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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?
