One Life To Live

I currently watch the daytime drama, One Life To Live (OLTL), which first aired on July 15, 1968. My mother did not watch "soaps" and discouraged their viewing, so I had never been exposed to that world. But later, as an adult, and due to some short-term unemployment, I started watching one afternoon, got hooked, and have been a loyal fan since 1981. (My mother still disapproves, but what can I say at this point—LOL). Here is an interesting excerpt from Wikepedia:

Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social issues. Actress Erika Slezak has portrayed central heroine Victoria "Viki" Lord on One Life to Live since March 1971, and has won six Daytime Emmy Awards for the role. The series itself won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 2002.

To learn more about the history of OLTL on Wikepedia, here is the link: OneLifeToLive_Wikipedia

I have followed the show, the many changing characters and the sometimes wacky story lines under a revolving door of head writers. But lately, there seems to be more stability under head writer Ron Carlivati, and there is a renewed dedication to the integrity of the original story lines and characters. The fans don't forget how the story started and ended, so the writers can't disregard this loyalty when they try to make drastic changes or "age" characters, to create a new story line.

From time-to-time they bring back the original actor who played a character in the past. The fans always love this and the writers get an A+ for arranging these emotional reunions. If the character was "killed off" in the story, they come back as a ghostly guide, when their advice or encouragement is needed by a friend or loved one and when no one else's advice will do (sometimes there is a secret involved, so they can't confide in anyone else).

All-in-all, I have watched the show for so many years that I actually consider the characters to be like friends. I look forward to what they are doing each day. And since I live in NYC, I have actually encountered several of the actors in everyday situations—just walking down the street, in an ice cream store, on the subway, and the oddest of all, at the laundromat!! That was weird.

Some people who are not viewers of the daytime dramas, may not realize that there are no reruns, except for an occasional holiday. There is a new episode every Monday through Friday. Wow, that is a lot of lines to memorize (they don't work with teleprompters), but since there are many side stories running at the same time, we don't see the same people everyday, and the actors don't have to work five days a week unless they are in the middle of a very intense story line.

The point of all this commentary is to say that, in the future, I will be blogging about OLTL, especially when there is an especially intriguing or controversial story going on. I will not be discussing any "spoilers" since being surprised is part of the fun of the unexpected plot twists.

Please come back and read what I have to say, and feel free to comment. I am also listed on Twitter as BlueJeansDoctor

Til next time..............