REFLECTIONS BY JILL for December 10, 2007

So, now Dorian figures she has written Clint off (who cares?) and David just happens to need a place to crash. I guess we’re in for a few more laughs since Dorian has decided that she wants David back in her bed, but wait until he scratches off that lottery ticket Viki gave him. All I can say is, DUMB LUCK!

I’m so glad Viki is back in Llanview. Now I can’t wait to see how everyone else comes into play with Charlie also being in the picture and Gigi being involved also. It’s too bad but it was so obvious that Viki’s whole demeanor changed when she walked through the front door of Llanfair. Obviously the sadness of losing Marty didn’t help, but you could tell right away that being in “Queen of the Manor” mode was not Viki’s favorite thing to be at this point. But never fear, there is more in store for Viki and a few definite up close and personal scenes between Viki and Charlie are coming up. Stay tuned!

See ya next week.

Jill

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS

Catherine writes: “Will Marty be killed off and die in John's arms (so he can remain tragic) and with her last breath she'll ask him to take care of Cole? Thus, John will become Cole's legal guardian. Cole and John are charming together and, as long as Cole and Starr are an item, John will be up against Todd continually. When John does his deadpan comedy, I really like him.”

Dear Catherine: We now know that Cole has survived the van explosion and that Marty is presumed dead. She will probably pop up when we least expect it sometime down the road, but for now, I hope that John is the one who takes care of Cole. They do have a very good relationship and Cole likes and trusts John, but don’t forget that Nora feels responsible for Cole and has a huge mansion and Dorian wants to offer him a home, too (oh boy). I’d like to see him with Nora and being a big brother to Matthew. He’ll need someone to count on now that he has lost both of his parents in such horrible ways. As far as John’s humor goes, I love sarcastic humor more than any other kind and John knows how to throw it around for sure.

Alison writes: “I was getting used to Christina Chambers as Marty so I am not glad to see her go, but if Susan Haskell were to come back, that would be great. I would like Cole to stay around (Starr, Cole, Langston, whom I'm glad to see as part of a big story, and Markko are a nice teenage group). As for Marcie on the run, while it does not make sense, I'm glad to see Kathy Brier with some really meaty acting opportunities as she really delivers.”

Dear Alison: I, too, was getting used to Christina Chambers as Marty. I got used to her interacting with the other folks in Llanview, but I wasn’t crazy about the romance with John. It didn’t have enough time to take off as far as I’m concerned so it felt a little bit forced to me. I also agree about the teens on the show. They are a nice bunch of kids and even though they are cool kids, they are not troublemakers (so far, LOL!) I like the fact that they behave maturely, in spite of the fact that each of them has issues to deal with in their lives. The Marcie storyline has been overdone at this point, but I must agree, when Kathy Brier is given something good to sink her teeth into, she never disappoints me. And a lot of people talk about wanting Susan Haskell back, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.

Mary writes: “Do you see much overall improvement in the storylines for OLTL since Ron Carlivati became solo head writer? I don't. I think he still drags storylines out way too long, just like Higley did. He's turning Natalie into someone I have a hard time still liking. He's throwing Jared in our faces at every opportunity just like Higley threw Spencer in our faces constantly. Some of the adult storylines are more like junior high (i.e., the Talia pretending she has a boyfriend because she doesn't want Antonio to know she likes him and Natalie and Christian trying to make Sarah and Jared jealous). Anyway, I expected more from Carlivati then the garbage I've seen so far. I' having a hard time still caring about the show.”

Dear Mary: I do see an improvement because I always appreciate when the veteran characters that are the heart of the show get to step forward and have decent storylines. I never get tired of seeing Viki, especially when she is doing more than coddling her grown kids. Erika Slezak does everything well, but she’s at her best when Viki is enjoying her own life. I have also always been a fan of Nora’s and even though I don’t care much for Clint, I like seeing Nora back in action. Hey, she can’t do worse than picking Daniel Coulson for a hubby, can she? I do agree with you about the immaturity of the storylines involving Talia, Antonio, Sarah, Jared, Cristian and Natalie. Those scenes were painfully stupid and I was very impatient for them to be over. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the New Year brings, especially with the writers’ strike going on. I think Carlivati is doing a better job than Higley did, but the one thing I think we’ll have to live with forever is storylines dragging on for too long. All the soaps do it and I’d love to see it change, but I don’t hold out much hope for that happening.