GH: Classic Thread

[carolineg]

@dc11786 I am always surprised how good Brad Maule is as Tony.  Obviously, he gets a lot of praise for the BJ story and the breakdown stuff, but he's solid his entire run.  I think Tony/BM tend to get forgotten because Tony is pretty dull most of the time and overshadowed by his brother or even Alan as a Dr. and him and Bobbie aren't terribly exciting either.  It's too bad the show let BM fade into obscurity after his breakdown because he is someone who could be a leading presence of the canvas today especially with Alan dead and Monica MIA.

[Vee]

Rewatching the golden age, he was so good and so underutilized most of the time. I would happily let him do another few ghost appearances for Bobbie and Lucas (Ryan Carnes again, please). I enjoyed when they did that a couple years ago. We'd have to let Jackie's face cool off again though, she's back to barely being able to talk. Every time she gets it together she does something else to herself, God bless.

[Planet Soap]

What a shame that Tony could not get a break. From Tania to BJ, to Michael and then his death. He would fit in well with the vets that we still have today. They could've easily brought Tony back from the dead just as they had with several other charachters. Helena kept him on ice or sonething to use his expertise to revive someone else...again. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by ironlion

[carolineg]

I would bring him back just so he can shame Carly every once and awhile.  People don't call her out often enough about stealing her mother's husband because Bobbie did the responsible thing as a young prostitute and gave her up for adoption.  I still can't wrap my head around that being an evil choice all these years later, but that's another topic.

I know BM requested Tony be killed off after years of doing nothing, but I think it was such a mistake.  He pretty much slayed every story he was given.  I think part of the problem was that he wasn't a conventional, hot lead and once he aged a bit GH was over him.  There are scenes with him in dad shorts and long socks and sneakers in the 90's where I can't even believe Carly wanted to hit that lol. 

I think Jackie got some work done once she found out she was hosting the NB.  It's such a shame her work went so awry because she was so lovely in the 80's and 90's.

[Vee]

I'm saving the silly "Helena got 'em on ice" excuse for Emily and Georgie Jones and the next anniversary event tbh. After the whole Robin caper it makes perfect sense to me: Emily and Georgie both had deep ties to powerful families and/or the WSB. Emily was a doctor and IIRC Georgie was very bright and (I could be wrong here) also considering a medical track - Helena's cabal abducted Robin for all the same reasons, to force her to assist with their experiments. Keeping Emily in cryofreeze or Georgie imprisoned also allows Helena, Victor or their cohorts to leverage Frisco and the WSB in secret (the agency has been compromised at least half a dozen times by the baddies in the last ten years) and allows them to potentially leverage the Qs/ELQ if one of them is told Emily is alive. To say nothing of Nikolas finding out.

You wouldn't need to bring either character back on the show full time after this, of course - Lindze Letherman is retired, AFAIK and Georgie Sr. is not super necessary to the current canvas. But I feel it was a fundamental mistake to kill both of them, Emily especially, and I would make it a point to resurrect them in some adventure story and then promptly write them out happily to get their lives back somewhere else. You could then reintroduce them or their children or whoever any time you liked in future.

As a regrettable aging shorts wearer I resent these remarks. 

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Edited April 23, 2023 by Vee

[carolineg]

I am just imagining you recreating this look today.  I don't remember this being a hot look even in the 90's. Carly's dedication to ruining lives is strong. 

I would take frozen Emily or Georgie back in a heartbeat.   

[Vee]

God, no. I have some dignity. Poor Tony.

They need to bring back a reasonable facsimile of the original Brownstone exterior. I'm not just saying that bc I used to live in one with a near identical facade!

Edited April 23, 2023 by Vee

[carolineg]

This episode is actually hilarious.  It includes SJB's Carly teaching Tony/Lucas how to rollerblade and Tony of course gets injured because he's old.  It also features Matt Ashford's Tom and Felicia doing some kinky stuff to fix the Brownstone's air conditioner on the roof.  Idek why Tom/Felicia were so weirdly sexual as a couple but there is a Brownstone roof set as well.  And honestly that's just filler because this is the episode where Sonny decides to be with Brenda and dump Lily and Jason/Robin kiss for the first time.   Tony's shorts are actually the least interesting thing about this episode, but it was the exact picture I had in my mind when I thought of 90's Tony.

[titan1978]

Tony was never my favorite.  But it’s hard to deny that Claire Labine and the team at that time really knew how to write for him, and valued the character.  And he really did rise to the occasion.  And for a period of time Guza did too.

Edited April 23, 2023 by titan1978

[DRW50]

The soap press at the time also questioned why Tom and Felicia were so sexual, and panned the story. 

It was obvious the show had no idea what to do with Tom, and seemingly just wanted to bring in Matt Ashford. I know John Beradino's health and death didn't help, but that was far from the only problem.

I still wonder why Simone was so abruptly ushered from the canvas. If it was Guza's idea, then Riche not doing more to step in was a forerunner of mistakes made later in the decade - very bad ones.

[Liberty City]

This was a pure "daddy in the 1990s" look. My father had it and kept it going till his death in 2001, and can guarantee if he were still alive he'd have it still, hahahaha. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

It's a shame Tom Hardy is not around. Missed opportunities. I remember when TJ Ashford's arrival was announced, it kept being speculated "TJ" was for Tommy Hardy, Jr. and it wasn't. Another missed opportunity.

Returning the Hardy family in 2023 would be a nice welcomed change of pace. Remove Hamilton Finn and dying daddy, and bring on the Hardy & Robinson families.

[Vee]

I think Tom is pretty much a lost opportunity now, sadly. I would introduce his son Thomas/Tommy as a doctor and a male lead, and therefore have Tom and Simone appear played by new people at some point, sure, but as I think caroline and I have discussed in the past both Tom Hardy and Steve Webber/Steven Lars fulfill the same function on canvas - legacy doctor with strong family ties. And if I have to choose one to bring back in a more permanent fashion it would likely be Steve (recast).

Simone I don't think was ever more than a cipher after a certain point in the early '90s, which is also sad. I have next to zero memory of her material. I do recall her being with Justus briefly.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Vee

[carolineg]

So strangely sexual with all their double entendres about banging things out with the AC.  Eww...especially in an episode with actual sexy couples like Jason/Robin and Sonny/Brenda.   It was obvious the show just wanted MA and had no clue what to do with him.  It's not like KW/MA didn't have chemistry.  They had a little, but their entire relationship was made out to be so sexual and neither character or actor really screams sex to me.   I think the Simone character ran its course.  The show made it clear her and Tom were not getting back together and she was in a dead end pairing with Justus for awhile.   The only time I liked Tom was when he helped fake Laura's death with Sonny/Luke.  

I think to @Vee's point that Steven Lars and Tom Hardy are very similar, but you could get rid of Easton and Howarth and cast both of them.  I just don't know if there is enough material for white, 50 something doctors of GH though.  There are quite a few actors on this show that are in that demographic already.  You can't even throw them at Becky because they are related lol.

[Liberty City]

We tried Steven Lars Webber for a while. Let's bring Tom back into the fold. Re-build the hospital staff, put in some hospital-centric storylines, and let's see it all unfold.

[carolineg]

I wouldn't be against it especially if they bring on his son.  I want Tom to have an edge though.  When they cast Ashford Tom started out as a jerk and a bit of a drinker, but that was dropped.  The show really went against any of Ashford's strengths and it was just an overall flop which probably soured Guza/Riche on recasting again.  Tom/Felicia was such a strange couple to double down on and I honestly don't even remember why or when they broke up.