One Life To Live Fan Club

HBO really hit the sweet spot of TV series with this fantasy drama! Filled with interesting discoveries, dragons, and witches, this TV series is not afraid to depict the human being within all its flaws. A game of treason, love, power, and conflicted feelings has kept us stuck to the TV screen for about 4 seasons.

If you didn’t already know, the series is based on the best-selling book series written by George R. R. Martin called ‘A song of Ice and Fire’. However, if you want to know the whole story, we recommend you start reading the books – they are a lot more real and bring more details into the world of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

The plot

Game of Thrones is well-known for the brutality with which it exposes us, the modern man, to the raw world of medieval times. Of course, there is also a lot of fantasy in it, but both the books and the series are based on humankind’s potential to be good and violent at the same time.

The plot dances around the famous Iron Throne, the throne that is supposed to unite all the kingdoms under one single ruler. It is also the main object of discord between the Lannisters, the Targaryens, and the rest of the world. Initially, the Iron throne belonged to the house of Targaryen, but the Mad King (as he was called because of his unimaginable cruelty) was overthrown by Robert Baratheon. Upon his death, the kingdoms separate and many nobles start to raise a claim to the throne.

Somehow separated from this avid fight for power, the North-kingdom is facing an imminent threat from the White walkers, supernatural beings who can take a dead man’s body. People in the North built a big wall to protect the rest of the world from these beings but the threat becomes more and more real every day.

Other interesting facts

Up until now, the series was filmed in the Northern Ireland and Malta, but more recent rumors say the last season was also filmed in Croatia (for its amazing castles and medieval landscapes). But besides the amazing visual and sound effects (we do get to see dragons, right?) Game of Thrones is like a bucket of cold water. George R. R. Martin didn’t actually want a complete screening of his books so you’ll find discrepancies. According to the writer, this is what kept the public interested.

And they actually did it as Game of Thrones registered a record number of viewers for each season. Actually, fans are impatient looking out for the next season’s beginning. It was also extremely well received by critics even though the current use of nudity, sexually explicit scenes, and violence was at times received with skepticism. But this is what makes the show worthwhile – you never know when your favorite character is going to die and in what horrible manner.

Even though the show gathered a relatively young cast, actors are extremely professional and this lead to a fantastic TV series that is acclaimed by the entire world.

Already at season 7, the horror drama called ‘The Walking Dead’ depicts a scenario that is highly unlikely to actually happen. Still, the way of life that characters must support is intriguing and quite interesting as it allows us to see the human nature in conditions of survival. It also allows the viewer to analyze his or her own actions in difficult life or death scenario.

The series was inspired by the comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and portrays the adventures of a group of survivors in some of the darkest times the human kind ever experienced. Slowly, the group realizes that the zombies walking among them are quite mild in comparison with the horrors they get to experience with the survivors. It is said that, when put to the test, the wild side of humans shows up and this leads to unspeakable things and terrible acts of cruelty. Well, if you want to see how far the human mind can go, this is a great show for you!

Show’s evolution in time

Since the 7^th season will air in October and will continue in 2017 as well, let’s see how The Walking Dead got to be so popular. First, if you do the math, you’ll see that the series started in 2010, on October 31^st, to be more exact. The pilot aired exclusively on the cable TV channel AMC and on Fox International Channels. As you probably realized by now, the first episode aired on a Halloween night, so this is quite cool if you think about it.

The show was very well received by both public and critics, and this lead to other several seasons which were just as popular. According to statistics, the show is appreciated by people between 18 and 49 years-old

Awards

Being so widely appreciated, the drama did get a few award nominations, some of them quite prestigious. Thus, here are the nominations that matter the most:

• Writers Guild of America Award for Television: New Series (2011)
• Best Television Series Drama (68^th Golden Globe Award edition)
• The series was named one of the top 10 television programs in 2010 by the American Film Institute Awards
• The pilot (Days Gone Bye) was nominated 3 times at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards for sound, special visual effects, and for outstanding prosthetic makeup. They actually won the prize for makeup.
• Several best actor and actress in leading or supporting roles

The series also got an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, being appreciated as an emotional drama that brings a breath of fresh air to the zombie subgenre.

In the end, even though it sounds just like another zombie movies, The Walking Dead reaches a deeper level and makes us wonder how we would react in a life-threatening situation or an end of the world scenario. Would we be able to keep out humanity?

House of cards was the proof that online networks are just as prolific as traditional networks. Created by Netflix and Beau Willimon, this political drama shows the public’s appetite for mystery, mind games, and intelligent filmography has increased exponentially. We are no longer interested in cute, funny series that keep us smiling. No! We want to understand how the world is wired and this is exactly what House of Cards does.

The first season premiered in 2013 and the drama is still running today with a fifth season in place for 2017.

The plot

The story is focused on the game of power plaid by Congressman Frank Underwood and his wife Claire. Frank misses the opportunity of being appointed Secretary of State, a position he so much wanted and becomes obsessed by the idea of getting an even better position. Claire is just as conniving and ruthless as her husband and she helps him in this merciless game where the most intelligent and cruel wins.

The story shows them united in the fight for power but divided in the intimacy of their couple and home. Frank is constantly cheating on his wife but they keep the appearances of a happy, high-class couple.

Of course, when you play such a ruthless game you are bound to step over some bodies and make a few enemies. Well, Frank and Clair have their fair share and they always tend to pop up at the most inopportune moments, sometimes almost ruining carefully laid out plans. Still, the couple always comes back with grace and fresh forces, fighting to get what they consider it’s rightfully theirs.

Frank Underwood is brought to life by Kevin Spacey whose immense talent is perfect for such a mind-blowing series. Claire, the cold, calculated wife is embodied by Robin Wright, an extremely talented actress with many years of acting experience. The two talented actors managed to create a wonderful reality where political games are to be played by the best in the branch.

The Awards

House of Cards is a masterpiece of our times and was well-received by both the critics and the public. So, it’s only normal that it already has a few awards and nominations in the portfolio. Here are some of the most important ones:

• 33 Primetime Emmy Award nominations – the series is actually the first production of an online network to receive major Emmy nominations.
• 8 Golden Globe Award nominations – Wright won Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2014 and Spacey won Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2015.

When it comes to critics and audience, all the 4 seasons were received well and many consider this series as being binge-worthy. The fresh scenario and good writing accompanied by amazing actors make this series a unique and powerful drama for people all over the world.

So, if you didn’t believe that a series about playing dirty, corruption, power games, and politics in general could be interesting, maybe it’s time to watch House of Cards.

One Life to Live or OLTL (the shorter version of the name) is one of those American soap operas that goes on for decades without becoming boring. This timeless series aired for 43 years and introduces us to generations of amazing actors.

Firs it was aired and produced by ABC television network from July 15, 1968 to January 13, 2012 when the series took a break. However, its charm was rekindled by the online streaming network Hulu and it continued going from April until August 29, 2013. When it first aired, one episode took 30 minutes, but they moved up to 45 minutes in 1976 and reached the 1-hour length per episode in 1978.

OLTL is an iconic name in the American filmography as it was the first daytime drama to introduce issues like drug addiction or interracial relationships. It was also one of the first shows to openly discuss the lives of people from all sorts of backgrounds, not just the high-class.

The plot

The story in this daytime drama revolves around the good people of Llanview, a fictional city situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The main focus is set on the wealthy Lord family and their relationships with people around. We also get to meet two other powerful families: the Buchanans and the Cramers. On a secondary plan, we can also see the lives of the Woleks and Rileys, two middle-class families that intersect with the Lords throughout the show.

Of course, there’s only that much that can happen in a small town where several families intersect their lives. However, the creator of the show, Agnes Nixon, managed to keep things interesting by approaching taboo situations like occult practices, out of body experiences, time travel, and even international espionage.

The awards

The show won several impressive awards and so did the actors that represented it for so many years. Here are some of the most notable ones:

• Six Daytime Emmy Awards for the actress portraying the main character, Victoria Lord
• The series won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, in 2002
• A GLAAD Media Award for groundbreaking storyline when depicting homosexuality and intolerance, in 1993

The success

The powerful plot and complex characters did bring unchartered audiences to the show, back when it was launched. It even challenged competitor televisions to produce better materials to compete with this show’s success.

The show was extremely popular during the 70s but started losing the game in more modern times, even getting cancelled in 2011. However, since we live in the Internet era, the show was taken over and streamed online by names like Hulu and iTunes TV. The fact that the show could be restarted online shows that people stick with what they love and that OLTL was indeed a high-quality production.