Liz Sanbourne

Liz Sanbourne
Passions character
Portrayed by Amelia Marshall
Duration 2001–06
First appearance October 3, 2001 (2001-10-03)
Last appearance February 17, 2006 (2006-02-17)
Created by James E. Reilly
Classification Former; contract
Profile
Occupation Blue Note owner (former)
Hotel resort owner (former)

Elizabeth "Liz" Sanbourne is a fictional character on the American soap opera Passions, a long-running serial drama which aired on NBC (1999–2007) and later on DirecTV (2007–08). It followed the romantic and supernatural adventures in the fictional, coastal New England town of Harmony. Created by the soap's founder and head writer James E. Reilly, the role was portrayed by Amelia Marshall from October 3, 2001 to February 17, 2006. In 2003, Arreale Davis and Taquel Graves played the character in flashbacks.[1]

Liz is a member of the Russell family. Introduced as a romantic interest for Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald, originally using the pseudonym "Brian O'Leary", played by Christopher Douglas, and as interference in the love triangle between Sheridan Crane (McKenzie Westmore), Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald (Galen Gering), and Antonio, Liz receives more prominence on the show as the antagonist and foil to her adoptive sister Eve Russell (Tracey Ross). Initially portrayed as a good-hearted woman, she is later defined by her desire to ruin her sister's life at any cost.

The character is notable to the show for exposing Eve's past with Julian Crane (Ben Masters), inadvertently leading them to reunite as a couple, and proving Chad Harris-Crane and Whitney Russell (Brook Kerr) were not committing incest by her identification as Chad's mother. Amelia Marshall characterized Liz as expanding the representation of African-Americans on television and the roles possible for African-American actors.

Liz's exit in February 2006 was described as "abrupt" by media outlets and the cast.

Development

Casting and creation

The 2001 novel Hidden Passions: Secrets from the Diaries of Tabitha Lenox established Eve Russell as the only child of Warren Johnson and Tanya Lincoln, a wealthy couple from Boston.[2] The series changed Eve's family by identifying her parents as Warren Johnson and Ruby Lincoln, a poor couple from the American South, introducing the character of Liz as her adoptive sister, and Mr. Sanbourne as her stepfather. Despite the book being billed as the show's canon at the time of its release, it contradicts much of the novel's material.

Creator and head writer James E. Reilly approached Amelia Marshall about the role because they had worked together on Guiding Light. In an interview with Soap Talk, Marshall commented: "I just love the fact that he saw me and realized that I could be such a witch."[3] Marshall described her opinion of Passions prior to being approached with the role: "...there were always these strange things happening on the show. It really pulls you in."[4] She has commented that her decision to take on the role of Liz came from wanting to play characters that were different from her past appearances as Belinda Keffers in All My Children, and Gilly Grant Speakes in Guiding Light.[5] By accepting the role of Liz on the NBC/DirecTV soap opera, Marshall became one of the few soap actresses to appear on each of the big three television networks. Marshall identified the show's racial diversity as one of the primary reasons behind her attraction to the role:

"It's an awful lot of fun to be going to all these dark and extreme places. I finally realized that there are seven African-Americans on this show and I don't have to be the flag-bearer for African-Americans. I can just be an actress given a crazy bitch to play and play it to the best of my ability. I don't have to say, 'I don't want to represent my people like that.' We'll let the Eve character be upstanding, even though she's got shades. It's so much fun to just deal with acting the part and not deal with the politics of it."[6]

Sheraton Kalouria, senior vice president of NBC’s daytime programming,[7] explained that the show’s racially diverse ensemble, as represented by "the African American Russells and the Hispanic Lopez-Fitzgeralds", reflects "its truly color-blind storytelling." Rodney Van Johnson expressed appreciation for the show’s representation of "a full African-American family" on daytime television that has serious storylines rather than being "just a flash in the pan." Johnson said the Russell family has promted a large response from African-American viewers. An article in Jet described each member of the Russells, including Liz, as being an "integral part of the show" instead of being token characters.[5] In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Marshall said Kalouria has led the effort: "to making sure the African-American community knows they are telling tales with African-American actors."[8]

Characterization

Marshall worked closely with Tracey Ross (pictured in character as Eve Russell) during the show. Ross described watching Marshall "to see what she is doing, take notes and copy it."[8]

Marshall stated that her portrayal of Liz was influenced by her background as a dancer which gives her the "discipline and direction" when preparing for her character. She described the show as being "so on the edge all the time" and attributed her discipline as "ground[ing] [her] and the freedom from the dance world…giv[ing] [her] the freedom to just soar with it."[3]

She characterized Liz, during her early storylines on the show, as "milquetoast" without any edges.[6] Candace Havens of The Free Lance-Star said that "Liz's well-rounded views and good sense of humor have made her a favorite in Harmony" because of her attempts to reunite the then supercouple Sheridan Crane and Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald.[4]

Marshall described Liz's character later in the show as "a very strong, centered woman who has had some hard knocks and challenge" who "is wise beyond her years" and "doesn’t like being alone."[4] She said that the role was "so much fun for me to play because I've been the 'good girl next door' all of my career" and found that Liz's "unhealed pain and anger", and inability to reconcile with her sister, presented interesting acting challenges.[5] Marshall found the lack of concrete information on her character's past at the outset "allow[ed] [me] the freedom to go for what I see as Liz's level of anger and betrayal."[8]

Marshall referred to Liz's character development in 2005 portrayed her as "operat[ing] even crazier than she normally does" and found acting her to be fun as "[s]he's out there!"[9] She viewed Liz as irredeemable after all her past deeds against Eve and Julian.[6] Tracey Ross stated Liz "needs some serious electroshock therapy." She said Marshall has "one of, if not the hardest jobs on the soap opera," commending her ability to make "Liz want[ing] to have sex in the middle of the tsunami" believable.[10]

Storylines

Lineage and early life

Liz Sanbourne is the adopted daughter of Mr. Sanbourne and Ruby Lincoln and the adoptive sister of Eve Russell, who is Ruby's daughter from a previous marriage. She is unaware of her adoption and identifies herself as Eve's half-sister. The identities of Liz's biological parents are never revealed over the course of the show. After Eve left home to be a nightclub singer, and a prostitute, and started a relationship with Julian Crane, Mr. Sanbourne began to molest Liz who blames Eve for abandoning her to her father's sexual abuse. Her mother feels that Eve's decision to pursue a career singing music other than gospel is disgraceful. Liz's resentment toward Eve for choosing a life of singing, drugs, and alcohol with Julian, over her family, is the start of her desire for revenge against her sister.

When she was fourteen, Liz went to Boston in search of Eve. She tracked down Julian at a jazz club to talk to him about her sister and their relationship. Later that night, Alistair Crane raped Liz in Julian's apartment while he was passed out in a drunken stupor in the same room. Later, when recounting the rape to Julian, she described how "[she] kicked, [she] screamed, [she] scratched, [she] cried" and that Alistair had treated her "as a way to satisfy his sick desires". Liz's rape strongly paralleled the molestation by her adoptive father and Liz later emphasized her hatred of being made powerless by both men. Residents of Harmony feel that Liz's hardened personality is the result of the repeated sexual assaults; Tabitha Lenox (Juliet Mills) describes Liz's past as making her as "mean as a rattlesnake" and Julian attributes Alistair's action as "destroying a young woman's life and in the process creating someone who is as vengeful and nearly as cruel as yourself." The rape resulted in Liz's pregnancy with Chad Harris-Crane, who was originally believed to be Eve and Julian's son. Liz gave up her baby for adoption at birth and never finds out that Chad is her son.

After an unspecified amount of time, Liz moved away from her family to buy what she would later describe as a "godforsaken hotel."[11]

Early appearances (2001–02)

In 2001, Liz is introduced as the owner of an unnamed resort on the fictional island of St. Lisa’s located near Bermuda and the Bermuda Triangle. She is still in love with her former boyfriend Brian O’Leary. She is first seen helping to take care of Sheridan Crane who Brian rescued from the ocean following the explosion of her boat. Liz's connection to Eve and the Russell family is kept from the audience during this time.[12] Along with Brian, and their friend Doc, Liz becomes close with the amnesiac Sheridan while trying to help her to remember her past. Sheridan believes her name is Diana due to confusing memories of her friendship with Diana, Princess of Wales with her own; she begins a romantic relationship with Brian. Liz grows increasingly jealous of the attention Brian pays to Diana and suspicious of Brian’s true identity.[11]

Liz’s early storylines concentrate on her unrequited romantic feelings toward Brian, and her role in the love triangle between Sheridan, Luis, and Brian. When Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald comes to the island to pick up a boat for his then girlfriend Beth Wallace (Kelli McCarty), Liz forms a friendship with him and listens to his story about his past life with Sheridan on the RMS Titanic. She thinks Luis is Diana’s fiancée, but fails to reunite them, despite several attempts, before he returns.[13] Liz joins Diana and Brian to sail the ship back to Harmony, calling the town "the connection to all our pasts."[14] Upon returning to Harmony on Christmas Eve, Brian reveals his identity as Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald, the long lost brother of Luis, and Liz and Diana convince him to reunite with his family.[15] Liz again attempts to reunite Diana with Luis, but fails to do so before they return to St. Lisa's Island.[16]

Revenge against Eve (2002–05)

In 2002, Liz returns to Harmony in response to a telephone call from Diana. Diana tells Liz about her true identity as Sheridan, her engagement to Luis, and Antonio's terminal illness.[17] While visiting Antonio in the hospital, she is startled and angry to find Eve in Harmony. She immediately slaps Eve and refers to her as "a hatefully, horrible person" from her past. Originally, Liz was revealed to be Eve's half-sister as neither were aware that she is in fact adopted. In order to keep her past a secret, Eve previously told her family, and everyone else in Harmony, that she did not have any living relatives.[18] Liz plots to reveal Eve's past to her husband T. C. Russell (Rodney Van Johnson) and her children Whitney and Simone Russell. She makes plans to replace Eve as the head of her family by becoming close with her daughters and seducing her husband. Deciding to remain in Harmony, she sells the hotel on St. Lisa's Island to Doc. At this point, Liz becomes less involved with the love triangle between Sheridan, Antonio, and Luis in favor of her newly revealed connection to the Russell family. During Antonio and Sheridan's wedding, Liz decides to let go of her romantic feelings for him to completely devote herself to enacting her vengeance on Eve.[19]

Liz's scheme to seduce T.C. and break apart Eve's marriage serves as her primary storyline on Passions

The build-up of the storyline ran from 2002 until 2004 as Liz makes bolder moves to expose Eve as lying about her past, and coerces T.C. to have sex with her. In 2003, Liz buys the Blue Note, a jazz club where Eve used to sing and where she first met Julian, as a cover to stay in Harmony longer without raising suspicion.[20] Her actions escalate to the point where she slips T.C. a mickey to stage a scene for Eve to catch him in the act of committing adultery. The storyline culminates in July 2004 when Liz brings Eve's aunt Irma Johnson (Marla Gibbs) to tell T.C. the truth about Eve's past relationship with Julian and their child. Everyone in Harmony incorrectly assumes that Eve's child with Julian is Chad; Whitney's relationship with Chad is believed to be incestuous as they would be half-siblings. Ashamed of committing incest by having sex with Chad, Whitney turns against her mother for not telling her the truth about her past earlier. The characters also find out that Eve, not Julian, was responsible for the car accident ending T.C.'s tennis career. In retaliation, Eve tells everyone in Harmony about Liz's true identity as: "my sister, my dear, sweet, little bitch of a sister." T.C. later divorces Eve after finding himself unable to forgive her for lying about her past with Julian and her pregnancy. Following the signing of the divorce papers, T.C. openly begins a romantic relationship with Liz.[21]

Liz continues to plot revenge against Eve even after she has successfully broken up her family and turned their trust against her. At Christmas dinner at the Crane family's mansion, Liz accidentally drinks poisoned punch Rebecca Hotchkiss had intended for Eve. Liz accuses Eve of giving her the glass of punch, leading to her arrest for attempted murder. Despite separating her parents, and accusing her mother of attempted murder, Liz maintains a close relationship with Whitney and Simone. After watching Whitney sing at the Blue Note, Liz advises her not to get involved in drugs and alcohol like her mother did in the past.[22] T.C. proposes to Liz, but she becomes increasingly paranoid over his romantic feelings for Eve. Liz trys to ruin Eve's budding relationship with Julian by attempting to seduce him during the earthquake and tsunami in the show's 2005 summertime extravaganza. In the middle of the tsunami, Liz says to Julian: "You are going to make love to me, or I'll kill you" and then stabs him in the back when he does not comply. She vows that: "she won't stop her revenge until Eve loses her happiness." At this time, Liz lies to Julian, claiming that he raped her during their meeting years earlier, in order to cause him further pain.[23] Following the natural disasters, T.C. breaks off his engagement with Liz after reconciling with his ex-wife's past and rebukes all of her efforts to seduce her way back into his life.

The poisoning storyline comes back into focus during Eve's trial, in episodes aired in August and September 2005. On the eve of her trial, Liz offers Eve a deal: she will rescind her accusation and not testify if Eve promises to leave Harmony forever and never see T.C. or her daughters again. Eve considers the deal before ultimately refusing it. Near the end of Eve's trial, Julian agrees to give Rebecca anything she wants in exchange for her testimony that she saw Liz with the vial of poison. Tabitha's daughter Endora magically casts the jury into a fake flashback, matching Rebecca's testimony, and the judge declares a mistrial.[24] Through a tense conversation at the Blue Note, Julian finds out Liz's inability to bear children is at the heart of her pain. Following her sexual assault by Alistair, Liz required surgery that made her infertile.[25]

Confessions and departure (2005–06)

Viewers saw the set-up of Liz's sudden exit through the latter part of 2005 and the beginning of 2006. Liz's desperation to destroy Eve, Julian, and Alistair drives her to act more violent and erratic, such as threatening to kill Julian with a letter opener.[26] At the New Year's Eve party appropriately titled "A Murder is Announced", Liz stabs Alistair in the neck which puts him in a coma. Eve thwarts her attempt to kill him when Liz unplugs his life support. Before attempting to disconnect it for a second time, Liz confesses to Julian that she shot him during the 2002 "Who Shot Julian Crane" storyline, a "whodunit?" murder mystery in the style of "Who shot J.R.?". Even though Liz was not presented in the line-up of suspects during the 2002 episodes, she clarifies that she had just arrived in Harmony with Antonio and had enough time to slip into the cannery to shoot Julian. Her past with the Crane men was kept a secret at the time. She confesses to other previous attempts on Alistair and Julian's lives as revenge for her rape. Liz tells Julian that he did not rape her several years ago, that it was actually Alistair who did.

Julian stops Liz from killing Alistair by telling her "to think about what you would want to do with the rest of your life" rather than "putting all of your energy into revenge." He encourages her to let go of her hatred in order to find love in the future. She agrees to abandon her plans of revenge against Eve and Alistair in order to find a new direction for her life, and leaves Harmony. In his comatose state, Alistair swears revenge against Liz, but this is never seen or referenced again. Chad later finds out Liz is his mother through his birth certificate provided by tabloid editor JT Cornell. JT's proof also reveals Liz was not Eve's half-sister like everyone originally believed that she was actually adopted by Eve's mother, making Chad and Whitney unrelated.[27] Despite the discovery of his true parentage, Chad does not reunite with Liz at any time before his death. Liz's ultimate fate is left unaddressed in the series finale.

Reception

Liz was nominated for Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess in a Drama Series – Daytime in the 2005 Soap Opera Digest Awards, but lost to General Hospital’s Tracy Quartermaine played by Jane Elliot.[28]

Liz's character received further media attention for Marshall's participation, alongside the other cast members of the Russell family, in recording public service announcements (PSAs) to celebrate the achievements of African Americans like Sidney Poitier, Marian Anderson, Alex Haley, Thurgood Marshall, Condoleezza Rice, and Bill Cosby in commemoration of Black History Month. The PSAs ran on NBC stations throughout February. Sheraton Kalouria identified the PSA campaign as "another example of Passions ' commitment to diversity and inclusion" alongside its featuring a racially diverse cast.[29]

Despite the focus on African-American female characters like Liz, Lynette Rice of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the show has failed to attract the "hard-to-reach audience [of] African-American women." Kalouria commented: "...quite frankly, many of them aren't aware Passions is even on."[30]

Soap Opera Digest listed the reveal of "the hard-working, kind-hearted hotel owner" Liz as Eve's sister through "a slap-filled reunion" as one of Passions' biggest twists.[31]

TV Guide's soap opera columnist, Daniel R. Coleridge, criticized Liz's exit as an obvious result of "the significant budget cuts required to renew Passions " that prevented fans from "enjoy[ing] the pleasure of watching Liz to digest all of that explosive info and act upon it."[32] Metacritic noted that "she was let go due to budget cuts."[33] Media outlets' questions about the nature of Liz's exit arose from the slashing of the soap opera's budget by "a reported $4-to-$5 million" to secure its renewal.[34]

When discussing Marshall's final appearances with Soap Opera Digest, Tracey Ross said, "When you're an actress of her caliber and kind to everyone and plan Christmas parties and celebrate everyone's birthday and know your lines and are the most darling girl that ever breathed, of course you're going to be fired!"[35] Rodney Van Johnson expressed disappointment when the show began "taking out the people of color" like Amelia Marshall, and commented that it was an obvious sign that "this thing is going down."[36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Who's Who In Harmony". Soapcentral. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  2. ↑ Lenox, Tabitha (2001). Hidden Passions: Secrets from the Diaries of Tabitha Lenox. New York: HarperEntertainment. ISBN 0-06-107605-8.
  3. 1 2 "Passions: Amelia Marshall (Liz Sanbourn) on soap talk". Soap Talk. 2010-12-31. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  4. 1 2 3 "Passions lured Marshall into Harmony as restaurateur". The Free Lance-Star. 2002-02-13. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  5. 1 2 3 "Soap Opera ‘Passions’ Keeps Igniting Fervor Among Daytime Viewers". Jet. 2003-01-13. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  6. 1 2 3 "Crazy For You". Soap Opera Digest. 2005-08-30. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  7. ↑ "NBCS days ABC’s Kalouria". Variety. 2000-05-09. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  8. 1 2 3 "Slap Happy". eviandreams.com. 2003-02-04. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  9. ↑ "Passions Disaster ~ Stars Tell It Like It Is!". Soapdom. 2005-06-24. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  10. ↑ "Keeping It Close: Tracey Ross and Amelia Marshall". Soapdom. 2006-02-07. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  11. 1 2 "Episode 579". Passions. Season 3. October 11, 2001. National Broadcasting Company.
  12. ↑ "Episode 573". Passions. Season 3. October 3, 2001. National Broadcasting Company.
  13. ↑ "Episode 603". Passions. Season 3. November 14, 2001. National Broadcasting Company.
  14. ↑ "Episode 617". Passions. Season 3. December 5, 2001. National Broadcasting Company.
  15. ↑ "Episode 634". Passions. Season 3. December 31, 2001. National Broadcasting Company.
  16. ↑ "Episode 650". Passions. Season 3. January 23, 2002. National Broadcasting Company.
  17. ↑ "Episode 828". Passions. Season 3. October 4, 2002. National Broadcasting Company.
  18. ↑ "Episode 842". Passions. Season 3. October 24, 2002. National Broadcasting Company.
  19. ↑ "Episode 891". Passions. Season 4. January 6, 2003. National Broadcasting Company.
  20. ↑ "Episode 1004". Passions. June 16, 2003. National Broadcasting Company.
  21. ↑ "Episode 1360". Passions. November 17, 2004. National Broadcasting Company.
  22. ↑ "Episode 1497". Passions. Season 6. June 1, 2005. National Broadcasting Company.
  23. ↑ "PASSIONS Recaps Week of Aug. 1, 2005". Soap Opera Digest. 2005-08-01. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  24. ↑ "Episode1578". Passions. Season 6. September 27, 2005. National Broadcasting Company.
  25. ↑ "Episode1614". Passions. Season 6. September 16, 2005. National Broadcasting Company.
  26. ↑ "Episode1627". Passions. Season 6. December 6, 2005. National Broadcasting Company.
  27. ↑ "Episode1772". Passions. Season 8. June 29, 2006. National Broadcasting Company.
  28. ↑ "The Soap Opera Digest Awards: 2005". Soap Opera Digest. soapoperadigest.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  29. ↑ "NBC's "Passions" Actors Celebrate Black History Month". Hoosier State Chronicles. 2003-02-20. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  30. ↑ "Passions tries to attract a new type of audience". Entertainment Weekly. 2003-01-07. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  31. ↑ "PASSIONS Twists". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on 22 May 2007. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  32. ↑ "Passions: Who's In, Who's Out". tvfanforums. 2006-07-06. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  33. ↑ "Amelia Marshall". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  34. ↑ "Budget Woes Result in Passions Cutbacks". SoapCentral. 2006-06-12. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  35. ↑ "Tracey's Gold". Soap Opera Digest. 2007-10-23. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  36. ↑ "Moving On". Soap Opera Digest. 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2016-01-19.

External links

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