Vee

Agreed. And I agree he was clearly in no rush to get JJ back. Until now.

Relying on one actor's return to provide a sustained ratings bump is a fool's game. It's not going to happen. The only thing that has any hope of that is a larger systemic creative overhaul. Doesn't mean I can't be happy Jonathan Jackson is back, because he should be back so I am. How many times have we said DAYS was off the air next year? And it's still here. So I am not predicting anything about GH's future.

A few people have claimed (including Donna, I believe) that Frank actually didn't want Lucky back unless he could get Jonathan. If this is true then he and I are simpatico. I am not so arrogant to think FV isn't a nuanced person, nor do I know his mind. (Shout-out to @Darn's sig!) Most of us are just guesstimating based on history and our own subjective biases. That being said I also think holding out for JJ as Lucky suited his other purposes - a character as big as a Lucky or a Brenda with a star as big as Jonathan or VM destabilizes the bland show he's been making for years, with mostly his favorites or his own handpicked hires. How many male characters become redundant or at least less purposeful with Jonathan Jackson around? Several. We can say the same with Brenda and many existing characters. And JJ is an actor who's had a degree of success outside of daytime and could be assumed to be unavailable for a long period (though he's claimed to be willing to return since 2015 before). So I think it may be a combination of FV wanting JJ and also not wanting to make material improvements to the show that he couldn't control, like just bringing on a recast. (Or he could've just been using not being able to get Jonathan for Lucky as the excuse all along, and now he's out of excuses - but I'm not going to be totally cynical about it.) The situation with VM is different, so if they announce Brenda's back then we'll really know Frank is in a spot lol. But yes, I think this is at least partly happening because Frank is pressurized.

It's nice to see him say (in the above podcast) how eager he is to finally get to work with Genie again.

Nope. I assume Valentin's organization did it, but I'd like it if it was Ava herself. I truly don't think the show remembers or cares.

I think the stuff prior to Gregory's death (with him and Tracy, with the wedding, with the final hours with him and Finn, etc.) was all quite good. And I think the immediate aftermath when Finn found him, etc. was also very good, and a lot of his collapse is decent. I think after the first week or so of June you can really tell the show is being pulled back towards factory settings. There's still stuff that shines through, like the recently-created friendship between Tracy and Stella, and Stella sharing with Tracy her story of her lost love, but the move back towards poor suffering Sonny and his struggle with his love for Jason and Carly is very clear. I'm just grateful the Drew/Nina/Willow stuff seems to still be in play for now. But once Mulcahey's name is gone (or once his mark seems totally lost) so am I, at least until Jonathan Jackson shows up. I will be back to watch his return, though I don't have high hopes for the story. It will be the first time he and Genie have had any extended solo material since the '90s, and that's reason enough to watch. I truthfully don't think ME will be back again. I think the third time is the charm for both him and Roger, and I think ABC has had enough of indulging Frank on OLTL stars - that's why they had the knives out for Roger and allegedly pushed him to ice both Franco and Austin (in addition to needing money for Steve Burton). But yes, I will still be waiting a year or more to be sure lol.

If you read my post you'd know I was not suggesting Guza come back, John. I was suggesting this show needs more action and excitement. Which it desperately does.

My issue is also with story, but different. We all know that if Guza's gang was on the job that drunk Dr. Finn would've driven his car through the front of GH or something with Violet riding shotgun. That's the kind of jolt this show needs.

I agree in general, but Ava has always been pretty fluid and has outlasted many terrible stories. What I'm disappointed by is how they seem to now be shutting down the whole angle of Ava as the schemer in Sonny's home, which seems like a 180 from Mulcahey's story - Sonny has immediately kicked her out. Am I glad Sonny has come to his senses about Ava overall as opposed to their ridiculous civility and friendliness over the last several years and is now regularly citing Connie's murder to her face? Absolutely. But I also quite liked what PM was doing with it by making Ava the spider in his lair, ruining him. I suspect the plan was for Ava and Valentin to link up with what they knew about each other's schemes, and work together.

Oh, right. I read Stepakoff's book, I'd just forgotten all about it.

I'm about two weeks behind, so that was quick. I was just wondering how long it would take. I'm still so embittered about that, because it seems clear PM wrote a fair bit of the (pretty good) Gregory farewell and death material and Finn's spiral - lifted right out of Ed Bauer accidentally taking a drink, etc. And to have him gone as Jonathan is returning, oy.

Critiqued by JJ, no less. He was not happy with his depressing, dark storylines or the inability to reunite Lucky and Liz, both of which led to his leaving again.

You're gonna have to expound on this one.

Like everyone else, I've been here before and I'll believe he's gone when it's been a year. But yes, I do think he was fired due to the network and to pay for Jonathan. I think he's actually done a solid job with this storyline (which I am slowly making my way through, stuck in bed with a summer sinus infection), but good riddance. LMAO, you should've.

Sonny would not care that much about the disbarment lol. It's obviously just Korte, etc. doing a 180 on the Ava story. Like a lot of the recent shift in the writing for him back to sympathetic.

Thank you so much for this. I had no idea Liz almost came back. What a class act.

Bitter Liason fans losing their shít on Twitter don't count (even if they are very funny to watch). IMO most general audience are or will be over the moon. The Deadline article says he's back for a long (their emphasis on long) run. That's not 4-6 months. That makes me assume he is locked in for a couple years. Of course the show could terminate that the same as they can any soap contract, but I don't see that happening unless he and FV really butt heads.

Oh God. Who cares about that guy.

It makes no sense for Luke to be dead anyway, his bizarre offscreen death (and the utter lack of reaction to it onscreen) was embarrassing and a clear ploy to try to keep TG in reserve story-wise. That being said I'm not sure he's well enough, otherwise it might have happened by now. I thought he would be back again eventually. His career ain't that hot. I did not believe he would ever return on contract to Frank Valentini's GH though.

I can make allowances for that, considering we know how unhappy JJ was with his last stint and the writing therein - he allegedly hated the angst and the darkness, and had expected and wanted to be re-paired with Becky Herbst. Instead he got everything but, and quit again as a result. Huge waste. I never thought FV would buckle re: a star that is too big for 'his' show. I guess now we can see what he's willing to bend on in order to keep his own job. I hope it augurs good things for the larger show, but I'm still pretty sore about the whole creative situation. And I agree, without better writing a strong performer returning only goes so far.

I'll be damned. And yes, I'm with @Khan - very bittersweet this is happening without PM.

"Intentions," Martha.

I noticed him there while revisiting the 90s, I believe. Isn't he also on the credits for Marland's ATWT in the 80s, or am I hallucinating?

The beat goes on: