titan1978

These scenes with Monaco are incredibly depressing. And I am not a Sam fan at all. But the whole thing just has a pall hanging over it.

By all accounts that set is not as toxic as it had been years ago as far as the performers go. Many bts folks are beloved too, look how hard they all took the death of Nneka Garland. I can hope that is true. But they could have left her in jail and denied her claim if they were writing her out at this juncture.

I think Sofia Mattsson actually did good work making those scenes with Holly and Robert count, even if the story turn is way out of left field and mostly too little, too late.

I think the show has really dug in on referencing the LSD incident, when they basically ignored that most of Mattson’s run as Heather in the 80’s. Mary O’Brien played her as a neurotic mess before she dosed herself with LSD, and Mattson played her as calculating and more dangerous, even aggressive. But since her 2000’s era return she’s been kooky.

If she needed to be intubated for surgery then she would be on a ventilator. Liver donation is not done laparoscopically, so she would be intubated. They are not hand bagging someone during a surgery, they are hooked up to a vent for stability while performing the procedure. Another vent having issues would be an option because they have set it up.

All this talk about KeMo sleepwalking her last few shows makes me laugh. She has been like this for the majority of her run on GH. And that final scene with Jason and Drew was comical. The show spent more than a decade pushing JaSam. I do feel bad for their fans. Reminds me of that photo of her promoting Steve’s return. She clearly didn’t want to be there either.

Oh I believe her. It’s been very clear onscreen. Once the bts stuff went down with Billy. And she clearly tanked reuniting with Jason she has barely had a role.

Anna having the high ground on Holly is very interesting when you remember how this all started. Also what exactly is the period of time they are retconning Sasha into? Was Robert believed dead before Tristan and Finola left in 1991? The flashback was way before that, from Holly’s original run. If it was when they were presumed dead after the boat explosion, he was married to Anna. So are they implying he and Holly had an affair?

Drake still looked sexy too! I also love how Dee has more silver in her hair as she ages too. I would imagine she asked to be allowed to keep it gray. She was tired of being required to color it before. I really appreciate that even though they are softening Tracy tremendously in her current run, every once in awhile she has a scene where Jane plays the weight of everything Tracy has lost and it helps the version she is playing now make more sense to me. But then again, John Ingle’s Edward was never as dastardly or bitchy as David Lewis played him. So Tracy being softer does fit with the Q family as it had been more recently. And I don’t hate the idea of her and Cody. If it works for Cher, it can work for Tracy Quartermaine.

It’s really a shame too. For once, it’s not vanity on the performer’s part. Maurice wants to rock his natural hair color, they should let him.

Judging by what Bridget Dobson has said about her parents, they probably hated the show from the moment she fully took over in 1973! I have been playing catch-up and the show is watchable but there is so much going on that it feels like nothing is being given room to have any emotional depth. I will give the last year/couple of months some credit- NLG, Becky, and Dom should never have been sidelined, and are carrying a lot of weight to make several stories have emotional depth. It is refreshing to see them being used well again. Jane and Genie continue to bring layers to their work that must come from their acting choices, because the writing isn’t featuring either of them like it should. This turn with Sasha would have interested me more several years ago. Rick Hearst is really making sparks everywhere, still fun to watch as a slimeball. And the question still remains for me- why doesn’t Trina have any kind of story? It is uncomfortable watching the way they are walking Kelly Monaco out the door. I am not opposed to writing Sam out. But it’s not fun to watch knowing how sidelined she has been and how it has been handled.

Sonny with at least a 6 month stint in jail (across two sweeps) where he tries to mob with a new crew there, would at least be something we haven’t seen from him. We all know he will eventually get released. But even when out, he has a new lieutenant that also gets released that was his Jason on the inside. And this guy is very ambitious. And because Jason now has his kids from Sam full time, he doesn’t want to repeat what happened with Michael. And the new guy spends a year dismantling Sonny’s empire and repositioning it for himself. My dream come true would be Sonny is distracted by Brenda’s return. If not her another woman would do. Sonny is cockier than ever because the five families were decimated. If Sonny has to be here then let’s use him for something he hasn’t done before.

What Goutman did was shitty. I still would support Martha’s position, because there comes a point where you have to take some kind of a stand with these shows. It is still a business. The consequence has always been the network may not budge and you could lose your job. Denise Alexander just wanted some time off in 1984. But the show had a custody storyline they wanted to do with Mike. And they threw tons of money at her, and when she reiterated all she wanted was a break, they (ABC Brass) got mad and killed the character off. GH did let Tristan do what she wanted a couple of years later, he took several months off with a promise to return. IIRC it was when Anna became the head of the PCPD with Burt (Mr. Big). So again, they treat the men differently. You really cannot win on either side with these corporations. All the workers and talent can do is decide their line in the sand and stay true to their own needs. A lot of soap performers do not have representation like other media. Beverlee McKinsey wrote her own contract, and that was back in the 80’s-90’s. They may have lawyers look at the legalities, but many of the vets don’t need agents because they are not looking for other jobs, and as soap contracts have become less lucrative all those expenditures by the talent have been cut. Judi Evans on DAYS being an example of someone no longer paying managers and agents when she left full time acting. Many vets being interviewed after being let go or their show being cancelled have mentioned they don’t even have agents anymore. If Kelly Monaco still had full representation what are they doing for her? She hasn’t been acting outside the show in over a decade as far as I know.

I am going to drag Kim Zimmer into the pay cut discussion. It was a different time back then when she refused. But there is something to be said for watching a show be run into the ground by tptb, and deciding I am willing to stand my ground in a legally negotiated contract instead of taking a paycut because of their poor decisions. And if I did agree to a pay cut as a veteran who earned my money through loyalty and popularity, because again, this is a business, I would also negotiate for something I want. I am agreeing to lose income. Like More time off. Or doing away with my 13 week cycles for the remainder of my contract or at least two years, whichever comes first. I can still be fired. But you have to pay me the full remainder. So tptb better come up with another budget solution if they continue to make decisions that erode the ratings than cutting talent.

An opening I loved, that was quickly replaced, was the one for Sunset Beach. The slow music, back and white visuals photos over color beach, it looked like the show was going to be more in line with a Bell show as far as lush visuals. I think it also had a sense of sexy suspense. They did away with it relatively quickly which was a shame for my taste. That era of GL openings was great, and had so many iconic shots. The candle being blown out, Harley dancing, Kimberly Simm’s Mindy looking in the mirror, Blake with a man kissing her neck, Roger in his tux, etc.

Again, missing the drama because they don’t want it too complicated between characters. Why hasn’t Jason really expressed any anger about Carly immediately compromising herself after he missed all that time protecting her the last time? I mean real, screaming anger. I will give Guza some credit here- his team would never ignore something like that, because they loved pitting the titans against each other.

Nothing we have seen so far even remotely compares to what was happening then. He was right, the entire show was mired in misery. They had the affair storyline, his horrible verbal attacks on Liz, the Irish story that also led to him falling in love with someone that was killed, Jake’s death. That was a lot in two years. He never said he wanted Lucky to be perfect, he just didn’t want to embody misery 3 days a week for another two years and he wanted the show to rebuild Liz and Lucky. But that’s not what Guza was doing at that point, and by all accounts JFP was fine with Becky being written out until the backlash.

Reading all these comments and it fascinates me. I don’t want to watch perfect people, that’s boring and not true to what soaps are about. Now I question this production team in pulling off anything remotely about character. But I think it is way more in character for the Lucky that exists right now to want to run. This was the teen who was so sure he would never be anything like his parents after he learned about the rape. Especially his dad. The fact that he has been running away from his family and his feelings for a decade could make for compelling watching. He grew up and made his own mistakes that he must contend with. This isn’t Tony Geary, JJ doesn’t seem the type to relish in Lucky not striving to be a better person like Tony wanted with Luke.

The return of Lucas and also Isaiah help build out the hospital too. Only since Frank have so many major characters been admitted to the hospital and had zero recognizable doctors or nurses helping them. I know it’s a schedule thing, but it’s noticeable. Even JFP/Guza knew to trot out Monica, Alan, or Tony before Scrubs took over.

Whenever fans mention long gone kids of legacy characters I think how bad GH botched Steven Lars Webber. Be careful what you wish for. I somewhat enjoyed the first adult Steven, but without Tricia Cast and Heather Tom, Reeves is useless to me as a perfomer.

When you compare Abby to her popular contemporaries- Alexis, JR, Angela, she stands out for having the most complex writing. Donna Mills knew exactly where the line was for Abby and the audience. I think it helped if you watched from the beginning, and got a real sense of how much she felt her life was diminished by trying to be a stay at home mom and wife. She had ambition for more, and with Gary she had the means to do it.

I love Greg, but he is nowhere near the actor that JJ is. And he was routinely outshined by everyone around him when asked to play drama while on GH. He’s a lovely guy, has a real soulful quality, but came across on GH as mostly a nice, very attractive man. There were not many layers. I have seen him on DAYS and he does seem more at ease acting there, very natural with his screen partners there. It’s the Marcus Coloma vs Adam Huss thing to me. Coloma was more popular, and Huss only had a handful of episodes and I felt he acted circles around Coloma’s Nikolas. I would rather see Genie, Becky, Dom, etc in scenes with someone that is capable of matching their level. When the show lets him have some fun, he still has that Robert twinkle in his eyes. But he is older now. I appreciate that he isn’t afraid to look his age. While everyone keeps talking about how great she looks, I see how much effort it clearly takes for her to perform. She used to seem effortless. Really makes me feel for everyone that still suffers from Long COVID. I am glad she and Tristan are still allowed and capable of dropping in to the show.

I’ve seen the entire series all the way through maybe three times. Not since SoapNet though because it was hard to find on YouTube in its entirety. I think Michele Lee did her best work in seasons 3 & 4. She really grounds everything while grieving for Sid and then her developing feelings for Mac a year later. I think she is often over the top and hysterical once the Diana/Chip on the run plot begins. I do love the conversation they eventually have where she asks to be treated like a person, not just Diana’s mother, with Diana asking for similar from Karen. I don’t disagree that Diana would fall for Chip and be under his sway. I just think that maybe she might have lasted another season or two if they hadn’t made her so unlikeable. And part of that would have been a different take on her side of the story. I think it’s also much more than that though. Once she realizes Diana knows who he is and what he has done, I think her need to control her goes into almost panic mode. Because she and Sid did not raise someone to have those kinds of morals, and she cannot fathom her making her own decisions when these are the choices she’s making.

Started season 5- I have seen all of this more than once and every time I just hate Diana more. But now at the beginning of the season, I think they had an opportunity to play more of a cat and mouse game with Chip and Diana than what we are going to get. There could still be friction with Karen, but not to the same degree. It makes little sense to me for her to be so fully in Chip’s corner once she knows he was a liar and possibly killed Ciji.

With studios being so wary right now to try anything new, I am not shocked that they are looking into their catalogues for IP to use and landed on using soap characters to anchor some tv films to guarantee that at the least first one has eyes in it.