Search
Close this search box.

READING:

HOME / Columns / My View of Llanview / My View of Llanview: January 15 Edition

My View of Llanview

My View of Llanview: January 15 Edition

HOME / Columns / My View of Llanview / My View of Llanview: January 15 Edition

My View of Llanview

My View of Llanview: January 15 Edition

Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 12:01 AM ET by Scotty Gore


Photo: Errol Lewis/SON

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — 2011 begins with baby steps for “One Life to Live.”

What a difference a year makes.  I thought I would begin my first column of 2011 with a look back at some of what I had to say about the state of the show in my first column of 2010. 

First, twelve months ago Mitch Laurence was menacing the citizens of Llanview with his latest reign of terror.  However, the storyline quickly began to take a turn for the worse when it took on plot holes large enough to drive a truck through.  To make matters worse, while the “Messenger” seemed to know all the dirty laundry about everyone else in town, he was clueless about what was happening with his own family which, as it turns out, weren’t even related to him in the first place.  Take a look at what I had to say: 

“God may be all knowing and powerful, however, Mitch Laurence is a close second. The former cult leader and self-proclaimed man of the cloth seemingly has his pulse on anything and everything related to anyone who is anyone in Llanview.  He knew about the souring of Rex and Gigi’s relationship, and even that Danielle was really Todd Manning’s biological daughter. But yet, he has no clue that Stacy’s baby’s father isn’t even Rex. Which makes his claim that the baby will be his “blank slate” all the more ludicrous. Granted, Mitch does have minions strategically placed all over town to feed him much of the confidential information, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is clueless when it comes to his own “grandchild.” How realistic is that? About as much as Danielle suddenly being older that her half-brother Jack, who was born before she was, I suppose.”

And just what about Mitch’s non-reaction to Todd Manning suddenly looking just like his dead brother Walker, or even why Roxy was suddenly so afraid of the cult leader?  Well, “One Life to Live” decided to take the easy way out of trying to explain those former plot points by simply sweeping them under the rug: 

“Furthermore, why did Mitch have no reaction to seeing Todd face-to-face for the first time is returning to Llanview? After all, Todd did have plastic surgery back in 2003 to make him look exactly like Mitch’s brother Walker. And along those same lines, why is Roxy so afraid of Mitch now when she was more than ready to jump the bones of his other brother Miles, just a few short years ago? I mean, it’s not like Roxy didn’t know that Miles and Mitch were brothers or that Mitch was a psychopath. She seemed to have no problem whatsoever with it. Now all of a sudden she is extremely frightened to even hear his name. Apparently, the fact that Miles and Walker even existed has either been forgotten by the writer’s or disregarded by them. Either way, it leaves a rather large plot hole in this particular storyline.”

So a year ago the primary storylines which were (or about to be) playing out on our television screens including Mitch’s 976th return from the dead, twit Stacy Morasco running around town trying to get pregnant with a baby she could pass off as Rex’s, drugged up gay cop Oliver Fish making Stacy’s wish come true, everybody and their brother keeping the extra bag of stem cells in their refrigerators, and Jessica becoming “17 Again.”

But as bad as that stuff was, it could always be worse.  You could have had Ford brothers running loose all over town while their 35-year-old momma pretends to sex up the geriatric police commissioner.  Although, as bad as all that sounds, it has resulted in some much needed airtime and story for some characters that folks actually care about.  Nora played an important part in the storyline when she was kidnapped by Eddie, Bo has been featured more as well, and Clint has turned into Asa and has just become the kind of person you just love to hate.  This is all, of course, in addition to the Echo storyline, which has given Viki, Dorian, and Charlie something to do as well, other than twiddle their thumbs and worry about their children and loved ones all the time.  It’s just a shame that Rex had to be included in that plot, however, because his presence really, really drags everything and everyone down with him.

I think (or rather hope) that the worst may finally be behind us.  So far 2011 certainly looks promising. Big names like Kourtney Kardashian and Wendy Williams will be appearing on the show, recognizable individuals such as news anchor Vinita Nair and author Peter Straub will be guest starring, familiar faces like David (Tuc Watkins) and Alex (Tonja Walker) have returned, and soap veteran Ted King will soon be calling Llanview home.  Also some upcoming storylines sound rather promising, such as Blair’s quest to uncover the hidden meaning behind the painting of herself and Shane getting bullied by some of his classmates at school.   

And for the first time in awhile, I actually like a lot of what is happening in Llanview right now.  I still don’t like the overemphasis on the Fords and teens or the boring attempt for find out who really murdered Eddie, but the majority of everything else is actually somewhat decent right now as crazy as that sounds (and yes I know it does). 

Anyway, moving on, congratulations to “Judy146,” who correctly identified last time’s mystery “OLTL” celebrity guest star as Blair Underwood, who played Bobby Blue.  Not long after arriving in Llanview, Underwood decided to move on to bigger and better things, which over the years have included roles on “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Sex and the City,” and “L.A. Law,” along with films such as “Just Cause,” “Set it Off,” and “Deep Impact.”

In case you missed the clues, here they are:

This future Hollywood heart throb made “One Life” fans “blue” when he left the show after only three months in Llanview back in the 1980s.

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!!!

Llanview got a little queer back in 2005 when this actor played a receptionist for two episodes, even though he didn’t have eyes for any straight guys in town.    

So who is this mystery celebrity from the past? I’ll have the answers in the January 30th edition of My View of Llanview. 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 February 7th. Relatives duke it out.  A pair of lovebirds take care of a pressing issue.  Breaking up is hard to do.  Will a huge secret finally be revealed?  One woman receives some upsetting news.  Someone gets some new information regarding an adversary.  And one new couple could be on the verge of taking the next step in their relationship.

Well that’s concludes yet another column.  I hope everyone is finally beginning to thaw out from all the snow and cold weather.  May warmer days and sunshine lie ahead.  See you next time, 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.


You May Also Like