carolineg

Bringing JT on as Roman was so, so painful. I actually don't mind him now, but at the time he was just the worst. And we all knew it was coming. The anvil of Roman 'dying' couldn't be more clear. JT played Roman as such a sad sack practically begging Marlena to take him back and ignoring the fact Marlena/DH visibly cringed anytime a romantic relationship was brought up. Wayne never would have played it like that. His Roman had some pride. I THINK Wayne was unavailable because he was on PC, but I wonder if he was even approached. He couldn't have too many hard feelings toward the show since he came back under JER as Alex. It also brought us the Jungle Adventure where John/Hope seeds were planted. I remember the scene of Hope/John making out (because he was delirious and thought she was Marlena) and going what the hell am I watching? Why is this happening? Like I said, I was already hit hard that Summer/Fall with Sonny leaving Brenda at the altar. I did not need John/Hope and an aborted Jarlena wedding too. Tough times lol

RC was pretty bland as Mike until they added Carrie and Nancy/Craig/Crazy Ali to the mix. That was literally the first time he got an actual story I think. I think with so many recasts and weird aging and de-aging Mike is just a pretty ill-defined character. You would think Roman would know Marlena well enough that he wouldn't believe she would leave her baby at home to galivant with John on an extended vacation, but oh well. Also, way to put Shawn/Caroline in an awkward position John and Marlena lol! The Roman stuff did make sense and was in character for Wayne's Roman. It really was a huge betrayal. Not the just the affair, but the lies, and the baby not being his. They did Wayne wrong. The show wrote him into a corner because the way he treated Marlena pre/post-Affair made you want her to end up with John. I don't think Roman ever got a true clear point of view when he returned. He was in prison for 7 years waiting to be with his family only to find out he was easily replaced by a 'better' version. That must suck. Instead of the show going with that organic problem, they put Roman/Marlena on the backburner and had him leave for long periods of time on cases and basically be a jerk to his wife and entire family. One of my favorite set of scenes in the affair storyline is the fight Roman/Marlena have right before she's thrown into the pit. It was good work by WN/DH and really got to the crux of their problems. I have always thought it would have been interesting to keep Wayne and have Roman stay on the canvas. Clearly, JER wanted Jarlena as endgame, but there was a lot of time when John was 100% pursuing Kristen where Marlena could have dealt with Roman and the fallout of the affair. It was so strange the show did much of the fallout without Roman and without Eric. I get Roman had to be gone for the Possession to happen, but the Roman character was still so important back then.

Her politics aside, I always had an issue with her holding the show hostage with casting decisions. Sorry you messed up your personal life, but Peter Blake should have reappeared years ago. CM proves that Missy is replaceable.

RC was always so blandly handsome to me. Attractive, but nothing wow. It looks like MV doesn't have much going on these days, but he's still pretty hot. Jason Brooks is the comeback I am waiting for. Dump Missy permanently and get Peter Blake back.

Well, I assume the producers told Shannon since she hadn't interacted with Nicole since her daughter was in preschool. Right? If Nicole just appeared at Heather's house it would make sense, but it seemed like her and Nicole had some sort of established relationship. Heather seems pretty intelligent, so I would think even if she wasn't previously 'friends' with Nicole she would have googled her before filming with her.

I guess I am confused on how Heather/Terry didn't know this before Nicole was cast. I can't imagine Terry doesn't know the names of people that have sued him. I am assuming the producers knew, but this all seems so odd.

It felt like John/Marlena were held captive for months but I am sure that's not true lol. Who was even watching Belle/Brady? Once Jen, Billie, and Kristen decided to hold that party it moves quickly. I love MB too. I flip back and forth with that and Aremid as my favorite arc. A lot happens at Maison Blanche, but I feel like more happens in Aremid to a lot more characters if that makes sense? But everything ties in so seamlessly from MB to the Possession to Aremid. It was so well thought out. By Paris, it just felt like JER needed a summer event so why not a Cage and underground city in Paris lol.

Clink Boom was literally the shock of my life on GH. I had no idea. I waited patiently until Monday because I assumed Lily managed to escape the car bomb lol. Such a good soap moment and Brenda just married Jax. My teenage heart died lol. Hope's return, while shocking, wasn't as mind blowing as Lily going to bits on GH. I felt like you could immediately tell it was Kristian Alfonso so you knew what was coming very shortly. I give Roman a slight pass. He wasn't dumb just very jaded. Of course Marlena would never call and say what a wonderful time she was having with John, but his whole world was turned upside down. His wife cheated with his "bff", his baby was not his baby, and his other daughter was borderline psychotic. It's a lot for a man to deal with. Plus, didn't Carrie still have acid burns or something? And Eric was MIA? Poor guy. John was hot in those MB scenes. Long hair and all. And the lengths John/Marlena went for each other. SWOON! Jen was dumb and so was Kristen to fall for Peter/Tony's acts. I guess TADRE was still "good" here, but Kristen's staunch belief Stefano was dead was stupid. Like has she met him? JB as Peter will always be super hot and I give Jen a pass as well..

The Killing Pool is exhausting. But that was SSM and I feel like the show was just trying to finish off ED's run but with no investment. I think recasting Wendy sorta screw up plans for that whole story. And Thyme Lewis was pretty bland, although very attractive.

I actually prefer that cute, natural pic to some of the obvious cast/magazine photos they use. It looks like an actual real life photo.

I would assume the teens in this era are being smart. In the 90's even if the teens didn't book another great job they had some security in GH at least being on the air. I think this crop is aware GH won't last forever and are just getting secure backup for a future non-acting career. I also think being on a soap and vaguely famous does help open a few doors as far as college acceptance, so strike while the irons hot. I can't fault them for thinking ahead.

There were multiple pics of Justin and Adrienne, so I wouldn't mind pics of Sonny/Will, Bo/Hope, Shawn/Belle, and Isabella, Claire, Ciara etc. in lieu of the odd pics they had showcased. I agree Chandler Massey/Zach Tinker should be there but I wonder what the cost would be to have the past actors in photo shots. I don't hate John being there since they have a huge array of pics, but they are missing some fairly obvious ones.

Lol! Got it. I was like why is there a John glamour shot when Victor is pretending like he barely knows him in this episode? I know Victor/John used to be close, but maybe a John/Brady or John/Isabella pic would have been better. I am sure they don't have to pay Staci Greason much for use of her image. John/Marlena don't have pics of Maggie/Victor in their home.

I have always assumed Marlena/John were his favorite couple. Or maybe just Marlena was his favorite. It didn't seem like JER liked Bo/Hope at all. It seems liked he clearly liked Bo/Billie much better and RKK/LR were fabulous together. I can't remember if I thought MV had good chemistry with Missy. I obviously thought her and Jason Brooks did. They both were hot. Lucky Jen lol.

I have always wanted to read those fanfiction novels, but never have. Are they any good?

Definitely. I was thinking how Ben being Jarlena's kid would effect relationships biologically. And I was like, welp, Claire will just be related to more of the town lol. Idk, I always get freaked out by a possible Jarlena 1986 baby because 2 seems like the number of kids a supercouple has to biologically have on Days (Doug/Julie aside) and I am shocked up to this point a second kid for them hasn't popped up. Anyhow, I liked Lani/Abe and Paulina/John today. I liked Abe was putting the blame on everyone involved. And I liked John/Paulina comparing MarDevil notes.

Lol! Just the way VK and Deidre played it made it seem like Marlena was flirting and Ciara was jealous. Obviously, that's ridiculous and stupid, but Ciara seemed more annoyed than a defender of John. I hate putting this out there into the universe, but a while back there were rumors Ben was the lost Marlena/Jarlena 1986 child (which obviously makes no chronological sense with Belle/Brady, but let's say it's a possibility-Paul made no chronological sense either). I hope the reason the Devil is so invested in Ben/Ciara's demon spawn is not because Ben is her long lost child.

From today's show, why is there a picture of John in the Kiriakis Mansion front and center? Super weird, especially when Victor calls John by his first and last name when he is speaking about him in the episode. Also, great hideout spot Ben. Literally that cabin would be the first place I looked if I was looking for Ben/Ciara. Is Ciara just suspicious or does she think Marlena is flirting with Ben? Because it seemed like Marlena/Mardevil kind of was flirting with him lol.

Raises Hand! I didn't see MA's work until much later. MV was my OG Jack. Not bad, but he really wasn't Jack at all. He worked fine for the story they were telling and he was very cute. I forgot Peter was gone for so long lol even though he was presumed dead. I remember the poison paint and jungle madness so well and I still giggle about both those plot points. I can vividly remember most of the 90's on GH and Days. But I tend to rewatch the stuff I liked in edited character/couple form so that helps. Most of the secret available you tube Days stuff is Jarlena centric from that time period so it's easy to remember all those details. I wonder how JER felt about Mike/Carrie taking off like they did. I am sure that was never part of his plan. Unfortunately, I think he made Austin too dumb and sympathetic to Sami and it backfired.

Spencer Olson is Julie's brother Steve's child. Wiki says his mother is Ginny but I don't think his mother was ever named. He was teased in the early 90's?, possibly to be brought back, but it never happened. So he exists but we don't know anything about him.

Agreed. It is a place to park two popular characters for awhile with no real investment. DZ really could carry the show, but since Guza left he hasn't gotten much of anything. You and I will always agree Sam is useless and way past her expiration date on the show. I don't think Kemo's face work is that bad. It does look waxy on camera, but her lips look worse than her actual face. Unfortunately, KM always looked tired and worn out on the show even when she was younger so maybe she is overcompensating now. I agree SM is probably leaving, but a lot of teen actors stay on the show for a long time. Many leave but plenty of teens on the show have transitioned to leads. Robin, Jason, Brenda, Emily, Lucky, Liz, Nik, Maxie, Michael, Kristina, Molly, Laura lol all started as teens and stayed to either lead the show or for several years/contract cycles. I don't think it's crazy to think someone like Eden McCoy might be on the show for a long while even if she leaves and comes back. Probably not the teen everyone wants to stay, but she seems the most invested.

For sure. I can't believe a legacy character was killed off for Gwen and no one even got to react to it besides Chad, Jen, Abby, and Jack. To this day I am unclear if it was accidental or Gwen actually killed her. @Gray Bunny I thought the Carrie/Austin/Sami storyline still had some twists and turns in 1997 especially with the addition of Mike. The John/Kristen/Marlena storyline drug on. Every week Marlena was about to confront Kristen and tell John and was thwarted for some silly reason. I personally think it may have been better if Marlena/John admitted their feelings after Paris and dealt with Kristen being "pregnant" in that capacity rather than the two of them being ridiculous and just living life in misery instead of admitting their feelings for one another. The Bo/Hope/Billie/Franco stuff was just stupid. Even though I think VA/KA dated in real life they had no chemistry and neither did PR/Krista Allen, even though I didn't hate her as Billie. I always felt JER had a subtle disdain for Bo/Hope because he created OG Bo/Billie. I don't think the Jack/Jen/Peter storyline was bad per se, but it was just bogged down by the recasts. Until Jack and Jen went to the circus that was dumb af. But I think that was post-JER.

@titan1978 lol Labine and early Guza does remind you how good MB used to be and how dead sexy he was with Brenda. In 1996 I remember agreeing with the sentiment that Sonny was a good man who made some poor decisions and then I hate myself for it a little bit. Days in the early 90's edges out GH, but 95-96 GH easily beats Days for me. By 1997 Days was better. I adored Aremid lol. The Jen/Peter/Jack stuff was a weak link with the recasts but the Tony/Kristen/John/Marlena arc was fire. It's the turning point in Jarlena being endgame for sure and Kristen becoming evil. 100% on Carrie being needed to be Sami's foil. The show vaguely tries to use Belle in that capacity sometimes, but it doesn't work the same. Belle was a baby when Sami became a villian, so it doesn't pack that punch of Carrie vs. Sami. The affair works so well because it was such a long term arc. Soaps would never do that today. The seeds were planted in 1991 and the repercussions were felt for almost a decade. People still bring in up! It changed multiple characters trajectory for years. That why I agree Eric was a missing link. By the time he came back he was TeamRoman in the John/Marlena/Roman race, but we didn't know why. We understood Sami's motivations, but JA's Eric looked like a whiny baby. I always thought it was hilarious Sami/Eric needed their parents together as adults, but it's fine young Belle/Brady didn't get their parents being together. Is it worse than the show just casually killing off Laura? Does Marlena even know her bff died? No one even cared.

I totally understand why he wanted to end his own stories, but I wished he spaced out the Carrie/Sami/Austin reveal and the John/Marlena/Kristen reveal since we had waited so long and they both ended within weeks of each other. I remember faking sick a lot to not go to school so I could watch Days/GH too. The Brenda/Sonny engagement/non wedding was the same summer lol. Still have not re-watched that non-wedding due to emotional trauma 25 years later lol. Marlena loved to hypnotize John which is totally ethical lol. I *think* Marlena is supposed to be some sort of famous expert in hypnosis. I swear the show has told me that before. I actually like that Marlena is a shrink and can see others issues clearly, but couldn't or wouldn't solve her own until it was too late. I liked Wayne a lot too. John/Marlena is totally my preferred pairing, but I think there was a lot to do with Roman/Marlena back then. WN/DH have such a nice rapport and chemistry. Very different for what she has with Drake.

I thought DZ/Dante was one of the best newcomers GH had in years when he started. Even through the Brenda/Dante mess, I still thought he was damn charming. He was the only one to have chemistry with JMB and early Lante was a delight. Somewhere along the way DZ lost interest and so did the show. It's disappointing because I have always liked Dante. I just don't see the appeal anymore. Sam/KeMo has always been lame, so that's not surprising. I like the idea of Sam/Dante and think they make a good looking couple, but it's falling flat. It's definitely not the worst pairing, but it did have more potential in the beginning. The fact they share a sibling and she had a baby by his father actually doesn't bother me as much as it should though.