Vee

Anyway, from the other day, I didn't see this posted:

Is it true they worked from Guza's outline/projections til '97? I know Stefan and Katherine wasn't on his books lol.

Granted I am many, many episodes behind so things may well have changed with these actors/characters, but bear with me: I still can't decide if the kid playing Nell has any talent or is just that painful to watch. Her monologue about her dead mother with the therapist several episodes back was not bad, but in virtually every other scene (including some of that monologue) she is smirking and squinting her way through all her dialogue and while I assume they found this to be naturalistic it just makes me want to run her over with a car. Haz is a very attractive man who is also, unfortunately, one of the corniest dudes alive, even by the standards of a clearly very family-oriented Aussie soap. I'm so sick of hearing about the exploits of his cute dog. I won't be shocked if the dog starts gaslighting Mackenzie as the storyline heats up.

I've discussed this before, but the most jarring thing I saw on GH in years was the episode in 2015 where Jonathan Jackson played scenes alone with Tony Geary near the end of Luke's terrible exit story. Lucky had accompanied his parents back to town after the stupid Zombie Frank Smith caper Ron Carlivati had written for them had ended, and Ron was obviously once again threading in another plot strand he had no idea if he could ever pick back up again (and didn't); the idea that Helena's past brainwashing of Lucky had messed with his mind and that was why he'd been staying away from Port Charles, his family and his sons. (It was a decent explanation on paper, but the recurring problem with RC was follow-through and no commitment from an actor to return and play it out.) Anyway, Luke and Lucky had scenes alone together talking about Lucky's reasons for staying away. Past dialogue had been vague and obvious about his 'demons', etc. But suddenly the script was incredibly good, soulful, articulate and the scene was long. It was plopped in the middle of an otherwise bog-standard episode. It came as no surprise to discover (either just before or not long after, I think) that Tony and JJ had rewritten them themselves. And yet this was the kind of caliber we could sometimes still expect even in really bad times from the past members of the Labine/Guza writing corps that got almost totally flushed in 2011-2012. Including, of course, Mulcahey.

I tend to take them 2 at a time and try to average 2-6 per day when I watch, which hasn't been often lately with work, life stuff and other soap binges. But I'n watching it as we speak! I agree with others that J.J., etc. are really strong.

I'm all for it, because I find it fascinating when it's done (the OLTL/AMC Hulu revivals, Neighbours on Amazon and more recently Sussman's Y&R) even when it doesn't work out. But I'd be pretty surprised if PM does it outright here. I can't see Frank going for it. But we're all about to find out just how much power each creative has. @Darn and I were discussing this recently. It was very noticeable when Guza ghostwrote in late '97 and then again in spring '02 before his name was officially back on the show (the Carly 'death' story). I think Marland may have done it for a time early in his '70s run, when Bobbie was allegedly first introduced before his name was on the end credit roll. And Malone and Griffith famously did it in January of 2003 at OLTL a month before their "Storm of Change" soft reboot - the show's dialogue changed overnight from Tomlin's campy schlock. Ironically that ghostwriting period was a lot better than much of what came later lol. I don't know if that will happen here, but if it does knowing PM I'm willing to bet we'll notice fast. So much GH dialogue is purely functional exposition.

I've been wandering through eras both well before my time (the Marland '70s, the early/late '80s) and ones I haven't seen in many years, like '96. I was surprised to discover Culliton's name on an episode from early September of '96 - I thought he didn't come in til November or December around the Twist of Fate. We're the minority here. I think they sizzle together in classic eps but I've always been a Robert/Anna truther, and I just feel like the conflict with Duke's life vs. Anna's work was ultimately unsustainable. But I may be biased since the bulk of my experience with them was sadsack old Duke in the 2010s, where that did prove out although the writing was often terrible. I think the chemistry and spark could've returned had they let Ian Buchanan have fun onscreen as Duke in 2013-2015, which they didn't; he was just a morose, feeble broken man. But Ian Buchanan is actually one of the suavest and funniest dudes alive - he was absolutely hysterical on David Lynch's Twin Peaks and On the Air. There was no sense of fun in the Duke that returned in the 2010s.

I'm right before the flashback week lol. I've been kind of busy.

Oh good, because for a while there it seemed like you were just showing up to gently shake your head and tut indulgently at our opinions. The upshot of your expedition is that none of us have asked for it (and I was responding to someone else's speculation about Jagger and Karen's original exits/lack of return), so we're neither impossible to please nor blinkered in our motives or reactions. I've literally never given much more thought to Jagger coming back, because it's just not a character I see any purpose for. Did I briefly speculate that ASJ could've, at one point in the late '90s or early 2000s, garner interest for the network as a return given his lingering brand in those days, sure, but that's as far as I've ever taken that thought.

Point to where and when any of us said Jagger Cates should come back, particularly in the form of a blond frontiersman guest player on The Walking Dead.

I barely sat through more than a few episodes of Charmed because it was a debacle from the jump, but the feuds there were legendary. This whole thread (long and full of screencaps) is a wild ride, way more than just the OP. I hadn't realized Combs had turned on Alyssa.

But who cares? Why do we need to add Jagger back to the show? What is Jagger's relevance to today's already overcrowded cast and what is so interesting about this unrecognizable recast? I'm sure this actor is a nice man. Lots of actors are nice people. But if I didn't know he existed 48 hours ago I'm not going to start the White Country Radio Jagger Fan Club just because he seems nice and happens to share the same character name as a guy who last appeared on the main show almost 30 years ago and whose footprint on the current canvas is nonexistent.

Exactly. This doesn't change (or make Jagger any more relevant or interesting for today's canvas) just because ASJ is an ass.

I don't see any need for Jax to be back at present either tbh. But Ingo was iconic in the role for so many years and you'd need to find someone both strong and hot, and authentically Aussie; an older Dan Feuerriegel would've worked. (No Daniel Goddard!) Still, what would be the point? Jax has had little utility for over a decade - like Jagger, it would just become "Jax is back".

It's so basic too. I'm supposed to lose my mind because Jagger is back? It's a real Star Wars "Glup Shitto" moment.

John, you don't know this man like that. Every actor the show just hired and we found out about 24 hours ago is not a friend. This is just an actor on a TV show. I don't care if anyone on this show is hired or fired if they don't have a viable role to play that makes sense. I don't see any need for Jagger to return to the show, let alone played by a guy who looks nothing like Jagger. So yeah, I'm fine with him being gone.

The key reason FV has avoided Brenda like the plague. She is too big an imprint for the show he has tried to craft and control according to his careful specifications, with characters he mostly has created or invested in.

Every time people finds something dickish a celebrity did it always becomes this run-up lately to people going 'ohhhh I'm totally fine with the recast now' and cheering on whatever dumbass story move this show or others do. I'm not going to do that because not only do I not care about Jagger as a character coming back and think he is needless and unnecessary, I also don't care about ASJ. We have known he is a MAGA nutjob for years. Nothing new is being imparted here. That doesn't change the fact that this recast actor is an embarrassing choice for Jagger, who was always, as Khan noted, at the very least 'an ethnic type'. It was a dumb idea to bring Jagger back and it's a dumber idea to cast a guy from Great American Family auditions in the role. The prior actor being a dumbass does not suddenly make this a great idea lol.

He was right to tank Angel; it helped save the show. The stuff since he championed (other than Tamara), lol.

He absolutely is. I remember him trying to make it soar with everyone from Kelly Sullivan to Jennifer Bransford and even KM lol, to say nothing of poor Megan Ward. (idk if he was ever committed to Kari Wuhrer.)

I will never forget the later season episode where for some reason the family had to roleplay as each other for some bonding exercise. Young Jonathan had to take on the role of either Samantha or Mona and well, it's a wonder the soundstages survived the blaze.

Oh, I never said I bought it lol. I thought there was a slight spark in his performance with her early on. The pairing I merely found silly at best and now tired and boring.

tbh I think the only reason Sonny is with Nina is because Maurice likes CW, wants the pairing and she stirred his embers as a performer a bit early on. The show under the current creative team seems to absolutely despise Nina. As I have said before they punish and humiliate her nonstop practically every week in front of multiple people as she sobs and whines and apologizes for everything, and then embarrasses herself again. Nina has done everything but shît her pants onscreen. It's like vindictive Sonny/Carly fanfic from the 2000s if Sonny was with some other woman onscreen at the time. It feels like they are forced to write for her because of Mo but detest the pairing and so this is how they cope - that or they are terrified of what FB senior citizens will say if they put Nina on an equal footing with Carly. And I don't even care about Nina lol. But it is truly weird how they seem to absolutely detest the leading man's love interest.

It absolutely was the last time he did anything really impressive. Maurice is very tired and shows it every day. When he does give emotion it is the same whispery weepy thing he pulls out often now. I can set my watch to his tricks and tics. He runs at half-speed unless truly challenged, which rarely happens and when it does occasionally come he is generally not up to the task and makes himself look bad IMO. I think this would change with Vanessa back (or Sarah Brown, for that matter). You can say a lot of things about VM's last contract return but she kept him on his toes onscreen. He is never going to be what he was but if he wants to remain on this show he needs to wake up a bit. And to solve the problem, you marry them off and give her much more story than him lol. Simple.

That was another bluff and also an audience tease. They were never serious.