DRW50

Considering how confused and clunky many motivations were even in his return, I'd say that most of the writers aren't allowed to write for character even if they want to.

I would agree, but then Sam was in the same boat (I actually think there were more viable paths for Sam than for the Carly of recent years). Admittedly Kelly was not in the same position backstage Laura is in, due to many factors, but I think the show finally writing her out just shines more of a light on how spent characters like Carly, Jason and Sonny feel. It's just that the show also doesn't make any effort to bring in new characters viewers should invest in. They had a good thing going with Liz's sons, mostly played by decent actors and tied to the past, present, and future, but that was all squandered and now we're left with a 30 year old Aidan.

I don't think the show should bother with gay characters unless they are going to treat them as genuine presences, but even beyond that, I feel like the Spencers are pretty much done, unless they heavily invest in Lucky, Liz, and her kids (which doesn't seem likely). Carly, Michael and Carly Jr. are black holes and Lucas has limited ties to them. And the Jerome side of Lucas is all gone now. I don't know what his future is. I know I've already said that enough as it is though.

I'd be surprised if Jackson returned expecting anything of quality. Money talks. No soap genuinely cares about lgbtq characters. It's just lip service. The show only even made a statement against racism because of racist trolling, and proceeded to even further marginalize the actress who was targeted. I don't even know what Lucas should feel like. The character has never had any real voice beyond Ryan Carnes being a likeable, low-key presence. There was no reason to bring him back beyond said lip service.

Glad I've never had any use for RSW. I did have sympathy in the past for some of what was said about Freddie Smith but clearly people knew more about him than I did. https://bsky.app/profile/chipturner.bsky.social/post/3lawb572wok2v I unfollowed Freddie Smith and it looks like Robert Scott Wilson liked his post so I unfollowed him, too, on IG. anyone that helped Cheeto get elected I want no part of.

Glad you got to see them. I was surprised by the production quality compared to what I've seen of the show. I agree that I hope more appears...anything, really.

Thanks. So I guess Guza just went off on his own plans for Jason deification after they left. I do agree with what you and others have said about that aspect of GH, although it must have been in the '00s I didn't watch as much. Beyond some strong moments around the time of the rape revisitation and Bobbie lying to Luke that Lucky had died, I don't remember many standout individual scenes from Guza's 98-00 run.

I think that's a well-done moment. I can see where people felt Paul went too far (which is why they just blamed it all on a brain tumor). The biggest mistake is never bringing any of those characters back from the dead.

I think the Jason/AJ car crash and Jason brain damage may have also been tied to them, although I may be wrong.

IIRC anything of Sunset Beach that worked (whatever did) popped up after he moved on. Most of Guza's work (in my opinion) tends to be based in worship of mobsters and thug storylines, misogyny, and comes hand-in-hand with a general contempt for soaps, in spite of their giving him steady employment for decades. To me, the only headwriting stint he ever had which generated returns was his turn on GH in 1996, parts of which were supposedly based on plans left over from the Labines. GH ground to a halt within a year or a year and a half of his 1998 return, and that's not even getting into his third stint. All this with the help of a strong writing team. I am aware he may just be there to guide the show, but his getting a larger role as they get closer to their debut, along with the involvement of some extremely...flawed writers from other shows, makes me wary about what the end result is going to be.

Based on Colleen's style here I assume they are preparing to recast Jordan with Ariana Grande's mother.

While looking for an obituary on Edelstein I saw that an online magazine of some kind published a short story of his around 2017. (this story is NSFW) https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories29/rick-edelstein-what-matters

GH did this with Carly at one point. I think it would have worked if they wrote Dolan and Holmes in a lighter way (as they did in the early '90s) rather than how loud and cold they became by the mid/late '90s.

Great thread. I am trying to remember how many I ever watched. Not as many as I should have. The premiere of Search for Tomorrow is a good setup for the show's central identity - some focus goes on Keith's struggles at work and with his father (I think it was his father), but the moment that feels so "real" to is Jo comforting a hysterical Patti after she dreams of her father's death. A clever way to set up Keith's fate, but even outside of that moment you immediately know Patti and Jo and the relationship between them is the heart of the show.

I think the rights went back to ABC/Disney, which is why they were able to have Jack appear on GH.

There was never any reason for Abby to exist.

I think he hits his stride when Ellen Dolan is brought in as Margo and they have a few good years (89-92 or so) as a married couple juggling work, kids and crises. He has no real chemistry with HBS though, which makes his first few years in the role awkward (not even getting into the relationship with Shannon which was just there to stall out time for both characters). Marland did a lot for the show over a much longer period of time, but I do miss how much looser the show felt in the six months or so before his arrival, while still being strong in quality. And Margo and Tom are just never the same after he arrives.

I know Ray Wise was ill a while back. Glad he is still working.

There have been multiple revival attempts. That's the main reason some are still talking about the possibility. I do think a revival would likely be AMC in name only, although there are some unsung writers out there who might do an OK job. IIRC the revival got better in its final months.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/13/timothy-west-star-of-stage-screen-and-television-dies-aged-90?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

One of the judges who was planning to retire has already changed his mind. https://www.reuters.com/default/after-trump-win-ohio-federal-judge-backtracks-leaving-active-service-2024-11-11/

You could tell whatever may have been wanted with Gio and Trina was dumped by Frank or whoever immediately as Gio was mooning over Joss (no idea if that is still a thing). The worst part is I remain convinced we will hear of a Spencer recast about a week after Trina leaves.

While watching a special I saw a few promos that I'd never seen on Youtube before (I may have missed it) so I clipped them: