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.