titan1978

I read this too, she’s quite candid. I hate that they used to make fun of her for basically just being new to acting, even though she acknowledges the times were different. Soaps lost a lot when we lost people that deeply understood how to work within the medium. She has plenty of negatives, but Monty was a genius at directing and seeing something that sparks. Even though KW was very green, and Jack not much more seasoned, she wanted F&F to work and so they made it happen. I love that in what is considered a high point on these shows we still had Bill Bell doing it his way, meticulously scripted and developed over time, and Monty showing her way- creating right in the moment and letting the actors help her to get there. And Agnes in there making sure to always have a social story and some fun.

I just now watched and I agree with you, it’s so stupid.

I wonder if their wild shooting schedule has anything to do with stuff like this. Because they shoot way out of order, and it’s caused performers since OLTL to have to try to put together where they are in a story. HBS complained about it when Frank was running OLTL. I can’t remember if it was also her or someone else that said they were filming a funeral and they were having a hard time figuring out who it was, and what the story was. The bts scramble this year has added stuff being filmed just a couple of weeks before air, and that is not common now.

Fans saved Brad Maule’s job during one of his coma hospital stories when Monty was there. This might be the one! Tony had so many major medical issues.

I just wanted to add to this idea. It is not putting down the genre to have real world knowledge of how hard the work is. One of the reasons Vanessa Marcil only signs short term contracts is because the show is a grind, and her outside life is more important to her. Vegas paid her more money, and residuals, and took less time in the year to film. Working on these shows is more of a grind than ever before, and it was tough 10+ years ago when Landon was there the first time. The money also isn’t as good as it used to be. Stability has different meanings in the entertainment business. Even on streamers you can earn soap money, and do it with less actual time on set. And the time you do have it is encouraged to do the kind of work that is creatively fulfilling.

I never want to hear the name McConkey again. Also- Drew can talk about Alan all he wants, I will never buy it. Tristan Rogers looks his age. His spark as Robert was still there today though. One thing this year did right was put Alexis back into the mix of the major stories. She should never have been sidelined to begin with. In near panic mode with that gun about to make a mistake is classic Alexis and I am happy to see it. The fact that Ric and Liz saw her was fantastic. My only real quibble is they could have made this a whodunnit, and kept the audience in the dark for a couple of months. We have lost the smart and insightful dialogue, and any clear attempt at changing anything with Sonny. But today’s episode was mostly fun to watch. Stupid at times, but fun.

Tristan was burned out and pissed at Monty. Finola was too, and Monty kicking her off the show early made it all worse. Riche tried to get both of them back/to stay and they were done and declined. Other than appearances as ghosts when Robin was trying to decide if she should tell a near death Stone that she was also HIV+, they were not back on the show until much later. Robert has been a guest star for most of his time since 2006. They use him better at some times than others. I know he has been on FV’s shitlist a couple of times after speaking out about the show. Tristan publicly stated he was being punished during one of these periods. He really sparkled with Emma Samms during her last visit though. Without Robin I am fine with less Robert, and Anna still being a major player. Finola is more versatile and Anna has more layers.

Another murder on their grounds is nothing to lose sleep over!

Yup!

Agreed! Korte wasn’t the right partner, and we will never know where anything was really going because by the end of March/mid April the troubles were showing onscreen.9 It hasn’t hit me as strongly as these back to back stories have. But I also skipped almost all of Passanante.

As others have stated, Riche had been working towards the tone, Labine and her team really focused on character helping story along. It was pretty seamless, and truthfully the last time the show had that kind of depth was when Marland was HW. PFS and Monty kind of created the GH format as we came to know it. It helped that show was at a high point in terms of casting and characters. Tying the discussion to now, Labine’s first week IIRC she ended Karen stripping and she had a confrontation with Sonny about him manipulating her fragile state. I can’t be up in arms about Jagger- this guy was not Jagger to me. And all that talk about Stone. Stone chose to stay with Sonny over Jagger. And Gina rejected both of them. And he hasn’t been with Karen for decades. He was unhinged, even if Sonny deserved it. My issue is that by his own admission, Maurice cannot play emotional material for long anymore without real world complications in his mental health. That limits what they can do with Sonny. So that means nothing is going to happen to Sonny as far as real repercussions. This writing about the “real” mother of the child Kristina was carrying has moved well beyond being appropriate. They could get the same idea across without harping on that point. Is someone on the show pushing a conservative agenda in regards to surrogacy? That coupled with the fallout of the Blaze storyline with her mother is making me uncomfortable watching. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

Talk about playing Judy Trent on Knots Landing. Being on that show was fabulous! I auditioned for Abby, which eventually went to Donna Mills, and they cast me as Judy, who had an affair with Gary. The job was supposed to go longer but the actors strike stopped production and shortened the length of the season, so my part got truncated. I’d already known those girls for years—Donna, Joan Van Ark, Michelle Lee—but had never worked with them, so it was great fun. I think the show was such an ensemble that nobody really fills the same role Hagman did as JR or Joan. Both of them have an immediate impact and outsized public reception. Both Abby and Greg are dynamic and become focal points, but the show is so strongly written and much more grounded so it feels to me like they just fit in rather than stand above.

When the marathon was first airing on PLEX a bunch of old interviews were popping up everywhere, and it was Joan from sometime in the last 15 years based on her facial work talking about it. I can’t find the clip on Twitter, but I did find an interview where she talks about it, although she only mentions Ted. It must be an anecdote she shares somewhat often because the one I saw also ended with her saying the part about it being the longest running story on the show. From the interview with Joan- KL4me from Montreal asks Could you give us an idea of a story for Val that you or someone else had pitched to the producers that never made it on air? JVA: There wasn’t really anything I could think of, but I will mention that Ted and I went in way early, whenever Donna Mills came on the show, and told David Jacobs that it made total sense that Gary would fall for Abby. I can’t believe I did that but it really provided me with some great stories. AS: Why can’t you believe that? JVA: Because they were celebrating Donna Mills and she became the center but Gary and Val were supposed to be this enduring couple. Ted and I were saying Gary and Val should break up and Gary should go with Abby. It was a pretty big deal to break up the couple that the show began with. So (the producers) were going toward this, then they pulled away but eventually returned to it. David Jacobs was against it but we convinced him. And it was the longest running story on the show. It took a long time for them to get back together.

JE has said Judy was meant to be more of a character, but the show went in another direction. They also toyed with Abby/Gary and decided against it. Joan, Ted, and Donna went to the showrunners and begged them to go through with it. I think his affair with Judy helps cement how pissed Valene is, as opposed to just broken hearted. One affair they could come back from, and did. Another affair, with Abby especially, so soon after Judy? Val can’t stay anymore after that.

Let me rephrase. I don’t think she falls completely out of love with him in season six. I think she finally sees the whole picture for what it is, and begins fully guarding herself from getting hurt. She wants to hang on to what she has, but she is no longer under any illusion about them any more than he is about her. In season 5 and before there are times when Abby is clearly hurt by things Gary does. It changes after the baby story starts. Part of that is she is also in desperation mode to protect herself from any role in the babies being stolen. There is a little naïveté in otherwise world weary Abby too. She moves Gary away from everyone to the beach house and then they end up at the ranch. She has total control over him and in the end can’t control him. And Val is still there. Ben comes into the picture and Val is in love with him but Gary is still in love with Val. To me, when she finds out about the twins being Gary’s, she is resigned to the clock ticking. Her warning to Jill about the first Mrs. Ewing is what tripped her up too. She never goes away, not really.

We have talked about this before, but I love their relationship and now that I have seen most of the big moments play out again, I see the more nuanced sides too. Gary knows nothing he does would destroy Abby. He can hurt her, but not the total heartbreak it causes Val. That gives him some freedom to grow. And I stand by the belief that Abby does love him. She used him too. I think the first chipping away in her love for him was when she sees him in detox after Ciji. But they come back from that, and even though she is stealing from him to set herself up in case it happened again, they find their way to being more like equals in season six. Until Val is pregnant, and she knows they are his. Once that happens, I think the love is pretty much gone. As stupid as the Chopper Bunch episode is, Valene’s conversation about the police and the good ole boys could be used today.

Normally I would skip the first couple of seasons, but this time I’m going to watch it all. I just got through Lilimae’s intro. I really appreciate that even in later seasons she still maintains her self-centered, at times delusional behavior. The Avery’s are the kind of complex couple that you could easily have seen on prestige television today. I could see them on Mad Men, on Succession, etc. They were lucky to get Joan Van Ark. This time around I am really paying attention to her, and she has to carry a lot of the emotional weight of the first few episodes. Val gains a core of strength and Gary grows up. Abby is a catalyst, but the truth is they all needed each other to get where they wanted/needed to be. Even with ribbons in her hair and her sweet dresses, Valene is always herself in each stage of her life. And Gary is so uncomfortable with himself until he gets to the ranch, and uncovers Abby’s betrayals.

If they were trying to be really soapy, Sam would have overheard Dante’s clearly pained conversations about Lulu with either Tracy or Carly and began to question how solid they are as a couple. But we have whatever is happening bts with KeMo keeping the drama from fully unfolding.

I want a cake and eat it too ending for Sonny. Let him and Brenda reunite. They have their third wedding, happy couple stuff for a few months while we create a life around Brenda. And then boom- someone wants the territory, Sonny is shot and killed protecting Brenda. He can even take out the shooter too for MB’s ego. That leaves us with Brenda picking up the pieces, and exploring why she keeps ending up with men like this while hating their violence (Sonny, Luis Alcazar, Balkan’s son, even Jax is kind of dangerous with his brother around). Speaking of Sonny- I can’t stand him. But if he is going to be there, I would rather he be what he is, a remorseless killer. No pillar of the community mobster. And him killing Jagger was fine with me. The actor was wasted on a role that was history in name only. That’s not his fault. End result is the same to me though. I will give the new team credit, it’s been consistently watchable since Kristina threw Molly and TJ’a baby out the window. While it is lacking in deep characterization and beats are being skipped again, it is very watchable. I have felt this way since AJ and crypt sex with Ava.

I have never heard of Nixon being involved in Monty being approached. Just Silverman, who had worked with her before. One quick Google search of their names and here is LC discussing Donovan talking her into it, which is a story I also read from her in one of the 50th magazines. Would you have ever guessed that you’d still be “checked in” to General Hospital all these years later? Before coming to General Hospital, I had been on the CBS soap opera, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing and, when I left that role, I never intended to work on another soap opera. Tom Donovan, who I adored and who I had worked with on that soap, had asked to meet with him and he ultimately charmed me into taking the role of Monica. I had never seen a single episode of General Hospital at that time, but Tom assured me that it was a great fit. I remember my first day on the show was the same day that Elvis Presley died, and I was a big Elvis fan! I could never have envisioned the impact that this job would have on my life.

And your point is? It is well known Guza ported the story he was in love with and created for Brenda onto Sam. If Marcil had stayed the entire purpose for Kelly would have been different. They also may not have hired her for GH. Her initial storylines were a huge bust with the fortune hunter stuff and Jax (and all that crap screamed Chuck Pratt more than Guza to me). Without that story, we have no Sonny affair, no death of child, no Jason taking care of her and a relationship forming. As I said, SAM only exists because Brenda was gone.

Frank does like the shocking reveal. And this would be shocking to me! And I would tune in to see how much Vanessa was able to protect Brenda and play out whatever whack stories they had for her. Funny to remember that Sam only exists because JFP and ABC wouldn’t work it out with Vanessa for her to do the show with her toddler on a reduced schedule to get their bearings. Sam was created for a place to put what could have been a pretty good storyline with Brenda/Jason.

Hard pass.

Do you mean Susan Brown that played Gail? She arrived before Monty, under Donovan.

Didn’t Tom Donovan lure Lesley Charleson to GH as a Monica recast? They worked together on Love is a Many Splendored Thing. I read something she said about him hiring her and then not too long after being fired and leaving her there. Gloria Monty loved David Lewis. Directed him on Bright Promise, hired him as Edward Q, and then lured him out of semi-retirement to come back to GH when she did in the 90’s. Tony Geary was also on Bright Promise, not sure if Monty worked with him there too. Watching that era recently it occurred to me Langan was also bringing some of the Y&R glamour to the show. It is much more lushly produced when the early 90’s sets in.