titan1978

When Nikolas died the first time when Tyler left, Jon Lindstrom commented to Genie that the show really asks a lot of her compared to others, including himself. Tony Geary used to say she was only happy at work if she was practically bleeding for them. It is a shame that she’s so solid for them, and people like Maurice and Tony had more power and took it for granted more. But then again, she at least had the guts to quit several times instead of just languishing and bitching about it.

This is why I had a problem with this story- if it was supposed to matter, and Frank had any balls, it would involve a regular. Not some rando character. And I thought he was fine with the material, it just wasn’t worth it to tell.

Soap fans will always be wildin’ out in these (online) streets.

You cannot tell me that there was no dark haired actor out there looking for a job in the correct age range with a decent body. Adam Huss would have been a better Jagger than this guy. And as I said in the other thread, he’s not a bad looking guy. But for Jagger? Nah.

Right? And he’s not unattractive by any means. He’s just not Jagger. What a stupid recast.

I always liked that they poked fun without denigrating soaps in a mean spirited way. Which is what normally happens in situations like this. I hate what Roseanne has become. That show was so important to me as a kid growing up in the Midwest with a family dynamic similar to the Connors.

I liked her too, and she could easily have been the type of character you described for years. Look how long Sami lasted on DAYS before she was pretty much fully redeemed.

With all due respect, Sally Sussman Morina did great work resetting many of the characters to a recognizable form. She just didn’t have any plot engine to drive forward. I think that stint would have been successful if she had a co-head writer generating stories, and she was in charge of the characterizations within the stories. Mulcahey may not have been a head writer for long stretches, but he was often high up on the teams. His scripts are legendary, but he has also been an Associate HW, etc. What excites me about Mulcahey- I am interested in seeing the combination of Valentini with a strong writer that is known for character and actual human emotion. Even if it blows up. Valentini has never had a head writer of this caliber while EP. By all accounts she came back with no agenda. It was a last minute thing, she didn’t even have a bible and wasn’t actively trying to get the job. That was part of the problem.

Looks like Avery Pohl is finished on GH for now. They spent so much time with the character, the ending we got was such a letdown. https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/avery-pohl-esme-exits-general-hospital/

I disagree in the sense of launching a new show. They needed that something extra in the launch of the show. And I liked the first PC Karen. But it’s not the same as premiering a new show with the original couple that had been very popular on GH. Anyway, back to Mulcahey/Korte!

Once they couldn’t get Jagger and the original Karen they should have revamped their entire plan. Although I did love having Scotty there with Serena, and Lee and Gail back more regularly. And I liked Debbie Morgan as a no nonsense character. Even if Mulcahey had never been at GH before I would be excited. His work brings so much character and depth.

They never should have launched PC the way they did. She was over extended on both shows, and truthfully, the writing was rough right from the start. They should have taken more care over all. I know it was a little bit of a rush job. At least Riche freely admits she should have left earlier than she did due to her burnout.

One thing I found interesting was him describing Riche as being very involved in story meetings, very detail oriented and point by point which drove Guza nuts. But once decided, she didn’t let the network pull back, if it made it through that process, she did everything in her power to go to air. Which is what Labine said too- if they wanted to do it Wendy made sure if it was approved there was no backing out. Look at Stone- the ratings went down, the network got uneasy about Robin being HIV+, Labine said the tragedy is the whole point. And Riche took it to air without compromising the story. And after the fact, I’m just going to add that sometimes a story is more important than the ratings, and that was a prime example.

In the Locher interview he talks about Culliton without naming him outright. But it could only be him.

People forget things over time too- it is possible Claire Labine is simply mistaken. I tend to believe the first hand accounts we have been given by Michele Val Jean and Mulcahey. We know Guza was working with them before Labine’s material had officially ended, and that Claire was very generous in that respect, letting them set up the changes before she was actually gone. As far as Culliton goes, his only lasting contribution was Carly sleeping with AJ and conceiving Michael, and possibly resurrecting Lesley. Riche made them use Guza’s projections which included stuff like Miranda. The writers on the team kept the tone consistent and their ideas onboard until 1997. As a viewer it becomes increasingly obvious Richard Culliton was the wrong fit there as 1997 goes along.

If only Jordan was being played by a stronger actress. Because I would Burt Ramsey Mr. Big her so fast. A twist to set all those characters in her circle into major story. I would reveal that Cyrus is working for someone, have Jordan revealed as the person pulling the strings, surprising Cyrus that it was her all along just as she kills him. She’s been corrupt the whole time. And give at least 6 months to a year of her going after Sonny’s organization, including setting him against Selina Wu as a distraction. And watch her family explode as it starts to unravel for her.

How heartbreaking.

She didn’t share much time with Brenda and Luke and Sonny were partners in the club. They had a few encounters but nothing lasting. They kind of islanded Laura after Genie’s maternity leave, probably because she got a first in first out agreement with Wendy and ABC so she could be with her kids as much as possible. Some of her co-stars did not like it. JFP certainly didn’t when she got there. Vanessa Marcil wanted something similar to extend her first return and JFP and ABC wouldn’t agree to that, they just kept throwing money at her thinking that would be more important than her kid. For a couple of years Laura suffered the Nikki thing with the ranch on Y&R- her house was her set and where she mostly appeared.

All those kids, all her husbands, Peter August, the thankfully aborted love story with RH… these should have been split between at least one other character. It’s too much for Maxie and it’s why I’m tired of seeing her.

I agree. She has been a real utility player. But Felicia was always one of my favorites. I prefer her in PI mode, she’s always had a sense of fun while investigating. I do think it’s time for Maxie to move to the backburner for a significant stretch. I preferred both Georgie and Lulu to her and have no idea why she has been subjected to so many stories that should have been split up between more than one young leading lady.

Some of these posts are wild. I don’t want Valentini gone, and I don’t hate him. What I want is strong writers and for him to produce the hell out of their material instead of trying to control everything and derailing the writing. I want the show to make decisions that are good for the show. That means people like Roger Howarth and Easton need to be gone. Their multiple characters experiment has been a failure here. And Kristen Storms was very open on Maurice’s YouTube show about at least some of her medical issues. If she is also taking medication there is no telling how that is affecting her physiology. Her gaining weight has nothing to do with any complaints I have. She should be styled better. It’s a fact of life that some people weigh more. That doesn’t preclude them from being stylish. I think after all this time Maxie needs to be backburnered until they figure out a reset for her.

Budget is part of profitability, so I think that does play a part. And these changes we have been seeing since Howarth was let go signify to me that the ratings decline has finally gotten ABC’s attention over Frank producing the show well and under budget. I think a huge part of why he remains is his consistency, coupled with they don’t have anyone ready to take over. He is also the last home grown executive talent for these shows at ABC. I imagine he has relationships above him that are good. Who would they install that could run the show well right now? Tomlin is no spring chicken, and his tenure at DAYS looked cheap as hell. JFP is retired, and I doubt ABC would go there. Lisa De Cozette passed away. Shelley Curtis would be interesting but I doubt she wants the headaches. Riche could come back but does she want to?

Well after years of mostly being left alone, he’s now got a network more focused on him. He more or less chose every HW since he took over GH (or with Ron, was happy to bring him with). Both regimes after Ron had zero power. I cannot imagine him bringing Mulcahey to the table. Now we have new head writers, Roger Howarth was fired and Steve Burton is back. Frank is currently looking more like a managing producer than as in control as he was. I know the cast loves him. We just need a tighter show and he needs to start amping up the drama instead of being seemingly embarrassed by it. Dead

He really isn’t. At heart you have to have the charm and swagger that being Luke’s son brings to things, but tempered by his deep sensitivity and heart from Laura. He also had a special chemistry with Elizabeth. I don’t agree with all these posts that this is an easy role to recast. Frank brought us a Dillon that was completely wrong, and that recast was exactly the type of blank whiteness that Valentini has cast time and time again. You want to bring back lapsed viewers? Jason Morgan isn’t the only piece of that puzzle. And Genie needs at least one of her kids to be recognizable immediately to that audience. That’s why I think this rebuild only works with JJ as Lucky and JMB as Lulu.

It’s not just Laura and Liz, JJ’s Lucky had great chemistry with Dante as well. Someone at ABC- offer Julie Marie Berman and JJ decent contracts with plenty of outs. With Maxie and Sam both barely viable as characters, we need an established woman in their relative age bracket. Plus Frank’s shooting schedule would also give both of them more time off.