GH: Classic Thread

[Khan]

I wouldn't either.  If I were coming aboard GH as EP or HW, I'd kill that relationship dead and then dance on its' ruins like the female praying mantis after the male has serviced her, lol.

[carolineg]

I do agree with that.  There is little to no fault in the Stone/Robin story as it was told.  Just interesting to think about how Anna/Robert would have fit in.

Lol.  That's very graphic...and specific.  I would just transfer Diane to Alaska so I would never have to see her again or hear about her teenage relationship drama with Robert.

[Khan]

I'm just saying: I would love to see that relationship die; and the uglier its' death, the better.  It makes no sense, either on paper or onscreen; it involves two actors who share no chemistry AT ALL; and the longer they stay in it, the stupider they look, too.  IT HAS. TO END.

I would be happy with a good, old-fashioned courtroom shootout; one that ends with Diane taking a bullet in the heart, like Sharon Lawrence's character did on "NYPD Blue."

Then, if neither a Robert/Anna redo or Robert/Holly redo is possible, I would let Scorpio be the happy bachelor for awhile until he meets up again with Jackie Templeton (played once more by Kim Delaney).

Edited December 5, 2023 by Khan

[carolineg]

Agreed on all of the above.  They have no chemistry, it feels like this 'romance' has gone on forever, and nothing has even happened between them that's substantial.  The show has no real investment in the romance but is hanging on to it because they can't figure out anything better to do.

You know I've personally thought Diane outlived her usefulness by 2011 and has lasted way too long on this show.

[dc11786]

I can see how the Tiffany/Sean stuff could be depressing. It was very emotionally heavy without any moments of levity, that I seem to recall. Tiffany becomes very hyperfocused in order to make it clear why Sean would stepped out. It's a shame. The other stories at the time could be equally heavy emotionally (Dominique dying, the Jack Kensington/Jenny hearing, A.J.'s return from rehab and quest to learn the truth about Nikki), but those all seemed to strike a better balance. 

Monty seems to play a rather big part in the course of Lucas' custody. When Palumbo and Hardy are in charge, Lucas is pretty set to be Robert's son. Monty nixes that, goes back to the late Julian Jerome as the daddy, and moves on. It would have been interesting if Tony / Tiffany got close after Tony and Bobbie split. That might have revived Tiffany in a meaningful way. 

I do think there is something potentially really compelling about a loyalty triangle between Robert / Luke / Sonny starting off with Robert asking Luke to infilitrate the mob in order to take it down, Luke being drawn back into the danger of it all, Luke becoming friendly with Sonny, Luke feeling torn between the two friends, and the inevitability that Robert forces Luke to choose between him and Sonny with Luke choosing Sonny and Robert now being positioned into trying to takedown not just Sonny, but also Luke. Under Labine, that would have been intersting. Under her successors, I'm less intrigued because we all know where the bias would slide. 

I definitely thought about Guza/Pratt era Robert being outwitted and outplayed by Sonny. I don't think that Rogers would have stayed around long for that. 

And, given this train of thought, I expect that Damian Smith and Anna would have been at least teased, if not been the new endgame. 

I had considered this element in a different way. Would they have allowed Robin to contract AIDS if her parents were still in the picture? I imagine so as Labine dispensed with Tony's daughter. I will say, I am sorta glad I wouldn't have to see Robert raging about his daughter's actions the way he would about all the women in his life. I think Hughes would allow Anna to go through all the stages of grief. 

Now completely letting this speculative GH to continue, Robert learning that his daughter had contracted the virus from Sonny's ward just as Luke was being forced to choose between the two would be explosive. I think someone else was saying this, and I didn't realize the implications. Robert would have never approved of Stone to begin with, but this would just seal the deal. 

There is also times I wish there had been more time spent on dealing with Stone's dyslexia before leaping forward with the AIDS storyline. 

[carolineg]

I just found Tiffany to be veering on pathetic with the story.  And she was so glamorous in my eyes as a kid.  Obviously looking at it with adult eyes there are steps that lead Tiffany to these places.  It still just feels out of character for her.  And also taints the Tiffany/Sean lovestory quite a bit.

You are articulating some of the ways I see Robert/Luke/Sonny shaking out better than I could.

Do you know if some of the Stone story was rushed because of ASJ leaving and then MS letting GH know about his desire to leave?  It does feel like Stone's arc moves fast from troubled kid to AIDS victim.  Not the telling of the AIDS story, but the quick jump he made to hero from the time Jagger left to his diagnosis. 

[Khan]

I agree, @dc11786.  In Labine's hands, such a storyline would have amazing to watch, as she would have written to the complexities of the situation without making it seem forced or one-sided.

That would have been amazing, too, as would the Tony/Tiffany and Damian/Anna pairings you've suggested above.

[Dion]

Nearly three years ago when they revealed that Cyrus and Martin were Gordon and Florence's children, I pointed out (I think in this thread) that the writers got it wrong when they had Cyrus say that Gordon was behind switching Laura at birth. And this confirms that Gordon didn't know. It was Lesley's father who arranged for Laura to be switched with the Vining's deceased baby.

Ah well its a minor quibble on a show where they expect us to believe Heather got pregnant by Scotty and gave birth in the short time between when Scotty left Laura and Heather started being released from the mental institution. And of course that later Heather helped Susan give birth to twins and took one of them even though she was actually trapped in the ice princess blizzard in Port Charles with everyone else while Susan was in New York lol!

[titan1978]

He has been very open in interviews, especially in the last few years, that Monty was not on top of her game in her second run. That she was behaving unreasonably, and both he and Finola have spoken about how she was treated on her last day by Monty. That her exacting standards were not working this time around. He even alluded to thinking that she was having some kind of mental issues brought on by the loss of her husband, and her heart wasn’t in it anymore.

He very well may have intended to leave with or without Monty- but he was not happy with Gloria when he ultimately did. And Riche did try to keep him and Finola, so she had some idea that he might stay without Monty.

[dc11786]

Given the amount of time spent deconstructing Tiffany, there needed to be significant time reconstructing her, and it's a shame that didn't happen. I think two things should have happened: (1) Jessica Holmes should have fallen into a coma, but survived and (2) Tiffany would have accepted that she needed to find herself before she could commit to a relationship with Sean. When Jessica was in a coma, I would have had Tiffany as the suspect still, only to return and be immediately arrested explaining that she had been in a rehab facility for her addiction and mental health issues. 

Upon being cleared, Sean would assume that he and Tiffany would reunite, but Tiffany would be hesitant. When they did reunite, while Jessica still lingered on life support, it was due to Sean's promise that they would be a complete family: Tiffany, Sean, and Jessica and Sean's baby. With Jessica written off for dead, Tiffany falls into the trap of obtaining the dream family that had become her focus for the last year. Only for Jessica to awaken from her coma after receiving a visit from her parents: Teddy Holmes and Carol Murray Holmes (very Ron C. of me, I know). 

Tiffany would build a life on her own allowing Sean and Jessica to raise their child together, while Tiffany built a friendly rivalry with Teddy, who would be in publishing after failing to revive his career as a novelist. In the intervening years, Teddy would have entered journalism and now work as a publisher for the local paper. Teddy, like before, would also be running up debts, but this time he would owe money to the mob. Sonny would use this to have Jessica Holmes not only work for him, but act as his personal spy. When Jessica was leaking information, the PD would assume it was Luke, at first. 

At first, Jessica would ask Teddy to keep Tiffany distracted as she was not only getting closer to Sean again, but also was doing an expose on Sonny and the mob and feared that Tiffany would learn of her work for Sonny. Teddy would agree when he realized that Tiffany was well off as the owner of the television station and saw it as his chance to make an easy buck. When Jessica learned her father's change of plans, she would be furious. Tiffany would see through Teddy as the con man he was, but loved making Jessica squirm so she played along, not letting Teddy in on that she knew his game. 

In the meantime, Tiffany would be getting closer to Tony and Lucas after Bobbie and Tony split. Teddy would drug Tiffany to make it look like she was drinking again to keep Tony and Tiffany apart. Tiffany would claim she wasn't drinking. Jessica would also take advantage saying she wants Tiffany away from her child. Teddy would be her sole ally as he continued to drug Tiffany. When Teddy proposes, a disillusioned Tiffany would accept and after a quickie marriage, the two would be together just as Sean discovered the connection between Jessica and Sonny. Sean would soon realize he was too late, but would wish Tiffany her happiness. Teddy would order a hit on his new bride in order to quickly take over her estate. 

Believing all hope was lost for her and Sean, Jessica would confess that she had encouraged her father to go after Tiffany and had learned (afterwards) that he had drugged Tiffany to discredit her (as well as to kill any credibility if she did learn anything in the expose she was developing on the mob). Sean would punch Teddy and Tiffany would bring her husband to the hospital, unaware that the brakes on her car had been cut by the hitman. Teddy and Tiffany's car would end up crashing leaving Teddy dead, and Tiffany in surgery. 

Jessica would accuse Sonny of setting up the hit on her father because of his debts, but Sonny looks into it and discovers the truth. Jessica tries to protect her father's memory by letting people believe that the death was caused by the gambling debts. Sean and Tiffany become suspicious and investigate themselves, bringing them closer together while Jessica tries to keep them from revealing how much of a monster her father truly was. 

As Jessie's grandniece, I'd probably develop a close connection between her and the Hardys with Audrey playing the role of her conscious allowing Audrey to reflect on her own past and the pain that could cause with Jessica becoming close to the now single Tom Hardy as Simone Hardy and Justus Ward grow closer and both Justus and Jessica decide to vie for the same legal position. And on and on...

Edited December 5, 2023 by dc11786

[carolineg]

This is so well thought out and interesting.  I would have love to see this type of story.  I can't say I thought much of Tiffany/Sean leaving when they did.  I guess the interest just wasn't there for Labine.  

I never thought much of Jessica and am not sure she was worth developing and investing in, but I love your ideas.

[Vee]

We've all said this before, but Diane and Robert are being pushed together only because they are roughly the same age. That's it. And as I've said before I would re-pair Robert and Anna tomorrow, but I am apparently the minority on that one both in the audience and BTS. Oh well. Back to the classics!

[carolineg]

Yeah, I am not against Anna/Robert as much as some people because I can't stand Anna/Valentin either.  I think there should have been more with Robert/Olivia and think this Ned/Eddie stuff should have brought them closer with Lois arriving and making it an interesting quad.  But I get real life stuff is in the way.  

And I will gladly go back to talking about 1993 GH lol.

[Vee]

I'm not faulting you for talking about it, you know how much I can bang on about this topic or what I'd do with the show. I just didn't want to derail the thread myself.

[carolineg]

Haha!  Sometimes a derailment of the thread is the only way to get people talking on here.  I do think there is something relevant about talking about how Robert could have fit in the 90's and how he fits now.  I actually think it would work better than it does today because I don't think the show has any clue what to do with him and he has Anna, but he's without a lot of his contemporaries and his daughter which makes a huge difference IMO.