carolineg

I swear I can see Jen Lilley's Theresa replacing documents after Shane dropped the briefcase in my mind, but I don't care to look it up lol.

1997 was awful. I thought 1998-2003 were okay. There were missteps and a lot of poor casting, but I still found it enjoyable. I think the balance Labine/Riche were trying to create couldn't last much longer with soaps getting canceled and Days blowing up in viewers because of ridiculousness. I think Guza had a few good stories up until the James Franco debacle along with the awful Brenda story. I still felt the show had moments of riveting and exciting stuff even if the day to day outside of sweeps was messy. I think Guza just got creatively spent about 8 years before he got fired. But even using the bag of old tricks still worked in some sense. I feel like the show is at the opposite end now. The day to day can be okay, but nothing is happening at all.

That's a really interesting theory I actually never thought of. Mostly because Paul Telfer is in his mid forties and the timeline would be off. The whole thing is off because Paul Telfer and Robert Scott Wilson aren't nearly close enough in age, but I don't know if it's an actual storyline factor that they are about a decade apart in age.

So, I definitely noticed that as well, but I was thinking perhaps we heard Xander's mom's name years ago and the show is subtly trying to change it or just hasn't decided the name yet lol. I also had the thought that Xander's mom might be a past character as well and it's a surprise. Soapcentral has most of Xander's relatives by name and his mom is listed as "Ms. Cook" so I am going to assume I am wrong.

I agree that FV seems well liked by everyone. I think that's key to him keeping his job. Plus, he does the baseline minimum of keeping the show under budget AND winning awards. There really isn't a strong argument to fire him unless you actually care about the show and watch it daily lol.

As a slightly less older, white West Coast American I feel sorry for older, Middle Americans who find this show entertaining lol. I don't come from a place where I have the knowledge or right to really speak about the diversity on GH, but I have always felt FV did the bare minimum with his minority characters and just had multiple black characters to show how progressive and diverse he is. PM did some good work with the Marshall scenes though. The same thing with Selina Wu being around so much. She's not an actual character but she's Asian so it counts as diverse!!! I actively hate ABC soap transplants and have been pretty vocal about this. That being said, I could see David Hayward working pretty easily on GH and VI/FH had great chemistry. I tend to agree they that have too much "star" power and audience appeal for this current GH, but FV seems to be fine working with Burton and Benard. Burton was okay putting his co-workers in danger by not getting vaxxed and was welcomed back with open arms. JJ and VM might care about their characters integrity and vocalize this but could possible bring in lapsed viewers, so it's a no from Frank lol. It makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

I recall the entire letter being replaced as well, but I think there might be something to the theory that Angelica/Xander's mom have similar names since Alex/Xander have the same name. It would make it easier to pull off the con.

I have little hope of getting KMc back full time, but I do think she'd come back for a bit. Even if it was just to transition Emma back and do sporadic appearances. Brenda, Robin, and Lois all sharing the stage again even for a brief moment is my dream lol. I don't know if we will ever get a straight answer about the cast size. FV appears to be very budget friendly and the show has entire families that could disappear and I wouldn't notice. That would free up a lot of cash. I know RH and Easton are personal faves, but it doesn't appear that FV has any particular favoritism to, say, the entire Ashford family-yet they all continue to appear. I never go on Facebook or seek out GH Facebook pages, but it's difficult for me to imagine some of these characters or couples even have 5 to 10 fans lol.

If Frank had any brains he would do a reset and work his butt off to get Vanessa, JJ, and even try to get KMc back. Fire 50% of the current cast and bring some Quartermaine/Wards in to build that family. Bring Lulu back and I would even say try to find a way to bring SK/AJ back. Figure out the teen scene and bring that front and center and recast or age the weak links. GH has enough veterans and actors willing to work that fans like. All Frank really needs to do is cull the cast and focus on a core group. Obviously, a writing change is needed, but I honestly could probably sit through dull writing if I saw characters I liked and was interested in.

Yeah, I remember Eden winning last year competing against literal children lol. I guess they decided to cut it all together. Oh well, I still think it is a viable category if they changed the ages a bit.

I agree that Harrington isn't bad. There is just no reason for him to be Jagger. He could be any blonde FBI guy handling Jason and flirting with Carly and it would have the same affect. Being Jagger doesn't add anything to the character. He now is just someone who knew Sonny thirty years ago. Rena/Lois just really need a story like you said. It makes me so frustrated the show got her back after all these years and she's just in the background of her boring daughter's drama. GH winning multiple Emmys is sad and why I feel like there will be no change anytime soon. Sidenote-did the daytime Emmys cut the Eden McCoy Award for Younger Actor? I must have missed that news lol.

I know right? It's not like Steve wasn't literally waiting for the moment GH called back. It was never more than a gimmick and helping Steve pay his mortgage in the mean time. I don't see this as a boss move or anything. The entire mess of Jagger is ridiculous to me. Lois only works because of Rena and she barely works IMO. It's like let's just let this awesome, dynamic fan favorite make her own self shine instead of actually writing for her. Kristina Wagner is just more low key and "fits" everywhere. She doesn't even need special writing to work.

I don't want either show to go to be honest. Weirdly, despite awful writing and no production Days still feels like Days at it's core if that makes sense. I don't have a lot of good to say, but the show does feature Marlena, John, Julie, Maggie, Steve, Kayla etc and their children quite often. Ron at the very, very least likes history. GH seems to hate history that happened before 1993 when Sonny came to town. And if they do use history it's awful and misguided.

I don't think I am articulating what I want to say correctly but you are. The pieces are there to make a good show. There is a lot of dead weight and uselessness, but it's not the silliness of Days practically filming all scenes in a cardboard box. My expectation is low for Days, but GH has always been classier and more intelligent. I just know GH could be so much better fairly easily.

I have definitely paused or dipped out post-Vanessa returns. It sounds so petty but that's just how I am I guess lol. I have always watched it if I was home and it was on, but I rarely sought it out. Since the pandemic, I have made the effort to catch it on Hulu and stay on top of what's going on, but I don't even know why anymore. I don't really enjoy it and in fact I enjoy posting on this message board much more than the actual show. The characters I like are used poorly or completely over exposed and played out (looking at Jason/Sonny) and there isn't the next generation 'star' that I am invested in. I hope a change will come because I truly don't think the show is hopeless or a lost cause.

That's very true. The whole wedding was staged so awkwardly. Everyone just staring while John is pulling a gun out? Lol. The 8 random chairs? I know Days has about 2 nickels to put together any event, but the whole episode was just horribly directed. Circling back to Marlena, I'll be honest and say she wasn't even NEEDED in this story. Her concern never felt real. I understand her and John figured it out and it is weird the show didn't even explain why she wasn't there though. But then Sarah just decided to go to the hospital instead of her mother's wedding so....🤷‍♀️

Today's show was a bit ridiculous. Why on earth would Konstantin wait 40 plus years to exact his revenge on John, Steve, and Victor? It's all stupid lol.

That I can agree with. Ron had some idiotic ideas, but you felt that he cared. I still see that in him on Days even if that is a hot mess as well. I at least feel like Ron is inspired by some characters even if those characters are named Leo lol. I never really stopped watching GH before. I was spotty in the mid 2000's until Brenda's return and I have watched regularly since. I just don't know why. Mostly habit. There are some stories I sort of like, but I mostly feel like I just wasted 36 minutes of my life when I watch GH these days. I would never want GH canceled or to cease to exist, but I am just completely uninterested and don't see that changing. I'll probably still binge episodes if I am bored on a weekend or something.

Sarah not being at the wedding is ridiculous. Marlena not so much. I was uncomfortable watching Dee/Suzanne in scenes so I could see the show just calling it a loss and scrapping it.

I think GH has been creatively bad for almost ten years I know @Vee said 2016, but I'd argue 2014 really. The thing is GH wins just enough awards, gets just enough praise, operates under budget, and the cast likes Frank. I don't think ABC/Disney/whoever sees a problem. GH does just barely enough to keep running the same way. Unless someone that truly cares about the show and has power to change it is watching everyday I feel like the audience is stuck in this holding pattern. That's why I am personally stepping away for a bit. The shows quality hasn't steeply declined, I just need @Taoboito send me a smoke signal when GH finally decides to bring Vanessa back. Otherwise, I am uninterested lol.

Thanks! I couldn't recall an exact moment where the dates were changed back, but I knew it happened. I think Paulina/Abe's wedding was referenced in current time when it occurred as well.

I don't think ALL their early stuff was good, but I thought there was real effort to save GH around the 50th. There were returns, excitement, decent plots, call backs to history, etc. At this point it feels like the show is turning a minimal profit so FV is fine, but no one seems passionate about the show.

Their early stuff was good. I liked it. But Guza did a lot of good work too. At some point the show outgrows the writer or producer. The burnout started happening years ago with FV, but here we are completely ignoring ways to make the show better because FV reaches the bare minimum standard as a producer.

I am 99.9% sure it's back to present day. They've referenced the date and year a few times. So someone (everyone) could just be lazy, but I think Salem is in 2024 not 2025

Very true. But I think the fact Will/Sonny are bff with Chad at least make me take note they aren't the same age lol! At the same time I think Ava/Harris are older than Lucas as well so it's all murky. EJ is Lucas's contemporary and was born in 1997 and Belle/Brady are younger/similar age to Abby so TIME does not exist in Salem obviously.