants that to happen? Not me. He’ll probably be a step away from death’s door before they save his life…big surprise.

Did you find that doctor who spoke to RJ about Nora as annoying as I did? You could just tell he really didn’t care one way or the other about Nora or the fact that RJ was very close to her and wanted to remain optimistic. Then, worst of all, Matthew had to overhear him talking about how Nora might never improve. It’s a good think that the kids on this show are tough…Starr and Matthew should form a club.

And let’s talk for a minute about Natalie. I love her but she does need to tone it down a bit where John is concerned. Does she think it’s a surprise to him when she tells him that he’s headed for a crash if he doesn’t let people help him? Does she think he doesn’t know that he’s his own worst enemy? She needs to back off, but of course, she can’t do that. She insists on getting involved with Vincent Jones, which can mean nothing but trouble for her because the fact that he knows all about her and her connections as a Buchanan will probably, no, likely, have her entering into an alliance that will cost her dearly when Jones lets her know what he really wants from her.

And what about Kevin? He wasn’t too swift when he was getting drunk in his office and looked Duke and Clint in the face and denied that there was anything wrong with him. His confrontation with Duke certainly wasn’t pleasant when they fought over Duke’s supposed love for Kelly and Duke told Kevin that Kelly deserved better than him. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Kevin asked him how he could say that to his father and Duke reminded him that if he’d been more of a father to him over the years he might not feel that way. That’s exactly the way I thought Duke would feel. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Kevin drink like this. The last time was several years ago when Grace Davidson died and Kevin sank very deeply into the bottle, shutting out his entire family. I remember him showing up everywhere drunk, especially a Thanksgiving dinner where he drunkenly read the riot act to Viki, Ben, Sam….and everyone he thought was responsible for hurting Grace. Kevin is not a nice drunk…if there is such a thing.

I thought Kelly made a good point when she put Duke in his place, reminding him that in spite of everything that was going on, Kevin is still his father and he’s in pain.  I think Duke needed to be reminded of that.

It seems like Rex and Adriana can’t get their act together these days. She’s mad that he didn’t trust her and although he apologized, I was glad he told her that no matter what she thought about his actions, he would never be sorry for trying to help Todd since he was not going to let another innocent person get punished for a crime he didn’t commit. We all remember Jen being the major suspect in Paul Cramer’s murder and the truth only came out after her death when the investigation led to Daniel Coulson as the killer. I thought Adriana was growing up a bit and she’d start thinking more clearly, but she immediately jumped to the conclusion that Rex was sending her all those e-mails and refused to believe that she had a stalker. Well, here’s another sicko that Rex can flush out while the cops are busy with something else.

And speaking of the cops…we’re finally moving along with the storyline of John’s father’s murder as we move toward May sweeps. Thank goodness the truth is coming out because I am just about up to my ears with frustration every time I have to listen to Paige whine and whimper over what Spencer has done to her. I thought John was going to rip that bar apart when the doctor told him that Paige was the doctor in the operating room who was drunk and responsible for the mistake that killed his father. Of course, it didn’t take long for John to connect the dots and figure out that Spencer covered it up.

I have to say that I was angry at…and felt sorry for Bo all at the same time when John confronted him with the truth and Bo did his best to discount Paige’s guilt in John’s father’s death. Bo was grabbing at anything he could….any excuse he could think of so that the evidence wouldn’t point to Paige. I’m sure it’s impossible to think that Paige would do what she did, let alone keep the secret from him. But Bo is too good a cop and an ever better man and there was no way he could deny the truth. And I was angry that Bo let down his guard and told Paige that maybe he was too rigid…too black and white…and that he was going to ease up on her and not badger her for the truth any more. When he told Paige that he trusted he with the one person who is the most important in his life, Matthew, I wanted to just smack her for keeping her mouth shut yet again. Then Bo has to hear the truth from John. Not good!

We don’t know what really happened and when the whole truth comes out it will be interesting to hear, but at this point, I can’t see Paige ever being forgiven by Bo…not because she deceived him and let him fall in love with her knowing she was holding back the truth about her life…but I don’t think he will be able to forgive that she allowed herself to be enmeshed in his life and Matthew’s, being a mother to Matthew all this time…and allowed Matthew to become attached to her knowing that the truth would hurt him terribly. Bo is not likely to take that sitting down.

I can’t wait to see how Spencer talks his way out of trouble…you know he’ll try and it won’t be too easy for anyone to prove what he’s done. And will Paige come forward finally with the truth? Does she have a choice? When Bo and John walked into Spencer’s office I was applauding…finally Spencer’s scheme is starting to unravel. The only thing better would be for Blair to witness it when it happens.

And Tess is finally in labor….well, Jess/Tess is in labor…I remain confused…lol! If you don’t already know, Tess is going to have a baby girl and if you want a sneak peek, don’t miss the adorable photos of her with that beautiful baby girl on this website.

And what is sweet little Claudia Reston going to do once she figures out the truth about Jessica and Tess? And how dangerous will she be to that baby? She’s a loose cannon and the fact that she can play so innocent is a very frightening thing. Everyone better be on the guard with this woman in town. Hopefully Antonio will keep his head (fingers crossed) and won’t team up with Claudia to break up Nash and Tess. Hopefully, Antonio has come far enough to know that wouldn’t work.

And leave it to David to give me the only laugh I had all week watching the show. I died laughing when he was sitting at the airport and started to talk to that woman about going to Thailand. Only David could have pulled it off with a straight face when the woman commended him on adopting a Thai baby and he said, “Oh no, it’s an American baby that my brother stashed away after he killed its mother.” And then as the woman stared at him in shock he said, “Are you going to finish that m muffin?” And let’s not forget when the officer approached David and asked, “Are you David Vickers?”…and David said, “Officer, I haven’t done anything wrong….Today!” I will miss Tuc Watkins’ David so much if he leaves the show. I read that Tuc has done a pilot for next Fall and is waiting to see if it is picked up. His gain…our loss!

See ya next week….

Jill Berry

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS

Sheilla writes: “I love your commentary, until Natalie's name is mention. I used to really dislike Natalie when she first came to the show. However, I fell in love with her as she was falling in love with Chris. But the Natalie of the last year and a half I have grown to hate. She is so obnoxious, hypocritical, irritating, and at times mind-blowing stupid. I am fascinated how someone who in her writings seems so wise and levelheaded can enjoy the character of Natalie like you do? I know to each their own; I know I have loved Carly from GH since the character surfaced and she makes Natalie look like a school girl. However there was always a side to Carly that made you forget how wrong and vindictive she can be. I don't understand why Natalie is always mentioned in the magazines as one of the most favorite females on OLTL. Can you please explain the attraction to this character?”

Dear Sheilla: I think you answered your own questions. You said it yourself…you love Carly from General Hospital and I agree, from what I’ve seen of her, she does make Natalie look like a schoolgirl. And just the same way that Carly’s fans see another side to her, I, as well as other fans of Natalie’s see that same side. Unlike Carly, I don’t even think Natalie has that vindictive side any more that she brought to Llanview…back when she was so intent on destroying Viki and Jessica. If you read my column on a regular basis, I call Natalie out on everything she does that I consider bad behavior, even though I like her at her core. Natalie is very fierce in her feelings…she loves her Buchanan family, she loves Rex and Roxy…she certainly still has love for Cristian and his family and there’s no doubt that she loves John…and she is just a fierce when it comes to defending them or going up against anyone who might hurt them. That’s what I like most about her. The fact that she’s hard headed and gets into trouble for it all the time is not something I can dislike her for…I just want to give her a little smack sometimes…lol…but her love for people drives her and I can’t fault her for that.

Richard writes: “I thought it was a bit weird that John had to sniff his arm pit before applying deodorant and then smelled his shirt before deciding it wasn't too 'ripe' to wear. Don't most of us use deodorant as a matter of habit? Smelling your clothes before deciding they may not cause people to pass out when in your company is something that might be done when alone, not in the presence of others. No matter your relationship to them. Bree has certainly come a long way as an actress. I didn't care for her when she first came on the show. She has turned in some of the very best performances lately. Blair, on the other hand, deserves Spencer. After all the trouble she and Todd had with Margaret, she couldn't wait to get dressed up and go drinking when Todd needed her. In his somewhat twisted mind, he was trying to protect her and the kids. Who is watching the kids, by the way, when she decides to jump into bed with Spencer every time she can? We felt so bad for Star when she walked in on Blair and Spencer. Blair won't be able to talk her way out of this situation. She's betrayed her husband and her children. Just my opinion. We love the show anyway, even though it drives us up the wall sometimes.” 

Dear Richard: I did have a good laugh when John sniffed the armpit of his shirt before putting it on, but honestly, I thought it was a real “guy thing” to do. I know all the guys are going to blast me now. I guess we’re supposed to figure that John is such a busy guy that he doesn’t have time to do his laundry on a regular basis so he’s not sure if something is clean enough to wear. Also, I think it was Michael with him at that time in his apartment and most guys probably wouldn’t think twice about doing that in front of another guy, especially their brother. Anyway, sorry, it doesn’t ruin his appeal for me. I do agree with you about Blair deserving Spencer…I’d like to see her visiting him on death row instead of Todd…maybe I’ll get my wish. And yes, no matter what, we love the show anyway…now, what’s wrong with us?????

Kathy writes: “Jill are we watching the same show? I can't see what you see in "Natalie". If her heart were in the right place she would be with her TWIN sister, mother and father and her alcoholic brother. What happened to the "bond" that twins have? She doesn't seem to have it anymore, funny though Jessica had it when Natalie was stuck in the pit. Does "Natalie" have a alter name "Jill"? We love the chemistry between Todd and Evangeline and John and Evangeline but there is no chemistry between Christian and Evangeline-- none!!! zero, nada...........!”

Dear Kathy: I guess this is Natalie bashing week…and thank you so much for the laugh. As far as I know, Natalie does not have an alter names Jill, but hey, if they ever get that idea on the show I’ll be sure to put in for some royalties…thanks for the idea. You should know that it’s not abnormal for Natalie not to be breathing down Jessica’s neck since this is a soap and she has way too many dramas in her own life to hold Jessica’s hand…but she does worry about Jessica…she talks about it often…and like most of the family, she hasn’t gotten very far with Tess, so there’s not a lot she can do hanging around Llanfair. She and Tess are like oil and water and that’s not good for a very pregnant woman, is it? As far as Cris and Evangeline go, I don’t want them together anymore either…Cris has become an overbearing pain in the butt and he doesn’t deserve any of the good women around him right now.

© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2006

  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. One Life to Live Fans

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.