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« on: June 26, 2008, 05:43:40 PM »
But I don't see it as a tragedy in terms of storytelling because it's a great storyline, especially because it gives Joel Crothers so much meaty material to work with and the whole process is so engaging to watch. I see it as a tragedy in the same way I see, say, Josette's suicide as a tragedy - even though by this point Maggie and Joe had basically become one-note, and that's never good. (In later years Crothers actually lamented that Joe "had been made into too colorless a character.") And happy couples most often equal boring couples in the soap universe - but that doesn't necessarily make their disintegration any less tragic.
What is unfortunate is that the show eventually went so far with Joe that he had nowhere to go but off the canvas and Crothers went with him - but at the same time, what a great ride Crothers had getting to that point with Joe. Joe's involvement with Angelique and Chris contain perhaps his best moments ever on the show. And in terms of Crothers himself, it was his choice to audition for and to move on to Secret Storm. Perhaps he would have shown up again on DS as another character just as many other DS actors had. He'd certainly proved he was more than capable of playing, as he himself described Joe, "a simple boy." But apparently he'd decided to look for his acting challenges elsewhere...