All My Children/One Life To Live online (cast info, discussion, etc)- Page 7

[StockardFan]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 10:38pm

I thought Brody was at St. Anne's? I don't know what happened to Jess. She was with Bobby Ford at the end right - until he had a chandelier squash him.

As far as Nat and Cutter, that's sort of what I mean. It seemed like she doesn't like him so why was she all dancing up on top of him? Granted I watched at about 7 this morning and wasn't quite awake yet, so I probably should watch it again.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/30/13 at 12:04am

Brody had some excuse about how he was going away I think to sorta finbd his life again though his final scene with Jessica implied they might get back together. She's not at St Anne's--I'm sure we'll hear sometime this week where she is. Yeah Ford was killed (yaye!) and had some weird scene where in Heaven or something they had to choose between bringing him or Matthew back.

LOL I think she danced just cuz he started... I mean sorta as a challenge--but I assume it's going to lead to some sort of "I hate you but we are so attracted we keep on having sex" type of relationship/.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/30/13 at 11:26am

I loved both new episodes this morning. OLTL is just so good! When Victor punched Todd I was screaming and clapping. I hope they let Tea just sucker punch Todd in the jaw too. (I think my roommate hopes that I stop waking up at 5am to watch these :/)

Why did AJ perform a strip show when Brooke was in the room? Did he except her to pick up his clothes and put them in the hamper? It didn't take long for Pete to lose his shirt either.

Glad Eden is back and already redeeming herself for her time on Y&R. That conversation about One Direction was too funny.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 4/30/13 at 4:43pm

Whizzer my son takes off his soccer stuff right in the living room and drops in on the floor and leaves it there too. Of course, he's 9. Glad to know that will still be going on when he's in HS.

When Jack hugged Victor I actually got tears in my eyes. I hope they explain where he's been for a year.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/30/13 at 8:04pm

Stockard- I'm glad to know that there's some basis in reality with AJ's strip down today!! :)

I teared up too when Jack hugged Victor. It caught me off guard, but I think it's because the writing and performances have made us care so much.

Blair, Tea, Todd, Victor, Jack, Dani, Starr, Viki- They feel like an honest to goodness family. As much as some people ridicule soap writing and acting, I think their portrayals are truer than most cable programming.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/30/13 at 10:08pm

I only watched Chapter 1, Part 1. They spent a LOT of time showing white people dancing. Also, the liberal use of the s-word (five times!) made it plain to me that this was not the soap opera my grandmother introduced to me in 1971 with a complete recap on a rainy vacation day.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 6:14am

I'm not sure if it has to do with the people I hang out with, or the amount of time I watch cable tv, or what, but I've barely noticed the swearing (both shows have used asshole and the s word, but Florenzia, who plays Tea said they edited out some adlibbed f words of hers, so it looks like they're going for a basic cable level--which is how it airs here in Canada. So I guess in theory that means anything American Horror Story or, on the tamer side, Mad Men can get away with--both only having rear nudity and drawing the line at using the F word which I guess on premium cable can do.)

Some One Life fans are complaining that the pace is *too* fast. It's true that on the network One Life, Victor wouldn't have revealed himself within two days, he would be shown skulking in the shadows for months. But I kinda like the pace--it feels refreshing, and I like that they're moving on with the story.

I also like that on One Life David, at least today, was shown to not be a total clown, the way he has been shown on the network version for far toolong. If anything he actually seemed to make more sense than Dorian, when talking her down--and I appreciate that her scandal has some reality in real politics--which is again, pretty rare. They have claimed for both shows that they are going to--slightly--tone down some of the soap cliche angles (back from the dead, who's the daddy, etc, stories) and that looks like it may be true.

I also am interested to see how Victor and Todd tie into this weird celtic tattoo cult-seeming thing. I know the headwriter is known for doing complex stories like this--and did one involving an Irish gang in the 90s that I loved, so...

I was sad to read on her facebook that One Life's head writer Susie Bedsow Horgan has said due to a family health issue she's had to leave One Life already, though she hopes to be back--as I loved her work on the show in the 90s (my favorite era) and she seemed to be bringing that back--the show still has fun and comedy but feels like the stakes are more real than the campy show it was its last few years--as much as I enjoyed that. But she's done the story outlines for the next 6 months and her co-headwriter Thoma Racina is sticking around, so it should be fine.

All My Children is off to a shakier start, IMHO, though I like the emphasis right now on friendships (with old and new characters) and how brilliant it is to see characters back (and I'm kinda worried that they don't make this Cassandra story too hard to watch--the shot of her handcuffed to a bed upset me more than I expected--those poor Hubbards can not catch a break.)

Part of that is due to the fact that One Life is going gangbusters with story that has at least partially already been setup whereas All My Childen right now is very exposition heavy introducing the new characters and filling in the past five years (how great to see the original Bianca back though--she wasn't in the credits but I hope she sticks around, at least till Erica returns.)

All My Children also only had two weeks of writing and setup before they had to start filming--unlike One Life's two months so it's understandable I suppose.

The young cast are a bit green though I like AJ and Miranda (though that Disney sitcom guitar riff they play whenever it cuts to a teen scene has *got to go*--whose idea was that.) And I like the slow reveal of what happened in the cliffhanger and how devestated characters still are--and how grat to have Joe, who I think is 87 back.

I love Francesca James as Evelyn the boarding school dorm mother--but not sure about Celia, though she's green and I hope will improve. Still, All My Children always has a history of doing these almost oddly Victorian gothic storylines--including famously Palmer's first daughter Ninan who he had basically locked away--and I have a soft spot for them, so I'm interested to see it play out.

I've had to avoid the soap forum if I'm up past 1 am my time because people there immediately watch the episode online--and I can't until it airs here on TV in the morning.

And well said Whizzer. I honestly think for most long term soap fans the true appeal is sorta a sense of family or community--the crazy story twists and all that are the hook, but not really the anchor.

Oh one more random--I actually really like the 30 minute format. As hasbeen said, it's only 11-12 minutes shorter--when commercials are removed--from the hour network soaps, but it does make everything, at least to me, feel fresher as does the purposeful lack of trying to get rid of most of that annoying soap trope--recap dialogue.

(And Namo I envy you getting to watch 1971 One Life--an era I've only read about since all the tapes back then were destroyed--with your grandma :) )

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 9:33am

I have always maintained that half-hour soaps make more sense. I remember the day One Life and GH expanded to 45 minutes each and it was so novel and exciting. But for me the hour length was too much. I never could understand why they complained about the shows being too expensive without thinking about cutting the in half.

[suestorm]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:56am

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:59am

Although I think the OLTL opening credits are a little off, (the music is just too day-before-yesterday), I kind of like how low-budget they look. I always thought some smart producer would do a soap that threw back to the earliest days, just telling a story with a kitchen table in front of a black curtain in a studio. I don't know why they thought they had to maintain hyper-realism and big tech budgets.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:59am

Were there stalkers in these shows? Seems like there's one here.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 11:18am

Usually!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 11:18am

God I love OLTL.

Dani screaming when Victor walked in the room.

Todd: One reporter to another, didn't it feel good to slash Dorian's jugular like that?
Viki: Did you just actually say you were a reporter?

Sam is back (and not aged!): Dorian, wanna play Angry Birds?

Viki: I guess I see the light now. It really is all about the internet!

Blair has always looked good, but in those gray pants, damn.

Loved the scene between Nora and Matthew.

Tuc telling Dorian to be on Anderson Cooper, and then her repeating his name three times. It was like the scene in Smash where they wouldn't stop saying Lea Michele.

This Dani/Todd stuff is good too.

It's a joy to have this show back.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 6:20pm

Agnes Nixon was really against the idea of expanding AMC and One Life longer than 30 minutes, and the actors were too (many initially quit when it was done.) When she sold both shows to ABC she agreed to the transition, though in trade ABC had to agree to save and archive every episode on the then expensive VHS. (OLTL only went to 45 mins--as you mention--to save GH which was so low rated at the time, they thought if they could get the higher rated OLTL to air first for 45 mins and then GH, people would keep watching due to the rival programming already being 15 mins in. Of course then Gloria Monty came in and saved GH by changing production to a more primetime technique with quick cuts and filming out of order--and the outlandish comic book storylines that got so many viewers.)

Bill Bell also really resisted moving Y&R to an hour. And I can see why--like you say Namo. It did allow some longer scenes where things could really be played out (although those are almost all gone now,) but otherwise usually just meant a lot more padding. Another World, the soap that created the hour format, for a few years was 90 mins (!) which nearly killed it production and ratings wise.

The reason though that networks prefered them is it's (apparently) still much cheaper to pay for one show in an hour block, than production on two shows in an hour block. I think I read that expanding a soap to an hour raised the soap's price by 50%, compared to another 100% for a half hour. But really in the current market it makes sense--instead of cancelling two hour soaps and replacing them with hour long flop "infotainment" cheapie programs, they prob would have benefitted more from making them both 30 mins and then doing just one infotainment replacement.

It also makes international sales easier--one reason that Bold and the Beatufiul is the most watched scripted program in the world is because it's 30 minutes long (and that's a reason they've never expanded it)--and even Agnes Nixon's flop third soap creation, Loving (which I, of course, loved...) was for most of its life the second most viewed internationally American soap, which is why it stuck around for nearly 15 years.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 7:01pm

Zach just said "holy $hit"

[StockardFan]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 7:35pm

Namo, today's show didn't show any scenes in the club at all. I think that was just a way to get everyone in the same place for the first show.

Jane, I haven't seen today's AMC yet. I'm glad we get to see more Zach.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 9:17pm

I loved "Loving" and especially "The City."

[StockardFan]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 9:31pm

I remember Loving, but it wasn't one that I watched very often.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 9:52pm

Namo are you calling Snoop Dogg's music dated? :P I'm growing into both theme songs, but it may just be because I've watched them more now (the OLTL one does sound dated by about ten years.) But absolutely--sets, etc, don't matter nearly as much as decent acting and compelling writing, and soaps often now forget that that was their appeal--they don't need to compete with primetime and movies because they fit into a different slot.

Loving never really found its tone I guess--Agnes Nixon apparently wanted to do a low key 70s style soap--just as soaps were getting all Dallas and Dynasty influenced (suddenly every small town had three huge international corporations, billionaires, etc...) and though she kept ownership of it for its run, and returned a few times as headwriter, it kept trying things that didn't stick. The Loving Murders that killed off much of the cast to move into The City were the best murder mystery I've seen on a soap--mainly because anyone was fair game.

But I loved it--and I *loved* The City, which really found its way just as it was ending. I still have the last six months on video tape in a box somewhere--I'd rush home at lunch and record because back then I thought it would just completely disappear after cancelation. I know it's cheezy to say "ahead of its time" but I think it really was--it suffered because apparently it was expensive to film, ABC still gave it that 11:30am death timeslot that Loving had which prob was too early to appeal to the youth crowd they wanted (Agnes Nixon apparently wanted them to sandwich it between AMC and One Life which probably would have helped gain some viewers.) Its last few months in my market it aired at 12:30am, and I would watch before sleeping, where it actually would have played better I think if they were trying to get a younger soap audience (It's interesting that the storyline on this AMC reboot that I'm worried about how it will be handled--Angie's daughter Cassandra seemingly in some sort of sex slave ring--is based on a character who barely was mentioned when Angie returned to AMC--but who she adopted, with Jesse lookalike Jacob, on The City--I always sorta assume the writers just will forget what characters do when they cross over to other soaps.)

Stockard I think the nightclub will become a major scene for One Life--while they are re-using (with different "dressings") many of the same sets for both shows, the nightclub is the one permanent set that they put a lot of money into. I will admit it looked more like a nightclub than any other one I've seen on a soap (where usually there are a few extras, quiet generic music, and way too much full on lighting.)

AMC was stronger today, I think and is starting to gell. Once they finally go into what happened in the shooting cliffhanger from the old series, I think it'll come together more. Petey's pretty and obviously was hired for his looks and body (which is hardly new when casting young leads in soaps), and not as awful as some young actors I've seen on soaps, but I wish someone would tell him not to gesture with his arms whenever delivering a line. But I know they really rushed to film these first weeks, so maybe it'll come together (apparently AMC and OLTL do actually now do full rehearsals--something the network soaps stopped doing for budget reasons over ten years ago...) Still, I'm easy to please--show me a scene of Brooke rolling her eyes at Opal and I'm theirs.

One Life was very strong, and I think this shows what was missing from Ron Carlivati's One Life of the past five years. Susie B-H who is writing the show wrote a lot of the material with Todd when he was introduced--as well as with David and Blair--and while her show always had humour, it also had a lot of heart, and as silly as the plots could be, the stakes seemed real. It helps that with both shows now, and maybe this is just product placement--at least partially--they actually refer to things like Facebook or people like Anderson Cooper and not made up references like "MyFace.com." For some reason soaps stopped doing that in the late 90s--at least from my experience watching them, and it may have been financial reasons--whereas now with being online based they want the money, or worried network execs are now not involved.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:03pm

And one less ramble--for now :P I thought One Life did a great job of acknowledging today all that had happened to its characters over at GH the past year, without obsessing over it. Using what happened there to explain some of Dani's behaviour (even the Thomas/Alcazar stuff that the lawsuit goes on about) was pretty brilliant writing. I assume this stuff was written and filmed before the inane law suit came about and in a few weeks they won't be allowed to mention anything directly related will not be allowed to be mentioned, like it isn't on GH, but good on them for handling it to their advantage at this point.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:13pm

Best OLTL episode yet. (Yeah of 3...). Writing crisper, scenes actually get to the point and end. None of those draggy scenes that last the whole episode of 2 people talking about what they said twenty minutes ago.

Off to a good start.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:16pm

Eric, I had to laugh when Petey was shirtless and left the room with a whole platter of brownies, and 5 minutes later Opal was holding an empty brownie platter. I thought "his abs aren't going to look like that for long if he keeps eating entire platters of brownies!"

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:30pm

Playbillysaid: "None of those draggy scenes that last the whole episode of 2 people talking about what they said twenty minutes ago. "

I think this has been the biggest gain of the new format--for both shows, but particular OLTL. I was worried that it would mean too many quick cuts--but while OLTL was known for short, fast scenes its last few network years they tended to just be choppy (ie scene A for 30 seconds, scene B for 30, back to scene A for 30, etc.) This time the point is clearly made and it's not just dialogue that goes in a circle to stretch it out. The last three days, especially Victor's appearance, would have taken 2 months in the old format. And while I love that daytime soaps can do that and have the format to play out all the story beats, too often it is simply lazy writing with cliffhangers that turn out to be false and endless, etc.

And really great dialogue--today's script was from a writer who hasn't been on the show since 1994 (around my fave era as a viewer, when the dialogue eclipsed any other soap)--I hope he's part of the regular team. I know in general these online soaps have much smaller writing teams (plus scripts don't have to go by network and advertiser approval) so I think that's a plus.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:35pm

"Eric, I had to laugh when Petey was shirtless and left the room with a whole platter of brownies, and 5 minutes later Opal was holding an empty brownie platter. I thought "his abs aren't going to look like that for long if he keeps eating entire platters of brownies!""

My mom actually talked to me after she watched that and commented on it (she's watched AMC fairly regularly once I got her into it when I was a teen.) I think she found it even odder that his mom would stand talking to him shirtless for so long--but yeah, I thought more about the brownies, and how he so didn't eat them. (It reminded me of how in past years they would have Kendall and Greenlee talking about amazing muffins and then you'd see them taking tiny little bits with their hands and nibbling at them.)

I'm a soap opera geek and am used to the gratuitous displays of male torsos (and to a lesser extent female) but AMC has always had a rep for doing that far less than other shows--the last few years of One Life (with those horrid Ford Brothers) and particularly the uber cheesy NBC soaps Days of our Lives and Passions use any excuse to have guys shirtless ("We were just outside all playing basketball, that's why we'll do the next few days in just gym shorts"), but I get why they're doing it more with AMC online--and it's not that I mind, although I would rather see a few soap stars who haven't just completely waxed every inch of their body, but that's just a personal thing :P

[StockardFan]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 10:46pm

That's sort of why I like seeing Todd shirtless. He looks good, but he's not a totally waxed body builder type. Still has a little hair on his chest, which is more realistic. The only guy I ever knew that shaved his chest was a body builder.