GH: Classic Thread

[DRW50]

Finola is such a charismatic presence and was very different to other women on the canvas at the time, which must have helped. GH had a lot of strong women until JFP's arrival, but that mid '80s period is something of a lull - it seems like you either have ingenues or women who are being blackmailed and abused.

Anna was such a strong female character that I'm not surprised they have never known what to do with her in recent years. I just wish they would move on from the Valentin codependency, no matter what following they have online.

@carolineg Thanks for the refresher about Sonny's women at the time. I suppose Claire was just a backup if Vanessa didn't return. I feel bad for the actress, but at least she wasn't fired in the makeup chair like Matt Borleighni. 

Edited January 5 by DRW50

[carolineg]

I don't even think Dahlia Salem was supposed to be a backup for Brenda.  It was insanely out of character for Claire. She hated Sonny until Vanessa decided to return and then she hooked up with Sonny and wanted to have a baby with him.  I don't know...I think it was to set up conflict, but Brenda didn't care at all and her and Claire never had scenes and nothing really happened with Claire's revenge plot.  

Claire got reassigned to Alaska so it didn't work out that well.  DS probably wishes she was fired in the makeup chair lol.

I agree Anna was refreshing addition to the canvas at the time.  Finola is awesome, no doubt, but it was definitely good casting and the right type of angst for Robert/Holly.

[DRW50]

Oh that's right. I forgot she even had story after the breakup. 

I remember finding Salem somewhat annoying on AW, but have no memory of her GH work.

Reassigned to Alaska? Guza must have wanted to pay homage to the alternate To Live and Die in LA ending.

[carolineg]

Claire really didn't have a story post-breakup.  She vowed revenge and sort of lingered for way too long and made a few appearances.

Salem was annoying on GH too.  She started out okay, but nothing special.  I do imagine it's tough for a sane actress to pretend to want to have Sonny's child on purpose though.

Hannah Scott aka Mrs. Jonathan Jackson was also shipped off to Alaska as well so I guess that's a place where Sonny's failed exes get sent?  

[DRW50]

I'd forgotten that too.

Someone must be out there pitching a Northern Exposure reboot with the harem.

[carolineg]

I think Guza was weirdly into Alaska for some reason because remember Jax's Australian parents had a homestead there too where Jerry/Jax were mostly raised?  There was absolutely no plot related reason for that lol.  

[Vee]

I wonder. Most of the Robert/Holly fans on social media seem over the moon about the Sasha retcon debacle and their tawdry exit - it's their ultimate fanfic fantasy - while the general audience just seems pissed. But Emma sounds thrilled, and says the show has been very kind about both using her often and accommodating her re: her health with giving her less physically strenuous scenes as needed. I'm happy for her, but it's Holly I can no longer stand.

I have always been one of the Robert/Anna fans, though I was obviously not watching live in their heyday. I will always be a fan of theirs and I'm still sad it didn't get a proper redo when Tristan was more able. I do think Jax was also LW's best pairing as Carly, with the exception of her too-brief time with Sean Kanan's A.J. That could've been one for the books.

Edited January 5 by Vee

[janea4old]

What?  Maybe I'm wrong, but that's not what I remember at all.
What I remember, watching live was Anna and Robert first.   They were amazing when they first aired.

Then  Holly much later as a con artist finding Luke out in the middle of nowhere.  Then much later on Robert marrying Holly to give her a green card, and they were written to develop feelings for one another.

I always thought of Holly as the interloper.

 

I was always Team Robert/Anna all the way.

 

 

More random thoughts from me.

I truly loathed the Anna/Duke pairing.  It was ewww to me.
Duke was a mobster and I hated the show writing Anna as always forgiving him. 
To use a Charmed metaphor, Anna should have vanquished Duke the way Phoebe finally vanquished Cole.  Enough giving him another chance!

 

This may be an unusual opinion, but I liked Holly/Luke together when Holly first appeared on GH.  That was actually the only Luke pairing I ever liked.  I didn't ship them a lot, but I did like them together.

I remember being surprised to learn on twitter that there were Robert/Holly fans and that there were Anna/Duke fans.   I just never liked either pairing and I had no idea they had followings until I saw this mentioned on twitter accounts.  That showed me that my perceptions of shows are only my perceptions and not objective facts.

Edited January 5 by janea4old

[victorlord75]

I did like the Robert/Holly pairing as the show transitioned to Robert being its leading man.  He was the only police commissioner on the show that had a super computer and equipment in his house that rivaled the Bat Cave.  However, typical of bad 80s writing filled with spies and counter-spies, cartels, and master criminals, Robert being so Australian and Holly being so British provided culturally ignorant Americans like me with a a couple that seemed like a refreshingly good fit based on personality.  No one mentioned Robert's former spy partner Constance Townley so far.  I remember Constance being a fun character at first, but sadly, what I remember most was the actress who played her as being quite thin and as having the biggest 80s hair on the show at the time.

 

[titan1978]

Holly arrived in 1982, ran a con involving Luke, and then when Geary took an extended leave they paired a pregnant Holly with Robert. She eventually lost the baby and they fell in love. Luke returns, friction at first but he ends up accepting them, wins the mayoral race, and Laura returns. Robert and Holly were a solid and popular couple for at least two years when Finola was hired as Anna, and the backstory began.

[janea4old]

Wow, I totally remembered it wrong.  I just looked it up and, you're right, of course.
Fascinating that I remembered Anna&Robert's backstory as having aired first before Holly arrived, but that didn't happen onscreen live.

How did I remember it so incorrectly? LOL.  I guess I was such an Anna/Robert shipper that I must have remembered it as the first one to air.  LOL.

Edited January 5 by janea4old

[titan1978]

Well those scenes they taped of their backstory and wedding were really good! Another example IMO of PFS being Monty’s best Head Writer at GH. 

[Franko]

Does anyone know when the Alan & Monica elevator scene in this promo happened? Also, did this ever actually air on TV, or was it video-only?

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[Planet Soap]

With the news of Leslie Charleston's passing it has me reflecting on Alan and Monica Quartermaine's marriage. Next to Tom and Margo they are one of the few examples of a non-elderly couple (elderly being Chris & Nancy on ATWT) that withstood years of trials and tribulations without divorcing that often.

When we talk about great couples in the history of GH, Alan and Monica don't  often get brought up. They are just lumped in with the Quartermaines. But this couple should stand on their own. We got a complex psychological presentation a dysfunctional marriage.

Their chemistry was comparable to that of sitcom couples like The King of Queens.

1997 anniversary recap of their affairs

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A 1993 recap of their fights features the rare scene of Alan raping Monica out of anger in the 80s at 5:29.

 

Edited January 13 by Planet Soap

[Franko]

I still hold out hope that one day, we'll finally see Alan & Monica's 1978 wedding.