Long time watcher, short time Lurker...
Hand-of-Omega
classes in the study rooms at college, where girls would leave the tv
on the soaps. One day, I heard this Alex Olanov woman give this
coldblooded speech about how all the kings and presidents were all
pieces off her plans, while playing with a chessboard. Nothing catches
my eye like a good villain, so I started watching for her. Then, I
slowly found myself reeled into Todd's rape trial, Blair's trying to
hide her mentally-ill mother, stuff with Max and Luna...I can't even
recall most of it. Finally, the show reached a point where everyone I
cared about was at a good place, and I felt I could let go...But
occasionally I would wonder what Todd Manning was up to now...<G>
Years later, a customer at my bookstore was buying a mag that had
these characters on the cover, and was surprised that I knew who they
were. So, we talked about them for awhile (apparently, I had just
missed a big Time Travel storyline, darnit), and I was tempted to tune
in again. Soon enough, the show had me in its' clutches again. So, I'm
here to admit...that I'm a OLTL-aholic. At least till the characters
get their lives together, again...
I noticed some new faces, btw. Todd is clearly not who I remember, but
I do recall Blair changing. I remember laughing because, when the new
actress turned around for the reveal, a voiceover actually said "From
now on, she will be playing the part of Blair Kramer"! Do soaps still
do that??^_^
Also, she even changed race, from Asian to Caucasian! According to
TVTropes, there was even a nod to this once, when the current Blair
had a flashback to her wedding...using actual footage of Asian Blair!
Cut to current Blair's confused look into a mirror...^^
The TVTropes link, for those interested, is:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneLifeToLive
(Careful with that site, it's pretty addictive!)
So, whatever happened to Alex? And Max and Luna?
Dex
Monkey in SF
The scene you refer to with Blair happened during one of Asa's
"funerals"- before he (the actor & character were actually dead- mind
you).
They were flashing back on all of Asa's past wives, many of whom were
present at the funeral. And when they flashed to "Blair" from back
then- she was looking at herself in her compact mirror i believe and
had a "WTF?" moment as a funny nod to the audience of such a huge
change in character- as they showed "Asian Blair" and then Blair as we
know her now. She later mentioned in a further storyline they she
"wasn't herself" back then or some such reference. Funny stuff- being
able to take a ribbing at your own expense.
Alex had a stint in town in the past year or two- last seen before
David found out he was a Buke.
Max "left town" (was fired years ago) and left to be with his children
who were growing up in another state. North Carolina possibly? The
actor gave a direct wink into the camera, breaking the 4th wall as
they call it- as he walked off camera for the last time.
Luna died ages ago- in the early to mid 90's and has been seen or been
active as an Angel since her passing. With a good deal of taste and
class in my opinion there as well. And certainly not often enough.
So, Alex and Max are still out there- alive in soap purgatory.
Cheers, Dex.
Eddie
D.W. McKim
answer questions (though Wikipedia's a real good source for checking up
on specific character's histories) but i did want to mention it sounds
like you started watching around the same time i did. I had never
watched a daytime soap before but tuned in because i saw OLTL featured
on a talk show talking about how they had currently had a novelist as a
head writer and an executive producer from films and were trying to do
all sorts of new and innovative stuff not typically associated with
soaps including a gay teen storyline. I tuned in and even though i
didn't know who any of the characters were the first actress who caught
my eye was Tonja Walker as Alex Olenov - she was this incredibly
electrifying presence that i couldn't take my eyes off of when she was
onscreen. The character left in the mid-90s and every now and then pops
up for a short while to wreak some kind of havoc.
I also remember that infamous first day of KdP's Blair with her "The
part of Blair Cramer will now be played by..." voiceover. Those
voiceovers aren't as common these days, though they do happen on rare
occasion. At that time they did seem to use them whenever there was a
recast but even if it wasn't as common, that was such a striking casting
change that the audience NEEDED that announcer voiceover to keep from
being totally confused. I HATED her at first because i loved Mia Korf's
Blair and now she was being recast with someone totally different in
type with her first scene in a swimsuit tanning poolside - i saw this
leggy blond white actress who delivered her first lines very seductively
(to Viki and Sloan no less!) and was NOT happy. She eventually won me
over and even though she does have the occasional off day, she normally
gives her all to every scene and is a true soap vet in every sense of
the word - who gets some of the worst writing and stories from each
writing regime. She gets such poor scripts and still does what she can
to make each individual scene shine.
--------------------------------------
d.w. mckim
http://community.webtv.net/larynx1/UltravioletMUSEings/index.html
http://muppetfreak.blogstream.com - 75/85% Muppet/Henson fandom
commentary plus other areas of interest and cool stuff.
Hand-of-Omega
> Checking posts real quick before heading out so don't have time now to
> answer questions (though Wikipedia's a real good source for checking up
> on specific character's histories) but i did want to mention it sounds
> like you started watching around the same time i did. I had never
> watched a daytime soap before but tuned in because i saw OLTL featured
> on a talk show talking about how they had currently had a novelist as a
> head writer and an executive producer from films and were trying to do
> all sorts of new and innovative stuff not typically associated with
> soaps including a gay teen storyline. I tuned in and even though i
> didn't know who any of the characters were the first actress who caught
> my eye was Tonja Walker as Alex Olenov - she was this incredibly
> electrifying presence that i couldn't take my eyes off of when she was
> onscreen. The character left in the mid-90s and every now and then pops
> up for a short while to wreak some kind of havoc.
>
> I also remember that infamous first day of KdP's Blair with her "The
> part of Blair Cramer will now be played by..." voiceover. Those
> voiceovers aren't as common these days, though they do happen on rare
> occasion. At that time they did seem to use them whenever there was a
> recast but even if it wasn't as common, that was such a striking casting
> change that the audience NEEDED that announcer voiceover to keep from
> being totally confused.
Heh, true!
> I HATED her at first because i loved Mia Korf's
> Blair and now she was being recast with someone totally different in
> type with her first scene in a swimsuit tanning poolside - i saw this
> leggy blond white actress who delivered her first lines very seductively
> (to Viki and Sloan no less!) and was NOT happy. She eventually won me
> over and even though she does have the occasional off day, she normally
> gives her all to every scene and is a true soap vet in every sense of
> the word - who gets some of the worst writing and stories from each
> writing regime. She gets such poor scripts and still does what she can
> to make each individual scene shine.
Yeah, she is entertaining to watch, tho she's been frustrating, with
her blindness to her own (obvious) motives. I'm glad to see her
finally acknowledge what everyone's been telling her all along...When
I started watching again, she seemed like a decent person, so it was
weird watching her slowly become a monster, deceiving and using
everyone around her to get Todd...But now I'm remembering the past,
and this is really just a return to form for her, isn't it?
Dex