THE LLANVIEW CRAZE
Strong
Finish
After a
mostly disappointing year, OLTL is using the last several weeks of
2009 to catapult itself into creative excellence.
Recently Soap Opera Digest named OLTL the best soap of the year in
their Year End Awards. I was a bit surprised, because I felt the
show was weak for most of the year (not terrible, but not living up
to its potential). I'll never forget how January started out - with
Todd's suicide attempt. Everything went downhill from there. The
Todd/Marty storyline that made OLTL the best soap of 2008 was
abandoned and suddenly characters were acting like strangers in
order to comply with plot points. Most of the year was poisoned by
the horrid Stacy/Rex/Gigi storyline - one of the worst in the show's
history. The only strong points for me this year were Matthew's
accident and the subsequent reconnection of Bo and Nora, the climax
of the Bess storyline in which Jessica realized Chloe was dead, and
the recent return of Mitch. Perhaps I'm holding OLTL to a higher
standard than most. But I felt 2008 was a much stronger year for
our show.
Having said
that, the last few weeks have been outstanding. One Life is
finishing out the year on an exceedingly high note and giving reason
to believe 2010 could be its best ever. Every day this week
provided thrilling acting and intriguing mystery. I'm not sure why
November Sweeps kicked in so late, but they are certainly still
going strong and show no sign of letting up. My biggest hope right
now is that TPTB do not screw up the Mitch storyline. Roscoe Born's
presence is a huge boon for the show, but I'm still trying to
forgive the writers for the awful job they did setting up his
return. Now
that he's back, I'm ready to move on and suspend my
disbelief to a degree (though some explanation of Mitch's coma is
still needed). What intrigues me the most is how TPTB are going to
show Mitch living on a compound with his followers, and the
implication is strong that some of those followers are going to be
big surprises. I love the idea of not knowing who may be a secret
Mitch worshipper (check the Mail Bag section for more speculation on
this). "Who is on Mitch's Side?" provides a refreshing sort of
question for a show usually hell bent on serial killers serving as
its only manifestation of mystery. Mitch cannot be a cartoonish,
all-powerful, omniscient demon. Yet he clearly knows every detail of
his enemies' lives since he's been gone. And remember, he was
supposedly in a vegetative state up until a few months ago. If the
writers do not explain this, they will be continuing an unfortunate
trend of careless storytelling that dominated Jared's departure.
I'm hoping for better. Two other pieces of the Mitch puzzle also
need to be solved: Allison Perkins, who needs to come out of her
own coma and explain what was on that DVD; and Mitch's brother
Miles, whose disappearance has never been explained. Miles was
close to Jessica and Natalie and Roxy. This is the perfect time for
his return (a recast would be fine, but the character is needed). If Miles popped back up now, there would be great conflict for many
characters. I would love to see Miles insinuate himself into
Natalie's life and maybe get into a quad with Nat and Marty, while
struggling to defy Mitch. Miles could be a real loose cannon and
unpredictable character on the canvas if written properly and
perhaps recast with an A-list actor who could go toe-to-toe with
Roscoe Born.
In a few
weeks, I'll be doing my Year End Awards. Start sending in your
picks for Best, Worst, and everything in between. What do you think
of OLTL in 2009 overall? What were the best and worst moments? Best and worst performances? What do you want to see happen in
2010?
Monday,
11/30: "THE SONS ALSO RISE"
- Hah! Kevin
and Kelly have the swine flu! I have to applaud TPTB for actually
attempting to explain relatives' absences at a funeral. That's a
rare event in soap land.
- Why is Kim
dressed like a drag queen for a job interview? Just asking.
- Love the
Kevin/David scenes. But couldn't we have had a moment for Kevin to
express his shock and disgust that David now his cousin? I felt
like a beat was missed there.
- I cannot
wait for Mitch to run into Stacy. I am really looking forward to
his tormenting her, and the conflict that will bring about. I
wonder if Mitch's threatening presence will be too much for Stacy. Maybe she will expose the truth about her pregnancy just to avoid
Mitch's wrath. In any case, I see Stacy dying at Mitch's hand when
her betrayal of Rex is exposed. This will be Mitch's way to try to
show Rex how much he loves him, though of course, it will only show
Rex how demented Mitch is. Things are going to get very deadly, in
my opinion. And how will Schuyler figure in? In order for the
Schuyler/Rex/Gigi triangle to flourish after Stacy is gone, look for
Rex to fall under his father's sway to some extent, allowing
Schuyler to move in on Gigi while she struggles between helping Rex
versus keeping Shane away from Rex if he is spending time with
Mitch.
- David:
"Why do you always have to be such a Buchanan, Kevin?" Hah.
- How
ridiculous was it that Clint actually gave Kim the time of day right
before Jared's funeral? Give me a break.
- However, I
will publicly admit now that for some reason beyond my
comprehension, I am enjoying the Kim/Clint angle. Though it's
repulsive in so many ways, it's also ballsy of the writers and
frankly, refreshing. It gets Kim into a storyline away from Stacy,
freeing up TPTB to kill Stacy off (hooray!). It also gives Clint
something to do other than look like a chump when the Bo/Nora truth
comes out. What better way to get revenge on Nora than to shack up
with a sexy young girl who could easily pass for his granddaughter?
I'm still not totally sold on Amanda Setton's ability to play with
the
adults, but I'll give her a chance. And like I've stated
before, if TPTB are wise, they'll put Kim into a feud with Natalie. If Clint is bonking his assistant at B.E., that could provide
Natalie reason to get involved in the business again. Maybe with Bo
on her side, she could attempt to become C.E.O. I'd love to see
Clint and Natalie in a power struggle for B.E. The possibilities
are endless if Clint/Kim is handled correctly. The implication in a
recent interview with Jerry Ver Dorn, that Kim and Clint will become
a sweet, loving couple, kind of makes me nauseous though. TPTB need
to play this as what it is - Clint's mid-life crisis. If it turns
into something "sweet" later on, fine. But let's not forget that
Clint needs to be a bad ass and follow in Asa's footsteps. So we
don't need to see him treating Kim like a queen. He needs to put
Kim in her place and treat her like the revenge trophy she is.
- So if Nora
owns the mansion, and Bo (presumably) moves in, where does that
leave Clint? Where is Clint going to live? How can the writers
figure out a way to keep Clint in the mansion AND move Kim in, as
well? A great way to make Kim more entertaining would be to
showcase Nigel more and his disdain for Kim. Let's keep the mansion
alive with people and conflict, shall we?
- What's to
become of Destiny? It's clear she is nowhere in Matthew's romantic
sights. Even if she manipulates Danielle somehow, it won't make
Matthew want her. So... I'll ask again... where does Destiny fit
in?
- Along those
same lines, it's becoming really clear that the show needs to get
rid of Rachel and Greg. Rachel is a cursed character whose only
hope of becoming interesting at this point would be to start smoking
crack again or join Mitch's cult. Short of that, she's just a
crashing bore. Greg is even worse. I hate to say this, but without
Greg and Rachel there is not much for Shaun to do, either. I guess
what I'm getting at is that the Evans family is turning into
deadweight on this show. I hate to encourage the lessening of
diversity in the cast, but I think the entire Evans clan needs to be
phased out, along with Rachel (or perhaps, Rachel could be recast).
In order to help balance that out, I'd love to see R.J. back and
then there's always Evangeline. She's a polarizing character, but
you can't deny that once Cristian and Layla are a solid couple, her
awakening is all but inevitable.
- Speaking of
wanting R.J. back, when the heck is Lindsay getting out of
prison??? I miss her. And can you imagine her reaction to Llanview
in a few months? Dorian would be mayor, Mitch is back and Rex is
his son, Clint will be dating a girl barely out of her teens, and
Bo and Nora will be together. Hello - it's time for Lindsay to
be released! And R.J. needs to come back from wherever he is to
weigh in on the Bo/Nora situation and all that. Maybe he could
bring a SORAS'd Jaimie with him.
- Todd to
Tea: "I hate you more than anyone I've ever hated in my entire
life." Really? You hate Tea more than Peter Manning? More than
Patrick Thornhart? More than Spencer Truman?
Tuesday,
12/1: "MISSING CHILDREN"
- Nice to see
a soap character (Natalie) ask God to bring someone back from the
dead, since he's done it so many times before. In Natalie's case,
both Cris and John returned from their deaths to be with her again. Why not Jared? Makes sense that she would ask this question.
- The
impending doom of Charlie screwing up his marriage to Viki is making
me want to chew my nails off. It's been awhile since I've shouted
at the television, but I found myself yelling, "Don't do it,
Charlie!" a couple times this week. That's good writing and great
acting.
- The Roxy/Natalie
scenes before the funeral were fabulous. How telling that, despite
her fire-tongued anger at Roxy, Natalie still wound up holding her
hand and crying with her.
- Also love
the Nigel/Clint scenes. This relationship needs to be fostered more
because it really is a continuation of the Asa/Nigel legacy. And
TPTB need to set up this part of the Clint/Kim conflict. Because no
way in hell is Nigel going to be okay with that mess!
- As though
this episode weren't already knocking it out of the park, along come
the Todd/Tea jail scenes where Tea finally gave a believable
timeline and explanation of her back story with Ross and Danielle. Florencia Lozano is as amazing as ever, and she has now convinced me
of all of Tea's choices leading up to this moment. Brava!
- And then
come the Charlie/Bottle of Vodka scenes. I have to say that right
now I am in SOAP HEAVEN. If OLTL could just be THIS show every day,
it would be the best soap on television for sure.
- But WAIT!
Renee is NOT attending Jared's funeral? Okay, now I am doubly
suspicious of her. Between this snub (she was nearly obsessed with
Jared) and that bizarre incident at the facility where Mitch was
being held, Renee is #1 on my suspect list for being in Mitch's
cult. I say, OLTL, "go there!" The mourning widow with no life of
her own gets entangled in Mitch's web. I can buy that. And I hate
to say it, but... I'll take Patricia Elliot screen time any way I
can get it!
- I also
enjoyed the Rex/Jessica introduction as brother and sister. I was
surprised by Jessica's hesitancy to accept Rex, and I liked that
choice.
- Tea and
Todd's arguments became so brutal today that I actually felt
exhausted after watching them. Lozano needs an Emmy nomination. She has emotionally carried the show this year.
- Question:
Where is Jared's mom? I don't remember her ever being explained
away as being dead - do you? Why was she not at the funeral?
They could have brought her on and had Mitch turn her into a cult
member.
- Another
question: Why wasn't Claudia at the funeral?
- Yet another: Wouldn't Claudia be a great disciple of Mitch?
- Really? Moe, a pall bearer at Jared's funeral? I guess that's what happens
when Kevin and Joey get the swine flu.
- No Dorian
or Blair at Jared's funeral? Hmmm.
- What
Jessica gave Jared was not a eulogy! It was a weird, self-indulgent
apology or something. A eulogy talks about a person's life and
their personality and the things you will miss about them, in a way
that makes everyone feel included. That was some ridiculous Jessica
moment on display. She might as well have stated, "I'll never
forget the time my alter personality, Tess, locked Jared in the
secret room - the same secret room my mother's alter personality
locked our mayor in many moons ago. Oh, and then there was that
time my other alter personality, Tess, screwed Jared but then called
the cops on him and had him imprisoned for a couple of years. Wasn't it nice
of Jared to forgive me for that one?"
- Thank
GOODNESS Todd now knows about Blair's lies. Yes.
- Also thank
GOODNESS I had no idea Mitch was going to be in that coffin. That
was truly soapalicious and creeptastic. LOVED it.
- Todd, to
Tea: "I would rather die than be with you again." Ouch.
- What an
awesome episode. I'm over the moon.
Wednesday,
12/2: "IT'S NOT THE MEET, IT'S EMOTION."
-
Huh? What in the heck is that title?
- So Kyle was
"out" in high school? Really? Yet he spent his college years in a
fraternity, secretly carrying on with a closeted frat brother and
agreeing to live in a closeted relationship? I think it would be
much more believable if Kyle had come out just after college, or
perhaps during college as the result of Fish breaking up with him.
But I found the high school thing very unbelievable and distracting.
- How great
to see Clint going batshit on Mitch. Love it.
- Today the
writers finally addressed Kyle and Nick's completely asexual
relationship by revealing that they were in fact sleeping together
from the get-go. So now I get to officially ask TPTB: If you're so
progressive and pro-gay rights and all that, why were you too scared
to show two gay men having sex? Why did you have to wait until the
two "true love" goody two-shoes got together to go there (if indeed,
it does got there)? I find it interesting that Nick and Kyle were
not allowed to do anything but peck each other on screen, just
because they are gay and not deeply in love. This show and this
genre can pretend to be all about equality, but until a gay
character like Kyle or Nick is allowed to be just as slutty as Blair
Cramer, then there is still a double standard at play.
- The way
Mitch treated Rex at the funeral made me suspicious that maybe
they're not really father and son. Mitch might have orchestrated
this whole thing and somehow tricked Roxy into thinking Rex is his.
I dunno. We desperately need to hear Roxy's side of the story.
- I do thank
TPTB for keeping Nick around. I think he's far more interesting
than Kyle and Fish combined. LOVED his coy comment to Fish and
Kyle about not having slept together yet. Way to mess with Fish's
head. TPTB need to let Nick be a bitch/scheming character and yet
retain his humanity. If they're going to do gay characters, then do
gay CHARACTERS, not just gay.
- Ewww. When
John said goodbye to Marty at the funeral, he did not even kiss her
goodbye. If you were Marty, wouldn't you be pretty disappointed in
this relationship? Marty is far too much of a romantic to be with
someone like this.
- How does
Mitch know about Bo and Nora? There must be a spy in the house of
Buchanan (Renee?).
- Blair
wouldn't miss Dorian's swearing-in as mayor.
- Melissa
Archer continued to deliver the most mature performance of her
career as Natalie gently asked at Jared's graveside, "Where are
you?"
- Viki knows
Charlie is going to fall off the wagon. At least, that's how Slezak
is playing it. She is so great.
- There goes
Gigi talking to God again. She's like the prophet of Llanview or
something.
- Nice
Marty/Jessica reconnect. Sometimes I forget they are supposed to be
best friends.
- What a
great cliffhanger with Charlie showing up at Mitch's cell. That
made me so excited to see the next episode.
Thursday,
12/3: "ONE STEP FORWARD, TWELVE STEPS BACK"
- Jack is a
monster.
- The
Charlie/Mitch scenes were spectacular. Two master actors with
intense chemistry and intelligence. I live for scenes like this.
- Considering
how unstable and self-loathing Charlie is becoming, part of me is
thinking he may just end up as one of Mitch's followers. Stranger
things have happened.
- I couldn't
believe how boldly Destiny gave up Danielle.
- Dorian was
pretty amazing today with her self-sacrificing arrest. I especially
loved when she instructed Markko to videotape her good side while
the arrest took place.
- I loved
seeing Viki help Natalie leave Jared's graveside after sitting there
for hours. I'd have liked it even more if Viki talked about losing
Joe and Sloan and Ben.
- Seeing
Mitch buoyantly singing and snapping his fingers in the spirit was
bone-chilling! I have to give a shout out to the DIRECTORS, who
have been doing some stellar work especially surrounding Mitch (the
montages where Mitch is speaking or singing and the other characters
are somewhere else, as if they are just waiting to become his
victims).
- The music
for Charlie falling off the wagon was so wonderfully tragic.
Friday, 12/4:
"THE DOGGONE GIRL IS MINE"
- I could
really do without these musical guest acts. I've never even heard
of this band.
- I have a
feeling Mitch is going to be brainwashing Shane sooner or later.
- The
Dorian/Mitch scenes were phenomenal. This was actually my favorite
Dorian episode all year because for once, she was living in her
essence instead of occupying herself with some nonsense about gay
marriage or telling half the town about her daughter's sex life. This was Dorian caged opposite a beast, in fear of her girls'
safety.
- Dorian to
Mitch: "You are... Satan." Powerful words coming from the town
bitch.
- Note to
TPTB: I don't really care if you're obligated to show Starr, Cole,
Markko, and Langston once a week, but please give them something to
do other than stand around and talk about other characters'
storylines and Hope's sleeping schedule and diapers. SO BORING.
- The
anti-gay thugs look like hipster dudes. That's kind of odd.
- Despite
their mutual hatred, Dorian and Mitch have red hot chemistry. And
actually, I think Mitch secretly still likes Dorian and considers
her fun to spar with.
- Since Ford
is on his way back and we don't know much about him, I'm adding him
to the list of possible Mitch disciples.
- Why the
hell did no one call the police after the thugs publicly harassed
and threatened Nick and Amelia? I'm pretty sure Nick and especially
Amelia (who's a lawyer) would be happy to have the incident
documented since they are so into publicly standing up for their
rights.
- That is,
unless Nick hired the thugs to harass him and then beat him up. That would be an interesting way to get Kyle's attention and
sympathy, wouldn't you say?
- Last week,
half of the characters had scenes on planes. This week, they're all
in jail.
- Yay! Robin Strasser is finally getting to do her thing now that Roscoe Born is
back. Dorian's freak out and bashing of the chair against the jail
bars is just what I want Dorian to be doing. That, or shoving
alcohol down someone's throat. I don't really need to see her
pretending to be a lesbian or serving as a confidante in the never ending torture of Blair's pathetic crush on Todd.
- Today,
Starr/Cole/Markko/Langston became more annoying than Stacy/Kim. Sad
but true.
- Rex to
Shane: "Your little brother or sister is trapped inside of Stacy."
Hah!
- I am really
torn over whether I think Nick hired the guys to beat him up. But
either way, I'm glad he's getting a little story!
**MAIL
REPORT**
"While so much
of OLTL these past few weeks has been utterly snooze-worthy, just
the scene of Viki reading that poem to her family after Jared’s
death had me bawling and beaming and mentally high fiveing my gal
Viki. I showed it to my husband the next day on Soapnet, and said,
when she had finished, “THAT is why we fans love us some Viki…” And
I am SO hopeful that the upcoming storyline involving Charlie’s fall
off the wagon will give both ES and BK lots of meaty stuff to work
with. Just as long as it doesn’t involve Viki and Clint reuniting…I
agree that I could buy a Clint/Kim pairing, especially if it ignites
a major feud between Kimmy and Nat, and more especially is along the
way, Kim becomes a real loving wife and partner to her
old-enough-to-be-her-granddad hubby. Remember when Samantha married
Asa, and she genuinely seemed to care for him, despite the age
difference? Like Viki, Roxy had me in tears, too, when she collapsed
in the hallway, but I want to learn more about her past with Mitch.
When Nat asked if she had been raped, she evaded the question, like
she didn’t like to think about it. Perhaps she had been in her cups
back then, and either sleeping with Mitch because he had enchanted
her (he is a cult leader, after all) or to get back at Walter for
his adoration of Mitch. Perhaps Mitch did rape her. Perhaps Roxy was
actually IN the cult, or Walter forced her or tricked her into
sleeping with Mitch in order to bear his child. Exploring any of
these possibilities could give us some much needed depth to Roxy’s
back story, and, of course, a fantastic opportunity for IK to remind
TPTB of what a tremendous actress she is. (You’re probably not old
enough to remember Ryan’s Hope, but her Delia Ryan Coleridge was a
remarkably dimensional character, not at all the nutty brat that we
first thought, but a vulnerable, sweet, maddeningly childish
woman…I’m digressing.) How about having Roxy and Viki team up to
protect their kids from Mitch? Here’s an idea: what if Mitch ends up
really getting to Jessica, and drawing out of her more of a
Tess/Bess like personality. Jessica could end up teaming up with
Mitch, and this devious duo could come up with lots of interesting
trouble for the residents of Llanview. Rex should be torn for a long
while, wrestling with self hatred at his true parentage and what
that spells for his DNA makeup, wanting to be more like his hero Bo,
but at times being drawn, like Jess, to Mitch. By the way, I am SO
done with back-from-the-dead-storylines, but in Mitch’s case, I’m
simply suspending my disbelief and going with the wonderful flow of
Roscoe Born’s performance. Man, this guy is such a treat. Let’s hope
this stay extends for a very, very long time, as I would love to see
Mitch a permanent resident of Llanview. Can we please say goodbye to
Rachel and Greg, who are absolutely snooze worthy??? And while we’re
at it, let’s here it for your idea of having Dorian – or even Addie!
– commit Blair, who has been completely ruined but, since we fans
have loved her for so long, I’m willing to be a little patient if
only I don’t have to see her grovel at Todd’s altar. Gag. The
wonderful Hepburn/Tracy spark that ignited between Blair and Ross is
obviously being short circuited – I have to say, I felt so bad for
Ross being treated so cavalierly by Tea, as if just because Dani
doesn’t have his actual DNA, he’s not really her “father.” I guess
all those years caring for her doesn’t count for anything – would
love to hear Tea argue a case in which a father was fighting for
custody of his child, even though the kid was sired by somebody
else. I had to leave the room momentarily the day on which Ross
throttled Tea’s neck, so when I came back and saw Todd break down
the door and confront them, and saw Tea’s swollen neck and face, I
mentally begged TPTB that Ross had not in fact attacked her – I
mean, how can he come back from this? What repulsive writing and
plotting. Oh, this just in: Memo to Amelia: Hillary Clinton called
and she wants her pantsuits back. Can we have some scenes in which
Bo is seen agonizing over what his love for Nora will do to his
brother? I’d like a few scenes with the Buchanan brothers talking
and reminiscing about the past, underscoring their close ties but
adding to the sense of impending doom that Bo has got to feel. Poor
Destiny, being kicked to the curb, in a matter of speaking, by
Matthew, who seems to only have eyes for Danielle. And, one last
question, is it really possible for junior high kids to bop on a
plane and jet set to another country or state, with nary an adult
around? If so, I need to hide my two middle schoolers’ passports…."Laura
Such a great
letter! Okay, point by point: The poem at Jared's funeral didn't
make me cry. I found it slightly cheesy. But Erika Slezak can really
do no wrong so I'll let it go. The current Viki/Charlie story is
spectacular. I am very much warming up to the Clint/Kim idea, though
I would prefer Lindsay back and plotting with Clint to get revenge
on Bo and Nora. But in the meantime, I think the Clint/Kim coupling
has potential. However, I was hoping for Kim to really dupe
Clint. According to an interview with Jerry Ver Dorn I recently read
in one of the soap mags, Clint and Kim are going to be the real
deal. I'm not sure I can buy that. The main reason I say this is
because Amanda Setton has not proven herself as a serious actress
whatsoever. She is mildly entertaining precisely because she pulls
off the dumb hooker routine convincingly. I don't want to see Clint
fall for a dumb hooker. Kim needs to be much more than she currently
is, and for that to happen, Setton will need to really deliver the
goods. I'm not sure it's wise to move her into such a position, but
clearly TPTB have confidence in her. I hope they're right. My choice
would be for Kim to dupe Clint into marrying her and basically take
over the Buchanan mansion while becoming the worst nightmare of
Renee and Nigel, and the mortal enemy of Natalie and Jessica. And
then start a torrid affair with David. But a genuine love match
between Clint and Kim? I dunno, that kind of makes me nauseous. I'll
try to remain open-minded. I agree with most of Laura's other points
here - particularly about Roxy's back story and giving Ilene Kristen
more chances to shine. Kristen should be on contract as well. It is
embarrassing that she had her contract taken away when newcomers
like Brett Claywell and even the guy playing Ford have
contracts. Ilene wants a contract, deserves a contract, and should
absolutely have one!
"I never
thought I would have anything like this running through my head, but
I do not like the way the Clint/Nora/Bo story is playing out. I am a
Bo/Nora fan. Period. In my mind, there has been no greater soap
couple in the history of soaps. I have waited over a decade for
their reunion, and while their singular scenes, in a bubble, are
wonderful, when put in the whole context of the story, they were
really awful these past couple of weeks. And, from what I'm hearing,
half of the "Pole Jockey" (thank you Roxy!) duo is going to be mixed
up in the story and do some revealing that she has no business
revealing... Here are my thoughts. This story could be, no SHOULD
be, a wonderful adult story involving three characters that the
audience genuinely cares about. Both couples have their following,
but in the mix are three characters who have such a long history
with the show and the audience. This story should be about THEIR
relationships. Nora and Bo still have so many things to work through
before I would ever feel their reunion is complete: why it took him
so long to forgive her (I'm still waiting for him to actually say
the words "I forgive you."), why he went to see Lindsay on Nora's
wedding day, and they need to revisit the interaction in London
which Nora said "You're all I ever wanted" and Bo replied "Until you
didn't". That's just it - Nora NEVER stopped loving Bo. I'm probably
going to catch some flack from the Nora-haters out there, but Bo
kicked Nora so many times while she was already down that he's going
to need more than just a few passionate kisses and a declaration of
love to make up for. Nora committed a major mistake, no doubt, but
Bo dwelled on it and threw it in her face on so many occasions. I
can't believe that the Nora I know would just let it go. There
should be a great deal of anger bubbling under the surface, and the
Nora I remember would be hesitant about jumping into a relationship
with someone who's been so judgmental and harsh for the last
decade. Nora said something to that effect before her wedding...why
would that feeling just be thrown away now? And in dealing with
these feelings for Bo, she has her husband, Clint, who's accepted
and forgiven her for her transgressions. He manipulated her into
marriage, and wasn't all that nice to her during the BE takeover
chaos, but she did choose to marry him. I don't think she did it
just to be with someone. I think she truly does care about him. Long
story short...too late, I know...Bo and Nora will be together in the
end. But it should be BO AND NORA, not an outsider, that tells
Clint. There should be hurt, anger, and soapy angst between the
Buchanan brothers, but in the end I see Clint coming to the
realization that the rest of Llanview came to years ago - that Bo
and Nora belong together." - Leslie
Leslie is
right. I do think there is some potential in this Clint/Kim idea,
and I don't really mind that she is the one exposing Bo and Nora. It
establishes the Kim character, that she did this bold thing and
insinuated herself into an adult storyline. The best thing about it
is that it shows TPTB are going to phase out Stacy. Let's hang on to
that, because it's coming. Stacy will be killed off once that baby
can exist outside of her. Hopefully, Mitch will use her like a pawn
before she goes. But back to Bo/Nora... even though I like that Kim
is exposing the non-affair, I do agree that her presence will
probably cause a lot of important beats to be skipped over. There
should absolutely have been more Bo/Clint bonding scenes leading up
to this, and well as more emotional bumps in the road for Bo and
Nora. But I'm still generally pleased with the way the story is
unfolding. The danger now is that Bo and Nora cannot just get back
together or have too much happiness yet. TPTB won't have anything to
write for them, especially now that Matthew is on the road to
recovery. I think B.E. needs to come to the forefront again. Clint
needs to shut Bo completely out of the family business. Natalie
needs to be back in the thick of things. I'd like to see Natalie try
to wrest the company away from her father due to his affair with his
assistant. That is cause for concern, after all. Bring on a Natalie
vs. Kim war, please!
"I can't help
but feel that Marty maybe a mole but after watching Mitch with
Charlie today, I can't help but wonder if perhaps Noelle or Moe may
also be moles. Mitch is just too well informed about everything. I
mean, he knows stuff about people that happened almost what, two
years ago? How long has he been spying on these people? I doubt he's
got only Allison skulking around. So I'm thinking, Allison, Marty,
Noelle and/or Moe and maybe a few other people. He's got to have
connections to the PD too." - Nic
Nic may be
onto something here. TPTB have hinted on numerous occasions that
they will be building up Mitch's following and showing him living on
a compound with his followers. Rest assured, some of those followers
will be characters we already know. I am highly suspicious of the
same three people Nic names. I heard a long time ago that Marty
would factor heavily into Mitch's story. I don't know how. But if
Mitch still thinks of Natalie as his wife, and wants her back, he's
going to want John away from Natalie. This gives him something in
common with Marty. Certainly Marty would never be involved with
someone like Mitch under normal circumstances. But Marty was "dead"
for a long time, and since TPTB seem to be ignoring that Mitch was
supposedly in a coma for the past several years, they could construe
a way in which Mitch brainwashed Marty while she was under the care
of Lee Ramsey. Lee Ramsey certainly could be fingered as part of
Mitch's cult. Moe and Noelle are excellent choices to be followers
of Mitch. They are useless, annoying characters who would prove far
more useful if they were turned evil or at the least, turned into
something other than country bumpkin stereotypes. How creepy would
it be if pie-loving Noelle suddenly shifted her grating enthusiasm
to Mitch's preaching? If Moe spent his culinary skills fixing food
for everyone on the compound? Maybe Noelle is the one really into
Mitch and Moe is more resistant. Maybe Mitch would have to get rid
of Moe and then Noelle could become his new Allison Perkins!
There is one
other character I am extremely suspicious of: Renee Divine. Though
it seems like an insurmountable stretch to have Asa's widow turn
into a Mitch follower, it could easily be achieved. Renee has been
distant and odd since Asa's death (you might even say, she's been
off the show for the most part!). She became fixated on Jared and
was blind to the truth about him for a long time. So we've already
established that she can be swayed on personality and charisma
alone. Still, Asa hated Mitch and Renee would never trust him. So
what was she doing at that clinic? She was in Mitch's room, having
some unexplained medical work done. She seemed very secretive
indeed, and that bizarre run-in was never explained. Surely it must
mean something. Was Renee donating part of her body or blood to
Mitch?
Then again,
there's always Stacy...
That's it for
this week. Please send your OLTL thoughts, complaints, suggestions,
Robert Iger,
President of Disney (ABC Parent Company)
robert.a.iger@disney.com
Anne Sweeney,
President of Disney-ABC
anne.x.sweeney@abc.com
Brian Frons,
ABC Daytime President
500 S. Buena
Vista St.
Burbank, CA
91521-4551
Brian.Frons@abc.com
Frank
Valentini (Executive Producer)
C/O One Life
to Live ABC Daytime
77 West 66th
Street
New York, NY
10023
ABC Comment
Line: 323-671-4583
OLTL Viewer
Comment Line: 212-456-3338
ABC Daytime
Feedback Line: 212-456-7777
Thanks for
reading, and don't forget to e-mail me. PLEASE include your name or
an alias in case I choose to print your comments!
Until next time - don't forget to feel the Craze!
Jeremy in Chicago
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