Vee

I can think of things for Carly to do. But it would start with breaking the character down a bit more and bringing on A.J., and we've all been over all that many times. You have to be willing to shake characters up when they're beyond stale, and GH rarely likes to do that today. The only reason we have the current semi-compelling status quo which includes Willow and Drew is because someone was briefly brought in from outside, by all indications against FV's wishes.

I don't think there's much love lost there (especially if it was true she was initially approached to reprise Carly, then got shafted and discarded). But Frank has mended fences in worse situations.

I believe they did briefly, and I think they shared some story during the terrible "Franco has been uploaded with Drew's memories of his past life and thinks he's Drew" plotline (Kim Nero was Drew's old flame from his youth and the mother of his son). But I couldn't bear to watch virtually any of that so don't quote me. I do think Tamara looks great but this whole situation seems sad. I would take her back as Carly at GH (even if I prefer Sarah Brown, and LW has always done a good job) but that is now unlikely to happen based on scuttlebutt about her last run.

It shows!

Because the show loves Obrecht and her family and is trying to put Britt over with Jason again, and is trying to retroactively force a relationship with the baby she stole (and not because she wanted a child either; it was her parents' supervillain scheme; she hasn't cared about Rocco in years) to make her seem more important. Rocco and Britt never knew each other before, and she never cared.

Like I said, I fear it's another year of Valentin and Carly on the trail of 'who killed Jack' and this time next year we'll be grimacing at them about to kiss at the Metro Court with another endless slow burn. Somehow I suspect FV would move the heavens to make sure JPS can play much, much more often onscreen if not off. I would not put her back with Sonny either, lol. I refuse.

If they kept begging to pay you, wouldn't you? I think he enjoys the people too. As I said above, I just fear this is all an entree to Frank trying to put him over again big time (after Mulcahey almost nuked Valentin) opposite LW. The big fish. Carly has been with worse (Franco) but not by much.

I think his bigger priority than Laura is keeping JPS/Valentin on the show, lol.

Thanks for this @DRW50. What a relic.

If Ashley and Derek become the white Mona and Laura of the show I won't complain.

I think Dobson is pretty hot on the show. I get the appeal and why they scored adding him and Devane to up the masculine quotient. I feel bad when I think about his brief, dazed and lifeless turn as Governor Brooks on OLTL in 2004, as one of several poor, barely-there attempts (mostly by Michael Malone) to give Viki a man to play opposite while Brian Frons put her in the freezer for the better part of 5 years. I don't think that or his DAYS stint were Dobson's fault though. I do think Patrick Petersen grew up to be uncomfortably hot, and a lot of people knew it. They wasted him not doing more, and I do look fwd to seeing his future years on the show. For me personally though I think the late Steve Shaw was cuter and considerably underrated, albeit at best 'naturalistic' an actor. Sometimes he could do really well as he got older, sometimes not, but he was always genuine. That counted for a lot with the kids on the show.

They have also begun hinting around again about the very real fact that Brennan was co-head of Pikeman with Valentin, something they ignored and tried to sweep under the rug very quickly after Mulcahey revealed it and was then dismissed/quit. IIRC Brennan merely covered his tracks while selling out Valentin, but once that happened the show for quite some time tried to pretend Brennan's cover story (that he was undercover to take down Pikeman) was actually legit. They needed to make it go away while they were desperate to give Carly some man, any man after the latest attempt at Jarly fizzled. Anyway, this story and the fact that they've reopened that can of worms is proof he's dogmeat not long for this world. I always said he would not last the year and I stand by that, give or take a few months. I just pray next we don't have Valentin and Carly teaming up and slowly growing romantic as they 'try to find out who killed Jack.' I don't want to be here in a year grimacing as JPS and LW move in for an almost-kiss at the Metro Court as part of this show's typically agonizingly long slow burn for another bad couple.

I puzzled this out awhile back in some posts while watching, and from cross-referencing the copious interviews with fansites that Gollance(?) and I think others involved have said online when you dig around, it seems like the median answer was 'we didn't know.' I think some of the Dunne team have said it became much more elaborate and OTT in S7 than what they intended, but the truth is I think it's been decades, memories are foggy and it's hard to know who intended what when. I actually do think EV was also a very relevant story for today, like Joshua's commercial evangelism. But it does get OTT.

What to say? A legend, with a hell of a personality.

I think they were always going to reunite tbh. I don't think that was a big rewrite.

The scenes with Dante and Michael on Monday were excellent - going back over the Claudia saga, his prison time, and Michael lashing out at him over Dante's involvement in that mess. It was good they again made a point to define how the recast has changed, and it can be played with in many ways; him struggling with PTSD, Willow gaslighting him, using A.J. again, etc. (Honestly, a single round of hatesex between him and psycho Willow would probably be hot now too.) But it's still not enough until they start hiring and investing in new major female leads for what is obviously a strong new leading man. Not just elevating cheap dayplayers who might eventually get a very meager contract. That's the problem with this show, but we've all been over this already this week so I'm repeating myself. It's just frustrating. Rory was amazing when he finally exploded at DZ about Daisy, and seething throughout before then.

I don't think that's it and I think MVJ is very conscious of going there with the elders on top of the other couples, at least at this point in time. (I think an illegitimate child for one or both is likely inevitable at some point, this is a soap, but I would not do it right away given other events.) Assuming we're thinking the same thing, I suspect it is a secret health scare for Vernon. Shades of Clint or Sloan hiding their diagnoses from Viki on OLTL.

I would just take the leash off Ava again and let the chips fall where they may. I would have her and Sonny go full bore at annihilating each other again and that's how Donna would end up dead, partly by Sonny's own blunders as well as hers, while allying herself with someone who's really bad news. It would also lead to Sonny's downfall as mentioned. Ava would then marry into power - maybe Ric becoming DA, maybe something else - to insulate her again a la OLTL's Alex Olanov and then I'd see how long she could continue to run. Maybe she can stay on contract, maybe she can't; like Alex or others, Roger Thorpe hung around forever and a day, before and after the jungle. Sheila on B&B had a number of strong years before they reduced her to whatever she is now. But this light caper work they put Ava in lately is a timewaster for all the talented actors involved. Whether she's married to Ric and also sleeping with Cody, Kristina, whoever she should still be very dangerous. I wouldn't squawk if she went off contract and came back for stints to make trouble, nor would I hate if she got killed off at this point. But if it's the latter she deserves one more balls to the wall story. We know Maura can play it. Ava is Sonny's longest surviving adversary but she has only occasionally lived up to that stature, because people BTS and in the audience too often were in love with Maura and therefore wanted her to just be Carly Snyder with a little edge so she could stay on the show like 20 years. Faith Rosco or Olivia Jerome (or even Claudia, whose story was very, very messy) were only here for a couple years but we don't forget them because they never let up.

I told y'all from before the jump they were laying that track with Naomi and Izaiah before he even showed up with this baby drama for the married couple. Now here we are the other day. AFAIC their optimum situation would be to start with him infatuated with his brother's wife, have that crash out however it may (probably with Kat and Jacob taking that roll in the hay too) but eventually making Izaiah's permanent base between Eva and Kat instead.

A legend and always so whip-smart. RIP.

Peter Parros has always been terminally boring.

I almost thought June was immortal at this point. I thought she kept appearing on GH for quite awhile too, IIRC so maybe I also imagined the same thing. What a legend.

In other news, Chris McKenna is looking real suave and fine in these Michael Jackson suits just in time to get killed off. Finola is in rare form too. With zero viable love interest! That has to change. As for Carly: Just bring back A.J., man. Recast again if you really can't make nice with Kanan. Even if I personally would bring back Sarah, LW is working so hard lately (though she always does) and the character is so lost. She deserves something more substantial and less tired than either Dayplayer Brennan or Sonny Round 30 (or God forbid, Valentin as Phase VII of Frank's James Patrick Stuart Forever Employment Plan). It's daunting when you realize Anna, Laura and Carly all need new men and new story. It would have to be phased in in sections given the overall larger canvas. But it's doable. (And yes, I'd still give Lucy more story on recurring and reunite her with Kevin, even if both remain recurring. But I'd possibly swap Kristina Wagner and Lynn on contract tbqh, and do more with Lucy than the current whatever.) Britt really needs Jason to co-sign a car while squatting upstairs and invoking issues with Obrecht and Nathan. No mention of Nina of course, because Nina has already said she would give her not only free room and board at the penthouse but most likely five to ten cars!

I think most of that first month with Jason was PM though it took a few weeks for his name to go on it. You saw the difference immediately. IIRC we were told at the time he was already working over the scripts too. I'd still love to know more from the horse's mouth someday about what happened. The angle with Jason's feuding sons repeating Jason/A.J. is great but it was barely there. I do think Danny and Rocco are solid (especially Finn Carr) and interesting opposites who are close, and they should be given actual teen stories with new love interests or possibilities. Say sweet Rocco falls for a wild girl who wants overcompensating daredevil Danny, who in turn draws the attention of wallflower Georgie. It's an classic set of stories that rarely fail. I do think Liz and her family should be showcased, but that won't happen under this regime; the shitshow with Lucky and Liz's immediate reversion to being Nurse Jessie after Jonathan's exit/firing proves that. Nonetheless, if it were up to me I would obviously bring back HW's Jake for some serious story, and as for Aiden I might honestly scale back the SORAS a little and see how he cooks for a few more years, since my priorities would be other young people (who could also end up LGBT). Cameron I also might wait on, to see if William Lipton's streaming stardom flops and he needs a place to go. I want her sons on canvas and eventually active in story, but I don't want them thrown at just anything for the sake of it. But that's my failure of imagination, really. I don't know. Vanessa is at a certain age and it's steady work. I think if you gave her a decent schedule/pay and kept her with Maurice (and again, they would end up permanently married a la Mac and Rachel) that you could rebrand the show with her as one of the returning Faces of GH, and you have Sonny and Brenda as one of the foundational/tentpole couples going forward. She'd probably love that. That way the show doesn't take a hit from losing Maurice but Sonny gets downshifted while Brenda takes the bulk of their future story, VM has a dependable salary, everyone wins. And hey, if she does quit in two years you write them out together after all and take the risk. You'll still have gotten the bump from Brenda.

I do love your story. For my own ideas though (which would now begin with Scorpio having left his co-workers a very detailed series of protocols on Sonny and how to break him, also involving certain crimes or more recent issues they can no longer ignore), I would just have Sonny on the street and destitute/presumed dead for awhile after certain events with the mob come to a head, and maybe literally give Mo 4-6 months off. Or block tape a handful of appearances. One would hope his mental health could handle the break from work. Either way, it would of course coincide with Brenda/VM. But I wouldn't write them out. Like I said, losing Mo would mean GH taking a crucial hit for better or worse and Vanessa can move audience. So they would reunite in a relatively swift timeframe once Sonny is properly broken and humbled, marry and that would become their new status quo. He would begin making classical Victor Newman moves in a white-collar way and take second seat to her stories. And in under two years (18 months or a year if you really want to stretch) all that can be settled and done. Whether Maurice could handle playing such a sea change without freaking out, or having a break from his very regular life schedule, remains to be seen. But it would ultimately keep him around and also allow him a lighter load.