Haven’t Tamara and James been utterly breathtaking. I’m thoroughly enjoying their scenes. He looks so happy and animated. It’s good to see a man enjoying his work. There’s something James had to say on EJ’s love life and the loves of his life. It’s a Youtube video [ LINK HERE ]. I love that he says that Sami (Alison Sweeney) and Nicole (Arianne Zuker) are like games to EJ. He did say that EJ needed someone new in his life. And we all know who that someone is….Our girl! [ insert a lot of squeeeeeeeeeing here ].
Okay, I have a bit of a Keith Olbermann inspired commentary to make here. I will warn you, I’m likely to piss off some people but this is something I want to get off my chest. Since this is my space and my dime, I’m going to vent. So here we go……
I’ve been pretty pissed off at the various message boards I visit daily to test the air of those watching this current storyline with Tamara’s Taylor and about her having taken over the role. And may I say I’m so disappointed. What I’m disappointed in is the amount of bellyaching about the loss of Natalia Livingston. The most common thing being said is how they (the individual posters) are ::air quote:: disappointed ::close air quote:: angry at the way Natalia was ‘carted off’ by the powers that be and the fact that the character as she set down has changed. I say, of course Taylor has changed. There’s a different actress playing her now, a different vibe entirely. The thing most reiterrated has been they want the sweetness and innocence to remain. I say why? Why should those things remain when the character originally played by Katherine Ellis, didn’t have that doe-eyed gullibility to her. After watching various clips of Katherine’s work as Taylor from August 1998-May 1999, I can now see why this recast was warranted. Natalia, while a nice person, wasn’t playing what the producer and writers wanted in the character as scripted. So they excercised their option and hired another actress who could bring to the table what they wanted.
There’s only so long one can remain like a babe in the woods. Those kinds of characters get eaten up and spit out quickly. Tamara coming in to play a more layerd and worldly Taylor is what this part needed…as Katherine Ellis had in her portrayal. Remember Taylor went to work in that orphanage in Romania. One doesn’t go to a shithole like that and not come back with a different aspect on life. One cannot see what Taylor likely saw there, experienced in terms of the military regimes and not KNOW the world. Natalia’s saccharine sweet portrayal of Taylor would have ended up raped or dead in a place like that being a Westerner. So here’s my question to all the Taylor ‘fans’ who think that Natalia’s Taylor was the best: Do you believe she could have been in a country like Ramania and still be so sickeningly sweet and innocent?
I’ll answer it from my perspective, no she can’t. Tamara’s version is far more worldly and far more experienced in the way things work than NL’s could ever have portrayed. If the writing for Taylor….THIS Taylor were better and we got her backstory while she was away from Salem, I think THIS Taylor’s detractors would be singing a different tune. For me it’s all about who can portray the character the best and considering what was laid down with Katherine Ellis, Natalia Livingston was falling short of who Taylor was supposed to be. Kind, not sweet. Experienced, but not jaded. Worldly, this aspect most of all. This is not supposed to be a Disney cartoon of Taylor singing: “Some day my prince will come…..” All the while being surrounded by butterflies and birdies. This is about a woman who is supposed to have gone out into the world and done work in the real world. Natalia’s Taylor was plainly a combination of Cindarella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty all rolled into one. I for one don’t care to see another woman depicted like that on a soap. I want to see what blood Tamara will bring to this character. What meat she will add to the bones Natalia failed to populate. Taylor is supposed to be what now, mid 30s…not some flighty 16. Taylor is supposed to be a educated in the business world. One cannot be that naiveé and not know how things work.
My main reason for being this angry at what has transpired is following on the heels of two recent portrayls of women on soaps. They are Susan Haskell (Marty Saybrooke, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) and Emily O’Brien (Jana, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS). Both Marty and Jana were made to go whacko, kidnapping babies and generally becoming unrecognizable in light of who they were before. In Marty’s case, a doctor who had been gang raped and survived. Jana had been cured of a brain aneurysm, yet was given another and suddenly her silicon chip got switched to overload due to being kidnapped and held for a series of weeks. Both actresses were assets to the shows they worked on, yet both have been reduced to nothing. One, O’Brien, is now gone from her show, Jana having died of her brain tumor. Haskell is yet to see her last day, but given the way this storyline has been going, it won’t be long now. And of all things, Tamara’s leading man, Ted King as Tomas Delgado has been dispatched to be the one to do the deed. I’ve yet to see any male character written off as a nutjob. No, they go down as heroes or are resurrected as some kind of god worthy of having maidens fall at his feet in awe. This has to stop. There was a line in the James Bond film CASINO ROYALE (2006) offered by the ill fated Vesper Lynd played by the stunning Eva Green. It goes like this: “You think of women as disposable pleasures, rather than meaningful pursuits…” That seems to be the feeling these days with writers who write for women on soaps. They’ve become appendages of their men instead of individuals on their own merit. One only has to look at Tamara’s wishes for Carly after the final divorce from Sonny (Maurice Benard). Tamara wanted Carly to go off on her own for a while with her sons, Michael and Morgan, and just be a mom. She also wanted Carly to have a career of her own, something she could be proud of and build without a man. We all know how that turned out. And this is the heart of what I’m talking about. If anything comes of the firing of Dena Higley, head writer of DOOL, please oh please oh please Ken Corday, hire someone who can and is willing to write strong women capable of being their own forces of nature rather than bitches who concern themselves with make up, nails, catty retorts with other women, or the usual device used to delineate women on soaps these days, mud wrestlers with clevage and little else. Zwinkie’s who resemble something of an MKULtra project gone wrong.
I’m sorry if this has offended, but I’m sick of seeing Tamara Braun and Katherine Ellis marginalized for the whiney Natalia Livingston fans who don’t like it that their girl was fired.
I was going to say, “Rant over,” but I think I’m going to say point proven. I’m hoping to get some press scans added to the gallery and the articles up in the press section this weekend now the backlog in episodes are done. Wish me luck…..
Hi Dianne, I LOL at your Keith Olbermann reference, I like him and his smart commentary a lot. Anyway, you make a lot of good points and while I’m not a NL fan, I respect her as an actress and her time in the role. But I completely understand why Tamara was brought in, the role certainly warranted a change in actress and change in direction. I honestly haven’t seen this much back lash since Tamara took over the role as Carly from Sarah, and though it’s not as AWFUL, it’s still horrid. But, I have faith that Ken Corday will keep Tamara front and center where she deserves to be. Hopefully, with the new writers Taylor will become even stronger. I’m rooting for her all the way and Tamara/Taylor always has a fan in me.
SO VERY TRUE!!! I too am tired of Zwinkie-girls with no brains! lol. What about more professional women with two legs to stand on, and with their own direction and purpose? Oh, oh yes, can’t be ‘feminist’ now can we? At least that is the misperception of any woman whose concerns are more than Laboutin shoes, credit card shopping sprees and looking blank and empty in their eyes like as you said, “MK ULTRA” projects. What I like about Tamara is that whatever role she does, she gives it more depth than what is probably ‘on the page’ so to speak. All the little touches with James as EJ (even though I still feel he’s an evil scheming bastard, lol) gives a feeling that perhaps with some velvet glove discipline/handling, he too can be tamed by this ‘real’ woman after all! Anyhoo, that’s my feeling on it at the moment. I just wanted to add to your already excellent post. 🙂
Great post Dianne!!!Tamara has really made me root for and want Taylor to win over her sister and finally get the man that loves her and she loves. Tamara is playing Taylor as a woman who is smart, a thinker, strong, but with a good heart that cares for the people that she loves. This is the Taylor i want to see i did not like the over the top sweet like a 16 year old Taylor. That Taylor can’t stand and fight when the time comes against the likes of Nicole and Stefano but this Taylor one sure can and that is what i want to see strenght, depth from my Taylor. Tamara really breathed life into this s/l and all three characters because of her amazing skills as an actress. like or dislike the character of Taylor she is making people feel something i haven’t really seen this much buzz around Sony boards in a long while not since Tamara has taken the role. No one can say that Tamara is not an amazing actress, she has turned Taylor’s character like no one else could and she has been rocking every scene she is in esp the ones with James Scott WOW those two are magic together. James seems very confortable with Tamara and she with him they are making every scene very, very enjoyable and making me want more scenes of the two together. And that is because they are both great actors.
GREAT JOB Tamara you are true awesome!!!
THank you so much Dianne for all that you are doing you ROCK girl:)
Thank you for all your hard work on this site Dianne, I was wondering if you knew of a place where I can down load Taylor’s clips, I wanted to make an EJaylor montage and I can’t find anywhere with clips of her to download. Thanks again!
Gina:
Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it. Unfortunately I don’t know of anyplace else that are doing clips other than here and some on Youtube. I don’t readily make my clips available for download because I’ve had in the past people who have downloaded them and then uploaded them to YT and claimed them as theirs. But I’ll see what I can do to find you what you want.
Dianne
Anne:
I do not censor anything on my sites. I allow for freedom of speech. Majority? I doubt it. There’s a thread on the SONY DOOL board that makes your statements moot. There’s over 200 pages full of support for Tamara. Natalia is pretty, but not drop dead gorgeous. There’s gentle and then there’s doormat, and that’s what Natty’s Taylor was. Take a look on Youtube under Katherine Ellis and you’ll find that Natty’s Taylor was nothing like the original. Tamara’s Taylor is closer to the original in that the rivalry between Taylor and Nicole is finally back, thanks to the recast and Tamara’s research into the character. Tamara’s Taylor won’t necessarily be a ‘bad girl’ as some have suggested. Instead, she’s not going to be Cindarella mixed with Snow White with a heaping helping of Sleeping Beauty…hence the fainting spell. Nice to see you could keep your comments strictly to the actress’s acting and not toward her looks. That is shallow and disgusting. There’s lots of things I could say about Natty, but I won’t. Why? Counterproductive. And according to James, he’s thrilled to have Tamara back, and it shows. He’s been on fire with her because he knows Tamara has his back. Can’t say the same for Natty.
Dianne
Anne:
See my previous response to you regarding the ‘appearance’ of the two actresses. Take a look at the show “Supernatural”. Sammy played by Jared Padalecki looks older than Dean played by Jensen Ackles. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember Sammy is actually younger than Dean. Tamara is more than in James’ league. Tamara has the same training as James Scott. Tamara isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Ken Corday courted Tamara for two years to get her back. Get used to Tamara or stop watching altogether because your life is about to get worse with you hatred toward Tamara. And nice to see you leave such disgusting comments on my site. If you had a site for Natty, I wouldn’t leave anything close to what you’ve left here because I’d respect what you say on your site and your love for your girl. Now respect mine?
Dianne
Anne:
You know, I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you cannot be respectful of my site and Tamara and her fans, I’ll have no alternative but to ban you.
Dianne
Anne:
Natalia is average in my opinion. She has limited acting range and not much in terms of an expression. It’s either angry or angrier. Tamara has an exotic look to her. Something that has been an asset to her. It seems James likes looking at Tamara judging by the way he smiles and his eyes dance. At the time Natalia was first airing as Taylor, Tamara wasn’t working and didn’t want to work. As for the forum, when it comes back up, you should check out the SONY DOOL forum. There’s a whole thread dedicated to her and one dedicated to her and James’ version of Taylor and EJ. Natalia needs acting lessons and something to take out that angry look she always has. Funny, when Natalia was around, people were saying the FF’d through her scenes as well. Even James Scott fans were FFing through his scenes because they contained her in them. Yes, one can have an opinion, but when you come onto MY site a Tamara Braun dedicated site, you’re going to get a drubbing. Like I said, I would not deliberately go onto a Natalia Livingston fansite and say the things you are here. I’d ask for the same consideration. And take a look at my disclaimers and copyright notice. I have stated I do not know her, her family, I am not assocciated with her management or her dog. She lives in Los Angeles, I live in Canada. And you are a disgusting piece of work. You are now officially banned.
Dianne