prefab1

I feel like, for whatever BTS reasons, the show doesn't want to use Kin Shriner anymore, and so Martin has basically taken Scotty's place. Pretty much every scene Martin has had in the past few months would have had more emotional resonance if it had been played by Scotty (well, assuming the directors could have reined in some of Kin's hammier acting tics). I was really thinking that during the various scenes where Martin pops up to be supportive of his insta-sister Laura--if these had been Laura/Scotty scenes, they might have been actually poignant, not just time filler.

Great scene! The direction it took totally took me by surprise, because to my eyes Meg seemed to be acting like a pretty typical early 70s soap character, gossiping and meddling in other characters' love lives. So the last thing I expected to hear was Lee's eminently reasonable suggestion that she go see a psychotherapist because she's overinvested in these other people's lives.

I can't believe I actually enjoyed today's Sonny scenes. Ric Hearst really does bring out the best in all his scene partners!

Oh yeah, I think it's a huge fake-out. I'd guess Curtis spent a million dollars on nothing, as I'm betting that Drew got shot by somebody else before Selina Wu got a chance to send her assassin over.

Agreed. It's a story that makes sense on paper, but doesn't work well with this actress, who doesn't have much chemistry with Rory Gibson and isn't especially believable in the role of a sex worker. You remember that famous 1980s scene where Lucy changes out of her mousy librarian clothes and into her sultry sexpot look? Well, I keep waiting for a scene where Jacinda changes out of her hooker dress and into her real mousy librarian clothes.

Speaking of Curtis, I did not see that twist with Mrs. Wu coming at all!

This week's guest is an especially juicy one, GH casting director Mark Teschner. I didn't realize he'd been the show's casting director since 1989 (or that he was brought over to LA from Loving after that show's EP, Joe Hardy, got the EP position at GH). Over the course of the episode, they share a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes info. Apparently Jacinda the escort was only meant to be a three-episode role, but apparently TPTB thought that she had amazing chemistry with Rory Gibson, so they brought her back. And then Rebecca Budig mentioned that her stint as Greenlee was only meant to be short-term, for about two months, but then she clicked with Josh Duhamel so much it became a long-term role. Mark also tells a story of when he was working with Gloria Monty--who he doesn't name, but only refers to as "a producer who was only there for a year"--and casting for a new Jason Quartermaine. He was wowed by Steve Burton's audition, but Gloria only wanted actors who were at least 6 feet tall. Steve was only 5'10", so Mark took him to the bathroom and stuffed newspaper into Steve's boots until he appeared to be 6 feet tall. I will say, though, some of his casting stories reminded me that he doesn't always have the golden touch. He discusses casting Alicia Leigh Willis as Courtney, where Jill Farren Phelps thought she wasn't right for the role, but he fought for her. And Jill maybe should have trusted her gut on that one!

Agreed that finally--after a whole year of Sidwell being on the show--they've figured out how to write for Carlo Rota's strengths. And you're right that we haven't seen a "mirthful" villain on this show in a long time; the last I can think of is maybe Sebastian Roche's Jerry Jacks.

I mean, maybe he's the Black Bill Eckert, but even that's a stretch.

I'm only 15 minutes in, but Kelly Ripa and Rebecca Budig have already shared so many juicy behind-the-scenes stories about AMC, including about the pay gap between male and female actors:

Worst cop ever? He's not even the worst cop in Friday's episode, not when you have Chase risking his entire career to help Willow's case. I do get what you mean though, but I have my suspicions that the odd writing for Nathan in this scene--he arrives out of nowhere and then just as conveniently gets "called away" right as Laura and Sonny are insisting they don't need his help to open the trunk and fix the flat tire--was very deliberate. If I'm right and Nathan actually is the unseen mastermind who hired Dalton and is working with Sidwell, then the show is actually being quite clever in setting up a big shocking reveal. Right now, they're lulling us into a false sense of security, plugging Nathan right back where he was on the mid-2010s canvas: the upstanding boy scout of a cop. And of course his storyline is moving very slowly, to the point that it seems like it's stalled. But again, I think that might be intentional, so that we get used to Nathan's presence in Port Charles and drop our suspicions until the big reveal pulls the rug out from under us.

Yes, I can totally see Willow in this role. Although the show is understandably hesitant to deal with real-world controversial issues, I can also totally see Willow as the kind of mom who refuses to vaccinate her kids (even though she's a nurse and should know better). But I can totally see her as one of those "my baby's immune system is perfect the way it is" kind of mommy bloggers, which would cause all kinds of conflict with her colleagues at GH. (Cue scene of Lucas going off on her).

I just want to cosign all of that. Even though Genie did overact those Laura scenes, it still worked for me to heighten the sense of terror in the scenes. Same with Britt's reactions; KT normally isn't great at conveying genuine emotion, but she surprised me with her scenes on Thursday and Friday. And I also wondered if they were chem-testing Kristina and Jacinda. I wouldn't be against it, especially if they were setting up a triangle with Jacinda in the middle of Corinthos siblings Michael and Kristina. ETA: The Nathan appearance in the middle of Laura's scenes seemed very random to me at first, but I have a feeling that it will turn out to be significant. To me, it's just another clue that Nathan is Sidwell's mysterious collaborator on the cold fusion project/Five Poppies nonsense.

The Suzanne Rogers episode is now up, and it is amazing. Suzanne tells some great stories about her early career as a teenage Rockette and then as a Broadway performer, including a story about standing up to Katherine Hepburn, the star/producer of the musical Coco, who was trying to pay Suzanne less than she was worth. Rebecca and Greg have grown into pretty good interviewers, knowing when to stay out of the way as Suzanne recounts her colorful career history. Near the end, she also talks about her MG and her recent cancer treatments; she says that Linsey Godfrey, one of the very few actors on the show she told about her condition, even drove her to some of her chemo and radiation appointments, so clearly some of the mother/daughter bond we see onscreen comes from some place real.

I thought Daniel Goddard did a great job in those scenes with Joss. He might be the rare villain this show got rid of too soon, because it feels like he had great potential as a character we'd love to hate.

So what you're saying is that, in Trump's America, her record is almost too clean to be elected to public office.

I don't know how reliable the information is, but from what I've read, he joined GH in 1977, and Alan (who started airing in September 1977) was one of his creations. That should have been enough time to get the show in better shape by the January 1978 episode we saw, but then again, shifting from a 30 minute to a 60 minute format is a big transition, one that requires a lot of filler scenes like Monica having a long flashback to a scene that must have only played out a few weeks earlier.

It's clear that Dante views Rocco as his one "real" son and doesn't have the same paternal affection for Gio, who he distrusts. Which is perfectly realistic, since he raised Rocco and only knew Gio vaguely as the neighbor's kid. But in the world of soaps, where a few months after a paternity reveal, we expect a long-lost biological child to be fully accepted as family, it comes off as shockingly harsh. But I think Dante is a self-righteous prick most of the time, so at least it's in character.

I rarely identify with Brook Lynn, but I loved the little head shake and look she gave Dante at the end of that scene.

That probably explains why Alan is talking about his (so-far unseen) family so much in those scenes with Monica. Marland was probably already planning to bring on the Quartermaines to expand the canvas, as the 60 minute format would require. Also, what a delight it is to see Alan and Monica so early in their relationship, where we can already witness some of the dynamics that would play out between them over the next 30 years. And although their scenes were nothing special in this episode, Genie Francis and Anna Stuart both look lovely.

Two questions about today's episode: 1. Is this Rocco storyline the first time Genie Francis has gotten scenes with Daniel Goddard, who played her son on Y&R? They both did a great job with their confrontation scene today, and I wondered if Laura slapping Dalton was improvised, something Genie was comfortable doing because she'd worked closely with Daniel before. 2. Can someone remind me how Ric has intel on Portia? Is this something he found out from talking to Liz?

I think the show struggles a bit when it comes to giving any of its characters psychological depth or believable motivations. But it's particularly pronounced when it comes to the black characters, who seem to have no pasts at all beyond a few references to the relationship dramas we've seen play out onscreen. I mean, Isaiah has been on the show for a year now, and we know literally nothing about his backstory (or even why he's so into Portia). Sawandi Wilson is a good enough actor to mostly make this work, but the character is still almost a blank slate. When it comes to Portia, it would be pretty easy to give her some dialogue with Isaiah where she reflects on her past and explains how she became such a compulsive liar. It would probably have something to do with her perfectionism and the extra burden of having to be a standard bearer for black excellence in otherwise white-dominated communities like GH. It would make perfect sense why she's so guarded and feels like no one can know the real Portia. But I think there's almost no chance these writers will do the work and give her that degree of psychological realism.

Thank you! That explains so much. And I agree that Tabyana gave those scenes with Jordan her all and showed some fire. I'm just struck by the difference in how they write Trina and her (former?) BFF Joss. While Joss has this whole storyline involving international espionage and an older lover, Trina is stuck in scenes where Ava has to explain the concept of divorce to her like she's a special needs child.

Could someone tell me why the show writes Trina like a 14 year old rather than a 21 year old? She came off as absolutely ridiculous in her scenes with Ava and then with Jordan today.

Frankly, ALL of Laura's scenes this week make me want Cosgrove's slimy character to win the election, including the scenes where she decides to skip the well-publicized mayoral debate to be with Rocco and the many scenes where she enumerates things that matter more to her than her job.