More Life for "One Life to Live"?

This week, it happened again. Only months after CBS cancelled the long suffering soap opera "Guiding Light", they axed "As the World Turns" after 54 years. As an avid soap fan and researcher, I was worried but oddly hopeful. What does this mean for my show? What about "One Life to Live"? Are they next or can they somehow profit from the loss of a direct competitor?

I've been watching soap operas my entire life. Although I'd argue they've seen better days, I fear that their time is running out. The CBS executive and failed actor, Les Moonves, flippantly brushed off the cancellation and said that ATWT's time was simply over. Is that true? Are soaps passe? Or is this the moment they rise from the ashes and fight for the respect they deserve? After all, aren't "Mad Men" and "The Sopranos" just soaps for men?

Every soap fan has "their show". Unlike many, I watch almost all of them sporadically. I grew up with "All My Children"(AMC). When other kids came home for lunch in grade school and watched "The Banana Splits", I watched Tad Martin and Adam Chandler. My mother caught me turning my Barbies into hookers and pimps after Donna Beck, Tyrone and Billy Clyde Tuggle. But, that's another story! However, when I became an adult, I spread the love around.

In the 1990's, I focused on "One Life to Live"(OLTL) because I thought it was the best show on television. It was well acted, well written and really intense. It had the appeal of "Mad Men" but from a female perspective. It was truly an ensemble show of gray characters. The obvious stars were Vikki Lord, played by the fabulous Erika Slezak, and her unlikely brother, Todd Manning, played by the very creepy but infinitely interesting Roger Howarth.

Yet there were a wealth of other fabulous characters. There were the good people: Robert S. Woods' Bo Buchanan, his wife/ex-wife, Nora, played by Hillary B. Smith, and Todd's rape victim, Marty Saybrooke, played by Susan Haskell. On the other end of the spectrum, there were the not so good characters: Todd's on again/off again wife, Kassie DePaiva's Blair, her aunt, the inimitable Dorian Lord, as portrayed by Robin Strasser, and even Blair and Todd's little daughter, Starr. Starr, played the child actress, Kristin Alderson, was the quintessential nightmare child. Unlike most milquetoast soap children, Starr was like her parents- cunning, nasty and hysterical! There are too many others to list but, trust me, I've watched them all and OLTL in that time was out of control wonderful. The actors blended perfectly and the chemistry was off the charts.

However, in the past few years, OLTL fell on hard times like all soaps. The loss of the young audience, economic conditions and competition from other technology have really taken their toll on daytime. Specifically, OLTL lost Howarth to rival ATWT, they cut back on their veterans' screen time to save money and they started focusing on drawing in young viewers. In other words, they went from "Mad Men" to "Gossip Girl" with some old people peppered in for color. It wasn't pretty.

Even I stopped watching. Todd's complexity was watered down when the character was recast. Vikki was backburnered because she was deemed too old and expensive. Nora went into a coma over contract disputes. For a while, even Dorian left town. Marty was long gone. And, the final nail in the coffin, Starr became nice. Who needs that? I can get that anywhere.

The ratings went down. The awards stopped. And, lastly, the fans got disgusted. Making their disapproval known, message boards buzzed with hatred and anger. Even many who enjoyed the new Todd, played blandly by the mediocre Trevor St. John, started to turn on the show.

When the producers thought they might get a ratings bump and buzz by playing a romance between newly returned amnesiac Marty and St. John's Todd, many did tune in. But the ratings bump didn't last. Just as many tuned out, thinking the show had finally crossed the line. The program that had once dared to be serious and campy at the same time had lost it. They were now just gross.

The show's glory days in the 1990's were Howarth and Haskell's rape story. OLTL spent years having Howarth's Todd attempt to redeem himself from the heinous act. What made the character fascinating was his journey to be a better man. We all knew he never could achieve that goal, but watching the very human struggle between good and evil in one man was fascinating.

When Howarth left to play the sappy sadsack, Paul Ryan, on ATWT, he was replaced seamlessly by St. John. The show used one of the standard "I have a new face due to plastic surgery but I'm really the same" stories and many enjoyed the recast. But, as the years went on, Todd became increasingly average, losing the vulnerability and self-hatred that made him stand out. St. John's scenes with Slezak's Vikki had none of the warmth and affection that Howarth's emanated. His chemistry with Blair never had the same punch of sexual insecurity, insatiable need and fear. His portrayal of Todd as a one dimensional sociopath/romantic lead never rang true. Soap fans are smart. They know falsity when they see it. Plot devices and a cute face wasn't enough to keep viewers interested. And the "rapemance", as it was called, was the last straw.

OLTL's descent into mediocrity was not just about losing one character's depth. Everyone lost their depth! But, unfortunately, no one more than little Starr Manning. Once the most interesting child ever on soaps, she was turned into a engenue princess who stood in judgment of others. She'd become her aunt Vikki. And that was unacceptable. One Vikki is enough.

But several months ago, the winds of change started. Things in OLTL's Llanview got strange. One thing the old OLTL did quite well was dark. They could manage darkness and temper it perfectly with camp to make it work. In the past month, they brought back Mitch Lawrence, played masterfully by soap legend, Roscoe Borne. Mitch is the sickest, most demented soap villian ever! But he's complex and rings true in his campiness. I know I reprogrammed OLTL into the DVR for him and I haven't been let down yet.

The rest of the show is almost as good. Mitch is reeking havoc all over town. He's killing people and getting away with it. He's torturing everyone and destroying lives. But, in the face of evil, greatness emerges.

They let Blair be strong and live by her wits. They let Vikki stand up for those she loves. They let Dorian do anything for power. Marty is fighting the psychological demons of the planet. Bo and Nora are fighting their long lost love for one another. And the new characters are more complex than before. Even Michael Easton's dimwitted cop, McBain, gets interesting when Mitch baits him.

There's only one more thing they need. The "Todd finds his long lost daughter with former wife of convenience, Tea" story is mind numbingly dull. St. John is as beige as ever. Todd Manning has become a hero. That's something the original Todd Manning would never be. Heroes on soaps are nice but boring. And, sadly, Todd has become that...boring.

So, with the demise of ATWT, it is time to do one final repair. Get Howarth back and let his freak flag fly! I don't care who he is, real Todd, fake Todd, I don't care, just get him back!!Out St. John as an imposter or not, just backburner him and let the glory days return. Mitch was the last to see "Todd with Howarth's face", so in soap world, it works. Everything's working. That's really all we need.

This show has almost everything they need already. Saving OLTL could be pretty easy. Try old school ways. Return to characters who may not be nice, but are strangely sympathetic. Get back to characters that are fascinating to watch but you'd never want to meet in real life. Don't worry about pretty, give us fascinating. And no vampires, please. That's too campy!

Think Don Draper. OLTL had him first. He was Todd Manning. He was mean and scarey but you couldn't take your eyes off him. Don Draper may be prettier and have better table manners, but he's a lying, son of a bitch who'd screw anyone who got in his way. And I love watching him! Almost as much as I'd love watching Todd Manning. If he were himself. But as is, let him be backburnered with his hapless little daughter, sweet Starr. The two of them are bringing the show down.

So, that's where I'm hopeful. Howarth is out of a job and the timing is perfect. I'll require my students to watch and start "shouting from the rooftops", as Addison Dewitt said of his revelation, Eve! That's all OLTL needs. Just go back to what you were. The fans are waiting.

And in a year when "Mad Men" is an emmy-winning sensation, take your place. OLTL could still be the best show on television. With a few minor repairs.

One More Day For Johnny?

I woke up on Monday and the world had changed in a sadly familiar way.

Chicago radio legend and perennial goofball, Jonathon Brandmeier, had disappeared from his morning show on WLUP. In fact, the whole show disappeared. In what is now a typical occurrence, another iconic radio personality bit the dust.

In a new story by another legend, Rob Feder, it was reported that Brandmeier and the station had hit an impasse in contract negotiations in the 11th hour of talks. In a mutual decision, they parted ways immediately. Unfortunately, no one told the audience. And, for once with Johnny, we were not amused.

Chicago is a wonderful town for many reasons. But one is that we relish our "Second City" status. By that, I mean we love everything that is ours and makes us not New York. We love our lake that is as beautiful as an ocean. We love our stores that will never be called Macy's no matter how hard they try. We love our sports teams no matter how much they lose. And, I would argue, we love our radio personalities. Howard Stern spent years trying to compete in this market and he almost made it. But he never really did. He wasn't one of us.

Across the country, it's been quite the bloodbath in radio. Due to excessive consolidation of ownership, a failing economy and increased technological competition, radio is not faring well. Even Stern, the self-proclaimed "King of all Media", has been reduced to a fractional audience of loyalists.

In Chicago, we've lost most of our legendary hosts to old age or falling profits. Notably in the past years, we lost the dimwitted but long-lasting Eddie and Jobo, the really old Wally Phillips, and the Rebel turned Elder Statesman of the Dial, Steve Dahl. Even those that remain have become shadows of their former selves. They are lost somewhere in AM radio with no promotion or recognition.

Yet there was one shining light. We got Brandmeier back on the LOOP.

Brandmeier began at WLUP, called "The Loop" for obvious reasons, in 1979. He was hired to compete with Dahl and his partner, Garry Meier, after the Loop fired them. Chicago radio was at its height. Dahl and Meier's "Disco Demolition" brought the national spotlight to youth-oriented, rebellious talk radio. This wasn't your parent's radio show. It was FM! It was crazy and anti-social and spoke for a generation. With no Internet and cassettes in their infancy, we all listened to the radio. That was our medium.

Brandmeier, unlike Dahl, was silly and just "having a good time", as he still says. Dahl's humor was always edgier and more angry. Brandmeier was like that goofy kid in school who not only made everyone laugh, but who everyone really liked, too.

He would get his audience involved in the joke and he laughed at them as much as they laughed at him. He would get his poor, beleaguered producer, Wiser, to do the most embarrassing things for our amusement. But rather than see it as abusive, it was just fun! Brandmeier did everything with a joy for living and appreciation for stupidity. It wasn't mean, it was just silly and we wanted to be a part of it.

Eventually, Dahl and Brandmeier were both on the Loop- Johnny in the morning, Dahl and Meier in afternoons. They added another goofball in the middays named Kevin Matthews, and the classic line-up emerged. In the 1980's, everyone under 30 listened to the Loop. If possible, you listened all day.

It was like having a party with some really good friends all the time. The audience was a part of the gang and we all met at the same place at the same time everyday. They had live events that were outrageous and broke records for venues. They would call in each other's shows at various times and often drunk. It was if the party was happening off the air, as well as on. And everyone laughed all the time. As Brandmeier called it, it was "high school with money" but only the "old people" got picked on. And everyone was welcome from 6 am to 7 pm, 5 days a week. Or for a concert on the weekend.

That started to change in the early 1990's when Dahl and Meier parted ways. It was a domino effect, really. Soon, Dahl was relegated to other stations. Matthews couldn't hold his own without the strong lead-in and follow up. And Brandmeier heard Hollywood calling and left town. New responsibilities had also changed the audience. We still listened, but it wasn't the same. We didn't think we had time for all the partying anymore. We thought we had to grow up.

But we were wrong.

After a 5 year hiatus in LA, Brandmeier returned. The Loop had fallen on hard times and thought he could restore them to their glory. It seemed everything would be okay. The fun was back and we really needed it. And it was fun, until this Monday. I'm sure Johnny will be back on another station very soon. But that isn't the point.

In Chicago, we keep losing our "Second City" status. We lose something of ourselves when we lose icons. Many of us have never gotten over losing Marshall Fields and still call that ballpark on the south side "Comiskey". It's not that we don't like change. We don't like loss. What other city has the same family running it for decades? When we lose our heritage, we lose a bit of ourselves in the process. Hell, the Sears Tower isn't even the Sears Tower anymore. And I think the Daley era may be over.

When Brandmeier returned 4 years ago, there was a real sense of excitement. I've never heard such an outpouring of emotion and appreciation from fans. Eventually, he had to ask people to stop welcoming him back because it was getting ridiculous. I still remember his producer, a transplant from LA named Guy, remarking on how shocked he was by the number of calls that came in. He didn't know Chicago. We stand by our guys.

What neither of them realized is that we weren't just welcoming Johnny home. The party that the cops broke up was back on. And, in returning, we found out we were still able to enjoy it. Nothing had changed. We still laughed at the same bits and got the same joy from the stupidity. We missed some absent players but it was okay. We were still who we always thought we were. Just a little more gray around the temples.

For now, I'll be bored in the morning but I'm not concerned. I get some work done. And maybe Johnny will appear with his old news dude, Buzz. Maybe a newly reunited team of Dahl and Meier will follow him in the afternoons. And maybe they'll be just as much fun as they were. I think I still am.

See it's not just needing one more day for Johnny. We need one more day for us. In this world, we need to hold on to what we have so we can not just remember who we were, but who we are.

Addison Speaks Premiere!

Hello and Welcome to Addison Speaks!

This blog is being created to discuss my views on the current state of media culture. It is named after Addison Dewitt, the theater critic in All About Eve. As a media professor and former movie reviewer, it seemed necessary to have an independent forum under a pen name. So, here it is!

Topics will range from TV to film to radio and journalism. But don't be put off by the reference to theater. Although Addison may have been a creature of the stage (the original "displaced personalities"), this forum is definitely for popular culture specifically. But we don't discriminate! Feel free to mention high culture. Just don't expect too much response!