Title: "Something in the Water"
Description: Soaptown USA Column, 3.31.08
Description: Soaptown USA Column, 3.31.08
cher62 - March 31, 2008 10:46 PM (GMT)
Here's the link to Jeremy's column: Craze.
"Something in the Water"
by Jeremy at Soaptown USA
(I have typed the portion that pertains to Clint because the column only appears at the link until replaced, usually the next week, with a new column. I stuck with the Clint part of the column because well, this is a Dorian and Clint board and I am interested in the comments he makes here about Clint. As a Dorian and Clint fan, I surely hope the twist and turns of this story lead to their benefit but whether that occurs, I have very much enjoyed Clint's transformation as has Jeremy. I think it interesting because Jeremy has repeatedly bashed the character in his column. Though I surely don't agree with all that is written, I think the column is insightful and well-written. Of note one very important point never mentioned is that Dorian and Clint fell in love.)
Two characters really demanded my attention this week. Two characters kept tugging at my brain and crying out, "Look, the writers finally got it right!" And those two previously dull characters are Adriana Cramer and Clint Buchanan. In the case of Clint, a difficult recast in Jerry verDorn that never quite worked has finally cemented. Not that verDorn ever lacked gravitas in his acting chops, but I never actually bought that he was Clint Buchanan. I kept thinking to myself, "maybe they should not have recast this role." Clint Ritchie was never a favorite of mine but there was no denying that his face and the name of Clint Buchanan were, for decades, synonymous. He gave Clint a certain gruffness and cowboy authenticity that verDorn could not match. verDorn's Clint was written like an old-fashioned moralist who treated Viki like dog crap (to the point were he came off as sexist) and then dated a woman the "real" Clint would never have turned to in Dorian. TPTB's decision to pair up Clint and Dorian may have seemed interesting at first, but it was actually the epitome of lazy writing. It was done solely to give the illusion that Viki and Dorian's feud needed a man - to keep it fired up, even if the man in question would never put himself in that position again. Jerry verDorn was an acceptable acting partner for Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser, but the character he was playing wasn't Clint. It was Pod Clint. The "real" Clint would never have allowed himself to be ping-ponged back and forth between Viki and Dorian, two women whose feud he knows as well as the back of his own palm. The "real" Clint would have said "no thanks" and moved right along. verDorn's Clint became a pathetic and rather uninteresting sap highly unfit to be called patriarch of the Buchanan family.
Which is why the killing off of Asa Buchanan was one of the best decisions to be made so far during Frank Valentini's tenure as executive producer. As sad as it was to see Phil Carey go, Asa had already stopped mattering beyond being the sometimes grandfatherly comfort to "Jessie" and Matthew. Asa's decline coincided with a complete lack of storyline inclusion where Buchanan Enterprises was concerned. Bo was the closest thing to a central figure or glue in the Buchanan family. Bo's great, but he is peripheral where Asa's business is concerned. Clint was a lame duck, and the rest of the good ol' boys (Cord, Kevin, Joey) had long since disappeared overseas. Now several months after Asa's death and the foreshadow scenes of conflicting nature between brothers, Clint and Bo, the Buchanan family has risen from the ashes and returned to the show's core. At the helm, none other than Clint. Though the object of an obvious campaign by the writers to make him seem more like Asa, Clint has nonetheless been transitioned into a believable tycoon. This man, who previously served no purpose beyond being a father and boyfriend, is now suddenly responsible for the survival of his entire family and the legacy of his father. We've seen his relationship with the devious Lindsay grow as his blossoming relationship with moralist Nora fails to launch. Just weeks into this transition, Clint is already able to identify more with Lindsay, who may be the only woman (besides Dorian, ironically) capable of accepting him on a moral level. Even brother Bo is kept in the dark because he is too judgmental to accept Tycoon Clint. In the coming weeks, Lindsay and Clint will probably find themselves on the outside looking in when Bo and Nora realize they share the same moral high ground that Lindsay and former husband Clint simply cannot live up to. At this point in his character's journey, Clint could even get back together with Dorian (if it wasn't for the fact that she is probably the one behind the Buchanan takeover attempts and has always been one of the family's worst enemies). This Clint wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole - but not because he is morally above her, as before - but because she is an enemy of the family. Lindsay is a different story ... or is she?
"Something in the Water"
by Jeremy at Soaptown USA
(I have typed the portion that pertains to Clint because the column only appears at the link until replaced, usually the next week, with a new column. I stuck with the Clint part of the column because well, this is a Dorian and Clint board and I am interested in the comments he makes here about Clint. As a Dorian and Clint fan, I surely hope the twist and turns of this story lead to their benefit but whether that occurs, I have very much enjoyed Clint's transformation as has Jeremy. I think it interesting because Jeremy has repeatedly bashed the character in his column. Though I surely don't agree with all that is written, I think the column is insightful and well-written. Of note one very important point never mentioned is that Dorian and Clint fell in love.)
Two characters really demanded my attention this week. Two characters kept tugging at my brain and crying out, "Look, the writers finally got it right!" And those two previously dull characters are Adriana Cramer and Clint Buchanan. In the case of Clint, a difficult recast in Jerry verDorn that never quite worked has finally cemented. Not that verDorn ever lacked gravitas in his acting chops, but I never actually bought that he was Clint Buchanan. I kept thinking to myself, "maybe they should not have recast this role." Clint Ritchie was never a favorite of mine but there was no denying that his face and the name of Clint Buchanan were, for decades, synonymous. He gave Clint a certain gruffness and cowboy authenticity that verDorn could not match. verDorn's Clint was written like an old-fashioned moralist who treated Viki like dog crap (to the point were he came off as sexist) and then dated a woman the "real" Clint would never have turned to in Dorian. TPTB's decision to pair up Clint and Dorian may have seemed interesting at first, but it was actually the epitome of lazy writing. It was done solely to give the illusion that Viki and Dorian's feud needed a man - to keep it fired up, even if the man in question would never put himself in that position again. Jerry verDorn was an acceptable acting partner for Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser, but the character he was playing wasn't Clint. It was Pod Clint. The "real" Clint would never have allowed himself to be ping-ponged back and forth between Viki and Dorian, two women whose feud he knows as well as the back of his own palm. The "real" Clint would have said "no thanks" and moved right along. verDorn's Clint became a pathetic and rather uninteresting sap highly unfit to be called patriarch of the Buchanan family.
Which is why the killing off of Asa Buchanan was one of the best decisions to be made so far during Frank Valentini's tenure as executive producer. As sad as it was to see Phil Carey go, Asa had already stopped mattering beyond being the sometimes grandfatherly comfort to "Jessie" and Matthew. Asa's decline coincided with a complete lack of storyline inclusion where Buchanan Enterprises was concerned. Bo was the closest thing to a central figure or glue in the Buchanan family. Bo's great, but he is peripheral where Asa's business is concerned. Clint was a lame duck, and the rest of the good ol' boys (Cord, Kevin, Joey) had long since disappeared overseas. Now several months after Asa's death and the foreshadow scenes of conflicting nature between brothers, Clint and Bo, the Buchanan family has risen from the ashes and returned to the show's core. At the helm, none other than Clint. Though the object of an obvious campaign by the writers to make him seem more like Asa, Clint has nonetheless been transitioned into a believable tycoon. This man, who previously served no purpose beyond being a father and boyfriend, is now suddenly responsible for the survival of his entire family and the legacy of his father. We've seen his relationship with the devious Lindsay grow as his blossoming relationship with moralist Nora fails to launch. Just weeks into this transition, Clint is already able to identify more with Lindsay, who may be the only woman (besides Dorian, ironically) capable of accepting him on a moral level. Even brother Bo is kept in the dark because he is too judgmental to accept Tycoon Clint. In the coming weeks, Lindsay and Clint will probably find themselves on the outside looking in when Bo and Nora realize they share the same moral high ground that Lindsay and former husband Clint simply cannot live up to. At this point in his character's journey, Clint could even get back together with Dorian (if it wasn't for the fact that she is probably the one behind the Buchanan takeover attempts and has always been one of the family's worst enemies). This Clint wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole - but not because he is morally above her, as before - but because she is an enemy of the family. Lindsay is a different story ... or is she?
