Tuesday, July 17, 2012

50 Greatest Soap Couples: #34 Clint & Viki From ONE LIFE TO LIVE

COUPLE: Clint Buchanan & Victoria Lord Riley
SHOW: ONE LIFE TO LIVE
RANK: 34
PLAYED BY:
Clint: Clint Ritchie, Jerry verDorn
Viki: Erika Slezak
YEARS: 1979-2012

STORY:
Upon learning he was dying, Viki's husband, Joe Riley, hired Clint to become editor of their newspaper, The Banner.   Viki and Clint clashed following Joe's death but as time went on the two began to warm up to each other.  Eventually they fell in love and were finally married in 1982.  They would divorce and re-marry again in the '80s as a string of complications continued to cause conflict as they faced interference from people like Mitch Laurence (as well as Viki's other personalities), not to mention Viki going to heaven, time traveling, the Old West and so much more.  By the end of the series on ABC in 2012, verDorn was playing Clint, who proposed to Viki on the final episode.

IMPACT:
Clint was the first Buchanan to join ONE LIFE TO LIVE and that family as well as the one he built with Viki would impact storylines for the rest of the show's run.  Their relationship shifted in tone many times over the years but no matter how much conflict they faced (or how "out there" some of the stories may have been) they always entertained.

Clint and Viki were nominated as Favorite Super Couple: Daytime at the 1989 Soap Opera Digest Awards.  Erika Slezak was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award nine times in ONE LIFE's final three decades winning six trophies (the most of any actress in daytime history).

Ritchie passed away in 2009 at age 70.

From Patrick Erwin (A THOUSAND OTHER WORLDS): Both characters have had more lives to live, on their own and with other spouses, than most soap couples. But Viki and Clint were always home base for each other. Clint supported Viki through all of the horrifying revelations about her alters; Viki believed in the good in Clint even when he himself thought it was gone for good.

CLASSIC CLIPS:
Clint met Viki on ONE LIFE TO LIVE when he brought her drunk husband, Joe, home in 1979
Clint & Viki's second wedding
Clint and Viki reunite in the Old West
Clint proposes to Viki in ONE LIFE TO LIVE's final episode

Share your thoughts on Clint and Viki in our Comments section below or on our message board.

RELATED:
- 50 Greatest Soap Opera Actors: The Complete List
- 50 Greatest Soap Opera Actresses: The Complete List
- THE COMPLETE LIST: 25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History

12 comments:

  1. mojomiller, Viki was one of the characters that had so many votes with so many different people (even Dorian!). It has inspired a couple of things: 1) We're going to do a "The Many Loves of..." certain characters at the end of this poll and 2) a Dynamic Duos countdown for the likes of Viki & Dorian and other great pairs from soap history.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roger - love the Dynamic Duos idea.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Patrick. There are SO many examples of Dynamic Duos that were never lovers or romantic (or maybe were at first like AW's Cass and Felicia) but were mostly known as best friends, worst enemies, or some other fun combinations.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm very happy and thrilled that Clint and Viki made the list! I hope there will be other couples from OLTL that will be included in this list too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the idea of Dynamic Duos! I was one of those who nominated Dorian/Viki and Lindsay/Nora!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am very happy to see these two make the list. I have always loved Clint and Viki.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love that these two made the list even if I would have put them higher (like #1) ;-) I've started uploading a playlist of their relationship if you're interested. Clint Ritchie and Erika Slezak were heaven!

    http://www.youtube.com/user/everydayrebellions

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, E.L. While we wait for ABC to release this stuff on DVD (please!) I'm so glad fans are keeping these memories alive.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amen & Big Love To Erika & Clint & Erika & Jerry--Yay!

    Brian :-)

    ReplyDelete