As summer winds down for most of us and as we make the transition into a season of change, we recently celebrated a milestone on OLTL. Last month marked 10,000 episodes since One Life first premiered back in 1968, and that is quite an extraordinary accomplishment. The fact that a show can survive decades of ups and downs, actors who come and go, and life tragedies that stop time and temporarily shatter the medium’s fantasy, is truly remarkable. While OLTL is a very different show now than it was thirty-nine years ago, it has persevered just like its fans. We have weathered many storms, swore we’d never watch another day, thrown our remote controls up in the air, and lo and behold – here we are, still coming back for more. While last month brought a celebration of the show’s longevity, it also marked a milestone as we mourned Asa’s passing and bid Phil Carey farewell. So this season of change is marked by joy, sadness and apprehension. However, just as OLTL celebrated a crowning achievement and bid adieu to one of daytime’s renowned patriarchs, moments emerged that redefined Nora’s character yet again. We witnessed more history being utilized and woven into the fabric of her character than we have in years. This was further heightened by what unfolded at the “Woman of the Year” ceremony, and moments emerged throughout these past few weeks that inched Hillary closer to the forefront and encouraged Nora’s character to shine.
How wonderful is it to watch Nora’s ties to the Buchanan family strengthened? The former writing regime did everything imaginable to strip Nora of her connection to the Buchanan family, and our new Head Writer has begun to rectify that travesty in an enormous way. It doesn’t matter which side of the table one sits on in relation to Nora’s romantic life, but her history with the Buchanans is a crucial component of her character. She and Bo share a child, and Nora will forever be linked to the Buchanan clan as a result. Further, Asa and Nora were incredibly close and he truly viewed her as a daughter. So it was especially poignant to watch Nora’s reaction to Asa’s passing, see her comfort family members, and step in to act as sentry when Lindsay predictably inserted herself smack in the middle of things. As always, Hillary was sheer perfection during those scenes and reminded us what she can do when given the right material. You simply ached for Nora's character as she wrestled with feelings of angst and helplessness in terms of how to comfort her ex-husband. I also sensed Nora was completely overwhelmed by her emotion for Bo, and this resonated throughout the 10,000th episode and especially during the intense interactions with Lindsay that followed. Equally impressive is that Carlivati continued working Nora’s link to the Buchanans by connecting her with Bo, Sarah and Clint in subsequent episodes, and continues to do so. Here’s hoping we see more of this crucial history woven into Nora’s character as time progresses, for it has been deeply missed.
Hillary was back-burnered for so long that I nearly forgot Nora was a lawyer…until now. It is absolutely thrilling to watch Nora reenter the legal realm with force and conviction. As I watched Hillary effortlessly glide through the courtroom and police station sets, hair pulled back, glasses poised and wearing Nora’s power suits, I had a flashback to days gone by when this was the rule and not the exception. We never had the opportunity to watch Nora assume the role of DA and I certainly hope what we’ve seen is merely the tip of the iceberg. I simply can’t get enough of watching Nora banter with defense attorneys and attempt to charm judges; charge through the police station and respectfully yet forcefully reassert her presence; and interact with characters with whom she should be interfacing on a regular basis as part of her professional career. I am betting that we will continue to see more of this, and also that Lindsay’s trial will reposition Nora front and center in the courtroom on a permanent basis. In fact, the material generated for the purposes of Lindsay’s trial may finally be substantive enough to be worthy of Hillary, and will hopefully also serve as a basis for Nora’s upcoming story. I applaud our new Head Writer for working Nora’s character back into the mainstream, and all indicators point to his building towards a long overdue, complex storyline for Hillary. I’m reveling in the fact that Nora has her “fight” back, and that she is going head-to-head with Bo over Lindsay and refusing to compromise her integrity. Nora’s character resembles the Nora of yesteryear more each day, and watching Hillary command the courtroom set and utter legalese is pure heaven.
How wonderful were those flashbacks that OLTL pulled out of the proverbial vault for the “Woman of the Year” ceremony which showcased Nora and Lindsay’s tumultuous, checkered past? That was truly one of the standout moments I’ve seen on the show in years, and what a treat for longtime viewers! This character rivalry is one you either love or hate, but in any case, those memories were priceless. I also think it’s important for viewers who are new to the show to see this rich history, especially with a refueling of the Lindsay/Nora feud on the imminent horizon. Their relationship was downplayed to the point of near extinction during the past few years, and those new to OLTL were deprived of this history unless they did thorough research on the characters and all that has transpired between them over the past decade. What goes around certainly comes around, and the fact that Nora is prosecuting Lindsay is payback at its best. I’m most curious to see how events unfold, because I think Lindsay’s punishment (or vindication) will have a lasting impact on Nora’s character and plot her future course. I am also very curious to see how Bo’s character fares when all is said and done, and where that positions him in relation to Nora. Will a Nora/Bo/Lindsay triangle ensue as a result? Which woman will Bo choose in the end – and should he choose Nora, will she be open to receiving his affections or will she be romantically entangled elsewhere? I am so thrilled to see the deliberate, consistent use of history as of late – and it reminds me how infinite the possibilities are in terms of exploring unchartered waters with Nora’s character.
So while last month marked a milestone, and brought with it mixed emotions, I believe it signified a true turning point in terms of Hillary’s place on the canvas. We are seeing her onscreen more each week - and Lindsay’s trial may very well end up being as much about Nora as Lindsay. Just as refreshing is watching this familiar character come into her own and resemble the headstrong, tough-as-nails attorney we watched emerge over the years. The key as Hillary fans is to continue reaching out to the network and communicating to those in charge on her behalf. I’m a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, and as such, the network deserves to hear the positive as well as the negative. I also have a hunch that Ron Carlivati would truly enjoy hearing how excited we are to see Hillary onscreen more frequently. Honestly, I do not envy this scribe in the least, because he presently has the very difficult task of “righting” numerous “wrongs” as well as conceiving fresh material that gives character direction and stabilizes the canvas. Yet I believe he is doing a remarkable job of making these past two-and-a-half years count for something. If you cannot turn back the clock, seize the opportunity to acknowledge fan discontent by addressing viewer concerns and establishing payoffs. As OLTL celebrated a milestone accomplishment and as Hillary has been featured more in two months than she was in nearly three years, that alone is reason to rejoice – and thus far, Carlivati’s recent appointment has indeed brought with it a reason to hope and a season of change.
Soap Opera Weekly
August 28, 2007
For onscreen rivals and offscreen pals Catherine Hickland and Hillary B. Smith, turnabout is fun play at OLTL.
It’s time for the annual Woman of the Year presentation in Llanview, and, as is customary, disaster will strike the recipient. Remember Nora’s revelation that she slept with Sam (while married to Bo), and Evangeline being kidnapped? This time around, Nora presents the award to Lindsay (Can you say catfight?), and a long-awaited mystery is solved. (Don’t miss the last minute of Friday’s episode: The su-Spencer is killing us.)
Real-life pals Hillary B. Smith (Nora) and Catherine Hickland (Lindsay) share the details, on-camera and off.
WEEKLY: How does Nora come to present Lindsay with this year’s award?
Hillary B. Smith: I walk in and say, ‘I have no idea who’s going to receive it, because the person who was supposed to receive it got disqualified at the last minute.’ I find out it’s Lindsay and she finds out I’m presenting and we have that kind of awkwardness. Take it away, Cat.
Catherine Hickland: What’s really great about it is I’m terrified of what she’s going to say about me, because when Nora was getting the Woman of the Year award I basically ruined her life, her marriage and everything. I blew it all apart. So turnabout is fair play. I’m so honored because I’ve been the town pariah for so long and now I’m finally going to be embraced by [all of] Llanview. But deep inside I know there’s something about me that doesn’t deserve it.
WEEKLY: Nora’s a classy woman. Would she really use a public forum to get back at Lindsay?
Hickland: Yes.
Smith: No. Nora wouldn’t do that. I throw the index cards up in the air and say, ‘I’m just going to speak extemporaneously.’ The speech, in my opinion, will remind people why they loved Nora and Lindsay. And the people who never knew Nora and Lindsay will become quickly acquainted with their history. There are a lot of flashbacks, and yet it’s all done very graciously. Things like, ‘Well, we’ve certainly been down in the dumps together,” and there’s a flash-cut back to when we were in a Dumpster together, fighting. ‘She sometimes needles me and gets under my skin,’ and it cuts to her giving me that mind-erasing drug. It’s a great moment, but absolutely graciousness does prevail.
Hickland: For a few minutes, until everything goes haywire.
Smith: Well, listen, that wasn’t my doing. If Lindsay would just behave herself, maybe things would work out.
WEEKLY: I think I know the answer to this, but when you two work together to you ever crack up?
Hickland: You should ask us how we ever get through a scene.
WEEKLY: Do you ever not crack up?
Smith: There have been times when we understand the drama that we’re doing and we hold each other’s hand and look in each other’s eyes, and go, ‘Okay, here we go, I’ll be there if you’re there.’ There has been a lot of out-and-out horrendous stuff Lindsay has done to me. Nora has done nothing, of course. We really had to be there for each other and do the trusting.
Hickland: When we’re doing really heavy-duty drama, especially when one has to say horrendous things or behave in a horrendous way, the other person needs to support them in the story. Otherwise it can make the actor look so unattractive. If it’s not required for one of us to be really showing our raw nerves, we’re always laughing. We laugh on set, we laugh when we go home. We were roommates for a little while in real life.
Smith: We believe that you have to have one good laugh a day. If we can walk out of that building having had one good laugh a day, then everything else is perfect.
WEEKLY: Do you remember when you two knew you would be good friends?
Smith: I remember the first day you came in. I was such a raging fan.
Hickland: We were both like that, actually, because I used to watch her on As the World Turns (as Margo).
Smith: And I watched her on Capitol (as Julie/Jenny).
Hickland: When I came to work on One Life to Live it was pretty immediate. I’ve fallen in love and I can’t get up.
Smith: There was one moment I’ll never forget. It was the night when Catherine was sitting there with this mind-erasing drug in a syringe and she looked at the producers and she [said], ‘Really, my character is insane. She’s gone crazy at this point,’ and the producer said, ‘No, no, absolutely not.’ Catherine looked at me and I watched her go insane.
Hickland: I know what my moment was. When Nora was kidnapped and she was in a coma Hillary used to fall asleep all the time in the scene. Every now and then she’d do a snore and I’d knock her and she’d wake up. One time she fell asleep in the middle of the scene and all of a sudden I saw this marvelous spit bubble. I poked at it with my finger and it woke her up because it splashed all over her face. There you go. How romantic.
WEEKLY: How have each of you changed?
Smith: Well, there are certain things in both of our lives that we’ve taught each other. I’ve seen Catherine grow in other ways and I know the things she’s learned from me. I think Catherine, you would probably say the same thing.
Hickland: Oh, yeah.
Smith: Actingwise, she taught me a lot about lights and makeup.
Hickland: Thanks. “About lights and makeup…” What an artist I am.
Smith: In daytime, knowing about that is artistry. Being able to do your work, that is artistry.
Hickland: In life, we’ve seen each other through some stuff. Definitely you saw me through a lot of my personal stuff.
Smith: Vice versa. And you learn. There are a lot of things that I’ve learned from Catherine that I’ve taken into my personal life and the way I conduct and handle myself.
Hickland: The truth is, you really don’t know who your friends are until you need them. That’s the beauty of going through really hard times in life. That’s when you learn what you have. We love each other so much and have gotten each other through some very, very tenuous and difficult times, from death in the family to my marriage ending. This is heavy-duty life stuff and we have really, really been there for each other. I love her forever for all of that.
Smith: That’s the beauty of
daytime. What daytime brings you is the chance to create a family. And
as dysfunctional as it may seem on the outside or even in the moment
that you’re in it, there are those times, rare are they may be, that you
can connect with someone on such a deep level and have them be there,
because you do see them everyday. You don’t always have your best foot
forward when you’re at work, especially in a soap opera. Also, because
the nature of acting is to open yourself up and be so vulnerable. I have
been raw when I’ve arrived at work and you need to have a safe harbor.
Catherine has been a very big safe harbor for me – you know, just ‘Come
here, stay with me.’ The beauty of it was there was always a laugh in
it. She always made sure I had my laugh.
Fans of OLTL know the marriage between Bo and Nora Buchanan has weathered some pretty heady storms since the couple exchanged vows - but none has been as difficult and destructive as that brought on by the machinations of the now-deceased Georgie Phillips. But even with Bo facing charges for murdering his alleged extramarital "lover," Nora still managed to keep the faith and stand dutifully by her accused spouse. Hillary B. Smith, whose refreshing portrayal of Nora continues to be a highlight of the show, spoke with SOM recently to give us her take on the complicated goings-on in her character's rather dizzying existence.
Soap Opera Magazine:
Did Nora ever doubt Bo's innocence during the period right after
Georgie's death when the evidence seemed to keep mounting against
him?
Hillary B. Smith: Bo's innocence? No. She knew he
didn't kill Georgie - that was never up for debate in her mind.
She just knew that Bo, the man she married, the man she loves,
could not be capable of murder. Nora knew immediately, from the
first second she discovered Georgie had been killed, that Bo could
never have done it. The affair is a different story though. It
took a little while for her to totally believe that there had
never been an affair going on between her husband and this girl.
That doubt was there - despite the fact that Nora was absolutely
sure Bo could not have been responsible for Georgie's death.
SOM: What about
all the evidence? Did Nora consider any of it particularly
devastating?
HBS: Well, the fact that Georgie was carrying a
baby hit her hard, and then discovering that the baby's blood type
was the same as Bo's was really overwhelming. It kind of made her
stop and step back from the situation to say, "Oh God, maybe he
did sleep with her, maybe he was having an ongoing affair with
this woman..."
SOM: So how was
she able to stand by and continue fighting for him with that doubt
when it might have been easy for her to walk away at that point?
HBS: It would never have been easy for her to
walk away from Bo. Plus, he told her, he said, "I didn't do it."
That answer was enough for her at that point because she knows
that Bo is not a liar. He isn't capable of lying about something
like that, something that important. It was a leap of faith on her
part - it was belief in Bo and his word. Nora absolutely believed
Bo despite the evidence, which kept hitting them at every turn.
SOM: Do you
think there will always be a tiny glimmer of doubt in Nora's mind
from now on regarding the alleged affair?
HBS: No, she believes him totally. There is no
longer a question in her mind about it - she knows he did not
cheat on her, and that's the end of that story for her.
SOM: What about
her feelings for Sam and the fact that Nora threw herself at him
the night of Georgie's murder?
HBS: That came not from an affection for Sam so
much as from a need to be appreciated and loved by someone at that
moment. I mean yes, there is affection for Sam on Nora's part, but
that is not what that night was about. She was feeling betrayed,
and she needed to feel wanted by someone - Sam was the one who was
there for her.
SOM: What does
Nora feel for Sam now that he's calling Llanview home?
HBS: There's nothing greater than being adored by
somebody, and a past love like Sam always holds a very special
place in the heart - especially after a relationship that wasn't
completed. Things with the two of them were sort of left undefined
and unrealized, and he is so adoring and supportive of her that
there are residual feelings, even feelings of ownership. The
relationship with the two of them ended years ago when he wanted
her to go to Tahiti with him and sort of said, "Meet me at the
airport." She realized she couldn't go because she had a child,
responsibilities, so she couldn't just take off like that.
Ultimately, Nora realized in her heart that it was time to move
on, so the relationship ended.
SOM: What about
Drew? What kind of stress does his presence put on Bo and Nora's
marriage?
HBS: To give you some idea of what Nora thinks
about Drew, she was convinced that he was the murderer for a while
there. She even brought it to Hank's attention, which ultimately
got Bo freed from jail and caused even more tension between her
and Bo in the process. Nora has never understood Drew - she
thought she did in the beginning when he first came to town, but
then she found out differently. He scammed her once, and now she
doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him. For Bo's sake, Nora
would love nothing more than for Drew to become the model son, but
in her mind he's still the con artist. That doesn't sit well with
Nora, especially because she has such a love of justice. She
cannot abide someone who operates the way Drew repeatedly has.
Obstructing justice, or any of the games Drew has played that get
in the way of the truth being revealed, is detestable to Nora.
SOM: Bo decided
to keep Nora in the dark the whole time Georgie was coming on to
him. Isn't that sort of like "obstructing justice?"
HBS: That's a major source of anguish for her.
She has said to him, "I understand why you did it - I don't agree
with it, but I understand." She also withheld information from him
on how intense things got between her and Sam in the hotel the
night of the murder, but she later came clean with him about it.
In defense of both of them, they were operating under the guise of
protection, of protecting one another.
SOM: Will their
marriage ever be the same again?
HBS: (laughs) We'll have to wait and see, now
won't we?
