Khan

From what I understand, though, the network's reversing their decision on "Star Trek" was kind of a double-edged sword.  Yes, the franchise got another season, but with a reduced budget and without Gene Roddenberry's participation.

I've had only one poster adorn my bedroom walls, and it was of the "Beverly Hills, 90210" cast during that one "summer season" when I actually loved the show.  (Boy, did I get over that obsession quickly, lol.)

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

I am not disagreeing or anything, but why do you think the Cassadines are worse than Jason or Sonny?

I don't, lol!  If I had my druthers, the "mob element" AND the Cassadines would have been phased out a long time ago (along with things like Crimson, Deception, the Metro Court, etc.) in favor of a renewed focus on the hospital and the complex and all-too-human personal lives of its' staff.*  Claire Labine and Wendy Riche worked so hard to turn GH into a grounded, relatable show again after a decade or more of OTT supervillains and action/adventure storylines.  To me, Bob Guza's decision to reactivate the Cassadines was a real step backward.

Again, I'm not disparaging any characters connected to that family, nor am I disparaging anyone who's a fan of them, but I've questioned for decades whether families like the Cassadines really belong anymore on daytime.  (Same goes for DAYS's DiMera clan, by the by, lol).

(*Or, at the very least, I would have offloaded all that onto PORT CHARLES, because the show, after all, is called GENERAL. HOSPITAL.)

36 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

I hope this is true and if it is does this mean VR can return to YR?

"Come home, Miss Rowell, all is forgiven!"

First, Patrick Mulcahey comes out of retirement to co-head-write GH; then, Michele Val Jean leaves B&B to launch THE FIRST NEW SOAP OPERA TO PREMIERE IN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS; and now, this.  2024 is truly shaping up to be a pivotal year in the history of daytime.

If this is true, then I wonder what prompted SONY's decision.  Did something transpire BTS to force Kent out?  Has SONY been planning this move for awhile, or...?  Are they dissatisfied with DAYS's and Y&R's performance in the ratings and felt the time was right for a shakeup?  Does TG have them running scared?  Are they seeking a replacement for Kent, or are they phasing out his position altogether?  So many questions, lol.

17 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Someone said he and Josh Griffith are basically besties, so maybe we'll get rid of JG too!

Yeah, I'm wondering how this might affect JG and his current situation at Y&R, too.

32 minutes ago, janea4old said:

Chase also gets the bachelor party treatment at the hatchet range. 
A surprise guest shows up at Chase's party. 

I think it'd be hilarious if there were some sort of mixup and Chase got the male stripper that was intended for Brook Lynn's bridal shower.

20 minutes ago, Aragorn said:

I don't think the new writers want the Cassadines back.

Personally, I wouldn't want them back either, if I were handling the HW'ing duties on this show.  No offense to the actors or to their fans, but I truly believe the time has come to bring these shows back to the kinds of characters and storylines that mean the most to viewers.  So much is happening in our world these days, and I feel soaps as a whole really lost something vital when they stopped reflecting that reality.

nm

2 hours ago, Vee said:

There is no chance I believe ABC or Disney have any interest in this size of a massive cast.

1 hour ago, ranger1rg said:

I don't either. Not for a second. It makes no sense.

32 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

Yeah that’s Frank, it’s been his style on this show since nearly the beginning when the show was on the chopping block still. He cut his teeth on GH with Ron telling heavy recurring character stories, and kept it up after RC left. That’s how they told the 50th, it’s just way too much now.

I agree with all y'all, lol. 

At the end of the day, ABCD/Disney is a corporation, and what are corporations about?  The bottom line.  Producing a daily, one-hour (with commercials) drama with a cast of 20-25 actors is a helluva lot cheaper than producing one with a cast of 60 or more, lol.

No, I tend to think GH's current cast size (on- and off-contract) is all Frank Valentini's doing.  I don't know what reason he has for keeping so many on the payroll, though, unless he's just so darned loyal and hates to see anyone out of work?

2 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Was Ava taking bi-polar medicine not made for her to sleep?  Or did she just get his bi-polar meds analyzed?

If Ava is taking bipolar medication, she should be freaking the hell out: convulsions, hallucinations, whatever.

1 hour ago, Marco Dane said:

Premiere ad campaign: "Black is about to get a whole lot more beautiful."

2 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

It actually seems a little weird to me that Konstantin was expecting an inheritance from the man who sent someone to kill him but accidentally got his daughter 

That's nothing compared to some of our own families, lol.

41 minutes ago, Darn said:

They'd be smart to get daytime legends and not a bunch of TP castoffs.

I agree!

1 minute ago, Soapsuds said:

I was thrilled when she joined ATWT but she just didn't fit on the show. 

To be fair, her role on ATWT was a thankless one.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

He said he'd still be glad to do a soap (he mentioned GH).

OMG, yes!  Yes, yes, a thousand times, YES!!  IDK where Bekins would fit on the current GH canvas, but if I were Elizabeth Korte, Patrick Mulcahey, Frank Valentini or Nathan Varni, I'd make the room!

Thanks, @DRW50, for that recap!

54 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Two of the many reasons I loved watching DAYS back in the '80's.

They should chemistry-test him with Tracey Bregman for two reasons:

1. I think they would look cute together.

2. If their characters were to marry, her character's name would become "Lauren Laurent."

3 hours ago, carolineg said:

I could be wrong, but the way SR plays it makes me feel like Maggie knows what's up.

One thing about farm girls: they're a lot savvier than city folks ever give them credit for!

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

Marlena: She's radioactive.

2 hours ago, Vee said:

It's no secret she can potentially be high maintenance or eccentric. But she's earned it at GH.

It's like what I always say: you can get away with acting like a diva if you have the goods to back it up.  It's only a problem when your behavior is as shitty as your performance, or vice-versa.

IMHO, GH needs Vanessa/Brenda, because Carly in particular needs Brenda.  In fact, Carly probably needs Brenda more than even Sonny does, because Brenda - again, IMO - is the only character who can fight Carly's fire with fire of her own.  IOW, Brenda brings out the best in Carly.  (Or the worst, depending on how you look at it, lol).

Carly by herself as a lead (anti-)heroine is okay, but Carly and Brenda...?  That, my friends, is like having a license to print money.

1 hour ago, janea4old said:

In 2024 it's probably a writing pivot.

That was my thinking as well.  

Perhaps, Ashley's DID is due to Dr. Laurent's, um, influence?   

1 hour ago, Vee said:

Circling back to GH re: these crossovers, I still can't get over how the strike business with Martin (remember him?) being married to Blair from OLTL went absolutely nowhere. He has some big dumb secret about getting alimony from her and does Lucy ever find out or learn that the Deceptor was apparently stolen from Blair by him? I don't recall so. Pointless.

Zoiks!  I totally forgot about Tad Martin!  And that he was once married to Blair!

At the risk of sounding like I'm criticizing: I'm sure the story with Blaze and her mother is one that's rooted in truth, especially about the Latinx and Hispanic communities, but its' inherent conflict is just lost on me.  I mean, it's 2024; and we're still concerned over what "coming out" could do to one's career in the entertainment industry?  Am I missing something here?

1 minute ago, Vee said:

Am I crazy or was Charlie Brent the Man of Enchantment?

I think that's how the brief Charlie/Erica romance started!

Quick question: why is it called "Home & Heart" and not "Home & Hearth"?  And is it just a shopping network, or do they air other kinds of programming, too?

24 minutes ago, dc11786 said:

Or for that matter, has any show had a cosmetics company develop a make up brand for a male clientele? 

IDK whether this counts, but I do remember AMC's Erica Kane launching a "Man of Enchantment" campaign for her cosmetics company way back during the Clinton administration.

11 minutes ago, Vee said:

and then there's poor little Patrick Gibbons' recurring role as the boy scout Wyatt when all that poor non-acting teenager wants to do is go play hockey back home

LOL!!

Speaking of OLTL, I'm genuinely surprised that Frank Valentini has yet to find a way to bring Andrew Trischitta (ex-Jack) onto GH.

2 minutes ago, Vee said:

I suspect people are right that they had very little time to work on long-term plans. The slow character focus for the last month suggests that to me. Unlike others I was never convinced they had a bible in place because frankly I don't think the networks have been giving any soap people much time to work on that when they are hired on anymore; I don't think what happened at Y&R with Sussman was an isolated incident, and we've seen so few new HW hires in the last decade anyway that weren't just internal people or recycled like Griffith. They're just handing someone the baton with very little lead time to work up plans and saying 'go'.

I agree!

I also agree that it's time to start thinning out the canvas, if for no other reason than there's too much going on atm and that the more characters and storylines they need to service on this show, the harder it is for them to concentrate on what's really striking a chord with the audience.  I'd much rather watch a cast of 20-25 involved in 2-3 great storylines (even if it means some vets have to be phased out or phased out again!) than watch a cast of 70-75 involved 5-6 storylines where the quality is hit-or-miss JUST because it means I get to see Lucy or Robert or whoever again on a regular or semi-regular basis.

4 minutes ago, Vee said:

I was very high on much of the last month but It's been a rough week or more, I've liked and cringed at stuff in equal measure the last however many days.

Like I've said in the "Gates" thread, I wonder whether EK and PM are still working off whatever outlines/projections/post-its their predecessors might have left behind.

Just now, Vee said:

They have been having the same conversation for over a year. Just let the horse kill her.

TBH, even with all the improvements, I still tune out on a lot of stuff, but only because they are so unfamiliar characters and I haven't been watching long enough to know everything that's going on.

59 minutes ago, Vee said:

Getting her out of being the Face was at least a step away from Princess Slow-Talker.

LOL!!

55 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Weren't they basically already lol?  Sasha was and Cody was her sidekick/male model/whatever. 

Really?  In the short time that I've been following GH again, I've only seen or known Cody as the cute stable boy.  My bad!