Or rather, it would have been a happy birthday if ABC hadn't canceled the beloved soap. But in my mind, OLTL is still turning 44 today. The show lives on in my heart and the hearts of many other fans. So let's celebrate One Life to Live!
Debuting on July 15th, 1968, One Life to Live was a special soap from the very beginning. Tackling many social issues, OLTL was the social conscious soap. (It was created by Agnes Nixon after all.) Race, class, and a whole slew of other issues were addressed that really got people talking and exploring multiple perspectives. Viewers grew to love the characters, which further helped with that exploration.
Over time there were other kinds of storylines as well. It was not uncommon to turn on OLTL in the '80s and watch a few sci-fi tales (an underground city, time travel, heaven on a spaceship...) However the running theme of this wonderful soap was family. Powerful families. Struggling families. A little bit of both... that was the big piece that held OLTL together. We all tuned in to see what was happening to the residents of Llanview.
I miss this show terribly. I think about it everyday and life truly hasn't been the same since its bow on January 13th 2012. I find little ways to carry the show on. As i have posted before, I go into this delusional state where i collect Barbie dolls that could pass for certain characters. I also write my OLTL fanfiction, taking the time to guess what everyone would be up to if the show was still on.
Where would they be? What would they be doing? Sure we could just watch General Hospital to get little snippets of folks and the goings on in Llanview, but i have a feeling that the storylines would be different had the show been allowed to stay on the air.
I like to think that Todd's wacky mother was still alive. Like maybe Todd thought he killed her, but she pulled some mind trick on him which led him to believe he shot her and his brother Victor. And somehow crazy Allison Perkins would somehow be involved (which would explain her holding Victor hostage.) So Allison and Irene would be plotting the downfall of several Llanview residents.
Todd would be on trial. His niece Jessica Buchanan would be working for her mother's newspaper doing some investigative work. It would all be helping her o get her mind off of the drama she had been put through. Jessica would somehow learn the truth about Irene and Allison but would end up held hostage with Victor.
Dorian would be back, working on her political campaign, where she would then be shot at a rally by Allison. That way Dorian could be rushed back to Llanview to mix it up with everyone else. Viki and Clint would be planning a double wedding with Natalie and John. Somehow there would be a problem. Maybe Allison would do something dastardly at the reception?
Blair would be Blair, torn between loving Todd with all his faults and Tomas for his seemingly chivalrous behavior. Tea would have a healthy baby. Destiny would find it difficult to raise her own baby, and thus fall into a crippling postpartum depression that would result in negligent care of the baby. Matthew would try to help, but Destiny would find herself shutting off from the rest of the world. This would then cause problems between the two families. Nora would try to get some form of custody because she'd think she would be doing the right thing.
Lindsay would be free from jail! She'd be working and trying to put herself back into Llanview society. She'd somehow be interacting with Bo who would be retired or trying to figure out the next phase of his life. Nora would not be pleased. it would all be funny and delicious.
There would be some story in London as Rex, Gigi, and Shane tried to navigate their way in the Buchanan family. The mansion wouldn't be big enough for the slight bitter feelings between Gigi and Kelly. And somehow Cutter and Kim would be working with their money hungry mama (Alex) to worm their way in the London Buchanan manse. It would be so exciting!
And Cole would end up going on a search for his parents. Marty and Patrick would return. It would somehow turn out later on that Irene had actually done something to Marty's mind and she hadn't really done all those awful crazy things. Starr and Cole would be happy with their daughter. (Even though I am liking Starr and Michael Corinthos on GH, right?)
I don't know, there was so much story that could have been told for OLTL. My only hope is that the show somehow returns in some form or another. OLTL was fantastic story telling and such an important part of television history. Happy Birthday One Life to Live!
If you happened to watch OLTL, be sure to leave your comments and memories of the fantastic soap!
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