Vee

Oh Christ. I love these tired-ass writers crowing about 'expanding the Faison/Obrecht clan'. I could not give a fúck about that family and he could never act.

Portia's brother Zeke was great. They should bring him back. He shouldn't have been wasted on Robo-Jordan any more than Isaiah or anyone else, though.

I don't think the antagonists are dominating the show. Far from it.

This is a soap opera. Antagonists are always gonna be there. There are far worse than Leslie on daytime.

A.J. is the weapon Michael and Tracy should unveil to help take on Drew, tbh. I'd simply say that Monica once again saved him and she and Michael together have kept his slow recovery secret for years. His resurgence would also reignite Michael's deeply sublimated resentment over Sonny and Carly's role in his 'murder' years ago.

I would assume Leslie will eventually insulate herself from too much fallout from her crimes with that money. It is a typical soap staple and tried and true.

Terence Stamp was one of a kind. He could be a chameleon so easily. If you've never seen him in Federico Fellini's terrifying horror short Toby Dammit, do. It's on the Criterion Channel and probably many other places.

Steve talks about the final scenes they shared, which @DRW50 mentioned.

I've seen Karyn Kusama's The Invitation and it's excellent. I remember Tammy being in it but not Jordi.

Monty. This sequence lives in my subconscious at all times.

Yep. It was more than a theory though, there was something there and it was probably the brother angle. I don't really know how that would've made Miles (already a convoluted, ludicrous character c/o Higley) more relevant but I was open to it. I originally thought in '08 that they would use Andrea and Tina going forward to cover Erika's vacations, which I thought was a smart idea. Unfortunately it didn't happen. I think Tina's story was a mess that year, but I can see elements of it potentially being hamstrung for the reasons rumored re: mandates. And I did think Andrea had wonderful chemistry with everyone including Christopher Cousins, who she'd never shared key story with. They had a surprisingly tender final scene together after having a roll in the hay in November.

I should add since I recently revisited those scenes: I adored the Addie Cramer rehabilitation storyline in '07/'08, and all her subsequent appearances. It was such a wonderful, unexpected surprise at the time. I was as floored as her family, and they just kept going with her painting the town red. My understanding is they had bigger plans for Addie pre-strike, namely allegedly revealing that Miles Laurence was actually somehow Blair's brother (a character I would've liked to see introduced myself, but very differently) - I think there was maybe one scene that did air or spoiled bit that didn't make it to air in early '08, where Addie had some flash of recognition re: Miles. But none of that got followed up when the strike hit. There were rumors in recent times that Frons hated the show bringing back Andrea Evans that same year, as he found her 'too old' and supposedly insisted Tina's storyline be couched around the youth set at all times and then cut short. He was still a micromanager in that era and I could believe it, as her exit was abrupt and didn't seem at the time like something the show was pleased to do in her final episodes that year. So I can believe that he might've pushed back on further major story for Addie and Pamela Payton-Wright, who was even older. But however silly her little stories got (like the fling with David), I was happy for them even when I wanted more, and happier still that Addie never regressed into her illness. And I was thrilled she appeared in the penultimate network episode with the rest of the Cramers. I miss characters and flourishes like hers a lot. This is a scene I never forgot, just before the strike (timestamped below) and one of the best the show did in its final era.

There's a lot of B&B/Bell similarities in the show, but to me a villain like Leslie being tied into the core isn't one of them. It's classic soap operating procedure.

And set the attic on fire!

I'm just amazed they reunited Kat and Alfie again after the hatchet job done to them a few years back. I don't know when it was when they had him come back for a stint while they were broken up and Kat just totally emasculated him in their scenes and unraveled how pathetic she found him, I thought there was no going back. Good for them, I guess.

I don't find any of the Hawthornes (including Jacob's father, Evil Overton) terribly compelling, but I do think another family does need to be built up.

No, that's Jenny Eckert. I believe Tracy is close to the stage on the opposite side of Robert and Anna. You don't need to repost the link each time.

Nor should they have introduced him yet IMO. The many mentions of him and how dark a presence he was have already built the character up a bit. That too is Soap Opera 101. That's the kind of character you unveil in sweeps or something.

I don't think that's 'rewarding' anything. Soap opera has a certain structure. If Leslie is going to have longevity for the future to continue, she needs essential ties. Barbara does that for the character and was likely planned from the beginning. It's also been less than a year on the air, so I don't think we can really say Leslie/Dana will never pay for anything. We're not dealing with any B&B characters here.

It worked in '94! The fact is GH, like too many soaps, has relied on baby stories to fill time and evade more controversial or risky material in the last decade-plus, and it's turned the show into something similar (but not quite as dire) as Ellen Wheeler's Mormon commune on Guiding Light. And yes, they have far too many to ever deal with and it's caused a massive traffic jam across the generational canvas. So some have to die, and many have to disappear for a decade. I'd only keep a few actual small children around to be seen on a recurring basis - maybe James or Wiley (name TBD). Aiden would be only a recurring teen for now, Georgie would be aged up very slightly to be active for the current teen scene and Jake would also be in play again. And then you'd bring on some actual new, unconnected young people who aren't actively aging up and dragging down the current contract cast. That's it!

I can't believe you've brought this back. IIRC Tristan and Finola's priceless attempt at staying straightfaced in the reaction shots was my avatar for awhile.

I think they're holding Dante Green back for a reason. By the time he hits town (assuming he does) he will have assumed that importance.

You don't have to kill them off next month! But I'd def kill one or two in the next few years, and offload the rest for ages to come.

Sure they should! Early and often.

Yeah, I don't see any point in bringing back Gina or Stone II, etc. in any real way. They're not exactly thrilling characters. The only way I'd consider it is to let Stone appear briefly to create pathos re: Wagger's murder, as part of a story where Sonny finally gets some form of takedown. He can show up and give a statement to the court or cops or something lol. Beyond that, who cares? I think both those unnecessary kids are disposable at best but I would kill off Donna to help break Carly down again. Wiley needs a new name - any new name - and a recast, obviously. And then to be rarely seen or heard for years. Amelia is just another of many of these children who should not exist, not that Wiley needed to.