titan1978

The song had a huge jump on the billboard chart due to useage on the show. From wiki- Jill Farren Phelps, musical director of the ABC soap opera General Hospital, decided to use "Rise" as the musical backdrop for the rape of Laura Webber by Luke Spencer. For several weeks afterward, the recording was played on the show to evoke the memory of Luke's act. The added exposure in an extremely popular program boosted sales to the point of selling more than one million copies. The week the show hit number one was credited to the Alan/Monica/Rick/Lesley storyline hitting a peak. Luke and Laura are credited with cementing that status and holding it until Genie left. Other shows would get the top spot from time to time but GH stayed that way on the yearly charts until soon after Monty left in 1987, or near then. The show took off relatively quickly, because they were going to give Monty 6 or 10 (I can’t remember exactly) weeks to save the show or let it go out with dignity. Marland created great new characters, gave the existing ones Monty wanted to keep good stories and then she and Falken-Smith made it into a cultural phenomenon. My what if has always been if Marland had stayed? No left handed boy (which is where Luke and Laura really took off), no Diana murder, no Cassadines. I think Falken-Smith really knocked what started before her out of the park!

I do not think I have missed anyone that Guza and JFP got rid of more than Alan Quartermaine. Sure I loved Brenda, and enjoyed and see the potential in Emily, Georgie, Tony, Zander and so many others they got rid of. But Alan is a hole to me as big as Maureen Bauer on GL, just in a different way because they are different characters. Alan is just missing and nothing has ever filled that void. As a doctor at GH, his specific place in the Quartermaine family, his relationships with his children, animosity with Sonny, and his complicated marriage with Monica. He could be ruthless, and he could also be sensitive. Alan was not a played out character. When Labine and Riche wrote out Sean and Tiffany, I missed them but I also got it. They were expensive talent that didn’t have enough story left for what they cost. These were not actors that would have gone recurring or taken huge cuts at that time just to never be the lead in a story again. I kind of felt the same way about Tony once he was off contract. But I think Alan had story still to tell.

I was watching a bunch of random GH clips on YouTube and it occurred to me that Bob Guza loved courtroom scenes. There were so many trials and scenes in a court during his run. Laura on trial for murdering Damian. Luke on trial for something (I can’t remember what) when his affair with Felicia came out. Monica Vs Dorman for sexual harassment. Tons of Sonny or mob related court scenes. Custody of catatonic Laura. Custody of Michael. Dianne, Alexis, Ric and Scotty were always in court for something. It’s almost as big a trope in his writing as misogyny.

I didn’t hate Robert, I just didn’t enjoy him and if he had a love interest I didn’t dig (Katherine) then he was especially grating. Outside of Anna being my favorite, I was way more into Frisco back then than Robert. But when he came back it was like a breath of fresh air. Even now, I love the way he says Corinthos. Just the right amount of contempt.

I’ve been watching this playlist covering Luke & Laura and Lucky’s return in 1993. So many great little moments surrounding all the big events, like Laura finding the old Ward house and her feeling the memories of them while she and Luke hide out. Just the image of her seeing the house is special. This clip reminded me of the easy chemistry Laura and Tony had as friends, and the ending with Scotty is just good soap opera writing. Play those beats!

That first two years of Ron at OLTL and GH were so much better than what we had been getting, but the messy times were there too. The issue is that he starts to climax the stuff that was his “A” material, the stuff he gets accolades and ratings growth with. And then he runs out of places to go, or chooses the easy way out of a storyline (shocks, killing off characters, etc). No one writer should have told so many DID, doppelgänger, and forgotten children storylines on the same shows. Anyone that is a comic book fan can see Ron’s problematic style. Strip-mining history for moments to build his plots around. Any chance for someone to have been off screen is a chance for Ron to have given them a child, past as a spy, twin, etc. He does it so much though that it is a trope in his writing, and often the telling gets worse with each copy.

Thanks for posting this. I really miss Nina. There was a lot of great stuff on the show during this period, but I truly enjoyed all her storylines until pretty near the end. I think Nina is my favorite character from this era. From her early baby story to Phillip, fighting with Kay and Jill, the money, David. Really until Ryan I loved her.

I think Susan was killed too soon. Just imagine 5 or 6 years of her making Alan miserable. Using Scotty to get herself some ELQ shares on behalf of Jason or even of her own through lawsuits or the threat of public humiliation. Fighting with Monica. I used to love Lucy holding her shares over everyone’s head. Imagine if we had Susan and Lucy?

Great clips. I grew up in the Anna, Frisco and Felicia era of the show. But I absolutely loved Dr Hardy, Lee and Gail and Lesley (it was on around me when I was a kid, I just didn’t make a choice to follow the show for myself until that mid 1980’s time period). Clips like these make me miss those characters, and what might have been had they not all been so sidelined and many of them now sadly passed away.

Thanks for the info. It’s kind of like the Spencer’s. I do not remember them being such long-standing Port Charles residents. When Luke and Laura came back in the 90’s, the feeling was Laura was home. Not Luke. Not that Luke was a character to spend much time in reflection. But I don’t remember Bobbie talking about a childhood there either. Just with Ruby and that was in Florida if I remember correctly.

When did the show decide the Q’s had been in Port Charles all along? I know the house wasn’t just invented for Alan to give to Monica, there seems to be some history there for the family. I just get confused. Alan arrived on the show first, but was the rest of the family there and just not seen? There was a real chance when they brought AJ back, and Tracy was still there that Celia could have been brought back with kids that could have integrated well. Now, with just Monica, it would be a harder sell for me. Another waste of Jane before she retired.

I hear a lot about the hurricane that Monty sent through the town to wipe out the cast memebers she didn’t like. I assume this was written by Marland? Kin Shriner jokes about it all the time. Who got the ax then?

Or busy hospital/restaurant scenes. Monty’s GH has lots of background actors.

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.