GH: May Discussion Thread

[Juliajms]

I think that's exactly what they were thinking, but he couldn't very well be the back up if they weren't planning on making him a lead. I think when they realized SB really might leave this last time, TPTB were caught with their pants down and tried to shoehorn Johnny in, but they started too late and I dare to say it wasn't working. Then Steve stayed and instead of continuing to build up Johnny, they broke LuLu and Johnny up and he's been Alcazar after Carly ever since. On the fringes bitching about Sonny and making vague threats that never go anywhere.

Now they are clearly grooming DZ to be a lead with JMB being groomed as a future female lead. Could they push DZ any harder? I think it's actually smart of them to be preparing ahead of time for the possibility that Steve or Mo could leave at their next contract. If that had happened last time, I think they would have been left scrambling, since Johnny hadn't been on the show long enough. Is DZ the right choice? I have no idea. I never thought Steve and Mo were the right choice, but they seem pretty popular offline. Sure millions have stopped watching, but that's happened to every soap. Anyway, that's my take on the situation.

I also think adding Guza's wife (Is her name Meg Bennett?) to the writing team is making the show better. At least someone has been subtly changing the tone of the show for the better, I certainly have no real proof it's her. I've noticed Sonny, Jason and Carly get called out a lot more on their life choices. They take more smack downs from other characters without coming off as the sympathetic ones every time. I'm not saying it's a huge change, since they still get the majority of the airtime, but it's nice that they are held accountable every now and then. Even two years ago, it would have been unthinkable for Tracy to take Carly to task for stealing Michael from the Q's. At least not unless the scene ended with Tracy looking like an ass and Carly coming off as the sympathetic one. Whomever is behind those types of scenes, they are making the show better for me.

[DRW50]

I think the difference between DZ and BB is that they've spent such a long time finding someone to play Dante. They had a lot invested in him. They had nothing invested in Johnny. They did briefly push him with Lulu as a big couple but that was over almost as soon as it started. They also briefly had plans for the Zaccharas but that was no different than the million other mob adversaries to Sonny that have come and gone. Lulu is more of an appendage to Dante, whereas Johnny and Logan were more of appendages to her.

I think they have finally realized Jason is a dead character, and they just try to write around him as much as they can. They still have the Franco bull, with the freefalling ratings that brings, but otherwise, Jason is more irrelevant now than he's ever been.

[Juliajms]

I would really like to believe that. At the very least, I'm hoping they've realized that writing this show around his character has been a huge mistake. When a show is written as an ensemble it can usually survive a major character leaving. Just like GH survived and even thrived the first time SB left. Once he came back, they really put the focus on him in a huge way. It didn't help that so many of the people that had made the show a good ensemble in the 90's were gone.

I'm also wondering if a lack of money is part of the scenario. Can the show keep paying for TG, MO and SB? Having some newer characters established enough to move into a lead position is probably a good contingency plan in case they can't meet the contract demands of these vets next go around. With the cuts OLTL and AMC have made recently it's hard to believe GH isn't going to have to make some cuts of their own soon.

[DRW50]

They probably will have to make a tough choice with those three soon. I think that they would do just about anything to put that off with MB and SB (I know Tony Geary is probably well paid but I wonder if he's ever taken cuts, especially in exchange for more vacation time). It must be difficult for them because they clearly adore Steve Burton and would have his children if they could, but they have run Jason into the ground. They probably have less use for Sonny, and Dante could be used to phase Sonny out, but Sonny has been a major part of the show's ratings recovery over the past six months.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

I agree that they have ran Jason into the ground. I wish they would take that character in a new direction, there are so many things that they could do with him. He has a child. Why don't they ever explore that angle of his life? This character is so burnt out lol, how can SB come to work everyday and say the same thing, convey the same actions day in and day out..wear the same clothes. ughh. I wonder if he is bored, or likes doing it.

I think out of the 3, GH would fire MB.

I TOTALLY AGREE! Ugh never understood all the hooplah about him. He sucks, and is on WAY to much. I want GH to get rid of him and ShrewLu both, they are just so NAUSEATING nowadays. No need to bring her back months later, lol. She can stay with him wherever they go. I like your idea about drama in the hospital with Liz though, maybe that can happen with Maya Ward?? I could see them sparring against each other. Maybe even over Lucky, LoL.

[Ann_SS]

The one constant is that Jason never gets called out. Everyone is sympathetic to him and loves him. Carly always has been confronted, but she always shrugs it off as if the person is crazy. The only thing different is that Sonny has been getting lots mud thrown at him which I think is part of the attempt to phase him out. I think that the audience is enjoying seeing him taken down a peg or two.

Good point. According to SB, all the GH actors have had to take pay cuts. I thought that pushing DZ as Dante was intended to phase out MB, but the slight ratings recovery shows that they need MB more than SB or DZ. I bet Guza and Frons didn't see that one coming.

I don't like DZ and he is on too much, but that along with JJ has meant less Spinelli so I'll take it. Truthfully, I haven't watched GH regularly over the last two weeks. I've been bored with the soaps.

[Eric83]

I am rewatching the week on Soapnet, and Laura Wright makes hating Carly so easy. The crap she spewed out at Lulu was totally ridiculous.

I am totally on Team Dante.

[Eric83]

No. Sonny is the star of GH to many fans, if they had to fire one it would be Steve Burton.

Im on Tuesday and Carly is pissing me off, such a c.unt. Cant wait to see what Tracy says to the self righteous bitch.

[Mr. Vixen]

^^ I don't agree. While normally, I don't ever agree with anything that Carly says, and think she's a raging hypocrite, I agree with everything she has said to Lulu. Carly owns up to the s.hit she has pulled, and she never ever tries to tell anyone she's an angel. Lulu is such a sanctimonious bitch, and no matter how wrong she is, never admits it.

Carly has never been anything but kind, considerate, comforting, and nurturing to Lulu. She helped her through things with Johnny, Dante, her mother, Logan, Spinelli, all of that. Carly, while she may be a hypocrite in all other ways, has never been ANYTHING but loyal to Lulu, and she has NEVER asked Lulu for anything in return. But then Lulu completely turns herr back on Carly.

Lulu can say whatever she wants about upholding the law, and while i WISH Carly, Jason, and Sonny would start doing that every once in a while, it wasn't Lulu's place to decide Michael's fate. She should have called Carly, and while Carly probably would have chosen to hide Michael,it would have given HIS MOTHER the option to help her son.

Lulu overstepped her boundries, betrayed her family, alienated a woman who has been nothing but kind to her, and why did she do it? For some bad-cop wannabe with a buster brown haircut, and to boot, she hadn't even laid him yet...And she wants to talk about family loyalty? I think she's a sanctimonious, ungrateful, backstabbing hoe.

[detroitpiston]

^Amen to all that, SoapBoy94!

[quartermainefan]

I truly hate Sonny, Carly, and Jason, but I have to hand it to Guza in that he wrote some true drama for these lowlifes. Watching the story on GH, a brain damaged boy sentenced to prison for killing his step mother, and then watching DOOL where the story is Hope has a dual personality and attacks men, and you can see that GH really has more depth and serious drama than the typical soap. Listening to the judge's speech the other day you hear the judge talking about some seriously F-ed up people--but sort of realistically F-ed up too. I am really impressed with the whole Michael story. I know there is a knee jerk desire to dismiss it because it is mob and doesn't star Robin or Alexis or whoever, but it has really been well told.

[bellcurve]

+1. This has been great drama. Definitely not "edge of my seat" because the network spoiled it in their promos all week and because the mob is likely to win again.

And RE: !NEWCOMER DOMINIC ZAMPROGNA!, I don't think he's "THE" best actor ever, but he's very charismatic, he's awake in his scenes, and despite the tramp stamp, is very attractive. I'm ready for Jason VS. Dante, which I think is a much better and more fair match-up than the initial Michael VS. Dante.

Steve Burton would never agree to this, but maybe Jason should return to the Quartermaines?

[DRW50]

There are no Quartermaines to return to.

[Eric83]

Isn't Michael 18 years old?

He wanted to confess and is of legal age to make any decision he wants to. Lulu could have called Carly, but she didn't. I totally agree with her decison, Michael needed to own up to what he did whether Sonny, Carly, and Jason like it or not. Michael is now a grown man which means mommy can't make all the decisions for him. I totally stand by what Lulu and Dante did. In a perfect world maybe this would be a wakeup call to the dumbasses (Carly, Sonny, and Jason), had they come forward at the beginning Michael would have probably gotten off with no jail time, since he seriously killed Claudia in self-defense since she was about to kidnap Jocelyn.

[bellcurve]

True. But since Guza has such a hard-on for Steve Burton, Jason could come back as a more edgy Quartermaine. Feeling betrayed by Sonny's commitment to Dante over him(and maybe even Michael and Carly), he could shift and move back to the family that so desperately loves and wants him back. Not out of desperation, but out of revenge. He can keep the Morgan name, but ditch the gun and do more business related stories that, every now and again, intersect with Sonny's coffee-importing stuff so we can still feel Jason's betrayal.