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| Roger Howarth - Todd Manning, Kristen Alderson - Starr Manning, Michael Easton - John McBain |
Wouldn't
the world be a lot simpler without lawyers in it?
If and when One Life To
Live (OLTL) was resurrected, it was always going to come down to a
legal bailiwick over the cross-over characters and actors (Roger
Howarth – Todd Manning, Kristen Alderson – Starr Manning, and
Michael Easton – John McBain) that were contracted to General
Hospital (GH). If we take a step back and take our emotions out of
things for a moment, it would make sense that these actors could not
continue their roles at the moment on GH with OLTL preparing to ramp
up for relaunch. Prospect Park (PP) would be remiss to their
investors if they did not leverage the GH cross-overs to bring people
to Llanview. However, beyond that, this does not mean much right now
as we do not know what discussions or complications are involved.
It may be that legally,
it is as simple as getting this straightened out and all parties to
agree to an amicable arrangement. There is nothing that precludes
the crossover characters from being based on OLTL but crossing over
regularly to GH if details were agreed to by all parties -
particularly the actors themselves. It would produce a win-win
situation for both shows, bringing cross-over audiences to both,
additional revenue for PP, and really no down side for either party
as the more popular these characters, the more viewership for both
shows. It would also mean more work, money, and exposure for the
actors playing these roles if logistics were favorable for them.
It makes sense that PP
would want these characters for the OLTL relaunch, especially with
the momentum of fan interest they bring because of their exposure on
GH. It would also make sense to let them cross back over to GH from
time-to-time to reinforce that momentum and bring the GH audience
along to Llanview when they are residing there and vice-versa.
In this world where
lawyers are involved in every aspect and take home more than
plaintiffs, defendents, and those they represent, it will likely take
time to work out details. Perhaps as fans, our best course of action
is to continue to support these characters, the actors, both shows,
and let our voices be heard that we want to be able to see them in
both Llanview and Port Charles on a regular basis - a win-win
situation for GH, OLTL, PP, and the actors themselves, setting new
precedence with a long-term cooperative agreement (if they so desire). It would also be a win-win situation for fans who would get to see these beloved characters twice as much in both Llanview and Port Charles. There are
no laws, certainly none set in stone that say this could not become a
reality.
As with all things soap opera, we will all have to stay
tuned! What do you think?
I can't understand why the soaps just don't do crossover stories. For prospect park it would help them start a new and get gh fans watching there programs. It can't hurt abc with the fans that still don't like how fans were treated and the lies that they told. Making the fans angry will not go over well for prospect oark or abc.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with that usually comes from the different taping schedules and of course in this case, General Hospital is in CA, while One Life to Live will be in CT. That just makes it more difficult to get the scheduling straight. I think they should be able to work it out though. It is unfair to the actors...and the fans.
ReplyDeleteWhile it mainly boils down to scheduling and the actors own priorities, I do appreciate being able to express how I feel. If you're not going with a re-cast of the characters, I think it'd be a good thing to bring John McBain back to OLTL. I'm mainly saying that because of this alleged act of sabotage, with the Caleb/PC storyline, on GH. If they want to get rid of McBain that way, they might as well send him back to where he's been for the last years. And as far as the characters doing an equal share of crossing over, from one show to the other and back, I don't think I'd want to put that kind of scheduling strain on the actors, or the fans as well.
ReplyDeleteSo, bring ME back to OLTL 2.0. Keep Starr and Todd on GH; but allow them to decide whether or not to crossover every now and then w/o it becoming a permanent strain.
I agree with everything you said. I don't like the idea of PP recasting the characters, and I really don't like the actors playing different characters on GH. I think these ideas would alienate the fans and destroy good will for both PP and ABC. The best solution would be for the actors and characters to be shared by PP and ABC, with crossovers. This would not be easy on the actors since the shows tape on opposite sides of the country, but it should be possible.
ReplyDelete