GH: Brenda Marathon

[DRW50]

GH is a unique show in terms of core families, because when Brenda became popular, they didn't really have any. There was the Quartermaines (and the show heavily played her with the Quartermaines). Otherwise it was sort of very small families, like the Hardys, or the Spencers (I think she became popular before Luke and Laura came back), or the collective ties of Felicia/Bobbie/Tony/Mac/Robin. There was a void in the canvas at that time for younger women.

Now Brenda fits in easily because she's a part of the show's only true family -- the mob. As long as Sonny and Jason are around, Brenda will always have a home with the show. (Jax is too pointless and they went out of their way to trash that relationship the last time around)

[Jonathan]

Probably. BW will still be on leave in August.

[All My Shadows]

SHERRI: Oh my God, girl, I can't believe you're here!! Let me tell ya, I been watchin' GH for years, girl, and Brenda is WHERE IT IS AT!

JOY: *smirk*

WHOOPI: So, what d'ya think about *insert obscure political news from the rural regions of Seychelles*?

ELISABETH: You're so pretty! So, so, so, so pretty! And you have a kid! How do you stay so thin!?

[Soapsuds]

Vanessa: Well I look at All My Shadows avatar on SON....Hi AMS...and I say to myself I dont want turn out like her!

[R Sinclair]

I think The View goes dark that week until September, so no.

[Cheap21]

If thats the case, why didnt they just have Brenda episodes replace The View for that entire week instead? Surprised Frons didnt think of it...lol

[dragonflies]

Cause then Cheap, Frons couldn't crap on AMC and OLTL if he did that

[Vee]

As I said elsewhere, the issue is that the teens they want to watch don't even know who Brenda is. That's something their core audience - which is almost gone - care about. But they've driven most of them off. It's like Keystone Cops management.

[JaneAusten]

I like Vanessa always like Brenda but I still don't get any of this. I haven't watch GH or any soap in ages but I keep hearing what a creative high GH is on. Didn't they do well with the Dante/Sonny storyline. Why not just write a decent castwide storyline and promo it versus bringing VM back now and promoing it. It sounds like ABC is closer to their soaps being downsized and it almost reeks of desperation. I guess I expected a Vanessa return when they exhausted everything else and had no more cards to play. Is ABC at that point now? Are the demos/have the demos been that terrible on ABC that they finally had to pull out their final card? By the way I still think a heavily promoted Genie Francis(Laura) return would have done more and maybe that will actually be the final card they pull.

And by the way I suspect I'm one of the lapsed viewers they are trying to draw back and yeah I'm still within the targeted age bracket but honestly I'm done with soaps and with GH for good. As much as I like Vanessa, I just have no interest in the show any longer or any of the soaps. AMC was my first soap and the show I loved for years and I reached my final straw with AMC a few years back and haven't returned and honestly not a Dixie return, Jenny return, even Jessie and Angie couldn't pull me back.

Add to this the episode reduction and maybe it all makes sense I guess. I suspect the actors and staff are all taking or renegotiating contracts as a result. I wonder if any staff cuts will happen?

[JaneAusten]

But are they still trying to get the teens engaged? It's almost like they've finally conceded. When you look at the teen numbers, they aren't good are they? But it they are trying to get their old audiences engaged, do the over 50's now matter?

He probably hasn't thought of it yet. It will be the week for the big transition back to hammy crappy BW's return to that horrid show The View.

[Ann_SS]

Hey JaneAusten, good you see that you are still around. Yes, ABC is desperate. The demos for Sonny shooting Dante were good, 1.6 in the 18 to 49 women demo, but since then... the demos for ABC soaps as a whole are hitting rock bottom. Check out the summer ratings on SON's main page. I think that Vanessa will bring some viewers, but not as much as before and certainly not as many as ABC hopes. In the end, it is the writing that makes the viewers stay and no doubt, Guza will fail there as he always does.

I think that we will definitely be seeing more production cuts that impact the cast and crew. ABC already tapes four days a week and goes dark for one week every couple months. ABC has threatened to fire writers on every soap if the union does not agree to allow it to make the episode cuts and ignore contractual guarantees.

[ChitHappens]

It's high time someone admitted that Luza's writing and Frons' vision can't sustain an audience and certainly won't bring in new viewers. Now this is all hinged on Marcil? I don't mind her return, but what had to be done to Jax on one of her last visits didn't go over well with me.

After a few months, will the Brenda show die down? How long will the show continue to focus on this one character? This is my concern.

ANDREA

[Cheap21]

In 1998, Maurice Bernard returned to GH...12 years later the show continues to focus on him. Does that answer your question?

[StevieM]

I always felt that GH overstated Jason's role as "a man in Brenda's life." They were never romantic, or even good candidates for hate sex. The disliked each other and their characters often overlapped. They had a relationship, but not a friendship. He only married her so that she would know she was taken care of before her expected, imminent death.

The Jason/Brenda wedding--especially as they described it to the Qs and Courtney--was hysterical. There was also a great mini-story in 1997 when Brenda and Jason were on a plane that crashed on were stranded on an island together. Some of the best Sonny/Brenda moments often led up to great Jason/Brenda moments: Jason in the church with Brenda after Sonny left her at the alter; and Jason throwing Brenda into the limo after Sonny was "shot" at the end of the Amazing Grace montage.

I would love to see some scenes of Brenda with pre-crash Jason Quartermaine. They had a real friendship. One of the best lines from the above mentioned plane crash story was when Brenda said to Jason: "In your earlier incarnation you used to warn me to stay away from Sonny."

As for Sonny/Brenda, we definitely need to see the Amazing Grace montage; and S&B making love on the beach in Puerto Rico; and the two of them running to escape from Lilly's father; and most importantly, the scene were Brenda wore a wire on Sonny.

I wish they would include Brenda's friensdhip with Ned (as well as Lois) but I assume they won't. They gave Ned and Brenda all of one scene together when she came back the last time. I do think that they will show her as having some kind of relationship with Brook Lynn.

For Brenda and Jax, there are a bunch they can show, many of wish I can't remember off the top of my head. But you can be sure they'll show "boom/clink" when Brenda and Jax got married just as Lilly was getting blown up.

Steve

[Cheap21]

Before GH trashed them in 2003, I thought Jax was THE guy for Brenda. They were a great romantic pairing and were best suited for each other.