GL: March Discussion

[Soapsuds]

EW please bring back Maureen Garrett not only for me but so I can see Dan wet/[!@#$%^&*] his pants.

[Greg's GL]

Too funny!

And one more thing. The "Four Muskateers" reunion has really piqued my interest but I wonder how it will go over with BC as Beth (my fave Beth BTW) instead of JE who was in the role when they were on screen....hmmm....

Again, for the record, I LOVES ME SOME BC. But it might be strange to see the reunion without JE....

[DRW50]

I haven't seen Tammy's death either. I think I was too sick of her and Jonathan and that whole storyline by the last year or more. You have to be in the right frame of mind to watch and in those few years I wouldn't have cared if GL was canceled.

If people keep asking for Maureen Garrett to come back they're going to have her come back and share all her scenes with Grady and Ashlee, just because they're mean like that.

I'd love to see her again. They don't even mention her now.

[Dan]

Ain't THAT the truth... Which is why the whole "the Cooperz r the bestest family evr!" schtick Davey K has been going with just doesn't work. Even if Peter Simon's Ed didn't have charisma per se, he had that kind of heart and history that energized the entire show. I still remember seeing GL change almost IMMEDIATELY as soon as PS returned in 2002 and there are VERY FEW actors and characters that can have that kind of effect on a show. GA is one of them. A properly recast Michelle could do wonders as well.

I think that started with the whole victimization and martyrdom of Harley that actually started pretty early into her return. Playing the patsy as Beth and Phillip's past relationship ate away at her marraige, becoming a carrier for Rick Bauer's "slowpoke sperm" (credit for that line goes to the wonderful Annie Dutton), quarreling with Gus leading to the big-bad Spauldings taking Zach away from her, Gus betraying her by helping Alex and Alan, and Phillip going nutso and kidnapping Zach. And so on. That feisty Harley from the early-90s only had scant opportunities to show herself.

Their reunion from 2002 went off pretty well. All four of them had a great deal of chemistry, even with BC in Evans' place.

[Greg's GL]

And it's tragic that they use her daughter -- ROGER THORPE'S - daughter as a [!@#$%^&*] plot point. First she [!@#$%^&*] the rapist she's running against in the Mayoral race and disappears. Then she reappears in love with Mallet and then disappears. Then reappears in love with Coop and disappears. Ugh.

Holly and Blake deserve a major place on this show. Again - two legacy characters with rich history in Springfield and they are ignored and used as plot points because TPTB have no idea how to write for them. Talentless hacks.

[Dan]

Am I the only one curious as to why "fu-ck" and "[!@#$%^&*]-ing" are bleeped out but [!@#$%^&*] is not?

But anyway. The way Blake has been written is a crime. Or should be.

ETA: They could have had a PERFECT storylin for Blake when they brought back A-M in the form of Michael Dempsey. I still think his A-M and Blake could have sizzled. But they wasted him on f-ing Marina and Ava!

[DRW50]

When Harley returned I was very unhappy she was going to be paired with Phillip, because I knew Phillip was going to wear her down and take away what she used to be. I hoped when she got with Gus, she'd go back to being more fun, but then they started the crazy custody battle with Phillip. I think sometimes the writers of current soap don't know how to do this type of character who can still be lively even when going through trauma. Maybe that was a Pam Long specialty (but if it was she didn't show the capacity at OLTL).

They struggled with Blake for such a long time. I hated the story where she became an author and the information she uncovered about Selena caused the Santos matriarch to run Selena out of town. They made Blake look so stupid, this seemed to be some weird attempt to Lucy Coe-ify Blake.

I did like the Tory story, even if it ran too long, but then she fell onto the backburner (did she have any stories when Conboy/Weston were around) and now she only shows up as a plot device.

They should have stayed with what Blake was in 1994 and early 1995, a PI, an investigator. Or have her focus on the corporate world again. Or WSPR. The wacky, crazy Blake was not the Blake I knew. She should be sexy and most of all smart. Blake hasn't been smart since somewhere around 1995.

I didn't even know she was in love with Mallet.

[Dan]

I liked the Tory storyline too up until Tory disappeared from the cage and they had to concoct that ridiculous plan to fish her out. Then Tory drugged Ross and tried drowning him in the bathtub. But everything before that was fun. I LOVED Blake and Tory's banter while Blake was held captive.

ETA: Goddammit! Now I'm going to have to fish out my GL tapes from 2001-2. LOL!

[DRW50]

I had forgotten about the drowning attempt. I started getting tired of the story when Blake escaped capture and went to the beauty salon before she did anything else. I hate when they write Blake as stupid or shallow.

[Dan]

LMFAO! I had forgotten about that part! Yeah, that was right before the part where Tory disappeared again and then reappeared at Josh and Reva's wedding.

[DRW50]

Yeah, I was like, "Finally, Blake is smart again, she escaped, and...WTF? WTF?" I didn't realize at the time that was the last major story Blake or Ross would ever have.

[Dan]

Sigh...Jerry ver Dorn...Wheeler's biggest mistake EVER!

[DRW50]

I know, it's never been the same without Ross. Another reason I gave up around 2004-2005. He was so perfect as Ross. I'm glad OLTL gave him a job but he's all wrong for Clint.

I know he's not for all tastes, but it's actually Billy who kept me from quitting GL for good. Given Jordan Clarke's offscreen problems, I didn't think he'd ever be one of the last vets standing, but I'm glad they've kept him around, and mostly in character.

[Dan]

I sometimes think that Billy's side of the Lewis family was probably the more interesting and I thinkt hat's because his side of the family was always more integrated with the canvas at large. I mean we had Billy married to Nadine Cooper, while still pining away for ex-wife Vanessa. We had him tusseling with Roger over his relationship with Mindy while he was married to Alex. We had Alex and Mindy engaging in a manipulative game over the heart of Nick, while she still found time to be SF's resident fashion designer. Dylan was locked in a love triangle between Julie Cameletti and Bridget Reardon, who was also friends with Hart Jessop, whose father was Roger Thorpe. It all connected perfectly. Meanwhile, the main deficit to a Reva/Josh pairing is that they tend to be written in their own little world. That's partly because the main obstacle to Reva and Josh is, well, Reva and Josh. The only time they are more integrated are when they are apart.

[MichaelGL]

You're most likely right about that. I mean today's writers would have thought GL was insane for writing off Josh and Reva, and having the focus of the Lewis family go onto Billy's branch of the family. However Curlee proved that it could be done and damn well I might add. I've always seen Billy's branch of the Lewises, in a way, a version of the Newmans from Y&R. You had their business minded parents, Billy and Vanessa wrapped up in their own romantic drama, while their children (ranging from an adult Mindy and Dylan to preteen Bill) were also heavily featured on the front burner with their own lives and front burner stories themselves.

I kinda think DK had good intentions of focusing alot on Billy and his branch of the family. I loved the drama created by having Olivia marry Bill and having her and Billy go at it. However how long did that last? Not very long. These days JD is back being supporting actor, which is a wasted opportunity IMO.