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UPDATED 3-15-2010
CRAZE
Kish It
Goodbye: An Exodus Looms

OLTL loses
five front burner actors all at once.

Happy Spring,
everyone! The weather is warming up here in Chicago, just as things
are getting interesting in Llanview. The worst February Sweeps in
recent memory is behind us and March has, thankfully, has been in
like a lion. Though behind-the-scenes drama seems to be taking
precedence over the actual show. But before I try to tackle that, I
just want to thank Ted for doing such an excellent column for me
last week! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
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.
That's it for
this week. Please send your OLTL thoughts, complaints,
suggestions, and desperate pleas to:
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 frank.valentini@abc.com
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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