titan1978

Have any of you listened to Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson’s podcast? I do not listen to every episode, but I do listen to the episodes with vets. There was a great two part episode with Genie Francis, and another two part with Lesley Charleson. If was great to hear her opinion of the Eckerts and the differences between David Lewis and John Ingle’s Edward. Also how she felt betrayed by Gloria, and how awful she treated them when she came back. The interviews are usually a little bit about their history before diving into GH. Sometimes they flub the details a little but these people are not historians of their show like a lot of fans are.

It was quite a leap from thug, to low level mobster, to rapist, to hero, to mayor. The difference with Sonny is that he stayed a mobster and everybody else became immoral somehow. Like their failures of character had more weight than his did.

She left him pretty well set up, it was just the beginnings of it all, and not fully developed plots. But he did not inherit a bunch of stories already deep in motion. His complaints are funny because when he came back, he famously wrapped up nearly everything as a ghost writer before his first official show back, when Nikolas was shot outside Luke’s because he hated everything. Bobbie’s flashback/dreams with babies crying, Jason was firmly in Robin’s orbit, his accident, and Jax were all Labine’s last plots. He took them in different places than she would have (Jax was meant for Lois, etc). But when you look at her last six months, the show was kind of meandering and had lost a lot of momentum with Stone’s death. It had so dominated for months. That story took the wind out of the sails of the show for a bit when it ended, IMO.

I also agree that the fire was a real turning point. It was like they wanted to nail the coffin shut, not leave it open a crack like everything before it. They kind of tore each other apart, and it was hard to watch. I do think both Tony and Genie excel with that kind of dark, emotional material. I thought we actually saw how Laura would have grieved for Lucky, even if it kind sidelined her for almost a year. Which is rare for a soap. They do tell things in real time (especially back then) but often with extreme grief they let them move on. She was morose for months. Had to be hard to act that kind of pain, but it’s one of the things that I loved about her in that era. I had no issue with the rape revisit storyline- it was important and made sense in the context of Lucky finding Liz. What I hated was how he treated Laura, and how other than a couple of scenes she got the story wasn’t about her. It was only about Luke. And Lucky’s pain kind of eclipsed Liz at times too. And that sucks. She had kind of been sidelined during Labine’s last year (maternity leave, Luke and her on the outs), and Guza really brought her back. She went on trial for killing Damian, then the bone marrow and Nikolas reveal, through her next maternity leave and finding Lesley. She was the focal point of all those stories, not Luke. It was the last time they were a couple and the story revolved around her until she went crazy. I always wondered if it was because she kept refusing to come back to the show during that maternity leave, so they stopped trying with her character. I remember an interview with Michael Logan when Guza returned, and he asked about Genie. And Bob said he would go down on his knees to beg her to come back (or close to that). What a difference a decade makes- they refused to bring her back when she was ready, except for guest stints. One thing that first Guza run did is that I did not feel that most of Labine’s work was very soapy. Guza brought that back, big time. Love triangles, secrets from the past, murder mysteries, and a medical crisis involving family. All in one amazing year. Who killed Damian Smith?

It was. I read an interview with Susan Pratt and she mentioned Hoffman visiting the set, interviewing some of the cast and watching filming, hanging backstage, etc.

I think Gloria had an eye for talent, and could spot chemistry, and knew what to do with it. Because even when her show was not well written (outside of Marland’s tenure and both of Falken-Smith’s), it was still compelling and entertaining television. As far as Luke goes- the Labine era made me love him. He was still dangerous (all that Frank Smith stuff), and wasn’t really a “hero”, but he had so many rich relationships and had chemistry with all of them. Sonny, Lucy, Bobbie, Lucky, Tony, Robin, Stone- not just with Laura. I loved his relationships with those people. The thing about Tony that drives me crazy as a fan of this show is he was always trying to sell a Luke I did not see on screen as the version of Luke. I get he didn’t want to be turned into Steve Hardy, but he he was elected mayor! At the height of his original run he was everything he claimed he hated about the character once Labine arrived, and blamed it on her. If anything, Laura was the one that kind of lost her way under Labine. Guza’s first tenure as HW brought her back.

I had completely blocked out that they brought Paul Hornsby back. Ron should have stuck to the story for Bill, and spun out another story using the Luke backstory he created. Both would have been great without the DiD mess.

I also loved Julia. And truthfully, I liked Jenny Eckert, Sly, and Mac. And Paul Hornsby. Bill though- just awful. When Tony and Genie came back together as Luke and Laura, it was like a lightbulb went off. I totally got why Tony was a big deal, and why they were great together, and how much Genie really shines playing Laura. As Bill I couldn’t stand him. Monty cast some good actors when she came back, and the characters were solid for the most part. It was just a mess of way too many changes, and sidelining of characters that were at that time integral to the show. If she hadn’t bombed so spectacularly, we would not have gotten Riche/Labine and that would have been a real shame.

I know I have said it here many times- I just absolutely love Lee Baldwin.

Guza eventually used all the ideas that the 1990’s writing team came up with, even if he just mapped them onto other characters. The Miranda backstory went to Alexis. Sam became her secret daughter. The transplant story that brought Nikolas on was originally a non-Cassadine storyline for the return of Luke and Laura, deemed not big enough (which I think was the correct decision for that return). Plus the bones of the Nikolas storyline came from ideas Genie Francis shared with Guza and Riche about a story for Laura. She wanted to play a secret, and thought there was fertile ground for and about her character from when she was kidnapped by the Cassadines.

I so agree about Ryan. The missed opportunity was him and Jill, because she might have been able to bring out the ambitious side that could have led to something. Like Brad 2.0. But Don has more smarmy charm than Scott.

Like a lot of people here, I’m a fan of the genre most of all. My show was always GH, although I have sampled them all and even watched some for years. But GH is the one I keep tabs on, even if I can’t stand it. I absolutely love The Edge of Night though. Just seeing the photos of the stuff you post has been fun!

Thank you for all these great posts! I hope you manage to come across articles during intense times of transitions. Like Marland arriving on GL and ATWT, Monty on GH, etc. I would love to read some critical reactions to what was changing on screen in real time for them, just how noticeable it was at the time as opposed to hindsight.

I also loved that aspect of Y&R. It was part of the identity of the show. It made it seem like it wasn’t a small town, unlike every other soap on the air. And that is not a knock on those shows. GH works best for me when the character connections are close, and there is a main umbrella plot going on. Guiding Light worked best as a community that crosses paths. All My Children worked best as a gossipy small town. But Y&R works best for me as a place where not everybody interacts with Victor Newman or Katherine Chancellor.

I agree. She was clearly one of Bell’s favorite characters but around the time her orbit became Ryan centric, she just kind of faded from importance. And at the time, I remember thinking that Ryan and Victoria still had feelings for each other (especially Victoria), and that it kind of seemed like they would not stay together. Then when Nina was suicidal I was just disgusted by the writing for her by that point.

Felicia lived at the brownstone. I do not recall her leaving there until she was with Mac again around the Luke affair. Robin and Mac lived there during all her teen storylines. Laura visited the house with Lucky when they came back to the show and she even had scenes in the infamous attic where she was kind of upset by something that wasn’t explored until they Guza/Pratt and Genie’s exit.

I guess that year and a half looms large for my memory. The Ashley that replaced Brenda sidelines the character. And Jess was wasted after the baby Billy stuff, John leaves for a bit and Mamie was gone. It felt very much like the Abbotts were out of favor. And truthfully, I felt that way at times before that. Once Traci stopped being a major player it felt at times like Victor and Ashley were really tied to Victor and John to Jill. I never felt that Victor was sidelined at any point. Or Cricket. Or Drucilla. And I still think Cricket was the second lead behind Victor. And then Drucilla. Because without those three hinges the rest of Bell’s stories in the mid to late 1990’s would have looked nothing like the show we got. I’m not saying I didn’t love characters tied to them, but they were the leads in those circles. I really and truly miss Dru on this show. Of those three I never got tired of seeing her. I agree that reigniting Jill and Katherine was the best thing for both characters, and building from there with a new generation was Alden’s master stroke. I really miss Y&R.

Do we think Bell kept the right characters to mix with his new families? I think it would be hard to say what Y&R would have been like if he hadn’t kept people like Nikki, Victor, Jill and Katherine once the purge began and he moved towards characters that had little if any ties to the original families. Once we get to the years when Y&R challenges GH and then passes it in the ratings, you really only had a few of orbits on the show. Victor and the Abbots (through relationships or business), Cricket, Katherine and Jill, and Lauren. Everyone was tied to those stories or sets of characters as far as I can remember, with little spots of overlap. By the time Bill left as HW, the Abbots and Jill and Katherine were pretty much not as center stage (except for Jack). Everything was pretty Victor or Cricket or Drucilla centered. Kay Alden moves Katherine and Jill and the Abbots back into being major parts of the show again, and leaves them there. I remember at the time Bell was almost done that the show was not as compelling and he wasn’t using people I loved like Nina and Katherine very much. But Sharon and Nick were always on.

Bobbie was well positioned before they phased her out. She could have been in storylines with nursing students, and tenants living in the brownstone to ease her into that matriarch situation. I think she had much more of a temperament as a character (beyond her very early years) to be the tent pole/matriarch role. Alan and Monica are wonderful characters but they are also too selfish and manipulative for that stereotypical place on a soap. Lesley would also have been perfect. There was a time when I felt the show was trying to shoehorn Tracy into that and it just doesn’t work for her either. Especially when she was Lulu’s stepmother and Dylan was around. I loved her scenes with them back then, but only Bob Guza would try to make Tracy a matriarch.

I agree so much. Although Julie is at her best when they let her remain feisty and kind of a pain in the ass. So I’m glad they still use that aspect of her personality.

Re-watching the BJ/Maxie heart story (I guess I wanted to cry tonight), and I do not think the show ever told another story as beautifully as this one. Stone comes close, and it deeply moved me then and now, but BJ was connected to the entire community of Port Charles. We watched BJ grow up. The bet and the Damian affair and how Bobbie was feeling before having the affair. Frisco being there. The family stuff with Frisco, Felicia and Tony and Bobbie, Ruby and Luke. Monica was on the transplant team, Amy and Steve worked on BJ when she arrived. I think the scenes with Lucy and Alan comforting her were really special and a use of history that these shows rarely do anymore. Just really good integrated character based writing. I know Jack Wagner and Kristina Wagner were never given material like this to act on the show before and she in particular really does great work.

I love Anna during that period. Also Casey the alien gave us Faison, and we got to explore Anna’s time with the DVX. I loved that aspect. Anna teaching Frisco was a great mentoring relationship back then.

Wasn’t it symbolic of them wanting to feel like they had the bonds of family? Since Laura had been so troubled and Lesley had missed out on so much of her life? I know I have seen clips of Rick with Monica and it was very important to him that she still be his daughter and important. Laura even likes Monica during the period Rick and Monica are together. I wonder if any of the scenes of them in therapy back then when Laura was more troubled covered any of this? Is Chris Robinson there? I couldn’t find him and considering everyone else that is I think it is strange. Even the AJ before Kanan is there, and he had been replaced relatively soon in relation to this. Genie was there when she was still fighting being back on the show. She lost her AMC job because they wanted her back on GH. The audience didn’t want Geary as Bill, and it was the decision of all involved to bring back Luke. Geary said he couldn’t be Luke without Laura (sure changed later), and so the network forced the issue. Genie waited a long time to agree. Mostly because of the trauma of her first period in the show. Once she was back, backstage was so much better and she was valued so her opinion changed.

The posted clip of Monica and Alan learning of Lesley’s death was a great scene. The one with Lesley and Monica is good too. On another show they would have been rivals for years. I wish we had gotten that. Claire Labine would have loved writing for Lesley. That clip also reminds me just how much Genie is a lot like Denise in acting choices. I see a lot of similarities. Lesley is such a great character. I would kill to see scenes of her from DAYS- especially confrontations or scheming. Oh- and I am more than ready for Jeff Webber. He can get it. Especially over Rick and even Alan. Also- I loved Doug Sheehan on Knots and he is just so cute when I see him in clips from this era as Joe Kelly. Richard Dean Anderson must have been proud of his time on GH. Proud enough to attend the 30th anniversary party and be in the giant cast photo with Riche and tons of former and current actors.

As awful as Monty’s seduction rewrite was, I give her some credit for learning her lesson there. She never did it again. Which makes me think she knew it was not good. And unlike DAYS, which was the most like GH in tone in the 1980’s, the women had more agency and were not as male dependent as on other soaps of the era. I love Hope and Kayla and Kim but they are nothing like Anna or Felicia or Monica. That period between PFS’s first two GH runs is a mess. The DVX Grant Putnam mess, David Gray, Susan’s murder... just a mess. Without those actors and a few couples people were excited about, I am amazed the show stayed number one. Anna’s arrival, Frisco/Felicia, Robin, the Asian quarter storyline through the end of Monty with Duke and the Jerome’s was a great time on the show though. I also think the next two EP’s had great stuff, and the show was good if not great, except for wtf Casey the alien and Duke being killed again for no reason.