Top 10 Ways to Improve One Life to Live

OLTL needs to address why a small town like Lanview has so many nightclubs?

But seriously, I think OLTL is better than other soaps at showing people living at different ends of the economic strata. However, in the olden days of Wanda and the Woleks there was more of a sense of the economic struggle that motivated these characters. Today, Gigi seems to have money to burn on a psychic and a plane ticket to Texas despite the fact that the diner she works in just burnt to the ground. And don't get me started on her home which she seems to afford, after a period of sofa diving amongst some of Lanview's finest homes.

Which leads to an off topic (but often considered) question: If the Crane's of Passions were so rich, why couldn't they move into a hotel once they got divorced. Ethan, Gwen, and Rebbecca lived there long after it was appropriate given their relationships with the owner of the Crane mansion. But, it is canceled so I guess it doesn't matter.....

Keep: Tina,Cord,Carlo, Talia.
Bring back ALL Bucannes, Lords, Cramers.
Another than that OLTL is good.
GL/AMC/ATWT/GH/B&B/Y&R Fans!!!!!!!!!

I seem to be the only one who realy doesn't enjoy OLTL. But it's never been one of my favorite soaps, so I could take it or leave it. Is it better than years past, yes. One thing they have to fix is that stupid stuck in the past storyline. Getting hit by lightning and your in the 60's? Give me a break, sci-fi stuff (it's kinda sci-fi now) stuff doesn't work on daytime. Never has and never will. The flying dagger on GH, Cassie the alien on GH, Passions, Reva stepping into portraits, and the crap that was on Port Charles, which was it's death toll among other things.

Since I am not sure if I will be able to do this one, here are mine.

1.) Stop all the shenanigans and tomfoolery. Ron is the best soap writer in daytime, so he should write a soap, not a back-to-the-future spoof.

2.) Stop this creepy Marty/Todd b.s. Soaps are written primarily for women. What woman wants to see a rapist once again tormenting his victim?

3.) Enough with evil-Todd, this character, despite his past crimes, has become one of the show's heroes in recent years (i.e. GH's Luke, AW's Jake). Stop the insta-regression, yet keep him slightly sinister and REPAIR his relationship with Starr.

4.) Make Jessica a Buchanan again.

5.) Do whatever it takes to get Melissa Fumero back on contract.

6.) Go full speed ahead with John and Blair, but keep Todd in the mix.

7.) Re-hire Renee Goldsberry and have Todd/Vangie/John/Blair become the hottest quad in daytime.

8.) Backburner Addie, characters like this are good in SMALL doses.

9.) Pitt Tina and Dorian against each other for David.

10.) Give Nora a hot young legal assistant - a male - that flirts with her and makes her feel good about herself. Then have them sleep together one night. Then have the guy file sexual harassment charges against Nora or just any storyline for the character other than sniffing around after Lindsay. 

I'm gonna TRY to keep this short. But no promises. You have been warned...

10. STOP THE 80's FETISH - The hyper 80's was a defining era for soaps, when so many current viewers became fans of their soap or the genre. But OLTL's richest legacy is in the 70's (as alluded to by sodsince16). The class consciousness, the racial AND ethnic diversification, the Wolek's, Carla, Ed Hall, the evils of Marco Dane and Dr. Ivan Kipling preceded Tina going over the Iguazu Falls, Mendorra, Eterna and all the rest of that nuttiness. When it comes to reaching back into OLTL's history, it should extend further than 1982.

9. BRING BACK CARLO HESSER - Every show needs a master villain, whether it is Stefano DiMera on one end of the spectrum or Alan Spaulding at the other. After a near disastrous ruination of Carlo in the Mendorran mess, Mr. Hesser in the form of the magnificent Thom Christopher can still be brought back to Llanview to cause havoc for all.

8. DIAL IT BACK FOLKS - Recently, OLTL has gone into overacting overdrive. While many of the cast members still bring depth, understatement and subtext to their roles and dialogue, others are chewing scenery as if Cracker Barrel were giving out coupons for an all you can eat country buffet. I don't need to name names. Just watch and it's easy to tell the heartfelt scenes of dramatic intensity from the one seemingly directed by Michael Bay's third cousin. Stop it. And stop it now.

7. RE-DEFINE THE VEGAS - Once upon a time, they were the most buzzed about "new" families on daytime: one of daytime's -- maybe even television's -- highest profile Latino families, fiercely proud with unique individuals, and interesting in their own right. Now they are sleepwalking automatons, dragged out to fulfill contract guarantees and to push someone else's storyline. I won't even mention the Mendorran mess (although I can't seem to stop doing so). The Vegas need to be relevant again.

6. THE DRAMATIC CUTAWAYS AT THE END OF EACH ACT DON'T NEED TO BE USED FOR EVERY SINGLE ACT - It's so bad that when Nigel walks into a room with a brandy for Nora and there's a dramatic cutaway to a commercial, it's time to ease off on them. I'm just sayin'.....

5. OLTL's AFRICAN-AMERICANS - Where the hell are they? Why are they almost always introduced in promising fashion with great actors but then just die on the vine? Tobias Truvillion showed so much promise that has been wasted. Tika Sumpter floats around the canvas aimlessly. And let's not even talk about Timothy D. Stickney and the shaft his character, R.J. Gannon, has received over the years. For a show whose foundation was built on racial and ethnic diversity, it is perhaps this glaring misuse of its Black cast (and the Vegas) that is OLTL's most disappointing element at this point.

4. IT'S TIME FOR A VIST FROM NIKKI SMITH! -- With Tess on the loose, it's time for everyone's favorite alter to come out and play. After all, when Viki was in "heaven," Nikki told her that where ever Viki went so did she. Well, Viki was brought back to life and so was Nikki. The story possibilities are endless: is Nikki the only one who can stop Tess? Could she turn out to be Tess' ally? And what might happen when Charlie gets a load of her? Who knows...she might even put some muttonchops on Jared's face! I'm just saying...

3. ANDREA EVANS - While the much-heralded return of Ms. Evans in the much-hated Mendorra fiasco made big waves on both counts, the biggest disappointment has been that Ms. Evans has been playing Tina and the character has been written as a slightly more down-to-earth version of her character Rebecca from Passions. Tina was always over the top, but never so fidgety or mugging the camera with ham-fisted, eyelash batting expressions or so jumpy. Tina was always a wily vixen with nerves of steel, not a jittery cougar on too much caffeine. Let's see more of the former, less of the latter.

2. ABC NEEDS TO PROMOTE OLTL MORE AGGRESSIVELY - Self-explanatory.

1. REIGN IN RON CARLIVATI - He's one of daytime's most dynamic and popular writers, even if the ratings don't quite reflect it. His stories are almost always entertaining, even the not so successful ones. But....and this is hard to quantify....as good as OLTL is day in and day out, there is a feeling that the show veers dangerously off the reservation. It is as if with all the free reign given him by Brian Frons and Frank Valentini, almost every whim is granted. Wouldn't it be great if re recreated Tina going over the Iguazu Falls! Wouldn't it be great if we burned down Carlotta's diner! Wouldn't it be great if Justis Bolding could act as "Sarah"! (I threw that last one in there). Nonetheless, the show feels like its reach exceeds its grasp, though to be fair it often falls just short of doing so (a la the 1968 storyline, which dangerously has bordered between ludicrous and illuminating). Carlivati doesn't have the throw everything including the kitchen sink at us to prove his love for OLTL or to tell a good story. We know he does and he can.

1. Stop treating Todd Manning like the town psycho. I know that he brutally gang raped a woman and has done some other reprehensible stuff over the past 15 years, but he isn't really much worse than others in town. Marty forgave him. Her opinion should have been the one to truly matter. When Dena Higley brought Marty back (in the form of Cristina Chambers), all the forgiveness was suddenly forgotten. She suddenly had a hatred and fear of him that didn't make sense. I would also like them to repair his relationship with Starr. That was one of my favorite relationships on the show, because above all else, she made him want to be good.

2. Fix Starr. She's too whiny. She is Todd and Blair's child. She should have been the one to act like Brittany. Not cowering to the mean girl in school. I honestly think that had she been a true Manning/Cramer woman, she'd have stolen Cole from Brittany in a heart beat. And with this pregnancy, I would like for them to have her stop telling Todd it's all his fault.

3. Re-Buch Jess.

4. I was kind of hoping that somehow they'd tie Marko to the canvas by saying he was the love child of Antonio and some woman back when he was El Leon.

5. Bring the Gannons back and bring Evangeline back along with her mother. I know plenty of people have been calling for more blacks to be on the show, and I agree. What it seems like to me is that they sacrifice one race/ethnic group for another one.

6. Bring back Max and his twins. Franky could be a good boyfriend for Starr. If Todd hated Cole because of his parents, imagine how much he'd hate Franky.

7. Teach Natalie some family loyalty. It bugs me that she will throw her own family under the bus for a guy. Was that something Roxy did to her all the time growing up?

8. Tell us who Rex's daddy is already. I wanted it to be Bo, because of the father son dynamic they have going. And while they're at it, tell him about his son.

9. Make Tess less cartoonish. I want her to be like Uncle Todd.

10. Bring back Thorsten Kaye. It highly bugged me that all this time they spoke about Cole being orphaned with absolutely no family, but he did have an uncle and a cousin. So even if Thorsten is brought back as Patrick, he could still be Ian.

I love this show -- I watch it spoiler free and enjoy it totally.

I would improve by bringing back Lindsay and RJ. Stop with the Tess/Jess crap -- that bores me. I also can find Marcie/Michael a little annoying on ocassion but other than that -- I am good.

______

http://www.tv.com/users/TVNerd95/profile.php

10. Llanfair is not a motel.
9. Fix Starr's relationship with Todd.
8. Blair/Todd/Vangie/John/Marty.
7. Carlo Hesser needs to stick around.
8. Tess is way over the top and should be toned down.
6. After hiring A Martinez, let's beef up the African-American characters, RJ, Rachel, Vangie, Laila, Vincent.
5. Bring back Adriana if only as a spoiler to Rexx/Gigi.
4. Fix Tina the character use to be fierce.
3. The 80's were great, but so were the 70's.
2. Natalie needs a kick in the pants for selecting Jared over her family.
1. Diversity, diversity and different economic backgrounds.

There are lots of things wrong with OLTL right now....What should they do to improve? This is in no particular order.

1) More sex and love in the afternoon.
2) Stay in the present, forget about the 80s.
3) Stop assassinating character integrity for the sake of a plot point (e.g. having Natalie throw her family under a bus for a jackass newbie)
4) Less teen stuff. Period.
5) Reunite John and Natalie...stop trying to force these characters into other romantic pairings. It doesn't work. Never will.
6) Let John and Natalie interact in scenes and actually acknowledge each other! This is ridiculous!
7) Get rid of Todd and Blair. I'm tired of them. And, have them take Starr, Cole, Jared and Marty with them. A waste of space.
Let Gigi tell Rex he's Shane's dad already! Drop dragging this nonsense out!
9) Make Jessica finally own up to her mistakes instead of blaming everything on Tess. Make her accountable! I'm tired of them making Jessica out to be the good daughter and Natalie the bad one. It's not true. Natalie is much more loving, kind and loyal than Jessica ever will be. Problem is Natalie is not being written that way right now.
10) Bring Alison Perkins and Mitch Lawrence back. They're the only ones from the past I care about in this mess.

1. Have Carlo be involve with Dorian with BE takeover. Have Carlo give Dorian information about BE so that she would get back at the Buchanans and have him come back after that Mendorra mess and come back a complex villain instead of a cartoon one.
2. Recast Sarah with an actress who can play against Andrea Evans.
3. Get more minority characters, like Rachel Gannon, Vangie Williamson, and Layla, RJ. Gannon and Hank. and the Greys back in Llanview.
4. Stop rehashing old s/ls from the past and create good character-driven drama.
5. Redefined Starr Manning because she have lost her spunk and fire and fix her relationship with Todd. I not saying having her following everything her father say, but have a sit down and have it out and talk about their relationship and both listen to each other.
6. Let Shane know that Rex is his father.
7. Stop making the people dumb when it comes to Tess. Integrate her so that Jess is the dominated one but have Tess personality and fire to her.
8. Even though I like Todd and Marty's scenes, I wish that she gets her memory back and know about her son and grandchild and stop this sick fantasy before the it freaks fans out.
9. Get Blair spine and brain back and let her go into therapy to deal with her issues with Todd and not knowing who her father is. Have her and John be good friends and then make them a couple.
10. Get Tina involve with Dorian so that they can come together to defeat Carlo Hesser.
11. Explore the Tina/Viki dynamic and have Tina and David interact with each other. Viki wants to know where Tina have been all this time.
12. Make the Vegas more complexed instead of this one-note stereotypes.
13. Have Starr miscarried the child because I feel that she is too young to be a mother and I think the s/l is not working.
14. Ron, most importantly, listen to the fans about what is working and fix what needs to be fix.

siomonstuart2003

One life to live does not need much improvement because it is great right now. But certain things need to happen.

1. Blair and Todd or DONE! Don't put them back together its been done before and then 50 million times before that.
2. Jared needs to GO! and Natalie needs redemption. Jared is a killer and I will never support this pairing. This pairing is what made me hate her in the first place. A women choosing a man over her family is digusting.
3. Susan Haskell and Trevor St. John HAVE AWESOME CHEMISTRY. THEY CAN BE THE NEXT LUKE AND LAURA IF DONE RIGHT! Their storyline is compelling and I tune in hoping their on because I just cant get enough. If the story is done right then I would support this pairing.
4. Rex and Gigi need to be together raising their son Shane. They are hot!
5. This whole baby storyline is annoying. Starr shouldn't even have this baby. I don't support a mother miscarrying or an abortion, but seeing as how this is daytime the baby will most likely be un-aborted down the road and we will have another Josh Madden on our hands. But by then I'll be done with soaps so right now let starr loose that baby.
6. Reunite John and Natalie. They don't work with anyone else.

you don't even need a 7,8,9,10 because the show is doing very good right now.

I love OLTL right now, but there's always room for improvement:

1. Keep the Camp to a Minimum: Don't tell multiple over-the-top stories simultaneously. Having the Mendorra, 1968 and Tess stories being told all at once was just too much. One story being played for laughs is more than enough. A show with a sense of humor is one thing, but no one wants to tune in to see utter nonsense every day.

2. Don't Let Comedic Characters Turn Into Caricatures: OLTL has some of the best comedic actors on daytime and I love funny characters, but sometimes they're in danger of turning into cartoon characters. Roxie, David, Rex, Dorian, and now Tina -- they're all hilarious but I want them to be 3 dimensional people, not just comic relief.

3. Keep Todd as the Man We All Love to Hate: Most of us don't want to see a softer, kinder Todd and we certainly don't want to see him as a victim (as has been done in past years). I want Todd to stay true to who he is at his very core - a complex Son of Bitch, who has some redeeming characteristics and a wicked sense of humor. He's the town bastard - NOT a hero or anti-hero (sorry Jamey!) And give the whole Todd/Blair thing a rest already!! I want them to continue to be in each others' orbit, still driving each other nuts, but lets get them paired with other people. I'd love to see Todd fall in love with someone else... watching a real bastard fall in love is always good drama!!

4. Lighten Up The Brothers Grim: Do the Vega Boys actually have personalities? Sometimes it seems like all their humor and lightness has been sucked out of them. All shows need stoic heroes and not everyone can be a laugh riot, but these guys are glum and boring Talia makes Antonio more interesting, so keep them together but keep the talking to a minimum - just show them having lots of sex and for goodness sakes let him smile once in awhile! As for Cristian, see #5...

5. Recast Sarah: Justis Bolding is cute and likeable, but as an actress she's limited. Now with Tina back, Sarah has become a high profile role and they need someone who can handle it. It should be an actress who can bring some feistiness to the role and who has chemistry with David Fumero. Fumero can be HOT when paired with the right woman, and with a recast there's a chance at making the Cristian/Sarah pairing interesting.

6. Bring Back Melissa Fumero (aka Bitchy Bangs): The show needs someone in that age group who can really get her Bitch on! Fumero has already proven she can play an edgier and more interesting Adriana, so bring her back and let's see her shake things up!!

7. Bring Back Lindsay!! Catherine Hickland is a gem and Lindsay & Nora's relationship is hysterical. With enough time and some great writing it could be one of the best feuds in daytime. Just give her something to do other than chasing Bo!

8. Bring Back RJ!! Timothy Stickney is such a dynamic actor, has tons of chemistry with everyone he's in a scene with and he is SEXY!!! This is a no-brainer!

9. Please End Marcie's Baby Obsession: Besides it continuing the Marcie/Todd Hate Fest (which I do like), Marcie's baby fever is not entertaining. She's coming across as pathetic and I'm starting to wonder why Michael just doesn't dump her *ss for good. I like Marcie, but enough is enough - can't they figure out something else for her to do? If they want to give her a kid have her take in some troubled kid (maybe a second cousin or something), who will shake things up for the current teen set.

10. I have no idea where CJ Roberts is (I've only watched OLTL on and off over the years) but I say bring him back as a teen. Make him bisexual and have him steal Markko from Langston!

Let the writers and Executive Producers do their job without unnecessary input and disruption.

Focus more on the Lords/Mannings, Buchanans, Gannons and Vegas. Bring back Todd (Roger Howarth), Tea (Florencia Lozano), Kevin, Kelly, Joey, Jessica (Erin Torpey), Cassie (Laura Koffman), Andrew (Wortham Krimmer), Hank (Nathan Purdee), Rachel (Ellen Bethea), Max and RJ. Do the younger generation with CJ, Sarah, River, Frank, Leslie, Starr and Matthew.

Stop trying to re-kindle Todd and Blair. Let it go.

Hire talented actors.

Stop inventing newbies, work with the characters that are already on canvas. All newbies should be guest stars and their contracts should only last as long as their stories.

Find some money in the budget to have rehearsals.

Stop rewriting history, stop with the character destruction. Recognize that there is a reason why the core families are the core families.

Write mature, in-depth, character driven stories.

Write plots and characters with consistency and respect for history.

Stop dumbing down characters to make certain characters seems smarter.

Do away with triangles, or at least severely limit them. Allow the characters to actually be happy, let them grow.

Don’t let one character or a chosen couple of people dominate the show.

Stop the ageism. Respect the veterans of the show!

Provide balance between characters no matter the age, race or sex.

Bring back the diversity that the Angel Square Latino community provided.

Bring back love in the afternoon.

1. Lay off the homage stories! Once was enough with the Secret Room, Heaven, Time Travel, and DID. With the exception of Heaven ’08, these latest attempts have all fallen flat.
2. Wipe out everything done to Jessica’s back story since the fall of 2002. Mitch is not her father and she was never abused. These are two of the most egregious errors in this shows history.
3. End the Marty and Todd debacle. Both of these characters need to be allowed to move past the rape. Not saying that they have to friends, but we the audience don’t have to be reminded of a story that happened over fifteen years ago every time they are on screen. SH and RH dealt with this back in 95, why are we doing this again?
4. Many of the women have lost their dircetion. Viki, Blair, & Jessica all need to get back to work. What the hell happened to the Banner, the Sun, and Craze. All of these women have been on a directionless path for the last few years and one way to correct that would be to get them back in the world. Starr Manning also needs her fire back. Marcie and the baby obbession is beyond tiresome. These strong women need to show some strength!
5. Tina Lord grew up before she left town a decade back, now she comes back to town and its 1985 all over again. She would never have left her kids, and wouldn’t run around town looking for some jewels when she knows her family is in pain. In Tina’s latter years she was always fighting to make sure her family was taken care of… this latest incarnation just doesn’t ring true. Tina, David, and Cain are far more than comic relief!!!
6. Kevin and Joey need to return ASAP!
7. Hook up Clint and Lindsay, there brief time together last winter was the most entertaining that either character has been in years. Also deal with Bo and Nora once and for all, neither character has been allowed to grow in the last decade.
8. How did the one of the founding soaps on diversity become so un-diversity? Bring back the Gannon, beef up the Williamsons, have Blair remember that she used to Asian and look for her family. Have CJ Roberts come back to town with his boyfriend Billy Douglas.
9. This show used to have the best background music ever, now it seems like they have band of two playing the triangle and the cow bell.
10. Character driven story, not plots that stretch the bounds of imagination and leave you feeling that you need a drink after you viewed it. RC is more than capable as he showed the world last fall, lets get back to that.

1. Stop reapting storylines - It's tiresome and boring. We know how the story will end. Why should I tune in?

2. Bring back Renee Goldsberry - Evangeline was well on her way to being one of the few leading AA female characters

3. Bring back the Gannon family (Hank, RJ and Rachel) - Where are the AA in Llanview?

4. Bring back Kevin Buchanan - He would be play an important part in BE. If they are going to center on the business why not have one of the sons who actually works there?

5. How about some romance? It's so few and far between. Jared and Natalie are the best example. John and Blair the worst.

6. Write a story where John Mcbain finally gets over his commitment issues - This character has been on the show for years yet he hasn't married or really committed himself to a woman. It's time to get over issues and have this man be a viable romantic lead.

7. Get rid of Sarah - The character isn't needed and no offense to Justis Bolding but she's bland and adds nothing to the show.

8. Starr's pregnancy has been a debacle. End it now.

9. Either put Todd & Blair for good or end them. Their merry go round is tiresome and I'm tired of seeing Blair jump in bed with a man as soon as they break up and Todd gets no one.

10. Get rid of Tess. Her return has been a joke. I would much rather see Jessica struggle with what happened and to see if she would try to carry out her revenge against Jared and Natalie.

I don't think much has to change on OLTL. but I do have a few suggestions on how to improve things.

1. Put vets like Ilene Kristen, Catherine Hickland and Timothy Stickney back on contract. The short bursts we get from these talented actors are not enough. First have Roxy make up w/ Rex and then tell him that his father is Mitch Lawrence. Yep, he's Jess's sister. But not really, since Jess is really a Buchanan after all. After that comes out, give Roxy a s/l of her own. Bring James DePaiva back as Max, her love interest. RJ needs to be the baddie he used to be, and bring back more of his family.

2. Lose the Brothers McGrim. I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but I am SO over John the man in black. I get why he's sullen, but can't he get into therapy and lighten up a little? He's damaged, I get it, but it's not entertaining, it's depressing. And Chris Stack is a fine actor, but I loved Nathaniel Marston in the role of Michael, and I loved his Michael w/ Kathy Brier's Marcie. If they have to divorce now b/c of Marcie's obsession w/ Starr's baby, then give Marcie a new HOT love interest.

3. Another thing I'm going to catch hell for, but either lose Tina or make her less of a fidgety whiner and more of a bitch again. I have no history with the character, but at present, she's not working for me. I don't for a minute believe that this crying, whining mess is Todd Manning's sister. Which brings me to...

4. Todd. Either make him a crazed psycho, throwing Starr down the stairs, or the sympathetic hero w/ Marty, but MAKE UP YOUR MIND! I think Todd should be the guy we all love to hate but have a few redeeming qualities as well. Todd always loved his kids and would never turn against them (Starr) or put them in danger (Sam). He and Marty had also come to an understanding about the rape and moved on years ago, only to be rehashing it now. The only reason this s/l works for me at all is b/c SH and TSJ are great actors.

5. Give Blair her backbone back, get her in therapy and have her give up men for awhile. Sex just seems to get her into troble. Hey, maybe she needs to get a girlfriend who is interested in being her "girlfriend". Hmm, how would Blair handle that?

6. More Tuc Watkins as David and put him back w/ Dorian. They were hot together and he was the only one who accepted Dorian for who she was, a busybody control freak.

7. Starr's baby. Don't know how to fix this one. As in real life, this situation isn't easy. I don't think having Marcie adopt the kid is the answer. Marcie needs to get her own life. I like the idea of her taking in a troubled kid, or maybe being a counselor to troubled youths. If Starr is going to give the baby up for adoption, the baby should be adopted by someone out of town who return in 10 years as a teen to cause trouble like her mama used to!

8. Make Natalie less annoying and selfish. I hate the fact that she chose Jared over her own family and that she INSISTED on going into Nash's room in the hospital, even though she was basically why he was there in the first place! She worked w/ John until she became such a nag after his accident. Tone it down a little!

I have a few other ideas, like lose the Vegas, Talia and Sarah entirely as well as Brody and Jared, but I don't feel like ducking the rotten tomatoes that will be thrown at me, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Basically the show is 90% fine the way it is and is the best show ABC has going for it right now. ABC needs to start treating it as such and increase their budget and advertising.

Gosh there are so many things that need to change about OLTL. Where to start?!

1. Quit rehashing old stories. They've been done. We've seen them once, we don't need to see them again. Originality is more unique and interesting than tuning in to see how close the show came to recreating a story I saw in 1987. 1968 might be a good story in theory but translates to nonsense on screen. I reiterate, the past is the past. Write for the future and aim to create history by telling groundbreaking stories everyone else is too scared to touch.

2. Where is the romance? Women tune in to see the love that translates all, but I don't see it. It was once called "Love in the Afternoon". Now it's more like "Torture in the Afternoon".

3. Starr and Cole. Needless to say, this teenage pregnancy was irresponsibly and poorly done. A teenager gets pregnant and is acting like it's the most normal thing. Where are the consequences? Where are the repurcussions. Make her deal with it on her own, without help from mom or anyone else. That's more realistic. Teens who get pregnant don't have the option of lovingly referring to the baby as "my baby". They're freaked out. It's a rough time for them. Instead, the father wants custody, because that's realistic too [/sarcasm]. At 16, their parents and guardians should have had their hides for this. Instead, it's okay. The moon and their stars are at Starr's disposal. What's there to fear but adoption? Unreal.

4. Todd and Blair. Either leave them together or break them up for good. Their merry-go-round is leaving me dizzy and then bored.

5. Diversity. I thought that OLTL was build on the premise of diversity. I know this means old/young, rich/poor, majority/minority. We can account for the old and the young, but can we account for anything else? Just about everyone is either middle or high class. No one is struggling for money, even in the roach motel. Which leads us to the racial ties - where are they? Chris and Antonio are the only two minorities there. Oh wait, there's a Middle Easterner (Talia), only that I see her as a white girl pretending to be Middle Eastern. There's Layla, who is only and always everyone's mouth piece. I know that she was brought on to be Evangeline's supporting sister but that doesn't mean she can't have a story of her own. Which brings me to another problem. When a show has a minority character that is just as popular as the leading White characters, do whatever it takes to hold on to her. I truly feel like many fans left when Renee Goldsberry left, with good reason. Instead of bringing on characters like Gigi or Marty, it would have been electric to see OLTL have the only lead Black character on ABC Daytime. Is RJ busy bartending in Capricorn? Where is he? He should be the thorn in everyone's side in Llanview. Yet another talented Black actor thrown away for characters like...Gigi? Brody?

6. Both major returns were a flop. Marty is being mentally raped by her rapist again - this coming from someone who likes Todd. Tina whines and whines and whines. I fast forward them both. I was really excited for Tina's return. Now I don't care to watch her at all.

7. Tess. I love her. I love the idea of her, but she needs to turn it up. When Natalie first came on, she was a bitch and was the only time the character was interesting. Return Natalie to that bitch who could go head to head with Tess to protect herself and Jared. It could be an interesting story. So far, Nash's death was the only interesting part.

8. Holidays - please address them. It used to be so much fun to see the Buchanans on Thanksgiving and the Vegas on Christmas. Where did that go? All the retelling of stories yet the emotional factors were left out.

9. Go with couples that actually work. Quit listening to a few crazyroos who keep writing in begging for what they want. If something doesn't work, nix it and move on to the next thing. Quit focusing on focus groups and focus on quality writing. At the end of the day, that pays off to the audience at large instead of the few with too much time on their hands.

10. Continue with good dialogue. Sometimes I grimace at the story told but the dialogue would sometimes make me laugh. Imagine a good story combined with good dialogue. Time to make it happen OLTL.

If OLTL would aim for quality, it could be good. At one point this used to be my favority soap. Now it's my favorite soap to laugh at sadly.

I know people love Tess but I would love to see her gone for good and have Jesscia deal with Nash`s death and her anger with her sister and Jared only because Jesscia herself would have to deal with everything and not Tess this could be a much better storyline if Jesscia was made to deal with her feelings of anger and hate for Natalie .And Sarah needs to be recasted right way .More people of color and more love in the afternoon please that`s what missing from daytime right now and couples to root for.

Ok! Morning everyone! Now that I've put in another night of work, I've had some time to think about my top 10 ways to improve OLTL! First off I really couldn't think of 10 of them, but as a long time viewer I'll give my pros and cons.

1. First off I think Frank Vallentni, Ron Carlivati and the rest of the writing crew have been doing a GREAT job revamping and writing the wrong from past writers. I do think thou that some of the storylines are too long.

a. The 1968 Storyline: Personally, I love the storyline, but they're draging it out to long. Rex and Bo should have been back to 2008 last week. Again. I love the storyline, but it is draging.

b. The Todd/Marty Storyline: First off, let me give some of you a brief history on Marty and Todd. Two weeks after the death of Megan Gordan (Vicki's eldest child who died of Lupus), OLTL introduced the character of Margret "Marty" Saybrooke. Marty was smart, but also was known as the "PARTYGIRL" with a additude and mouth on her that screamed "bad-ass bitch". She befriended Vicki and they soon developed a bond due to the fact that Marty also suffers from Lupus (RC I hope you didn't forget about that). Marty was asked to tutor an arrogant football player on campus (Todd, before he became a Lord) and they had a fight and she emabrassed him by calling him stupid. At the "Spring Fling" that football player, Todd, got revenge and him and two of his buddies (Zack Rowson and Powell Lord III, which is Vicki's distant cousin) violently raped her. The case was one of the best on daytime.

Nora as the defense attorney (due to the fact that Marty falsely accused Kevin Buchanan along with the other three) and Hank Gannon as the DA. Kevin was found innocent due to the fact that Marty remebered that Kevin actually helped her and didn't rape her. But after the evidence mounted Nora turned on the other three and Todd, Zack and Powell went to jail. Zack is still there (as far as we know) and Powell got an early release but ended up in a mental ward. As far as Todd, he got early release because he saved Marty, Jessica, CJ and Al's life. Threw out their relationship Todd's evil side did come out. One night he tried to rape Luna Moody and Marty saved her by taking a crowbar to Todd's face (Remember the ever changing scar on Rodger Howarth's face!)

Eventually Todd felt remorse about what he did to Marty but right now, this is sick. Refusing to tell her that he was the one who raped her, makes him more sick than he ever was. Like I said in another post, this storyline is an insult to the viewers who have watched Marty since she premired. Whew!!! Ok, next subject!

2. Diversity: I love the fact that Ron Carlivati is showing a mix of flavor, keeping The Vega's and introducing a new Latino family. But were are the African American characters. Bring back Hank Gannon (Nora's ex) and their daughter Racheal! Have Racheal be a drug counceler at the hospital as a remeberence to viewers that she was once a drug addict. Revise the storyline that Racheal is actuall RJ's and not Hank's daughter. Bring back Shelia, make her chief of staff at the hospital or her brother Ben. Or here is a great idea!!! Since GH has neglected the talents of Kent Masters, lure her to the East Coast and either have her as Evangiline or another Williamson sister so Layla has some family and some support. Kent Masters is a awesome actress and to have her come to OLTL whould be a great addition to the show. OLTL was created on diversity, a melting pot of different races, religions, lifestyles. It's ok to promote diversity, this is OLTL!

3. Recast Sarah/ Broody is CJ!!: First off CJ is older than Sarah, CJ was the baby that Tina was pregnant with when she went over the Iguagu Falls, he was given the name "Millagro" by the Iguagu natives who rescued Tina! Sarah was concieved when Tina was tricking Carlo's son Johnny Dee and slept with him to save Cords life, she slept with Cord the same day she slept with Johnny but a paternity test proved that Cord was Sarah's biological father.

As Daisyclover said, Justis Bolding seems like a sweet girl, but this is Tina and Cords daughter. Sarah should have style and grace, but also have a bit of additude to her, she should be able to hold her own and stick up to the likes of Carlo Hesser. She should have some street smarts , but also have a heart of gold. Christian is hot and Sarah should be hot also.

Ok, here is my theory on Broody. A few years back, I do recall either Clint, Bo, Cord or Flash (Sarah) mentioning that CJ joined the service and went off to war. Before that Tina did take CJ and Sarah and dropped off the face of the earth. I say that Tina met up again with Cain Rogan and CJ and Sarah either told Tina it was them or Cain, she choose Cain and CJ and Sarah as young teens, trys to stop Tina from making a mistake, Cain finds out and threatens Sarah and CJ that he whould make their lives a living hell and take Tina down with them. Not wanting to deal with Tina's decisions, CJ and Sarah decides to run away rather than call Cord because Cord whould never let Tina near those two again if he found out.
Sarah became Flash and CJ chaged his name to Broody and was tooken in by a woman who felt bad for him, but treated him like crap also. CJ having no other choice calls this woman his mother instead of Tina, meets and falls for Gigi and then goes off too war. Since Tina, Cord, Sarah and the whole Buchanan/Lord family has not heard from CJ in YEARS, they don't know what he looks like now, so CJ parades himself as Broody in Llanview. Until one day..... Sarah, walks into Rodi's, sits down and Broody walks up to her to take her order and then BOOM! The look on their faces says it all. As tears roll down Sarah's face she says CJ! He says Sarah and she reaches over to hug him, first excited to see him, she crys with joy, then she gets angry and sucker punches him and says "Where the hell have you been! And how long have you been here!" I could write more of this storyline, but I'm not on the OLTL staff (I can only dream!!)

4. Location and Action: I loved the scences with Starr and Cole when they ran away. OLTL should do more location shoots, also have an adventure story. Lets say with Rex and Gigi, or John and Blair. I miss the times when OLTL had some adventure to it.

5. Bring some old characters back! Cord, Max, Cassie! Someone unlock Dr. Larry Woleck out of the storage room (or the Martin's Attic!! LOL!) and bring Judith Light back as Karen Wolick and have them seek counsiling and reunite. Where is Wanda Woleck!!! I miss her sassy spunk! Wanda, Roxy and Carlota could become great friends!!! And bring back the poet himself, Patrick Thornheart. Throsten Kane belongs back at OLTL! Marty and Patrick were such a great love story. Gee I miss his poetry!!!

6. BRING BACK LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON!! : John and Blair are smoltering HOT!!! Pairing those two up was the best thing RC could do! Antonio and Talia are HOT! Get a great recast for Sarah and her and Christian whould be hotter!

7. Have Nora and Lindsey go to couples counseling to air out their hatered for each other, let them hug and become the Alexis/Dianie of OLTL! Nora needs to get off her high horse and realize that there are times when she just has too keep her mouth shout!

8. Niki Smith!: OLTL could always use more Niki Smith!!! She could put Tess in her place and raise Charlie's eyebrows a little! Nikki could also reveal that Jessica is really a Buchanan and that Mitch Lawrence never raped her, but that Niki saved Viki from Mitch.

9. Tina: Tina should be teaching Lindsey the meaning of how to be a true vixen, not globetrotting after some stupid jewels and pretenting to be a princess. Write stories for Andrea Evans that showcases what she use to be, a strong willed vixen, not a softy.

10. Bring back The Banner!!! The Banner was the core of the show! Who's running it now! Bring back Kevin, Joey and Kelly and have them update The Banner. Kill Tess and have Jessica work at either The Sun or Craze, competing againts her brothers to see which paper comes out on top. Get the Lord/Buchanan kids back together! Even have Kevin do a hostile take over at BE and make him into a "mini" Asa! Have Natilie get back into Clints good graces and restore her to the strong willed firery Buchanan that she use to be!

ABCJunky

*** "YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE"!!***

1. Go back to hot topics to create the umbrella. I think the stories are good but they are all taking place at the same time, and it's beginning to affect the continuity. There should be one storyline that is modern and affects over half that cast- like Spring Fling, the AIDS storyline.....OLTL doesn't need fashion to make it up to date and modern- they have The Banner, The Sun, they can keep the issues smart and modern, without compromising the integrity and intelligence of their characters. That means dump 1968 and Mendorra.

2.Get back diversity- . It's sad when the 90's had more diversity that 2k. OLTL should be ashamed of themselves with all their history.this doesn't just mean more AA characters, but characters with different socioeconomics.This will also help redefine all of Llanview's neighborhoods, and force characters to get real jobs (instead of boxing one month, painting another month, and bartending).

3.Stop with Todd the psycho! This is one of Llanview's most undefined characters and everyone thinks they know who the real Todd is. Define him and stick to it. I'm enjoying TSJ and SH's chemistry, but this is a storyline that didn't have to happen. There is far too many ways Marty could have returned, and far too many storyline Todd could have been in- this revisited rape didn't have to happen. TSJ and SH's chemistry would have spoken for itself in their interactions. This s/l is forced, and doens't tell a story connected to the history of these characters.
3.1. Stop with Blair the ho. She's too old to be acting like a school girl everytime she gets laid. She's Llanview's leading lady and she should be on the track of figuring out who she is. If that means she has to talk with Addie about her past- so be it.

4.Stop writing weak women-We've seen Buffy, and we've seen Sydney Bristow. Give us women we can relate to- women who are strong, intuitive, and with a modern core. Evangeline started that way, bring back Renee, and reestablish her and many other women with the chops they were born with. OLTL gave us Dorian Lord- doctor with enough heart to take someone out, don't stop there.

5.Invest in your cast and their characters. I'm tired of every week an actor getting fired. As much as I don't like Sarah- I don't think JB needs to be fired and think she should be invested in. I've seen worst in daytime, and she is not the worst, nor do I think she is incapable of growing as an actor.

6.Stop with the camp...all day everyday. You have some of the funniest cast members. The have made scenes funny without even trying.
7. Take some of these characters off their high horse. Yeah- you, Nora! People can't relate to them, and they never will.
8. Stop airing reruns all summer long. The fans that have been watching forever appreciate that RC isn't going to shaft 'em, but stop with the reruns. A successful soap knows how to implement enough history that intrigues people to want to look it up online or ask a family member, but these stories have gone too far.

9.Stop with McBain...we know he's the tortured lone cowboy, but he's in desperate need of some progression. If that means he has to marry Marty and play father to Cole, then so be it. But emotionless men incapable of love do not belong in soaps, and it limits the performances of all actors involved. Same goes for David Fumero having to play latin romeo everytime he's single. Is sex this man's only talent?

10.Give Vikki her intuition back. She's a woman- she knows when her man isn't giving her the whole truth, she knows when her daughter just ain't right....She's the queen of Llanview, stop writing her like some senile old lady.

miajere, great points you got there. The women on the show needs their backbones back. I sick of the whiny, spoil needy women who need a man to save them. U forget to add that Blair and Todd need to be over forever and Blair need to have her own life without Todd in it and have a career and a good mother to her kids.

siomonstuart2003

One Life to live needs to improve the show by getting rid of people that just doesn't add a thing to the show like Justig/Sara, she is just out of place, she has no chemistry with David Fumero. They need to bring back Renee Goldsberry as Evangeline and reunite her with David Fumero, wake up Evangeline. The should continue the pairing of Natalie and Jared because the finally paired her with the correct man. They also need to give Natalie back her spunk so she can defend herself against Tess. They need to find a way to bring Charlie and Vickie back together. They need to resolve who is David Vickers father and pair up Layla with Brodie. This show is dying day by day. They should have Kept Renee Goldsberry, she had a hugh fanbases.

OLTL should expand its vision of "core families," particularly since the core families don't include any of color. What happened to my Vegas??? TPTB don't seem to know, nor care, how to write for its minority cast. This has resulted in some major talent walking out the door. In particular Renee Goldsberry leaving was HUGE -- it left a large void in the show that TPTB don't seem interested in filling. The remaining minority cast members are left to be props for other stories and characters, with no true stories of their own. It's really a shame and gives me no reason to watch. OLTL could also stand to get rid of the Sarah character. I'm not advocating for any actor to lose his/her job, but the actress is terrible, and just saps the life out of David Fumero, with Cristian being the only reason I even have a remote interest in this show. By the way, OLTL's largest audience these days is the 17-24 crowd. I think that speaks volumes about the level of the writing, and the focus of the stories. There's too much emphasis on the teen scene, and also the stories are kind of silly. I miss grown and sexy! Bring back Evangeline Williamson, put her back with Cristian Vega, expand her and Layla's stories, bring back Mama Williamson. That in itself would go a long way towards changing the face of Llanview.

1. Stop this Blair/John nonsense & pair him back up with Natalie. And redeem Natalie while we're at it. What they've done to her is criminal.
2. Let Tess kill off Jared VERY QUICKLY and then let Jessie back with a vivid memory that she's not perfect.
3. Bring Max back. Put him in a Blair/Tina triangle.
4. Bring back the sassy fierce Tina. Bring Cord back. Recast Sarah. Bring CJ back. Get her to interact with David Vickers! Bring Tuc Watkins back!
5.Let Dorian keep CE and bring back The Banner as the primary work-place. Clint needs to get back to being a newspaper man and drop the poor Asa imitation. Perhaps maybe a little Vicki/Clint re-do. Use this as way to get Kevin & Joey back.
6. While we're at it, can we get the Craemer women back. Cassie & Kelly would so further any Dorian storyline.
7. Split Clint & Nora up.
8. Fix things between Todd & Starr. He needs to start trying to be the Dad she needs him to be.
9. Get Starr over Cole ASAP and onto someone else.
10. Bring Adrianna back & pair her up with Brodie.

One Life To Live has been pretty amazing since last year with Asa's death. I always look forward to watching it. But...the past few months definitely haven't been perfect (especially Marty's return). Having said that, here are my 10 improvement ideas:

10 - Show more Langston and Marrko. There's more to them than just being friends and advisers to Starr & Cole.

9 - Reunite Viki and Charlie. Have them grow old together. Viki needs to settle down with Charlie and stop getting new love interests. They could be the Joe & Ruth of OLTL as long as Viki's feud with Dorian never gets watered down.

8 - Make Bo the police commissioner again. Ramsey was a terrible one, and John's not fit for the job.

7 - Carlo should follow Talia and the gang back to Llanview to wreck more havoc on the town.

6 - Kill off John McBain. He is super boring and a total waste of screen time. No one but Michael & Marcie will miss him.

5 - Let Tess have her revenge on Jared & Natalie already so that we can move on and have everyone know Tess is back.

4 - More and more RJ! He needs to be front & center and get into some trouble with the law. Or give him another club to run.

3 - Bring back Cord permanently and slowly lead him back to Tina.

2 - Reunite Bo & Nora! A Nora/Bo/Lindsay triangle would be good, though.

1 - If John isn't killed, then at least break up him & Blair and don't let Marty fall in love with Todd. That's all wrong! I don't understand Todd's motivation to hide Marty and feed her false information. Marty's return needs to be fixed! And she needs to be reunited with her son Cole.

---Kate (or Katie)
Lover of Ricky Paull Goldin & Beth Ehlers!!

1. People in the town of Landview have to talk to their friends more often. Writers would not have to have endless scenes of actors talking to themselves if their characters would just phone a friend once in a while.

2. People in the town of Landview need to get a purpose beyond the ability to sustain a love life. Who is running the paper (s)? What does Blair do for a living now that she is a single mom? Doesn't she own a nightclub?

3. Characters need a motivation that changes as they grow. One of the greatest things Mr. Marland did at ATWT was to turn Barbara from a wimp into a witch. This is a perfect time for Nora to do some self introspection about how good it felt to finally be proved right about Lindsey and start being a bitch. She owns the biggest house in town, it is time for her to start throwing her wealth around.

4. OLTL used to balance odd storylines with relevant drama. We need a mean mortgage banker who wants to foreclose on the McBain's. Something that ties characters into other drama than just their love lives.

5. I agree with Jamey 100% about the need to bring glamor back to soaps. In the 80's people worked only until lunch when they went to some local watering hole in jackets, hats, and jewels. Why would anyone want to be rich in Landview ? There is nowhere glamorous to go.

6. Figure out some other storyline for Vicki than having her making out with a new guy every three years. It is embarassing. She could be doling out wisdom, waring with the board of directors, or learn to surf for all I care. I just do not want to see Vicki in another wedding dress.

7. Weave the characters together in new ways so that plot points can be played out across the town. For example, do Christian and Rex even know each other? They are the same age, but have no relationship. Does Antonio hate Rex because he wishes that he had a fatherly relationship with Bo?

8. Sarah is an amazing character given her heritage. Let's figure out who she is. Is she the conniving Tina Jr.? Is she the heroic Tina Jr.? or is she somehow screwed up from being raised by Tina? A better story would make that actor look better in that part.

9. I hate Marty/Todd, but he has got to talk to someone about his reaction to being raped. It seems to be his motivation in wanting to save the children, but no connection has been made explicitly.

10. We need a villain like Marco Dane. He was vicious but people understood his motivation. He wound his way around the entire canvas through various relationships, as opposed to being friends only for the purpose of a story (layla?). Lastly, he was not cute. When was the last time a soap hired a guy in his 30's because he had character not just amazing abs?