The one who got away turned into two… and then two turned into three… and then three … You get the picture. OLTLers will most likely feel nostalgic at the sight of Renee Elise Goldsberry (ex-Evangeline Williamson). REG’s Evangeline was one of the most unique new (female) characters in recent OLTL history, not to mention in recent soap history. She.Had.A.BRAIN! Not only did she have a brain, folks, she wasn’t afraid to use it!
Part of me wants to give credit to the writers for making sure that the character was as strong as she was and that they hadn’t decided to shove Evangeline into the deepest darkest corners of crazyland – where they eventually relegate all female characters. We were fortunate that there were no huge psychological breakdowns for this character after failed romances. She didn’t go on drinking binges, no drug use, she didn’t lurk in shady places trying to keep a watchful eye on ‘rivals’ – in desperation to hold on to a man. What makes all of that even bigger news for a One Life character? She dated John ”Sanity Killer” McBain, folks! She survived their relationship and remained healthy. Who could forget this moment between sisters Evangeline and Layla once it was clear to Evangeline that John was going to betray her:
The sane woman’s anthem when love goes wrong!
Whatever happened, no matter the writing, Goldsberry gave Evangeline a rare sense of dignity and strength for a female character in modern daytime. My best guess is that the writers got it – REG was a very different actress all together. She had the elegance and comportment of a more seasoned actress. Writing that may have been translated onscreen as shrill, needy, and whining by another young actress was treated as an opportunity to turn Evangeline into her own heroine – no need for rescue. The partnership between the writers and the actress gave OLTL fans like myself joy in watching one of the most memorable characters in daytime. If only the powers that be had been able to convince the actress to stay. Despite her unfortunate dalliance with John, and her flirtation with the mad-as-a-hatter Todd Manning (which I loved while he was still in the process of reforming and becoming a better person), it was Evangeline’s last relationship – with the lovely Cristian Vega that sealed Evangeline’s fate as a winner in life, but loser at love. Cristian walked away once he realized that there was more between Evangeline and Todd than she was able to admit, even to herself.
Rather than kill the character off when REG vacated the role, the writers decided to have the character succumb to a coma. While it preserved their right to bring her back (and I appreciate that), it’s awful thinking that the character remains there and life in Llanview goes on without her. I wish they’d thought to let her move on to another city, start a successful law practice and allow Layla to occasionally mention who well her sister is doing in her new life.
Sadly, I’m concerned that Layla Williamson will soon suffer the fate of her big sister. She’ll disappear from Llanview history with barely a second thought from those who knew or loved her. Overkill? Do you remember Rachel Gannon? Probably not. She was so rarely featured before the writers decided to dump the legacy character, yet again (and yet FORD remains). The Williamson family is relatively new. I have little hope for the rarely seen Layla – who is now dating Cristian Vega. While you would think that would be the perfect time for writers to wake Van up from her coma (even if they could only convince REG toreturn for a few eps to usher Van off to a new life), such is not the case with OLTL. The writers instead have Teen Tessica Buchanan, who can’t remember her life beyond the age of 17 returning to high school as a student (yeah right) and stalking ‘Mr. Vega’. Where is Layla while all of this is happening? Who the hell knows?
The more things change, the more they stay the same, One Life. One Life fans may remember Valarie Pettiford ( Sheila Price Gannon) for delivering a rousing rendition of ‘Dancing in the Streets’ at Megan’s funeral. Where is she now? Doing just fine without OLTL, thank you very much! She was one of the co-stars of the show ‘Half and Half‘ and ocntinues performing on Broadway and has her own Cabaret act:
Van, Layla, Sheila, Rika (Sheila’s younger sister), and the few very women of color before them. What a waste, OLTL.
As the World Turns
Smart women and the law? They seem to go hand in hand in daytime. OLTL’s Van Williamson and Nora Buchanan, GH’s Alexis Davis and Federal Prosecutor Claire Walsh, ATWT’s Margo Hughes and Jessica Griffin, all of whom helped make it ‘safe’ for women to be smart. Tamara Tunie’s Jessica was a no frills – no bullshit character who wasn’t exactly shy about telling Oakdale residents where to go and how to get there… of course, she did it in the most elegant way possible. TT’s Jessica Griffin McKeachnie brought as much to her show as REG’s did to OLTL later. Jessica was a beloved character who was respected by her onscreen peers -, and then the inevitable happened. Jessica found out where she really fit in the grand scheme of Oakdale life. Her ‘interracial’ romance with Duncan McKeachnie led to both heartbreaking and uplifting moments for the character.
She’d feared that her tough as nails, and somewhat conservative friend and client Lucinda Walsh would never approve of her relationship with Duncan. Lady Lu, CEO extraordinaire would have to protect her business interests from ‘scandal’, right? Jessica knew that the only person she and Duncan could share the news of their growing relationship with was their beloved friend and supporter, Lisa Hughes. Lisa was a woman of the world. She’d done something most women would never have thought of doing in her time – she’d left a husband and child and sought love elsewhere. She’d dated and loved brothers. She was a hellion in her youth and didn’t care who approved of her choices. So imagine Jessica’s surprise when she learned that Lucinda was the one to give the happy couple her blessing and Lisa was the person who disapproved.
Jessica found even greater strength and a stronger voice when she grew tired of defending her love for Duncan and their desire to be together. She remained a relatively strong character until the writers decided to SORAS’ young Bonnie into an adult woman. Bonnie brought many changes into Jess’ life, most of them lousy, including having Jessica watch her daugther grow closeto the man she knew raped her mother, and being accidentally shot by her daughter. When ATWT’s jumps the shark, it chums the waters, first. Where is Jessica? Around… somewhere… I hope.
The Young and the Restless
I’ve covered the topic of Victoria Rowell’s Drucilla Winters being absent from screen in several blog entries, most recently (HERE and HERE). I still can’t get over what insanity leads the YnR’s PLTB refusal to bring Dru back to screen. No matter how many times TPTB insists there’s no room for Drucilla onscreen, each new weak and snooze producing character they bring to screen in her place says otherwise.
Even worse than the above? The talented Latina American, American Indian, Asian American, and other actresseses who ever never give the chance to appear onscreen. It saddens me to realize that as networks are steadily shuttering soaps from the daytime schedule, Executive Producers and other execs don’t appear to be moved to change their practices before all soaps are eventually cleared from the schedule. There has be some growth when you think of where daytime started and where it is now, but how much growth? What will be the legacy of daytime and minority characters when all is said and done?
Bonus Clip!
The REG you’ve never seen on OLTL. Goldsberry in RENT:
First the good stuff. I don’t know why it’s never dawned on me before, but why or WHY hasn’t DAYS – which happens to be in striking distance of the BnB in the ratings, taken advantage of the colossal blunder made by the BnB’s sister soap, the YnR? Why hasn’t DAYS hired Victoria Rowell as a new character? YnR’s PLTB (Powerless That Be) are determined to not bring Rowell back to daytime in a role she made iconic. Why not hire Ms. Rowell for DAYS and tie her to honest Abe Carver. His image has been a little ‘too clean’ for a soap character. I don’t want him to become a bad guy, or learn that he was ever a ‘bad’ man. It might be worthwhile to find out that Abe was once a conflicted man. He was in love with a woman with a shady past and did things he’d never expected to do. Maybe Abe demands perfection in Lexie because he’s loved a woman who’s driven him down the wrong path before and is afraid to go there again.
Every (soap) family has that one philandering dolt who makes you feel dirty just by shaking his hand – which is a bad move since you never know where that hand has been. You just know that it’s been a lot of places you’d never go. On the BnB? That would be Eric “naked on the ledge” Forrester. Eric’s treatment of women is, and always has been, rather shabby. He’s been cheered on as a romantic hero, but he’s neither romantic, nor a hero as far as I’m concerned. I think fans are finally beginning to see Eric as the lowly worm he truly is. Is he only more clearly viewed as a Lothario because he has yet to change his behaviors? A man his age, who still can’t be faithful to a faithful wife is far from appealing. His actions include:
5. He later married Brooke’s sister, Donna Logan, but only after cheating on Stephanie (who was in hiding after facilitating Brooke’s sexual assault). What lousy circumstances under which Eric took Donna Logan to bed. It was mere weeks after finding that that Donna was sleeping with his youngest son in order to use him to tear the Forrester family apart. A heart-broken Thorne dumped Donna at the altar – Eric slept with her.
Oh come on, DAYS FANS, you knew it was coming! The scurge that is EJ so perfectly fits this category. I love that Will has no use for the man who violated his mother. Sami’s oldest child so clearly understands what kind of man EJ is and wants him GONE. Good boy, Will. It would be a HUGE mistake, for a show that’s doing so well, to try to sell the audience on the notion that Will wants to eventually become buds with the man who raped his mother and produced one child – and manipulated and violated his mother to produce another. I know that Sami feels ‘trapped’ in some way because she’s had two children with EJ , but she really needs to let them visit with him at his place. EJ’s presence is a constant reminder of what he’s done to young Will’s mother and I can’t believe any caring parent would let that happen.
My point is this: there’s a right way to parody daytime, and there’s a wrong way. Have you noticed the difference between post dates, number of views, and subscribers? I’m sure that part of the difference between the two is that the executive producers of ‘Steamboat’ (Michael O’Leary, ex-Rick Bauer, Guiding Light; and Scott Bryce, ex-Craig Montgomery, As The World Turns) were smart in bringing to screen some of daytime’s most beloved actors and placing them in roles that are the polar opposites of the characters they’ve spent most of their lives playing.
Steamboat, by contrast, has that. It’s clear that the parody gives a loving look at the unseemly backside (and darkside) of producing a daytime soap. Despite the fact that the show is fictional, it’s not hard to feel as if you’re eavesdropping on a beleaguered cast and crew trying to survive the daytime industry. The characters are likable in the sense that even in jest they give you the feeling that you’re gaining insight in to the highs and lows of the soap biz. The characters connect with the audience on genuine emotional level. Steamboat (the most beloved soap) features actors who are like many of its viewers, employees who give their all only to find out that those who benefit from that work have little regard for the people who produce it. Isn’t that why shows like ‘Undercover Boss’ are a hit? Steamboat is populated with characters you want to hug, smack, shake, medicate, jail… and love the whole time.
It’s not often that I actually praise a soap in its entirety. OLTL is good, and I enjoy more of the show than I dislike of it… but it’s not GREAT. Which soap is, in my opinion? Hands down, Days of Our Lives has to be the best overall soap in daytime! It’s such a great soap that the things I hate about it are the things you’re SUPPOSED to hate about a soap or about the show’s characters. What makes DAYS such a great soap? Two words: consistency and BALANCE!
While DAYS held on far too long to the ‘Sydnapping’ storyline, overall, the fact that the show has been consistent and balanced allowed fans, like myself, who were tired of the storyline to focus on something else. Knowing, last month, that the storyline would continue a while longer, I began tuning it out and focusing on other big onscreen news. I don’t know what it is about ‘Daniel’ and ‘Melanie’, but I think it’s sheer genius to pair them together as father and daughter (and yes, I’ve been reminded that she once flirted with him when neither knew they were related). Something about his presence in her life finishes Mel’s character profile out nicely. She’s been two characters in one during her tenure at DAYS. There is the manipulating and selfish Mel, and then there is the vulnerable and melancholy Mel. In some ways he softens Mel, but she does the same for him. Shawn Christian (as Daniel) hit his stride perfectly in the hospital visitation scenes, after finding out that Melanie was his child. His eyes were soft and a bit weepy, his tone of voice was relaxed, and it was easy to believe that he was in awe of the young woman in front of him, one he’d only recently found carried his genes in her DNA. That he was the doctor who operated on her and saved her life made the scene all the more meaningful. Melanie looked vulnerable and frail and in need of someone to protect her. He looked ready for the job. Priceless.
I’m partial to the third option. I’d love to see Stefano strip Ej of his money and power. DAYS’ writers have been relatively creative in their storytelling. What could they do with a powerless EJ, who no longer has the ability to manipulate and/or offend the women of Salem? The writers could continue to move EJ on to the next storyline but in the end what good would it do if Ej isn’t completely deconstructed and rebuilt? He’s currently an (evil) freakshow! What would life look like from the other side, a man without resources at the mercy of the power brokers? Nothing could give him greater insight into what his negative influence has been over others than having him fend for himself against the next ‘Ej Dimera’. His deconstruction could also lead him to find real love for the first time, a woman he doesn’t have to force to have sex with him.
With Hope defending Bo and asserting that he is (professionally) an ethical man, will Bo begin to realize that he may be professionally ethical but that he’s lacking personally? For most of their adult lives, Hope has been defending their marriage against each of Bo’s new ‘great loves’ and any children that are born or resurface as a result. He has yet to have to do the same because she has centered her life around him. Is there some point in his life when he realizes that he’s taken more from his marriage than he’s ever given to Hope?
In case you’re wondering who the dark haired ‘gentleman’ is who rolled Luke into the cafeteria, it’s DL Brock, Bobbie Spencer’s murdered ex husband… and abuser. He is potentially an indirect linchpin between the old GH, the REAL GH, and a storyline that’s currently playing out on the new GH. Wouldn’t it be nice to make use of Bobbie’s history with Brock to have her figure out that Kristina in danger? The most the writers have ever managed to do is to remind the audience, whenever a little ‘tension’ was needed that Bobbie was once a hooker (though they’ve never seemed to make repeated use of Luke’s involvement in helping to pimp his underage sister). I think the writers could get much more mileage out of Bobbie’s past as a survivor, and possibly move toward an Emmy nomination for a useful storyline rather than the dreck they keep being nominated for (shame on you Emmy panel). Bobbie has gone on to free herself of her abuser, marry a man who loved her, raised children, moved up in her career, and regained control of her life.
Coffee At Cafe Russe 