Before I begin, I would like to thank Liz Masters for filling in for me while I was away. I was unable to watch the show for 2 weeks, so writing a column was out of the question! I hope she will consider writing again in the future!
I also want to congratulate everyone at One Life to Live for the exciting night the show had at the Daytime Emmys! The directing team and the writing team both deserved their awards, and I am glad they are being recognized for turning this show around. My biggest gripe with the Daytime Emmys is that the cast of One Life to Live tends to be overlooked. There are so many terrific actors on soap operas, and it seems like the same five or six people are nominated every year. One Life to Live has a talented, strong cast, and I wish the nominations would reflect that. I am glad One Life to Live was recognized the areas that it was, but hopefully the actors get some recognition next year! It was a great night for One Life to Live in spite of the lack of acting nominations, and if the show continues on its current path, the Emmys could be even more exciting next year!
Moving on to what has been happening on the show, I missed a lot in the 2 weeks I was away, especially when it comes to the family Buchanan. Jared's fraud was finally exposed, Nash died in a dramatic way, and the Buchanan family was shaken up by Dorian. The Buchanans have been battling business enemies for months not knowing that Dorian was behind every single one. When she took over the company, the Buchanans were floored. Dorian wasted no time when she took possession of the building and renamed the company Cramer Enterprises. She looked incredibly smug sitting behind Clint's former desk, and she couldn't wait to have Clint, Bo, and Nora escorted out of the building by security. Dorian had everything in order and managed to pull all of this off, which is unlike her. It seems like Dorian has had the last laugh for now, but somehow I think this will backfire. Most of her schemes do at some point! Dorian tends to underestimate people, and I don't think she knows how powerful they can be when they set their minds to it. We have seen the darker side of Clint, and Dorian knows how to bring that side out tenfold. Dorian might have won for now, but I have a feeling that a security guard will be escorting her out of the building! I bet that Dorian will end up making a bad business decision that leaves the door open for the Buchanans to get their company back. Dorian might be a schemer at heart, but she doesn't have the business acumen to run the company flawlessly. She also doesn't know that Clint and Bo now know who the real Buchanan son is. Dorian already offered David a part of her new company, and that might come back to bite her, since she has a weakness when it comes to David. I can see Clint sending David to do his dirty work. While the Buchanans might be surprised by Dorian's tactics, she is predictable to David, and that gives the Buchanans a huge advantage in their fight to win the company back! I think this story will continue to hold my interest. Ron Carlivati handled this in the right way. Instead of boring us with details about business, he had the mastermind behind the downfall of Buchanan Enterprises be a character that has a long, torrid history with the Buchanans. That makes for good drama, and I can't wait to see what happens next!
While Dorian's actions are predictable, I was surprised by Natalie's actions. She has worked hard over the years to feel like a real Buchanan. She felt like an outsider for so long, but now she is willing to sacrifice her place in her family for Jared. What?! It was painful to watch Natalie negotiate with Clint, her own father, to save Jared. It was even worse that she was willing to keep the name of the real Buchanan son to herself if Clint didn't promise not to go after Jared. Does she care about her family at all? She already let an impostor take advantage of her family, and then she wants to keep the real Buchanan a secret. I don't understand Natalie at all these days. I understand how she related with Jared about wanting to be a part of a special family. When Natalie first came to Llanview, she was quite the schemer when it came to the Buchanans. However, it took a long time for her to feel accepted by her new family. I don't understand why she was so willing to go along with Jared's lies, especially when he didn't have any right to say he was a Buchanan. I understand that people do crazy things for love sometimes, but is Jared worth the risk of possibly losing her family? In my opinion, he isn't. I don't see why Natalie and Jared are a great couple. I don't understand how they continued to pine for each other when Natalie learned that Jared was her uncle. I understand that this couple has many fans, but I simply don't see the appeal. However, they might deserve each other after last week. Jared duped the Buchanans, and Natalie thinks he should get away with it, so maybe they are a match made in heaven (or somewhere else). It will be interesting to see where this story goes because it seems like Natalie has been painted into a corner, at least for the time being. She has made herself the outcast of her own family, so what will she and Jared do now? Can Clint and Viki get over what their daughter did? Will Natalie regret her decision to stand by her man? Only time will tell, but I think we are in for quite a story!
The biggest surprise of the week was David and Addie getting married! These two characters quickly became my favorite odd couple since they did yoga a few weeks ago. I didn't think that they would end up as husband and wife after that! I am not sure whose reaction was funnier, Dorian or Blair's! After bragging to the Buchanans about her victory over them, she was stunned speechless when she saw Addie walk into her office in the wedding dress. Dorian looked shocked and a little hurt all at once. She still has hard feelings over being jilted by David at the altar, and she wants to protect Addie from everything. Meanwhile, Blair was ready to kill David, especially after David asked her "Do you want me to adopt you?" These scenes were the best ones the "Cramer Women" have had in a long time. I loved Addie and Blair's conversation about the marriage. Blair assumed that Addie didn't know what she was doing, but Addie had a rationale for her actions. She knows that David doesn't love her and that he likes her money. Addie knows that she has missed out on a lot of things in her life, and she had an opportunity to get married, so she did it. Blair looked surprised that her mother had thought the whole thing through. David didn't take advantage of a crazy lady; he married someone who knew what the deal was at the beginning. I know not everyone likes the idea of David and Addie being married, but I can understand why Addie wants to do as much as she can since she has led such a sheltered life. She has done some wild things since being released from St. Anne's, and marrying David was just another item on her list! David and Addie probably won't stay married for long, but I think the idea was a lot of fun. I think the scenes with Addie, Dorian, and Blair were great because they showed that Addie could be the sanest one of the group!
While Addie and David were ready to celebrate their new marriage, Viki and Charlie struggled with breaking up. I hate the fact that Viki and Charlie's relationship was sacrificed for Jared. I know that Charlie made the choice to lie for Jared, but he and Viki were such a great couple that I almost didn't want the truth about Jared to come out. I loved how David visited Charlie and wanted to know what he was going to do about Viki. David certainly isn't an expert on relationships, but he cares about Viki and wants her to be happy. He gave Charlie the pep talk he needed to face Viki, but Viki beat Charlie to it. Viki looked absolutely inconsolable as she told Charlie they couldn't get back together. She knows that right now, she has to be there for Jessica. Viki's family is shattered right now because of the lies Jared told and because of Nash's death, and she doesn't want to cause more pain for anyone in her family. Charlie understood her rationale but didn't want to accept it. He insisted that they should still be together because they were so happy. For a minute, I thought Charlie had almost convinced Viki, but she remained steadfast with her decision. I think Erika Slezak and Brian Kerwin were phenomenal during their scenes last week. Viki and Charlie's anguish, sadness, and anger over the situation was portrayed so well by both of them. The actors compliment each other very well. I think Viki and Charlie will eventually find their way back to each other, but it's not going to happen in the near future. I don't like seeing Viki mope around and being so sad. She has looked so happy since she returned from Texas, and now she looks even more lost than she did before she went! Ron Carlivati wrote a wonderful story for Viki, and I think he will reunite Viki and Charlie in a way that makes their current situation worth enduring!
Last but not least are the big returns that happened on One Life to Live last week! Susan Haskell and Andrea Evans reprised their roles as Marty and Tina respectively. I have never been a huge fan of Marty as a character, but it was good to see Susan Haskell return after such a long absence. When Marty gets her memory back and realizes who Todd is, I am sure her reaction will be memorable. Right now, Todd is the guy that "rescued" her, but she knows she couldn't have liked him when she had her memory. She is being forced to trust him for now, but when she remembers her history with Todd, he will be in for quite a fight! Todd and Marty have been entangled in each other's lives for years, even though they don't like each other. This latest chapter of their story could be quite interesting. I hope this part of the story doesn't last too long. I don't want to see Marty without her memory for months and months. It's okay to start her story that way, but that will get old very fast! Since the show has been moving at a fast pace lately, I think Marty's story will move at a good pace too.
As for the return of Tina, I wasn't watching One Life to Live when Andrea Evans played Tina the first time. I vaguely remember another actress playing the character, but it didn't leave a big impression on me. However, I can tell that Tina is a force to be reckoned with, and she is quite funny! The minute she revealed that her dog was named "David Vickers," I instantly liked her. She has gotten herself into quite the predicament with trying to steal the jewels and being on the run from Jonas. This story has the potential to be a lot of fun! It was also good to see her reconnect with Sarah. I haven't felt like this version of Sarah is Sarah Buchanan. She could be any random person named Sarah with the way she's been written. Seeing her interact with Tina makes Sarah more like Sarah! I hope that we get to see some flashbacks of Tina when she was on the show the first time. That would help viewers like me get to know her better, and I am sure longtime fans of Tina would enjoy the walk down memory lane too! From what I've read, Tina will be a big part of the 40th anniversary shows in July, so I am excited to see what Tina is all about now that she is back!
Until next time,
Dawn
