One Life to Live

Quote of the Day

I really liked this monologue from the penultimate episode of One Life to Live. It really showcases how, love them or hate them, (and regardless of your feelings on what they’ve done to story lines and characters), the writers really “get” their viewers. They understand why we watch soaps, our connection to the cast and characters, the history, and our sorrow at show’s end.

The fans are so loyal, so passionate, so invested in their stories. I always ask how they started watching “Fraternity Row.” Some of them were stay-at-home mothers taking a break before their children came home from school. Others were college students with free time between classes. Many of them inherited a love of the show from their parents or their grandparents, who were longtime fans themselves. I remember the first time I tuned in to “Fraternity Row.” I was hooked instantly. I needed to know what would happen next to these fascinating people. Would the hero and heroine find their way back to true love? Would the villains get their comeuppance? Or would their crimes go unpunished? Would loving families overcome their obstacles or would their troubles prove too difficult to surmount? Ultimately, that’s what soap opera is about — families. Close families. Rival families. Even families that are unexpected. Or the ones we choose for ourselves. And when a show is lucky enough to be on the air as long as “Fraternity Row” has been on, these families become extensions of our own. The audience might be upset when a favorite actor leaves… but they’re always willing to welcome a new one, even when that new cast member is quite different than the one being replaced. After all, this is a place where people come back from the dead, go off to grade school in the morning and come home from high school in the afternoon. Because for every new face, every new couple, every new family, there are long-familiar faces… some who have grown up before our very eyes and a few more we hope to watch grow up. We know them so well. They’ve become our friends. We yearn for their happiness, especially when it’s hard-won. We laugh as they laugh. We cry as they cry. And we can’t imagine doing without them. And when things are at their very worst on the show, that’s when we seem to enjoy them the most. There’s just one thing we have to do to keep them in our lives. Tune in tomorrow. Erika Slezak as Victoria Lord on One Life to Live

OK, I’m done writing about soaps now. Hopefully my use of the word “penultimate” makes up for my shallowness in caring about this particular genre of television, and my sorrow at its demise!

The Best Ending I Could Never Have Expected

So, the final episode of One Life to Live aired yesterday. I have mentioned before that one of my guilty pleasures for the last almost nine years has been this soap opera. So, I’m unashamed to admit that I watched, and cried, (kind of a lot, but I blame that on the pregnancy).

There were many unexpected elements of the finale, and while I hate that the show had to end, and I especially hate that it couldn’t wrap up as neatly as it should have, (due to the fact that when they filmed the last scenes, they thought the show would be continuing online, which then fell through almost immediately after they yelled “that’s a wrap”), I think that as far as endings go, it was done in the best, and most unexpected, way possible.

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

You’ve been warned!

The last episode resolved a few things for fans, and enough different things that most of the fan base should have walked away with at least something to be happy about.

Clint discovered that Jessica really was his biological daughter after all. This was a big deal, because many fans were furious that she was ever made Mitch Laurence’s daughter in the first place. And, even though it didn’t matter to their relationship, (Clint will always be Jessica’s daddy, no matter what any piece of paper could say), it made a difference in who Jessica thought she was, and meant that she didn’t have to live with the stigma being the biological daughter of a monster.

Speaking of Clint, he and Vicki got the happy ending that most fans wanted, with him proposing again. Clint and Vicki belong together. End of story. It couldn’t have ended any other way.

There were references to old characters, some of whom had been killed off, (Bo’s son, Drew), and others whose actor had died, (the inimitable Phil Carey, and his character, Asa). And there were surprise appearances by a few characters, including Brody, with his visit to Jessica, and Markko and Langston, welcoming Starr to stay with them in Los Angeles.

There was a birth, there was an arrest, there were goodbyes and hellos. There was laughter and there were tears. There was anger and joy. What more can you ask of a soap opera on any day, much less on its last day? Perfect soap opera writing.

And then there was the surprise ending. For months, Trevor St. John has said that he, (and therefore his character, Victor Lord Jr., who was supposedly dead), wouldn’t appear in the last episode. And, for the most part, I believed him. Toward the end, I thought that there might be a reference to Victor in the finale, something alluding to the fact that he didn’t die after all. I even thought that they might use a body double to show that he was somewhere. But I didn’t really expect that the last scene of the show would be Victor, tied to a bed, being held captive by crazy Allison Perkins. This is a win-win situation for a lot of fans. Fans of Trevor St. John’s Todd, (and Walker, and Victor Lord Jr.), get the satisfaction of knowing that he is, at the least, alive. And fans of Roger Howarth’s Todd also get satisfaction, in knowing that he didn’t actually murder his twin brother, (even if he thinks he did!).

It makes you wonder what could have happened if the show continued online. It also makes you wonder if Trevor St. John is going to be joining the cast of General Hospital, along with Roger Howarth, Kassie DePaiva, Kristen Alderson, and Michael Easton, and if he is, what will that storyline look like?

As much as I loved the surprise ending, however, the best moment, I thought, was a brief scene towards the end of the show. It happened between Bo and Nora, a couple with a lot of history on One Life to Live. Bo told his “Red” that he loved her, and she responded in kind. The scene, although almost certainly scripted, was also completely real. You could tell that the emotion, especially on the part of Robert S. Woods, was completely genuine, and that made it all the more difficult, and yet enjoyable, to watch.

It’s nice to know that in some small way, and maybe even for just a short period of time, part of One Life to Live will continue to live on, with some of its characters traveling to Port Charles. It’s still a loss, however, to know that this iconic show has gone black, and will never be filmed again.

The End of an Era

It has now been exactly one month since ABC announced that it is cancelling two long-standing (over forty years each) soap operas–One Life to Live and All My Children.

This wasn’t a complete shock–or it shouldn’t have been. Guiding Light (which lasted for over 70 years on radio and TV) and As the World Turns have both been cancelled in recent years. And it has been rumored that ABC would cancel one of their soaps sooner rather than later. But to cancel two of them at once, and for neither of the shows cancelled to be General Hospital–well, it left soap fans reeling.

I have to admit, I’m a closet One Life to Live fan. I started watching it when I was on maternity leave following Turkey’s birth over eight years ago. As a matter of fact, I so remember the scene that made me tune in as I was aimlessly channel surfing that I could tell you the exact date I started watching (April 23, 2003–Mitch Lawrence was involved), and I remember well the stories that followed, especially Dorian and Blair gas lighting a temporarily blinded Mitch.

Now, I’m not proud of my soap habit. I know there are better things I can do with my time, although it can be a nice distraction while folding laundry. In my defense, I’ve never been able to watch for extended periods of time, either because I got bored, or I was just too busy. But I’ve always come back, whether it’s after a few months away, or in one instance, over a year. And there’s always been a kind of comfort in knowing how little soaps change over time–anyone who watches soaps knows that one storyline can drag out for months, or even longer! And the characters remain the same, and the places–it’s like a televised version of comfort food!

Which brings me to my real reason for sorrow over the loss of another two soaps, and what is probably the beginning of the end for the genre in general. There’s a history to soap operas that I’m very sad to see go. From their beginning as brief shorts on the radio, to their transition to TV, and eventually to hour-long programs, they’ve been a constant, through wars, and disasters and advancements in technology. Soaps have been a standard of daytime television for so long, it’s hard to imagine what TV looks like without them.

Many (if not all) of these shows are older than I am; some are older than my own mother (or were, at least, before Guiding Light went black). Viewing old clips immediately showcases the change in fashion, hairstyles, and even interior design over the years, not to mention the way camera angles, lighting, and production have changed in TV. They’ve dealt with current events in their own convoluted way, and just looking back at the recaps over the course of decades, it’s obvious what were hot button issues of the times.

There’s also the family aspect. I can’t tell you how many women my age I know that remember watching soaps as a child with their mothers and/or grandmothers. Due to the subject matter, it’s not something I’ve ever shared with my children, which is possibly part of the problem, but there’s something about a show that can unite women across generations that is inspiring. I’ve also heard stories from women my mother’s age who remember everything stopping in their college dorms when a particular show was on, and everyone on the floor would gather to watch. It’s unique the way these kind of shows have drawn women together, and the way they’ve become a part of our pop culture, often without us even realizing it.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, this is hardly a big deal. It’s TV–life will go on. But I’m always sad to see a piece of history lost, even if it’s something as trivial as a soap opera. And no matter what your personal opinion of soap operas is, good, bad or indifferent, it is a part of our history that will simply fade away into distant memory.

“One Life to Live”–Lost

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on the cancellation of the one and only soap opera I’ve ever been hooked on, but today, in memory of my favorite soap, the lyrics to We Belong, which was a part of the One Life to Live musical extravaganza last year, and seems oddly fitting right now:

Many times I’ve tried to tell you
Many times I’ve cried alone
Always I’m surprised how well you
Cut my feelings to the bone

Don’t wanna leave you really
I’ve invested too much time
To give you up that easy
To the doubts that complicate your mind

We belong to the light
We belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words
We’ve both fallen under

Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We belong, we belong
We belong together

Maybe it’s a sign of weakness
When I don’t know what to say
Maybe I just wouldn’t know
What to do with my strength anyway

Have we become a habit?
Do we distort the facts?
Now, there’s no looking forward
Now, there’s no turning back
When you say

We belong to the light
We belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words
We’ve both fallen under

Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We belong, we belong
We belong together

Close your eyes and try to sleep now
Close your eyes and try to dream
Clear your mind and do your best
To try and wash the palette clean

We can’t begin to know it
How much we really care
I hear your voice inside me
I see your face everywhere
Still you say

We belong to the light
We belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words
We’ve both fallen under

Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We belong, we belong
We belong together