Vee

Emmy Winner Violet. Jesus.

I feel pretty much the same. Eden McCoy doesn't control the dumbass Daytime Emmys and their ridiculous categories. People spend too much time equating the real-life actor with fictional character Joss, and too much time acting like Joss is the Whore of Babylon because she slept with Dex literal hours before immediately breaking up with her boyfriend in a fit of remorse. Sure, she treated Cam badly after the break-up. But she wasn't ho'ing around New York State and the way people talk about it is removed from reality. I don't really like Joss as written either, I find her smug and obnoxious. I think Eden is a marginal actor. But not everything Joss does is about how much of a 19-yo whore who she is for sleeping with maybe a total of 3 guys in her life, and not everything Eden does when dealing with overinvested hyperactive soap fans on social media is about how they are one and the same. People need to chill the fûck out. You're not going to win SON cool points dogging the young actress who just lost her mom when many of us are twice or thrice her age. In case you haven't noticed this board has maybe a grand total of 50 active posters. Nobody's clapping.

Some B or C-player, because this show has not been at all comfortable with a dark-skinned Black actress on the frontburner in recent times. With Spencer gone I'll be shocked if she's not either gone with him or fading away. I would go for Cam or some new doctor/WSB guy though. (And I would try to get William Lipton back.)

His contract runs to late June-July. There is a chance he wraps it all now though.

If it was me I might do the ballsy thing: Spencer is presumed dead, probably during a final clash with Esme. Get Chavez to pre-tape some scenes of Spencer alive but in captivity, just like JJ did when he left in '99. Then wait. You can see if Chavez's career pans out or if he needs cash in 12-18 months before recasting. But in the meantime I'd give the audience a curveball - just before Spencer dies he and Trina impulsively get married on the go a la Phil and Tara on AMC, where they had a teenage 'wedding' right before he went off to Vietnam. Maybe we see it live, maybe in flashback to surprise the audience. Either way, once he's gone that marriage leaves Trina lady of the manor as a fish out of water, heir to the Cassadine name and erstwhile fortune. (And maybe pregnant, but probably not since there's too many fuckin' babies for too many young women.) That at least is a new story angle.

A fair amount of the social media push for Esme to magically get all the story comes from racists, tbh. She has some real audience interest but there's also a lot of racists. That's just the truth. If Ron was still here it'd probably happen though; he loves faux-redeeming villainous characters he falls for and then blaming the audience for not accepting it. Here the show wasted our time flirting with it for like a year (the strike probably factored in, I guess) but seems to have finally wrapped it up because they know Chavez is out. I'd love to see Esme recur for various hijinks, but I don't need her hanging around on contract getting more light sentences. Don't ask me what to do with that kid. I kept thinking it would turn out not to be Nik's for awhile. It's a kid too many in some ways, even if he is totally adorable.

I think Avery Pohl has chemistry with a lot of people; I think she's super talented. But I feel like I'm on another planet when dealing with people who seem to think Esme should remain a gray heroine on the show and that everyone on GH is so unfair to want her to pay for her many crimes and not want her to have custody of anything more substantial than a pet rock. Esme is a psycho schemer. That is what she was conceived as, that's what the character does well, and that's how she should continue coming in and out of the show.

Carly had become the establishment by the time Tamara's Carly was in full bloom as the mob wife with Sonny, I think. And certainly Sarah's Carly flaunted the power once she got it. So I thought it was simply Carly emulating what she'd always wanted to be, no matter who was in the role.

I've said it before, but I don't think it would be difficult for either of the other two Carlys to take up the role again. I think Sarah especially has modulated aspects of her GH work in other characters, even when the roles didn't work out; she can add a gloss. Based on characters like Claudia or Madison on DOOL I think she could play the Carly that became a lux hotelier or diner owner and mother of several kids but is still trailer trash underneath. I think even Tamara could swing it. But ultimately the character could be directed back towards the actor's strengths over time, not vice versa. That said I don't think Laura gives an unrecognizable performance as Carly. Particularly in the Guza years she could still have a very hard edge at times, she could still be dangerous. She just got money and a rich husband. It's the writing in the last 10+ years that at times makes Carly unrecognizable IMO.

People give her too much stick based on poor writing, IMO. Yes, I'd take Sarah back anyday but Laura has always done great work. She has never given a show she's on less than 100% and often goes over that.

Kim Zimmer (GL) and son Jake Weary (Luke, ATWT) appear in the trailer for Ewan McGregor and his daughter's new film. Kim looks like she's having a lot of fun.

I think he's worked very hard and done a very good job. I'm just not sure there is a future for Nikolas as a dynamic player with him in the role, and I am still inclined to retire the character with Tyler gone.

Oh, I waited almost a week to see if you would demand anyone leave the thread for disagreeing with you, as is your brand.

And should, as Port Charles once told us, Miracles Happen, a non-Trump VP can't win.

Perhaps we can pause to consider the irony of preaching independent thinking when for years some folks have turned up mostly to rail against anyone not enjoying these shows and suggesting anyone "too critical" leave the thread. Also, it was a two day memorial, not four.

If you can accept it as a substitute for onscreen intimacy or any other character building, then sure. Golden Girls and other gay pop culture TV cliches were the language the GH gays spoke in during that era. I don't think Lucas and Felix ever had an actual relationship. They danced around it at best during Ron's tenure, but ultimately Lucas got and stayed for many years with Brad, who was supposed to be the spoiler to Lucas and Felix initially.

Not on GH!

I think the Nick plot point on OLTL was unfortunate, but they didn't totally ruin the character over it; he was supposed to continue had they not purged all the gays. I thought it was Brad that tried to force Michael to have sex with him (which made it that much worse when they realized fans liked Shen and trid to sweep it all under the rug with that character). This is something Ron has returned to again and again at DAYS with gay guys and str8 men, you're right, including his love for the endless tease re: Ben and Will in jail and flirting heavily with putting Leo with men he'd already violated or tried to take advantage of. I do think Sabrina and Felix were fairly well-liked early on with their adoration for Lucy, the hospital legacy, etc. up until the actual return of the Nurses Ball, when Sabrina got the Pretty Princess makeover which went over like a lead balloon with the audience. Once Sabrina got everything she wanted (a new look, Patrick) she almost immediately became intolerable to the larger viewer base, Jason Thompson looked like he was on suicide watch and Felix became even more obnoxious than his queen bee. His helpless, aggrieved pouting over Robin's return from the dead ruining his bestie's day will never be forgotten by me. And it was reflected by how Ron treated Robin from then on IMO, even though he clearly enjoyed writing the big reunion. Fine by me! Steve can quit again if he wants!

I liked Felix for quite awhile. I think at times Ron wrote him with sensitivity, though I think he did much better with Kyle and Oliver on OLTL. Then Felix became both too saintly and/or too much of an overbearing cliche - all Ron seemed able to write for the gay characters was 'funny' predatory material or them sublimating sex with Golden Girls reruns or something equally embarrassing and juvenile. That weird mix of stereotypical gay pop culture touchstones or tacky sexual mishaps became their whole range of personality or action. Obviously Ron has overcorrected for this at DAYS, by finally getting to write a villainous, hypersexual character (something I'm all for, in theory) - Leo - but unfortunately that's been paired with his compulsive desire to make all of his edgy villain or antihero characters into the 'real' underdog heroes of a show. Case in point: His clear intent to quasi-redeem Leo and pair him up with Sonny had Zach Tinker not split, and his undying love for Gwen even after she admitted to killing Laura Horton/letting her die. Unlike the wildly divergent material he wrote for the GH gays he's finally getting to display some of his id onscreen, but he still can't write any nuance for it. I still think Jake should be the bisexual one, because Hudson West is a damn good actor. But I digress.

I think that was the plan until fans glommed on to the chemistry Carnes had with Parry Shen - Brad was supposed to be a pervy, predatory day player and Felix was the rooting interest character even before Lucas returned. They moved more towards Brad/Lucas over time and after RC was fired it was dunzo for Felix and his fade. Honestly Lucas is too good for both at this point though.

He was. I thought Ben Hogestyn did a very good job in that period and has never gotten enough credit as Carnes' return overshadowed him - I thought Carnes was a lousy actor in the 2000s even when Russell T. Davies fancied him and brought him over to Doctor Who (something Davies did often with hunks he found hot in those days), and he only impressed me when he returned to GH in the 2010s. I think Carnes is the best Lucas now of course, he's done the work and done well, but I do think Hogestyn fell through the cracks. IIRC they did tease Lucas having a romance in that period in 2006 with a young gay guy named, well, Guy. But it didn't get far. To Frank and Ron's mixed credit, I do think the show pushed him hard for a time as a part of the GH firmament in the early 2010s - Carnes even played Phil Brewer in the flashback sequence in Luke's big psychodrama episode, alongside Jason Thompson as Steve and Becky as Jessie. That active role is how he should've remained, but the show didn't value him enough and Lucas' mostly lousy, tacky storylines with Felix, Brad, etc. were C or occasionally B-plots at best. (And the fact that Carlivati likely thought Lucas and his pet Felix were endgame and that didn't happen was glaring, IMO - Felix has barely been seen since.) Lucas should be back in a key role again today, I agree.

I don't know if you were privy to all this so my apologies, but Leslie had a fall or something in early 2022 IIRC. She was supposed to be back onscreen within months (Leslie/Monica has appeared fairly often in recent years) but a year later she was still MIA. Finally they had Leslie do a voice cameo on the phone with Elizabeth for Epiphany's memorial last spring. Then about a month ago she appeared onscreen briefly in the scenes surrounding Finn's medical malpractice situation. She looked very frail to me, but the show promoted it, knowing fans had been worried. I'm still very concerned, as are we all. Michael has been deep in the Quartermaine bosom for over a decade - working at ELQ, close with the family, close with Sean Kanan's A.J. during his too-brief return in 2012-2014, etc. I find Chad Duell very tired in the role and I think Michael needs a break from the canvas, but I am glad for that sea change that has mostly stuck for the character as part of the Q scene.