The smart person's soap (part one)

November 17, 3:40 AMOne Life to Live ExaminerJennifer Snelling

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the One Life to Live Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

ABC Photo

I recently interviewed "Lisa F." -- a long time One Life to Live viewer, who was willing to provide her sincere and candid thoughts with me about the direction the show has taken, the current storylines, and her favorite and least favorite characters (Dorian and Stacy Morasco, respectively).

We discussed how the show has changed in the years she has been watching, the future of daytime, and the history of Llanview. Lisa had some rather direct advice for the writers, and shared some insightful knowledge, including when the best time to be watching One Life to Live happened!

In part one, I ask her about her sentimental history with the show, why she watches One Life to Live, what will keep her watching and how she feels about the future of the show.

First of all, how long have you been watching OLTL?

Since around 1981.

Do you remember the storyline that was happening when you started watching and what characters were involved?

Dorian and Herb had just gotten married. I became very fascinated by their energy and chemistry, especially with the character of Dorian. She was so cold at times towards Herb, yet her flashes of warmth seemed to be what he lived for. I loved them as a couple. Herb tried so hard to play it strong and cool yet it was clear he was totally weak for her at times; almost obsessed with pleasing her despite her game playing and shady dealings with others in town. She was exotic, angry, energetic, colorful, manipulative, vulnerable, sharp, warm, cruel, sad ---- all at the same time. I have never seen another actress in any entertainment genre pull off what Robin Strasser has done with her portrayal of Dorian. And I watch a lot of art films, old films, TV in general.

Asa and the Buchanans had just gotten to Llanview. Viki was mourning the death of Joe. Karen Wolek was still licking her wounds from being outed as a prostitute. It was a magical time for soaps … and I was just a kid taking it all in!

What has kept you watching since then?

I am tied to the show because I grew up with these characters -- the Lords and Buchanans, especially. I like to call OLTL my "guilty pleasure" nowadays. But Robin Strasser's portrayal of Dorian Lord is what keeps me watching after all this time. 30 years later she still wows me, makes me think and feel; magnetically draws me in to continue to watch this show, even when she is not on.

Do you watch any other soaps?

Not daytime, nope.

When you compare OLTL to other shows -- in daytime or primetime -- what differences spring to mind?

In terms of daytime I have always seen OLTL as the smart person's soap. The comedic puns, the verbal allusions to literature, politics, history, issues of the day, the controversial topics involving class and race; and now gays, the deeply layered characters… The writing at one time was what I thought of as brilliant, at least compared to the other shows. I used to watch All My Children and General Hospital, as well, in college, but OLTL was the only one that stuck. The intricate details given to character-driven story was what I used to love about this show. That seems to be changing, though I still enjoy my show.

As for primetime, I was a big Sopranos fan and now am a big Madmen fan. I enjoy stories that portray characters who you have to think about -- are they good or bad? What are their motives? What makes them tick? Tony Soprano and Don Draper are emblematic of this grey character that I look for in dramatic entertainment. Dorian Lord would be that equivalent on OLTL. A writers dream because there is so much history and so much possibility with these types of characters -- and for Dorian, yes even now there is so much the writers could delve into.

As for other nighttime shows I am not a huge fan of the law, crime, hospital shows that now dominate primetime. Though I do watch Private Practice and Grey's [Anatomy] occasionally, there are no characters on those shows that really draw me in. There are no raw, hard-core dramatic characterizations -- compared to the aforementioned -- on these nighttime shows, yet they are fun to watch occasionally.

Erika Slezak (Viki) has been on One Life to Live around 40 years, and Robert S. Woods (Bo) and Robin Strasser (Dorian) are celebrating 30 years right now. Do you think that viewers -- particularly newer viewers -- are still interested in watching them and other "legacy" characters?

Yes, because these characters are what made this show thrive all these years. Younger, newer viewers are going to be interested in watching these characters if they are written with nuance and care. Writers can show the newer viewers what these characters have been through. Have them take an interest in the history of these legacy characters by mentioning their past husbands, wives, relationships, children, et cetera, and tying in stories that bring back these core characters and their families to the center of the show. The Lords (Viki), the Buchanans (Bo), and the Cramers (Dorian) should be the center of this show. Every storyline should branch from one of these families and connect to the other families in some way. Soap families dealing with life's tragedies and harsh realities, triumphs, loves, losses, deaths....

What do you think that "the powers that be" need to do to keep you watching or to get ratings up?

They need to focus on the roots of OLTL. Lots of viewers who watched in the 1980s still watch today and I think TPTB need to focus on listening to what these loyal, old school viewers want. TPTB need to stop trying to please a younger, hipper audience. That doesn't mean we can't have intergenerational storytelling, because we should. But the respect to the veteran actors and legacy characters needs to be visible and felt by the viewer.

Honestly, no matter how old you are or how new of a viewer you are, do you want to see pretty-face, stripper Stacy with no talent on your TV screen? Or do you want to see multi-faceted, dark, conflicted Dorian on your TV screen? Seriously? I think a lot of people will vote for the latter, whether they are 25 or 75.

TPTB need to stop trying to please the new vapid culture climate of the hair model. Soap viewers are different. For a lot of us, it has never been about looks alone. We take our shows seriously and want to see genuine, riveting, scripted drama driving our favorite characters through love and loss. TPTB also need to return to real romance. Future storylines should focus on classic love stories at their core, while the drama circulates and keeps things interesting. Stop trying to please the "shock and awe" mentality. Give us classic soap opera with a twist but don't try to shock us by constant over-the-top storylines that almost always disappoint lately. Take these shows seriously, writers, and show us that you do ... because we viewers do.

When you hear rumors that OLTL might be cancelled in 2010 and replaced with a daytime talk show, how do you feel?

I feel sad that the daytime genre seems to be on the verge of dying out. I feel empathetic for all the many, many people both on and behind the scenes who will be out of work if OLTL is cancelled. I also feel angry that talk shows and reality shows have taken over our TV sets. And lastly I feel [angry] that TPTB haven't listened to the viewers or succeeded in making OLTL right again. Not yet anyway. Sometimes there are glimpses that they are getting there, but then we're back to a week of nothing but Stacy Morasco and I lose hope again.

Stay tuned for part two of my interview with Lisa F.