I haven't watched GL in about a month, although I taped it. I've been SO busy with school that when I come home late, I go straight to the MyNet shows.

I'm watching yesterday's episode right now and the biggest problem I have with GL is that it seems SO unfocused! I know a lot of people have been complaining about that exact same thing, but I just don't see any clear story map for any of these characters. It's almost as though they spin a wheel and decide what's gonna happen that week.

I've never had a problem with the Inside the Light episodes. I think they are great for lighthearted, funny character insights or to allow serious plot points to come to a head. But, how can I look forward to the lighthearted, funny stuff when that spills into EVERY episode of the week? Does the ITL then have no purpose?

I'm really NOT interested in seeing Dinah and Mallet woo Vanessa into picking one show for a timeslot. Why not have TWO shows? I think a storyline about WSPR would be intriguing. I actually wrote one for the PGP Contest a few years ago(in fact, Dinah was in cahoots with Brent Lawrence to do a tabloid show to bring down all their enemies and they fell in love in the process). But this IS a soap opera. A drama series. Enough with the lighthearted sitcom bullshit. I WANT ACTION! And seeing rinky-dink Springfield PD eating donuts and having Cops-Style cameras following them around ain't gonna do it. Gina Tognoni's acting talents deserve better than this.

Then, things still aren't looking good for Jonathan and Tammy. And not that I mind there's a quad in the Remy/Tammy/Jonathan/Lizzie storyline, the main problem is REMY. I have always believed that. Stephanie Gatschet and *ThatGuyWhoPlaysRemy* have no chemistry with each other, never have, and never will. It would make sense if the guy trying to woo Tammy were someone we already had an investment in(like Coop) or if Remy were played by someone who had MAD SEX APPEAL and/or ACTING CHOPS(Doesn't take much. Just ask Shemar Moore!). This guy has neither and should have been replaced LONG AGO! I'm also pissed that Jonathan and Tammy haven't found their way back to each other yet.

But that isn't as bothersome as how literally STAGNANT this and every other storyline on the canvas seems to be. There isn't enough movement and storylines are often resolved or go to the next plot point without explaining how we got out of those situations to begin with.

GL has, by far, one of the BEST casts in daytime(hell, even Michelle Ray Smith has made herself a worthy contender and I thought that would NEVER happen!). Instead of focusing on these tired ass sitcom gimmicks and stalling the plot, I want to see more action in the day-to-day workings of this show.

The cast deserves way better than this.

Great post, bellcurve!

The show does feel like it's in a weird storyline limbo right now (with the recent exception of Reva's cancer), and nothing is happening in any storyline. It's better than it's been most of the year right now, but it still has a LONG way to go before it's actually good again. And don't even get me started on the current Dinah/Mallet storyline with "The Law" (gag me).

"The Law" should be cancelled and the person that thought it was a good idea should be fired.

Gina is being wasted in this lightweight storyline. If you can even call this arc a true story.

The show's biggest problem is that it focuses primarily on one storyline at the expense of others and islanding other disjointed arcs.

GL was forcedfed Reva, now this bs pariring of Lizzy/Jonathan. Now that Tom/Steph are leaving, we're being subjected to another offering of Harley, but there is no follow through on Olivia's recovery from her rape.

And where is Blake, Ashlee and the skinny girl Leah? Is she in rehab with Nicole Ritchie?

Gina is being wasted in this lightweight storyline. If you can even call this arc a true story.

The show's biggest problem is that it focuses primarily on one storyline at the expense of others and islanding other disjointed arcs.

GL was forcedfed Reva, now this bs pariring of Lizzy/Jonathan. Now that Tom/Steph are leaving, we're being subjected to another offering of Harley, but there is no follow through on Olivia's recovery from her rape.

And where is Blake, Ashlee and the skinny girl Leah? Is she in rehab with Nicole Ritchie?

Leah can disappear because she doesn't serve any purpose on the show.

GL was forcedfed Reva, now this bs pariring of Lizzy/Jonathan.

Reva was a big problem for me too. I almost wished Zimmer wouldn't have renewed her contract, so we wouldn't have to be subjected to her overacting.

And where is Blake, Ashlee and the skinny girl Leah? Is she in rehab with Nicole Ritchie?

LOL. I *HEART* YOU!

The show does feel like it's in a weird storyline limbo right now (with the recent exception of Reva's cancer), and nothing is happening in any storyline. It's better than it's been most of the year right now, but it still has a LONG way to go before it's actually good again.

Really? I thought the first half of the year was well-executed, beautifully acted, and kept me on my toes. Once fall rolled in, the Zzzzzzz factor came in.

Actually, pretty much all of 2006, except the month of November, has been boring for me. This has just not been a good year for GL at all, IMO.

IMO, DK lost his touch a long time ago. He was good in 04, parts of 2005, and only a few times in 2006.

I couldn't believe it myself, but you're right bellcurve, GL is boring. If you ask me it has been for quite some time. Even the cancer storyline had it's moments (Most of the boring in that storyline was due to how repetitious it became.).

I hate how GT is being wasted with this WSPR crap.

And where is Blake, Ashlee and the skinny girl Leah? Is she in rehab with Nicole Ritchie?

LMAO! I thought Blake was in coma or something like that? (How convenient for DK who appears to have a short attention span with characters like her.).

Biggest problem to me: Kim Zimmer and Tom Pelphrey.

ETA: Plus the writing.

Thanks so much for starting this thread! I haven't been one to bash GL before but the show kinda sucks right now. In fact, I could be watching today's episode but I. just. don't. care.

This may appear a little incoherent. I just came home from two exams (one of which I'm sure I failed) and having my plans of seeing "Blood Diamond" go down the drain because my mom couldn't make it on time and I don't wanna wait another 2 hours for the next showing... Anyhoo, my big complain with GL right now, is like has been mentioned, the fact that characters seem to be in limbo, a lot of characters are acting out of character, and there is no good fallout with any story.

Take yesterday's episode for example:

- Why the hell did they make Tammy so stupid? She only figured out now that Lizzie wanted Jonathan for herself??? You know what's even lamer? Lizzie was acting like a total sanctimonious [!@#$%^&*] to Tammy yet Tammy ends up looking like she's destroying Lizzie's "home". In short, I don't know who the writers want us to root for but personally, I wish Tammy had [!@#$%^&*]slapped Lizzie for being the worst friend ever.

- I like Remy and I don't mind him and Tammy as friends. I just wish they'd stop making Tammy so boy-centered...but the same thing could be said about Lizzie and Dinah.

- Jonathan is one of my favourite characters on this but now...he's *gasp* boring! I hate this castrated version! Changing a character for the better is one thing but changing them to the point where they become unrecognizable is another. There's NO WAY Jonathan would have given up what he wanted to marry someone he didn't love and create this fake family. Since when did you have to get married just because you made a baby in this supposedly modern society?? The whole thing's beyond retarded. Tammy & Jonathan are probably one of the best pairings this show has seen in the past few years and what do the writers do to them almost an entire year before they leave..put them in this shithole of a story. I didn't mind the story so much back in April or heck, October, but even I have my limits.

- Reva's martyrdom after all the crap she put her whole family through makes me want to puke! I love how she's just about as obsessive over her grandchild just like Alan is. I think I'm one of the few who has absolutely grown to hate the Jonathan/Reva relationship. The way she treats him like her second chance (after all her failures with her own children) and expects him to make up for her mistakes is selfish. Trying to portray the Shayne/Lewises (plus Jonathan) as this Brady family is all sorts of wrong.

- Josh forgives Reva too soon. WTF? I like Josh & Cassie but if he's still going to moon over Reva, I say split those two up. Josh thinks he can have his cake and eat it, too. When he said he thought of Sarah as his own grandchild to Cassie..that was another WTF moment for me. Not only is he putting his connection with Reva out there, he's being totally insensitive to Tammy, Cassie's daughter. But then again, that should come as no surprise since Reva doesn't seem to give a damn about her niece as well. I am also sick of Reva being "Miss Popular"...she has two brothers fawning over her, who would go to the ends of the earth for her...it's just...too much.

- Dinah/Mallet: I used to love Dinah but God, her storylines are soo boring now! I really have nothing more to say other than I think Mallet & Marina would make a better pair at this point. At least their funny together. Dinah & Mallet just try to be funny...and don't succeed.

- Alan-Michael is too good of a character to be shown only once a week or less! Arghh..backburn Reva if you have to (I completely agree with those who wish Reva had remained dead...I am so sick of her!). They should be giving him a story of his own besides play Ava's bodyguard.

- I really like the Olivia/Ava/Jeffrey story but they having Jeffrey act like he did nothing wrong was just a bad idea.

- Alan's obsession with Sarah. Too stupid for words. I am so sick of this caricature. I have no clue why Beth continues to stay married to this guy.

- I guess I should care about Rick & Mel's marriage but I don't. We saw nothing beforehand that made them a rootable couple for me so Rick's determination to save his marriage right now seems rather shallow.

- I feel really horrible for Gus right now...but I've never liked him and Harley as a couple so I'm not sure how I'll even get into their storyline.

- The whole Springfield Burns thing was kinda cute at first but an all-around bad idea...the fallout could have been good, though but they only managed to give us those really good scenes for only one day. WTH happened to Blake? We should be seeing how the entire town feels about her being the blogger and about how angry they at her for using them and betraying them like that but nada.

There seems to be only one or two really good weeks every 6 months or so. The storylines in general are so badly planned out. It drives me bonkers because the writers have shown they can really come up with some great [!@#$%^&*] and they have this great acting pool to work with but they totally waste it!

I'm really beginning to think that DK doesn't even try planning out his storylines ahead of time anymore. In the last few months, everything has seemed like it was conceived with no clear direction in mind, which is one reason why none of the storylines work. That, and the fact that we're not even being given reason to care in the first place.

For Instance...

I don't care about Rick and Mel's breakup. Why? Because we never even saw them until it was suddenly discovered that Rick was sleeping with Beth!

I don't care about Gus and Harley's problems conceiving. Why? Because I've never particularly cared for them as a couple, and between shoving the two characters down my throat and then keeping them beyond backburnered for months doesn't really help.

I don't care about Coop and Ava as a couple. I hate Ava yes, but Coop/Ava is the most shallow pairing on the show right now, with no chemistry yet they are forced together.

I don't care about Dinah and Mallet's latest shenanigans, because I haven't even liked Dinah/Mallet as a couple in a LONG time. Not to mention the fact that I hate the whole asinine "storyline" about their competing reality shows.

And so on...You get the picture.

It's really hard to be interested in GL right now when there's virtually nothing to invest in.

There's been clear movement on Gus and Harley getting a baby, and with Olivia revealing herself as Ava's mother and trying to get Jeffrey. I don't agree that the show is stagnant.

I'm fine with Dinah and Mallet's lightweight storyline. It's fun. I don't want Dinah to be starting a fire again or whatever. There's already drama elsewhere on the show.

You want to see a real example of stagnant, week-by-week, directionless, change-on-a-whim, boring writing? ATWT is the prime exhibit, not GL, in my opinion.

Edited December 15, 200619 yr by jfung79

There's been clear movement on Gus and Harley getting a baby, and with Olivia revealing herself as Ava's mother and trying to get Jeffrey. I don't agree that the show is stagnant.

You want stagnant, week-to-week, change-on-a-whim, boring writing, and ATWT is the prime exhibit, not GL.

Right now they're pretty much competing for that "honor".

Right now they're pretty much competing for that "honor".

Hehe, well, now that I think about it, probably a show like Passions really has the "honor" wrapped up.

But it's more frustrating on ATWT and/or GL (depending on your opinion) because we know they are capable of much better.

Edited December 15, 200619 yr by jfung79