News broke last week that along with Amanda Setton's unfortunate, self-inflicted departure, OLTL has fired Daphne Duplaix (Rachel). Now the show has cut more fat, if you will, including Scott Clifton (Schuyler), Scott Evans (Fish) and Brett Claywell (Kyle).  It sounds like all of these characters - Kim, Rachel, Schuyler, Fish, and Kyle - will be exiting the canvas in April once the custody of Sierra Rose is established.  That leaves us with Rex and Gigi and Shane (Austin Williams was - perhaps not coincidentally - taken off contract this week). Folks, this isn't completion of a storyline. This is TPTB abandoning ship. 

Do I find this news shocking? Yes! All five exits shock me, though - to be fair - I have not been enjoying any of these characters at all except for Kim. Ironically, Schuyler and Rachel's relationship is suddenly getting interesting just as they've been axed. However, the dismissal's of TPTB's golden gay boys is much more jaw-dropping. Isn't it funny that after all of the "Kish" hype and questionable Emmy pre-nominations, the show is tossing them aside? At the risk of inviting hate mail, I have to say that I'm glad Kyle and Fish are leaving. I think their storyline has been a complete bomb. Fish was annoying from day one as a dorky cop. When he became gay I felt like a very minor character was suddenly getting tons of screen time... just because he was gay. I just didn't care at all. As for Kyle, I found him boring from the very beginning. But at least he was shady and kind of an up-and-coming villain. Kyle being gay was no big deal, but the writers foolishly stripped him of his character and turned him into a romantic lead type. From that time onward, I felt like TPTB turned these gay characters into ultra-safe, conservative, cheesy people rather than portray anything resembling a realistic gay couple in their 20's. Frankly, Kish is insulting. They are like gay people designed to placate homophobes by being practically asexual and interested primarily in raising a baby together - a baby produced the old-fashioned way. There is nothing sexy about Kish. I'm trying to balance my response to all of this between actually being happy about it and yet acknowledging that yes - it is shocking. I thought Kish had a huge fan following. I wasn't imagining that, was I? I'm surprised they have been cut loose. But honestly, I'm glad. There is simply NO storyline for these characters left. 

This is the curse of gay characters in daytime, people. TPTB want to congratulate themselves for being "daring" and liberal, so they make some random, peripheral characters gay. Then there is the perfunctory gay storyline with a social message, and then the gay characters are tossed aside. The dumping of Kish from the canvas should not be shocking because it is extremely predictable in every sense other than that Valentini/Carlivati seemed really into them and not about to toss them overboard. I think there will be speculation and rumors (I've heard a few unflattering ones already) for a long time to come as to why things really went down this way. 

The bottom line: I didn't care about Kyle or Fish before they turned gay, and I didn't care about them after they turned gay. If TPTB really had balls and wanted to have sexual diversity on their canvas, they would allow characters to be bisexual and also would have gay characters who belonged to core families and had ties to the canvas. In the grand scheme of One Life to Live, Fish and Kyle were nobodies.    

Since Shane has been put on recurring, one can assume there's no Shane-centric story coming. So I have to ask: What are TPTB going to do with Rex and Gigi? I can't think of anything especially titillating for them to do other than get back together and become ultra-boring again. I hope that TPTB will be merciful on those of us who don't give a crap about this couple. Please, TPTB, give us a break from Rex/Gigi. And while you're at it, please figure out why a character like Gigi has been on the show for years now and has yet to be developed whatsoever beyond her high school love for Rex and her status as a caring mother. Ask yourselves, TPTB, what interests YOU about Gigi and why you would expect viewers to be interested in her? Because from where I'm sitting (on my couch, that is), Gigi is the character you should really be getting rid of. She has done the show no good. Rex could still be redeemed and made once again into an interesting character, but only if freed from Gigi/Shane. They are Rex's kryptonite.

Now, the real shocker...  While initially I was happy with the decision to get rid of Scott Clifton and Daphne Duplaix, I have to say I've changed my mind. As the Schuyler/Rachel/Baby Makes Three situation began to play out this week, I immediately saw that I was 100% right about their potential as a couple. The Rachel/Greg break up scenes were stellar, and suddenly Daphne Duplaix is really coming alive as Rachel. Schuyler has turned into a scum bag, but we're about to find out he is indeed Mitch's son and Rex's half-brother. Now why on EARTH are TPTB going to the trouble of tying Schuyler in to a legacy family and then getting rid of him? And why are they getting rid of Rachel just as she's finally starting to click? Am I the only one dumbfounded by this? The ONLY interesting thing about the Sierra Rose storyline for me whatsoever is Rachel/Sky. 

I can just see the writing on the wall: They both fall in love with the baby and develop a deep bond with one another. Then they lose the baby to Kish or Gigi. Now personally, I think TPTB should make Rex the baby's real biological father after all and give the baby to Rex/Gigi (this ties Sierra Rose into a core family rather than wastes her on Kish who are about to disappear). Turning Rex back into the father would provide a lot of angst and instability for Schuyler. He would then fall off the wagon and start snorting coke all over the place...Rachel freaks out and tries to help Sky. But by then Rachel has also fallen in love with Schuyler. She gets caught up in trying to save him but he is still obsessed with Gigi and rejects her. Rachel tries going back to Greg but she walks in on him having sex with Vivian. Rachel snaps and gets drunk. She tries to play it off but while hung over, she finds a crack pipe in her apartment. Schuyler has graduated to crack.  Seeing the pipe in front of her, and with her defenses down, Rachel gets high.  Then we could have a month or two of Rachel and Sky completely out of control, making scenes around town, alienating their families and friends, and starting to hook up with one another. A very intense but obviously unhealthy relationship could build until eventually they'd get help. But one of them could get help first, probably Schuyler, and then he'd have to save Rachel. By then, they could develop true love for one another and perhaps even have a baby of their own. THEN you could get into the dynamic of a Gannon/Buchanan mixing with a Laurence, and delve deeper into Schuyler's back story, and maybe bring back Hank and/or RJ who would be disapproving of Schuyler. 

I could go on and on, but my point is that Rachel/Sky WORKS and has tons of potential. Kish does not have much potential for further storylines, in my opinion. I respect those of you who are up in arms over their dismissals, but I have to say, I'll be writing to TPTB about Rachel and Sky, not Kish. 

Notes from March 1-5 Episodes

Ted already covered these episodes, but there's a few things I want to chime in about:

-  Am I wrong to think of Langston as a slut? Is that sexist of me? I think Ford is a complete whore too, but at least he's not pretending to be otherwise. What pisses me off about Langston is the way she keeps inviting the seduction. She never calls Ford - she always has to show up in person. She's engaging in a full fledged affair now, and hasn't been honest with poor Markko. She could be passing std's on to him for all she knows. I think Langston/Ford is relatively entertaining in a sort of slimy way, but in the process, I've lost all respect for Langston and generally think of her as a cheap slut. I hope that was the intention of the story. If not, I think TPTB screwed up and have damaged this character pretty permanently. 

-  I was really expecting Mitch and Allison to be a bit more curious about how they each got out of their respective comas. But clearly, the writers just want to pretend they were never in comas in the first place. Lazy, lazy writing. But how can I complain? Barbara Garrick is one of my all-time favorites, and I'll take Allison Perkins however I can get her. Though, frankly, she could be doing something more devious than taking pictures of people.

-  The endless series of teases before commercial breaks as to which Cramer was dead became eye-roll inducing.

-  I did not think the Langston/Ford scenes worked when they became serious.  Ford was psychoanalyzing Langston and she opened up to him in a way that seemed a little forced to me. We've haven't seen her this open with Markko, yet she supposedly loves him. I don't know who Langston is at all other than a very horny young girl. The writers also need to decide who and what Ford is because right now I don't get him at all. The actor is good, so give him a clue.

-  I immediately was impressed with the actress playing Hannah. She is very good.  She was filling in the blanks for her character and going beyond the scripted page.  Take a hint, half of the cast. 

-  Sorry, but I see no potential or chemistry between Brody and Layla. I see potential for Brody/Marty and tons of potential for Brody/Natalie. I don't think a Brody/Layla/Cris/Jessica quad is the way to go.  I think Brody should be put into the Natalie/Marty/John mix and let the Jessica/Cris/Layla triangle play out.  By the time Jessica recovers her memories and remembers Brody, he could be with Natalie which would be pretty explosive.

-  Addie's absence from the Melinda storyline is glaring.

-  I hereby dub Teenage Jessica as "T.J." I will be calling her T.J. from now on. She is, by the way, my new favorite character. I cannot tell you how hard I have been laughing at her. I have rewound almost every one of her scenes multiple times whilst experiencing belly aches from laughing so hard. I think it's inspired writing and the best work Bree Williamson has done outside of big dramatic climaxes. 

-  Shouldn't someone tell T.J. that she has D.I.D.? What if she finds out in a bad way and her alters come out? They're just letting T.J. run around town doing whatever she wants. She could run into any number of people that could seriously fracture her psyche with overwhelming information (Dorian:  "I'm so sorry I ran you over and killed your baby."). 

-  There is more on this in the Mail Bag section, but I have a lot of notes this week about a rather young cast member who is messing with their face too much. It is starting to really interfere with my ability to take this person seriously whatsoever as an actor. It's been bothering me for a long time, but lately it's gotten worse.  I sincerely pray that it stops because I have been taking more notes about it than about the acting or storyline. It is THAT distracting.

-  Adriana was on crutches for ONE day?

-  Dorian seems to have returned to being herself and looking like herself. Praise the Soap Gods!

-  I laughed so hard at the prospect of Kevin having to explain the Kelly/Duke situation to T.J. As far as T.J. remembers, Duke is probably still 6 years old at the most. Amnesia is tricky when it comes to SORAS. 

-  Cris and Ford seem to take several showers per day. Or maybe they are just hanging out in the shower (together?) for hours until someone rings the doorbell.

-  Eli is boring. He's okay as a side character, but for Blair's main squeeze? Nah, there's no lasting power there.

-  T.J.: "I have a daughter. I guess I'm not a virgin anymore?" She said this while twirling her hair fervently. So hilarious!

-  Every time Gigi talks about those hideous dolls from her childhood, I want to vomit.

-  T.J.'s tantrum and destruction of the Cris/Layla picture was AMAZING! I am ADDICTED TO TEENAGE JESSICA!!! Bree Williamson has always had great dramatic moments, but now< she is just rocking every single episode.

-  Brody should start falling apart and begin seeing Marty as his therapist.

  The Kelly/Todd scenes are contrived (oooh, let's put Trevor and Gina together on her third day back and see what happens!) BUT...you cannot deny the electricity between these two amazing actors. I'm not sure if I want to see a romance or just a feud, but one thing is for certain: These two are going to have hate sex at some point a la old school Sonny/Carly.

-  As the week bore on, I began to actually HATE Langston. Not only is she a slut, but she's also extremely stupid (believing Ford when he showed up to La Boulaie to screw Auntie Blair). I'm completely over her in every way.

-  Who is Kelly's father? Is it possible... that Blair and Kelly could be sisters as well as cousins? Just asking.

-  Is it just me, or is Stacy a better character as a ghost? I found the Kim/Dead Stacy scenes better than any Kim/Alive Stacy scenes.

-  Kim/Clint is so great. Sigh. I think Amanda Setton is making a big mistake. 

-  Who the hell proposes marriage to someone the day after their mom dies? Again, contrived writing (we have to get Kelly to stay in Llanview and get Dan Gauthier out of here).

-  So Kevin and Kelly raised Zane together in the same house even though they weren't romantically involved, and then shipped Zane off to boarding school the second he turned, what, ten? Really? That's the kind of mother Kelly Cramer turned out to be? I'm sorry but if Kelly is moving to Llanview, then Zane should be moving to Llanview. Kevin is Zane's grandpa, not his father. Kelly is his mom and Zane should be near to her. They need to cast Zane ASAP, because every time his name comes up, I think Kelly is a crappy mother.

-  All of the Viki/Charlie scenes were Emmy-worthy. My jaw hit the floor when Viki asked him for a divorce. 

-  John McBain wore gray on Friday's episode! I'm not certain, but this might be his first time wearing anything other than black. 

-  T.J. to Natalie: "I like your red hair." LOL!  Teen Jess sometimes comes across as more of a 5 year-old than a teen. 

-  John took longer to impregnate someone than any other male soap character in history, I think (aside from Nigel). He's like the opposite of Sonny Corinthos.

-  I found it a bit odd that Papa Clint isn't concerned about how his new marriage might affect Teen Jessica.

-  The Kyle/Fish scenes were really awful and cheesy this week. Just open the f*cking envelope. I'm sorry for their fans, but as far as I can see, these two do NOTHING but whine and bitch.  No thanks.  

-  Wow - Jessica went from going upstairs at Llanfair to being in class at Llanview High in less than five minutes. 

-  Even though I'm sick of baby-centric stories, I do like that Marty is pregnant. In my opinion, John McBain has needed to become a father for a long time. It's just something that needs to happen to make the character a little more sympathetic and interesting. His father-like bond with Cole was perhaps the best facet of the character thus far, and there's no doubt this will make the Marty/Jolie triangle more interesting.

Monday, 3/8

-  How the hell did T.J. walk into a public high school without registering first? The utter lack of even a hint of realism in the way Jessica returned to high school pisses me off. Yes, I wanted to see her back in school, but first I wanted to see Marty in session with her and then telling Viki and Clint that she needs to go back to school as part of her treatment. I wanted to see Jessica afraid to be there, but excited at the same time, just like a real student. The speedy way in which Jessica showed up at school and Cris became an insti-teacher really dampens the storyline for me. 

-  Sky is whining, Fish is whining, Gigi is whining, Kyle is shouting.  Ugh.

-  I'm sorry, but there was some one-note acting today surrounding the baby storyline that left me truly appalled by some of the Emmy pre-nominations.  There are a couple of utterly non-deserving folks on the ballot this year.

-  Natalie is starting to STALK John. Seriously, why don't you go and visit Jared's grave, biatch. Love Natalie, but she is pissing me off.

-  I can just see it now: Natalie will cause Marty to lose her baby. I hope not, but that's what I predict. The more I think about it though, I really hope Marty has her baby. John needs to be a father and I'm actually starting to root for John and Marty. 

-  I don't know about you, but I sure didn't have Art Appreciation class my senior year in high school, as taught by a local artist with no teaching experience. 

-  Oooh... Hannah has some major potential. I think she is going to go entirely psycho on Cole.  She actually reminds me of a younger Allison.  Would it be too much to ask for them to be mother/daughter?

 

Tuesday, 3/9

-  Stacy's ghost is hanging out in the Buenos Dias an awful lot. She must have really liked their omelets.

-  T.J. to Layla: "Share my fries with me?"...and..."Still getting over the fact that Boy Meets World got canceled." LOL! Great stuff.

-  I love the gimmick of Kim imagining every guy naked.

-  The T.J./Layla bitchery was just delightful. But it strikes me that Layla is incredibly insecure in her relationship with Cris. She is practically handing Cris over to T.J. with her jealousy. This is not going to go well for her.

-  Does T.J. know she has Hep C?

-  Nat seeing Marty's pregnancy test was classic soap.

Wednesday, 3/10

-  Nice to see a good, old-fashioned Todd/Kevin fight.

-  I like the Dorian/Charlie scenes, but seriously - does Charlie no longer care that Dorian poured vodka down his throat after sedating him with a needle?  HELLO???

-  The line about Sierra's mouth looking like Gigi's mouth made me rather uncomfortable. Let's just say I find that hard to believe. 

-  Kim's friends were walking and talking stereotypes. But I forgave that once they took Kevin upstairs for a quickie threesome (jaw hits floor)!

-  Nigel, describing Kim's hooker friends: "Sides of pork, all around." Amazing.

-  Speaking of pre-nups, I am wondering if Viki made Charlie sign one.

-  Oooh, Rachel is getting fiery with Greg about Schuyler. These scenes are exactly what I asked for a month or so ago. And actually, Rachel and Greg's fight scenes were by FAR the best Rachel/Greg scenes to date. Which may not be saying much... but honestly, they were great!

-  LOVED Kevin threatening Kim. Talk about chemistry - I have a feeling Kevin/Kim could have been pretty hot.

-  Love the Kelly/Blair dynamic, but Todd or no Todd - where will Tea fit into this mix? I'm worried for her.

Thursday, 3/11

-  The Dorian/Viki scenes were EXCELLENT! These were the first Dorian/Viki scenes in a year or more that I can truly say were GENUINE and correctly written Dorian/Viki scenes. Bravo, bravo, bravo!

-  I firmly believe we need Dan Gauthier to STAY on the show, and that we need Kevin in the Kelly/Blair/Tea mix. Kevin has history with all three ladies and I would just love to see a Kevin/Tea reconnection. What if Kevin became Danielle's real father figure? Todd's head would explode!

  If Evangeline woke up right now, we could just change the name of the show to Todd and His Harem, or The Other Sonny Corinthos. 

-  Stop the Presses: The Kelly/Todd scenes today were OFF THE CHARTS HOT.  Todd: "Did you just say something nice to me?" Kelly: "I guess I did." Todd: "Did you mean it?" Kelly: "I don't' say things I don't mean." Todd: "That's awesome. Want to have sex?" LOL! But oh boy, Trevor St. John and Gina Tognoni are making their scenes ALL about sex. And it's working.

-  Am I to believe that Kevin just had sex with a couple of strippers in his father's mansion, right before his father's wedding!!??

-  Dorian called Viki OUT today - and she was right! Dorian: "Don't try to be like me, Viki.  Don't pretend you don't' care."  BRILLIANT SCENE!

Friday, 3/12

-  Starr and Cole have been so randy lately. But I must confess: Whenever they get sexual on screen, it makes me uncomfortable. I'm no prude, but I still feel like I'm watching two children making out. It comes off as very awkward.

-  OMG!!!!!  Jessica's Llanview High sweatshirt is beyond hilarious. T.J. telling Brody, with attitude: "I'm a senior there now." LOL! The look on Brody's face was just priceless.

-  Oh no she didn't. It's good storytelling, and I think the writers were correct to have it play out like this. BUT... Natalie telling John that Marty is pregnant qualifies as unforgivable. I wanted to reach into the screen and strangle Natalie to death.  What a huge BITCH.

-  LOL Alert: Roxy is afraid that John will dress his baby in only black clothes!!!

-  Why the hell did Starr just leave Cole alone with Psycho Hannah? HELLO? She needs to read "How to Keep Your Man."

-  I know Erika Slezak has to leave the show for awhile, but Viki taking Bree to England makes absolutely NO sense right now! Viki would never leave Jessica at this time. I guess it's the best they could do, but I still find it jarring.

-  It's scary to think about, but I honestly think Allison is crazier than Mitch.

-  I can't stand Shane. There, I said it. I just think he's an annoying character and I'm sick of him. 

-  How DARE Rex barge into Rachel's home and boss her around? "Rachel, leave us alone." I hope Rachel gives Rex some sass on Monday.

-  Again, I must reiterate that I am seeing TONS of potential in Rachel/Sky.

-  What an awful way for John to find out Marty is pregnant. I called Natalie some really dirty words today while watching the show. But you know what? That's what a soap is supposed to make you do! It's all good. I like when Nat's a bitch.   

-  I am fascinated by Hannah. Way to go, casting department!!!

**MAIL REPORT**

Letters of the Week - The Kish Controversy

"I'm sitting here on a Friday morning, and I'm about to start watching this week's episodes. I've been busy this week and after writing about last week I needed a little break. But I did want to say a few words about all the big news this week.

The blogs seem to be up in arms over Kish, Along with the recent loss of Amanda Setton, the firing of Daphnee and Scott Clifton, the show is in for some changes. I hear a lot of talk about the loss of diversity, and I agree that that's a bad thing in principle, but in the end there's only one thing that matters: is the show telling good stories in an interesting way?

Kish was not that interesting of a story. It was interesting solely because it was a gay story. It was blandly written and told by two likable but mediocre actors. The Evans family was interesting because they were black, the stories were rather obnoxious, but the actors were above average at times at least. I do not choose diversity over good stories and performances. I don't care if the show is only filled with white, straight people if it's good. I don't care if the show is filled with gay black people if the stories and performances are good. But there's something else to think of at this moment in time. I am not everyone in terms of the audience.

Perhaps more than any genre right now, soaps need to hold onto their long-term audience as well as attract new viewers. I think Kish may have alienated more viewers than it attracted - FOR BETTER OR WORSE, many people aren't interested in seeing a gay couple on their screen. I'm not happy about these views, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the show to principle! When OLTL is doing well in the ratings they can afford to tell those stories that might alienate a segment of the audience, a year ago I might have said that the controversy and coverage would be worth the risk, but they have proven not to be.

The ratings are not good right now, and saving the show should be the focus. I commend Ron and Frank for making these DIFFICULT changes and enduring the inevitable backlash and accusations of "lack of diversity" in an effort to SAVE THE SHOW. People are accusing them of being cowardly, but quite the contrary, they tried those things and they HAVEN'T WORKED. So now needs to be a time of consolidation, try to retain as much of what was there while attracting new viewers not through controversy but through good storytelling. I trust this is the plan and I hope that this time, it succeeds."  - Guest Columnist Ted

I really appreciate what Ted is saying here. Unfortunately, I think TGPTB (that's The Gay Powers That Be) got a little gay-happy last year. Now, on the one hand, I think the idea that OLTL's audiences will tune out over a couple is kind of absurd.  But the problem with Kish is that they were a gay couple with no interesting storyline and played by two bland actors with little chemistry. But the Dorian/lesbian storyline was the real culprit, in my opinion. I can see where long time conservative viewers would have been completely repulsed by that story - as I was. Dorian is one of the two most identifiable characters on the show, and the audience feels they know her very well. TGPTB claim to love Dorian but have not written for her correctly. Pushing a gay storyline on her was ludicrous and untrue to the character. I think if Fish and Kyle had been played by more talented and attractive actors who had chemistry, conservative viewers would have not been able to help but give them a chance. And even though I think Kish is really boring, I don't find them offensive in any way. The Dorian storyline was the offensive one and probably the reason ratings dropped even further.  It just kind of threw the entire show out of alignment. 

"I'm only speaking for myself here, as not only a gay male but a person of color and someone that has watched OLTL for much of my life--

I'm more irritated that Rachel is leaving.

I'm more irritated that Lindsay was written into a corner and written off.

I'm more irritated that Mitch is back and acting like Boris from the Rocky & Bullwinkle show.

I'm more irritated that Blair's interest in Todd flip-flops in order to move stories forward.

I'm more irritated that this show is too chicken shit to recast Evangeline.

and so on and so on.

I've been watching OLTL long before "Kish" happened. I think the actors and the characters are great and they're a delight to watch, but my concern and interest usually falls on the side of legacy characters with roots in Llanview. It's disappointing that Kyle and Fish (among others) are being written off, but I'd much rather they get a happy ending than meander about on the canvas and fall into some of the same undignified, plot-driven storytelling that Blair has fallen into. OLTL's first mistake in their gay storyline was by not bringing back CJ Roberts and making him a part of the couple. I suspect making the character part of a prominent Llanview family would've at least bought him some time on the show.

But no, they made Kyle Rebecca's brother, and to what end? What's the usefulness in this? Also, it needs to be pointed out that the writing for both Kyle and Fish has been most inconsistent. Kyle was a scheming, lying opportunist but as soon as we learned he had a thing with Oliver he became saintly. They didn't need to sterilize his character in order to make him part of a viable couple. Villains are part of some of the best couples in daytime.

And don't even get me started on Fish who, at the convenience of the writers, was only sleeping with females because he was "struggling with his sexuality." Ok. If that aspect of the story was written with more foresight into this character's direction, the execution would've been more believable.

I like Scott Clifton but Schuyler has overstayed his welcome. The entire Evans family, including Destiny, is a misfire because most of them can't act. Get rid of them and re-populate Llanview with Gannons. Carlivati is seriously showing his hand and his preference when it comes to the writing on this show. There is absolutely no reason why there's not a viable black couple on OLTL in addition to a gay one. Simply having people on canvas is pointless if they are not in passionate relationships and have engaging storylines with consistent writing and capable actors.

Or, Carlavati could have done something TRULY groundbreaking and wrote a gay black male character. Perhaps then I could relate from a social perspective and not just as a fan."  - nOva

NOva brings up such a great point that TPTB should have made their gay couple out of legacy characters and families. An interracial gay couple would have certainly been groundbreaking. How about this: CJ Roberts (who the world decided was gay when he was about 8) and the long lost son or RJ. I think nOva is right that the Gannons are the black family that should be featured, and RJ needs a son (I thought it would be Vincent, but that's water under the bridge). Can you imagine RJ dealing with a gay son? And the storyline for a young black man dealing with being gay could be very powerful. Then of course you get the additional layer of RJ's son falling in love with a Buchanan. The possibilities would be endless.

I truly believe it's not the gayness of Kish that failed the viewers - it was the fact that we never cared about either character in the first place.