GH: Classic Thread

[Franko]

Gloria's second run lasted from Monday, Dec. 3, 1990-Friday, Jan. 24, 1992.

Several years ago, I chronicled what I think is the definitive list of the three casting waves during that time. I'll pull it up again.

Okay, here's what I had gathered in 2018 thanks to the curlyqgrl summaries.

First Wave:

Out:

Katherine Delafield (Edie Lehman, 11/26/90)

Shep Casey (Bradley Lockerman, 12/21/90)

Rita Lloyd (Kim Terry, 1/10/91)

Lucy Coe (temporarily, for Lynn Herring's maternity leave, 1/29/91)

Broxton (actor name?, 2/1/91 it appears)

Simone Hardy (Stephanie Williams, 2/12/91)

Carla Greco (Laura Harring, 2/14/91?)

Frankie Greco (Robert Fontaine Jr., no clue on date, but presumably around this time)

Cheryl Stansbury (Jennifer Anglin, 2/14/91?)

Colton Shore (Scott Thompson Baker, 2/26/91)

Charlene Simpson (Maree Cheatham, 2/26/91)

Dawn Winthrop (Jennifer Guthrie, 2/27/91)

Eric Jackson/"Edge Jerome" (Mark St. James, no date given, but presumably late February-early March)

Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin, 3/1/91; not a writing decision, but notable)

Decker Moss (Michael Watson, no date given, but presumably early March)

Larry Ashton (Hugo Napier, 3/22/91; back for a few days in July)

 

In/Back:

Jenny Eckert (Cheryl Richardson, 2/13/91)

Mac Scorpio (John J. York, 2/18/91)

Bill Eckert (Tony Geary, 2/19/91)

Fred Eckert (William Boyett, 2/20/91)

Angela Eckert (Carol Lawrence, 2/20/91)

Sly Eckert (Glenn Walker Harris Jr., 2/20/91)

Finian O'Toole (Arte Johnson, 2/22/91?)

Harlan Barrett (Michael Cole, 3/7/91)

Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring, 3/12/91)

Paul Hornsby (Paul Satterfield, 3/18/91)

 

 

Second Wave

Out:

Fred Eckert (William Boyett, 5/31/91)

Angela Eckert (Carol Lawrence, 6/5/91; back for Jenny and Ned's wedding in February 1992)

Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner, 6/11/91)

Ned Ashton (Kurt McKinney, 8/30/91)

 

In/Back

Nancy Eckert (Linda Dona, 5/28/91)

Dominique Taub (Tawny Fere Ellis, 6/4/91)

Leopold Taub (Chip Lucia, 6/6/91)

Connor Olivera (Michael Lynch, 6/24/91)

Simone Hardy (Stephanie Williams, 6/25/91)

Cesar Faison (Anders Hove, 6/26/91)

A.J. Quartermaine (Gerald Hopkins, 6/26/91)

Nurse Sheila something-or-other (actress name?, 6/26/91 it appears)

Julia Barrett (Crystal Carson, 6/27/91)

Susan Hornsby (Irina Cashen, 8/21/91)

 

 

Third Wave:

Out:

Nancy Eckert (Linda Dona, 10/14/91 -- whodunnit storyline for another month)

Felicia Jones (Kristina Wagner, 11/5/91; back in May 1992)

Dominique Taub (Tawny Fere Ellis, 11/14/91)

Finian O'Toole (Arte Johnson, 11/21/91?)

Harlan Barrett (Michael Cole, 11/22/91)

Leopold Taub (Chip Lucia, 12/5/91)

Cesar Faison (Anders Hove, 12/5/91)

Anna Devane (Finola Hughes, 12/17/91)

Susan Hornsby (Irina Cashen, 12/27/91)

Anna Devane (Camilla Moore, 1/20/92)

Cesar Faison (Anders Hove, 2/25/92)

Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers, 2/25/92)

David Langton (Jeff Pomerantz, 3/23/92)

Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring, 3/27/92)

 

In/Back:

Ned Ashton (Wally Kurth, 9/9/91)

Dr. Eric Simpson (Brandon Hooper, 9/18/91)

Edward Quartermaine (David Lewis, 11/26/91)

Dominique Taub (Shell Davidson, 12/3/91)

Jason Quartermaine (Steve Burton, 12/19/91)

Anna Devane (Camilla Moore, 12/20/91)

David Langton (Jeff Pomerantz, 1/13/92)

Holly Sutton (Emma Samms, 1/16/92)

Cesar Faison (Anders Hove, 1/17/92)

Nikki Langton (Camille Cooper, 1/30/92)

[Khan]

Wow, @Franko, thank you for gathering all that information!  Looking at those stats, it seems Gloria Monty's second EP'ing stint at GH was an even bigger disaster than I remembered. 

For example, just 3-4 months after the Eckerts were introduced, Fred and Angela, the patriarch and matriarch of the family, were written out; and less than five months after Nancy was introduced, SHE was killed off!  Unless those quick exits had been the plan all along, I'd say either Monty or the network recognized right away that her new vision for the show was all wrong.

[Soapsuds]

The ratings had a lot to do with it.

Why did ABC rehire her? GH was a solid #2 with a 7.5 rating. Once Gloria was done with destroying the show it had dropped to a 5.0 rating and ranked #7.

[Franko]

Not only that, but there was also @j swift's favorite, Cousin Joey Eckert, who apparently wasn't even memorable enough to make the summaries. Yeah, it seems clear that the orders to retool the retooling came near-instantly.

They wanted to make it 1980 again by science or magic, and couldn't figure out why it wasn't happening.

[depboy]

Hi everyone! Looking into the 1974 summaries, I realized some were missing, so again I had to resort to character summaries to complete January.  Enjoy this look at what was happening!

Tuesday, January 1, 1974: Inga Jorgensen, an 18-year old girl, is brought up from emergency; the girl has been seriously injured in an auto accident; Jane pages Henry.  Lucille is ignored as Al watches football; Audrey asks Lucille to stand up with her on her wedding on Thursday; Lucille reluctantly agrees.  Jane cooks for Henry, who is feeling better because of a good report on Inga; Henry calls Sharon asking to see her before the divorce, but Sharon has no desire to see him.

Wednesday, January 2: Steve convinces Jessie she should take the responsibility of being co-chairman of the nursing seminar.  Lesley admits to Jessie she is still worried about running into Gordon at the hospital.  Diana tells Jessie she feels trapped at home with the baby and that the baby has come between her and Peter.  Howie tells Jane he’d like to come back, but when Jane isn’t immediately receptive, he becomes belligerent.

Thursday, January 3: Steve is privately dismayed when Lucille tells him that Audrey will be married in a simple ceremony today.  Howie asks Henry about the possibility of getting his vasectomy reversed.  Jim and Audrey are married.

Friday, January 4: Peter tells Jessie he cannot be pushed into loving Phil’s baby; Diana decides to take the baby and go away for a while.  Lesley tells Steve she would like to be taken off the Grey case; he tells her that he feels personal feeling shouldn’t interfere in a professional relationship.  Jim is frustrated by not being able to use his hands.

Monday, January 7: Steve asks Jessie if she knows what Lesley’s problem with Florence is; Jessie refuses to break Lesley’s confidence.  Florence is physically worse, but Steve cannot pinpoint the reason; he asks Lesley if she has any idea what could have caused the setback.  Diana, frustrated, packs for a trip to her mother’s; when Peter tries to urge her not to rush off, she says she needs to try and find herself again.

Tuesday, January 8: Steve suggests to Lesley that Florence talk to Peter.  Audrey and Steve both feel pain in recalling an amusing incident from their early marriage; Jim practices tying surgical knots, with Audrey timing him; he is dismayed to find out how poorly he executes them; Audrey finds it difficult to reassure him.

Wednesday, January 9: Arnold Thurston, the hospital’s chief administrator, tells Steve he must find a replacement for Jim.  Peter finds Florence mildly distressed; her father, Wyatt Chamberlain, brings her a fluffy peignoir set; he meets Lesley, and worries her, because he seems anxious to know her maiden name.  Jane tells Mrs. Dawson that Howie wanted to come back, but Jane feels nothing has changed between them and that she isn’t sure she wants to be married anymore.

Thursday, January 10: Peter reports to Steve that Florence’s setback is emotional.  Steve tells Audrey that Jim is to be replaced.  Mrs. Dawson tries to keep Howie from making a mistake by telling him of the mistake she made with his father year’s ago.  Audrey tries to comfort Jim when he learns he is being replaced.

Friday, January 11: When Peter talks to Florence, he finds her unwilling to discuss her marriage, and comparing herself to Lesley; Florence lets herself remember times in which it seemed that Lesley might know Brad (Gordon).  Howie tells Jane he has made an appointment to see if he can get the vasectomy reversed; he again asks her if he can come back to her and seems sincere.

Monday, January 14: Florence talks to Peter and he senses she has a less than satisfactory relationship with her husband; Lesley is reluctant to talk to Peter about Gordon; when Peter leaves, she remembers the day when Gordon told her he was married; Peter returns unexpectedly and finds her in tears.  Jane tells Lucille she doesn’t know whether she wants to remain married to Howie.

Tuesday, January 15: Augusta finds Howie hard at work and learns he is trying to find a new job; she surmises that since he is married he doesn’t want to be seen with her; Howie tries to make peace with Jane by giving her a peace charm.

Wednesday, January 16: Peter tells Lesley that Diana will be returning the first of the week; Peter reports to Steve on the Grey case.  Steve tells Peter about the new doctor coming tomorrow.

Thursday, January 17: Lesley tells Peter she wants to be removed from the Grey case; she admits that Gordon Grey is Florence’s husband and Peter agrees that she should get off of the case.  Lucille tells Jane that Augusta mentioned that Howie and Jane had gotten back together and that Howie is getting a new job; Jane talks to Augusta and learns that Howie is doing everything he can do to get a new job, and Augusta thought that ‘everything’ included getting back together with Jane.

Friday, January 18: Jane tells Mrs. Dawson that she is not convinced that Howie has really changed.  Augusta reports to Lucille that she heard that the new doctor, Dr. Joel Stratton, performed an operation brilliantly; Lucille is reserving judgement on the new doctor.  Peter and Lesley go to tell Florence that Lesley will be replaced on her case by Henry; Florence is so hurt, that Lesley agrees to stay.

Monday, January 21: Peter goes home to welcome Diana, but she isn’t there; he calls her mother and learns that Diana won’t be back until tomorrow; he is unsure about his own feelings.  Jessie returns from the nursing seminar.

Tuesday, January 22: Lucille wonders to Jane if it was very smart that Steve delegated authority to Henry while Steve is away.  Howie calls his mother and plans to come home for dinner; Howie urges Jane to take him back; later, Jane admits to Mrs. Dawson that she is disappointed because Howie didn’t say anything about loving her.  Diana returns with high hopes of a happy homecoming; her hopes are dashed when she learns Peter still wants to sleep in a separate bedroom. 

Wednesday, January 23: Diana again explains how badly she feels about what she did to Peter, then tells him that she can’t continue living this way.  Lucille asks Henry for permission for a new refrigerator, but gets turned down; Al suggests that Henry order new magnetic cabinet catches and Henry agrees.

Thursday, January 24: Diana tells Jessie things aren’t going well at home, and asks about returning to work; Joel bumps into Diana, causing her to drop her purse, breaking a mirror; he tells her not to believe the seven years bad luck superstition.  Audrey and Jim are invited by Lucille to come over for sports and beer; Audrey is evasive, but finally admits that she isn’t sure whether Jim is drinking these days or not.

Friday, January 25: Augusta apologizes to Jane for telling Lucille that Jane and Howie reunited.  Gordon and Lesley come face to face.

Monday, January 28: Augusta goes to Howie to congratulate him; he thinks she means on his new job, but she meant on ending his separation.  Jessie tells Peter that Diana is planning on starting work again; he admits he isn’t surprised, but didn’t realize it would be that soon; he adds that every time he sees the baby he feels robbed.

Tuesday, January 29: Diana is welcomed back.  Augusta flirts with Henry, who doesn’t know how to deal with her brand of flirtation.  Peter is disturbed to find Florence upset, refusing to talk with him; Gordon visits with Florence, finds her bitter and curious about his reaction to Lesley; after he leaves, she wonders if he told her the truth that Lesley’s face was merely familiar.  Peter is happy to see Diana working, but senses it is the beginning of the end for them.

Wednesday, January 30: Joel tells Audrey he feels badly that Jim was on the sidelines watching him operate; Jim gives Audrey a fur jacket; although she is stricken at the expense of the gift, she tries to reassure Jim.  Lesley tells Jessie about her encounter with Gordon; when Gordon arrives, he expresses his love for Lesley, who tries to maintain her composure; she tells them it is over between them and that they are now different people.

Thursday, January 31: Diana tells Jessie she desperately wants to get her RN degree and have an independent income.  Jane tells Lucille that her and Howie are having their first night together after having reunited; Howie is exuberant of his potential new job; Jane moves away when Howie tries to kiss her neck.  Wyatt visits a distraught Florence; she confesses that she is afraid that Brad had an affair he never got over -- with Lesley; privately Wyatt recalls that Brad had a relationship with a girl named Lesley.

[titan1978]

And it never hit those numbers again, never a 7 or higher again IIRC. 

Her intentions were correct- more grounded characters, more modern concerns, better representation of economic differences. Her instincts and writing team didn’t help execute that vision.

Unfortunately she tried to shove too much new down viewers’ throats, and the Eckerts were not well positioned at all. The Quartermaines became support players, and the new cast members were not very popular. I know I only liked Mac and Julia in that whole bunch of characters. Nobody wanted Tony Geary on GH as anybody but Luke.

Within her first year, Wendy Riche added her own sensibilities which leaned more naturally into a grounded show, and by the time Luke & Laura returned and the Labine’s material started, it was a really strong show again.

What I wonder is if Riche had arrived earlier instead of Monty round 2, what would that have been like? Did GH have to crater in the ratings for the audience that would accept the more grounded vision? Or could she have hung on to those higher numbers? Would the audience in 1991 accept that GH?

[depboy]

February 1974...

Friday, February 1, 1974: Lucille tells Audrey the more she gets to know Jim, the more she likes him; Audrey is embarrassed by the lavish fur coat Jim gave her.  Lesley tells Peter she met Gordon in Florence’s room; ashamed, she admits that she’s afraid she was secretly hoping for the meeting; Florence is slightly hostile to Lesley; Lesley promises to have lunch with Gordon on Monday.

Monday, February 4: Lesley hopes that her meeting with Gordon will solve the problem; Peter has his doubts, but doesn’t express them to her.  Diana tells Lee she is considering a divorce, that she must build a life of her own.  Gordon and Lesley meet at a sidewalk café; they reminisce, enchanted by their memories, neither one noticing that it is snowing.

Tuesday, February 5: Florence is hostile with Peter.  Joel joins Diana for coffee and is slightly disappointed to learn she is married; Peter joins them, making it awkward; Diana tells Peter she has met with Lee about getting a divorce.

Wednesday, February 6: Howie tells Augusta he got the job; Howie gives Jane a gift of a low-cut dress.  Lesley explains Florence’s condition to Wyatt; Wyatt surprises her by calling her by her maiden name; Lesley wonders what else he knows about her; Florence dreams of Lesley and Gordon.

Thursday, February 7: Steve returns.  Joel tells Audrey that he hopes the changes he is making to operating procedures won’t offend Jim.  Peter fills Steve in on Florence’s condition and that Diana sought out Lee about a divorce.  Under questioning from Florence, Wyatt admits that Gordon had an affair years ago.  Diana tells Peter that she wants the divorce.

Friday, February 8: Jane tells Jessie about the dress Howie gave her and that they are planning a night on the town; she admits the dress isn’t her style and that it takes courage to wear it.  Steve compliments Lesley on how she handled some cases while he was gone; Steve admits he isn’t happy with how the Grey case has gone, but says he doesn’t blame Lesley.  Howie is romantic after his night out with Jane; Jane isn’t; she pleads that she doesn’t feel well.  Lesley tells Jessie she would not have changed her romance with Gordon if she could go back; Gordon shows up at the front door, saying he is glad to see Lesley alone for once.

Monday, February 11: After performing a surgery that went badly, Joel confides in Augusta.  Howie is excited about his new job.  Under persistent questioning from Gordon, Lesley stuns him by admitting that she was pregnant with his child when she left him.

Tuesday, February 12: Steve talks to Jim about the failure of the surgery on patient Nancy O’Brien; Jim is outraged and blames Joel; Jim is furious when Audrey tells him that she’s invited Joel to dinner.  Gordon admits to Florence that he had an affair with a student while they were separated; she is relieved when he tells her it was over when he returned to her; when he leaves, Florence thinks to herself that she won’t have to worry about Lesley.  Jim is not eager about having Joel to dinner; Jim and Joel get into a heated argument over the failed surgery.

Wednesday, February 13: Jane admits to Jessie that things aren’t going well for Howie and her and she feels that she is the problem; Lesley confides in Peter that she told Gordon she was pregnant when she left; Peter tells Lesley his entire apartment reminds him of Phil, and he can’t forget what happened.  Diana tells Peter she is moving out and he is flooded by a mixture of emotions; he tells her he will move because the place reminds him of Phil, and that sometimes he imagines Phil raping Diana in their bedroom.

Thursday, February 14: Steve, Jim and Joel meet to discuss the O’Brien failure; Steve doesn’t take sides, but when Joel suggests an assistant, Jim says it’s needless; Steve says that the surgeon is allowed to choose his team; when Jim communicates his annoyance to Audrey, she accuses Steve of not supporting Jim.  Jane and Howie return from a successful evening out with Mr. and Mrs. Thurston; Jane again rejects him, leaving him frustrated and bitter.

Friday, February 15: Audrey overhears Joel speaking with a colleague from Boston; he invites the man to come to General to act as assistant surgeon.  Audrey comes home to find Jim drinking; Jim tells her that he won’t allow Joel to shuffle the cardiac staff around as long as he is in charge; she doesn’t tell him of Joel’s inviting the assistant surgeon to come.  Gordon comes to see Lesley; he can’t stay away nor get the thought of their baby out of his head; Wyatt interrupts them and suggests that Gordon go to his wife; when he leaves, Wyatt stuns Lesley by telling her he knows of the affair, and insists she never see Gordon privately again…there are barely veiled threats that if she does, Wyatt will use his influence to cause her problems.

Monday, February 18: Audrey admits to Lucille that Joel Stratton has become a threat to Jim by trying to replace the assistant surgeon.  Florence explains to Peter that she is more optimistic since Gordon admitted the affair and that it’s over, and she feels this is a new honesty in their marriage.  Diana tells Lee to proceed with the divorce.  Audrey is indignant when Lee asks if she is worried Jim will go off the wagon.  Audrey appeals to Steve to protect Jim from Stratton’s threat; Steve assures Audrey that the final decision on the cardiac team is Jim’s; Steve feels that Audrey must love Jim deeply to make this appeal to him.

Tuesday, February 19: Diana tells Peter she’s instructed Lee to go ahead with the divorce; Pete says he will move his clothes out tonight.  Lesley checks Florence, who confesses that her husband’s honest admission has given her new hope; Gordon comes to visit Lesley, who refuses to go into detail about their child; she tells them the future is not for them, and that he needs to protect Florence who is threatened with surgery if she doesn’t improve.  Peter packs; Diana sees him and realizes this is the end of something wonderful.

Wednesday, February 20: Gordon and Wyatt meet at the country club to play golf; Wyatt tells him he has something important to discuss after the game.  Joel joins Audrey for lunch and tries explaining why he invited the assistant to come to General Hospital; she can’t help but understand Joel’s position.  Wyatt tells Gordon he knows that Lesley is the woman he had an affair with and insists that Gordon not see her again.  Gordon is defiant, angering Wyatt.

Thursday, February 21: Jane admits to Jessie that maybe she should try harder with Howie; later she overhears Howie telling Mrs. Dawson that he thinks something is bugging Jane; Jane starts to go to him, making an effort to have it turn out differently, but she gets cold feet.  Lucille tells Jessie that Wyatt has asked to see Steve; Lesley feeling lonely, asks Jessie how she combats loneliness; Jessie tells Lesley that Wyatt has asked to see Steve, causing Lesley to remember Wyatt’s threats.

Friday, February 22: Diana asks Peter if he is comfortable where he is living; she urges him to attend a meeting with Lee this afternoon.  Henry reminisces sadly about Sharon.  Wyatt tells Steve he wants Lesley removed from Florence’s case; when he leaves, Steve feels vaguely threatened.  Lee gives Diana and Peter forms on initiating the divorce; Peter says he has no intention of contesting any action; Lee hesitates, wondering if these two people really want a divorce.

Monday, February 25: Howie trouble-shoots for Mr. Thurston by asking Steve to take Lesley off of the Grey case; Jane admits to Mrs. Dawson that the trouble between her and Howie is her fault.  Lesley is forced to tell Steve about her affair with Gordon when Steve discusses the pressure brought by Wyatt.

Tuesday, February 26: Steve has a further talk with Lesley about the present meaning of her relationship with Gordon; Lesley insists she likes Florence and has been concerned since she learned Gordon is Florence’s husband; Steve says there is no justification for removing her from the case and rejects her offer to quit.  Steve remembers it’s the anniversary of his marriage to Audrey; he looks at a photo of her and is reminded of a happy time with her.

Wednesday, February 27: Steve asks Florence if she wants to continue with Lesley as her doctor; she does.  Lee tells Peter what it is like to be without a wife; Peter is grim, says that Diana was everything he wants in a wife except one thing: someone he could trust.  Steve tells Howie he will not replace Lesley as Mrs. Grey’s doctor.  Diana seeks Jessie’s support in the divorce, but finds Jessie sympathetic but not supportive.

Thursday, February 28: Lucille upsets Audrey when she tells her she has met the man that Dr. Stratton has brought in from Boston.  Jim’s secretary tells him that the assistant, Dr. Dillon has arrived; Jim refuses to see him.  Howie is waiting for Jane when she comes home, having had three beers; he traps her by making sure that she feels good, has no headache; he insists on sex, and she acquiesces. 

[titan1978]

The numbers were strong but the show was not in a good place. I get them looking for a change. IMO back then I know I felt it was better during Wes Kinney’s run as EP compared to Hardy, especially his last year or so. I also get them thinking it needed something like a drastic reset. We were not that far from Casey the alien, fake Duke dying again, etc.
 

Monty should have followed what worked at the start of her first run- strong writing, refocus the characters already there, and slowly move some out while implementing her new vision. The first time around she eventually got rid of even fan favorites without the show losing ground (Diana, Peter, Jeff, etc), brought in whole new families and people ate it up.

Edited December 1, 2023 by titan1978

[j swift]

If you think about it, Gloria Monty had a much bigger hurdle to get over the second time in terms of ratings.

In her first iteration, GH was unpopular, so her job was to create buzz and get people to watch.  She jazzed up the music, created controversy, and made GH a spectacle. But, before she was re-hired, Joe Hardy had taken the show from 1st to 8th place in the ratings.  He was disliked by the actors, and the press was critical of his choices. 

So, the audience was actively abandoning the show.  It is hard to get fans to make a new habit once it was broken.  Some may argue that she made it even more difficult by trying to persuade an audience to return by not giving them what they wanted (like Luke rather than Bill). 

But, that context is valuable to consider when we note that quality of storytelling was not the only reason for Gloria Monty's eventual failure to revive the show.

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by j swift

[Paul Raven]

Looking at 73/74 Lesley's arrival was well timed. The show had pretty much relied on the same characters for the first decade and the hospital needed new blood.

Jessie became a talk to-there didn't seem to be any interest in giving her a story, which was odd considering she had been front burner since Day#1.

I know this has been discussed before,but was Lesley created when ABC lured Denise Alexander or was the character already in the planning stages and signing Denise maybe forced them to get her on air sooner?

 

[Jdee43]

In the summer of 1990, weren't they repeating the same general stories from 10 years before? Alan and Monica were having affairs, and there was also a young couple on the run, falsely accused, with the latter story set in a strange place, the circus? And then in the winter ABC brings back the EP who did those stories originally back in 1980?  ABC must really have wanted to recapture GH's heyday. 

It's surprising they didn't give Monty more time to work magic, only a year. I guess ultimately she wasn't well liked by those in charge.

The whole thing smacks of hubris; Monty thought she could do anything, but then found out quite different. 

 

[titan1978]

Reading the recaps @depboyhas graciously been providing us, it seems to me that Diana Tayor kind of nudged Jessie off the frontburner, and took her place as Phil’s main focus. I know when he is killed Jessie is a big part of that story.

Denise said in an interview that they had a female doctor coming on that was meant for Steve Hardy. Just the bare bones of the character, and once she was on set and in scenes they determined the Steve thing wasn’t going to work. Then they built a backstory for her.

I think her essentially firing Finola Hughes and Tristan Roger’s quitting and basically telling ABC it was because of Monty that did her in. That was her two biggest stars on the show at that time. More than one cast member complained up the ladder that she was not on top of her game. Her husband had either passed away just before she arrived or soon into her run. She was inflexible and her instincts were just pissing everyone off that worked on the show.

[dc11786]

Thanks for the list. I think Edie Lehman was pre-Monty. Katherine wasn't working. I am at the end of October, 1990. With Cheryl back, her days were numbered. Monty had no use for Cheryl so I don't think Katherine was a casualty of Monty. She would have been. 

Broxton was played by Norman Snow in this time period. 

Carla and Frankie both depart the same day as Colton and Charlene, February 26. This might be Robert Fortinero, Jr.'s only appearance in 1991 as he is rarely used once Monty appeared from what I saw earlier this year. 

I would move Nurse Sheila Contillion (Stacey Morez) up to the first round of new hires. She is appearing as early as March (if not February, I will update when I get there again in my viewing). She essentially replaces Dawn at the nurses' station. Joey Moscini is also around in February as he was on the S.S. Tracy as well. There are a lot of new recurring characters who seem like they are going to be more. There were a pair of siblings, Carol and Patrick Pulaski, who were friendly with the Eckerts. Carol was a love interest for Bill and Patrick seemed poised as the loser in love who would be Jenny's second tier love interest to the more exciting lead. Patrick worked as a mannequin dresser at Wyndham's. Carol was someone's secretary, I believe. Mac ended up doing community service at a center with a bunch of kooky types, but they may have arrived in the time of your second wave. 

Monty dumped all the characters who had been introduced since she left in 1987 (or was it 1986?). Also, no one in that first rounded who was added was returning. Herring was only returning from her maternity leave. 

Some rumor and context from the papers of the time: Monty was living in the Portland, Oregon, area prior to her return. She was looking to develop a production facility and launch a new soap opera from this new venture. I imagine many of the ideas for the new soap were lifted for the Eckerts. Also, prior to the announcement that Monty was returning to "General Hospital," there were rumors she was in talks to take over as EP at timeslot rival, "Santa Barbara." Also, wasn't "Guiding Light" under a creative resurgence by going the route of more realistic, emotional tales rather than the over the top insanity that had been so much of daytime throughout the 1980s?

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by dc11786

[dc11786]

If you watch episodes from January, 1991, and from March, 1991, it was a completely different show. Not only were there a lot of new characters, anyone who stayed was in the backburner for the most part. The show started the year back in the 7s as it had the previous year and spiked with a 7.6 when Tony Geary returns as a new character. By April, the show is starting to hit 5.9, but mostly staying in the lower part of the 6s. "All My Children" overtakes it in the spring at various points which is probably another reason that Monty wanted to make changes. 

Jack Wagner leaving makes sense as Mac was starting to get a lot of the Frisco comical crime fighting stuff. 

Simone returning was smart. Stephanie E. Williams shouldn't have been let go to begin with. I think with Simone's return and the arrival of an adult A.J. the show was starting to move into a better direction. 

Joey Moscini is shipped off to college in June if I recall correctly. 

There are just some really wild choices. Connor initially is introduced as a spoiler for the new pairing of Dominique/Mac even though Dominique already has a husband. I thought Cesar was even worse than Casey the alien so bringing him back just seems insane to me, but I know that Faison seems to be well liked among long time fans. 

Also out during the second wave would be Gene Palumbo, who had been head writing the show since May, 1989. Norma Monty and John Whepley were writing with him in 1991 under Gloria Monty. 

[dc11786]

Monty is still credited as EP for January 31, 1992 episode, which is the last one in my collection from that period. I know on YouTube episodes, Wendy Riche is credited on the February 14, 1992, episode. 

This is where the cast deflections start to ramp up, but it really isn't felt that much in the story because the story is shifting already. The decision to beef up the Quartermaine clan again was smart. Edward's back from the dead story is brief, but it is symbolic of what the show will be rebuilding. Jason vs. A.J. is in the works from the beginning, although maybe not in the same form as it would later be. 

Eric Simpson's arrival is actually in your second Wave, the week of August 5-9, the latest. Simpson treated Dominique and Mac when they were in the hospital. He may have appeared slightly earlier as the Monty era secondary characters seem to emerge from the shadows at various points. 

Susan Hornsby is more forgotten than written out. I'm not even sure she was a constant present in Paul's life as her primary residence, I believe, was with Paul's parents. 

Monty's swan song days are stronger. She also brings back some of her old school background players. Slick Jones appears around the holidays for the festivities. Delfina is involved with the wedding preparations for Ned and Jenny's wedding. Monty finally seemed to find her groove after scorching the earth. 

Lucy's departure is all on Riche. I'd say the same for David Langton's as well. Langton's death is incredibly sudden and written when there is no headwriter. 

Also, the third wave sees the arrival of Linda Grover as Norma Monty's fellow headwriter. Grover quickly departs in mid-to-late Februrary under Riche.