titan1978

When Bob Guza and Wendy Riche were in sync with each other, they produced and wrote some of the best GH episodes of all time. I will never forget the end of the episode before this, when she was grabbed off that bench, and this one. Bobbie was such a vital part of these scenes, you almost forget what an important part of the show she was. Ultimately I think they let Lucky go too far in his rage against Luke and Laura. I especially hated that Lucky got to attack his mother for loving Luke and then they just slowly made up over time, without her really getting to tell him her side of things without him insulting her. I would really have liked a scene with her standing her ground that didn’t put her down for the sake of Lucky getting to be angry. Also the entire storyline just became about Luke again. And it should have been more Laura’s story too. For those that watched back during Luke’s rape of Laura- was Laura found in the park afterwards too? I think I read that in a recap once.

My dad, who only saw the show in bits and pieces as my mom and his grandmother watched it used to joke all the way into the 1990’s when I watched as a teen “Is Jessie still crying in the pill room?” In that prime time GH anniversary special in the late 1990’s, I remember Rachel Ames saying Steve and Jessie were the two people that should have been together, but never were. Like many a soap romantic couple, they started to have storylines revolving around their sexy children and then dropped off the storyline map. When you read yearly recaps, it seems around 1976-1977 was Audrey’s last real storyline of note until Ryan attacks her in the 1990’s. While we saw her a lot during Tom Jr’s return and relationship with Simone, it wasn’t her storyline really. They got got remarried in the late 1970’s, Jeff Webber became Steve’s son, and Steve is pretty much just chief of staff after that. I think Jessie’s time of the frontburner ended before Steve and Audrey’s.

Yes, JFP was the EP when we last saw Amy. What I loved about Amy over the years was she was a great nurse. And a busybody. It added some fun, and she played off different people really well. I do barely remember her one storyline (beyond stuff from when she first came on the show), where she fell in love with a boxer I think?

Was Kenney the EP during the Anna kidnapped by Grant Putnam and Satan the dog story? Because I thought the show was great then. Tom Hardy JR came back then too, and the beginning of his story with Simone was then if I’m remembering correctly. Steve and Audrey were much more integrated and present when he came back as an adult.

My time watching the show and really paying attention was well past the heyday of Nurse Jessie. But as a kid I had a fondness for her, seeing her at the Nurses station and admonishing Amy for gossiping. Caring deeply about Bobbie and little Robin. That’s what these people running the shows have forgotten. Seeing those characters does matter to younger viewers.

If you watched back then, Mac drove front burner story from his arrival until about a year into Guza’s first tenure. Then Guza came back and the god awful two Macs story happened. He lost interest in him after that and so did the show for the most part. I didn’t always enjoy him (except when he and Felicia were first falling in love and fighting Ryan together). It’s only by 1996 to 1997 that his placement seemed wrong as far as status. Watching that open makes me miss Rosalind Cash so much. Although anyone writing for her but Labine seems like it would not have gone well. Labine just got that character and actress.

There was something exciting about that ambulance during the action packed Monty era of the show. I loved it. But faces of the heart also just suited the Riche era too. Especially the first 5 or 6 years of her tenure, when the updates were seamless. I still love Lucy’s shot with her eyebrow going up, Lois with her nails framing her face, Stone and Robin’s two shot, Luke and Laura at the mid point two shot, and Felicia and Mac (that turtleneck!) at the end. Especially once the Puerto Rico shots got added.

Thanks for posting! That was a great episode. I’ve seen so little of the aftermath of the rape, I might need to fall into a YouTube hole. So many great Christmas scenes on GH have involved Laura. I’m so used to Bobbie kissing Luke’s ass that seeing her be actually mean and questioning him was great. Because she was allowed to have a point of view in their relationship, which didn’t really happen anymore once Luke became the center of the show. For the most part Bobbie deferred to him. Jeff Webber, Joe Kelly and Scotty are all adorable. Anne is a drip as always. What a waste of so many good men. I wish they would have kept Diana and killed Anne instead, I love Brooke Bundy. And Monty and Falken-Smith are still my favorite EP/HW combo for this show until we get to Riche/Labine.

The remote in Puerto Rico was pretty great for action. there was also a train thing in the 1980’s I remember being thrilling. My favorite action scene from the show is the Claire Labine mob shoot out that hit Luke & Laura’s house (Laura, baby Lulu, Lucky, Luke and Sonny) Sonny and Luke’s club (Stone & Robin), and Sonny’s apartment (Brenda in the shower). It used the action to move lots of stories forward.

She was a whole lot more fun as Lucy's aunt in GH. I think she was an aunt. Or cousin. She was great on GH.

Jesus. This thread.

Between Jeff leaving and Tom coming back as an adult, it seems Steve was barely in. Some hospital scenes, group scenes like parties and weddings. They gave a lot of the hospital group doctor stuff to Rick, Lesley (until she was gone) Alan and Monica when I started watching the show with any attention being paid to it. Then Tony once Rick was gone. Except for the Christmas episode. That was always Steve if memory serves. Once Tom arrived and then was with Simone we saw both Steve and Audrey more frequently. Riche also featured them both in the Ryan storyline, and we saw Steve as a doctor quite often once Labine got there. Audrey was never my favorite character. But I loved Steve Hardy. I also loved Gail and Lee. And I was a child. That's something these execs never get right. My family watched GH so I have memories of it from before I became a fan. I fell in love with Frisco and Felicia. They led me to my favorite GH character- Anna. And watching the show made me care about and enjoy Steve, Gail, Lee, and Edward Q, Lila, etc all clearly outside their desired demographic.

I loved Luke, Laura and Lucky so much back then. The show was so great to watch at that point. As as much as Tony hated Labine's stories for Luke and apparently Riche as EP as well, Luke was truly entertaining then.

What happened to split them all apart?

What era of the show? They were always higher rated than SB, so I'm not sure why tptb would. Even with Wes Kenney I thought the show was still very much like GH. Although O did think the sets got an upgrade then.

She had her moments during her 1980's stint. Mostly I remember her as strutting around vamping more that acting. She delivered some of the strangest line readings too. Stilted. Like a female William Shatner.

I had completely blocked Autumn out. Even looking her up I'm still trying to remember anything about her.

I did not really enjoy her. I loved Cheryl with Roberto back then, and thought Katherine was boring. When I watch clips now I don't dislike her as much. What I think shows though is just how popular Robert was. I was always a much bigger fan of Anna than Robert, but there is no denying he had several pairings that worked and were very popular. Holly and Anna were super couples, and people also loved him with Tiffany, Katherine, Cheryl, and Jackie.

Thanks for posting. I had no idea PFS has written for the show that long before her first HW stint!

I don't hate Wally, but Kurt's Ned was my favorite. I forgot all about Decker Moss. That Monty returns era was such a mess.

Look at how much of that episode was about longing. Romance is more than just a basic idea or concept. The relationships are very rich I that episode.

Monty famously throwing away about a week of filmed shows must have helped that quick turnaround, due to the production schedule at the time. Good writer, compelling stories and top production. When a show isn't gutted beyond recognition the right team could still turn any one of the soaps around. But who would those teams be in the current climate?

I like Brooke Bundy in the clips I have seen. But I've seen so little of Starrett so I can't say how I would feel about her. I've watched most of the Heather/Diana/Jeff/Anne story including Diana's murder on YouTube, and it was an exciting run of stories. GH is my favorite soap. But when I watch classic era stuff, for me, there is a period between the black and white first few years and Monty that is deadly dull and doesn't hold my interest like clips from other shows during the same period. The Steve and Jessie early years with the addition of Lee are very entertaining. And Monty's casting and actors held me through even the wonkiest stories during her era. But what I have seen between doesn't hold my interest. When you compare GH episodes in the mid 1970's to Days, OLTL, AMC, EDGE, even stodgy old GL and ATWT, GH is not as compelling. My opinion of course.

Wasn't it all about Billy? She was poor, kind of a bad attitude, and tied to Katherine. Three strikes for Jill when it came to her only living child. She hated Nina too, when it was her and Phillip.

After reading that who's who on GH I was really sad for people that started watching after the deaths/ write outs of some of the important pre Monty era players on the show. I loved Steve Hardy when I was a kid until he died. Beradino always sold his material, and could show so much compassion as a doctor and friend in the show. And he could be tough! Just a great leading man and head of the hospital. Audrey I was never very fond of, but she had a place and had value and now that the show lacks so much of that history I find I miss her. Jessie was mostly just a talk to when I started viewing, but again she brought her history to the nurses station and I know enough about how important her character was on the show. Lee Baldwin- like Steve, a fantastic leading man that I always felt commanded the stage when he was there, even in has later days. Leslie Webber- She should be running the hospital. Bringing her back with Guza writing was a loss because she and Alan and Monica could have spent years fighting for the control of the hospital. Keeping the actual hospital vital and those characters vital. Imagine if Leslie and Alan had become an item?