Unpopular Opinions

[jsbt]

I liked Gigi some of the time. Nobody shot me in the face

[UYI]

Fair enough. 

I also liked Tom Degnan as Joey, and was happy he and Kelly ended up together. 

[TeeVee329]

Tom Degnan Joey was...fine?  The problem was he was just kinda there, his purpose was to prop up Kelly's flop of a return and showcase Aubrey and Cutter.

I was happy them getting together meant Kelly went away.  I really hated her during a majority of her 2010-11 stint.

[Melgaypet]

4 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Tom Degnan Joey was...fine?  The problem was he was just kinda there, his purpose was to prop up Kelly's flop of a return and showcase Aubrey and Cutter.

I'm with you. Degnan was perfectly competent, but the writing was never there for the character. Joey was milquetoast and pathetic by design, and that's on the writers. And the reunion with Kelly could not have been more perfunctory. Personally, I doubt they lasted six months.

My UO, I was totally fine with David being Bo's son. I know the execution was sometimes shallow, but I put that on Tuc Watkin's schedule and the way the show utilized it, not the concept.

[TeeVee329]

My dream, if the show ever returned, would be a scene of Kevin and Joey pouring into Llanfair with all their suitcases, having finally fled.  "We need a CONTINENT between us and Kelly, Mom."  "Yes, please, Grandmother," Zane would ask too in his British accent.  "Let us stay!"

Edited September 20, 2018 by TeeVee329

[UYI]

...I still love Gina T. as Kelly, too. 

See? I've got a lot of things that belong here. ;) 

One more:

To the shock of no one, while I love Blair, my favorite OLTL anti-heroine will always be Gabrielle. I know, such shock. Much surprise. :P

[Melgaypet]

Is it unpopular to have loved Viki and Charlie together? Because I did. A lot.

[UYI]

2 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

Is it unpopular to have loved Viki and Charlie together? Because I did. A lot.

Not as unpopular as it would be to say you loved Viki and Sloan. Seriously, did they have ANY fans? (And no, I'm not one of them, either.)

This might be unpopular:

I honestly don't think I would have minded Cord and Luna together, not with Andrea Evans gone at the time. 

[Melgaypet]

6 minutes ago, UYI said:

Not as unpopular as it would be to say you loved Viki and Sloan. Seriously, did they have ANY fans? (And no, I'm not one of them, either.)

This might be unpopular:

I honestly don't think I would have minded Cord and Luna together, not with Andrea Evans gone at the time. 

@jsbt, if I recall correctly.

As for Cord and Luna, I dunno. Two goody-goods sounds kinda boring. What would they do together, affirm their goodness and shake their heads over the shenanigans of everyone else? 

That reminds me, Cord and Gabrielle never hooked up, did they? That seems a pity. Max got both Tina and Gabs after all. As well as pretty much every other female in sight.

[UYI]

3 minutes ago, Melgaypet said:

That reminds me, Cord and Gabrielle never hooked up, did they? That seems a pity. Max got both Tina and Gabs after all. As well as pretty much every other female in sight.

There was brief period in 1990, when Andrea's Tina had left/Karen's Tina was starting out, and right as Max came back from the "dead" (with Nicholas Walker's face) where it looked they might date/went on a few dates, but I don't think you could ever really say they were a couple. 

While I'm at it, Andrea will always be THE Tina, but I like Karen as Tina, too (and while she was weaker than the other two, I don't hate what I've seen of Krista's Tina, either--she'll always be Mindy to me, though). 

Edited September 22, 2018 by UYI

[jsbt]

3 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

Is it unpopular to have loved Viki and Charlie together?

Not in the slightest. And I loved them, a lot.

I liked Viki and Sloan bc they were together when I started watching, and I knew Roy Thinnes from Dark Shadows. I think the foundation of the story was well-designed and mostly well-executed. I thought a lot of the writing was very intelligent. But looking back on it today it has its big issues - slanted stuff, demonizing Clint, etc. - and I don't think Sloan matches up to Clint or to Charlie. I also think the sinister Victor Lord angle - Viki psychologically linking Sloan to her father - is overpowering and will forever alter any memory of the character. I think it's also very real, if ugly.

I was fine with JVD and ES together - especially on OLTL 2.0 where they crackled - and I grew to really like ES and Clint Ritchie, but I loved Charlie the most. That said I am more than content with Viki and Clint happily ever after. It's only right and the actors are great. But if the show ever somehow came back again without JVD, I'd have Viki back out trolling for dick!

Edited September 22, 2018 by jsbt

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, jsbt said:

15 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

Is it unpopular to have loved Viki and Charlie together?

Not in the slightest. And I loved them, a lot.

I liked them a lot, too, until they shoved Echo into things. 

[TeeVee329]

On 9/21/2018 at 11:02 PM, jsbt said:

I was fine with JVD and ES together - especially on OLTL 2.0 where they crackled - and I grew to really like ES and Clint Ritchie, but I loved Charlie the most. That said I am more than content with Viki and Clint happily ever after. It's only right and the actors are great. But if the show ever somehow came back again without JVD, I'd have Viki back out trolling for dick!

I always liked JVD Clint and Viki as friends and co-heads of their branch of the Buchanan/Lords, but I was less sold on them romantically.  It made sense as an endgame, absolutely, but I liked Viki with Charlie - until he was ruined/turned into Farlie - and, as you all know, I loooved Clint with Kim and, probable unpopular opinion here, would ship them together over Clint/Viki every day of the week plus Sunday.

Clint and Viki as a couple did click for me more on PP OLTL, but given the changes in Clint's character, it just seemed unsustainable.

[dubbel zout]

Clint and Kim were great. The writers were really smart to have them be using each other and know it, and then being surprised by the feelings becoming genuine.

[TeeVee329]

Yeah, I remember when word of the story first got out, a lot of people were concerned that Kim was just going to play the rebounding Clint for a fool.  So I really loved that scene, pretty early on, when he busts her on lying about her resume to wedge her stiletto in the door at BE, that's what really set their dynamic up for success to me.

[bannana]

I never got to watch OLTL 2.0 because it was not available in Canada at that time.  I think we got a few episodes and then nothing.  I would love to watch it, can you direct me to a site?  I found random episodes on you tube, but would welcome a site that starts from the beginning to the end.

OLTL was my absolute favourite soap and the only one I watched loyally from probably 1976, when I was still a kid, well, a teenager.  I still miss it.

Edited September 24, 2018 by bannana

[jsbt]

I think most/all of AMC and OLTL 2.0 are on YouTube. I should've downloaded it all - I'll find a torrent someday and do so.

I really dug Viki and JVD's Clint because it was a grayer version of Clint. That kept things interesting. especially on 2.0. I loved Clint and Kim but with Amanda Setton gone it was never going to last.

Edited September 24, 2018 by jsbt

[bannana]

41 minutes ago, jsbt said:

I think most/all of AMC and OLTL 2.0 are on YouTube. I should've downloaded it all - I'll find a torrent someday and do so.

I really dug Viki and JVD's Clint because it was a grayer version of Clint. That kept things interesting. especially on 2.0. I loved Clint and Kim but with Amanda Setton gone it was never going to last.

I also liked JVD's version of Clint, but was surprised that I did.  And yes, his connection with Kim was great.  Okay, I am heading to you tube to see if I can find the 2.0 series.

[TeeVee329]

8 hours ago, jsbt said:

I really dug Viki and JVD's Clint because it was a grayer version of Clint. That kept things interesting. especially on 2.0. I loved Clint and Kim but with Amanda Setton gone it was never going to last.

It just felt, to me like any issues in Viki and Clint's relationship were going to be Clint's fault.  Whereas, with someone like Kim, there could be more back-and-forth about who was causing the issues.

I do remember reading a bunch of rumors when the ABC show was wrapping up/during PP's first attempt at launching 2.0 that PP was trying to get Amanda Setton to stay, that presumably Kim would have been part of whatever they were hinting at with her/Cutter/Alex in their last scenes.  But who knows.

[Dr.OO7]

On 5/20/2018 at 3:34 PM, UYI said:

You're a good writer. :)

Thank you. ?

I loved Andrew and Cassie and thought their breakup was unbelievably stupid.

[JAYJAY1979]

I'll say I actually preferred Elaine Princi as Dorian over Robin Strasser.. since Elaine played things more low key and sinister.. like a viper.  Robin played that aspect of Dorian when she replaced Elaine.. but over time, she became too over the top and comical.. and not a serious foil to Vicki like she had been in the 70s through early 90s.

[Handywood38]

Stacy was a horrible character in a horrible story. However, I did like Crystal Hunt as Stacy. I thought she was so bad that she was good. But also because she had some legit OK moments and even a few good moments (her early scenes with Sky, some of her scenes with Kim, and especially her last scenes as Spectral Stacy torturing Clint). Stacy sucked but I loved the way other characters reacted to her.

I didn't mind Farah Fath too much (bleached blond hair aside) but her one day as Stacy really was worse than any of CH's performances as Stacy.

I never cared for Gina Tognoni or Heather Tom. I would dislike Kelly regardless but both actresses aggravated me and made the character worse for me. I didn't like Tracy Melchior at all either but I don't think that's an unpopular opinion :)

I'm glad that Eli was the one that pushed Marty, and not Hannah. If it had been Hannah, it would have been another "wham bam can of ham" approach, just like with Stacy just a year before. Look how "well" that worked! In fact, I don't think there was enough build up with Hannah as it was. It would have been even worse if she was the one who pushed Marty. I thought they moved her way too fast as it was. Although I really liked Meghan Fahy (Hannah's actress)

Besides, I loved insta-evil Eli. Well played, Matt Walton! I wish he had tortured Ford or Cole in hell. Better yet, I wish he had successfully killed Ford. And/or Rex.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Handywood38

[Handywood38]

I just thought of another one.

I actually think Tari Signor was too wooden, robotic, and restrained as Margaret Cochran. Yes, I'm serious and not being ironic here.

Sure she shrieked but it was all the exact same inflection every time and it felt so hollow each time. Also I never saw TS move her face. Not once. Her face was so frozen. She didn't even do any acting with her hair. Regarding her complete lack of facial expressions, she made TSJTodd (yes, even when Blair got stabbed) and Jessica Morris look like JPL and Erika Slezak's Niki Smith. That's certainly not acting, but it's really not overacting either. It's the exact opposite.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Handywood38
Needed to fix

[Dandesun]

On 3/23/2019 at 10:14 AM, Handywood38 said:

I just thought of another one.

I actually think Tari Signor was too wooden, robotic, and restrained as Margaret Cochran. Yes, I'm serious and not being ironic here.

Sure she shrieked but it was all the exact same inflection every time and it felt so hollow each time. Also I never saw TS move her face. Not once. Her face was so frozen. She didn't even do any acting with her hair. Regarding her complete lack of facial expressions, she made TSJTodd (yes, even when Blair got stabbed) and Jessica Morris look like JPL and Erika Slezak's Niki Smith. That's certainly not acting, but it's really not overacting either. It's the exact opposite.

I can't be objective about any of that. I found her so utterly and completely loathsome in every sense of the word that I honestly feared my reaction should I ever see her on the street. Fully recognizing that she was an actress paid to play a part. It was that bad.

 Also... 'restrained' -- really?

Really?!

I'm going to have to mull that one over, not gonna lie.

[Melgaypet]

Yeah, I can think of a lot of words for Signor's performance, but "wooden" or "restrained" wouldn't be among them. She surely had to floss bits of the scenery out of her teeth after every take.

[Handywood38]

I was being a little ironic and did want to see other people's reaction. All kidding aside, I really never have seen her face move. Maybe too much Botox. She's a frizzy redheaded Joan Rivers. She's certainly shrill but in such a one note monotone with no voice fluctuation whatsoever.

She was certainly awful.

Like a few on here, I loved Viki/Charlie. I liked her with Clint too though.

I don't think Susan Haskell did a good job at all when Marty went BSC. Understandably, I could tell her heart wasn't in it. Certainly can't blame her since the way she went out was beyond insulting. I also didn't see what was so entertaining about it (many loved when she pushed Natalie off the roof). I don't fault SH at all, that was unplayable and beyond insulting.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Handywood38

[dubbel zout]

8 hours ago, Handywood38 said:

(many loved when she pushed Natalie off the roof

Mainly for the Superstar! arms she did afterward.

[TeeVee329]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Mainly for the Superstar! arms she did afterward.

Just delightful.

But ugh, the handling of this whole Marty arc.  That these two smart, strong, beautiful women - Marty and Natalie both - were fighting over John McBain.  That the show casually made Marty a murderer by having her kill poor Dr. Buhari, whose only crime was being a competent shrink on a soap.  That Patrick coming back from the dead, bloop!, fixed her right up.  Not great, Bob.

Edited March 26, 2019 by TeeVee329

[dubbel zout]

McBain always had women fighting over him, and he was the most passive romantic partner ever. I never understood it. I love Michael Easton (even his billion GH characters)—his dry humor can be extremely funny—but when his characters are in a relationship, he's exasperating to watch.

[Calhoun]

I liked Ian Armtiage even if he was a Jax knock-off... I really felt the actor was coming into his own. I also loved Mel's daughter Dorothy--I was interested in seeing that type of cool blond on the show as opposed to the sometimes ditzy/flighty elements of Tina or Kelly.

[jsbt]

Not gonna lie, calling Tari Signor restrained is gonna keep me up at night. I breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally and very abruptly killed off because I am 90% certain the original plan Dena Higley had was for the amnesiac, 'sane' Margaret to stay on canvas and possibly be paired with David. (I think I heard that some time later as well)

[UYI]

Since this came up after the online reunion yesterday, I'll just put this here since it seems appropriate: RSW never did much for me, looks wise. Then or now. He looks good now, don't get me wrong, but not in a "hot" way, if that makes sense.  He wouldn't be getting it from me.

*hides*

Edited May 22, 2020 by UYI

[Hiyo]

No need to apologize @UYI, one less person to elbow out of the way now 😉

[tessaray]

I never loved Bo or Bo and Nora all that much. I wasn't into the judge-y part of his personality. Now, I did like Bo and Lindsey when the plots weren't crappy. (ducks) And I liked Bo and Clint and Asa as a family group. (Eventually... in the beginning the Buchanans were just Dallas-lite interlopers.)

But I was happy to see RSW looking so good yesterday. And I'd pay money for another round of Bo and Nora, I miss them all so much.

 

[UYI]

Wait until I mention I'm pretty "meh" on Nathan Fillion as well! *runs away screaming*

Like everyone else here, though, I've always appreciated his devotion to OLTL and the credit he gives it for launching his career. 

[peachmangosteen]

On 5/22/2020 at 3:57 PM, UYI said:

Wait until I mention I'm pretty "meh" on Nathan Fillion as well! *runs away screaming*

Nathan Fillion sucks so much as a person that it's impossible to even think he's hot lol.

I never much thought about RSW's attractiveness but he looked fine as hell in that reunion. 

[Sake614]

On 5/23/2020 at 7:17 PM, peachmangosteen said:

Nathan Fillion sucks so much as a person

Okay I'm gonna need more here because from everything I've read, he's a really sweet guy. So spill!

[UYI]

Since it came up in the Outside Llanview thread:

Nat & Cris>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nat & Jared. (Although they were fine, too.) 

[Hiyo]

I hate how they just seemed to end Nat & Chris, after everything they went through to get them together.

[boes]

UO, I know, but while Nash chewed the scenery like he had a eating disorder, it was Jared who drove me up the wall.  The character was propped as if was a Ford and I thought the actor was the worst.

 

[TeeVee329]

Yeah, I liked Cris and Natalie a lot, and found it weird how literally and figuratively divorced they became from each other given what a thing they were for a while.  I will never forget David Fumero's last week when stupid Rama was rattling of a list of Cris love interests that somehow did not include Natalie.

I guess an UO about Natalie love interests is that, while I'm sure many would dismiss this pairing altogether, I really liked her with Cutter.  The story was a bit wonky given we know it was cobbled together on the fly, but Melissa Archer and Josh Kelly had insane chemistry from the jump.

[Melgaypet]

19 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Yeah, I liked Cris and Natalie a lot, and found it weird how literally and figuratively divorced they became from each other given what a thing they were for a while.

Co-sign. Their wedding was even the set piece for the show's 35th anniversary episode. (17 years ago!? God, we're all old.) People liked to say, when talking about Jared (whom I also loved) that he appreciated her bad-girl qualities while guys like McBain and Cris wanted her to deny them. Bullseye on McBain, but I never agreed about Cris - I thought he accepted who she was and saw that she was a better person than Llanview at large and Natalie herself believed she was. I wish that she'd gotten back together with Cris in that last year instead of the whole wrong-headed thing with Brody, even if that was soapier. They could have ended with the understanding they'd both grown and no longer really fit together. Cris could have still gone off to Europe (where he met and reunited with Layla, I remain convinced of this!)

I liked Cutter and Natalie, too! They were hot.

[dubbel zout]

Cutter was another man who met Natalie halfway instead of making her do all the work. 

[TeeVee329]

7 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

People liked to say, when talking about Jared (whom I also loved) that he appreciated her bad-girl qualities while guys like McBain and Cris wanted her to deny them. Bullseye on McBain, but I never agreed about Cris - I thought he accepted who she was and saw that she was a better person than Llanview at large and Natalie herself believed she was.

I do agree that I never saw Cris as trying to stamp out Nat's fierier qualities, but I do think it was a bit different.  Cris met Natalie when her walls were up big time and covered in razor wire and he was able to see past that to the fundamentally good person within.  While the Natalie Jared met was more...a blend, if that makes sense, in that she still had those instincts, but she had matured and grown through her experiences (something McBain could never do, which was inherently that character's problem).

So Nat love interests. Cris, McBain, Jared, Cutter.  Then there was Brody towards the end of ABC OLTL.  There was also stupid Seth, the first to climb the Natterhorn.  Who else did Nat ever get with?  Paul Cramer, right?  Anybody else?

[UYI]

7 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

Co-sign. Their wedding was even the set piece for the show's 35th anniversary episode. (17 years ago!? God, we're all old.)

I was 14 then. Now I'm 31. Yikes. O_O

But yeah, it always perplexed me how ignored their pairing was later on...and how many fans John & Nat actually had. Whatever. 

25 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

So Nat love interests. Cris, McBain, Jared, Cutter.  Then there was Brody towards the end of ABC OLTL.  There was also stupid Seth, the first to climb the Natterhorn.  Who else did Nat ever get with?  Paul Cramer, right?  Anybody else?

She and NM's Al were very briefly teased/nearly shared a kiss,  but that was it. I would've been here for it. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by UYI

[Melgaypet]

26 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

So Nat love interests. Cris, McBain, Jared, Cutter.  Then there was Brody towards the end of ABC OLTL.  There was also stupid Seth, the first to climb the Natterhorn.  Who else did Nat ever get with?  Paul Cramer, right?  Anybody else?

UYI mentioned Al, she was also teased with Miles Laurence and Vincent Jones, but neither went further than a kiss, if that.

[UYI]

I guess if you REALLY want to stretch the limits, she and Mitch were very definitely teased when he first came back to town in 2002 as Michael Lazarus--it certainly felt that way to me, at least. The chemistry was strong enough even back then that I half wish they had went there before the reveal (which might be a UO because it IS kind of sick). 

Edited June 17, 2020 by UYI

[Melgaypet]

Melissa Archer and Roscoe Born (RIP) played off each other so well. Their scenes always crackled. It felt right that Natalie was the one to finally kill Mitch.

[Hiyo]

Quote

It felt right that Natalie was the one to finally kill Mitch.

I kind of wish it had been Vicki who did it...

[TeeVee329]

I really liked - given how she had spent the last year debasing herself for McBain - that Natalie got to avenge Jared by killing Mitch, that was a nice capper to that love story,  I also enjoyed, earlier in that week, when Mitch spoke ill of Jared and Natalie just launched herself at him.  All while wearing a short, sparkly dress because Nat's a boss.

8 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

UYI mentioned Al, she was also teased with Miles Laurence and Vincent Jones, but neither went further than a kiss, if that.

Interesting.  I missed the entire Miles Laurence era, and Vincent Jones is just a name I know because his serial cheating on Layla lead into her storyline with Cris and Fish.

Was Paul just a tease too or did he and Natalie actually sleep together/have a relationship?