Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 12:01 AM ET by Scotty Gore

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(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “One Life to Live” remains a work in progress.

Much like the building of the ancient city of Rome, “OLTL” can’t be re-built over night. While the show does have some bright spots, it is also still filled with reminders of what is wrong with the show. Hopefully, however, as the weeks and months continue to go by the good will begin to outweigh the bad.

The good comes in different shapes and sizes…literally. Kim Zimmer continues to shine as Echo, evil Clint in intriguing and entertaining to watch, Viki and Dorian working together clicks because they are able to compliment one another very well, Bo and Nora finally getting some decent airtime is a blessing, and Tom Degnan is a good fit for the role of Joey and his chemistry with his onscreen mom Erika Slezak is clearly evident. Not to mention that Nigel and Nevil always bring as a smile, as does the seemingly increasing appearances by Dan Gauthier as Kevin (whom I think has definitely made the role is own). And who could forget Roxy’s drunken witticisms that seem to never fail to make you laugh.

But then there is also the bad working just around the corner. The Ford brothers continue to be a drag on the show, as does clueless Inez and the one-dimensional, over the top Eddie. I couldn’t help but laugh the other day when Eddie punched James…please don’t hit me. Oh well, just let big, bad Starr go and tell him off for you man. Speaking of Starr, this whole mess with her and James need to move to the backburner like yesterday, and Ford and Langston continue to be nauseating. Just please make it stop. At least “OLTL” has wised up in one respect and cut Rex and Gigi’s airtime. At least that’s a start.

Switching gears, one thing I have always really liked about “One Life to Live” is the fact that they are not afraid to toss in a few inside jokes and poke a little fun at themselves. I thought the “Castle” reference in the November 29th episode was a nice salute to the previous Joey, Nathan Fillion, who now plays Richard Castle on the hit ABC primetime show, on the same day his successor Tom Degnan stepped into the role. But things like that are nothing new for “OLTL.” One of my all-time favorites was when Viki was showing Noelle pictures of each of her ex-husbands on her wedding day to Charlie, which included a photo of the late Clint Ritchie (who originated the role of Clint Buchanan, and is now played by Jerry verDorn), and Viki saying that Clint was a “different man” back then. Another one that stand out in my mind was back in 2001 when Asa Buchanan faked his death and all his surviving ex-wives showed up at his funeral. As each of the women flashed back to their wedding day, Blair Cramer (a role created by Japanese-American actress Mia Korf, but now played by Kentucky native Kassie DePaiva), checked the mirror in her compact after remembering just how very different she looked when she first married Asa. And there are countless others as well that can be added to the list.

Anyway, moving on, congratulations to “CLB,” who correctly identified last time’s “OLTL” mystery guest star as Kortney (Kayle) Wilson.

In case you missed the clues, here they are: This Canadian country music breezed through Llanview nearly a decade ago playing herself and promoting her debut album. While in town, she asked for Al Holden’s help and caught a break when Al’s mother Gabrielle Medina helped her land a singing gig at the Llanview Country Club.

Now it’s time to play another round of “Llanview, Who Am I?,” a new feature where you have to use the clues to figure out the identity of some mystery celebrity guest stars from “OLTL’s” past. See if you can figure it out. Good luck!!!

This former financial TV commentator appeared in Llanview in 2009 on two separate occasions during a storyline that involved two of the town’s leading citizens.

So who is this mystery celebrity from the past? I’ll have the answers in the December 15th edition of My View of Llanview. Bonus points if you can tell me what role(s) he played and the names of the two primary character he interacted with. And don’t forget to check out my Twitter page for all the latest “OLTL” news and information at SON.

Now, before I wrap up this column, I’m going to look into my crystal ball and give you a quick sneak peek at a few things coming up a few weeks down the road. These are for the week of December 13th. A young man is seriously injured. Two adversaries team up with one goal in mind. Someone gets what they deserve. A son misinterprets what he sees. One woman is convinced by her family to make a confession to another. Two lovers open up a new case file. And a daughter gets someone powerful to help the boy she cares about.

Well that’s concludes yet another column. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now the rush is on to hang the decorations and buy all the presents for friends and loved one for Christmas. It may be be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is also the busiest. Much to do and so precious little time to do it in. Stay safe, warm, happy, and until next time remember, we only have “One Life to Live”…

“One Life to Live” airs Weekdays on ABC. Weeknights on SOAPnet. Anytime on ABC.com and SOAPnet.com. Check local listings.