titan1978

I could never get into AW (probably not helped by starting when JFP was there), but that was an excellent intervention scene. One of the best ones I’ve seen on a soap. I don’t even love Dano all that much but that was compelling.

I also like Britt. That list of most nominated Emmy women- I would kill for Slezak to play a really ruthless, cunning woman for about a year or two on one of these shows. Just give her a chance to play that intelligence I always felt she brought to Victoria except without the moral compass.

I would be fine with that. I have wished for Robert Newman for years, and would prefer that actor. One of the reasons I don’t like the Laura Kevin marriage is that it has nowhere to go. He’s not on contract, they have some chemistry but not as much as either has had with other pairings and flirtations.

I always liked the issues Edward had with his kids. He wanted Alan to be a business man like he was, and didn’t respect his choice to be a doctor. And here is Tracy, every bit as scheming and even more ruthless than he was, but he didn’t respect her or trust her. I don’t really find the actress playing Alexandra that strong. Certainly not like Jane as Tracy. David Lewis is so much fun as Edward. I grew to love Ingle too.

I still remember Brenda putting it together about Karen, and not really exploiting it like their history would normally play out. There was a scene in Kelly’s, where Rhonda runs in and basically screams out Ray has hurt her daughter, and Brenda, Jason, and Ruby share a look, and you actually see Brenda putting it together. I really appreciate that Riche and Levinson/Labine let Brenda have a human reaction to Karen’s history and circumstances, instead of just bad girling it up.

In hindsight, it seems to be the kind of sea change that happened in 1981. They lost Peter, Diana, Jeff, and eventually Laura early in 1982. And Robert created his own set of storylines with his WSB background, ushering a new type of storyline in. Same with 1984- especially losing Lesley. In less than a year the whole show dynamic had shifted again, paving the way for Anna who becomes the dominant female lead for almost a decade.

Mac was the first one that came to mind. It was pretty bad and then all but gone. Mac in general was pretty wild. He came on all rebellious, hated Robert, then became a more traditional hero type. I didn’t really love him until he and Felicia started working together during the original Ryan storyline. Anyone that started watching the show after 1996 would have no idea why Mac was a good character, let alone once an actual lead.

You read about how awful some of these folks that were EP’s could be to the actors or the writers, and it’s always awful. But at least people like Paul Rauch, Gloria Monty, Conboy, Linda Gottleib, etc had the chops to produce the hell out of a soap opera. What did Goutman do? Maybe a handful of decent years(never ground breaking or as dramatically sound and powerful as anything when Marland was writing) as an EP? I hear he’s a good director, but again, not one of the greats...

Her Gloria had real potential to bring a sense of danger to the Abbotts that had been missing since Katherine was sending that cut up photo of Jack and Jill in bed together. She played her with a shrewd sense that Chapman made daffy and desperate. About Knots- if I was Joan coming off of seasons 3-6, I wouldn’t love their writing either. Valene/Gary/Abby was an engine that became an umbrella storyline that reached everyone’s stories through relationships, business, and politics. And as much as I love Abby and preferred Gary with her, I still rooted for Valene to have a good life.

I think the difference is the audience was larger and so the fans like many of us on this board that view these shows as a genre that has been maligned are the only voices left. Back then the audience was larger and so their feedback and commentary about their shows was different. Because I guarantee there were fans back then that noticed and complained about what you posted. But if that was less than 1/5th of your audience, why put so much focus or attention towards that segment of your audience? As someone that lurked a long time on soap boards before I became more active, you can see the trajectory here. When this board started there were many more participating members, the shows had more going on, there were more of them, and the commentary wasn’t always dominated by the things you mentioned.

People are just so stupid, and I am tired of these racist people dominating every aspect of our lives. I’m tired of them keeping lgbtq characters off the shows, I’m tired of them chasing Black people out of spaces they absolutely belong in. Sick of it!

The cast definitely needed shaking up. But my problem is what now? The balance issues are so awful becaus they climax everything at the same time. I’m not saying I was in favor of any of these pairings at all. But the show is a disaster right now as far as any couple in rooting position. Franco/Liz, Anna/Finn, Maxie/Peter, Ned/Olivia, whatever the hell is happening with Willow/Chase/Sasha/Michael, Jax/Nina, Jason/Sam...that is a lot of couple turmoil without many options for new relationships due to the makeup of the show. If Lucas was treated like a real character, this would be a great time for him and Brad to be back together or falling for someone new. This show has terrible balance issues.

OMG!! I am so excited to see Sherry Stringfield on one of these! I hope that opens the door for others with her participating! Also- a lovely tribute as well.

I agree. I don’t necessarily want drugs or teen pregnancy. Although one of them being hooked on the Cyrus drug would have been a good way to keep them tied to the plot. I think Cam and Trina have more appeal than Joss, I would make her supporting for once to their stories. Even though the actor was awful, Oscar going full Quartermaine like a young AJ would have given them all some natural conflict, and Dev being bi or gay would have too.

Did they? That is so dumb. I just do not get Frank. OLTL had a teen set that actually drove story and was certainly more interesting than what he has at GH- even Cole and Starr at least had a storyline.

I thought Todd fit quite well too. I just think the time has past to just switch him back to Todd. And whatever charms any of these people had as leads is long since passed.

I used to think his personality being more on the passive side was a good reaction to his family. It gave him a level to play against Carly, Sonny, and the Q’s. But he has zero romantic chemistry with nearly every woman he has been paired with. Chase sure brings it out in him though.

There was an article about Zander’s return, either on TVLine or EW, and the comments were filled with people talking about Franco. It’s like a bizzaro world. Like post after post, some even calling him a beloved character. Who are these people? And I like Roger Howarth! I have no issue with him, loved him as Todd for the most part. But I don’t want Todd back either, because this show needs any new characters to be played by actors not known for GH. I can’t take Easton and Howarth just being killed off and brought back.

I agree with all this. Yes, there were issues with her and her husband on Knots- they didn’t know what to do properly with Valene, and I will always wish Laura had not been killed off. But the show was also modernized and yet still resembled itself. Y&R with Alden, LMM and Smith for a few years might have slowed the progression into what it is now, and made for a stronger show in the long term. I also thought the period when they were writing together was pretty good, and it was a mistake to gut the show.

Agreed! I can’t believe how many comments I have read on other sites angry at GH about RH possibly leaving. I had no idea anyone out there liked him on the show, or liked Franco. I don’t get it at all.

Howarth needs someone that he can play off of. I love Becky. But she works best as Liz in grounded, human emotion based storylines. And he has nothing to bounce off of there like Todd did with Blair and Tea, which is where he did his best work in relationship/romance stories. Which does not dismiss that he is playing a terrible character. When he was Todd on GH, there was a place for him. Moving the Sun to PC, his relationship with Carly. There were natural places to go with that character. Franco has been forced from day one. And Michael Easton has played three different main characters in less than a decade. Where would the show be if they had tried to find actual new actors and characters and moved on from what hasn’t worked? Just because Frank likes them and they are not divas on set does not mean they are right for the show.

Oh today’s soaps absolutely depend on the team. I personally think Gary Tomlin is near hack as an EP and as a HW. However, his time as HW on DAYS with Whitsell, when surrounded by the very strong writing team they had, was much better day to day than anything under Higley, Griffith, or Ron. The Cullitons especially wrote such great scripts the show was so much more watchable. I felt the same way about GH under Guza’s various terms there, even when he was co-head with Pratt.

Oh she get tangential credit for him being hired, I believe he was there picking her up and started talking to Frank. I think that is why they call him parking lot Pete. And Laura Wright is a professional. No question in my mind she does her job (and pretty well, though I don’t enjoy Carly she has always acted the hell out of her) and isn’t a backstage problem. She always comes across to me as a no bullshit, hard worker that respects the genre and manages the constraints of the current production model.

To me there is a huge difference in how LW acts compared to Kelly Monaco. Who clearly onscreen and vocally off screen wanted her partner to stay on the show and in her storyline. Laura tweeting compliments and sending positive posts towards and about Wes do not strike me as diva-like or unprofessional. The pet aspect has more to do with the story isn’t working, hasn’t been working, and just like Michael Easton and Roger, the show should have moved on or cut their losses ages ago. I don’t think Laura has anything to do with him still having a job, just the hiring part.

I don’t know, some of the best ones did a lot of writing alone. Yes they had Irna to bounce off of, but Bell and Nixon had small staffs and drove story themselves at least through the 1970’s. Douglas Marland has also been described around here as not very collaborative, outside of scripts. And the quality was mostly the same no matter who the EP/network. I think the biggest issue is that as the genre changed to be more EP and network driven, the great head writers would rather not, and I don’t blame them. Who wants to be constantly defending your work- which might even be getting good enough ratings but the networks are corporations so they want the ratings to be going up, not just stable unless you were already #1. So we got the recycled hacks (Griffith, Higley, Passanante, etc). I think as time went on they continued to get hired because they didn’t fight network notes and could manage the job of HW on a soap (just producing the words, even if lackluster is a skill), and knew how to pitch stories they understand. Paternity twists, baby stories, generic violence.