DRW50

Rest in peace, Barbra Fuller. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/barbra-fuller-dead-republic-pictures-one-mans-family-1235903503/

Mary gets pregnant soon after she marries Jack, which was written in due to Kate's real life pregnancy. Sam Cromwell was likely directly affected by this, as he was clearly meant to be in a triangle with Jack and Mary. He wasn't that bad. I do wonder about Nell's story as to me it felt like a natural conclusion - if anything I felt like they extended her run a little. I think that Ed could have stayed longer with a different actor. Latimore had no real presence. I definitely think Nick and Reenie were budget purges. And maybe that Latina nurse - or did she want to leave the show? She got more writeups in the soap magazines than in the episodes. Nancy was one of my favorites on Dark Shadows but I don't think she's worked in any other soap roles I've seen her in (I have not seen her Doctors work). She seems very artificial and fragile, which suited her more on DS. The only time KMG worked for me was when they wrote Faith as bitter and resentful, which they never fully allowed because I guess they just couldn't accept that level of nuance in the character. Instead, we just had excessive airtime spent on this unpleasant and dull person we were meant to feel sorry for at all times...and of course many reminders of how wicked and rotten Delia was. I don't think Faith ever worked. It's telling that even Catherine Hicks did not care for the writing, because that was the one time I think Faith connected - mainly because Labine and Mayer just wrote her to Hicks' spunky strengths and threw away any of what they had tried before with the character.

@Ben @Forever8 @LondonScribe

Dabney was such a charismatic actor, so often making it impossible to stop watching the many horrible men he played. There's no one around like him now.

I did watch yesterday (there were a number of OLTL alum involved). You could see how much Erika was struggling. Kudos to her for still being willing to appear.

That's fair. It's very dull to hear someone say, "Oh you were wrong about material you enjoyed," and I definitely don't mean to come across that way. I do remember how in the '00s the show managed a number of very strong scenes.

I haven't rewatched, but one of the reasons I stopped with GH regularly in the early '00s was because I genuinely thought 1999 and 2000 were two of the dullest years I'd ever seen on a soap. The closest might have been ATWT and GL in their real doldrums around 1994. If I had to see one more person wandering around the docks looking bored or one more slo-mo shootout for Emmy submission or one more "it's my house/I bought it for you" or Ned going on about "gatekeeping" or Emily berating everyone over the glory of Jason I might have lost my mind. I imagine "Guza unleashed" was more exciting for people, but when the excitement mainly involves which young woman that month is going to be murdered (or raped - or raped and later murdered), in-between mob fantasies, Jason harems, Tony Geary jerkoff material and speed running through vet corpses...I just don't want to see it. I do know if people have watched on a daily basis in recent years they might miss those days more.

I didn't even care about most of 1998 so that's how I knew he just wasn't for me, but I respect those who did admire his work.

I'd say that describes most of Guza's run, which is a reason why I would not ever want him back. He hated soaps and he especially seemed to hate GH as the years passed. His scripting team deserves the credit for any of the better moments.

That's the key part - the idea that Chris and Dan were fired to roll out the red carpet for Mulcahey baffles me. The show had real problems. That's why someone stepped in and made some token changes (instead of going as far as they should have). We could say viewers didn't respond to his work, but we don't even know how much of that work was his. You can say oh the writing for women regressed, or things were dull, or there was too much focus on Jason and Carly rather than Jason and anyone else, but most of these were issues years before he returned to the show. Even most of the fan complaints I saw didn't blame him - they threw the blame squarely at Korte, because many of those fans know her trademarks and were seeing them all over the episodes. So even most of them know that nothing positive has come from this decision.

I wonder if that's just a cover to justify them moving away from a story they were never going to be comfortable with.

I guess people could hope for Sri Rao again.

I've seen people suggest he is moving toward Alexis.

I thought it might be Tabyana Ali, although admittedly I'm not sure she's "beloved" outside of a part of GH Twitter. Becky makes a lot of sense, especially now that the show is moving Finn (whom they are still invested in) elsewhere. I could see Cynthia Watros or Maura West going too.

Kim Zimmer said tonight on a Locher Room cancer fundraiser that she has been battling breast cancer. I know we'll all be sending her our best.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnd6d7y11nwo Not entirely shocked at some of the celebrities (Sharon Stone, Stephen Fry, Liam Neeson) rallying around Spacey, but it is still disappointing.

I wonder what Dena is doing these days... (sarcasm aside, I genuinely do not know)

I wonder how much Korte has written the stories all by herself this whole time, with Mulcahey mostly just writing certain angles or scenes. Regarding The Gates - looking at the track record of soaps in the last 30+ years, it's not much to hope for. The only thing I want to believe is TPTB will be patient with ratings and that they will trust Michele Val Jean. And I know that's a lot to ask, but it's all we have.

I think GH has long had some weaker actors compared to other soaps, but the difference in earlier years was the structure could support them. You haven't had that structure which was a part of keeping GH going up to the '90s. I don't think most of the younger cast are any more dull or wooden than, say, Jon Hensley (as I saw him mentioned) was for years and years when he was younger, but current GH is not close to what ATWT was in the mid/late '80s and early '90s, so the likes of Dex or Joss stand out more.

There were moments which were pleasant surprises, like Bobbie's funeral, and even that they finally did try with Trina and Spencer, but I mostly wish it didn't have to feel like an anomaly. To be honest I'm not sure I remember ever thinking of Korte as a standout writer even with decades on the show. I do appreciate what we had with Stella. I know some fans feel some of her scenes should have gone to Portia, but I'll take any Vernee Watson I can get.

The tender material with Gregory feels like it might have been more from Mulcahey. I had forgotten Lane Davies was coming back. I guess they will just stick Finn with Alexis, but hopefully they can' find something worthwhile for Lane. Or at least not make him use a Colonel Sanders accent like MEK. I think what's most disappointing is now you won't even be able to look forward to those glimmers of quality or wondering what might be. Now you are just going to be shocked if there's one scene that doesn't feel lifeless or agenda-laden.

I was talking about the general treatment of the character. Frank and company apparently didn't see that as the right scene, whether we did or not. The only part of the story that could be interesting is the consequences for Laura, but it mostly seems like a way to keep a plot device psycho on the show, or an actress they like. That and firing Howarth. I wonder if there was any clashing over plans to get rid of the other pet (Easton).

I really have been out of the loop. I didn't even know that was a thing. They probably deserve Broadway legend Kelly Sullivan. Ava is one of many characters on this show where it just seems like she exists for the sake of a few thrown together scenes to appease her Twitter fans rather than actually going anywhere. I guess that's the future of the show, for worse or worse.

I think the days of soaps being that level of competition to each other, or anyone else, are long gone, although if it gives ABC an excuse to pull the plug and put on GMA Part 394 they might try. Ideally I would have thought that they brought Mulcahey in and made some other changes, like dumping Howarth, because they knew they had to shape up with a new soap on the way, but clearly that isn't the case. Good a writer as Mulcahey is (even if not necessarily as headwriter), he alone was never going to be enough to genuinely fix the show. I guess that will never happen, but if it does, it's going to take a big turnover. Not Korte, Von Etten, or other grinding mediocrities waiting out the clock.