SPOTLIGHT: "Soap Central"

In the Spotlight



LINK: "Soap Central"

Soap Central is celebrating 15 years. It is my go to online soap site when it comes to the message boards (though it's not always Dorian-friendly) but they also have features, news, spoilers, cast biographies, character profiles, recaps and recap archives, star birthdays, soap columns, and family trees. I often use it as a resource for background information on some of the articles I write for the DIVA board and for soap news. More recently, every Friday at 6:00PM Eastern/3:00PM Pacific, Dan J Kroll broadcasts Soap Central Live, which is a soap opera podcast with featured interviews.

In the Spotlight

_{Dorian Leaves For Mendora (1987)}

Robin Strasser left in 1987 as her character Dorian Lord accepted the U.S. Ambassadorship of Mendora. She appeared on a number of TV shows, including Coach and Murphy Brown but she was truly missed as Dorian Lord on OLTL. Ms. Strasser did not return to again until 1993.

Link:Classic Clips--the 80s
Run time=10:55

In the Spotlight

_{OLTL: Herb Visits Dorian in Jail}
Herb comes to viisit Dorian shortly after she's convicted of murdering Mitch Lawrence.

From: OriginalCM29
Link:OLTL: Herb Visits Dorian in Jail
Run time=8:13

Also visit: I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl -- Nina Simone
from OLTLmaestra

In the Spotlight

_{Music Man - Michael Zaslow as David Renaldi}

Concert pianist, David Renaldi (Michael Zaslow), returns to Llanview with ALS. Rev. Andrew Carpenter (Wortham Krimmer) is the first to encounter him at Llanview Hospital where he is to be close to his family, particularly Cassie Carpenter (Laura Koffman), his biological daughter with Dorian Lord (Robin Strasser). Dorian pleads with him to see his daughter but David is resistant to being what he considers a burden to his family due to his condition.

Cast Appearances:
Michael Zaslow - David Renaldi
Wortham Krimmer - Rev. Andrew Carpenter
Robin Strasser - Dorian Lord
Laura Koffman - Cassie Carpenter
Tim Gibbs - Kevin Buchanan
Ryan Marsini - River Carpenter
Kassie DePaiva - Blair Cramer
Gina Tognoni - Kelly Cramer
Stephen Markle - Mel Hayes

From: dia1962
Link:Music Man, p1 - Michael Zaslow as David Renaldi
Run time=7:58

From: dia1962
Link:Music Man, p2 - Michael Zaslow as David Renaldi
Run time=7:53

From: dia1962
Link:Music Man, p3 - Michael Zaslow as David Renaldi
Run time=7:09


Also visit: Simple-k.d. lang
from dia1962

In the Spotlight



_{Canton Episodes}

Dorian, Mel, Cassie and Kevin, among others are trapped by a fire raging out of control.

From: grhdanny
Link:One Life to Live: February 16, 1998, part 1 of 3
Run time=3:44

Link:One Life to Live: February 16, 1998, part 2 of 3
Run time=4:04

Link:One Life to Live: February 16, 1998, part 3 of 3
Run time=2:11

In the Spotlight



_{Dorian and Mel: End of a Romance}

Tragically, Mel was supposedly killed suddenly in a plane crash over the Bahamas. There is much speculation that Mel will in fact be back for OLTL's 40th anniversary, in spirit if not in the flesh. If I have the opportunity I will show more highlights from their romance.

Link:Dorian and Mel: End of a Romance, part 1 of 5
Run time=5:15

Link:Dorian and Mel: End of a Romance, part 2 of 5
Run time=8:35

Link:Dorian and Mel: End of a Romance, part 3 of 5
Run time=3:36

Link:Dorian and Mel: End of a Romance, part 4 of 5
Run time=4:58

Link:Dorian and Mel: End of a Romance, part 5 of 5
Run time=5:58

RELATED LINK: Dorian and Mel video clips

In the Spotlight



_{Prison Life}

This series of videos is a sequel to "The Murder of Mitch Laurence." I have just begun to catalog some of the key episodes so feel free to follow along at this point or backtrack to catch up with the scenes of Mitch's murder and Dorian being tried and convicted. This link has the scenes in sequential order:
Prison Life

In the Spotlight



_{Let Me Blow Ya Mind--Eve feat. Gwen Stefani}

This is the first time that I've highlighted a music video in the SPOTLIGHT feature, but I wanted to do so with this one because it a very popular one on youtube.com, approaching 10,000 views in a matter of four months! Also, I had so much damn fun with it! I don't think that I was alone as fans still talk about the "Long Live the Queen!" episode.
LINK: Let Me Blow Ya Mind - Eve featuring Gwen Stefani

In the Spotlight



_Gaslight

This was around circa 2003 and right after Strasser returned to the coveted role of Dorian Cramer Lord. She had returned and mysteriously married Mitch Laurence. It was a mystery because as you recall, Dorian went to prison for murdering Mitch after he tried to rape Cassie. Anyway the audience at this point has discovered Mitch is still alive. Here, Dorian, Blair and Lindsay gaslight him. The link below gives you the url address for the five parts to this video series.
LINK: Gaslight, Parts 1-5

Fun fact. I don't know if this is the right place to put this, but when Dorian was written back on the show, Robin would of come back in 89. She was thisclose but because of her freelancing schedule, the 4th Dorian recast got it. I just have to wonder if Robin returned in 89 what OLTL would be like for me. (This tidbit about Robin is a report from SOU on a profile of Robin that I have the original)

But people don't agree with me and this has been my arguing point for man many years. Robin Strasser's return to Dorian in 93 was a OLTL landmark with ratings, they went sky high!!!! Same thing in 2003. Robin equals ratings on OLTL. Just plain fact!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the Spotlight



_{Dorian Marries Mitch}

Robin Strasser returned to One Life to Live in 2003 and quickly became part of a storyline that involved villain Mitch Laurence, played by Roscoe Born. When viewers last saw Dorian, she'd left town to travel the world with Drake Faraday. She returns to Llanview broke and soon marries Mitch to lay claim to Llanfair and the Lord fortune. With a Malone rewrite, Victor Lord had been kept alive for years by Mitch. Soon, Victor dies. A new will leaves everything to Mitch.
LINKS: Dorian Cramer Lord Marries Mitch Laurence, Part 1
Dorian Cramer Lord Marries Mitch Laurence, Part 2

In the Spotlight



_{"Daddy's Little Girl"}

LINK: Daddy's Little Girl
Divafan is the author of this 77-chapter fan fiction that involves Senator Herb Callison, Cassie Carpenter, Mel Hayes and of course, Dorian Cramer Lord. It is highlighted here as the first fan fiction featured in the "SPOTLIGHT" because really, it's a personal favorite. If you enjoy the characters I mentioned the fiction revolving around, and well even if they aren't particular favorites, you'll enjoy this story as it yields a complexity of character and numerous subplots that keep you guessing about the outcome. Essentially, Mel is discovered to be alive and reunited with Dorian. They are working on reconnecting when Dorian's ex-hubby Herb comes to town to find his daughter from an affair he had with Karen Wolek during a drunken one-night stand following an argument with Dorian over David Renaldi. What happens from here is worth reading. A sequel will likely be written, as well. Enjoy!

In the Spotlight



_{"CRAZE" column by Jeremy}

LINK: CRAZE at Soaptown USA
Jeremy in Chicago does a weekly column for the Soaptown USA website. While I don't always agree with Jeremy's take on Llanview, I find myself with very similar views when it comes to Robin Strasser and Dorian Lord. Lately, Jeremy has taken care to mention the quintessential Llanview villainess in his columns because he, like most Strasser fans, is in a quandary as to what TPTB have in mind for our dynamic DIVA as her contract comes to it's end in October. This is a column to follow closely if you are a OLTL fan, particularly if you love Dorian as played by Strasser. Jeremy has Strasser's best interest and those of her fans at heart. Come to think of it, the heart of , too.

In the Spotlight



_{"OLTL Fan Club"}

LINK: OLTL Fan Club Website
Among the events highlighted at the OLTL Fan Club Website is the OLTL Fan Club Party, which will be on August 15, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in NYC. This year the party will be aboard the World Yacht's Princess. Half of the proceeds from the raffle and auction items will go to St. Jude's Children's Research. Robin is scheduled to attend for a Bon Voyage!
For more information, go HERE. Also, Robin is featured in the News section of the newsletter.

In the Spotlight



LINK: "Grey Gardens"

Dorian and Blair continue to drink cosmopolitans and bemoan their lost love lives. Blair fantasizes a life where they are broke and alone at a dilapidated LaBoulaie in a scenes from the cult film "Grey Gardens," where two eccentric women old women who have let the outside world pass them by.

For those who may not understand the reference, "Grey Gardens" was a 1975 Albert Maysles documentary starring Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (aunt of former First Lady Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis), and her daughter of the same name. The feature film depicted the everyday lives of the reclusive socialite mother/daughter duo as they lived in dilapidated Grey Gardens mansion in an affluent neighborhood in East Hampton, New York. Part 1 of 2.
Go HERE for Part 2.