Vee

I thought Roger and Laura had chemistry, I'll never deny that. I just think the pairing was a lazy rehash of Blair in the end. And the least interesting romantic option. Especially once Sean Kanan's A.J. came back for Laura, and tbh Roger also had interesting chemistry with Kelly Monaco. I do think Todd worked on GH as a troublemaking journalist/businessman and at one point could've seen him (or him and Blair together post-OLTL 2013) recurring off and on like Marco Dane or Skye to come in and out of town and shake things up, but his time has passed post-MeToo.

The technical term for Rubio's response here is known in the trade as 'shítting himself.'

Israel has just attacked Iran in a preemptive strike, allegedly targeting many of their bases or nuclear testing sites. They claim it is the first but far from the last strike.

@DRW50 Frost and Jennifer Lynch talk Lynch, Peaks, and Lynch's unmade Unrecorded Night series for Netflix. I do hope they publish the scripts as mentioned. It is nice (and sad) to hear Frost confirm something was 'in the wind' for more TP. More from NME. The anecdote at the end of the NME interview about Warren Frost is touching.

Plus that baby just dragged her down tbh. Those kind of deaths happened all the time back in the days of old soap opera crossover characters, the last being Vicky Hudson who of course was the latter-day star of AW. Frankly Natalie and Blair were lucky to survive (and I personally felt GH handled Blair pretty well).

Unlike Setton, there's no evidence of that here. There really hasn't been at any point I can remember with Jackson. As for 'no crying scenes,' that sounds like nonsense. What I'm sure he didn't want though is what he explicitly complained about when he left in 2011 - playing constant misery, addiction and despair, weeping and raging everyday, which he said was grueling and made him want to leave. He also didn't get the full reunion with Liz and Lucky he was promised by Guza II, nor did he this time. And I suspect he wasn't willing to budge on it this time. Given the history BTS I have no problem with him wanting that and insisting on it, and I am not some diehard LNL2 fan. But it just makes sense. And I do think they did work this time, we just got very little of it and often pretty mediocre writing. Which is the house style. Do I think JJ's low airtime was partially a contract issue? Yes. Do I think GH ever prioritized him or Elizabeth this time? No. And do I think FV resented JJ having clout enough to have a hand in story when they clearly wanted to move Lucky to Kristina instead?* Yep. When an actor has a low guarantee or is on recurring FV can still prioritize them if he wants to, like with Valentin. He chose not to because he knew JJ's Lucky was bigger than his GH, he didn't like that, and now he's gotten him out. I fully expect him to fire VM now if she ever somehow came back. *(I'm not even against a Lucky/Kristina dalliance in a future story that made sense, for the record. But it wouldn't have here, it would just be more ruinous for his character.)

Not only would I hurt him, I'd fire him!

They really haven't done much damage to any OLTL characters.

They can all go into the fire.

Yeah. Like I said in the spoiler thread, you clearly can't tell Frank anything anymore and he's there til he dies or the show does. As a fan I'm very pleased to see the actor (and presumably character) in question, but it's part of a larger toxic situation which is all about FV's preferences. She can vanish into boarding school and then be de-Spencered anytime. It's fine.

I thought Gail was a mentor, not her foster mother.

I have my doubts is asking for beaucoup cash for a short run, but Frank is definitely flexing. I will not be shocked if ME is re-hired. Again. I wonder when it was. I remember them still trying to sell people on her in early fall, and I do think initially the Sidwell threat, casting her son, etc. was meant to make us sympathize with her. He was always obviously going to be her ex.

Aiden could come back to the show 12-14 and no one would blink tbh. I know I wouldn't. I'd do It! I do think Cody and Ava and Cody and Lulu have potential, short-term for Lulu. I just wouldn't want to get too far away from the folksy, good-hearted character they created at the Q stables for him for long. He would always revert to being a good man. With another Molly I could see something, but I think Molly needs a long rest. I may find Sasha boring as sin but I wouldn't kill her. She's had one of the most miserable GH existences in recent memory lol. I once talked with you about sending her off with a short-term recast Sly Eckert for a happy ending, I suppose you could still do something like that with a dream guy for her to get a HEA with. Or I'd just have her take her baby and find herself somewhere else. I don't think she is one of the show's central problems right now though. Unlike portions of last year. Firing her can wait.

Frank says you don't have to go back to Wildwind but you can't stay here, Maria!

LOL, that wouldn't have ended it for him with a chick usually. It's the classic Frank Fix when he finds a new exciting hire! That was essentially my idea - injure Chase in a major disaster event for sweeps, Willow plays Florence Nightingale, gets close to him amidst the whole Gio drama and does her thing.

When did Sonny do this big 180 on Natalia? I must have missed it. Nothing could turn him on her last year. You can tell Frank has a new shiny toy lol. I gotta see this.

I would just have Willow go scorched earth after losing the kids (and presumably finding out about Drew and Nina) and seduce Chase because she can, to fúck with the Qs. That would enable dumping Chase in short order. Willow could continue her slow rise to becoming Port Charles' new Susan Moore, possibly by blackmailing Drew into marriage (after shooting him and getting away with it, for awhile) or other bitchery. Sasha I have no long-term use for, but who knows. I need to see more of the recent show and see more of Gibson. I see no future with Cody and Random Temp Molly. I still think it's Tracy but they'll never do it, so I'd just let him roam for a bit. I guess he could still have a fling with Liz now that Lucky's gone again. I do think a bit of a fling with Ava could work too but I fear it would take Cody back into the dark zone which really doesn't suit the character for long.

Thanks @DRW50 though @Darn beat you to it on my phone, lol. I would assume Erika is playing Viki, given her legendary status in ABC Daytime and given the many links to OLTL on the show. The Lulu thing makes sense. I've always had complicated feelings about this crossover stuff. What this one makes clear is they really can’t tell Frank anything anymore, lol. He's there until he quits or dies barring some sort of #MeToo scandal, major network management shake-up or cancellation. And in many ways he has earned that - he saved the show 13 years ago, he's kept it up in the Hulu charts, kept it on budget or under and outlasted many would-be replacements. He also has many, many actors who sing his praises at all his previous jobs (and some who don't). I don't think he's an evil guy, and I credit him for the tremendous effort he has given to keep the genre alive, and especially what he did for OLTL and for GH at times. I also think Frank's GH is tired and stale and that he should go. But he's clearly not going to. I love the OLTL characters who've appeared, and yes, I'm usually happy to see them. Nothing done with them (even that one line about Blair sleeping with David Vickers) in absentia has been ruinous, and one bit of dialogue even managed to salvage Marty Saybrooke. And on a more healthy show or larger daytime setup at the network I’d have no problem with the little crossovers. I think they're fun to do in moderation, when the show is in good shape. But AFAIC GH is only ever in half-good shape, sometimes with even good or great stuff, and the rest is some dumb mess or spun around FV's favorites he won't let go of. This current moment is no different. There's some promising story or elements, but when you can kick Jonathan Jackson out the door but make more time for Sonny, Jason, Britt or Viki Lord it just sends entirely the wrong message. It’s about the open, blatant disinterest in anything but Frank's very specific preferences that gets me. GH could be truly great right now - all the pieces are there, and they do a good job with certain stories or moments or events, but it always fúcks itself bc of Frank’s preferences and Frank’s chosen team. And constantly forcing the OLTL crossovers or OLTL actors when the show could do better is a major part of that. I'm very happy for Erika, who I think needs to work to heal (and had been working quite a lot before her daughter's death - she has a major movie coming out in the fall). I'll be very happy to see Viki, assuming it's her. I once wanted Viki to cameo myself for a certain plotline. But as for what it says about GH, in this moment in time under this management, that's another story.

I actually think Cameron did fine with Mulcahey's Drew. The problem was that Korte and Van Etten had no interest in that character played that way or in the pairing with Nina, so we get this total black hat instead. Who also has his uses. Cameron does well with both iterations of Drew Q IMO - he's not given enough credit for leaning into the smarm - but he could've been more three-dimensional long-term in the original equation last year. And I do think Drew and Nina, as shown under Mulcahey, could've really gone the distance. Something I never thought I'd say about two previously no-hope characters.

Chase I'd dispose of quickly. He's a little boy. Cody I think still can work, but they keep squandering him and doing something stupid every time the character comes together. Given the recent deaths of almost that entire quadrangle (not counting Stuart Damon), it should be noted how Rick, Lesley, Monica, etc. were incredibly integral to the show's success and that material still is compulsively watchable on YouTube today. The closest we have to it now is what others have mentioned - the Drew/Willow/Michael saga (formerly with Nina too, til the current team moved her to an antagonist role) which is pretty decent despite the show's worst blunders. But that classic triangle and its scandal keeps paying dividends in stories like the Willow/Drew saga, and that a lot of the other material in that Monty/Marland/Falken Smith, etc. era should be a model for a lot more story.

I don't know if JJ will ever return. I would never say never in daytime. I remember when a lot of people were persona non grata in far worse situations where we were sure they'd never return, and honestly this kind of weird in and out stint is not unusual or uncommon in the UK soaps (and usually is followed by the actor returning for good in 6-18 months). And then there's Thiebaud, who swore off soaps forever at least once or twice and insisted on her permadeath last time only to come crawling back. If Jonathan never commits again then I'd very reluctantly recast, but I wouldn't rule another round out. And I think this whole thing is a terrible shame, because they just didn't want to use him properly. They clearly had different interests for the character than Jonathan, either in terms of FV's preferences for the character or just in terms of possibly not wanting Lucky there at all. I think Liz and Lucky still work well chemistry-wise, but it would take a hell of a lot to dig out of this. The show just didn't put in the time. Of course if Dixie can come back from the dead twice or Dimitri Marick can return to Pine Valley, who knows. And as we've said many times I don't think the FV taping schedule allows for organic story flow a lot of the time either. Stories rotate, characters get islanded too often, and if you have an actor with a deliberately relaxed schedule they can easily float in limbo. The difference is that when Guza II, JFP, etc. had an actor with a short contract or a low-guarantee one who they cared about, they would maximize them whenever they could. Vanessa Marcil had a six month contract in 2002 and I think she had exactly one day off. That wasn't sustainable and they should've given her what she asked for (time off with her new baby) to stay in '03. but it just shows the difference. JPS/Valentin was on recurring for a decade but half the shows' veteran story was hung around his absentee plotline a couple years ago, because Frank wanted to accommodate him. That didn't happen with Lucky because they didn't want it to. And Lucky, Laura, etc. are among the few characters I'd say still warrant that. (As is Brenda, who I am now sure if she came back Frank would end up firing VM too.) It's a pity too, because there is good stuff on the show these days, good drama, good performances, good choices being made. But it so often gets drowned out by this, that or the other for me.

Two legends. Harris Yulin was a brilliant character actor in so many things but his performance in "Duet" above, maybe the first great episode of DS9 and one of the best Trek stories ever, is indelible. Brian Wilson: What can you say?

There hasn't been a media blackout, there's been live coverage on national news all weekend.

Notable: Glendale is not exactly a progressive enclave. Newsom is a craven opportunist, but his comments today were exactly how better people need to handle Trump.

Per today's developing L.A. situation, I will let someone else cover it. I am not out there because of my recent physical situation (though I'd like to be) but I'm perfectly safe. Honestly I expect it'll go as poorly for the administration as it's already beginning to, and good for the people who can be out there fighting but we've been here before. Charlottesville was an atrocity that should've ended a presidency and didn't, and now Trump in like Flynn and his second term is less than six months in. My general pragmatism has curdled into something entirely more fatalistic in recent months. I have no expectation for this changing anything materially about our larger situation, I just hope a lot of people don't die. And if it shackles or trips up the administration for awhile re: its fascist policies or actions, great.