The Soap Beat

'One Life To Live' Star Catherine Hickland— The Cat's Meow

by Beth E. Cochran

With her latest performance, Catherine Hickland has proven her catty 'One Life to Live' character has more than just nine lives. Nasty, irredeemable characters on daytime usually wind up in one of two scenarios, dead or undead (meaning ghost). It’s a rare thing when an actor plays a villain with such depth that the character doesn’t end up at the bottom of a lake or return as the “good” twin. Catherine Hickland’s misunderstood, master manipulator Lindsay Rappaport is that rarity. Lindsay has lied to just about everyone she’s ever known, including her children. She’s drugged, kidnapped and tampered with medical test results. Each and every time she pulls one of her cleverly horrendous schemes you find yourself repeating, “She’ll never talk her way out of this one.” Yet somehow she does. But unlike most “bad girls” who get a personality overhaul and suddenly see the light, Lindsay is like a leopard. She never changes her spots. Thankfully for us, she doesn’t learn her lesson, quit while she’s ahead or take no for an answer. When her life catches up with her, she simply starts over again down the same road of lies and deception. Case in point: Lindsay lied to her teenage daughter Jen, telling her she was pregnant by a guy other than her boyfriend just so she could break them up. Lindsay’s feelings were obvious. Jen’s beef-cakey boyfriend Cristian is a former artist turned bartender. Lindsay’s translation: penniless with no potential. But Jen’s one night with friend Al could have changed everything. Al has the Buchanan name behind him. Lindsay’s translation: cha-ching! It’s times like these, when you think Lindsay couldn’t possibly sink any lower, that the writers invent ways to have her do just that. Then, somehow, someway Lindsay reveals what we’re sure must be her absolute last redeeming quality and we’re sucked in all over again.

During the recent Troy/Lindsay storyline, I found myself actually cheering Lindsay on as she clubbed Troy over the head with a crowbar. Yes, Lindsay is a conniving, calculating, sometimes criminal, but her actions are almost always motivated by what she believes is devotion. It may be her twisted version of it, but in Lindsay’s mind she did what she did for love. Troy, on the other hand, is just a pig with an agenda. Whether they meant to or not, OLTL writers have written Troy into a corner. He may not be Colin, but tricking Lindsay into falling for him so he could get her to admit she was the one who kidnapped and drugged Nora, was just as evil as one of Colin’s stunts. I’ve got to say, I’m almost sick of “Nora, Nora, Nora” myself. Why is every man on this show in love with Nora anyway? Imagine how Lindsay felt knowing for more than twenty years that her husband Sam was in love with Nora. If I thought I could get away with it (and clearly Llanview would be the place to go) I might kidnap and drug Nora too. Okay, so maybe that’s going a little over the deep end, but what viewers know about Lindsay, thanks to careful crafting by Hickland and the writers, is that she’s the way she is because of the loveless relationships she’s had with men over the years, starting with her own father. Troy’s seduction of Lindsay was so real, I was even believing they would ride off into the sunset together. What’s worse is that I was hoping they would. OLTL’s only flaw in this story has been that Troy never had even a twinge of regret, never even a pause to consider the consequences. The smart thing to do was have Troy start to develop real feelings for Lindsay. Hickland and Ty Treadway had chemistry, but now all I want is to see Troy buy a one-way ticket out of Llanview. Treadway is indeed a talented actor, but enough already with the Colin thing.

After watching this latest plot develop, I realized Lindsay Rappaport is the most complex, exciting, multi-dimensional character in daytime. Executive Producer Gary Tomlin and the writing staff can take some credit for that, but most of it goes to Hickland, who gives a flawless performance on a daily basis. Hickland knows this character so well her expressions and reactions are scarily realistic. She’s done a beautiful job during this storyline and there are so many amazing scenes, I could never pick just one to point out. So here are a few. While Lindsay had Troy chained up, she looked at him and with a straight face said, “I don’t want to keep you chained up. I’m not that kind of girl.” Don’t you just love her! When Troy “proposed” to Lindsay, she initially said no, then listed all the messed-up marriages and bad relationships that made her an unlikely candidate for wedded bliss. Hickland poured Lindsay’s heart out and demonstrated that vulnerability that makes Lindsay so easy to forgive. Hickland can take any story, any dialogue and win me over, and while I enjoy seeing an independent woman on soaps, I’d like to see OLTL finally give Hickland and Lindsay a love interest they both deserve. UB

Beth E. Cochran is a Nationally syndicated freelance journalist and the West Coast Editor for UPBEAT Entertainment News Online. She has written and edited for several entertainment publications including Entertainment Weekly, Soap Opera Update, and Soap Opera Magazine. Beth is currently working on several screenplays for Nite Owl Productions, Ltd.