GH: I think its BS that Vaughan was booted out for Jackson

[SFK]

Sooo, remind me, did JJ express an interest in coming back, or was he approached? Sure JJ had his fans, but he also had his day, I just don't see how bringing him back will be the coup they've perhaps imagined. I know that AG was very fond of JJ, he said that he'd never be able to accept another actor in the role ("Gee, thanks..."). I rememeber when GH won the Emmy the year Jacob Young took over and there was a shot of the cast onstage and JY went over to shake AG's hand or whatever, it was an awkward-looking exchange. But anyway, since then AG's said that whatshisname is Luke's "*real*" son or whatever. I dunno, JJ could be the greatest actor in the world, but Lucky's changed and that can't be ignored. That's what they get for not recasting more in line with JJ to begin with, always trying to win over the ladies by hunkifying a role.

[classicmoment]

I didn't see that with his performances at all, yes I could tell he clearly made sure he tapped into the Lucky/Luke likeness especially witht he dynamics that was suppose to be Spencer vs Cassadine with Laura caught inbetween, but he still did a great job as a young Lucky. His era of Lucky was the definitive era to me. Vaughn is a fine actor he just never fully did it for me like JJ did as Lucky, maybe he never got a true chance or got cut a good break but at this point it is what it is. I don't get the disgust because people are signing that Vaghn had a better I guess more mature look ok... JJ is not the physical ideal strong male lead appeal, but what's the big deal about that. Geary in his glory days was never the typical soap hero or even typical long running anti- hero. But he has done some great work for some pat of his run. I don't get the backlash, are we saying JJ didn't do a decent to good job as Lucky? Besides which he was younger and still has good a catalogue of work , besides GH, that showcase he is a skilled actor. We can't give him his second chance in the role before we start bickering? I get it for some Vaghn was good eye candy and otherwise brought a genuine presence, but JJ having gotten a bulk of Lucky as a better developed character has helped in defining the character more IMO

[CSF]

I loved Nikolas and Gia!

ITA

[SFK]

I thought he was great, but like a lot of kids his age who are great, their performances rely a lot on tricks and borrowing behavior from grown up actors. He got a little mannered, there was a lot of forced naturalism, and he's still doing that clicky talking in his throat thing. I'm not saying that he won't be good, he's better than many of the actors we see on soaps, I'm just questioning if "you can go home again". I think he's an actor who deserves good material, if he's going to do a soap, GH and Y&R are really it for him, though it would be interesting to see him on AMC (if the show was in better shape), or OLTL (currently my favorite show, but they don't write their males quite to JJ's potential imho, not really a good fit for him).

[DRW50]

He'd make a good Jack Manning recast.

I don't mean to sell JJ short. He's a good actor. Not up to the hype, but good. I just think it's a mistake to bring him back to GH after they have destroyed all of what people liked about his Lucky. That era of GH is gone, it's not coming back.

[RoseVioletDaisy]

Except for the Sabine Singh/Rebecca Budig debacle, which failed more because of ABC's tacky promotion and Pratt's horrid writing than the actual firing/hiring itself, all the others made perfect sense and worked for the show and the character. Elaine Princi, Nicholas Walker, and Christina Chambers were decent placeholders to keep the characters on-canvas but OLTL was absolutely right to get Strasser, DePaiva, and Haskell back as soon as they could. They owned those roles and made them better than the recasts ever did. Wasn't Chambers already off the show by the time Haskell was re-hired anyway? If so, she wasn't really fired to make way for Haskell.

Kelker-Kelly sunk himself at Days and probably would've been fired eventually whether Reckell came back or not. I believe Reckell returned because Alfonso begged him to. I don't think it was anywhere near as simple as RKK being moved to make room for PR.

If you never liked Jackson, I understand not liking this decision but overall I think it was a good move. GH is a business and it's ratings are in the toilet. Something drastic needed to be done. They needed to do something big and this is what they came up with. Personally I think having Sonny, Jason, Carly, and Claudia all fall into a woodchipper while Alan and AJ somehow, I don't even care how, magically rise from the dead would've been a far better move. IMO Vaughn is hot and all but he isn't half the actor Jackson is and his Lucky had little soul and no believable bond with Liz. I also think that if they were ever gonna make the relationship between Luke and Lucky meaningful again, either bringing back Jackson or recasting with a better actor than Vaughn was necessary. Ditto if they ever intend to bring Laura back on any kind of long term basis. Geary, Francis, and Jackson were an extremely believable family. Anytime I flipped on GH and saw Vaughn, I saw that Lucky recast guy. Seeing Jackson, I see Luke and Laura's son and that's how it should be IMO.

[R Sinclair]

I'm inclined to believe the rumor that breakdown writer Michael Conforti said off the record to a fan that during the layout meetings, Guza told the outline writers to de-ball GV's Lucky as much as they can -- hence that horrible drug addiction storyline which ruined Lucky for me, personally. Also, that would explain why Guza made Lucky... A COP! We all know cops are the enemies on Guza's GH. This isn't the Bill Levinson era anymore!

[DRW50]

Tony Geary and GH now want us to believe that was not a real family. Luke was miserable, Luke hated being a husband and father. He preferred sleeping around.

I don't know if just bringing back JJ will make that rewrite go away.

I thought Greg Vaughan was a decent actor when he had the chance. He's as good as JJ in his own way. They're both talented, but Greg is more understated, while JJ is more like Tom Pelphrey, a ticathon.

[Soapsuds]

Excellent post RVD and I couldnt agree more!!

[DeeeDee]

Role or Hole?

[Faulkner]

Exactly. JJ brought soul, wit, and a wise-beyond-his-years intelligence to the role of Lucky. GV has none of that. Lucky sure as hell would never have grown up to become Greg Vaughn. GV was totally miscast. (As was Jacob Young, IMO.)

As for Stephen Martinez, I could never get into him as Nikolas. For me, Nikolas was supposed to be exotic and mysterious, and SM seemed like a slightly dense boyband member. The young TC had that sense of mystery, and he looked like a Cassadine.

But I do agree that TC's acting has left a lot to be desired this time around.

[DRW50]

I also don't think JJ's Lucky would have grown up to be soulful, or witty, or wise beyond his years. That isn't allowed on GH of Guza. That was mostly Lucky when they wrote him as a young Luke. By the time JJ was leaving the role, Lucky was working for the mob.

If JJ had stayed, something tells me he would have been something like Spinelli, with better speaking skills.

[Ann_SS]

As much as I am glad about JJ's return and agree he is a better actor than GV, I think that there is a lot of nostalgia and revision going on. Lucky and Luke were not close after Lucky found out about the rape. They rarely shared scenes and when they did their relationship was tense. What we loved about the Spencer from the 1990s was long gone by the time JJ left. Also, there appears to be no intention to bring back Genie so there is not going to be a happy Spencer family reunion.

GH is all about bad writing which has ruined many a decent actor and character. Add to the mix, a bitter unsatisfied actor and we get MB, SB, TG, and TC. We'll see where things stand a year from now with JJ.

[classicmoment]

I never assessed Vaghn enough to fully compare; partially it has to do with me not watching or only watching a handful amount of times, and partially it had to with the writing for Lucky he was definitly written differently, but Vaghn didn't bring the presence to the role JJ did either.

I don't know how the "un-recasting" of the role will work out but, I must say I'm intrigued. I enjoyed JJ's first run. I don't see the justifications for JJ being so terrible to the role of Lucky to make this the projected fail so many want to declare

[SFK]

HA! Totally, I remember Tyler Baker's Christopher's first scenes standing over Lesley Lu in the nursery and there was something very dark and mysterious about him, like a hurt, guarded soul. I agree that he really sold "Cassadine".

My inner Pollyanna really resents the smug pride and utter glee AG seems to take in retconning Luke's emotional life as a family man. Those were really good times for GH, a great time to be a fan of the show. Not to sound all schmaltzy, but the Spencers were a lovely family and he should be thankful for his character's foray as a loving father and husband. Even then, soap mags were quick to remind us that he ws a bit of a creep for raping Laura all those years ago, mad that it was glossed over as a "seduction". And remember all that drama when Lucky found out? Makes you question Luke's sincerity as he pleaded for Lucky's love and forgiveness, am I now left to wonder if Luke's subtext was, "Heyyy kid, I'm Luke Spencer, this is how I roll."

You is so nawwty!