Maxie Confesses To Killing Robin AND LISA NIELES?

It was a twist many fans did not see coming yesterday as Maxie Jones (Jen Lilley) confessed not only to killing fanfavorite Robin Scorpio-Drake, but also in a shocking storyline twist confessed to killing Lisa Niles as well!

While I cannot say I like that 'twist' in particular, I definitely LOVED the performance Lilley gave and was sucked right into the story as a whole! Now I am sure there are many more twist and turns to go before it's over, especially with Ron Carlavati writing things, but for now I am definitely going to tune in and find out what's gonna happen next.

Now on the debate side people are upset that Kristen Storms was unable to return in time to give these performances, and I completely understand that, BUT that does not take away anything from Lilley's stellar performance, she knocked it out of the park and did just as good, in my opinion, a job as Storms would have done with the material. The only difference is we, as fans, have had six years to bond with Storms and watch her develop into the loveable character that despite some awful writing we could still root for, but Lilley came in with questionable writing, under horrible circumstances and has been able to make the character into her own. The same fans wanting Storms back probably were complaining Storms first year and wanting Robyn Richards back in the role. All I can say is that I have accepted Lilley as Maxie Jones and I will enjoy her tenure however long it last, and I wish Storms the best of luck with whatever it is that has kept her away at this point.

Viki's Speech on One Life to Live (Finale)

Viki: Megan actually passed away nearly 20 years ago, but I-I still to this day get stopped on the street by "Fraternity Row" fans who remember the characters that she played. And some ask how she's doing or will she ever return, but I must tell you that there are times I get so caught up in the show that I find myself wondering the same thing. 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.

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Thanks to @SoapWikiJohn for getting this from TVMegaSite

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble

Initial Reactions to the One Life to Live Finale

Its been two hours since the end of One Life to Live and fans are divided as ever as to what the ending meant and the actually quality of what was done. Were there points that the episode hit that made it one of the best hours in television in awhile? YES, but at the same time were there those missing moments that left us disappointed? Of course. So now with those two short hours under our belts I decided it was time to sit back and analyze the ending, looking at what worked, what was missing, and what this meant and means for the future of Llanview.

One Life to Live Finale - Thursday 01/12/12

Well I got about 1 minute into today's episode before I started welling up. I wondered if the Fraternity Row thing (even though it's a part of OLTL history) would come across as too gimmicky or just too meta, but you know what? It was perfect. It served as a nice Valentine to fans and soaps in general. How wonderful and brilliant to have Agnes Nixon talk about what makes the show (and all soaps) so special.

One Life to Live Finale - Tuesday 01/10/12

Well I just can't seem to get on the same page as OLTL fans. I gave a C grade to yesterday's ep that had people raving, while I really enjoyed today's ep, which got a lukewarm response from a lot of fans. Go figure.

Well today's ep didn't have comebacks of fan favorites or big cliffhangers (I don't consider Jessica's paternity to be a cliffhanger because we all know how that's going to turn out, don't we?), but it did have a lot going for it. The fake out at the beginning with the RIP Cole headline was a nice touch. I was thisclose to cursing out Carlivati for killing my Cole and I had to laugh when it turned out he wasn't dead. I also thought it was an interesting decision to tell a lot of the story through flashbacks.

OLTL & GH Writer Ron Carlivati on Twitter!

I couldn't believe my eyes (and it took several people to convince me it was true) but Ron Carlivati, former Headwriter of One Life to Live (*sniff* *sniff*) and new HW at General Hospital is on twitter! He's been live tweeting OLTL (Eastern Time) so make sure to check it out. Let him know how much you've appreciated his hard work over the years and that you look forward to watching his vision of GH!

Follow and tweet Ron here: @Carlivatiron

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble

Carny (Carly and Johnny) Finally Kiss on General Hospital!

Months ago I was really excited at the prospect of a Johnny and Carly pairing to get back at Sonny, and on today's General Hospital episode (January 10 2012) the pair finally kissed!

While the writing might be awful, I am really excited to see where this pairing will go, especially with Ron Carlivati in charge.

What did you think of the kiss and the potential pairing? Let me know in the comments.

One Life To Live Finale - Monday 01/09/12

Ok, so this post was totally unplanned (see our SoapWikiJohn's post about out OLTL Finale Coverage), but after exchanging a few emails with SWJ about today's OLTL ep, I figured I'd post my thoughts here. I've barely watched the show this past year, so let me know if I make any mistakes or misspeak. *Be warned, Carlivati fanboys/girls, you might not like what I have to say.

As a soap fan, I love it when old faves come back. Seeing Megan, Luna and Gabrielle was a lot of fun and since I haven't been reading any spoilers, their returns were also a wonderful surprise. Jessica Tuck, Susan Batten and Fiona Hutchison are wonderful actresses and were incredibly popular with fans, so bringing them back was a real treat.

RavenBeauty Holiday Extravaganza on Silas Kain BlogTalk Show

It's not often that a BlogTalk Radio show gets me all teary-eyed, but that's what happened when I listened to Silas Kain's RavenBeauty Holiday Extravaganza. Most of you ABC Soap fans know RavenBeauty. She's a hugely popular soap columnist/spoiler diva that's been around forever. Silas Kain is known to soap fans as the mastermind and driving force of the Coupon Campaign to Save Our Soaps. They're together again on his BlogTalk Radio show to celebrate soaps, soap fans and RavenBeauty herself.  It was great to hear so many people showing their love and appreciation for RavenBeauty, who has been dealing with health issues recently. It was really very touching.

And there were some celebrity appearances! There was a Nora/Lindsay reunion (Hillary B. Smith and Catherine Hickland are so sweet and hilarious), Andrea Evans talked about her iconic role as Tina on OLTL, as well as her battle with cancer, and Ilene Kristen smack talked Brian Frons, discussed soaps and soap fans, and talked about her experiences at OLTL and what she would have liked to have seen for her character Roxie (a love interest, a more adversarial relationship with Vicki, for Jessica to have been Roxie's daughter.) And while she had very positive things to say about OLTL Exec Producer Frank Valentini and HW Ron Carlivati, she did mention that no one informed her of the Echo/Rex story and felt she'd been thrown under the bus in a way. I hear Michael E. Knight was on too, but there were a few times when BlogTalk was acting crazy for me (BlogTalk hates my computer for some reason), so that must have been when Knight called in because I didn't hear him at all...

If you'd like to listen to the show Click Here

Check out RavenBeauty's facebook page Here and her spoiler site Here

Click Here to check out Silas Kain's site for more info about the Coupon Campaign

Talk to you soon!
-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble

Roger Howarth Returns to One Life to Live!

Roger vs. Trevor - Bring It!

Hey guys! As everyone in the Soap World knows, Roger Howarth is returning to One Life to Live!! This is arguably one of the most anticipated returns in OLTL history and I for one am excited (worried, but excited). Soap Opera Network is reporting that Roger starts taping in May (Read their piece here.) Btw, Kudos to Soap Opera Network for being the first to tell soap fans that Roger would be coming back (in August). They took a lot of heat for it but they didn't back down and it turned out they were right. Good for them!

This news lead to about a million questions: Will Roger be coming back as the Real Todd Manning? If so, who is Trevor St. John's Todd? Does this mean TSJ is out? Does this mean OLTL isn't being cancelled after all? Or is this a sign that OLTL is ending? Will there be casting cuts to afford Roger's salary?  TPTB are keeping their lips sealed and don't expect that to change. In fact, I'm guessing that they're going to be leaking a lot of fake spoilers out there to throw people off. I've been critical of Ron Carlivati over the years. I find him to be a talented but uneven writer and his OLTL has been a struggle for me to watch. That said, Roger's return is Must See TV for me, and I'll be tuning in!

Pros: Roger is a talented and popular actor, possibly returning to his signature, Emmy winning role - the Buzz is Huge! No matter how they write it, his return is going to stir sh*t up and everyone wants to know what's going to happen. Chemistry, Chemistry, Chemistry - Roger has it with everyone. Roger vs. Trevor - Bring It!

Cons: TSJ fans are pissed. Roger's return almost definitely means other actors are going to be let go ($$$). A big return does not necessarily equal big ratings (see GH: Vanessa Marcil/Brenda, Jonathan Jackson/Lucky). Letting Susan Haskell (Marty) go before Roger's return? Big Mistake. If TPTB are just thinking about the short-term shock value of the story, instead of the long-term implications, this could be disastrous. Carlivati wrote Tina's Return (poor Andrea Evans!) It may be too late for OLTL :(

Expect a Roger vs. Trevor poll soon!
-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

The Big Kish-Off

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’re aware of yummy-licious Brett Claywell and Scott Evans (Kyle Lewis and Oliver Fish) being let go from One Life to Live and the outrage it’s provoked from fans. I’ve been hanging back, observing how Kish-gate is unfolding. So far I don’t know what to make of this PR mess: Is this part of a homophobic agenda? Is this a result of the actors behaving unprofessionally? Are focus groups to blame? Are these firings just par for the course, no different than the other recent firings/contract changes at OLTL (Crystal Hunt, Scott Clifton, Daphnee Duplaix, Austin Williams, plus the rumors of more firings to come)? Well…I have no clue. But when has not having a clue stopped me from voicing my opinion, lol?

Clearly OLTL is cleaning house. Whether this bloodbath is due to an ultimatum from TPTB to make some changes or else, or they’re cutting expenses to accommodate big names like Gina Tognoni (Kelly) (and possibly Thorsten??) is unclear. Revamping the show (creatively and/or budget-wise) by getting rid of a sh*tload of characters isn’t surprising. What is surprising is their decision to cut two popular characters, who happen to make up one of the most popular couples currently on the show. Getting new characters to click with viewers and developing a large fan base for a couple is a difficult feat. Kish has captured the hearts of soap fans (gay and hetero) and has garnered the show loads of positive press from the soap and mainstream media. This is the kind of response TPTB kill for, and OLTL is just throwing it away? It’s insane! When a show is consistently last place in the ratings, is it smart to get rid of one of the few things that actually works? Couples that develop a following with the audience are not a dime a dozen. OLTL has hit gold with Kish, so for goodness sakes, keep them!

Frankly the Kish-Off just confirms what I’ve felt for a long time: TPTB at ABC are simply not interested in making a long-term commitment to gay and lesbian characters. They’ll introduce these characters/stories, gladly receive accolades from the press and fans, pat themselves on the back, and before we know it the characters are out the door. It seems the gay renaissance of soaps (Otalia, Nuke, Kish, Rianca-or whatever they called that hot mess over at AMC) was just a “fad” or an experiment (for a terrific round-up analysis of gay stories on soaps, I recommend We Love Soaps' article Gays in Daytime.) As far as I can see, soaps have always been, and will continue to be, dominated by white, thin, heterosexual characters. Apparently TPTB seem to think this is playing it safe, but I think it’s insulting, boring and a sign of how behind the times and out of touch with the audience they really are.

As for OLTL…Full disclosure: I stopped watching it on a regular basis last year and it had nothing to do with Kish. While Ron Carlivati is a talented writer, I found the show uneven at best. At worst, it was a campy mess, misogynistic and more gross than entertaining. My friends and I have joked that the show should be renamed One Life to Rape. Welcome to Rapeview: a town populated by rapists/psychos and their victims. Gee, who wouldn’t want to watch that? One positive thing that’s come from Kish-gate has been people’s willingness to call OLTL out on their offensive stories and point out that that might in fact be the reason for their pathetic ratings. (The great Marlena De Lacroix wrote a terrific piece recently called Sadism for Thrills, where she critiqued OLTL and GH’s treatment of female characters.)

Look, I’m just a soap fan, but my own humble opinion is that maybe TPTB should get rid of what doesn’t work, instead of what does. How about giving us characters that we’ll love and root for, instead of making a violent pig your romantic lead (*cough* Todd *cough*)? And what about telling stories that will entertain and move us, instead of ones that trigger our gag reflex (*cough* Mitch *cough*)? But what do I know?

**EDIT: if you're interested in joining the various Save Kish campaigns, I suggest doing a #Kish search on twitter. Tons of stuff will come up :)

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As always, thanks so much for reading. I'd love to hear what you think of Kish-gate!

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover1938