I Don't Know If Am Alone Here With This. But I Can't Stand Ron Carlivati

In my opinion RC has ruined every single part of this show since he became head writer of One Life To Live.

He has touched and runined every single character on this show. He's afraid of taking chances with characters and write outside the box with them. He's afraid of trying something new. He's to busy protecting characters that are his favorites.

Have you ever notice his favortie characters never are told off, told what they are, get away with everything they do.

The woman characters are constantly weak, victims and he definely turns them into the Kelly Taylors of Berverly Hills 90210. Their damsel in distress all the time.

And lets not talk about the men. Some of them are written dumb and not smart. He writes his characters two ways white or black with nothing in between. No layers no nothing.

And his storylines. Where's the plot twist and turns that keep you watching a show. Where's the mystery and intrigue there's none. He climaxes to his storylines suck and fall flat. No fall out nothing.

What really pains me is him ruining past actors and actress who come back. Right now I must be the only that really feels bad for Gina Tognoni she's a kick ass actress and with the right storyline and material she would knock a storyline right out of the park. And yet RC ruins her return by changing Kelly and not writing her the way she should be written it's a disgrace to her and her fans. But than again am not surprise he did the samething with Andrea Evans return and Tina. And both were a kick ass character and actress. And he ruined both.

I really don't know why nothing is ever said or done towards RC and I as a long time fan of OLTL I fine it really disgusting that he keeps getting away with his writng and still here.

Sorry needed to vent.

JMO

Prior to RC taking over, there were only a handful of characters I hated - Marcie, Cole,Dorian, John, Rex, Gigi. Now, it's gotten to the point where the only character I haven't hated is Todd. The characters I hated prior to RC are characters I've come to loathe more and more and more. Many of the characters I was indifferent to are characters I've grown to hate - Blaire, Cristian, Marty, and so on. The characters I once liked, many I've grown to hate - Bo, Nora, and so on. Others like Jessica and Brody, Langston, I've come to dislike. He's taken beloved characters like Starr and left me hating them. The only characters I really like on the show anymore are TnT and David, though I've started liking Starr again. Dani hasn't been too bad.

I can't think of a single character that I feel the same way about as I did prior to RC. I love Todd and always will, but RC has done everything he can to try and ruin Todd and he's had Todd do un-Todd things. Thankfully, Trevor has the ability to rise about the crappy writing and show us Todd's heart. If Trevor leaves OLTL, I really don't know if there will be enough to keep me watching. Hurricane RC has ruined too many characters and left such a huge wake of destruction in his path. There aren't many storylines I'm that interested in and those that I am, revolve around Todd.

Editing to add that I love Destiny! She hasn't yet been ruined by RC. TnT, Starr, Destiny and David are my current favs.

Three things basically sum up RC's stint as HW...

1) He tries to mesh the camp of 1980s Paul Rauch with the social sensibilities of 1990s Michael Malone, and it comes off discombobulated.
2) He tries to turn scraps into casseroles. Moe, Noelle, Destiny, Justin, Ford. His OLTL has had a host of paper thin dayplayer (or dayplayer-like) character who lasted much longer than they should have.
3) He actually ditches things that had potential to work (Schuyler, Kim.)

He doesn't have much equilibrium. He throws meat at the ceiling to see what pieces will stick the longest, no matter how rotten or stale it is. He also comes off as a bit pretentious, IMO, and seems to buy his own hype. The big gay wedding being an example. I also recall his giving an interview a few years ago when he defensively justified his killing off Nash; basically stating something along the lines of "Look, everybody has to die sometime."

I really hope Jean Passanante can temper his writing, but she's a whole other can of worms, and has her own writing issues. Maybe they can temper each other.

Valentini and Carlivati are cheap labor, plain and simple. Their appeal to ABC is the 'budgeted' show that they produce, despite how lackluster it is and how low the ratings are. RC doesn't play on any of the characters personalities or strengths. He just aimlessly writes stories that feature them. It doesn't feel like OLTL, it feels like community theater.

TSJToddFan wrote:Valentini and Carlivati are cheap labor, plain and simple. Their appeal to ABC is the 'budgeted' show that they produce, despite how lackluster it is and how low the ratings are. RC doesn't play on any of the characters personalities or strengths. He just aimlessly writes stories that feature them. It doesn't feel like OLTL, it feels like community theater.

QFT. That is the only reason they are employed, and have been able to keep their jobs for this long. Valentini is a penny pincher. Carlivati, meanwhile, is a hack scribe who crafts stories that are cheap to produce—and are filled with new and/or recurring characters that can be played by new, or lower paid, actors. With them the focus is not about churning out a balanced, quality soap. That has not been the priority in (what seems like decades) years. It, instead, is about being as cost-effective as possible, which inevitably has an effect on the quality of casting, writing and production. This is why the likes of Brandon Buddy, David Fumero, Shanell Edmonds and Jason Tam linger on forever; they are cheap to have around. Conversely, it is also why Erika Slezak, Hillary B. Smith, Robin Strasser, Kassie DePaiva and Bob Woods all went from playing dynamic leads to being reduced to silly supporting characters, or comic relief. This is why Kelly's return is about the death of her long irrelevant mother, and some pointless flunky guy she met in England, who follows her to the States—as opposed to being about life with Kevin and Zane.

Underwhelming as it all is, that is probably the reason OLTL has not been cancelled.

I would do anything for this guy to tell one freaking story why isn't any of these plot points used to flesh out any of these characters ? Why did Todd think he could live in Marty world? Why does Cole use drugs when the going gets rough? Why does Starr shrink into a sniveling little girl around Cole? Whats the real reason Dani is so hard on Tea ? Why did John abandon his father's ethics that he once held up so high ? Why does Ford bed hop ? Why Nora so over protective of Matthew ? What makes Hannah so obsessive in relationships ?

Great questions, sue - and ones we'll never get an answer to as long as RC is at the helm. He really is such a hack writing, intent on destroying OLTL, it seems. I'm beginning to wonder if that's the goal - destroy OLTL to the point that no one will care if its cancelled. The GL fans said it felt that way with GL, though I only started watching again in he last 6 or 7 months before it was cancelled. I'd watched years ago for awhile but then stopped for some reason but when I heard Jeff Branson was taking over as Shayne, I started watching again. The fans were really unhappy with where things were and when GL's cancellation was announced, some felt that TPTB had deliberately tried to alienate as many fanbases as possible so that GL's cancellation would not seem as big a deal. Sometimes I feel that way with OLTL, though the cancellation rumours seem to be just that so far.

Actually - hack is too good a word for what RC has done. When you hack away at something, pieces are still left, ragged as the edges might be. I feel more like he's a lobotomy writing - gutting everything good and leaving only the flimsiest shell.

Maybe because of all the budget cuts the writers have no choice but to give us cheap storylines and dull teens. Was it any better when Higley was head writer?

Tony Marino wrote:Maybe because of all the budget cuts the writers have no choice but to give us cheap storylines and dull teens. Was it any better when Higley was head writer?

But guess what as angry and mad that I got when Dena was writing she never had me tune out the show. I kept watching even with the things Dena was doing.

RC he has me tuning out. Like right now. Sorry I do not like the Tea tumor storyline and has me tuning out , so I don't watch,I tuned out the Todd holding Marty storyline and didn't watch. And that was hard because of Trevor's performances. But couldn't watch especially what he was doing to Todd.

With Dena I hated alot of her storylines especially her obsession with Spencer but guess what I didn't stop watching. The twists and turns she was writing in that storyline were great in my opinion, plus that storyline brought Todd and Van together, Todd on the run trying to prove his innocences, Todd and John (the air plane crash and so on) was really intriguing and kept me glued to my seat all the way up to the final end of the storyline with Todd's execution that Memorial Day weekend which I'll never forget.

But RC there's nothing about his show that keeps me glue to my seat. Just boring, dull and one ruined character after another. That's the difference with me.

JMO

You know, it is so nice to be able to read thoughtful posts discussing the writing fiasco that is OLTL, and not fear that the posts will be deleted, the thread deleted, or that the posters will be banned! I hate censorship, and hate I discouraging thoughtful debate. This is refreshing, and thank you Chris for providing this forum for us banished souls from SOC! LOL

The writing is horrible...the destruction of Todd would be complete if not for the incredible acting chops of Trevor St. John. He has saved Todd many times from the jaws of RC and FV. TSJ is the only reason I continue watching OLTL. He never leaves me wanting or wishing..he is so damn good...despite the crappy writing. I hope Tea doesn't die, because the thought of losing Florencia is devastating to even contemplate.

nascargal wrote:You know, it is so nice to be able to read thoughtful posts discussing the writing fiasco that is OLTL, and not fear that the posts will be deleted, the thread deleted, or that the posters will be banned! I hate censorship, and hate I discouraging thoughtful debate. This is refreshing, and thank you Chris for providing this forum for us banished souls from SOC! LOL

You're more than welcome. Like I said in another thread, the very first OLTL message board I posted at had no moderation whatsoever, and yet the posters were all principally respectful and thoughtful, and there was a real "flow" of conversation there. There were definitely disagreements, but the disagreements tended to not be childish, and would often encourage juicy discourse and riveting show analyzation. Even when you got the occasional troll, or problem starter, they didn't last long; the posters would by and large ignore them and so they'd quickly leave.

The writing is horrible...the destruction of Todd would be complete if not for the incredible acting chops of Trevor St. John. He has saved Todd many times from the jaws of RC and FV. TSJ is the only reason I continue watching OLTL. He never leaves me wanting or wishing..he is so damn good...despite the crappy writing. I hope Tea doesn't die, because the thought of losing Florencia is devastating to even contemplate.

I agree. TSJ's enduring performance has (too many times) saved Todd from writing and storylines that should have been enough to destroy the character outright. I think Dena and Ron both did things to Todd that should have never happened. Higley made him a wimp, and too much of a vulnerable glutton for punishment...while Carlivati often times makes him too cartoon pretentious, and uses him to prop empty/uninteresting stories and characters.

The only writers who ever truly "got" Todd were his creators, Griffith and Malone.

You all make very valid points and I agree with most of them. I have struggled over the years watching storylines that I was not interested in or just plain bad but I NEVER stopped watching. At this time, the show needs the support of the Fans if it is going to continue. By people not watching the show that is just going to escalate the downfall and eventual cancellation of the show. Then what? We have nothing to discuss or complain about. I try to have faith that the writing and storylines will get better but I will not stop watching just because I don't like a particular storyline, I have my FF button and I can watch the storylines that do interest me. JMHO

Ron and his scribes have been drinking the Disney punch for so long that they no longer know how to write sls for anyone over the age of 18.

Come September am no longer part of the all important rating and demos age wise. The age am turning in September am no longer important to them anymore lol.

So that's one of reasons why I don't worry about tuning out. They won't care enough about me as viewer that I'am tuning out lol.

i don't trust RC, he done nothing to inspire faith or confidence.

RC seems to be trying to destroy OLTL. Character assassination and destruction are par for the course with him.

At 53 yoa, I am way past the demographic OLTL-ABCD is interested in. Too bad, because I could give them several pointers that would make daytime profitable for them again.

At one time daytime dramas used to pay for all the other programs a network had to offer, believe it or not.
Young, new talent was utilized, but only as supporting actors to the veterans until it was felt that they were strong enough to carry a show on its own. Teen storylines were usually reserved for the summer, because the kids were home from school and would be watching. Even then, they interacted more with the vets who played their family members. Their autonomy was limited. They were not isolated in their own little bubble all the time.

Storylines were age-appropriate. The teen queens would be living at home not with their boyfriends. Any on-the-run adventures would be reserved for the 20-somethings like the Buchanan twins, not the Manning sisters. Either Cole and Starr would have a shotgun wedding and live alone with Hope or there would be some convoluted storyline with Todd keeping SOLE apart, Starr would have Hope out of state and Blair would be passing Hope off as her own child to protect Starr from the disgrace of unwed motherhood so she could eventually marry a nice guy.

Daytime used to understand that their setting was Small Town, USA (which most of their viewership used to come from) and that newcomers aren't easily embraced. Young, newbie talent was usually introduced as related to a beloved core character to get their foot in the door. Older actors tended to play troublemakers to either cause temporary angst or be redeemed after they had paid their dues.

Soaps used to be less about PSAs (public service announcements) and more about choices and their consequences. If they did write PSAs, they wrapped them up quickly with what I call "kill the messenger" minor characters who could deliver the Message of Tolerance du Jour and then be written out in a pivotal way.

Soaps used to be more about the storyline. Backstage agendas were kept backstage. Most viewers had no idea who played a character and most actors preferred it that way. It was understood that, for younger actors, soaps were just a stepping stone; a discipline, a way of using the daytime grind to bank a lot of money to carry them through while they pursued their big break on prime time, feature films, or Broadway. Most actors didn't even put their soap service on their resumes until recently. It was highly unusual for a young actor to be on a show after five years. Because there were no actor personality cults, like "Roger's Godders" among Todd Fans, for example, the show was free to let Divas and Divos go, citing "creative differences" or simply announce they were taking a character "in a new direction."

Soaps are failing, because they have made the classic mistake of alienating their older, core, heterosexual primarily conservative, Caucasian audience while going after much younger teens, gays, and people of color (who they have no idea how to write for, thus they leave them flailing for storyline).

They rely too heavily on actors to do their own public relations which is disastrous if the actor is tactless.

They give more financial incentive to writers who creative new characters than writing for veteran characters.

They have eliminated administrative support by eliminating the show historian, outside legal, medical (and if they are going to go for certain issues), and social consultants. What's worse is that they eliminated their writers training program, which left them recycling the same hacks who butchered other shows.

My recommendations are as follows:

Hire a Public Relations specialist to push story lines. Have actors show up solely in character and schmooze with the fans of a character or coupling at soap events, but keep their opinions to themselves. With the internet, there is absolutely no reason why this can't be done, but hire a researcher who will keep track of past storylines, history, dynamics and also get information about medical, legal and other stuff to keep the show realistic and professional.

However, do not rely on internet feedback to dictate storylines. The net fans are very savvy and know how to fake higher support for certain couplings than really exists, especially now that every board seems to have walked away from having separate sections for individual characters or couplings and now seems to be one big general discussion board. You invite a pro-couple title with no real comments that just keeps getting bumped to the top of the board to manipulate you into writing for that couple.

Stop encouraging fanbase wars. The point of a triangle should be resolving it; not keep it going into perpetuity. It should be very clear to the audience why, for example, T&B don't work anymore and TnT does, but it also should be clear that Blair is headed to bigger and better things. And make sure some thing bigger and better is waiting in the wings. The audience should always be on the same page, because they have reached consensus.

Resurrect the writers' program. Hire gays and minority interns to help modernize, but keep stern instructions in place to focus on the core demographic.

Require any writer to justify creating a new, unrelated character to do a storyline if there is already a similar character on the canvas who could do the job. Require any writer to give a pivotal sendoff (preferably with a happy ending) to any character he decided to retire. Make pay contingent on ratings. If they go up, the pay does and vice versa.

Require balanced air time to all the characters on canvas. It makes no financial sense to have a bunch of vets on contact and pay them for working a certain number of episodes a week which they are not written into. Moreover, this only alienates the fans who want to see them on their screens.

SkinTheKat wrote:At 53 yoa, I am way past the demographic OLTL-ABCD is interested in. Too bad, because I could give them several pointers that would make daytime profitable for them again.

At one time daytime dramas used to pay for all the other programs a network had to offer, believe it or not.
Young, new talent was utilized, but only as supporting actors to the veterans until it was felt that they were strong enough to carry a show on its own. Teen storylines were usually reserved for the summer, because the kids were home from school and would be watching. Even then, they interacted more with the vets who played their family members. Their autonomy was limited. They were not isolated in their own little bubble all the time.

Storylines were age-appropriate. The teen queens would be living at home not with their boyfriends. Any on-the-run adventures would be reserved for the 20-somethings like the Buchanan twins, not the Manning sisters. Either Cole and Starr would have a shotgun wedding and live alone with Hope or there would be some convoluted storyline with Todd keeping SOLE apart, Starr would have Hope out of state and Blair would be passing Hope off as her own child to protect Starr from the disgrace of unwed motherhood so she could eventually marry a nice guy.

Daytime used to understand that their setting was Small Town, USA (which most of their viewership used to come from) and that newcomers aren't easily embraced. Young, newbie talent was usually introduced as related to a beloved core character to get their foot in the door. Older actors tended to play troublemakers to either cause temporary angst or be redeemed after they had paid their dues.

Soaps used to be less about PSAs (public service announcements) and more about choices and their consequences. If they did write PSAs, they wrapped them up quickly with what I call "kill the messenger" minor characters who could deliver the Message of Tolerance du Jour and then be written out in a pivotal way.

Soaps used to be more about the storyline. Backstage agendas were kept backstage. Most viewers had no idea who played a character and most actors preferred it that way. It was understood that, for younger actors, soaps were just a stepping stone; a discipline, a way of using the daytime grind to bank a lot of money to carry them through while they pursued their big break on prime time, feature films, or Broadway. Most actors didn't even put their soap service on their resumes until recently. It was highly unusual for a young actor to be on a show after five years. Because there were no actor personality cults, like "Roger's Godders" among Todd Fans, for example, the show was free to let Divas and Divos go, citing "creative differences" or simply announce they were taking a character "in a new direction."

Soaps are failing, because they have made the classic mistake of alienating their older, core, heterosexual primarily conservative, Caucasian audience while going after much younger teens, gays, and people of color (who they have no idea how to write for, thus they leave them flailing for storyline).

They rely too heavily on actors to do their own public relations which is disastrous if the actor is tactless.

They give more financial incentive to writers who creative new characters than writing for veteran characters.

They have eliminated administrative support by eliminating the show historian, outside legal, medical (and if they are going to go for certain issues), and social consultants. What's worse is that they eliminated their writers training program, which left them recycling the same hacks who butchered other shows.

My recommendations are as follows:

Hire a Public Relations specialist to push story lines. Have actors show up solely in character and schmooze with the fans of a character or coupling at soap events, but keep their opinions to themselves. With the internet, there is absolutely no reason why this can't be done, but hire a researcher who will keep track of past storylines, history, dynamics and also get information about medical, legal and other stuff to keep the show realistic and professional.

However, do not rely on internet feedback to dictate storylines. The net fans are very savvy and know how to fake higher support for certain couplings than really exists, especially now that every board seems to have walked away from having separate sections for individual characters or couplings and now seems to be one big general discussion board. You invite a pro-couple title with no real comments that just keeps getting bumped to the top of the board to manipulate you into writing for that couple.

Stop encouraging fanbase wars. The point of a triangle should be resolving it; not keep it going into perpetuity. It should be very clear to the audience why, for example, T&B don't work anymore and TnT does, but it also should be clear that Blair is headed to bigger and better things. And make sure some thing bigger and better is waiting in the wings. The audience should always be on the same page, because they have reached consensus.

Resurrect the writers' program. Hire gays and minority interns to help modernize, but keep stern instructions in place to focus on the core demographic.

Require any writer to justify creating a new, unrelated character to do a storyline if there is already a similar character on the canvas who could do the job. Require any writer to give a pivotal sendoff (preferably with a happy ending) to any character he decided to retire. Make pay contingent on ratings. If they go up, the pay does and vice versa.

Require balanced air time to all the characters on canvas. It makes no financial sense to have a bunch of vets on contact and pay them for working a certain number of episodes a week which they are not written into. Moreover, this only alienates the fans who want to see them on their screens.

* double post *

Thanks, TSJToddFan.

I would love to see a Daytime Renaissance, because I have a young family member who is very much interested in acting and Daytime presented actors the only respectable way to hone their craft while waiting for their big break. With these disgusting "Reality Shows" becoming popular what does that leave young, attractive, aspiring actors but to wait tables or end up in porn?

Okay. I was tired last night, so I didn't pay much attention to my grammar and I forgot a few other points that writers overlooked or traps they fell into. I will follow up with examples, so this will be rather long.

Daytime needs to recognize when to let a pivotal character go, because when they don't, the character becomes a gimmick. I am talking the character of Todd Manning. The character outlived his shelf life right after the Can of Dirt Baby Lie. Anyone with a lick of sense knew that Roger Howarth was getting increasingly restive and would jump ship as soon as he found a safe landing. Why his defection to ATWT took TPTB off guard was a mystery to me. The character should have been "killed off" somewhere in the South Pacific, with his badly decomposed body washing ashore in Guam.

Earlier, I had talked about not introducing a new actor to play a character that was similar to one already one the canvas. There is an exception to that which we can call The RH Factor. RH's comings and goings should have been more effectively addressed than merely throwing more money and time off at him. Especially when, with a little attention to OLTL's history/dynamics, the right casting and a few strokes of the pen, another hot, sexy, slightly younger Dark Prince on the canvas was the perfect remedy for the RH Factor. The perfect character to bring back to the canvas was Drew Buchanan as Prince Mordred to Bo's King Arthur. Make him a Billy Badass Young Asa - the truest Buchanan. Management must deal with difficult employees from a position of strength to maintain a smooth operation. A "you can and will be replaced if you don't straighten ups" is the only sane approach, especially in a field which has 85 percent unemployment.

Todd Manning was weighed down with a lot of what I call "Schlock and Auggh" Degradation Schtick that did not need to be transferred to a brand new actor. Malone and Griffith's "Heart of a Lord" storyline did not need NuTodd to carry it, all it needed was another Lord Contender. Keeping TSJ as Walker Lawrence and making this character the bastard son of Victor Lord and Mitch Lawrence's mother would have gone a long way to provide some back history of animus that would explain Mitch's obsession with either dominating or destroying the Lords.

Todd's sole remaining value was his legacy; his fortune, his "widows" and their children. Tea and Blair should have been established respectively as Viki and Dorian v. 2.0. Had the Manning Family timeline been adhered to, Danielle would have been the TnTot conceived when Tea left town with Todd (which would have explained Tea's mysterious return to Llanview when his Can O'Dirt Ruse was exposed) and Sam could have been the TnTot conceived on the island right before Todd died. There were years of long-term storyline to be milked out of just focusing on Tea, Blair and the children they had by Todd.

Clint Buchanan was another character that should have been killed off in a pivotal way when Natalie was discovered back in 2001. It should have been done, because the show had a Clint-intensive storyline that they did not want to use Clint Ritchie in for whatever murky backstage agenda of the day was going on at the time. Jessica "robbing" Natalie of her idealized life with the late Clint Buchanan could have been a long-term wedge issue with the girls.

The clumsy handling of Clint highlighted another glaring weakness of OLTL. How budget considerations made smooth transitions for younger characters to take over an older character's paradigm. Cordero Roberts was the logical person to step in as Asa's good-guy-conscience foil at BE. John Loprieno was a writer for the show. James DePaiva had directed several stellar episodes of the show. The best choice was to make JDP a full-time director, keep JL on as a writer and have both men play their traditional roles on a recurring status so there would be a touchstone and romantic leads for 45-55 yoa actresses like Catherine Hickland and Fiona Hutchinson. Bo Buchanan should have been elected Mayor and John McBain should have been promoted to Police Commissioner (and written along the lines of Tristan Rogers' Robert Scorpio to lock in GH-PC viewers).

Another big mistake soaps make is assuming actors rather than storylines are the big draw to viewers. When it looked like AW was going to be canceled, JFP rounded up all her FOJ from AW and brought them over to play completely different character types operating in alien themes. Kale Browne's Sam Rappaport and Linda Dano's Rae Cummings were a far cry from respectively Michael Hudson and Felicia Gallant. Moreover, they only incurred the wrath of OLTL viewers who resented the Newbie Saturation which robbed them of their faves' screen time. Rather than hiring a defunct show's actors, it is better to look for common themes that will keep core viewers watching while luring in the defunct show's viewers. If cross-over actors are brought over, they need to incorporate them to shore up those common themes, or it is a waste of time and money.

Bree Williamson auditioned for the role of Jenny Rappaport, but didn't get it, because she looked like Erin Torpey's much sexier twin. The Natalie Balsom storyline seemed designed to push ET out the door so they could recast the role with BW. With so many former AW actors still on canvas, OLTL would have done better to keep ET as Jessica, and introduce BW as her sexier, edgier half-twin to lock in more AW viewers by doing a Vicky/Marley Hudson dynamic with Viki's daughters. To further keep the ball rolling, Melissa Archer could have been brought in as Allison Perkin's biological daughter by Viki's nephew Daniel Wolek.

RC turned what could have been a dramatic umbrella PSA into a Gay Pride celebration which made KISH a gay porn embarrassment rather than a landmark storyline addressing the ramifications when someone has no codified legal status where their partner is concerned. KISH should have been designed as a short-term storyline which resulted in the fresh-faced gay cop Oliver being mortally injured in the line of duty with Kyle having no legal standing which would give him no say in his medical care, no way to execute his final wishes, and no right to his daughter by Stacy. A heartbroken Kyle departing Llanview alone, leaving Sierra with her presumptive father, Skye and his wife Rachel to fight Rex and Gigi for custody, would have garnered the show Emmy-winning attention.

Believe me, if the show had had Tea convince her good buddy, Rachel Gannon to marry her roommate, Skye to help him successfully fend off Rex and Gigi's custody action, viewers would have been treated to a nice arc with Rachel and Skye getting closer because they share a family with Sierra, Skye and an ambivalent Gigi's residual feelings for each other, a romantic rivalry between Gigi and Rachel as Rachel realizes she is falling for Skye and vice versa, not to mention Rex's sibling rivalry when Skye not Rex is revealed as Roxy's real son. Once all obstacles had been removed, Rachel adopted "Skye's daughter," Sierra, then Skye could be killed of leaving Rachel his grieving widow, bravely raising Sierra alone. A nice, compelling romantic arch.

African Americans are a loyal lot who continue to keep Y&R at the top of the soap heap, because they try to write for black actors. Y&R's big problem is that this is a very narrow, incestuous pool with sisters involved with brothers. Rachel Gannon and Layla Williamson were unrelated. However, Layla is in an interracial relationship and Rachel's best hope for storyline was with the Caucasion, Skye. Moreover, the show fell back into using blacks as sibling groups who didn't even look remotely like each other. Greg looks like the proverbial redheaded stepchild of the Evans family.

The ideal way to introduce a new character is through a core family, usually via marriage, or ties of blood. However, African Americans are as chilly to the idea of black-white miscegenation as many of their European American counterparts. Still the perfect way to effect this was through the colorful White bigamist Asa Buchanan and the woman of color who made groundbreaking daytime history passing herself as White, Carla Benari Grey. One of Asa's wives being a mysterious Italian who had "betrayed" him with a black man and presented him with a little girl that was "obviously not his," would have been a great back history. That little black girl indeed turning out to be Asa's daughter would have rocked the house and she would have been the right age to pair with TDS' RJ Gannon.

In the meantime, stepping outside of sibling groups is the best way to get black male-female interaction that could generate an organic black supercouple, so a single Layla, a widowed Rachel, Greg, and maybe a character like Vincent Hall (Ed's great grandson) and any ancillary, recurring black characters would up the odds of that happening.

Last, but not least, it was Lamar Harding who said that a soap was showing its age when there was no working class, everyone was a millionaire, and the richest man in town wasn't that big a deal. OLTL is in that position. It would be more compelling to show a struggling working class of every color. Only the Latinos seem to be blue-collar. Latinos watch telenovelas to see rich and beautiful Latinos living large. Where are the working white classes like Vinnie and Anna and Wanda? Where are the secretaries, security guards, nurses, cops, teachers, factory workers? Real diversity comes more from class lines than color lines. OLTL used to be good at that.