Through Your Eyes!

A note from the editor (Soaps Gal):

Dorothy delivers a wonderful blend of humor while giving her point of view on the happenings of "One Life to Live" – and, she has an uncanny ability of being able to see things “Through Your Eyes!”

**Besides writing for the Llanview Banner, Dorothy has created and copyrighted a manual or “kit” which includes everything you need to start a book discussion club in your school or community.  Click here for more information on that.

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 November 2, 2009

I am in list making mode. Consider yourself warned. Here’s my current list of what I consider hot and what’s not in Llanview:  

What’s Hot

*Todd, Tea, and Daniella – Keeping a secret from Todd is always fun.

*David Vickers – Underused and able to pull any horrible storyline out of the fire.

*Jessica being driven nuts by someone.

*My Big Fat Gay Wedding – I love how so many characters supported the event.

*David continuing to help Destiny and Matthew.

What’s Not

*Blair, Todd and Tea – Been there, done that, who cares?

*Ross and his sleazy lawyer brother – Totally unnecessary.

*Using Mathew’s disability as an excuse to push Bo and Nora back together.

*Rex and Gigi are totally over for me.

*Nat and Jared – who cares?

*Llanview’s teen scene. Sorry, folks, teen parents do NOT have it that easy.

*Dorian marrying a woman to further her political agenda.

What Might Work

*Bo and Nora finally figuring out that they belong together.

*Kevin’s return – if his character is properly written for.

  I’m not looking for realism. C’mon, soaps are an escape, right? But to portray teen parents as having idyllic lives is wrong. There seem to be no real consequences here. What about showing Starr and Cole having to deal with a fussy baby when they both have exams to study for? How about Starr missing out on things because of the baby? How about Cole being attracted to a girl without a kid? This romanticized version of teen parenthood is just awful.

I have seen that we will finally find out about Rex’s father. That storyline was introduced a couple of years ago, right? Anybody care anymore? Me neither.

I’m doing my best to keep up with OLTL while writing for a living… What am I missing? E-mail  me!

  September 24, 2009

After a long break, during which I have been pursuing a freelance writing career, I have been keeping up with OLTL. My writing is going really well… So I’m ready to come back to the Banner and share a few comments about the current situations.

Oh, Baby!

I get the whole Marcie-gives-the-baby-back thing. Whether it made sense or not, I was just happy to see Ms. Self-Righteous leave. My beef with the current baby situation is that it seems way too idyllic. Starr is 16. Cole is 18. They seem to be handling parenthood like experienced adults. This is completely ridiculous. Having a baby is stressful for an adult. Starr takes everything in stride, including caring for the kid during a kidnapping. Seriously?

OLTL is taking on prejudice against gay people, but romanticizing teen parenthood? Starr should be in tears because she is exhausted. We should see her up at all hours of the night, struggling to figure out what Hope wants when she won’t stop crying. Cole should be torn between having fun and having a family. This should not be a sweet little family drama. Teens with babies have it rough. Teens watching OLTL will think it’s a breeze.

Shhh… It’s a Secret!

I have never been a big Tea fan. Blair’s scheming is really a good reflection of who a Cramer Woman really is. I am enjoying waiting for the situation to blow up. And speaking of secrets, I’m glad Fish’s secret is out. There had better not be some speedy acceptance from his parents. This whole situation with Stacy being pregnant and the nasty parents could really bring a new dimension to Fish.

Cast Your Vote

Viki vs. Dorian for Mayor? Oh, yeah. Bring it on.

Blah, Blah, Bland

Stacy loves Rex loves Gigi. Schuyler loves Gigi. They are all doomed. Stacy reminds me of early Jen. She’s a lovely Barbie doll with no acting skills. The character is shallow and has no redeeming qualities. Give us a vixen with some depth. Sheesh.

All in the Family

I love David Vickers. Having him fund Matthew’s lawsuit was brilliant. I hope he sticks around for awhile. He lightens up those deadly serious Buchanans.

Coming Attractions

I read that Dan Gaulthier and Gina Tognoni are returning as Kevin and Kelly. Ah, something to look forward to.

June 7, 2009

Thank you to those forum posters who were supportive during my recent job loss situation. I took some time to reflect on life in general and decided to actively pursue my dream of writing for a living. I am currently freelancing and building a strong portfolio.

I have been watching OLTL, and while I have a brief break (2 big jobs to tend to starting tomorrow) I thought I would submit my thoughts to you.

Oh, Baby…

I am so glad that the baby switch storyline has been resolved… although I wasn’t crazy about the method. As the ‘protector’ and supposedly logical personality, Bess should never have pulled a Marcie and kidnapped the baby. Then taking the kid to Nash’s parent’s house? I get that it was self preservation, but it seems to me that she should have maxed out an ATM withdrawal and gone as far as she could. I guess glasses and a ponytail don’t really make you any smarter.

Bree Williamson earned her Emmy nomination with the scenes with Erika Slezak where Jessica finally remembers and faces the horrible reality of abandoning her stillborn daughter and stealing Starr’s healthy baby. She was truly amazing. Contrast that with Melissa Archer’s awful crying scenes and you will appreciate Bree’s acting even more.

Jessica handed Chloe/Hope over to Todd and Blair in a scene that was powerful in its simplicity. No one overacted. It was all very subtle. Even Todd appeared somewhat torn, taking his grandchild from his favorite niece.

I have a prediction for Hope’s fate. I have not read spoilers, now that Ravenbeauty is no longer writing them. On a side note – Ravenbeauty was a wonderful writer who provided us with fantastic scoops in a volatile and ever-changing genre. I will miss her as will many of her readers. As far as Hope, I believe that in a misplaced desire to stick to her word, Starr will give up the baby to Marcie. Somehow, Marcie will feel Starr’s pain – although Marcie is so self-absorbed that perhaps something will have to happen to make her figure this out – and she will return the baby to Starr. My only reason for thinking that Starr will end up with the child is the myriad of opportunities for conflicts and future storylines involving Todd and Marty. In other words, there will be ample opportunity for Todd to be the bad guy and Marty to be the long suffering victim.

John McHero

If I wasn’t already sick of John McBain, I sure am now. The guy is a bar owner yet he spends his time running around as a vigilante crime solver and all around superman. This has to change. I assume he will be reinstated as a cop since Antonio is off hunting Carlo Hesser and Talia is dead. With only Bo and Fish, how many crimes can actually get solved? He may as well be a cop. He can’t keep his nose out of every little mystery that comes up… *imagining an upcoming scene… Viki enters her foyer looking distressed. John enters out of nowhere, puts his hands on his hips and says, “What’s wrong?” “I’ve lost my keys,” Viki replies, clearly anxious. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Davidson,” John says confidently as he scans the room, “Here they are!”… Pathetic.*

Now that Johnny McBarman is married to Blair and smooching Marty, we will surely be treated to the latest love triangle. It’s too bad we don’t care who he ends up with. I find myself wishing Powell had done a better job disposing of him.

Hot Wheels

Matthew certainly adapted to his paraplegic status quickly. This was a tough one for me because it didn’t really evoke the emotion that it should have. The brief appearance of the Gannons rallying around Matthew and Nora was perfect, although I wish we would see more of them. The thing that was truly missing was Starr. She and Matthew have been close forever. With the revelation that Cole was responsible for Matthew’s condition, Starr should have been at Matthew’s side out of guilt as much as out of love. I know she had her own problems, but c’mon… this is Matthew.

I get the feeling that the mystery brother of Sean and Matthew’s friend (her name escapes me at the moment) is going to be the big hero in this, thus expanding Sean’s family in Llanview. I like Sean, so I’m willing to be open minded for the moment.

Three’s Company

Fish, Cristian, and Layla are sharing an apartment. Does anyone care? These are three throwaway characters at best. I couldn’t possibly care less about any of them. Well, at least I will only have to fast forward once to avoid all three.

Don’t Let the Door Hit You

Note to self: If you run across a vengeful, obsessed, manipulative teenager on LSD – Run. Good bye and good riddance to Lola and Ray.

Okay, kids, that’s all for now.  I am hoping to be able to update more frequently now that I am working from home. Email me with any thoughts/comments/topics that you would like to see in TYE. And if you are so inclined, you can even follow me on Twitter (search for WotV). Have a great week!