GH: Vet Actress bumped to Recurring

[stenbeck212]

Hateful, ageist decisions ignorant of history. Those are in no short supply! Well, she stuck it out for a LONG time making principal wages with recurring airtime. Now the salary and airtime will match.

[JackPeyton]

i dont like it - but i dont have an issue with it either.

really, the fact that she wasnt dropped to recurring years and years ago is shocking. recurring is where she belong. she plys a recurring minor supporting char that hasnt even had a storyline in years. yes JZ spent 30 years on GH, but why does that entitle her to life contract? soaps cant afford life contracts anymore. and yes they could just write for her and not other newbies and younger people, but they are not.

why is recurring looked upon as this awful thing? Tracy Bregman has been great on recurring on Y&R.

[Ryan]

JP I love you.....but if I could see you I'd probably throw something at you, lol. Being recurring on ABC (when you're older) is basically preparing you for your character to be killed off. CBS does good w/ their actors on recurring....because they do a fairly good job with writing for everyone.

Also take into consideration that Y&R wants Tracy on contract, but she chose to be on recurring.

No one is saying that she's entitled to a lifetime contract (which is the same [!@#$%^&*] people said about the late great Anna Lee). But she deserves a lot better than what they're giving her (and have been giving her). At ABC, once you reach a certain age, you're expendable. That's a horrible atmosphere to have. On top of that, they're getting rid of HISTORY. HISTORY! If people wanna know why Y&R and B&B are the top soaps (even with shitty writing at times)? It's because they use their history.....with their VETERANS. Not just "recent" history. Because you know, with GH, if it didn't happen within the last 10 years with Sonny/Jason/Carly, then it technically doesn't exist (and using 10 years is a stretch).

[dragonflies]

They Julia Barr'd Jackie, but IMO this is much, much worse

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Really it goes deeper than just another vet being treated like crap, the entire ABC Daytime division needs one hell of a shakeup. Frons, JFP, Guza, JHC, B&E, and Valentini all need to be fired. Until ABC cleans house, nothing on its soaps will ever change or get better.

[SoapQueen89]

It may or may not entitle her to a lifetime contract but it does entitle her to some DAMN RESPECT! ABCD and the minions there have NO respect for their veterans, none whatsoever.

With Robin Christopher on her way out, I'm hoping that Rick Hearst will follow. He is being wasted on GH - and can be used on another soap with better material. Perhaps than he'll be used as a LEAD actor instead of propping the STARS of this drivel they call GH.

[NeoAngelicLiz]

I don't think GH is trying to "f*ck" with her at all or being disrespectful. I mean they made a decision and told her about it. Its not like we're gonna be losing her forever.

I like the character and I'd love to see her more often but I'm not gonna lose any sleep over this.

[dragonflies]

Really? Who says? For all we know they might have Bobbie be a victim of the serial killer.....

[Juliajms]

Yeah, I think this DOES mean we are losing her forever. If we are lucky they'll pull her out once a year at Christmas. This really does suck. They've been revamping the hospital side, so it was the perfect opportunity to use Bobbie now and again.

[dragonflies]

I think this is just the first step before she's gone for good

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I just hope we get some sort of X-Mas miracle and GH gets a creative overhaul, but I'm not holding my breath.

[c0rinne]

GH (and ABC soaps in general) have been such crap that I just don't see them continuing past 2015 (probably not even that long). I just feel like things have degraded so much due to mis-management and bad writing that the whole atmosphere is completely in-conducive to good story-telling.

I think ABC soaps are perpetuating their own destruction. As things get worse, they do nothing to fix the problems, they just try to do stunts or get rid of the symptoms, but refuse to cure the underlying issues.

I was actually more shocked to hear JZ was still on contract up until now, I mean she really isn't used.

That's not to say that it's a good decision or a bad decision, it's just a something.

JZ's reduction of status is a symptom of mis-management, but it is also a symptom of our consumer culture. We as viewers abdicated our responsibilities to complain and for the network to give us what we want to see.

Sure there are the few, tireless protesters that create campaigns to fix the system, but on the whole, the average viewer hasn't done much.

But now, we see that even those passive viewers have decided to turn away. No real vocal complaints, but no ratings either.

Sadly though, I fear it is too late. The regime of mis-management has coopted the few, trashed the rest, and embedded themselves in the system in such a way that I doubt they'll ever be removed.

I believe a vet's future in 5 years is no more or less certain than Steve Burton's future is. The system failed, and now we all pay.

[KMan101]

Wow! That's absolute bullshit.

It amazes me because we've got Carly who is in EVERY storyline, Lulu who's now shoved down our throats, Lucky, Luke, etc. and they NEVER used Bobbie. Unbelivable. Noah came back. NO Bobbie. Jerry came back. NO Bobbie. Scotty came back. NO Bobbie.

Total and complete bullshit.

Poor Jackie Zeman. Happy 30th Anniversary. What a slap in the face.

[PhoenixRising05]

You know...I said the other day I would never wish ill will on a show in the current state of daytime but telling a a veteran actress who has stood on the sidelines graciously despite being treated like [!@#$%^&*] for many years that you are dropping her to recurring (which means that she is gone, basically) as she nears her 30th anniversary is not only disrespectful but it calls for me to wish nothing but ill will for this show.

It treats it's long-running stars like [!@#$%^&*]. Sure, most of daytime does but not like this. Not with such coldness and harshness. This is a big !@#$%^&*] you to Jackie and her superb work over the years. I hope that so many people jump ship from this soap that nothing is left but the JPF pimp brigade of characters. I have given this show chances and keep trying to watch but no more. I'm done. I hope the ratings tank. So much of what made GH great is gone and this is another sign that they don't get it. They just don't.

Let's keep that Spinelli on contract .and make sure we add another guy to chase after our beloved Lulu so she don't get bored. GMAB GH. Go plan your next sweeps stunt. What vet or legacy character will you choose to kill off next?

[DaytimeFan]

As I type this my hands are actually shaking just a little bit. I am absolutely outraged and disgusted with 'General Hospital' , ABC Daytime and Walt Disney Studios as a whole. I am not one to wish ill on daytime...but for this I hope GH experiences plummeting ratings and is canceled swiftly. This show has become an absolute farce and the only thing that kept me holding on was the veteran cast, especially an actress named Jackie Zeman.

This is the defining slap in the face in regards to a veteran. Anna Lee was bad, Julia Barr was worse but Jackie Zeman takes the goddamn cake. I am so f--king angry I can hardly contain myself! 30 years on this show carrying major story day in and day out, keeping her chin up, shoulders back and a smile on her face even when the scenes became shorter and the storylines became thinner. Jackie never trashed the show when she would have been entitled to: Jackie Zeman was a team player. She didn't pull the diva sh*t that so many actresses do. Even when she was passed over for 'Night Shift' which was perfect for her she kept a sunny attitude, never speaking ill of ABC or that son of a bitch Brian Frons.

The ageist attitude that has been adopted by ABC is absolutely deplorable. I challenge anyone to show me a vet on this network who has been treated worse than Jackie Zeman since the arrival of Brian Frons.

Over the years GH has become harder and harder to watch and yet I couldn't fully tear myself away. Not anymore.

It's fitting that today's episode had Jackie Zeman in it for it will be the final episode of GH that I will intentionally watch. Jackie Zeman was my absolute favorite performer on GH and ABC as a whole and with her departure from contract comes my departure as a viewer. For her sake I can only hope that Tony Geary, who has protected her for so long and through so many contract negotiations, threatening to quit when her last one was done, will insist on her presence as much as he can and that Bobbie Spencer will not become a veritable ghost in Port Charles like so many other legendary characters like Lesley Webber, Kevin Collins and Lucy Coe.

I won't even dignify Frons, JFP, Guza and anyone else associated with Jackie's ouster with anything except this comment: All of you are worthless individuals and are not worth even a stroke on the keyboard.

Jackie Zeman, I thank you for 30 magnificent years on 'General Hospital'. As an actress you are one of my favorites and a true star. As a woman you have shown yourself to be a smart, wise and kind person who was always happy to meet a fan and kept a smile on her face even when times were rough. In tribute, my avatar will be changed to reflect Jackie Zeman and her contribution to this genre. I will never forget her work, it is indelible and will be with me and in the hearts of millions of viewers forever.