titan1978

Nothing on this show has ever been as all consuming as Guza and Phelps Sonny/Carly/Jason. At the height of Luke and Laura we had actual stories for the Quartermaines, Rick/Lesley, Diana’s murder and Jeff/Heather, etc that had nothing to do with Luke and Laura. Sure there were times they dominated and were the topic of the town, but not to the extent of Sonny. I do think the era of Anna/Robert/Frisco/Felicia came close. But even then there was still Lucy marrying Tony, Bobbie and Jake, Sean and Monica stealing the Q’s money, Tiffany and Sean falling in love, etc. Nothing revolving around the actual hospital of note, but still better than Sonny Hospital.

I always thought Courtney was Pratt, not Frons. Once Pratt was gone a lot of the show got better. The stories and characters made sense again, even if Guza couldn’t stop the Sonny propping, which got worse from that point on. I also remember when it seemed like the focus shifted from Sonny to Jason. There were a couple of years there (Sonny/Emily) where it seemed like they might actually make them enemies. All of a sudden Jason was the name every character said all the time, not Sonny.

You know, I have always been team Laura and Genie. But the article posted above reminds me that although I think the network and producers let Tony get away with murder and did not value her, she also left more than he did. I remember her maternity leave that did not end. And on Steve Burton’s podcast, she commented on how Riche gave her a first in first out type of deal once her kids were born, and how there was resentment for that that. It might be the only time she was given favored status over Geary once he became popular. Monty and JFP certainly treated him with more respect. She has also stated that at times she would let him do the battles for both of them, although she also fought bts for better stories with him. It just seems in hindsight that Riche did see her as important. I wonder if that plays into how much Tony disliked Wendy?

I loved Wayne. I only saw his last storyline as a kid when Stefano killed Roman. But I loved him. Drake was always pleasant to me as Roman, and for those that find him sexy he gave them plenty to look at. I was way more into Bo, so Drake wasn’t on my radar as far as attraction. People I knew that also watched DAYS absolutely preferred Drake to Wayne. I didn’t get it back then, and I still do not. The story written by JER and Sheri (she was there when it started) put the tortured aspect directly at John and Marlena’s feet. Roman was not written well at that time, and John was given the type of writing that romance fans respond to. Tortured and sexy. JER absolutely ran with that as a solo HW writer and made Marlena/John the couple. Truthfully, Drake’s Roman (even before they thought he was him) was always written from a romance story angle first, whereas Wayne was a more complete character as created and acted out. I also remember reading in the soap mags that people wanted her with John. I don’t want anyone with Josh’s Roman. Never have cared for him.

The only things I remember is that she had to leave everything behind, because she was terrified of Helena. The one time she went to get Nikolas, the Cassadines killed her mother (retcon), and she decided to move on for not only her and Luke’s safety, but also Nikolas. Also was that marriage even valid since she was obviously still married to Luke? He did not died in the snow accident the Cassadines used to convince her to stop fighting and give in to Stavros. Adding Stefan to that Cassadine kidnapping story really helps make it more palatable, because without that relationship it’s really a very tragic story for Laura. We did learn that Luke somehow had some or all of the Ice Princess diamond and was selling it off by piece to fund his adventures.

At the time, it was a fun story on a show filled with a lot of sad, emotional tales. Ned sneaking around as Eddie, married to both Katherine and Lois, and her ultimately acclimating to the Quartermaines was being told alongside Sonny/Luke vs the mob, BJ’s death, Monica’s cancer, and Stone dying of AIDS. They were playing romantic comedy while everyone else was playing heavy drama or action. I loved Lois but I have little use for Wally as Ned. He’s fine, just never my favorite on GH or DAYS. I will take Kurt McKinney any day over Wally. The fact that she was presented as smart, fun, loud and a happy person played out well against her bff Brenda who was so needy and kind of pathetic at times. But I can see how she is also grating and annoying. That wedding cake episode is a classic as far as I am concerned! I also liked that she had a history with Sonny, but saw and commented on the person he was becoming as he was gaining power. Guza did not get her at all.

Wow. That’s right. I did used to think Jason and Sonny were hot af, and I enjoyed them as characters. It has been a long time since I felt that way.

Not sure if this has been talked about here or not. On the ABC website and app they have 20 classic episodes of GH about Sonny & Carly. Not a great couple for me, but it’s whole episodes with characters that I do love. Plus Sarah as Carly. And the Faces of the Heart open. First episode has Felicia being held by Faison, Hannah, and Roy. None of which I enjoyed back then. Funny what you can tolerate after over a decade of Guza, JFP, and Valentini. I long for the likes of Hannah on GH today lol.

The only thing I can say is that the lessons they learned from Gloria Monty were all the bad ones. Gritty is fine, but on a show that airs five days a week all year long you need balance. They are not good with balance. Pair that with the misogyny found in both of their work and the lack of respect for history and it’s pretty rough. They also both seems to revel in being unlikeable- her in reputation and him in not writing a single likeable character for very long without trying to deconstruct them.

Anyone watching the show could see the considerable difference between Guza’s first round as HW, and his second after Sunset Beach. Every major story was focused on a man, except for Brenda, who was just stuck between two men. Even Elizabeth’s rape seemed to really be more about Lucky and Luke than Liz or Laura. Also- his entire point of view as an writer was to deconstruct every relationship and character except Sonny, Carly, and Jason. Alan on drugs. Luke loses Lucky and Laura and is mired in misery. Laura loses Luke and Lucky and is mired in misery. Lucky hates his formerly beloved parents. Tony is a kidnapper (including Robin). Justus is a murderer. The list goes on. Riche let all this happen. There have been rumors for years they had tension and did not get along. But still, she produced all of this. I still think Riche’s run from her arrival to the first six months of Culliton as HW was just about perfect. Lots of highs after that too, but that first part was just so good.

Without a doubt. I think she is the single most destructive person to have the EP position on a soap. Which sucks, because her shows usually look great (except Y&R), and she knows how to produce heartbreaking material giving actors wonderful scenes. But the cost is the show is weaker or destroyed when she exits the building.

Phelps/Guza had stronger scripts, better plots and stories, infinently better acting and characters and production values than we are seeing today. However, the characters featured to the detriment of everybody else drove me away as a viewer. But I have enough distance from the product to see that while not for me, it was better written and acted and produced. Their events and stunts were amazing. The train crash, panic room, Metro Court crisis, contagion, all exciting stories and excellent episodes. The problem was their orbit was Sonny, Jason, Carly, and to a lesser extent, Luke, Scrubs, and a female character of the moment (Courtney, Brenda, Lulu). If you weren’t tied to those people, none of the stories had a point of view away from them. And by the end of their time together, it was really Jason that everything revolved around. He pushed Sonny from the central spot. It was awfully hard to watch a soap daily when those are the only stories featured.

Watching the classic New Year’s Eve episode on Hulu. A couple of things stand out- Tony. This was when I had pretty much decided I hated Tony. He had never been my favorite, but he was sliding into his insufferable breakdown that dragged on for years. By the time he was written out I wasn’t upset at all. The playing of all the beats. Seeing Monica explain the surgery to Jason, make a phone call looking for Alan, Jason talking to an unconscious Carly, Tony and Bobbie speaking about BJ. It’s the one thing soaps have going for them all of them don’t do anymore, the daily interactions and small moments around the stories. I forgot about Brenda’s breakdown. A low point for the character. It wasn’t Vanessa’s high point as an actress on the show either. Billy Warlock is maybe one of the all time miscasts on this show. Of course, neither Labine or Guza write with a point of view or strong pairing in mind for him.

They had some heat. The flashbacks when she arrived showing their relationship were really well done, and they really sold that first wedding, considering we didn’t really know Anna at all. As a viewer I just felt they waited too long to pair them. Instead of Duke 2 (which I actually enjoyed when it was airing), that was when they should have been paired. But again, I was not a fan of Katherine, so I feel like Robert was kind of floundering relationship wise then too. One of my favorite scenes on GH of all time is Robert calling Anna boring, and she pays him back by tying him up and leaving him all hot and bothered.

I also preferred Robert with Holly. And back in the day, Duke and Anna were one of my favorite couples. I think Robert/Anna had chemistry, and I didn’t hate them together. It just seemed to me that the time had kind of passed to move them into a couple. I loved Cheryl. Never could stand Katherine.

How did I not remember that Terry Brock was on the show all the way to 1990? She was there for 6 years! I remembered her of course, but not that she was there that long. Some classic Bobbie and Lucy fights. They really do not like each other. Watch when Lucy shows up. Amy follows the drama from the Nurses Station and that smile on her face in the background is so great!

Hulu has a classic holiday 2005 episode up. So many great characters shown, Alan reading the Christmas story. Greg Vaughn’s Lucky was wasted during his run on the show.

The person that posted this video has tons of great GH stuff. I especially love the scene where Robin tells Luke Stone has died, and he reminds her of her father.

I have been watching Labine era GH on YouTube this week. I’ve been watching a lot of the period when Stone gets sick and dies. Tony Geary may not have enjoyed working with that writing team, but as a viewer then and now I loved Luke during this time. He was so connected to his corner of the show, and I really enjoy his scenes with Stone, Robin and Lucky during this time. When he is good and not being overly indulged it is easy to see why he was important to the show, and how well Luke plays off lots of characters. He had unique relationships with Stone, Sonny, Robin, Lucky, Laura, Mary Mae, even Tony.

It’s remarkable that Knots is doing as well as it does when you consider just how much attention L.A. Law was getting. The actors hosted SNL, they were on all the major talk shows. They were nominated for awards, they definently got a lot of pop culture exposure and love. I was a kid but I remember just how often we saw Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey and the rest of the cast on magazine covers. Not so much with the cast of Knots at that point.

She had a masculine edge that viewers were turned off by. I think people had forgotten that Sarah attacked the role. She brought so much edge and you never forgot Carly considered herself wronged and from the wrong side of the tracks, etc. TB’s version was softer, she had become more of a troubled romantic character than Sarah’s emotional, harder edged version. TB still had some fire, but it was different. I think her version seemed more like Sarah’s Carly all grown up and damaged by the mistakes of her life. Her relationships with Jason and Sonny and constantly fighting for Michael. I also cannot imagine her in the role for as long as Wright. I thought she lacked romantic chemistry. But she had that edge. Recasting a character like Carly is very difficult. Many may love Gina and Sandra as Phyllis on Y&R, but as annoying as I find Stafford, her version is the one I gravitate towards. Same with Blake on GL. Stringfield just has the raw part down better than Liz did.

Holy [!@#$%^&*] I did not put two and two together until this post. Also- gross.

I am sure had I watched it then I would agree. I do have a fondness for PFS’s second run with Monty too- introducing Anna, Robin and I think Duke as well. I can’t get enough of the stuff that is on YouTube. I do think Falken-Smith added to what Marland started.

Thank you! PB has never been as compelling as Terry Lester’s Jack. He plays all the layers that we know of from Jack- smug, crafty, even sanctimonious, Lester just does it better. He is way more sexy, and you still root for his Jack in a way I just don’t with PB. I am always here for Lauren as a bitch. They softened her over time for sure, but Bell kept her edge through the 1990’s on this show. I am also here for wet Paul and Andy, even Victor was sexy and compelling in that episode. It is fascinating to watch Brenda’s Jill kind of between her original portrayal and vamp Dynasty Jill. I do think Jess is a stronger actress, but I like the haughtiness Brenda played every time she felt she was on top. But when she crosses into vamp camp it can be cringeworthy. That confrontation between Katherine and Jill was incredible. That Jill, 1984 Brenda is awesome! Longtime viewers- had the Katherine Jill thing been kind of dormant for a while before this period? I didn’t start really paying attention until Nina arrives, so I have spotty memories of things before that. I wonder if Jeanne Cooper got nervous at all about how dark Katherine was getting, how far she would go. It’s not like she hadn’t seen Bill Bell turn a dark older woman into a psycho and they ultimately be written out. He had done it a couple of times by this point on the show. Danny was never as cool as he was in the opening credits drawing. After all this time, I stil feel that Ashley is Victor’s true soul mate, even though I also think for Nikki he is hers. With either Brenda or Eileen it’s pretty clear in the way he plays it.

I’ve gone back a few pages and can’t seem to find the link to these episodes. Can someone please tell where to find them?