Is The Phoenix Rising from the Ashes? The "OLTL-ifying" of GH

I saw that while us Midwesterners with normal sleep patterns were snoozing that there was some interesting gossip on Friday night. I know I was at a dull dinner party with people whose goal in life is to find the best food for the least money, then went happily off to sleep. I seemed to have missed out on the excitement.

It seems that with the added time on GH, the boys will be making a turn that some of us saw coming months ago but thought had been abandoned.  This "insider", who some say is legit, claims that there's a shake-up underway and that the hybrid many scoffed at is actually coming.  It's time to bring in all the big guns and make GH a thing of the past.  Bring on "OLTL II- The Revenge!!  This time, it's personal".  Although I feel for many GH fans, deep down, I couldn't be happier.

The scuttlebutt is that there will be a lot of major OLTL characters arriving soon- some long term, some short, some staying for a while, some leaving and coming back again, and so on.  Those being mentioned are Blair, Viki, Victor, and Tea, who's there already.  Oh, and Tubby.  But he's not interesting, so we'll leave him alone.  Unless, well, you know, Todd can beat him GF Style.  (Do I need to add that clip again?  Nah, we've seen it enough.)  It seems many others are being thought about, as well, although they were not specifically mentioned.  The addition of Tea now proves that The Two Todds, II, as we'll call it, is happening in full force, so this does make a lot of sense. Those directly affected by the story should be there for it.

The rationale here is that TPTB wanted this all along but were nervous. They got  freaked by the GH backlash, so they backed off at first.  I would assume bad ratings and the downward spiral not being an anomaly, but firmly a trend, is what told them that status quo with a few additions was NOT working.  Their initial thoughts were probably the way to go.  With this reprieve- as it is- I would imagine that they have nothing to lose. It's now or never, as I've said all along, and time to make something happen! If they want to save their livelihoods and the future of this genre, they need to prove it's viable.  And what they're doing now is saying the opposite.  GH is a loser.

I'd also imagine that the outrageously negative feedback would also be an issue.  I know I've been screaming, but I'm not the one contacting them (although many of you have forwarded this to them, which makes me laugh just thinking about it).  Is it possible that Carlivati and Valentini listened to the angry letters and tweets and long discussions on message boards and crazy rants like this? Is it possible that they did exactly as I, and many others, requested?  They saw beyond the anger to see the intent behind it?  We wanted something to be saved and they were squandering it, and doing so in a very callous way.  Is it possible that, heaven forbid, they're sorry??

I started posting on TWOP because I thought everyone there was civil and smart. But that's really why I read it, not really why I posted.  I'm not the message board type, in general.  I'm a closet fangurl and prefer it that way. I have the cover of "using the info for my work", which I do, but deep down, I'm filled with fangurl glee when I get my story my way, so my credibility really goes out the window there.  But the real reason I started posting regularly was when I heard David Vickers mention "Movies Without Pity" and knew some writer was reading it.  I thought maybe, just maybe, they'd read something and that could make a difference.  So, that's what I did- I tried to reach out to them, anger and all- and make a difference.

Now, I'm starting to think that worked. I don't know who's reading this, although I have some pretty outlandish ideas, but in the end, I didn't think it mattered.  Do they really pay attention to the boards and the blogs and the letters and the Tweets? I see people urging civility from fans, so that makes me think they do pay attention. Otherwise, who cares?  I have students rail on me online all the time. Hell, it's a cottage industry. I don't care. I'm doing my job and if they don't like it, well, that's not my concern.  The majority of them do and so do my supervisors.

But maybe that's it.  Maybe the majority of the people DON'T think they are doing a good job, as is obvious by the dismal numbers, and they do care.  I'd like to think that but can't be sure if it's possible, as it's too good to be true. Is it possible that we have some impact into decisions being made?  I'd say yes for one reason and one reason only.  The vows to not watch were valid.  

The ratings suck, are going down or steadily in the toilet, as there were no empty threats here. They were legit statements.  WE WILL NOT WATCH THIS!!  There were no viewers.  They tuned out, left, and had no intention of coming back as many of us felt we were not getting our show. So, why would we?  The network dumped it and the Producers tried to destroy the nice thing they left, so why should we come back?  What's in it for us?

I'm going out on a limb as this is my blog and, well, I can.  I think it's possible that the little show that could, OLTL, is proving itself more everyday. The "red-headed stepchild" (excuse the offensive term as I have a beautiful child in my life with red hair and mean no disrespect to anyone lucky enough to be so blessed with those gorgeous locks) is emerging as the real winner. Is it a Cinderella Story of modern media?  The one who was pushed aside, starved for promotion and money, had it's coffers looted by lesser shows, actually survives and comes back from the dead?

OMG, it's a soap fan's fantasy.  The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes.  In true soap form, no one saw the body of OLTL.  We had hints that she was being held captive somewhere, being preserved until it was safe to return.  Starr and Todd and John being alive should have proved that.  The constant Blair references, the addition of Tea, all made some of us live in hope.  As a fan who waited patiently for eight years to see Real Todd come back, I can believe it.  It's Llanview, after all, and anything's possible. Viki's still there somewhere, I can feel it.

OLTL fans are a rare breed.  We love our show and although we'll scream and yell and walk away for a while, we'll come back.  We stand on the sidelines as the show was worth it.  It wasn't about the writing or the plotting or the direction. It was about the characters and the actors who played them.  They were soulful and talented people who made us want to love them, even when we hated what they were doing.  They were always interesting and I can think of no other show where every Vet was terrific.  I hated Tea much of the time but I always thought FL played her very well and I could find sympathy for her, despite my negative feelings. I even enjoyed her much of the time.

Nowhere can you get truly "grey" characters like Asa and Todd and make the audience so attached.  Besides Adam and David from AMC, and maybe Craig from ATWT, I've never seen it. It was the characters and the actors that kept us.  Bring them back and we'll reward you.  Just don't "GH-ify" them.  Keep them as we know them.  That's vital and what this "test" should have shown you.  We want OUR show, not GH's version of our show. 

GH is a dying dog.  Have mercy on it and put it to sleep. The fans are gone and they aren't coming back. You see, they aren't us.  Valentini and Carlivati thought all fans were like OLTL fans.  They're learning a harsh lesson.  That's not true.  You can't placate GH fans.  A huge number left long ago and won't return as they don't care about the people on screen.  The show wasn't strong enough to keep them.  But OLTL was- and is. We're the ones who are on the sidelines....waiting.  No one's coming back to GH as the majority you need don't care anymore. We'll come back, but only if we trust you.

I still won't watch until I know for sure. I'm not getting hosed again.  Be good this time, Boys, and we'll join in.  As I said months ago when all this started, "Build it and they will come".  You just have to prove yourselves.  Like mine as a detached, objective academic, your credibility went out the window. We're like Blair now.  Will you, like Todd, take that trust and stomp on it?  This time, I don't think Todd meant to, but he did.  As did you.  And, like Blair, we're suckers for you and we won't break the "OLTL-cycle", as, well, you're our Dude and we love you!!! Warts and all.  But we will rip you a new one.  Yet, like Blair, we always come back because, well, you can't pick who you love.

Oh, and bring back CLINT!!! I love him, too.