Author’s Note: I apologize for the lateness of this post, but a number of unexpected events kept me from completing it as I usually do (Saturday or Sunday).

The Otalia roller coaster took a dip into depression valley the week of June 15 as the angst ramped up and clouded some of Otalia’s radiance. The Guiding Light episodes for the week of June 22 would continue on level track right through depression valley for the most part. Nevertheless, this story would attempt a M. Night Shyamalan twist (more like The Village than The Sixth Sense) as the week ended, and a “Frankenclipse” unlike any other would darken Otalia’s light.

The June 22 episode began with Natalia, Olivia, and Emma continuing Rafe’s birthday celebration. With Rafe being a no show, Natalia’s mood was dampened, sad, and a bit lonely, despite Olivia and Natalia’s presence. Olivia correctly guessed that Natalia was hoping Rafe would return the farmhouse and celebrate his birthday. However, Natalia realized that he wouldn’t. Natalia expressed to Olivia that she’d hoped his birthday would be a new beginning, which would allow her to repair her relationship with Rafe. Despite Rafe’s slight progress in the June 19, 2009 episode, he still isn’t ready to deal with Natalia and Olivia’s relationship.

After Emma swiped a bit of icing from the cake and Olivia jokingly admonished her, Natalia decided that they should forge ahead without Rafe. Olivia seemed hesitant and asked Natalia if she was sure, but Natalia was resigned to celebrating Rafe’s birthday without him. As Olivia lit a matched and shared her flame with Natalia’s matchstick, I recognized the symbolism in this scene. When I reviewed the old Otalia footage (late 2008 and early January 2009), Olivia was the first to become aware of Natalia in a romantic way. It took some time for Natalia to recognize the torch Olivia was carrying for her. Having Olivia strike the match and pass her flame to Natalia symbolized how their romantic relationship has played out. Olivia carried the flame in an expressive way – via angst-ridden facial expressions – for many months. Natalia never allowed herself to truly accept what she felt for Olivia until she left Frank Cooper at the alter. Now that Natalia has accepted the torch from Olivia, it is Natalia that seems to be carrying it in this second act of the Otalia story line. As this story unfolds, it seems to be told with Natalia as the lead. (more…)

Some of my readers have asked a few questions on Crystal Chappell’s big announcement through blog comments, emails, and tweets on Twitter. I addressed how I felt mostly through Twitter, but I realize not everyone uses Twitter or follows me for that matter. Others have asked questions about my Otalia posts, and some have asked me if I would follow Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia’s careers once Guiding Light concludes this September. I decided to address all of these questions in this blog post, but I have also decided to discuss the state of soap operas as well. I feel like I can’t discuss the Crystal Chappell announcement and my Otalia posts without also discussing how I feel about soap operas. I think once you finish reading this post, you will have a clear indication on my thoughts.

Thoughts on Crystal Chappell’s Announcement

Around midnight on June 12, 2009, I discovered the news that Crystal Chappell was returning to Days of Our Lives as Dr. Carly Manning. Crystal Chappell currently plays Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light and is one-half of the super couple known as Otalia. I started seeing a flood of tweets on Twitter about the news, but I waited to read a story confirming the news. Once I had confirmation, the crushing pain I felt was absolutely startling and very unexpected. As I said on Twitter, it felt like something had pierced my heart once the news hit me.

At first, I felt denial and disbelief that this was happening. For weeks, I have been fighting to keep Otalia and Guiding Light alive. I knew that time was ticking on the clock towards September 18, which is the final airdate for the show on CBS. I knew that Guiding Light had not found a new home, but it didn’t stop me from trying my best to save it. Once I got past the denial and disbelief, sadness enveloped me because I knew that Otalia was as good as over. (more…)

I have been very consistent in watching The Bold & the Beautiful since its debut in 1987. If I missed story lines, it was because I was in school as a child; however, I was able to watch a lot of the show even when I was in school. My mother was also a faithful soap watcher, and she recorded the CBS soap operas, which my brothers and I watched with her sometimes. For many years, The Bold & the Beautiful has been my favorite soap opera after surpassing my love of The Young & the Restless in the mid 90s. I always loved The Bold & the Beautiful because of its difference from other soaps. The fashion and glamor of the show was something that appealed to me along with lovable characters, acting, and story lines. While I fell in and out of love with other soaps, I never fell in and out of love with The Bold & the Beautiful until recently.

I think I can speak for all soap fans when I say we understand that no show can maintain story lines that you love forever. We look at “jump the shark” moments on soaps and try to get past them (if they aren’t too absurd). We wait patiently for our favorite disbanded couples to reunite. As soap fans, we suffer through angst, joy, pain, frustration, and many shenanigans because we love a show. However, I reached a level where I just could not take any more of the ridiculousness that The Bold & the Beautiful became in spring 2008.

For the first time since 1987, I put down my favorite soap opera and vowed that I would not return for at least 6 months-1 year until things improved. I stuck to my vow and returned to the show December 2008, but I have been experiencing a light bulb (off and on) relationship with the show. I have a laundry list of items that makes me quit The Bold & the Beautiful for weeks (or months) at a time, and I am going to lay them out on the table for everyone to see. (more…)

I have a confession to make. I am a HUGE soap opera fan. In fact, my brothers and I were raised on soap operas thanks to our late maternal grandmother. For much of my childhood, my grandmother had only one TV. While my parents went to work, my grandmother was our caretaker. As a result, we had to watch what she watched on her TV, and her favorite pastime was watching CBS soap operas: The Young & The Restless, Capitol (before it was canceled), The Bold & Beautiful (which replaced Capitol), As the World Turns, and Guiding Light. My grandmother never strayed from CBS soaps, other than some General Hospital watching during the Luke and Laura storyline of the 70s and early 80s. My brothers and I absolutely hated soap operas, but at some point early in our childhood, we all started to love watching them when we came home from school and stayed at our grandmother’s during summer vacations.

For me, the best soap opera acting, writing, and story lines took place in the 80s. I was very faithful to all of the CBS soaps, mainly because I had no choice while watching with my grandmother. My brothers and I never ventured out beyond the CBS world of soap operas until the early 90s. I started watching One Live to Live, Days of Lives, Port Charles, and even Passions (in the early years). At one point, it grew difficult to watch as many soap operas as I did, so I cut some that were underperforming loose. One of those soaps that I left behind was the Guiding Light in 1993. I lost faith in TV’s oldest running program.

Thanks to my youngest brother, he passed along a recommended podcast: the Daytime Confidential podcast, which covers everything in the soap world. After getting hooked on the podcast, I heard that Guiding Light was in danger of cancellation. I didn’t really have an emotional investment into the show…or so I thought until they faced real danger of cancellation. The Guiding Light had lost its way many years ago, but there was a small part of me that didn’t want the show to be canned once I heard the news. The Guiding Light is as old, at 72 years old, as my maternal grandmother was when she passed away in 1993. Therefore, there was some unexpected sadness involved in the show’s possible cancellation at the time since my grandmother was responsible for my brothers and me watching soap operas. While I did return to other soaps that I dropped over the years, I never watched Guiding Light again…until late January 2009. I only started watching when Daytime Confidential discussed the Otalia storyline. (more…)