Now here's something you don't get to see in prime time -- an actor playing the same role for 40 years. And we might not be seeing it much longer in daytime, either.
So be there Wednesday when ABC's One Life to Live celebrates Erika Slezak's four decades (and six Emmys) playing solid citizen/slutty chick Viki Lord Lord Riley Burke Riley Buchanan Buchanan Carpenter Davidson Banks.
(And probably Lord again soon, what with alcoholic hubby Charlie sharing that no-tell motel room with low-life serial liar Echo.)
Slezak really is the class of the genre, and she's getting lots of opportunity these days to strut her stuff. Viki has once again been beset by dissociative identity disorder -- that's multiple personality to you -- so nice girl CEO/university president Viki has given way to an "alter" named Niki, a sleazoid barfly. That means the normally subtle Slezak gets to cut loose.
Wednesday's 2 p.m. ET ABC episode (SOAPnet encore at 9 p.m. ET) -- watch OLTL on Hulu.com here -- isn't so much a retrospective as a current-spective, designed to showcase Slezak revisiting her OLTL past through ongoing storylines. Her daughter Jess has DID, too, and she's currently an even nastier slut named Tess, which means oodles of fun for all.
ABC has just crazily announced it's canceling OLTL, right when the show is at the top of its game, cranking on all cylinders with dramatic storylines about high school bullying, teenage murderers, marital extortion, forged identities and more. It's not too late to hop on board for some kick-butt climaxes before the ax falls come January.
Here's a photo gallery through the years with Viki Lord et al.