carolineg

I agree especially since Joy told Alex the same story a few weeks ago according to Alex. No offense to Joy or Johnny, but they don't seem smart enough to coordinate fake stories if they got caught lol Allie, Sami, Tripp/Wendy, EJ vs. Paulina etc. Even the baby Chanel lost possibly having birth defects would have been a story if she was able to continue the pregnancy. They both get a lot of airtime, but they end up with plot points and no long term story.

They did. They used that boat scene with Luke and the outdoor tram scene with Sonny/Brenda for a decade. To be fair, it looks cool and it's sort of hard to make out who is in the scenes so I suppose GH didn't care.

Characters names are the only thing relevant so I'd drop the actor name if it were me. That's what end credits are for, but I think other soaps were doing actors names in the opening so GH just followed suit. I'll have to look up the FOTH opening with names. I am having a hard time picturing it right now. ETA-I just looked at the 2004 opening with the names. It doesn't bother me. The fact they use a PR location scenes from 10 years ago and the same couples insert with different couples make it feel like a lazy update though.

Haha! I liked it. The graphics were a little strange and didn't correlate to the characters sometimes, but I appreciate the names of the characters and actors on there. Honestly, I could use that now for frame of reference for this huge cast we have today. This current opening feels like I going to get a seizure while watching the bright pictures flash by. I am all for redoing FOTH wit Dave Koz's version. It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to replicate or that difficult to add or subtract a character either.

I loved the original FOH opening. I guess it could be considered dated, but I would take it back today. I disliked the one after where the men were all sitting in the chairs and by the end like half of them were dead but still in the opening. This was the last halfway decent opening and I think it looks cool even if I don't understand why the ambulance at the end is about to run someone down. I am sure it's much too expensive for today's budget though.

I think Johnny/Chanel struggle with the loss of LA/Allie from the canvas. Allie would always be an easy way to cause issues for the couple even if it wasn't a love triangle. The show doesn't seem to know what to do with this couple and they keep getting stories that go nowhere.

It's funny seeing Jagger living in that cabin for awhile. Was ASJ filming something else? It seemed pretty ridiculous and most of the time people just came to visit him. It may have been the story plan but it seemed weird for him to be in a entirely different location away from everyone else.

No problem! Clearly my most prized possessions are my Brenda edits lol so once I have a date it takes me only a few minutes to look up on my laptop. They also celebrated Lulu's 4th birthday on Aug 10 1998 if anyone is wondering. Shell and Lynn do look a lot alike in this episode. I never really noticed that before. I am always shocked to see that opening in 1993, but I am pretty sure Faces of the Heart becomes the opening on the anniversary that year so it's updated soon.

I think she revealed her age when she was talking to Jax in either 1996 or 1998. I want to say 1998 to gear up for Veronica's return, but Brenda did talk to Jax a lot about her family. ETA-GH wiki said she died when Brenda was 4 and it was revealed on Aug 10 1998. I would have to look that episode up, but my memory was probably just off by a year in my head* The tale of Veronica was a bit expanded on through the years and the circumstances were murky. She left Harlan then "died", I believe, and she was a drinker but more eccentric than an addict. I got the impression that some of this was in Brenda's head as far as Julia's mom vs. hers and Harlan did love Veronica and was extremely upset she left. Apparently Veronica was much younger and a free spirit and was stifled by Harlan and a young child. What her illness played into this is unclear at least to me because a lot of this was said by Veronica herself and she was clearly an unreliable narrator. Harlan loving Julia more than Brenda appears to be true, but I think the reasons aren't exactly what Brenda or Julia thought they were. As I said, this is not one of my favorite stories so I tend to fast forward or skip some of 1998 Veronica scenes because she just annoys me. *Veronica says Brenda was 4 when she was presumed dead on the French Riviera to Jax to prove her identity in that episode and Jax seems to accept this answer so I am going to assume that's correct. Luckily it was at the beginning of the episode so I didn't have to watch a full hour of Veronica lol.

She was presumed to have died when Brenda was around 3. So, yes, it was a retcon when she came back from the dead. Brenda was so young and Harlan kept no pictures of her in the house hence the reason she didn't recognize her mom when she appeared. Brenda basically only heard stories about her from servants.

I know a common complaint in Brenda's 2010 return is that she let Carly get the upper hand too often. I think VM heard that feedback and leaned in to it. She never took Carly seriously before and she had nothing to lose at that point. Oh, lol. I don't even remember that so it clearly was dropped. I was thinking of the time she was high on PCP or whatever and fell off a roof.

I have to believe Emily's pill habit was just a catalyst to create more suspects in Dr. Dorman's murder. I don't think it was ever intended to be a story-more just a plot point in a larger story.

It seemed like Vanessa was at least enjoying herself during that return. Unlike in 2010 where she really only seemed to enjoy scenes with Sonny, Jason, Jax, Robin and sometimes Carly. There was something quite 90's about Brenda boasting about sleeping with Michael to Carly and Sonny immediately blowing a gasket about it, then realizing Brenda was lying about the one night stand. The little moment on the plane where you weren't sure Brenda was actually telling the truth about Michael was a nice little detail, but again 12 years later it doesn't matter much. I doubt the show would ever bring that up today.

I was never a big fan of bringing Veronica (Brenda's mom) back. The whole arc was rushed and undeveloped. I do think Brenda's return story would have made more sense if Brenda stayed with Alcazar so long because he was holding her mother hostage and Brenda had to stay with him. I never really loved the whole I am dying so I am sparing everyone of my slow death by faking a quick death nonsense lol. Yes, I did hear her speak mostly positive things about the Jason/Brenda pairing and it does seem like she and Steve are friends or at least friendly. Considering Jason's current romantic prospects it's not a bad idea. The whole Dante mess isn't even something I want to get into anymore. It is icky, but it's really a no fault situation for Brenda/Dante since they had no idea the other existed. It is nowhere near the ideal story I would craft for Brenda. It's just ultimately extremely annoying months were wasted on talking about this 'secret' when it was a whole lot of nothing in the end.

I agree it's highly unlikely Vanessa would return long term and it certainly wouldn't be under FV's regime. She clearly doesn't need to work and was careful with her money. I also agree Vanessa wouldn't return for anything but a Sonny reunion. With Jax out of the picture that seems quite easy to accomplish. I suppose you could give Jason/Brenda a shot, but I doubt Vanessa (or Mo) would be into that. VM is quite clear on what she wants and what she is worth so I doubt the show would even seriously test her with someone new. I don't think we've seen the last of Brenda on GH, but I don't think it will ever be in presence as strong as her leading days in the 90's/early 2000's.

Oh, I don't doubt you. I remember hearing several eye rolling quotes from Hapka when he was fired. I know he had a big issue with the Melanie/Nathan romance and how the show built it up only to just randomly fire him before they reunited which was basically Nathan's entire arc. I actually think some of MH's points were probably valid. He just came off like an entitled jerk who was too good for his role. Judging by his (lack of) work since then he may have overestimated his talent. He was a good looking guy though. I honestly think if he kept his mouth shut he could have ended up on Bold or as one of Maxie's bland boyfriends on GH.

I haven't read where he actually said he was "better" than the show and now want to, but he made a lot of public digs at the writing and it wasn't an amicable parting. Hapka just sounded bitter and immature. I doubt the show would ever ask Mark Hapka back. His two years on the show weren't memorable enough. I could see him coming back perhaps even with a son/daughter Holly or Tate's age. Like you said Nathan wasn't very defined. You could make Nathan almost anything. Bringing Nathan back would have been much better than that whole Bobby/Everett/Blake Berris situation we got instead lol.

I think that's more realistic, but have any soaps done a story where the rapist is never identified or caught? I can see fans wanting closure. Strangely, I don't recall feeling the need to know who raped Elizabeth because the aftermath of her story was so interesting. I don't think bringing in Brenda/Emily's model photographer as the rapist was an inspired choice or anything. I believe Ron was trying something in Brenda's super brief anniversary run. Brenda was acting pretty selfish and petty. I think the fake sleeping with Michael and being at odds with Sonny would have been an interesting arc if it played out longer, especially adding AJ/Carly into the mix. Since it all ended in a few days there was really no point although I did feel like Ron got some of the fire and spark the Brenda character had been missing in 2010. I just don't think current GH would be brave enough to try something like that with Brenda. She'd most likely be used again to prop up Sonny (and Jason) and fight with Carly. If you look at Jason and Lucky's returns the show might start something like Jason vs. Sonny or Lucky being a deadbeat dad and almost immediately back track that and go back to the status quo.

Stephanie doesn't need another man fighting for her on Days, but I believe Nathan/Stephanie were a couple at some point. I never found Nathan terribly interesting and mostly remember him chasing Melanie, but I think you could tie him in on Maggie's side. The Horton house is pretty full these days lol. There are quite a few men in Nathan's age range currently on the cast though. I don't think we ever even found out who Nathan's father was, so there are places you could go with the character. Plus the show can always use another doctor. Frankly, I am surprised the show didn't recast him years ago when the character was more relevant.

It could be drama. It's hard for me to picture anything FV and co would do with Brenda since they don't care at all about the character. I just don't think it would be too outside the box-work at Deception, push and pull with Sonny, hanging out with Lois, etc. I doubt GH in 2025 would take any risk on such a popular character and put her in any perceived negative light.

Horrible thought. Brenda already has 1 too many kids. I wouldn't be opposed to her throwing Kristina out of a window, but Sonny would probably be sad about that if he doesn't die of his heart attack yesterday. 😂 I kid, it's more likely Brenda throws Kristina out a window than Sonny dying.

That sounds plausible to me. Killed by the police or killing himself could have been a turn taken although I am glad the show didn't do that. Kidnapping Robin without her meds was a pretty deep hole to dig Tony out of but I never felt it was entirely malicious. He just got into a situation he didn't think through at all and wasn't in his right mind. I have never heard the Liz rape theory. Very interesting. I can wrap my mind around it because I think there were multiple clues it was possible. I glad that got vetoed too. That really doesn't seem like Tony even while drunk and a bit crazy. The Robin/Michael stuff at least made some sense. So stupid. I am sure there are Sonny/Brenda stans that ate that up but not me. It made Jax and Brenda look stupid and Sonny turned her down anyways for Konnie. No point. Except for a few funny Carly/Brenda moments and the vague Michael tease the whole return was worthless. I would hate for that to be my last memory of Brenda on screen. Even Brenda coming back with Michael's kid at some point (which I do not endorse) is pointless because Michael has already built a Corinthos level stable of kids in 2025.

I always thought Tony was relatable. A steady guy who got bogged down by troubles that caused him to break in the end. He was handsome, but not overly so, hard working, reliable and a regular guy. A nice contrast to his brother and his romantic and superspy laden tales. He also had a great rapport with most of the cast he worked with even in small scenes. I always remember the scene where Tony ripped apart Dr. Dorman#1 for refusing to operate on Stone because his case was terminal. Tony didn't have a ton to do with that story, but his presence and integrity as a Dr. was needed as a small touch. Tony is definitely one of the characters you don't truly appreciate until they aren't around. I never disliked Tony and Brad Maule did some great work. GH could really use Tony right now though. I wonder. I have to go back and rewatch. Did you suspect suicide or Carly actually killing him when she shot him in court? I am glad it didn't happen at the time because Carly was definitely framed as being 'right' for shooting Tony. It weakens both characters IMO. Brenda was committed to Jax in 2003, he dumped her at the altar and it ended. In 2010, they still had a spark but Brenda was now all in with Sonny and Jax was dedicated to Carly. Since we never saw them reconnect on air before 2013 it was odd. It felt like a situation where they were both settling. While I will always believe Brenda is the love of Jax's life he knows he is second best. Brenda just looks like a wishy-washy fool getting back with Jax and engaged for the 100th time and immediately begging Sonny to take her back. WTF even was that? Lol. Why screw an entire fanbase for, what, a week's worth of story?

Yes! This sounds like the most interesting story to me and seemed ahead of its time. I have only seen the briefest clips and reading about makes it sound a bit more confusing than it probably actually was. I would love to hear if anyone on this board has seen it although I am sure if I looked through this thread people probably have.

Very interesting take. I always thought Tony was so judgemental and ragey because that's the only way he knew how to deal with things. In his mind he did everything right with Bobbie-which is obviously not true-but I thought that was his thinking. Bobbie lied and cheated. Bobbie was "damaged". Once Carly came along it gave Tony a sense of new life and new purpose. Then she cheated and lied to him even though he thought he did right by her too. His actions are debatable on that, but I can see that anger and condemnation when he felt like nice guys always finish last. The devastation at knowing you slept with your own wife's daughter and the child she was carrying wasn't yours would drive most to a breakdown. Since both Bobbie and Tony mostly floundered after the whole Carly/Michael saga I can see the logic in putting them back together. The romance felt done. I liked that they became good friends. It's similar to the way I feel about Jax/Brenda. I loved them, they were popular, but there is too much there for them to go back to a romance. While I still feel like there are things unsaid and things to do with Sonny/Brenda even if Sonny is far more toxic in general. Thinking about Bobbie's post-Tony romances I can see a strong argument for them to find their way back to one another though. Tony never really got a chance at romance post-Carly.