Paula's Soapbox

It has been almost two weeks since Tamara Braun took over the role of Taylor Walker, replacing Natalia Livingston who had inhabited the role since late January. I never really understood the need for this sudden casting change, but being a fan of both actresses I kept an open mind. Sometimes these types of changes take a while to get used to, particularly when they are as ill-timed as this one, or as ill-timed as the switch from new Lucky to original Lucky on GH, or from Drew Garrett to Chad Duell in the role of Michael, but I digress. DOOL used the standard excuse of taking the character in a different direction to explain the Taylor casting change. To be perfectly honest I have never really understood this explanation. Soaps use it all the time and it never makes much sense. Actors act - if a show decides to take a character in a different direction the actor should, by definition, be able to act accordingly. If there is a chemistry problem between the actors and...

Like a lot of viewers I looked forward to Natalia Livingston's debut on Days as Nicole's sister, Taylor. I was already a fan, having seen her play both Emily and Rebecca on GH. And she seemed like she would be a good addition to the Days cast. When her first scenes aired a few weeks ago I initially thought that Taylor would make a good love interest for Brady, until I saw Natalia's scenes with James Scott. Then I became enchanted with the whole idea of an EJ and Taylor pairing. On the surface their meet-cute probably seemed a little cheesy to some, the whole idea of them falling in love at first sight. However, this is something that we haven't seen on soaps in a while. There was something very sweet and sort of old-fashioned about their first meeting, a complete contradiction to EJ at the moment. And I liked the idea of him being paired with someone who brings out his best qualities, as Taylor likely would have. Regardless of how much chemistry he might have with Nicol...

It has been a year of look-alikes on General Hospital, from Sarah Joy Brown (ex-Carly) finishing her run as Claudia, to Natalia Livingston (ex-Emily) being cast as Rebecca. There was even an episode that featured Luke and Ethan look-alikes in the form of Link and Evan, replacements hired by Tracy who she jokingly referred to as re-casts. With all these doubles, one might assume that General Hospital would avoid doppelgangers for a while, but one would be wrong. Obviously the show could not let the year slip by without the inclusion of yet another counterpart, and Rebecca's exit provided the perfect opportunity for that. It is not that I dislike the way Rebecca was written off the show, in fact I think bringing Chad Brannon (ex-Zander) back was an excellent way to facilitate this exit. However, I think this would have been a bit more entertaining and would have seemed more clever if Brannon wasn't the third actor in recent history to return to the show as a different character. ...

I know I have made this statement before, but after watching Thursday's General Hospital I think it bears repeating. It is simply a shame that Natalia Livingston is leaving the show just when the Rebecca character is becoming interesting. Not only has she made the Lucky/Liz/Nikolas triangle more intriguing, I am beginning to notice the potential impact she could have on the overall show. For instance, until now I never realized just how compatible she and Lucky actually are. Rebecca arrived in Port Charles as a con artist, which is something Lucky can obviously relate to because of his upbringing. In talking about this upbringing with Rebecca, Lucky revealed his inherent fondness for Luke for perhaps the first time in months. And these days any person that can make Lucky feel anything for his father other than resentment or embarrassment could have a positive effect on this volatile father/son relationship. One also cannot ignore the fact that if Rebecca helped Lucky reconnect with...

I never thought I would say this, but I think I am finally on board with the Rebecca character on General Hospital. It is just too bad that her portrayer, Natalia Livingston, is set to leave the show in the not so distant future. The last few episodes of GH have given viewers a glimpse of what Rebecca could have been like in a storyline that didn't somehow revolve around Emily. And for the first time since Livingston's return to the show I have been able to see her as someone other than Emily. Granted, my sudden affection for Rebecca has everything to do with her disdain for Elizabeth, which is something we actually have in common. And needless to say it was great to see Rebecca finally give Elizabeth what she deserved, even if she held back a little more than I would have. However, I wish this storyline had come along a lot sooner because now I actually feel like Rebecca is someone I could root for, rather than just tolerate. And let's face it, her involvement in the Lucky...