titan1978

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.

Abby’s conversation with Olivia before she leaves in season 10 is the last glimpse we got of early Abby. She did all the coupon clipping and the attempt at being fulfilled as a housewife, and it was suffocating for her. She tries to make Olivia see that she will probably suffer the same fate playing house with Howie. And points out the differences- Abby wasn’t able to skip that part, she struggled. Olivia has never struggled with making ends meet or truly having no safety net while also not having her wants and needs fulfilled. That’s why she takes everything from her- it’s part control and part the lesson that Olivia needs to start being strong enough to face her choices. Olivia clearly thinks it’s only about control, but I think it was deeper than that. Mills plays it like she knows best and also that she sees her own choices at that age and how much that left her unchallenged and unfulfilled. Has anyone had time to check and see if the episodes that didn’t air or the wrong one aired has been fixed?

Somehow I couldn’t find this so thanks for posting. Do I think Valentini is petty enough to get rid of Billy because he isn’t being a “team player”? Yes I do. Do I think how Kelly behaved online and in the studio about the story would piss Frank off enough to sideline her? Yes I do. I also see him firing someone under the guise of budget that he just wants rid of, and can use several lanes to do it. The stuff with LH coming on as a temp for the funeral when KM was available to film is very indicative of something being afoot. We know she is absolutely being paid for her guarantees and that the show is not working her enough to meet them this year. So she’s being paid for not working. People saying this is just like what happened at DAYS is ridiculous. AA’s behavior is against the law. So far what we know about Frank’s behavior is petty and potentially vindictive. But that’s not harassment and sexual harassment level. The cast signed letters, asked for multiple investigations, and then went public. That hasn’t happened here. He’s just a shitty boss. I may think Sam’s not needed on the show anymore, doesn’t mean I am not enjoying FV being roasted.

The botched nature of this screams FV to me above anything else. Did he think just sidelining her for years would make her fans and the JaSam fans just forget about her, so firing her would be a blip? Those people have been rabid fans for 20 years. The other half of the Liason wars. Those JaSam folks are all up in arms for a pairing she herself no longer wanted to be in. The timing is also not in Frank’s favor. The whole Blaze/Natalia thing was still simmering. Tabyana not having anything to do for months was still simmering. People that like Howarth and Easton were still simmering. The writing debacle. It’s a truly amateur and stupid move to make at this time when it comes to his public relations online.

The first part is subjective, we can all watch and have our options about what the actors are doing. But the second part is the issue- we do not know what happened with any of these people! It is not clear that her money was reallocated for JJ’s return. It’s not clear that everyone was asked to take cuts, or that people didn’t have to. Burton already took a cut to come back. Perhaps Finola did already as well. Or maybe she was asked and did so. People that think this way also attack the actors like they have any real power anymore. Those days are way over. I do absolutely think there is an issue between Monaco and FV. She has barely been used in years. Direct your ire to tptb for firing her the way they did, and for the power struggle that has left the show in story shambles it is barely crawling out of.

It was a mess, but those were some of the best scripts the show has had in a decade. Not that it matters now, but uncredited he gave KM and DZ the material to make their families seem like actual people, and their relationship felt real. He gave Nina a brain and a purpose beyond begging for Sonny to take her back. There was good in there.

You are right, she has been posting in support or calling out unsubstantiated rumors. She is not responsible for what others post that were nasty simply because she retweeted positive posts from those people. I haven’t been able to find Billy Miller’s mom’s exact words, but what has been shared is not great.

Her mother and Billy Miller’s mom have been adding fuel to the fire that she was targeted by Frank unfairly. As I read more posts attacking other actors, I am less sympathetic to their cause when it comes to many of her fans. I have seen multiple posts claiming that Jonathan Jackson was offered some fat contract like he had in the JFP days. That Finola wasn’t asked to take a pay cut, and that’s not fair to Kelly somehow. That Laura Wright should be fired first. I am as sick of Carly as can be, but LW never looks bored or phones it in. That Maura was spared so KM had to go. That cutting all the recurring characters is the same on their budget as Kelly, or people like Gio. That Steve Burton still has the influence he had in the 2000’s and could save her job. Tagging actors in posts like this. WTH is wrong with people. Soaps have such a small fanbase considered to other celebrities, that it’s almost impossible to avoid stuff like this online. I feel for them, they are not in control of the shows. Kelly was in the top earners. This seems sudden enough to be budget, but also possibly more than that and the opportunity presented itself. i think it sucks to be fired, and if Michael Easton and Roger Howarth had not also been fired within this season I would be much more upset for her than I am.

I have no issue with despicable. Just don’t try to also have him be romantic or on good terms with these people. Alexis has terrible taste in men!