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One Life To Live Discussion Group
First, I want to apologize that this post is long and that it does have significantly more to do with General Hospital...though I do discuss Todd, Marty and Powell Lord. ... I posted this there originally because I wanted to post my opinion on GH''s ongoing ''Kristina/Keefer'' SL...but then, the more I started writing about those two, the more it got me thinking about ALL Soaps and their history of handling certain 'types' of storylines and I wanted to share it here with my OLTL friends also because I became interested in yall's view. So...Here it is:
Thanks for letting me share my opinion. If you'd like to read just my review of the Kristina/Keefer SL, just scroll down a good ways...The first part will be about the General History of Soaps and its handling with 'Sensitive' Storylines along with a few examples I listed and my thoughts on them - Your thoughts are really appreciated.
My thing is, I just do not quite know how to feel about it. It's like with any 'Controversial' SL where you just hope that, if its going to be sensationalistic or offensive, that it is at the very least used to promote awareness of an important issue in a positive way.
I have seen Soaps usually fail at this.
On Young and The Restless that one dumb, annoying girl (I'm sorry, I honestly can't place her name) got Cancer and like 2 days later was singing and dancing.
That show also tried to do a 'Altzheimers/Dementia' Storyline with The Duchess, Katherine Chancellor. They used it as a plot-device and never referenced it again (that *I* saw) after she was rescued from being kidnapped.
Days Of Our Lives has this BOMBSHELL named Chloe and they gave her Cancer. I swear that during Chemo Treatments she looked like Miss America. Then she slept with her doctor. ... Sooo insulting and unreal (yes, I know its a Soap).
Now, I would like to say that I HAVE seen Soaps handle Intense Storylines well - though rarely.
On DOOL, 3 years ago, Hope Williams and Bo Brady lost their 4 year-old son Zach in a car accident. There was no mistrake, no return from the dead etc etc...
Bo and Hope still talk about Zack and the night he died all the time. They still suffer from trust issues in their marriage because of events leading to Zack's death. Its still quite powerful.
On AMC, I thought Bianca's rape at the hands of Zach Slater's father (I'm sorry, i honestly can't remember his name either - Max? Ritchie?) were gut-wrenching.
Also, Dr Marty Saybrookes rape on OLTL at the hands of Powell Lord and Todd Manning still affects all their lives and it occurred in the early 90s.
Now...Keefer...Kristina and Abusive Relationships
I originally had high hopes for this. I have an ex-gf who im still very close to that was physically abused by one of HER ex bfs and I have a sister that has dealt with it...So Im sensitive going in, but, It had possibilities.
It did a nice job early on showing the early warning signs...Keefer's charm, his insistence on getting his own way...seemingly-innocent shoves or grabs of her arm....
It was obvious the writers had NO idea who they wanted Kristina to be early on...Remember tat they had her (At 15) strip down to her underwear and do a Lolita deal for Jason...then they made her ''The Brain''...except that was Molly's deal...Then she was The Rebel...I do not know the name of the young actress who plays the role of Kristina but I hope the fact that she has been all over the map is a result of maybe the writers seeing what they had and deciding to keep her longterm when it hadn't been the original plan so now they are scrambling to define her...
I like the actor that plays Keefer. Hes doing a good job. He made me REALLY HATE Keefer when he ditched Kristina right after getting what he wanted finally - what a scum bag.
But...now, all the promise seems to have been allowed to waste its way into typical soap nonsense.
You know, in real life, adults - even those of us so 'busy' with out 'lives' - still really DO notice little things...The fact that only Michael and his half of a brain get a bad vibe off this Keefer fellow is preposterous...All the adults adore him. Yes, Keefer is good and charming - hes not THAT charming!
Oh well, at least this Keefer/Kristina SL gave us some good insight into the Alexis-SAM relationship and all the damage that still lingers between them.
I don't know. Seems like it should be more...Maybe Its still too early to tell?
Thoughts?
Chris/PT
I also remember that earlier on it was ironically the evening comedy parody, ''Soap'' that featured a gay character in one of the main families and despite the laughs they got from it, there were also some very poignant moments, especially from Billy Crystal who played the gay brother.
The Todd/ Marty rape story as a single episode was really intense and very well done all around. It was for me anyway, a very honest telling of a violent act. I think it was one of the best episodes of its kind I have ever seen anywhere, let alone on a soap.
Another really well told story and very intense, but honest in its telling for the most part was Megan's death.
It was Michael Cambias that raped Bianca. He was Zach's brother. Alex Cambias is the father. Slater is an alias I believe.
As For the Todd issue. Todd Manning was never supposed to be on canvas this long. Todd was Frat boy 1 he was supposed to have lead the gang rape on the young woman who was causing trouble in llainview to redeem HER. That was his sole purpose. What happened next shocked everyone. They switched gears & instead of Powell Lord, the guy who was disgusted with himself for going along with Todd & Zach, who came forward, plead guilty & apologized to Marty became the hospital rapist pretending to be Todd. All because the viewers didn't want him we wanted Roger & Todd & the rest is history. BUT, as long as RH was Todd he was never going to be redeemed fully. He would stay on the canvas only if they didn't make him a romantic lead. What has happened to the character should never have happened he should have been killed off, never recasted. Todd & how he is seen is all due to what fans want. TSJ fans most of them are too young & never saw the dangerous, twisted guy all those yrs ago & they just want to watch Trevor in love scenes, so this is what we get a convicted rapist laughing & calling other characters sex offenders & bouncing from one ex's bed to another. Todd Manning was a one woman man, his ONLY redeeming quality really & now that's been trashed too.
I don't watch all the soaps, so I'm sure I'm leaving a few things out, but here's my recollection of how soaps have dealt with tough issues.
Rape: Marty's Spring Fling rape by Todd and his crew was graphic and wrenching. Unfortunately, many viewers became enamored of Todd and he wound up as one of OLTL's more durable leading men. Twisted, very twisted. I consider Luke and Laura's infamous rape-renamed-as-seduction to be an utter disgrace. All too often, soaps have used the horrible crime of rape as a way to "redeem" female characters who've behaved badly. Offensive beyond belief. To me, one of strongest rape storylines was when Elizabeth was raped on GH, which ultimately caused Lucky to confront his father's past -- very powerful and I applaud the show for having the guts to go there.
Homosexuality: Given all the recent hub-bub on this board, you'd think soaps had never broached the topic before -- wrong! ATWT has Luke and Noah. AMC has Binks, and of course, GL went off the air featuring a very popular female couple. Y&R's Kay Chandler dabbled in lesbianism before the show lost its nerve, and AMC's Devon flirted with bicuriousness with Donna Pescow's character. Shows are becoming bolder but gay characters must still behave in remarkably chaste fashion with actual shows of affection few and far between. I hope this will eventually be remedied. And I have never felt Bianca had a worthy lover. My god, they even stuck her with a guy (Zarf), albeit one who identified as female.
Racism: I wasn't watching OLTL when Carla tried to pass for white, but that sounds like the best race-related storyline because it dealt both with social pressures and an individual's internalized self-hatred. Usually, when soaps try to address racism it's very heavy-handed. ATWT had the guts to have a story involving an interracial couple where one of the show's veteran characters (Lisa) was shown to be uncomfortable about the pairing. Very true to life and a lot more illuminating than something like OLTL's awful OPP (One Pure People) storyline.
Abortion: A very emotional and divisive issue that soaps have been afraid to deal with. How many times have we seen the scene where the heroine goes to the family planning clinic for an abortion only to leave at the last minute, usually when the father shows up to "rescue" her and profess his commitment to his child-to-be. The handful of characters who've actually had abortions have been punished by going crazy (Ashley Y&R) or losing her man (Mimi DOOL). Only AMC's Erica was allowed to have a abortion and survive and thrive like most women do -- until someone got the bright idea to have her aborted fetus show up alive and well and looking for mommy -- I'm still mad about that!
I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of other issues and other shows but these are the ones that come to mind.
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In case you missed it: The possibility of Katherine Chancellor having Alzheimer's or some form of senior dementia was definitely addressed on Y&R. While she was living with Murphy as ''Marge,'' she was eventually seen by a doctor. I believe Amber took her. Since Kay didn't have the resources of her normal wealthy self, there was even something relevant thrown in there about her lack of health insurance, and how her exam was going to be paid for. The diagnosis was that she did not have Alzheimer's. Later when her son, Brock, came to prove who Kay was via another DNA test, he recognized her symptoms as possibly being Lyme Disease. This was then confirmed by another medical exam. Kay started taking the antibiotics, and the mental confusion that she'd been experiencing even before she was in the auto accident with Marge soon stopped. If I had to guess, I'd say, in this case, the writers actually did their homework and came up with some other medical condition in advance where one of the symptoms would be mental confusion. - jmho