Vee

It's honestly just what Eva said it was: The character was conceived as a heavy for the Kristina/Blaze storyline and was extremely effective in that role early on IMO. She was profoundly unlikable and could've stirred up real trouble in a short run, I thought her clashes with Kate Mansi were strong. Then FV once again fell in love with having a soap name and tried to make her viable and it insulted the audience and their intelligence. It's funny how ELR's take is very blunt and straightforward on why the character never worked and FV is still waxing about her 'successful extended arc'.

The fog of war in that book is clear in that Thom Christopher gives Paul Rauch credit for putting him and Tonja together. That of course never happened. Tonja has always been uh, a little off.

Correct. I think they discussed it in some of the old Tommy Krasker interviews.

I put it in the spoiler thread. It is funny to hear her say yeah, nobody bought it. I am surprised she didn't realize she was in trouble til January. She seems to fully understand the character didn't work because Frank once again decided 'well, let's keep her too!'

Eva LaRue pretty candidly discusses her exit.

It was stupid as hell. But I've seen dumber behavior from soap actors we're all happy to rehire. Whether he is capable of more than suave and cocky I have no idea. I am not wedded to any particular actor choice. I want someone good, strong, authoritative like Phillips and young enough to play opposite BK.

Mfundo Morrison was terrible. I would be tempted to try Maurice Johnson (the first Ted Richardson on BTG) though I'm not sure how strong his chops are. The day to day writing for him didn't necessarily do him any favors.

I think if B&B can keep getting Kanan back it's always possible for him to return to GH. Maybe not under Valentini, but Frank and other former unpersons have made nice before. That's soaps. I would want him, both for that and for re-pairing with Carly (any Carly) down the road. I hadn't really figured all that out. What I know is Justus' son would be a major new scheming lead for the twentysomething set (Trina, Emma, Gio) mixed up with both girls, and he would likely actually not be living among the Ward family. He would be under another identity given his past, probably worming his way in with Drew (maybe as an ambitious assistant) or others as a schemer or social climber before it's revealed who he is. He would come in first, and Justus would be revealed to be alive considerably later. Justus would not know he had a son, and the son would not know Justus is still alive. Maybe only Tracy or someone in the cop shop would have discovered that, and you'd see them meeting with a guy about Tracy's schemes against Drew or PCPD business, etc., and we'd only later discover this is in fact Justus Ward. (Unless you brought back Joe Phillips, but I'd probably go younger for someone to pair with Brook Kerr.) At this point, with Gio ascendant and other options for the girls (not Kai), I'd wait quite awhile. Even though I am a big fan of the Cassadines.

What shocked me about Season 6 of Knots (and part of what makes it probably my favorite season, so far) is that they did a profound 180 on Gary and Abby, and the direction those characters were going in in Seasons 4 and 5. The show and its very strong writing staff clearly realized they couldn't break them up so soon. So instead Gary sees Abby with much clearer eyes after the Wolfbridge affair ends, and accepts her and their relationship for who she is and what they do for each other. It's the most functional, mature and equal their marriage gets, and it was a huge and refreshing surprise to me. Of course it also functions as dramatic setup for the big secret of the twins, but that works too. It was never going to last, but for what it was it was good.

Justus is quite dead, but I'd still bring both him (and Zander, for a short arc) back lol. I wanted Justus back for Portia, and to make him another strong elder Q while also an active player in corporate story as opposed to frickin' Curtis and absentee Ned. His secret son (with Faith Rosco) would be the suave schemer and play with the other youth like Trina, Emma, Gio, etc. I just probably wouldn't bring both A.J. and Justus back from the dead right on top of each other, lol. Like I said there's almost too many active, of-age Qs now, which is wild. I would also make Keesha an activist of some sort. The idea with both returning characters (and Justus' son) would really be to rebuild the Wards and that wing of the Qs as a force on the canvas. Keesha could have children, there's Maya and Zoe. You're spoiled for options, but you don't have to use them all. The longer Mazza continues to shine performance-wise beyond most people's expectations (and flaunt his body) the more I think they badly missed a trick not trying him as Spencer. I suspected he had something but I didn't know he would be this good. And he has more than justified his and also Gio's presence as is, at least IMO. Gio and the idiosyncratic, sharp Emma are very appealing now, even if I would mix them up in pairings with others for a while before reuniting them.

I would probably play with the possibility that one of Keesha's children is A.J.'s. (And might likely bring A.J. back eventually yet again, as a counter to Drew on Tracy's side - I already wanted to bring back Justus and a son plus we have kind of a surplus of Qs now, which is weird to think about.) It just seems an obvious route.

Kelly Jo Minter is a lovely lady I enjoyed in horror movies 35 years ago but in no way is right for Keesha in 2025.

Assuming Steve comes good on his vow to retire in a few years (which given his messy divorce I highly doubt), I would actually kill Jason after he got his memory back in full. He would still be a mix of the two men, still love Sonny and Carly, but he would be deeply remorseful for some of his actions and want to serve some of his debt to society, and would plead with Sonny to consider the same. On his way to the PCPD he'd be gunned down by some old enemies and die in his estranged son's (Jake) arms. It would be a short arc to try to get Steve an Emmy on his way out the door. Why not? He can act when he wants to, and he's been better this last year. As it stands now, though: Steve's role is marginalized and could frankly lift out of the show at any time. As I said a few posts ago, he is now, shockingly, in an inferior and weakened position within what has become a massive Quartermaine resurgence. Whether it's good story and characters or bad they are now the central core family and multi-plot apparatus within the show again. Jason has been subsumed into that end of the canvas and actually fits very well playing off Tracy, BLQ, etc. for all the reasons I have stated. Steve also seems reasonably at ease with it and is not switched off or disinterested in those scenes; Jason is generally respectful of the family and seems invested in some of them. So I can live with Jason for awhile, depending on his role. I just don't see a point in romantic prospects or long-term story. But I'd still probably bring back a recast Keesha Ward, to scandalize his warring fanbases, screw with them and put Jason with her again for awhile, someone totally unlike him, as Keesha would still be a socially conscious, morally upright person. But then I'd probably still kill him down the road lol.

I definitely think there are many better weeks of the show than the first.

Honestly losing Lucky feels like a gaping hole still for me. But you can tell the show is super relieved to have any excuse to get Liz back to a B or C-tier role. At this point (and in the spirit of the recent Michael switch) if Jonathan either won't commit or if FV burned that bridge or both, I'd be willing to accept a very very good recast. That would be the move for Liz for me, but I suspect Frank is relieved to have Lucky gone again. I also would probably bring Zander back for a stint. Chad Brannon is still very hot. Britt or Britt-Adjacent means nothing to me. I've never been able to stand her or KT, but I will allow that she and Steve had real heat.

I've said this before but Roscoe was my choice for Alan and Cat Hickland my choice for Hope Bauer when both looked poised to leave OLTL in '03. There are many good names in the mix here, particularly Jim Storm.

The Sonny, Carly, etc. scenes feel like an afterthought. But so does most of Jason's current presence, hence why a certain someone has been rehired.

I don't think there's any way Ethan becomes Luke's son without Tony. For example.

I think it was the end goal (or at least a partial goal) when Labine originally did it. I always expected it back then. I think it got away from them as Jason became much more popular and Steve much more influential.

Xavier Molyneux (Byron) has already booked the lead in the Amazon series Bloodaxe.

It is not lost on me how much Jason's scenes now revolve around the Qs - backing up not just Michael, but BLQ and Tracy, hanging out in the mansion all the time, seeming very comfortable. Imagine that 10 years ago, let alone 20. I will say Steve gives elder statesman in that way well and fits organically in that context (it's just about the only thing he's doing on the show now that works), something he and/or the show fought for decades, but I don't think it would ever have happened if not for a) his time away and b) the fact that Billy Miller's Jason/Drew softened the character up considerably and rebuilt that family bond while Steve was gone, which made the show want to compensate when he returned. More importantly it shows you how much the show has changed, for all its issues. I've said before that the Qs are now a central family and social/story hub on the show once more, in fact it's easily the most central, multi-tiered and vital one on the entire canvas. I didn't know that that would ever happen again. So Steve's Jason being there - running support for other Quartermaines, lecturing the boys about their work behavior, hanging out in the drawing room - feels like something long overdue but also indicates just how much their stock has risen while his has fallen. It reminds me of Leslie Charleson's famous statement about the Eckerts in the '90s: How they were supposed to erase the Quartermaines and a year later, all their survivors' scenes were in the Quartermaine drawing room.

I never thought her ATWT recast worked, but I thought she was very classy to offer to give the part back to Martha Byrne near the end. I have nothing against Beck, whose work on LOV I thought was solid. I think she'd make a good ice queen or socialite antagonist on GH today too - maybe Trisha herself, hardened by what became of her entire family. There was an edge to her I didn't think worked for the very generic hausfrau Lily was by the end of ATWT.

Honestly, I hate both characters and think both actors are pretty bad now but if Curtis and Jordan actually did get back at it and have a flat-out affair behind Portia's back I'd watch it. At least something non-generic would be happening. Then they can both leave!

I did not get the impression she did not know about the preemption there. But I also doubt she'd come out and say 'we're retooling y'all!' There are plenty of things on the show that need changing. But it's also not yet six months old. I welcome its break. They need to improve a number of elements.

I think he absolutely does, and I get it. Curtis was never much of a character but DT's charisma and energy was infectious early on, and it's long gone. But so has my patience given how he treats Kerr onscreen. She is SO HAPPY to not be on Passions anymore and they give her nothing but this.