Wow.  That’s right.  I did used to think Jason and Sonny were hot af, and I enjoyed them as characters.

 

It has been a long time since I felt that way.

I'm undecided on Burt Ramsey.

 

On the one hand, his decision to join the mob after being passed over for the top job at the Port Charles PD, (twice for Robert and Anna), is a brilliant twist.  I still recall being shocked by the reveal.

 

On the other hand, he had so many beatings from the mob during both Holly's land scheme and the Mr. Wu story that it seemed absurd that he pledge them his loyalty.  He could have commuted 20 minutes over to Llandview, (they always needed a better police captain than Bo), and still kept his pension.

On 1/4/2019 at 8:26 PM, titan1978 said:

Phelps/Guza had stronger scripts, better plots and stories, infinently better acting and characters and production values than we are seeing today.  However, the characters featured to the detriment of everybody else drove me away as a viewer. But I have enough distance from the product to see that while not for me, it was better written and acted and produced.

 

Their events and stunts were amazing.  The train crash, panic room, Metro Court crisis, contagion, all exciting stories and excellent episodes.

 

The problem was their orbit was Sonny, Jason, Carly, and to a lesser extent, Luke, Scrubs, and a female character of the moment (Courtney, Brenda, Lulu).  If you weren’t tied to those people, none of the stories had a point of view away from them.  And by the end of their time together, it was really Jason that everything revolved around.  He pushed Sonny from the central spot.  It was awfully hard to watch a soap daily when those are the only stories featured.

 

Yep. The events were great. The cast integration during those events was always fun. But GH would always make the mistake of going back to the Sonny, Carly, Jason show when the event was over. It's why they always came close to B&B in the ratings during that time but could never tie or maybe even pass B&B in the ratings. It was so maddening. 

Edited January 13, 20196 yr by dawn9476

 

I never have gotten the Rena Sofer hype as Lois, and I never will, although her makeup looks very good in this episode. 

On 1/5/2019 at 11:48 AM, ironlion said:

The Riche era was the second best in the show’s history (after the Monty 80s). It brought humanism and emotion to the  more the raw action packed and “sophisticated” tone of the 80s. And basically post 1996 Riche/Guza set the foundation for what we have now. Its also intresting that despite it’s greatness it also planted the seeds for the shows impending transformation (Sonny, Jason, Carly , mob etc..) Furthermore it basically began the excusing and sympathy toward Sonny & Jason’s mob activity. The charachter, though very compelling, is constanty shown in a moral heroic light despite the fact that he kills people for a living.

 

The destruction of AJ was also upsetting. AJ admittedlybwas a screw up, but the only person that had a right to mess with AJ was Jason because of the accident. Otherwise his own family plus Sonny & Carly did a number on him. AJ didnt push Carly down the stairs, she jerked back and fell. And yet again Sonny killed an innocent AJ in 2014? for Connie’s murder. 

 

I might be in the minority here but I think the Liz rape/ Luke & Laura rehash in 1998 was one of the shows greatest plots. Powerful emotion from a young couple and the confirmation that Luke did rape Laura in 1979. The only part I hated is that once again Luke & Laura were driven apart. The writers just couldnt let the Spencers be a unit, and the biggest couple in soaps be together.

 

Love this post.  Every part of it.

15 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

I never have gotten the Rena Sofer hype as Lois, and I never will, although her makeup looks very good in this episode. 

At the time, it was a fun story on a show filled with a lot of sad, emotional tales. Ned sneaking around as Eddie, married to both Katherine and Lois, and her ultimately acclimating to the Quartermaines was being told alongside Sonny/Luke vs the mob, BJ’s death, Monica’s cancer, and Stone dying of AIDS.  They were playing romantic comedy while everyone else was playing heavy drama or action.

 

I loved Lois but I have little use for Wally as Ned.  He’s fine, just never my favorite on GH or DAYS.  I will take Kurt McKinney any day over Wally.

 

The fact that she was presented as smart, fun, loud and a happy person played out well against her bff Brenda who was so needy and kind of pathetic at times.  But I can see how she is also grating and annoying.  That wedding cake episode is a classic as far as I am concerned!

 

I also liked that she had a history with Sonny, but saw and commented on the person he was becoming as he was gaining power.

 

Guza did not get her at all.

On 1/13/2019 at 5:32 PM, dawn9476 said:

 

Yep. The events were great. The cast integration during those events was always fun. But GH would always make the mistake of going back to the Sonny, Carly, Jason show when the event was over. It's why they always came close to B&B in the ratings during that time but could never tie or maybe even pass B&B in the ratings. It was so maddening. 

Indeed. That's still a mystery to me: How the bell soaps remained #1 in the 2000s ? Y&R fell off the wagon after 05' when Bill Bell passed and still is #1 despite—even though I love the show—boring story lines since 2007 ish. Similarly B&B  has just been recycling couple combinations for the better part of the last decade yet maintains a solid #2 despite GH & OLTL having had far more creative plot lines. The credit I will give the mid 2000s on William J Bell soaps is that they still have decent production quality and maintain major screen time for their veteran actors. 

Edited January 15, 20196 yr by ironlion

1981

Lucille Wall returns as Lucille 

Rewatching more of the original Ryan story from 92/93 GH and damn....there's a lot that I haven't seen. And, he was [!@#$%^&*] crazy. 

 

What's weird is how he just attacked Lulu on current GH and Lulu looks so much like Felicia did back then. More than her own daughter Maxie does. 

On 1/18/2019 at 1:22 AM, Paul Raven said:

1981

Lucille Wall returns as Lucille 

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photo.  I think this photo is probably the happiest I've ever seen of the vets of GH all together in the 1980s, so my interpretation is that everyone was really happy to see Lucille.

12 minutes ago, victorlord75 said:

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photo.  I think this photo is probably the happiest I've ever seen of the vets of GH all together in the 1980s, so my interpretation is that everyone was really happy to see Lucille.

 

I wish I had kept a copy of this episode.

4 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

I wish I had kept a copy of this episode.

If I remember correctly, it was not meaty material.  It was Lucille calling on the telephone to wish Audrey a happy birthday, and I think there was something so dramatic going on that Audrey forgot about it.  I may be wrong on this, though.  It was a long time ago.

1 hour ago, victorlord75 said:

If I remember correctly, it was not meaty material.  It was Lucille calling on the telephone to wish Audrey a happy birthday, and I think there was something so dramatic going on that Audrey forgot about it.  I may be wrong on this, though.  It was a long time ago.

 

You are right. It was a very brief, inconsequential scene, but still...I adored Lucille and it was the last we ever saw of her, so I should have kept the clip.

10 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

You are right. It was a very brief, inconsequential scene, but still...I adored Lucille and it was the last we ever saw of her, so I should have kept the clip.

Lucille Wall appears in May 1982, @ around 5:18.

1 hour ago, depboy said:

Lucille Wall appears in May 1982, @ around 5:18.

Thanks for sharing this it was awesome!  I realize too that I had the details waaaaaaaayyyyyy wrong about the scene with Lucille.  I'll take my lumps for being wrong any day just to see a gem like this!