GL Changes Look This Week

[Greg's GL]

OMG, Vee! Isn't that story the absolute worst ever for Harley? Admittedly, she's never been one of my favorite characters like Reva or Olivia, but this story is horrid from beginning to end. The entire pretense of CHarley's "love story" was forced and rang untrue to the characters and the situation. Now they're sneaking around, having sex in the back seat of cars while Harley's kids are having a pizza party! Com'on.

Yes, BE did say in her letter that she thought 2008 would be Gus & Harley's reconciliation year and that she and RPG were looking forward to "falling in love" for the fans again. And like you, Vee, I'm not a huge Gus fan - I actually loved Philip and Harley before EW/DK took a hatchet to the character to GA's character - but it's WAY BETTER than Harley and CyVirus.

And I never thought it possible, but EW/DK have made me completely HATE Cassie even more than I did a year ago! This character needs to find her way back to Chicago and her stripper pole like NOW. I want her out of Springfield forever, never to return. Maybe the spawn of Satan Will can use the 'ol "shove" trick on her. Please. Pretty please!

[Vee]

My issues with Cassie is that she seems to suddenly be getting vilified. I thought Nicole Forester's Cassie was only interesting as a morally gray character like this, yes, and that she should've fallen into corruption being seduced by Edmund and coddling Will, but the way they're doing a similar thing now seems so sudden and random, and there's no consistency. One minute Cassie is a psycho bitch - with too little buildup - the next she is Josh's unrecognizable housewife again. I've never been a big fan of the character, but at least she'd be a little more recognizable if her descent was well-written and played. But it isn't. It's just turning on and off every couple days.

I do actually like Josh and Reva together again for once which is very rare for me (I literally have never liked them together before). I think the fact that Reva has been de-'heroine-fied' helps, because let's face it, she's old and trashy and they seem to be able to write for it (and little else). But Josh the priest still needs to go.

Oh, and I must say though I love Crystal Chappell I find the whole Olivia/Gus/Natalia thing idiotic and horrible. There is no longterm plotting or consistency on this show. Didn't it start with Alan having an inexplicable lust for boring Natalia and wanting to use Olivia to take Gus off Nat's hands? Even though Natalia was supposed to be a spoiler for Gus and Harley? Then Olivia inexplicably falls for him (despite their rough history) and Natalia wants Olivia to marry him instead? No wonder probable death is the only way out for Gus's ruined character, nothing makes sense. In the last year it seems to have gone from a quad with Gus, Harley, FakeDylan and Natalia to a whole other weird world with Olivia and Cyrus. Nothing adds up, nothing comes full circle, nothing is resolved (like Alan's lust for Natalia), and only boring couples and bad characters like Natalia, Rafe, etc stick around.

[Ryan]

Frons has some nerve talking about quality. Does he even watch his network? Minus OLTL, ABC daytime is a clusterfuck of reeking suckitude.

[JamesF]

Just seen a version of the new opening. Not sure what to make of it. I see what they're going for but it's very cheesy and looks like it's been inspired by the slightly more polished openings of countries like Germany.

I prefer the theme tune without the lyrics but doesn't look like that's an option.

[JackPeyton]

as for the new opening... humm.. intersting. it fits the show.

[brimike]

I realize how completely stupid this makes me sound, but I'll say it anyway.

I COULDN'T FOLLOW IT.

Seriously. It jumped from character to scene so many times within each act, I couldn't follow the actual story.

I've watched Internet soaps, so the sound and lighting didn't bother me as much once I just accepted that this is just what it was going to be and I needed to get over it.

But look - there's Josh with Cassie. Josh with Jeffrey. Josh with Beth. Rick by himself in a jail cell. Mallet with Cassie. Mallet with Alan. Alan with Beth. Beth with Lizzie. Lizzie with Bill. Bill with Billy. Billy with Jonathan. Rick singing Yankee Doodle in a jail cell. Jonathan with Reva. Reva with Cassie. Cassie with Dinah. Dinah with Harley. Harley with Marina. Marina with --

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

My head's going to explode.

Do we need the entire cast to show up in every episode?

[JackPeyton]

^That is actually the one thing i love about GL. it moves. fast. they dont use entire scenes to explaine how josh is going to see jeff after his scene with cassie. he is just there. it cuts out so much filler [!@#$%^&*].

however, i do understand what you are saying.

remeber when GL would like bounce off a wall into another scene? or use the phone to do it? that was awsome.

[brimike]

JP - I'm all for moving fast, but that was like lightning speed. I wish there would be some middle-ground, just so I could get my bearings in each scene. Especially with so many new sets. And if you're trying to draw in new viewers by promoting today as the first big day, don't you want to make it easier to follow?

I do agree with you - I wish more soaps would get rid of a lot of the filler. But a bit of a through-line would be nice.

[JackPeyton]

^i agree, i do think GL takes it to the extreme.

it like GL has all these great things set in motion, but the execution sucks.

[Greg's GL]

There are times that I think GL should have gone out on a creative high note instead of it limping along toward certain death like it has been the last 5 years or so. I realize 5 years ago was not a creative high point for the show, but Millie Taggert was HW around that time - perhaps she could have written a graceful ending for Springfield.

As it stands now, I'm a little unsure of this "new way" of producing soaps. They are obviously doing this in the hopes GL will be renewed for another year. As much as I hate to say it, I would rather the show be canceled. Really, what's the point? They are not doing the history of GL any justice.

IF the stories were working, IF the characters were still viable and IF the new changes were all they have been hyped to be, then I'd be all for this change. However, my friends, in the algorithm of EW and DK's Springfield, this logic fails. Everytime.

[RoseVioletDaisy]

On the upside, at least the show now looks every bit as cheap, sleazy, and soulless as it actually is. That's kind of honest of them. No false advertising there. It looks like crap and if the horrific production values don't have you running from the rooming screaming, you discover that the show itself is even worse. A room full of monkeys hopped-up on NyQuil could write deeper, more intelligent material than the disrespectful, hideous, woman-hating dreck that this show is so full of. Nice job, Ellen, you arrogant moron.

[Sylph]

I cannot believe people are actually praising Ellen Wheeler... :shocked:

[Sylph]

* DOUBLE POST *

[UKBoi]

Does anyone have any clips/caps of the new open? I'm dying to see it!

[AddictedToSoaps]

Well I just watched it, and I must say - I don't hate it! I'm going to be cautiously optimistic about the whole thing.

First of all, the new opening isn't too bad. I love the logo. I would prefer the 2005 opening, but I'll take this over the hairy arms opening any day. I was surprised to hear that the music has vocals, it's a little repetitive, but I don't hate it. The whole opening kind of reminds me of Passions' opening.

Now to the camera work. It was a little shaky, as could be expected, but it didn't bother me. I'm sure it'll improve over time as the directors and such get used everything.

Now the sets...They seem very small and cramped. They don't look bad, but things feel too closed in. One of the things to get used to.

The overall stories were still bad, but I wasn't totally bored by them like I usually am. Reva was amazing, I too wish she smacked Cassie. That montage at the end was bad...too many scenes and it didn't make sense.