carolineg

It's sad that the show has to resort to using fake actors as Edward and Lila to be the stabilizing factor on the show. Guza went for big bang deaths and now the show is suffering. Tony and Bobbie and Alan and Monica could have easily been the shows matriarch/patriarchs. Days has a slew of vets that can be comforting like John, Marlena, Doug, Julie, even Maggie and Roman. Gh has Sonny and Carly lol!

I always thought Brad Maule was the unsung actor in that storyline and for basically most of his time on GH. I know we always get to see the flashback clip of him listening to BJ's heart in Maxie's chest, but I never heard much acclaim for his performances over the years. Always really good, fairly popular, and then left with a pity death after years of irrelevance. Jack and Kristina were great, but I always thought BM got the shaft by TPTB. He was a great asset to the show. Not exactly a leading man, but perfectly capable of leading his own story.

So I was watching some old nurses balls and saw the face of the heart themes a lot. Does anyone else find it strange it ended on Mac for a number of years? Luke, Laura, The Q's were all spread out but there is Mac last. It generally ended on a configuration of Brenda, Jax, Robin, Felicia, then Mac.

Lol! Chandler Massey's smirking is much more exciting than any acting Kelly Monaco has done as Sam. She is one of the most boring, monotone, lifeless performers ever. She has always looked like she was thinking about what she was going to order from the bar after work in her scenes. I don't get why JaSam or Sam are popular, but they are. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I guess the biggest difference between 1997 and now is literally none of the stories in 1997 made sense in that episode posted above, but there was an energy and spark to the show. There are certain performers that are still bringing it but everything feels stale. Again the stories aren't awful they just aren't good. Robert should never be just angst for Finn/Anna. When you get Tristian Rogers back use him. The Ryan story is probably the best story right now and it had it's good moments, but now is seems to be dragging. And DOD is literally taking over the show, but I think Shiloh is a pretty good actor. I wonder what Shelly and Chris could do without Frank. They aren't really destructive, but I get the sense they aren't allowed to write what they really want or for who they really want. It must be hard to write for the character of Franco as a hero and a viable love interest for Liz. I agree it seems like Frank has a lot of control. It's a shame Ron's first year on Gh was so good and it all fell apart. He's been just passable on Days, nothing he's done there has been as good as GH's first year under him. Sadly something needs to change and soon. I just get the feeling GH is slowly dying right now.

Garcia and Taggert were totally over the top with their hatred and in 1997 I actually disliked them being so mean to Jason/Sonny because teenage me didn't think the anger was justified. Now I would love for a character, any character to hate Sonny and Jason because they are actual criminals. I want them both to come back immediately and just bother Sonny/Jason like they used to. I would agree that the show now isn't offensive. It's just there. It's boring I feel like even when things happen it's boring. GH still has an okay budget and some good actors everything just moves so slowly or not at all. The show needs a major shake up. I would fire a lot of the cast (Nina, Finn, Peter, Valentin, Kim, Franco, Drew etc-the ones that make some money) and bring back some vets (insert about 10 names that would work). Bringing Jax back was a start but some other recent casting announcements make me wonder why are we wasting time on this?

GH wasn't very good back then. I mean, miles ahead of where it is now, but all those stories were duds. Nik/Stefan/Katherine? Awful and boring and GH was weirdly obsessive about re-pairing Patch and Kayla. Bobbie and Stefan were good together. Jax with V following him around because the police think he is a drug dealer? Stupid. Clearly they had no idea what to do with Ingo after S/B/J round 1 ended. V was okay though. The Dr. Dorman murder veering into the Tin Man saga for Sonny and Brenda? Probably their worst story of the 90's. I still don't really understand how it all lead back to Lily's dad. Thank god for the Nurse's Ball, but I genuinely disliked that twit Gina Cates. Caring about her brother 1 1/2 years after his death? Great. Glad you couldn't be bothered to show up when he was dying. Sidenote: I do get a kick out of how much Garcia and Taggert hate Sonny and Jason.

Funny, I think BH is one of the few cast members that actually always tries even with crap material. Mo has been checked out since about 2005. The last time I remember him trying at all was Soily and his bipolar storyline. It's startling to watch a clip from say, 1995, and see the difference in his acting. With KeMo, I am not sure she was ever checked in. I think her 'acting' style is just monotone with zero energy, although I think she was better on PC. SBu is clearly just there for a paycheck as well. Besides a little spark with the early Liason pairing I don't think Steve has shown signs of life since he and Brenda were 'married' in 2002. Steve actually is good at comedy.

I think the way Roman was in 1981-84 worked for him at the time, but the circumstances and character changed and he didn't. I would think being held prisoner for 7 years and losing all the time with your wife and children while someone else was actually taking your place would make you value your freedom and family, but Roman seems annoyed all the time. Like everyone should just accept him no problem. Also RoJohn played a very different, more mature Roman. It stills rubs me the wrong way how awful he was by going undercover 5 min after he came back and he had 0 sympathy towards Marlena and the years she lost. It was all about him. I also hated his creepy relationship with Sami and the way he totally discounted Marlena and John in regards to Carrie because he was biologically related to her. Also, John and Marlena were smoking hot in the 90's. DH and WN didn't have the same chemistry. I like Roman/Wayne. The TPTB made him unlikeable in the R/M/J triangle and it was unnecessary. The outside factors of the trio were enough to build a triangle on, they didn't have to make one person the heavy in this one. I also don't think Roman would shun Marlena forever for her affair and Belle when Marlena accepted a lot of crap from him ( ex-wife and child he forgot to mention). The way WN was fired and written out let a lot to be desired. The affair was talked about for years but TPTB fired one of the main players in it?

Probably. JER was single minded on his supercouples and J&M were his favorite. JER didn't do triangles with all 3 players being 'good' Everyone was either good or evil. Even Billie, who was basically a nice person, became a schemer under JER. Isabella definitely would have been a villain lol. I think her character arc was pretty decent. She served her purpose and has a good legacy on the show. Though I really would have liked to see the John/Isabella/Marlena/Roman quad play out with her and J&M having the affair and Belle. Although I literally cringe at the nickname Izzy B. It's super obnoxious...but I am not a fan of nicknames. The nickname Doc bothers me too. It's like the least sexy thing you can call your soulmate/wife.

I am pretty sure if Staci Greason stayed the plan was still for a John/Marlena affair just with both parties cheating on spouses instead of just Marlena. I just remember reading on a board or in a magazine they hired Eileen because she was a younger love interest. Obviously John and Marlena needed some kind of angst after Wayne left and Kristen was pretty boring pre-villainess. I do have a hard time imagining Isabella as a villainess but a lot of it is because Isabella is revered as a practical saint on Days so I can't really imagine her as anything but tragic. I don't think SG really has the depth to play the villainess the way Eileen did, but Isabella's background and upbringing would make sense for her to turn bad. I really hated Isabella when I was younger (I really, really loved John and Marlena back in the day), but she isn't awful when I watch clips now. Also, I feel like WN's Roman got the shaft for John. He was written like such a jerk after he returned in 1991. It would be strange to see Brady and Belle at odds because as kids they were literally a package deal. I would honestly feel bad for Belle. She already had to deal with Sami.

I could be crazy but I think they broke up Don and Marlena because they wanted to give DH a younger love interest after she became super popular. The early 80's had so many casting changes and I feel like they were beginning to start phasing Don out. Giving him B stories like the Maggie romance. Once WN's Roman caught on there was no need to go back to Don and Marlena. Conversely, they hired Eileen to give Drake a younger love interest because TPTB thought Deidre was too old. JER is the one that went full force with J&M. I honestly never thought Marlena looked older than John. I think Deidre looked pretty ageless until the last few years.

I am not a Carly fan really, but I think Tamara Braun was the best. She had the best chemistry with Maurice. But Sarah Brown was the best actress. I thought we always knew Carly was Bobbie's daughter or at least it was heavily implied. Or am I crazy? They did bounce SJB around a lot with Tony, Jason, and AJ which I thought was a little excessive. She didn't need 3 love interests.

Meh. I am a woman and don't advocate violence, but Reese was generally universally hated. Just another lame Brendabot. Hitting her was extreme but his words weren't wrong. Didn't Alan have a pill addiction? Did he fall off the wagon? Or is he one of those soap characters that still drink because booze wasn't their problem?

Reilly made characters too dumb. I think John (and maybe Austin) suffered the worst under Reilly. Sure it took them forever to give any sort of payoff in those triangles, but every OTP couple was made to look dumb. ED/Kristen was amazing and Reilly smartly ran with it, but let's be honest there was no reason for John/Marlena not to be together after Aremid. All the handwringing and does he/she love me was annoying after a bit of time. What was John's endgame plan to just stay with Kristen forever and ever instead of just ASKING Marlena (a woman who practically swoons everytime you walk into the room) if she loved him too? Hope/Bo/Billie were also majorly idiotic in their stories. I am not sure if John every recovered from the stupidity of him not knowing his live in fiancée was not pregnant and at times a completely different person. And Marlena, girl, the man wrote you a letter when he was going to die that he always loved you and always will. Outside of him physically saying those words to you-that's probably about the best proof you will get that he likes you. So, knowing this, you are going to let him be with Kristen and 'his son' while you are raising his two other kids? And Caustin never recovered. By the time they resolved that story. Austin was brainless and Carrie wanted Mike anyway. Like you said all the loyalty and self-sacrificing these hero/heroine's did wasn't heroic it border lined on actually being selfish to the person they loved by not telling them relevant facts like, hey, she is not actually pregnant. Or hey, Sami, we aren't one big happy family. I always loved your sister.

They didn't generate a lot of chemistry, but Katherine Bell was one of the most ill-defined characters ever. She had so many romances that never clicked, different careers, different motivations, etc. They tried pairing her with everyone: Ned, Mac, Scotty, Damian, Nicholas!!, Stefan. The only thing I can remember being enjoyable about her was her rivalry with Lucy. The characters of Stefan and Katherine never really made 'sense' together and with more appealing options (Bobbie, Laura) it just seemed very "look at us re-pairing Patch and Kayla" more than what actually worked for the storyline. Then they kept having her fall off that damn parapet at Wyndemere.

I always thought JA could act. He was just wasted on Days. And he was so dreamy to me at 15. Like, so hot, but as an adult I realize Eric was dull AF and annoying. His Fauxman/Marlena pimping was obnoxious. I love when Eric tried to fight John and John was basically saying I am not going to fight you (because clearly I would win) and Eric kept swinging... It was a waste of time and talent. He so much looked the part of Sami's twin and Marlena's child.

As a straight female, I was really excited for this potential story. And then nothing....I think Eric being gay/bisexual would have made great story. Marlena accepting it, but Sami and Roman struggling and Eric struggling with himself. Better than the JA pairing with Nicole.

I know this is from 2 years ago and no one cares, but I always thought they were going to make Eric gay/bisexual and just backed out. I think there was some fan speculation at the time agreeing with that theory too.

While not to hijack a GH thread, but when DH returned to Days in 1991 she literally had her own wardrobe credit. I can't remember the store's name (somewhere in the OC I think) it actually said wardrobe for Deidre Hall provided by.....lol. She wore the same pink suit for like 2 months back then, so I wouldn't brag about providing wardrobe for her...

Yes. They did. Very obnoxious to the viewer who just wants to watch the skating, but they don't really bother me. Tara and Johnny were very good in 2014, but they have gradually progressed into campiness and gossip and I am not sure what they sound like to regular fans or watchers, but they talked almost through entire programs. Tara is actually the one that never stops talking. I work in the figure skating field, so by the Olympics I had seen most of these programs a million times, so I could tune them out because I knew what elements were coming next. Anyway, rumor has it Johnny is very jealous of Adam and his attention he is getting. BTW, random fact, but most figure skaters I grew up with watched soaps. We had very odd school/skating schedules so I was often getting off school/getting ready to skate or vice versa when soaps were on at my house. Most of my skating friends watched Days and/or GH, while most my 'regular' friends were like what are you talking about? Marlena who?

This is neither here nor there on a soap board, but I used to be a competitive figure skater for years. Outside of Johnny's annoying personality, he actually has relevant things to say in regards to skating, while Scott Hamilton used to grunt and scream a lot and used the same phrases for every. single. skater, so Weir's actual commentary doesn't bother me that much. Scott Hamilton is just a more likeable personality, though. NBC got so much positive feedback from Johnny and Tara Lipinski's 2014 Sochi B feed commentary (the one that showed every single skater in every discipline on the old Universal Sports channel) that they fired Scott and have continued to use Johnny and Tara, although Scott was doing some commenting in Pyeongchang this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Adam starts commentating in the future, though.

Not that this is really related to soaps, but he did win the Olympic Bronze medal in the team event (and is the only 2 time world junior champion and a former national champion) and has done ratified (clean) quads in competition before- just not recently. The actual true hope Nathan Chen bombed, Adam skated relatively clean and gave some witty one liners. He's like a less obnoxious Johnny Weir.

1. Exactly. Sam was the worst character ever created. Even Kyle's brother in Season 7 is more interesting. If she was supposed to be the replacement for Jo, they misfired horribly. 2. I think others mentioned there were some back 'n forth contract negotiations with Marcia Cross? I always thought it was ironic how by the time she became an "official" castmember in season 4, she had already outrun her usefulness. 3. Yeah, I couldn't believe how Allison was able to hit the bottle and Jake barely flinched. I liked how Allison eventually went back to D&D, for all of two seconds. 4. Yup. haha 5. It was. Once again, Matt in his own storyline island, with no cute boyfriend (although his boyfriends were always mental hotheads) or the adorable Mara Wilson to make him interesting. Small sendoff for poor Jane. Gone are the days of someone getting a promotion or whatnot, and everyone from the apartment complex coming over for an impromptu party, complete with balloons and cake. Season One was adorable... I like how Soap Opera Digest once described David Charvet's MP run.... "from the moment David Charvet joined Melrose Place, he looked like he didn't want to be there." So true. Sam was dead weight. She was riding off her success from Swingers. She was less bad ass than Jo at her best when Jo was getting beat up by Jake's brother. Marcia Cross way outlived her usefulness. Why negotiate? Syd was a way bigger loss. They should have given more money to CTS or Grant Show, although I am okay with Jake's exit. Alison in season 5 is an utter disappointment. I don't understand why they just didn't have her and Billy ride off into the sunset. It's not like Billy did anything worthy after season 5. Amanda never really had a true rival (even though she always beat Alison) after season 5. I think their rivalry was special because of the love triangle and the points where they are friends. Poor Matt. I like him in second viewing. He deserved a better storyline alway David Charvet always seemed too young and out of place with the rest of the cast although I like Sydney and him together. So did Jenn, Billy's soulmate.

Okay just finished season 5. I had no idea it really was. I remember it being bad, but it's awful. The only mild entertainment is Taylor. I mean David Chavert is funny for different reasons. 1. wtf is this Billy/Sam/Dad thing. No one cares 2. Why did Kimberly go into re-mission only to die? 3. I totally forgot Alison was back on the sauce and Jake was just cool with it? They are one of the worst married couples ever. Truly Her and Amanda and her being back at D&D were a bright spot. I liked them as grudging friends. 4. This show is just a hot mess and it gets so much worse in the second half. 5. Did not recall NLG on the show at all. And that Matt/storyline was so weird. At least Billy and Alison got a small send off. I know they showed up at the airport with Jane, but it was like here's a banner and see you later. Lol

Post Season 4 Brandon and Kelly became self-righteous and annoying. I will always think the show jumped the shark once Shannon left even though Val was a good addition. And I agree Dylan was so out of place after high school like he had no direction. Just him and Kelly were boring. They needed a spoiler and Val was no Brenda in that area. Val's best pairing was David by far maybe because they were dating in real life. BAG sure knows how to score the hot ladies (TaT, VM, Megan Fox) and he grew up good looking. Anyway I stopped watching sometime after 6 and tuned in when Vanessa Marcil joined the show. I liked the character of Gina (but I like VM reading the phone book soo...bias), but the never fleshed her out enough to be a good Val replacement. Her and the charming Daniel Cogsgrove were bogged down with such transparent 'we are the designated losers' in this love quad it was just lame. Did anyone believe Kelly was going to marry Matt ever? I didn't even believed she liked him much. I thought VM and LP had okay chemistry, but Idk VM has chemistry with most people. I liked her and David better. What I find interesting is that she asked to be let out of her contract because she was so miserable and said it was a mean girls club and she was treated poorly. Although I'd be angry too if they made me Donna's sister. Like seriously VM is Hispanic and couldn't look less like Donna if she tried. They showed her mother and she was clearly not Hispanic so that made literally no sense at all. And then they kill Dr. Martin off? I didn't get the point? Overall though I think they wrapped the serious up well. Much better than Melrose's swan song.