Khan

It doesn't have to be DAYS, though. Ron Carlivati's time as HW on this miserable show took care of that. Charles Shaughnessy: "Don't ask questions you really don't want the answers to." Khan: "Why does ABC continue to employ bad comic book writers to write for GH?" CS: "I SAID...don't ask questions you really don't want the answers to." Khan: "But I WANT the answers, Shane! I WANT. THE ANSWERS."

I wish the producers, Lorimar and CBS had appreciated him more, too. "The suits" never understand that you need "good" guys like WRM/Cole to counter-balance the heavies (like Angela and Richard) or else the show falls apart. Actually, I could take-or-leave Abby Dalton and Julia. Besides, Angela didn't really need two daughters on the show. Emma could have been Angela's sole daughter and Lance's eccentric mother, and the show wouldn't have missed a beat.

What is going on with Cynthia Watros' face? And is GH so strapped for cash now that they can't afford Grecian Formula for the men?

Well, if that casting doesn't put an end to the whole insane practice, nothing will.

Works for me!

Angela and Melissa's rivalry was the only saving grace on an otherwise troubled show.

Agree.

Agree. To me, it seemed too much like Mickey and Judy putting on another show in old man McCutcheon's barn. It was just dumb effing luck that the results didn't look amateurish on-screen.

Why does that not surprise me? Giving Erica a son wasn't the worst idea. But, IMO, you could have achieved the same effect simply by introducing a quick-witted orphan who gradually works his way into Erica's heart and then becomes her legally adopted ward (at a time when she has no romantic prospects to speak of, and she is truly taking stock of her life).

God, I hate that damn show SO. MUCH. Obviously, Langan learned nothing from those men.

So were a lot of people, apparently. And I still don't understand why.

Well, that seemed pretty obvious even as I was watching the Mardi Gras explosion unfold. Maybe "domesticating" Janet to the point of having her sit all day in the Dillon living room and fold laundry was, in retrospect, a surefire road to nowhere, but McTavish's fervent desire to turn her into some mad bomber was just as baffling. I mean, as wacky as Janet From Another Planet was, she was an audience favorite nevertheless, so why would you want to paint her into a corner like that? I just don't get it.

Easiest bet anyone will ever make.

Soaps are supposed to be written FOR women, so why those who write and produce these shows decided along the way that having women fight like dogs over men would appeal to their female viewers...? Frankly, it baffles me.

Esme. Gladys. Brando. Who da fuq is responsible for naming the characters on this show!?

Great. One pointless character discovers he has feelings for another pointless character. "Please join us again...for THE YOUNG...AND THE POINTLESS." And why in the name of God is Nick still cavorting around with people in their twenties!? God, I hate the soaps.

Please, no one needs to relive Amish Reva.

It's like the joke about CBS always forgetting to cancel KNOTS LANDING. JJY has stayed as long as he has on GH, because they keep forgetting to write him out. John as anything other than Roman Brady was the end for me.

No, because "men don't get raped." But seriously. Even Sheri Anderson, Leah Laiman and Thom Racina took time out during those hectic days of far-flung adventures to make us understand why this-or-that character was doing what they were doing at the moment. It probably wasn't as deep as anything Harding Lemay wrote on ANOTHER WORLD; in fact, I know it wasn't, lol. But not once did I ever watch and ask, "Now, why in God's name are they doing that!?". As romance-focused as they were, they still tried to make it make sense. JER didn't. It was just, "Ooooooooh, chile, did you just see Carrie slap the [!@#$%^&*] outta Sami!?!?!?".

Honestly, what Sami needed, and still needs, is for Maeve Ryan to sit her ass down and give her a good, long, talking to.

Yeah, it was smart. Of course, it would have been even smarter to give them strong ties to the hospital. For instance, Bill (who still could've been played by Tony Geary, although...maybe not) could have been introduced as a new surgeon, the product of a blue-collar family who sacrificed a lot to put him through medical school, and was happy to be reunited with his clan after spending years working at a hospital somewhere on the West Coast. Then, in addition to Bill and Sly, the son by an ex-wife who, as the story suggests, is a gold-digger who was more concerned about being rich than being a wife and mother, we're gradually introduced to the rest of the Eckerts: Fred, Angela, Jenny, perhaps even a younger brother who becomes a rival with A.J. Quartermaine for some girl's affections.

And exactly where does this pathological behavior stem from? That's always been my $64,000 question for Samantha Gene Brady. Some blame it on the fact that she was raped by Alan Harris, but I'm like, "As awful as being raped can be for anyone, young or old, male or female, this goes way deeper than being raped." And you can't blame the selfishness and narcissism on Roman not being there for her childhood, because, as far as everyone was concerned, John was Roman. She had a father -- and a single father at that -- raising her. So, is Sami the way she is, because Marlena was absent for most of her young life? Is that it? You have to explain it to me, DAYS, like I'm a damn five-year-old. Otherwise, I'm just gonna think this brat is (still) bratty because that is what the plot requires. (See also: Heather Grant Webber, GH.)

Well, it definitely would have been jarring for many to watch, lol. But, to me, one of two things needed to result from the Two Romans saga: either John shifts into villain/anti-hero mode (which I suggested upthread), or Roman does. Because, IMO, a retcon that massive required showing a character, or characters, in a completely different, but well-motivated, light. John and Marlena's affair/Belle's conception? That's...okay, but nothing really changes from that except the towels in the bathroom. John, Marlena and Roman are essentially unchanged after the affair -- which is why it worked better as justification for Sami turning into a total bitch than it did anything else. PLUS...think about it: having Roman slowly go mad and turning more and more into the man he spent his career trying to take down...? I'm not saying I would have wanted Roman to become another, cartoonish supervillain like Stefano -- we'd still have to have hope for redemption somewhere down the road, or else Roman's gonna end up like Sam Reynolds on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW -- but that would have been an ironic transformation too delicious not to play.

Take out the part about Ryan's dad, and it sounds an awful lot like Kyle Sampson and Miss Sally Gleason on GL. Not saying it's an awful idea -- in fact, it might be the one, rare, good idea Megan McTavish ever had as a writer -- but I can see very clearly where she got it from. (Hell, maybe she was the one who came up with it at the other show!)

Poor Scott Bryce. I feel like he returned the last time out of a sense of loyalty -- both to the show, and to its' fans -- but had a difficult time understanding how and why Craig had not just regressed but had become an entirely different person. (Same goes for Ed Fry. I read Kelley Menighan talk about how frustrated he was with Larry's motivation, or lack thereof, in the whole Hunter mess.)