Jump to content

GH: Classic Thread


Max

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Although I feel bad for having almost nothing to offer, I realized that GH was the only "current" soap (until now) that does not have a thread that can be used for discussing classic storylines, posting articles, etc. While never a personal favorite of mine, I do consider GH to be the second-most important soap in the genre's history (with ATWT ranking as the most important soap), given the fact that it was largely responsible for shifting the genre's direction away from the "traditional"/P&G method of storytelling to campy plots that were written in an attempt to capture the popularity of young America. (To be fair, Y&R was the first soap designed to blatantly appeal to youth. However, nobody was better at doing this--or was more copied than--GH was back in its 80's heyday.)

To get things started, here is a 1963 (partial) promo for the "new" soap:

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QrCHlvQrnrs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here's a 1963 opening (in poor video quality), with a very beautiful theme:

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xGoM9CP1p2w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The iconic opening sequence that ran from the 1975 until 1993 had two themes (the first of which lasted just a year), as shown below:

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qe8ZYMK1SiA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jSPVL8HkPfk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Edited by Max
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 7.4k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

Now this is my kind of thread. I got hooked on GH in 1977 so the 80s intro is dear to my heart.

I miss Gloria Monty. She knew how to create some dynamic and charismatic characters that you could root for. I loved her supercouples as well. While I loved DAYS back in the 80s and know they are the "supercouple" show, I actually liked GH's supercouples better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Gloria MOnty was sort of like JER to me although much more innovative and groundbreaking. She had a great first run as did JER at Days but second time around it just didn't work

I actually preferred(odd as it sounds) Labines GH probably because her writing reminded me a lot of what I loved about AMC. I know a lot of people thought she was too dark but compared to the mob crap the past 10-12 years, her dark storylines for the most part at least had heart. Stone's Aids story, BJ's storyine, I think although not sure she even penned Monica's breast cancer storyline although I could be wrong on that. But she also did light stuff like Eddie Maine, Ned and Lois, L&B Records. And I know Geary hated her version of Luke but that was by far the best writing for his character and to me was an acceptable transition/growth from where the character was in the 80;s I know Geary told Labine then how much he hated the writing for Luke and she told him he could leave if he didn't like it. Too bad he didn't

Edited by JaneAusten
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yea, 1991 was horrible. The Eckerts were awful. I think if ABC gave GM some time, she could have turned things around. It boggles my mind how fast they got rid of GM when in comparison JFP continues to reign as EP at GH for over a decade with horrific ratings. unsure.png

I really enjoyed Labine's (& Riche's) GH as well even though it was very different than Monty's GH. I liked the realism and was thoroughly engrossed in all the stories. Labine and Riche also respected the history of Monty's GH which made it easier for me to like their GH. Guza, on the other hand, seemed to take delight in running a bulldozer through all of GH's history and it only made me hate his GH even more. angry.png

Edited by OldGHFan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My all time favorite GH era was Labine's 1990s tenure. She told my favorite three storylines in GH's history: BJ's Heart, Monica's Breast Cancer and Stone's AIDs. She may have been "dark", but she did it with purpose. Every action had a consequence. BJ's death gave a new depth to the character of Maxie, and brough a new bond between Bobbie and Felicia. Monica's breast cancer showed that throughout the lies/cheating/betrayal, Alan and Monica loved each other more than life ("Can you HONESTLY say this is sexy? Do you want to go to bed with this?" "I'd love to.") It also brought Emily to the canvas. Stone's death not only brought awareness to AIDs at a time when it wasn't talked about that much, but has also given a legendary character a struggle to face for the rest of her life.

Truly beautiful, meaningful storytelling.

Edited by SoapBoy94
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Gloria Monty was a true visionary. The 1991 thing was a failure but to her credit at least she had a 1991 thing. That's what elevates her above all others: she had ideas and tried to do new things. In contrast, everyone else since Monty has been doing the same stuff again and again with never a change in vision. She felt the 1990s needed to be blue collar. I don't think that means she disliked the Quartermaines as much as she felt it was her job to come up with stuff. I guess it is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I remember vividly the first time I watched GH. It was the 1978 May long weekend here in Canada. On that Monday, Laura Webber killed David Hamilton. I was 12. Laura was 15. I could not believe they had a kid on the show involved in the thick of the action. I became a GH devotee because of Laura and Genie Francis, which is of course, exactly what Gloria Monty wanted.

But it was the Heather Webber storyline involving Jeff, Peter & Diana Taylor and P.J/Steven Lars that really interested me. People always talk about Luke and Laura turning GH into the phenom it became, but there was a solid bedrock of other stories and characters that received the full tilt treatment that never get credit. Think Rick/Lesley/Alan/Monica and Heather's machinations as just two examples. I was fortunate to come across somebody on line that sent me copies of several 1979 GH episodes that were copied from the master tapes, including the classic sequence where Heather drinks the LSD laced iced tea she meant for Diana Taylor! tongue.png That happened in 1979, thirty two years ago! And it was a good/exciting/campy/suspenseful as I remembered it!

Edited by Dale
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recent Posts

    • Your posts continue to amuse me. I don't know anyone else who thinks Leslie and Eva should "hightail it out of town."  And listen, soaps have been FOR DECADES keeping around villains who we know would be jailed in real life. So is it crazy to think "they are just going to let this slide"? No. It's kind of hilarious to watch you take everything that happens on this show and distort it or lead me to think, "Huh???"  
    • I can't even count the amount of magazine covers and photoshoots KKL has been in the past few months. Shame that the show is not mirroring the success she's having. It would have been so great to see both KKL and Brooke be on top.  I'm still holding a grudge that Brad rewrote the company take-over to a nothing... and then nulled Brooke to being a romance beggar again.   
    • I'm also getting an error that I haven't seen before, but there's been a couple of different variations, so not going to worry about it for now.
    • Finally got to sit down and watch. Wow!  When LesDanLuAnn said to Ted, this your daughter. I started tearing up...... Eva got me.  I felt like I was watching a soap opera.     

      Please register in order to view this content

    • The drag was when Tad and Edmund went to Budapest (?) in 1997 to get Maddie back from Dimitri.
    • I know it's not happening but on the surface, there's nothing left for Leslie and Eva to do but to hightail it out of town, if they value their lives. Leslie has destroyed Ted's image, embarrassed and humiliated his wife and children, and unearthed the wrath of the entire Dupree family. She's crazier than I thought if she thinks they are just going to let this slide.
    • It will be amazing if we could record the skipped episodes. Did someone sent a list of the skipped youtube episodes to the guys that are filling in the gaps? 
    •   I don't think they ever wanted Sprina to be popular and I don't think they will bring Spencer back until Trina is gone. They've worked hard to marginalize their black cast, and that is only increasing. Trina/Gio could have been an interesting relationship, but they would rather just whittle that character away and then write her out.   
    • Daytime belonged to CBS. They would have been making a lot of $$$ with that lineup. For context, this is the lineup at that time. Only one soap on ABC (GH) and NBC (TD) which was still an anthology at that point. So it wasn't until the opposition added more soaps that they became competitive. NBC CBS ABC 10:00am Say When! CBS Morning News LOCAL 10:25am NBC News 10:30am Word for Word I Love Lucy (R) 11:00am Concentration The McCoys (R) The Price is Right 11:30am Missing Links Pete and Gladys (R) The Object Is... 12:00 Noon Your First Impression Love of Life Seven Keys 12:25pm CBS News 12:30pm Truth or Consequences Search for Tomorrow Father Knows Best (R) 12:45pm The Guiding Light 12:55pm NBC News 1:00pm LOCAL LOCAL The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show 1:25pm 1:30pm As the World Turns LOCAL 2:00pm Let's Make a Deal Password 2:25pm NBC News 2:30pm The Doctors Art Linkletter's House Party Day in Court 2:55pm ABC News 3:00pm Loretta Young Theatre (R) To Tell the Truth General Hospital 3:25pm CBS News 3:30pm You Don't Say! The Edge of Night Queen for a Day 4:00pm The Match Game The Secret Storm Major Adams-Trailmaster (R) 4:25pm NBC News 4:30pm Make Room for Daddy (R) LOCAL
    • Per recent Twitch live: Wraps filming his new film on Friday. Begins a new film on May 19. Will resume regular Twitch streams soon. Has a lot of projects coming out later this year. His current project has kept him in Tennessee longer than he was meant to be.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy