This article originally appeared in the July 14, 1997 issue of Newsday. It
is accompanied by a photo of Matt and Claire Labine (headwriters
of OLTL).
Mother and Son Wits Become Life Savers
by Connie Passalacqua
A man cheering up his wife by assembling a hot fudge sundae on her belly . . . a former rapist confiding his hopes and
dreams to a parrot . . . two middle-aged men celebrating the opening of baseball season by running the bases on a local softball
field ...
As these recent scenes from ABC's "One Life to Live " attest, daytime's most imaginative writers, Claire and Matt Labine
(formerly of "General Hospital "), are back.
Although the work of the mother-and-son team is marked by its sense of humor and whimsy, the Labines' reputation as soap's
best dramatists was probably their most important asset when they joined "OLTL " in February. Shallow stories by previous
writers had put the show in a severe ratings slump. Once-complex characters had become hollow. So "OLTL " was a natural
fit for the Labines, who had won Emmys in 1995 and 1996 (along with daughter / sister Eleanor Mancusi) for their work on
"General Hospital, " writing richly emotional stories about characters with AIDS and breast cancer.
On "OLTL " they invented new stories for such characters as Dorian (a new love interest, a newspaperman named Mel) and
Patrick (a past flirtation with political terrorism has been revealed). But interspersed have been whimsical scenes. One of the
Labines' greatest strengths is that they write all facets of life into soaps, including joy and pain.
Their work may be so superior because they genuinely enjoy writing soap opera. "At our stage of the game we wouldn't be
here if we weren't having fun, " says Brooklynite Claire, who also co-created and was co-head writer of ABC's "Ryan's Hope
" for 12 years, winning more than a dozen writing awards.
"Or if I didn't have a mortgage to pay, " joshes Matt, who lives with his family in Connecticut. "You can pay your mortgage on
other hundred-hour-a-week jobs, but not enjoy it as much. "
The Labines and a small staff write the show at "OLTL's " Upper West Side studio, where they work five days a week. "If we
are free to entertain ourselves and have fun in this room, then they the network will usually get what they want,' says Claire.
Right now, what the Labines want is to continue to enrich the show's characters. "There's a mine to lode here, " says Matt.
"About 40 percent of this job is basically digging into the characters and finding the entertaining scenes. "
Planned is a long, psychological story on the complex relationship between lead characters Viki (Erika Slezak) and Dorian
(Robin Strasser), which includes an exploration of Dorian's past and could lead to a reconciliation between Viki and her
ex-husband Clint (Clint Ritchie). Adds Claire: "Even we don't know if they will get back together yet. Meanwhile, the pair will
be using humor with a new recurring character, Dr. M. Maude Boylan, who debuts Aug. 7. "She's the first Irish-Catholic sex
therapist. You can say many people we know in Llanview will be talking with her, " Claire says. Dr. Maude will be played by
Helen Gallagher, who won three Emmys playing matriarch Maeve on "RH. " Says Claire, "We've wanted to work with Helen
again because she's so good. She can play anything. She has comic timing and all the heart in the world. And she can deliver
those big emotional scenes in bushel baskets. "
