titan1978

I truthfully don’t think Genie, Jackie Zeman, and Kin Shriner get the credit they are due for the audience they brought to the show with that story. I have respect for Tony Geary and how the audience embraced Luke, and I get the phenomenon that L&L became. When you watch the whole episodes of that time it is clear why they are considered special. But I don’t think any of it happened without Genie as Laura.

It’s pretty incredible to watch the show from the summer on the run story to her exit, and think about how much pressure that amount of work was for a teenager. Her earlier stories were also very gritty and mature, but when Luke and Laura took over the show she was on 4-5 days a week in some capacity for like two years.

You are correct. But she did used to joke that there were too many kids and it might be time for a bus accident. Actually killing kids was not in the nature of what she did at GH. Her mantra was a mix of Hitchcock and Capra, and pure entertainment. They didn’t do a lot of tragedy. The DL Brock storyline is a real outlier for her tenure on the show, focusing on domestic violence towards the end.

I think those numbers give us a glimpse into streaming. I bet that audience was stuck at home so they watched within the Nielsen window instead of catching up later in the week. The audience is still there.

I don’t think he phoned it in then either, and I don’t believe his issues were intentionally directed at Genie. They were his frustrations with his career being so much about GH when he didn’t feel fulfilled by most of what was written for him over his last twenty years. They all knew that Laura return was finite at the time, so he didn’t have to worry about being pulled from Tracy. It seemed to me he was proud of the work but also stifled creatively by the constraints of the genre. Nobody’s car even slid off the road! Monty would have wiped out some of those kids in a bus crash! I think about what Shelley Curtis said all the time when I watch the show. It was so real too. There is plenty of needed exposition for the plots, and those scenes can easily be knocked out quickly with these tight schedules. But every episode should have a set of scenes that are the emotional core that are filmed with a little more care.

I commented this on the monthly thread, but Willow’s recent admissions with Drew could have been at night and been even more effective. A stormy night would have been more epic and memorable, with lightning occasionally making the room brighter. And I liked those scenes. But they could have been better. Dramatized. My complaint for years is that Valentini seems to run away from drama onscreen.

I loathed what Bob Guza and Jill Farren Phelps did to the show. But I can objectively agree the show looked good, was mostly cast well, and it was written with more depth, emotion, stakes and characterization. The problem was the emotion they chose as their overarching theme was misery. And it was misogynistic to the core, and Jill especially seems to gravitate towards the worst attitudes towards women on the show. She likes them needy, young, and not as dynamic as the men. You could argue Carly wasn’t that way but I would say her JFP era characterization was needy/hostile. I would blame Frons but she loved that kind of woman on GL and OLTL. I haven’t watched enough of her AW or Y&R to compare.

I will never understand why the show is so fixated on Holly’s characterization from her first 6 months on the show, and not the rest of the time when she gave up being a con artist. What’s next, Anna comes out of this crisis with that scar back on her head and we are lead to believe it was always there? I actually liked this cynical Bill the best, and his terrible parenting. What I never agreed with is that Luke would be this way with any kids he had with Laura. In down periods I don’t disagree. And the lead character stuff is baked in from the beginning when Steve and Jessie were tied to everything happening and were apparently on every day pretty much. Even Claire Labine said they tried to keep Luke and Laura as the axis connected to every story. What they did do in the 80’s though is you had three hubs- the main umbrella action storyline usually featuring Robert/Anna, the Quartermaines, and Bobbie being in a lead story that was more grounded with other down to earth characters. There was crossover with the hospital and each story, but those were the hubs as I remembered them. It’s been more an ensemble at points during Valentini than most of the other times. I disagree about the writing though. I cannot speak for pre Monty, but Doug Marland wrote actua stories, as did Pat Falken Smith. It does get rocky from the Ice Princess on, but PFS’s return where she created Robin and the Robert/Anna backstory was a good period too. I would also say Labine through Guza’s exit in 1996 was good. Even Guza’s later era was well written, I just didn’t like what they did with the show. But the scripts were better, the pacing was better, and the characters had a voice all their own.

He’s so mad at Dante I can see him misinterpreting a scene between Dante and Brook Lynn, or feeling like she sided with Dante over him, and marching straight to Willow.

I don’t see this as out of character for Chase. I think Chase, Michael, and especially Willow have changed over time in ways that make sense in the last couple of years, but still seem like the same characters. The only one who you could argue changed quickly with little build up was Drew. IIRC Chase also fell for Brook Lynn during a period of time she was vulnerable because of Peter August, and then her Me Too story with the record producer. He gets off on rescuing women. I see him easily falling for Willow’s lies and eventually into her bed.

Michael’s keys, that Willow slipped from his coat pocket at the meeting with Alexis and Ric, and added the key to Drew’s house. What’s laughable to me is that Chase is such a bad cop he didn’t even try to secure the evidence. He and Willow both touched the key, and could easily be accused of wrongdoing. I loved Willow’s confessions, which were partly accurate and also delusional about her own role in all of this. My one little complaint is that staging matters. I know it’s a budget thing with the lighting, but in the past this confession would be seen during a stormy night and dimly lit.

Emily McLaughlin had a lot of tragedy in her life. It’s a shame.

I agree. I did think of her as kind of lead adjacent back in the day- more than Tiffany, less than Anna. She really saved their ass as the last popular lead left standing when Riche arrived though and they had Ryan and a slow burn with Mac, which all did hinge on KW. She still has a lot to offer and I am glad Felicia recovered from Guza. She certainly helped, as did the show deciding to move on from science fiction and characters that were not working. Holly Sutton helped quite a lot, as did the influx of new characters in 1983 that worked better than the Templeton sisters. I do think several things worked in the show’s favor. First Marland/PFS and Monty made Lesley a real focal point, and she was kind of a crossover between the OG cast and the new folks. Jessie had already been made supporting, and Diana was not Valerie Starrett anymore. The audience was primed for change. The influx of great characters was also incredible. When fans complain about newbies being forced onscreen too much and fast, it’s often really about the story. GH in less than a year has a significant focus on the Quartermaines, Luke and Bobbie, Scotty, Laura, and a newly recast Rick Webber (and those Webbers and Monica were relatively new too). I can’t think of an influx of newbies that successful that quickly except for maybe the Bradys on DAYS and Snyder family on ATWT. I am sure there were complaints. But the story and production were rocking and by the time 1982 rolls around and becomes a problem, they had a huge audience filled with people that were not there when Jessie cried in the medicine room and Steve and Audrey were so tortured. And most of the older viewers that stayed must have liked the new characters because the ratings didn’t completely collapse.

Thank you for these dates!

It’s hard to find accurate information online but I believe not long after this is when Rachel Ames leaves the show for a bit. She apparently balked at a lowball contract or recurring offer, and like Beradino was pissed the show had sideline the OG’s. Much like Jackie Zeman’s 1982 break, online sources claim they didn’t leave until JFP bumped their contracts. But they did, Jackie was gone longer than her time filming a movie. It remains remarkable to me that the show survived staying number one for the year in 1982 after so much turmoil. They took a huge hit, but still held on. Jeff Webber and Diana Taylor gone early in the year, and Steve and Audrey get more marginalized with Jeff gone. Laura disappears/killed off. Bobbie leaves. David Grey is a huge dud. Jackie and Laura Templeton are not a hit with the audience. The writing suffers. Monty was mostly out with an illness for the first quarter of 1982. It’s wild they hung on that year. I loved Anna, stupid scar and all right away. Even with a weak story Monty knew how to cast key parts most of the time. Anna arrives with that stupid scar and coming between Robert/Holly, and still becomes a fan favorite and soon the lead of the show. Finola was perfectly cast. The loss of so much core foundation and questionable writing at times was really only saved by excellent casting and onscreen camaraderie and chemistry being so present with the main characters. And I think the Quartermaines became such a stalwart that it felt like they were there longer than they were. Plus Rick and Lesley and their family kind of became the main family, supplanting the Hardy’s. In Gloria’s defense, the negotiations went south permanently when the network got involved more and was pissed that Denise wouldn’t just take handfuls of cash to break her strict three days a week contract, thinking her ungrateful because they were cutting vet contacts and offering her more. I blame ABC more for what went down there. Finola/Tristan in 1992 and Genie in 1982 were all Monty’s faults though, among others. I can too! I see her fitting in right now quite easily.

Well in his defense Geary was partnered for decades and married for a few years to the same man. A former member huh? I can guess who that was. Lover of all Facebook rumors, wimped out when called on it? Not to mention bad taste on sharing things that should remain private? That former member lol?

Exactly. Frank’s punk ass has run from LGBTQIA+ stories before. Especially if they are not just for comedy and snark. We saw it recently with Kristina, Blaze, and her mother. And truthfully, Lucas. His boyfriend is going all in on evil, so his days are numbered and Lucas can just be the best Judy to several women with bad taste in men too.

I just don’t see this as being real. He couldn’t even get a story with Liz like he wanted, barely had a handful of scenes with Genie (which he wanted more of), or much of a story at all to be honest. And also as you say, Geary was very important to him. I just don’t see JJ as the problem here.

The original storyline was setting up so much rich material, even when it was filled with characters I gave zero f*ck’s about (Stafford’s Nina, Valentine) I was invested. You had this sweet and shy boy who was clearly going to be gay (and also neurodivergent IIRC). His cousin Charlotte was bullying him for both. Nina didn’t believe it was true, and thought the whole thing was teacher Willow’s fault. Valentine was vacillating between Nina and Lulu, and Lulu was ready to intervene and did believe Willow. And you had Liz wanting to defend her child, while also being careful not to push Aiden to say something they were not ready to articulate. And her other boys were also very sweetly on Aidan’s side. That conflict the show ran away from could have been an engine that keep story churning with natural issues between several generations for years! If it had fully been told it would have been very Agnes Nixon. The issue storyline where every character had a believable point of view and the whole town had something to say about it. As it was we didn’t even get a gay prom out of it. They are so feckless!!

I agree! I already liked her and now it has just gone up a huge notch. I think part of why I like her so much is that she has an ease with the vets that makes it feel like she has been Emma way longer. Kimberly McCullough had that ease too but it was well earned because she literally grew up with them. It’s there with Finola, Kristina, and noticeably with Jane as well. Yes, but this is one of those times where it is really noticeable. I don’t even dislike this Jordan that much. But she needs scenes with real players.

As much as I miss cool, calculating Anna, those scenes were great with Felicia, Mac, and Emma. I get that she has been drugged and manipulated. I just want her to come out of this stronger again. Several times in the last 10 days or so I have thought that I missed something. The show is just so disjointed. Anna escaping wasn’t shown. Britt being rescued or having sex with Jason wasn’t shown. I cannot wait for Chase to learn the truth. And Willow/Drew continue to entertain.

I was also confused and felt the same, I’m not going back to get clarity because at best I tolerate Jason.

Thinking about her being doomed to exit anyway, maybe a daring and interesting way to go out would have been to send newly separated Ginger down the Looking for Mr. Goodbar route for her final season. Exploring her sexuality and then she ends up in a murder mystery. Let true Knots Landing slut Greg Sumner be one of her lovers and suspect when she was becoming a liability for his campaign and is killed. Let the characters argue, especially Laura and Abby that exploring your sexuality is not immoral and Ginger’s death was not her fault. Ciji was infinitely better than Kathy, who is only held together around several complete character revisions by Hartman’s charisma onscreen.

Teenage me did enjoy that serial killer storyline though. He had perfect best friend energy, but was never going to be the leading man.

I think timing and Gary/Val got the best of her there too. Val became the tortured divorcee moving on with her life and starting a new one right when the same thing would have been the path for Ginger. Then Ciji gets there and is a more compelling character and singer in the same age range, showing how replaceable she was for better results.