Reflections by Jill - A Weekly Commentary for OLTL for August 11, 2008

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the OLTL Fan Club Luncheon this year on Saturday, August 16th. If anyone who is attending would like to send in a paragraph or so with a brief review of the event, I would be happy to post it for everyone who can’t attend and would like to hear about it. If you’d like to forward photos from the event, all will be welcome.

Sue writes: “I have to disagree with your assessment of Todd and the current situation with Marty. I LOVE the Todd character as portrayed by TSJ and I think that the scenes between Todd & Marty are the BEST PART OF THE SHOW! Todd and Marty are mesmerizing in their scenes together. I think that Todd is remorseful about the rape. He truly believes that he is helping Marty now even though he is not being entirely truthful about himself YET. That may still happen. I hope Todd tells Marty everything before John tries to barge in (with Blair at his side) playing the white knight to the rescue! Of course, in this scenario, Todd gets the shaft as usual. I hope to see more of Todd and Marty instead! This is the best thing to happen to Todd since Evangeline. In these scenes, you can see the kind, gentle, caring side of Todd again. And you also get a glimpse of how Todd really feels about himself with regard to the rape. It is fascinating20stuff! Todd is a complex character.”

Dear Sue: Sometimes I wonder when I read an e-mail like yours, how people can sing Todd’s praises, talking about how kind, gentle and caring he is, when his behavior is totally self-serving and he is holding a woman hostage who would never accept being in this situation with him for a second if she knew what his game was. I can’t even believe that anyone thinks Todd is helping Marty when he is using this time to soothe his conscience and he is not even telling her the truth about the rape or about what John meant to her. Todd uses every opportunity to falsely accuse John of destroying his life as well as Marty’s and pours his heart out to her because as usual, he is taking the cowardly way out of facing what he has done. If he were really concerned with getting on with his life and dealing with what he did to Marty, he’d get some much needed therapy instead of manipulating this situation to suit his needs. Yes, Todd is a complex character, but he has become totally one-dimensional because we don’t see what little good there was in him any more. And by the way, if he is so kind, caring and gentle, why has he been so horrible to his family, especially his daughter whom he claims to love more than anything? I hope we see more of Todd and Marty, too, but only with Marty getting some much deserved revenge.

Martha writes: “I am so upset with ABC and with the producer of OLTL. Here we have Viki and Ben, it was lovely, sweet, sexy, wonderful, and what do they do? They keep following that scene in Mendorra and all its mess. It was like throwing ice water on you as you step out of a warm bath.”

Dear Martha: Hey, you don’t have to convince me. As far as I’m concerned, I would have been happy with two entire shows devoted to Viki and Ben, but somehow that wasn’t about to happen. I have gotten tons of mail from people who can’t stand the Mendorra storyline and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a total waste of screen time and if Tina wasn’t annoying enough to me before, she sure is now.

Nancy writes: “I have to agree with you about Tina. I did not watch OLTL when she was on originally, and she was part of the reason why. I find the whole Mendorra storyline totally ridiculous, boring and poorly acted. I couldn't stand Carlo Hesser when he was on last time and this time it's no different. I don't understand the reason behind this whole story; it has done nothing to enhance the story arcs they had in place. I enjoyed Viki's trip to heaven and am enjoying the Bo/Rex dilemma. I'm a lot more interested in Starr's pregnancy problems than I'll ever be in Tina, et al. I say send them all over the falls and let's get on with the "real" show.”

Dear Nancy: Although I agree with you about Tina being unnecessary on the show, I can tell you that tons of fans have been screaming for her to come back. There have been rumors on and off for years that Andrea Evans would be returning to the show and every time the rumors started, loads of fans got excited. This time the rumor turned out to be true and lots of people are happy to have her back. I agree with you; sending Tina, Carlo and everyone else in that silly little country over the falls is a great idea. And you’re right; Starr and Cole’s storyline is 100 times more interesting to watch.

Jamie writes: “You must inform your reader, Dorothy, who wrote in about Nora, she is wrong. Nora NEVER had an affair with Sam while married to Hank. That was all in Lindsay’s warped mind. Lindsay is the one who had an affair while married to Sam. That is why they divorced. And Lindsay even had an affair with Colin, who was her brother-in-law. Yes, Sam was in love with Nora, but for Nora’s part, they were just friends back in Chicago. In point of fact, when Lindsay came to Llanview, Nora tried to be friends with her. Lindsay would have no part of it. This feud between Lindsay and Nora is all Lindsay’s fault. The facts back this up.”

Dear Jamie: Thank you for writing in and clarifying this. I always appreciate it when people write in who remember things that I don’t. Although I have always known that all of the problems involving Lindsay since she came to Llanview were her own fault, I was a bit fuzzy about her history with Sam. Thanks again for the info.