Soapbox1 by Michele Dargan » Blair Cramer

What’s Up With Ross Rage on OLTL?

soapbox1 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:33:09 +0000

By Michele Dargan

Would someone please tell me how Ross Rayburn went from this laid back sorta simple guy to a psycho abusive nut job in what seems to be seconds?

I don’t recall a character doing a 180 degree personality turnaround in such a short time.

Because last time I checked Ross (Michael Lowry) was this surfer dude living on the beach in Tahiti.

And before that, Ross spent some significant time stranded with Tea (Florencia Lozano) on that deserted island.

But, as far as I could see, there was no evidence of violence in his personality.

Au contraire!

He appeared to be understanding and even romantic towards Blair in the beginning.

Of course the writers only let that last for a nano-second before changing Ross into a raving lunatic!

First of all, there’s a lot of chemistry between Michael Lowry and Kassie DePaiva (Blair).

And I really thought they were going in the direction of putting those two together.

But no. That would have made sense.

Instead, TPTB turns Ross – in a matter of days – into a domestic batterer – nearly beating and choking Tea to death.

Then, he breaks out of jail and kidnaps the kid he’s supposed to love at gunpoint and then kidnaps Blair too…

Huh?

Ross holds a gun on Blair (ABC/Lou Rocco)

It just doesn’t fit AT ALL!

I mean does anyone else buy this complete and utter turnaround???

And the way that things are going, I don’t think it’s going to end well for Ross.

Which is a real shame, because I think there was a lot of potential and possibilities with his character.

But THAT would take a liiiiiitle bit of creativity, some good character development and good writing!

OLTL’s Tea and Blair: Must See TV

soapbox1 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I just can’t get enough T&B on One Life To Live.
Not Todd and Blair.
I’m talking about Tea and Blair.
Tea (Florencia Lozano) and Blair (Kassie DePaiva) have such an amazing onscreen rapport.
The two work off each other seemlessly in a back and forth repartee – one minute they’re commiserating together and the next they’re trading insults and screaming at each other….or worse.
And, as always, the subject that sets everything off – Todd!
Like yesterday.
They started out so civilly, with Blair almost apologetic about sleeping with Todd.
And the next minute…..
Catfight!!!
They ended up in an all-out brawl and had to be pulled apart by Shaun….
The funniest part was when Tea – who is still recuperating from near death – took her walking cane and smashed Todd’s glassware, breaking the cane in the process.
I mean, the two of them are out-and-out hysterical.
Well here.
See for yourself.

And all this was BEFORE Todd proposed to Tea…..

OLTL: Made Me Laugh; Made Me Cry

soapbox1 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:00 +0000

There have been so many good things happening on OLTL and so many good acting performances that I don’t even know where to begin.
Let me start with the baby switch reveal and Bree Williamson’s powerful performances.
She swept me along for the ride through all three of her personalities (Jess/TessBess) and, especially, her emotions when Jess finally faced that Bess had switched her dead baby with Starr’s live one and the impact to all involved.
Whether Williamson is feeling happy or sad as Jessica, she is always so real and she makes me feel every range of emotion along with Jessica.
And she does this time after time after time – consistent, strong performances.
I also love the Jess/Brody pairing.
Mark Lawson as Brody also has delivered time and again – particularly those scenes when he was comforting Jessica near the empty baby’s crib after Chloe – now Hope – had been given back to Starr.

Jess and Brody
Then there’s Kristen Alderson as Starr and Brandon Buddy as Cole.
Kudos to both these young actors for their performances when they discover their baby, Hope, who they believed to be dead was really alive.
They, too, took me through their range of emotions….from despair at the death of the baby, to their detective work in trying to find out the cause of death and finally to the elation that their baby was alive!
Starr and Cole reuniting with their baby was one big – awwwwww…..Followed by sadness, once again, when they gave Hope to Marcie and Michael McBain (Kathy Brier and Chris Stack) as promised.
But wait!
Marcie later overheard Langston telling Markko that it broke Starr’s heart to give up her baby and Marcie gave Hope back to Starr!
Elation once again for Starr ……
That is, until she finds out that Cole violated his probation by trying to throw away pills put in his pocket by his former drug dealer when – at that very moment – a cop came by and caught him with the drugs in his hand.
So now, they have their baby back and could be one big happy family…But, oh no, now Cole has to go to prison for two years. Grrrrrrr.

Starr and Cole
How much more of a rollercoaster of emotion can there be?
One more.
Cole proposed to Starr. She accepted. AND Todd gave his permission! Will miracles never cease?
I was sad to see Brier and Stack leave OLTL, but loved their final scene when Marcie discovers she’s pregnant.
At least that leaves the door open for their return to Llanview.
Another source of my viewing pleasure is T&B – and I don’t mean Todd and Blair.
I mean Tea and Blair…..
I love those two together.
Florencia Lozano as Tea and Kassie DePavia as Blair are so-o-o enjoyable to watch.
Talk about range of emotions.
Those two go from fighting like cats and dogs to bonding over their feelings for Todd.

Remember what happens in the boiler room stays in the boiler room?
Not!!!
Those two are really funny together!
They ratted each other out in heartbeat in court.
And just what secret has Tea never told a single person???
Hmmm.
My guess is that she has Todd’s secret love child.
But that’s just a guess.
Now, the only secret left to come out is the fact that Gigi (Farah Fath) did not cheat on Rex (Jean-Paul Lavoisier) and that her sleazy, skanky sister Stacy was not Shane’s bone marrow donor – And that Stacy was blackmailing Gigi to break up with Rex or Stacy (Crystal Hunt) would not save her own nephew.
Well, at least Gigi and Skylar (Scott Clifton) finally found out the truth….
Now they have to find the last puzzle piece – who the REAL donor is.
Let’s hope this happens before stripper Stacy seduces Rex.
I cannot WAIT until Rex finds out the truth.
And then it’s Buh-Bye Stacy and hello Gigi-Rex reunion.
We can only hope.

John McBain Takes on the “Go Red Ball”

soapbox1 — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:00:00 +0000

John McBain cleans up really nicely, doesn’t he?
I’m talking about the “Go Red Ball” on One Life To Live.
When he entered the scene wearing a tux, with his hair all fixed nice….and those blue, bedroom eyes…..(swooning).
And the way he sauntered in with those beautiful flowers and convinced Blair (Kassie DePaiva) – who was really ticked off at him – to go to the ball with him……It took my breath away!

John and Blair
I just love the way Michael Easton brings all the nuances to the character….the long, smoldering look in his eyes; the sexy thing he does with the sides of his mouth before he smiles…..
But the best qualities about John McBain aren’t about his looks.
It’s his intense drive to do the right thing.
His honesty, integrity- and, of course, his chivalry.
Who can resist chivalry in this day and age when – I hate to use a cliche – but it is dead, pretty much.
And the best scene for me in Thursday’s episode was at the end of the show, when McBain and Blair showed up at the ball at the same time as Todd and Tea. And, almost immediately the elevator opens revealing Wes and Marty.
The looks on their faces were priceless.
With Tea stating the obvious, “Now THIS is awkward!”

Addie and Blair Shine on OLTL

soapbox1 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Where has all the fun in One Live To Live gone?
Tess is going from bad to worse in her torture of Natalie.
The post-traumatic stress-wracked Brody attacked Marcie, kidnapped Shane and shot Rex.
The Todd and Marty storyline just keeps getting worse as Marty falls in love with her rapist.
Langston is being torn out of the only stable home that she’s had in the past two years to live with a murderer.
Christian is still in Columbia trying to get back to Llanview after escaping from the horrid Columbian prison.
Kind of depressing, eh?
But Tuesday there were a couple of really good scenes that I found myself smiling about.
And those were between Blair (Kassie DePaiva) and her mother Addie Cramer (Pamela Payton-Wright).
BLAIR

There some very sweet, tender mother-daughter moments.
DePaiva and Payton-Wright really conveyed that mother-daughter connection and both provided a little respite from the deep, dark, depressing storylines swirling around Llanview.
Addie just brightens my day when she’s on-screen and I am so glad that her new medication has allowed her to come out of St. Ann’s and rejoin the world.

ADDIE
I love her life “to-do” list and the way she systematically set out to do all the things she missed out on while she was institutionalized.
One of the things I love about Addie is that she realizes that life is short and you should live lift to the fullest.
That’s because she’s missed out on so much her whole life.
And she realizes that it could all be taken away in the blink of an eye.
“If my medication stops working I could go back to being sweet, simple Addie again and I have to face it. We never know what the future is going to bring. That’s why we have to make the most of every day.”
Well said, Addie.
Words to live by.
We should all take that advice.

OLTL’s John and Blair Bringing Out The Best In Each Other

soapbox1 — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:05:00 +0000

I’ve been noticing for months that there’s been this good chemistry going on between One Life To Live‘s John McBain and Blair Cramer.
And now that they’re finally together, I’m liking what I’m seeing.
Now I don’t really know where this will go or how long it will last.
Let’s face it.
The two are…..well…..complicated at best.
They don’t have the best track records at relationships.
How many times has Blair (Kassie DePaiva) married Todd?
I think even the best OLTL statistician has lost count.
And John?
There was Natalie, which didn’t work out – twice.
Then Evangeline.
Then Marty.
Although, she doesn’t really count as a failed relationship because she died….although, not really, because we now know she is alive, but HE doesn’t know that……..yet.
The major theme in John’s doomed relationships is his failure to communicate his feelings….
And his demons.
Demons like the death of his fiancee, Caitlin, and the death of his father.
But I think he may have rid himself of those demons.
Which may have cleared the way for Blair.
Blair and John

I like them together.
And this is why.
Blair brings out the lighter side of John McBain, wearer of all things black.

How about that yellow Hawaiian shirt with Tucans on it?
Too Funny!
Only Blair could get him to put on that shirt.
And John?
Well, he’s been my favorite since he came to Llanview.
I just love the brooding, do-the-right-thing, Detective McBain.
And what I like about him is much more than those big blue bedroom eyes and his gorgeous good looks.
It’s his honesty, integrity and loyalty…..qualities that are rare and wonderful in this day and age.
I love the fact that amidst the chaos of Llanview, John McBain (Michael Easton) is the one constant you can count on when the chips are down.
And I’m wondering.
What’s going to happen when he finally finds out that Todd has deceived everyone and that Marty is alive?

Loving Those Vega Boys on One Life To Live

soapbox1 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

There’s a lot of things I’m not crazy about in Llanview these days.
Top of the list: Todd Manning’s rage towards his daughter and her teenage boyfriend. But I’ve written enough about that last week.
Also not liking that sick, twisted freak Lee Ramsey.
I’ll save that diatribe for another day.
Add to that the Jared storyline and all the lies related to him..i.e. Charlie getting tangled up in the lies and Charlie, in turn, lying about being Rex’s father.
Not liking any of that either.
But I’ll tell you what I have liked this week: the Vega boys.
As in Christian and Antonio.
And it’s not any huge storyline that I’m talking about.
It’s actually two vignettes that occurred over the past few days.
The first was between Christian Vega (David Fumero) and Blair Cramer (Kassie DePaiva).
David Fumero (Christian)

I have to say, I love the friendship that has developed between these two.
It started after they had that awful ONS on Llantano Mountain last year, when they thought that Todd was sleeping with Evangeline. But he wasn’t and they did.
Thankfully, they realized their mistake. And after that, they developed a really nice friendship, which comes across warmly onscreen.
Maybe it’s the fact that their pairing is intermittent, so that when we see these two it really makes an impression.
Kassie DePaiva (Blair)

They came together this week to talk – each with a big problem.
Blair was upset over Todd’s rage against Cole and Starr.
Christian was upset over Antonio losing all his money and possessions, including Capricorn, which meant Blair was out of singing job.
When the two were together – it was only a couple of scenes – their problems seemed to ease if only for the moment.
I have a feeling that maybe Blair might buy Capricorn. She has that million or so she got from Todd from marrying him.
David and Kassie have a nice, easy way about them and it really translates together onscreen.
As for Antonio (Kamar de los Reyes), I was happy that he and Jessica (Bree Williamson) finally seemed to clear the air after their nasty split.

Jessica really did him wrong when she cheated on him all over town with Nash Brennan (Forbes March). That whole saga was just disgusting the way it all went down.
It was particularly reprehensible when Jessica promised Antonio’s daugher, Jamie, that she would adopt her. When in court for the adoption proceeding, Jessica ran out of the courtroom saying she couldn’t go through with it.
Even after Antonio found out about the infidelity, he donated a part of his liver to Jessica, who desperately needed a transplant.
Now that’s a gentleman.
Antonio and Jessica divorced and she married Nash. She apologized to Antonio in the past.
But to me, it never really appeared sincere until yesterday, when she told him how sorry she was about his losing the Santi money and everything else.
And, thankfully, Antonio has gotten past the anger and has moved on with Talia (BethAnn Bonner).
“I try to hold onto the good and forget about the bad. That way I don’t have too many regrets along the way,” Antonio said to Jessica.
Good advice for us all.