Marlena’s Midsummer Night’s Questions

Thinking Fans’ summer thoughts on Destiny et al.:  JTG says Shenell Edmonds’ Destiny is no stereotype. “It’s obvious OLTL’s writers are positioning Destiny as Matthew’s first girlfriend. Most of the time, the stereotypical ‘mammy’ character is either sexless or oversexed. That is not the case with Destiny” … while Mike Goldberg confides Destiny has made him a believer again. “I haven’t been interested in teen romance in years” … and more, on many topics. See Comments below.

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sunBy Marlena De Lacroix

Bonjour everyone!  I’ve been taking it easy this summer, staying cool in the pool with my new pooch (see above).  Yet I’m still watching soaps and have a bunch of questions I’d like to ask.  As always, I welcome your comments!

1.  Why hasn’t anyone in the soap press asked major actor John Rubinstein — a Best Actor Tony winner for Children of a Lesser God in 1980 and a million other TV roles, plus being the son of the late piano genius Artur Rubinstein — why he’s playing a minor little part on The Young and the Restless?  His Dr. Taylor is the crooked obstetrician who is helping Adam fake Ashley’s “hysterical” pregnancy.

2.  Isn’t Michael Muhney an unexpectedly terrific actor?  He has the kind of versatility, depth and personality that Michael Muhenycould make Adam on Y&R one of the most exciting villains on daytime! What an improvement over poor wooden Chris Engen!

3.  Will someone please shut Robin Strasser up about her contract negotiations? While she’s giving a breath by breath report on her hotline about her smaller proposed salary (still in the hundreds of thousands), millions of Americans — and many her fans — are out of work right now.  Robin, have you ever heard of the word recession?  Quelle bad taste to carry on so!

4.  Why doesn’t General Hospital spin off Maxie and Spinelli into their own sitcom the way Happy Days spun off Joanie and Chachi?  The way the Osmonds spun off Donny and Marie?  These characters are magic together, but I have to confess sometimes their grating adorable-ness literally makes my teeth ache!

5.  Am I the only one who can’t stand the new joke-telling Tad on All My Children?  Pine Valley isn’t in the Borscht Belt.  At any time I expect Broadway Danny Rose to rush in and offer to represent Tad, along with his client list of plate spinners and xylophonists?

Destiny6.  Am I the only one to love Destiny (played by Shenell Edmonds) on One Life to Live?  She is one great truth-teller of a character. Original and very refreshing.

7.  Now that I’ve tuned Guiding Light back in to prepare for the Big Finale, why am I strangely uncharmed by any of it? (except Otalia).  If so many major press outlets (like 60 Minutes, a big TV mag and others) are doing big stories on the end of the show, where were these press biggies when the publicity department over the last year or two had to turn to the blogosphere to get noticed?

8. Was One Life To Live‘s inspiration for the newly revived Blair-Todd-Tea triangle on screen  the infamously ferocious  Blair vs.Tea wars waged for last decade on the soap boards? That is: Todd and Tea fans (TNT)  vs. Todd and Blair fans (TNB)?   If so, Carlivati and company are a lot more canny than I thought …

9.  Alex Evan Cole.  Wow wow wow!   How long can daytime hang  on to an genuinely charismatic actor like this? Alex Evan Cole He has such a different look from other young cookie cutter soap actors.  Isn’t it great to see Ed Frye (Larry, Hunter’s father) again and remind ourselves what truly skilled  actor he is!  Anyone remember him on Another World?

10.  Hasn’t daytime (and network TV) reached a new low by showing Noah burn a Purple Heart medal on As the World Turns?  You can’t tell me someone at the show or P&G didn’t catch how disgustingly disrespectful that is!  Purple Hearts are awarded  to soldiers who have been wounded in combat in the service of you and me — no matter what your politics are!  I’d love to know what Iraq war veteran J. R. Martinez (who as you know suffered disfiguring head burns in combat) thinks of this all-time ATWT blooper.  As an aside, I adore Martinez and his naturalness, and hope AMC keeps him on the show.

11.  Why do I imagine Ken Corday, newly crowned “king” of summer ratings gains, wandering the halls of NBC in Burbank, murmuring a soliloquy from Macbeth?  You know, the one about having Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn‘s blood on his hands and not being able to get it off … (“Out, out damn’d spot….)

P.S. I welcome your serious questions on soaps, which I have time to answer for the rest of the summer.  Send them to info@marlenadelacroix.com.   

Comments

  1. I’m not sure I can answer most of your questions (although of course I remember Ed Fry on AW), but I will tell you that Michael Muhney is most definitely not an “unexpectedly terrific actor.” Anyone who watched Veronica Mars (RIP to an exceptional show) can tell you that he plays smarmy wonderfully!!!

    Marlena says: Leona, I never saw Veronica Mars. But you, my old friend Wendy Wagner (on Facebook) and Giada (below) all wrote in to say he had been on that show before. It’s good to have friends who still read the column right away!

  2. I laughed out loud at number 11. I’m not surprised at all at hearing Michael Muhney is doing a great job. I used to love him on “Veronica Mars.” He can also play humor very well.

  3. Jonathan Reiner says:

    Great column, Connie. Reminds me of the old days…

    Marlena says: Thanks as ever for being sweet, JR! I always said you were the smartest of all the former Soap Opera Weekly interns. In the old days, it took me about 20 minutes to think up a column like this. Now, the shows are so uncreative and humorless, it’s really hard to come up with questions. This one was in my mind for….weeks.

  4. “Marlena,”

    When I first saw Mr. Rubenstein, I was a bit perplexed but since I’ve also seen Tamlyn Tomita on GH and 14-year Knots Landing vet Ted Shackleford on Y&R, I just assumed that times are tough. All three actors have seen critical success but who knows how much cash they have in the bank.

    Every one needs health care. Don’t all of these actors get their health care through their unions, which require a certain amount of money be earned each year?

    Marlena says: You are correct, sir! Years ago, after the late Beverlee McKinsey retired from Guiding Light, she needed some screen time to continue her health insurance. She did a few appearances on General Hospital, for which I interviewed her. If you look Mr. Rubinstein up on the Internet Movie Date Base (Imbd.com) as I did, you’ll notice he’s done something like 150 guest appearances on primetime shows over the last three decades. That’s an enormous amount! I’m not sure he needed Y&R for the health insurance…

  5. Number Eleven made me spit out my gum.

    John

    Marlena says: Is there anyone in daytime who doesn’t hate that man? Or whom he hasn’t tried to vanquish?

  6. I TOTALLY agree with 10. I haven’t watched ATWT in a while, but I still follow what’s going on through the boards. When I read about that, I was absolutely shocked. What were the writers THINKING??? Apparently not much. Most times I would say, “then again, I’m not surprised”. But in this instance, I really am surprised. Couldn’t they have found some other way to express Noah’s feelings about his dad?

    Marlena says: Was it just an oversight or was the scene reflective of the writers’/producer’s politics? Unless a ferocious newsperson like Bill O’ Reilly looks into this, I guess we’ll never know!

  7. About Strasser: I disagree. Strasser already took a gigantic cut several years ago. Right, the recession is everywhere but I think that Strasser isn’t crossing the line here. I’ve read the transcripts. They’re really sensitive. The fans want a direct line (no pun) to their soap stars, they got it.

    About Shenell Edmonds: This was true two months ago. Sadly I got tired from her. Even my diet progressed and evolved in that time period more than Destiny.

    Marlena says: You all know how much I love Robin as an actress. But in all my decades in the soap biz, no performer has ever discussed their contract negotiations as publicly as Robin. No one! I wouldn’t do it, but then again I’ve never been blessed with a huge salary like hers! And that’s my point! Stop whining, stop asking the audience for sympathy. We have our own financial problems, our own lives.

    BTW, I usually have no overall objection to Robin’s hotline. It’s often funny and entertaining in an idiosyncratic way.

    About Destiny, well, excuse me dear! This only proves how inconsistent the writing is at OLTL. Certainly, a new character should even be stronger two months after her introduction, not pushed into the background. Right now the show is focusing on the introduction of her brother Greg, a shady, ambitous doctor, played by Terrell Tilford. Destiny idolizes him now and I think that’s because when she gets wise to him and tells him off, Edmonds will have some fabulous truthtelling scenes. Can’t wait!!

  8. Chere Marlena,

    Welcome back! I’ve missed your insightful thoughts. And I’ve missed your round up of questions. Hope you get back to doing that on a more regular basis.

    Re: Guiding Light. I’m loving the show these days. The outside locations work for me as well as the inside ones as well. The storylines are bascially working for me. Of course, I freely admit, much of that is the nostalga factor — just getting to see Ed, Mindy, Danny and Michelle one last time makes me very happy. I hope India drops by for one final visit before things wrap up.

    Re: #11. I imagine Ken’s probably busy saying “That was then, this is now” rather than “Out damn spot.” A better question might be, can’t someone stop Ken Corday from talking to the press? Seems like every time he opens his mouth, he does serious damage to both his reputation and the show’s reputation.

    And I’d add this question, can’t we make karaoke night a regular occurance on GH? Provided that Jason Thompson and Kimberely McCullough continue to do duets. If we can’t have the Nurse’s Ball anymore, karaoke night is a great way to showcase the actor’s other talents.

  9. I’m sure Muhney is a great actor but I haven’t been impressed by his Adam. He struggles with playing blind, he has no chemistry with Yani Gellman (Rafe), and he hasn’t been able to make the character more understandable, or tolerable. Engen wasn’t a good actor but he seemed to have something which made me interested, a tenderness in contrast to the insanity and evil of Adam.

    I don’t have a problem with Robin Strasser talking about her contract negotiations. I don’t think it’s insensitive to people who are struggling with the economy. She is doing so on her hotline, she isn’t taking out ads, and considering that these days, a number of people in the soap press are very likely to try to paint the person in difficult negotiations as some type of harridan (as happened to Jess Walton), I think it’s smart of her to

    I would love to see “Spixie” given their own show — Harper’s Island.

    Blair v Tea was an entertaining fan feud 10 years ago, but now it’s humiliating and many fans seem to only be interested in Todd and Tea. Blair has no place in the story. If Tea wants to pant and purr over a rapist, a murderer, a sociopath who clearly loathes women and whose only thrill in life is in destroying them, can’t Blair get a man, and a story of her own? Why do the “romances” on OLTL now often involve women debasing themselves while men act like pigs? Gigi/Rex is a prime example.

    Guiding Light is a huge mess now, supposedly because Ellen Wheeler has taken over the writing. It’s going to get worse and worse. I’m just watching for the returns of old favorites, like Mindy, Ed, or in a few months, Holly.

    Marlena says: Steve, I love when my Thinking Fans really speak out. You know from past columns how much I hate the Tea infatutation with Todd, the husband who walloped her; this Three’s Company arrangement they have with Blair is nauseating. As I’ve written a million times, the current management of OLTL show is sexist. Blair is a smart gal. Someday, under new, wiser OLTL management, there will be a Todd murder mystery, and there will be dozens of his female victims lined up as suspects. I hope Blair will be the second in line, right after Marty.

  10. Sorry, I meant to say, “I think it’s smart of her (Robin) to get her side of the story out there, the unvarnished truth, before anyone else tries to paint her into a corner.”

  11. Sorry, third comment in a row. I remember Ed on Another World. I wish they’d given him more to do. I really liked his relationship with MJ McKinnon. To this day I still remember those scenes where MJ told him she had been a prostitute. Her performance broke my heart. I know she wasn’t the original actress to play MJ, but I never saw that actress, so that moment is the one I always remember for MJ. Anyway, Ed was very solid on that show, a dependable leading man (I think he would have been a better Jamie than Larry Lau). He was the same on ATWT until they trashed his character back in the 90s.

    Marlena says: I interviewed him back in the Another World days. He was a wonderful guy. Very nice!

    As I was watching him on ATWT this week, it struck me how genuinely talented he is. Perhaps that’s often been overshadowed by his very handsome good looks.

  12. There is nothing original or refreshing about Destiny. The overweight, sassy black female is a Hollywood staple dating back to Mammy in Gone with the Wind to Epiphany on General Hospital.

    Marlena says: Well, I never thought of it this way, and you have a point. But just for the record I’m a big fan of the work of Sonya Eddy, who plays Epiphany (and was superb as her on Night Shift) and a lifelong Gone With the Wind fan-atic. I even have a picture magnet of Hattie McDaniel on my refrigerator. Didn’t she win the 1940 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress?

  13. In regards to Noah on ATWT, it was more attention grabbing than wrong to throw a purple heart medal into a fire, but considering his father’s behavior, understandable. Colonel Mayer may have been a war hero but he did kill Noah’s mother and try to kill his boyfriend. Noah lost respect for his father because of this so felt the need to destroy ALL of his father’s belongings. Destroying the purple heart was a way for the creators to make a point about Noah’s feelings, not anything political or anti-military.

    Marlena says: Yes Rich, I know why Noah did it. But The Purple Heart doesn’t belong to Colonel Mayer. The Purple Heart represents the war wounds of everyone who ever gave their blood, or made a personal physical sacrifice, in the military service of the United States. It’s sacred, a symbol of courage and freedom, kind of like the American flag. Whatever one’s politics may be, I’m sure no one on soaps would ever burn a flag.

  14. LOL at number 11. I cringed when I read KC’s comments a few weeks ago in Digest. The only reason I even looked was because Deidre and Drake were on the cover. I’ll say this to KC….”that was then, this is now ” goes both ways (I’ve quit my Days habit) but some things, like his interviews, never fail to be predictable.

  15. antmunoz says:

    Marlena, loved Ed Fry as Adam Cory on AW. Remember how he was brought on to clean up the mess caused by his brother, no-gooder Neal Cory (Robert LuPone, quickly written out). Too bad the Cory nephews couldn’t stick around longer than they did. I liked Adam with MJ, but he should’ve mixed it up with a few other ladies as well…maybe given “cousin” Jamie a run for Lisa Grady.

    MIchael Muhney is doing a great job as another Adam (Wilson) on Y&R. Yes, I too rave over his 3 years on VERONICA MARS. Love seeing him, John Rubinstein, and other primetime vets from the past working! Kerrie Keane, once of THE YELLOW ROSE and HOT PURSUIT, was the judge in Ana’s custody hearing. Was awesome seeing her again! And I’m enjoying another ex-AW actor currently: Steve Richard Harris, who was Zak on AW, is the opportunistic bartender Aidan on Y&R…who I hope hooks up with Jill again! (He hasn’t aged a day in over 10 years, either.)

  16. Matthew J. Cormier says:

    In regards to Robin Strasser, while i do understand your point i think her real issue isn’t the smaller salary but the fact that she has already taken a pay cut of 64% when she returned to the show. She is really talking out about the sexiest and ageist practices at ABC Daytime. It’s clear that whenever Maurice Bernard, Anthony Geary, Bob Woods or David Canary need a contract perk or change they get it no questions asked, but when a female cast memeber tries to get what they deserve they get fired.

  17. Marlena,

    While the sassy, overweight black woman has been a stereotype of film, I don’t think this applies to Destiny. Unlike most presentations of the character, Destiny is a child but she’s also being allowed to grow, slowly but surely.

    It’s obvious that OLTL’s writers are positioning Destiny as Matthew’s first girlfriend. Most of the time, a stereotypical “mammy” character is either sexless or oversexed. That is not case with Destiny.

    The difficulty with stereotypes is that some people ever so slightly resemble them. What’s so wrong with a strong, confident girl? Marcie McBain was a tough, sassy overweight woman. Why can’t we have a young girl embody some of Marcie’s characteristics? Would it be better if OLTL had hired a thin actress to play Destiny?

    Given that OLTL has 4 black/biracial women (Noelle, Layla, Rachael, and Destiny) on canvas, I hardly think that the show is going for a stereotype: Seriously, when is the last time an a soap had that many black women on it?

    Getting back to General Hospital, why does that show have such a wretched time of featuring actors of color? Yes, Maurice Benard is Latino but his character of Sonny is played as white. GH seems to bring actors of color on; use them half-heartedly; and then loses them in the corridors.

    What are your thoughts, Marlena?

    Marlena says: I agree with everything you say here! You make good points and back them up with great examples. I have no idea why GH doesn’t have more black characters except agree with you that it is totally wrong. And BTW, this might be a factor in their current awful, awful ratings. One of the reasons Y&R was a consistent number one in the ratings for years and years was because the late Bill Bell always made sure there were major black characters in frontburner stories.

  18. Connie, I couldn’t agree more about Shenell Edmonds. I think she is amazing as Destiny and shame on me for not highlighting that previously. I haven’t been interested in a teen romance for years. However I have high hopes for Matthew and Destiny down the line. OLTL has its share of problems (Hi Stacy, Rex, Gigi triangle), but I love seeing Destiny and her family on the canvas. Destiny is the type of genuine soap character we don’t see anymore.

    Marlena says: Thanks for writing, Mike, and I am so glad you see why Destiny is such a great and original character for daytime, too! Love the podcast, by the way. It is very intelligent and excellently produced.

  19. BTW,

    Why are ABC’s execs so incredibly blind to the ratings collapse of General Hospital? Can’t they see that the audience loved the Quartermaines? Why can’t the writers figure out a way to get Alan back from the grave? Why can’t the decrease mob stories? The heroic figures on this show are murderers!

    P.S.

    I’m watching OLTL. Destiny just stood up for herself and told off her brother Greg. What is wrong with a girl being able to stand up for herself? Look at the adult women of daytime who salivate over misogynists or psychopaths like Todd Manning, Paul Ryan, or Victor Newman.

    Say what you will about Lynn Marie Latham, she was the writer who gave Y&R’s NIkki Newman a spine to kick Victor Newman to the curb after his last disrespectful actions.

    OLTL’s Blair fought a bitter custody battle against Todd because of his monstrous action against her children. Yet, here she is again chasing after him. Um, doesn’t this seem like the actions we hear about abused women taking their abusers back into their lives after being beaten, raped, etc.?

  20. Anonymous says:

    I think you might be overlooking the fact that Robin Strasser has always been a bit of an oversharer and that she’s simply treating her contract negotiations with the same candor with which she treats many, many other subjects that most folks would consider too personal for public broadcast—like divorces and plastic surgery, to pick examples completely at random. She’s had that hotline for years and her fans clearly enjoy it.

    Is it a good idea? Probably not. Personally, I don’t see much business savvy in saying on the record over and over again that you’re willing to stay under almost any circumstances and then being surprised when TPTB turn around and use that same information to try to leverage you into a bad deal. Of course that’s what they are going to do—it’s their job as professional evildoers. This is why God created agents.

    But I don’t think her point is that actors, veteran or otherwise, should be exempt from the same economic repercussions the rest of us face. Because ITA with you, they shouldn’t. (And I don’t just mean actors and I don’t just mean daytime, but the entire Hollywood machine, which is ridiculously overpaid for the steady diet of substandard, uninspired [i]scheisse[/i] it peddles.) Her point, if I understand correctly, is that she already took that pay cut in 2003. It’s now someone else’s turn to take one for the team.

    And that’s a totally legitimate beef. Particularly given the steady diet of [i]scheisse[/i] that OLTL has been peddling in recent years. How about if TIIC get rid of the Morasco Fiasco or Todd and John and their competing vortices of suck instead? To my way of thinking, budget problem solved.

    Marlena says: No one wants Robin to stay on the show more than me, her great fan for 40 years! She’s the greatest! But let her do her negotiations in private, like every other performer does.

  21. Years ago on ATWT, Karen Haines blackmailed James Stenbeck into marrying her. Hoping to foil Karen, James unearthed dirt on her, learning that her brother, a school teacher had appeared in a porno movie. James told Karen that if she didn’t back off, he’d go to the school board and spill the garbanzos about her brother.

    Who played Karen’s brother?

    Marlena says: You asked me that question once before, and, dear, I still have no idea. Write me and tell me who it is! Thanks!

  22. Yes you are not alone about item #7. Where was all this attention a year ago, even a couple of months ago? Of course if the stories had been written well then maybe viewers would’ve come. Except for the Otalia story, there’s nothing else in soaps that are like what I grew up with and want to watch….long romance stories that take longer than 6 months with no mob stories and definitely no poorly written cougar stories. I definitely do not get the Blair-Todd-Tea story. Both Blair and Tea are strong, independent women. They should be working together not fighting over the scraps known as Todd. Besides the long arc romance stories, where are the strong women friendships? I want to be entertained in a slow angst filled way, not attacked by some short music video-type story thing.

  23. I so agree with you… I am loving New Adam & Destiny.

  24. Per your comments regarding Robin Strasser’s contract negotiations, I have to disagree strongly. In the first place, who goes into a performance appraisal or a salary negotiation with any purpose in mind other than to maximize their salary? All of us want to feel valued by our employers and while strokes and pats on the back are nice, we generally find our value is best expressed by the size of our paycheck. It’s business. I’m not sure if it’s the wisest negotiating tactic to open your salary issues up for discussion among the fans, but smart business people try to create leverage where they can and only time will tell if this tactic was effective. The proof will be in the pudding so to speak. Secondly, Robin Strasser’s generosity for and dedication to those less fortunate than she (Hurricane Katrina victims for one) is well known. She’s raised thousands of dollars for charitable causes. She objected when she found that 0% of the proceeds from the fan club luncheon went to charity. In no way can she be accused of being calloused or insensitive to the needs of others.

    Per Kassie de Paiva’s interview with Damon, there is no fiercer or more passionate advocate for their character and for the soap genre than Robin Strasser, and I for one applaude her courage in standing up for herself as well as other soap veterans. OLTL is being destroyed (for this viewer) by the seemingly endless flood of new characters that the audience doesn’t care about while the characters we’ve loved for years are being sidelined and not written for. I am grateful to Robin for taking a stand.

    Marlena says: Is this the same Trudi who won our Peter Bartlett contest???

  25. Marlena, I with you that I love Shenell Edmunds as Destiny. She is just a refreshing change from the same old actors that the show keeps bringing that does nothing for the audience. I like her a lot and tiic better keep her around for a long time.

    PS. I don’t think that Robin is asking for much but is demanding why she have to take an already 63% decrease in pay when Steve Burton and Co are demanding that they are not taking a pay cut? I don’t blame Robin for being vocal and demand equal rights for women in this business.

  26. I cannot truly express how disgusted I am over the “women fight over the serial rapist” plot with Blair/Todd/Tea. How either of these women could want such an abusive, misogynist cretin defies my imagination. And Rex hasn’t been much better what with not only his repeatedly calling Gigi a ‘slut’ but his teaching his ten-year-old son to call his own mother a slut. (I can’t wait for Gigi to dump Rex as he should be dumped. She’s more watchable with Schuyler anyway).

    On the bright side, I’m loving the way that the Kyle/Fish story is developing and I still enjoy Jess/Brody, so there are still things on OLTL that I enjoy.

    Marlena says: Isn’t it interesting that OLTL is developing a very well written and acted gay love story (Fish and Kyle) at the same time Todd the rapist is becoming even even more of contested love interest for Blair and Tea and their have been two catfights on the show in one week (Gigi and Stacy/the Blair and Tea slap)?

  27. Jennifer says:

    Hello, Marlena

    Another great column.

    While I understand where you are coming from in regard to Robin Strasser, I must say, as a person with layoffs in the family and threats to my income of a 10% salary decrease, I am not offended with Robin’s comments about her contract and lack of negotiation. I recognize this is purely selfish on my part. If she leaves OLTL, my soap viewing will cease. I will not watch without Robin Strasser’s Dorian. I have quit all the other shows I used to find great escape and entertainment.

    I find it very disheartening that sexism and ageism is so blatant on the shows and behind the scenes. What has OLTL been about to me lately-women chasing worthless men and boring teens. Todd has Marty, Blair, Tea falling at his rapist feet. Rex has two insipid sisters vying for his hand. John has all the women glowing in his presence. The rest of the time is devoted to dull teenagers and their sex lives. Dorian and Viki are on maybe once a week for about five minutes.

    With all of this lack of quality on the screen in the form of bad writing and many times, questionable acting, the males stars of ABCD get contracts tended to and top stories, while constant new, young characters flood the shows. As a viewer I want the same treatment for my favorite.

    What insults me as a viewer is the writers and producers from Ron Carlivati’s lack of interest in giving Dorian (and her fans) real and quality story, to Brian Frons thinking he can train me to watch any circus act.

    I hope the show recognizes how important Ms. Strasser is to the show and to the viewers, but I do not have much faith.

    I hope you are enjoying your summer and thanks for your thoughtful columns.

  28. Marlena,

    I’m honored to be quoted.

    This week, I was disgusted with OLTL’s Tea and Blair fight over Todd. Just vomit worthy demeaning of two strong female characters. Are there any women writers on this show?

    Trevor St. John is a great actor. I love him. But I just don’t get why OLTL can’t give Todd some kind of kick in the guts. After all of the horror he inflicted on Starr and Marty, how can these two women go after Todd? Wasn’t Tea there to help Blair fight for custody of her children? Didn’t Blair marry John to protect her kids from Todd?

    I just don’t understand this?

    A few years ago, Todd was raped by the evil Margaret. This on top of the rape by his father as a child. We thought Todd had suffered by being on death row and was making his way to being a better person.

    Boy! Were we wrong!! This guy’s a psychopath. He beat a teenager savagely. Kidnapped his rape victim and allowed her to fall in love with him. Caused his daughter to fall down a flight of stairs. Kept quiet about one of his niece’s kidnapping another.

    How many women and girls watch OLTL and learn that it’s acceptable to take back an abusive spouse because he’s sexy and rich? The number one cause of pregnant women is supposedly homicide/murder by their child’s father. Hello, Todd Manning!

    Marlena says: Well, you all know I have been campaigning against the sexism on OLTL for at least a year know. But the situation with Todd now–fought over by Tea and Blair AGAIN, complete with slaps, is beyond nauseating! I have never been a Todd fan–ever! And I am always completely puzzled why he has been written as more and more of a “catch” over the years.

    I know a lot of people like Trevor St. John, but I think he is a very, very strange (and sometimes lazy) actor. I recognize that he is attractive—but not attractive enough for the women characters on the show to suddenly get amnesia about how many times Todd has punched or raped or otherwise abused them. Now both Blair and Tea are involved with him again (okay, to different degrees.) In it was real life, no woman, make that no human being, would ever come near him again after what he has done.

  29. Marlena, I do agree on this constant whining about pay cutting. So, ok the big time actors don’t want to do the pay cut. Well, guess what your big salaries + poor ratings=cancellation. These veterans are great at their craft but at their daytime craft. You are more than likely not going to see them beyond daytime tv. I am not slamming their acting abilities at all. Robin is a dynamic actress but you are still in 6 figures.

    I am glad 60 Minutes covered the Bauer Barbecue but it was ashame GL never got a full magazine cover hardly in the last 10 years. I saved a lot of them but they didnt create a huge pile. GL maybe got a solo cover once every 4 or 5 months it seemed in the past 5 or 6 years. It seems like if you aren’t Y&R or DAYS you don’t get a cover.

    I saw the Purple Heart scene and I could understand why he would want to burn his fathers items. Now I am politically liberal, but it hits some taboo ground with the Purple Heart burning. Noah could have returned it to Wash D.C. or maybe send it to a relative.

    I don’t watch ATWT all the time, but I think Hunter kissed Emily and Ali before he found out Emily was his mom if I am correct. Wow, Jerry Springer would have had a field day with that clan.

    And on a final note, the GL finale I am going to thank positive. I am not going to curse CBS or say obscenities to Ellen Wheeler. What’s done is done. Just please make the ending of this grand show one to be proud of. I am encouraged to see all the wonderful veterans coming back to wrap up their characters.

    I am going to be looking for the Web Series Venice that Crystal Chappell is starting for sure.

    Marlena says: Thanks Levi for your astute comments. I haven’t edited a soap magazine in years, but I remember that the rule is the cover sells the magazine. So I can understand why soap magazines put the same popular people on the cover time after time. It’s pretty monotonous for loyal fans though.

  30. Hello…alright, I just found this site…I loved reading through all of your observations.
    What prompted me to comment was your question at the end of #9 “Isn’t it great to see Ed Frye (Larry, Hunter’s father) again and remind ourselves what truly skilled actor he is! Anyone remember him on Another World?”

    I do remember Adam Cory!!! As a matter-of-fact, I remember that character everyday! My son was born in 1989 and I named him Adam Corey after him. I changed the spelling with an E to make it a little his own but, I know where his name came from!!

    Thanks for the fun read!!

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