Discuss The Soaps: Archive (2021 - 2023)

Oh that liberal media. Amazing how many people are lining up to do anything for such a repulsive and deeply uncharismatic man.

I agree. And as I said above, most of the interim stuff worked. Especially the Ryan saga with Felicia and Mac.

Didn't he also have a terrible relationship with Potter? Really terrible? I know Potter was long gone by then but it probably wasn't a happy memory for him.

I think Riche sets a tone almost immediately for the type of show she wanted "General Hospital" to be. Even if the stories weren't always the strongest, the stories were rooted in human emotion. No matter who was writing in those early years, the characters seem to connected and invested in the world around them. There are stakes. I think even in some of the weaker stories, there is something to find of value. Actions had impact and often ripples across the canvas. Romance was also back. Characters relationships were central to the drama. There is a feeling of community in Port Charles. All of this was in place by the time that Labine and team arrive and run with it.   Part of me thinks that it was for the best that Robert and Anna left when they did. It forced Riche to shift the show away from the action and adventure stories that had been the show's staple and required the humanity to be returned. Bringing the hospital back to the forefront was very smart. Characters who were ignored were given material of substance. I do think Riche leaned into her TV movie background and, at times, the stories may not have seemed like soap opera stories. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.  Personally, any episode from 1992-1993 is stronger than the material I've seen in 1990-1991.  @DeliaIrisFan I looked at the summaries again. Bill inherited land from Fred Eckert which he used to get into business with Harlan Barrett. My apologies. 

After the success of “Hocus Pocus 2” on Disney+ last year, Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, has confirmed that a third film is in the works. In a profile with The New York Times, the outlet noted that “Hocus Pocus 3” is currently in development at the studio, although there is no word yet on whether the next film will head straight to Disney+ or be available in theaters first. In its reporting, The Times points out Bailey oversees a division that makes “two or three big-budget films annually for release in theaters and three modestly budgeted movies for Disney+.” Debuting September 30, 2022 on Disney+, “Hocus Pocus 2” marked the return of the Sanderson sisters 29 years after the original’s release. The film starred Bette Midler (“The First Wives Club,” “Beaches”), Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the City,” “Divorce”), and Kathy Najimy (“Sister Act,” “Younger”), who reprised their roles as Winifred, Sarah and Mary, respectively. Anne Fletcher (“Dumplin,’” “The Proposal”) directed from a script by Jen D’Angelo, who in a previous interview with Variety hinted at a potential follow-up film in which fans could see what’s happening in the lives of Max Dennison (Omri Katz) and Allison Watts (Vinessa Shaw), two key characters from the original who were noticeably missing from the sequel. “We tried so hard to get the original cast back for cameos and then it just kept not working out for one reason or the other,” D’Angelo said to Variety. “But I’m hoping in ‘Hocus Pocus 3,’ we’ll see Max and Alison living in California.” Meanwhile, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly during a promotional tour for “Hocus Pocus 2,” Midler told the publication, “If there was a third one, of course I’d sign on, but I don’t know how. I can’t imagine what the story would be, but I love Winifred, Sarah, Mary, and our relationship. It’s good for women. We stick together through hell and high water, but we do cause mayhem, and not many women cause that much mayhem!” “Hocus Pocus 2” set a Nielsen streaming movie record during its debut week, drawing 2.725 billion viewing minutes during the week of September 26-October 2, 2022. Overall, it placed number 2 on the Nielsen Top 10 streaming chart that week, behind only Netflix’s “Dahmer” which attracted 4.370 billion viewing minutes. “Hocus Pocus 2” also starred Sam Richardson (“The Tomorrow War”), Doug Jones (“The Shape of Water”), Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”), Whitney Peak (“Gossip Girl”), Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories”), Lilia Buckingham (“Dirt”), Froy Gutierrez (“Teen Wolf”), and Tony Hale (“Veep”). The film was produced by Lynn Harris (“King Richard,” “The Shallows”), with Ralph Winter (“Hocus Pocus,” “X-Men” franchise), David Kirschner (“Hocus Pocus,” “Chucky”), and Adam Shankman (“Disenchanted,” “Hairspray”) serving as executive producers. Note: The post Disney Confirms Development of ‘Hocus Pocus 3’ Following Success of Sequel on Disney+ appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website. Read More

As rough as the Riche transition was, I personally enjoyed Ryan/Felicia/Mac, the younger set, and Scotty/Lucy/Dom more than anything during Monty’s second run.  And I was a fan of Anna/Robert being paired and Faison. But Riche got in a groove and it just got better with Labine.

Freddie is an utterly pointless character, especially with his mother not returning anytime soon. Bobby Brazier is very likeable, but similar to the rest of EE these days, I just feel no connection.

Haha no doubt Moses was sexy and he was the good boy contrast to bad boy Lance. Actually one of my favorite Season 2 stories was when Cole was living with Joanna Cassidy’s character I wish the show had been willing to flesh out that story more. The whole Melissa/Cole/Robin story that ran for 2 seasons was pretty disgusting and  I can see why Moses quit because of it even though he was clearly willing to come back if the show could at least give Cole an interesting story. Instead we got Dan Fixx.    I actually was going to mention that as at the time Moses seemed so much older that Courtney Thorne Smith at the time lol. Keith Gray was really MP’s first dark and memorable villain especially at a time the show was transitioning into a full blown soap with Amanda’s arrival and Michael divorcing Jane to be with Kimberly. It was a sign of the times though. My teen self was shocked by that final season of Dallas with the Hagman/Eden reunion be a nasty affair while innocent 80’s geek Anthony Michael Hall had a turn as the nasty bully villain in Edward Scissorhands. 

That was the impression I got. Riche was casting about for whatever could save the show or at least keep it afloat while she sorted through the chaos, and she found the youth set. Then they tried Mac and Felicia with KW's return, Ryan, Lucy's return, Scott and Dominique, etc. It worked for as long as it took to land Claire Labine and get L&L back on the books. They tried a lot to put Bill (and Holly) over in that year-plus too but of course it didn't work.