GH: Classic Thread

[Vee]

I watched some of '92 a while back and found Bill and Holly pretty tryhard in an attempt to recapture Luke/Holly. It seemed like they went hard at it. But I think they were just searching for anything new that could work that year after the Monty II debacle.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Vee

[carolineg]

You can't fault GH for trying.  It almost makes sense on paper, but it's the same issue GH has today.  Same actor in multiple roles might work with the same actress.  1992 was a mess and mostly everything was gutted, but 1993 proved it was a good purge.   I think Holly and Julia and perhaps Sly were the biggest casualties of the 1992 nonsense, but when we got what we got after which Riche/Labine it's hard to throw stones at their decisions.

[Vee]

In fairness, Sly lasted til like '96 so I don't count him as a casualty, and I'll never forget the beautiful scene Labine gave him and Luke after his father's death, and the supporting role with Lucky was fine. But yes, I think it was a very necessary purge.

[carolineg]

Fair, but Sly still should have been more.  I don't hate it, but he could have been part of that teen scene for sure.  Sly/Liz at some point would have 99% better than most Liz hookups.

[Vee]

I agree. He still could be more! And he was sort of in the very early teen scene but not really, IIRC. I can't recall if he was still in town when Nik turned up.

[carolineg]

I don't think they ever said.  He just disappeared

 

[MissPalmer]

I don't know if this clip was shown here.....We can see our favourite hospital in 1974!!!

It is a behind the scenes with a fan who had a one-day role at GH on 22nd March 1974....

There is NO sound

 

 

 

[slick jones]

@depboy

[Paul Raven]

Awww... Rosalie looked a little overwhelmed.

Why do I get the feeling that 30 seconds after she left the stage she was forgotten?

And there was Peter Taylor in the black turtleneck! Was Craig Huebing gifted it when Peter was killed?

Edited November 10, 2022 by Paul Raven

[slick jones]

 

[Faulkner]

Luke and Laura are trending on Twitter due to this tweet:

 

41 freaking years ago today… we old, y’all.

[Planet Soap]

I think there is a good concensus here that the latter Riche years (97-01...or did she leave in 00?), werent as good as the earlier years 1993-96. Obviously numerous factors lead to this feeing. Claire Labine and Bill Levinson's departures, growing mob focus, Sonny/Jason apologism, the destruction of Luke and Laura, etc..

Were there any bright spots that you enjoyed?

For one the rape revisitation storyline. Despite destroying Luke and Laura, Liz's rape story was well done and emotional. I also like the way it bonded Lucky and Liz. I have yet to see another young couple romance on GH  with so much gravity. It pales in comparison to anything on the show today.

Michael's paternity fiasco destroyed so many characters in the process, but it kept the show going for a while.

Sonny and Brenda. I know Brenda's breakdown isnt the most favored but I did like how much weight and emotion were put behind her and Sonny. Charachters today just go from romance to romance with no real impact. Sonny leaving Brenda at the altar felt major because so much weight, screen time and emotion were put behind them. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by ironlion

[carolineg]

1997 was a mess.  The Carly/AJ/Michael story was the highlight of the year for me and I loved Bobbie/Stefan's marriage and the re-intro of the Cassadines but that might be 96 going into 97.  Miranda was a dud and I didn't think Sonny/Brenda's reunion or the Tin Man story did them any justice.  Nothing says romance like 'we are about to die in a dirty cave without any air plus violent drug withdrawal sex'.  It was still hot, but not ideal for an S&ber like me.  Speaking of that Brenda's drug addiction didn't really go anywhere and it was coupled with Alan's (which was good), but it was all tied to Pierce Dorman's drug ring.  WTF?  Once Guza returned it got better.

I couldn't stand Brenda's breakdown.  I like the gravity of the situation, but the combo of Vanessa's acting in it and the fact you didn't want Brenda to fall apart over Sonny like that...eek.  I did like the earliest hints of Jason/Brenda and the plane crash they had together.  Robin/Jason were also kinda of played out? by then.  Robin had outgrown him and she just let Jason get away with a lot-and they way they ended up parting wasn't good. Jax/Brenda were pretty cute in 1998 reconnecting, but they spent like an entire year doing that and it was a real waste of the extra year VM signed for.  Plus, Brenda's dead mom and the disease... Awful, but I will say I thought Sonny/Brenda's first scenes at the penthouse after their non-wedding were probably my favorite S&B scenes ever.   Those were so well written and done.

I did like Liz's rape story because early Lucky/Liz was great.  The teen scene was really good and just felt so real and authentic.

I really liked early Ned/Alexis and that's a romance that tends to not get a lot of love.  Jax/Alexis were fantastic too-if you don't think about anything that happened offscreen later.   I remember enjoying Tony's breakdown and 1stJerry/Bobbie as well.

I thought early Liason and Sonny/Carly were great too.  I was not even about another Sonny epic romance but Sonny/Carly in the early days was really well done.

Anyhow, I am rambling and probably getting some time periods off, but I think GH had a lot of casting misses in that time especially with younger leading ladies.  Gina Cates, Miranda, Hannah, Chloe, Angel-just a lot of bad choices on those girls.  It seems like Riche was distracted with PC a bit and I think there was a noticeable decline.  

I think by 2002, though, the show was pretty rocking and was good until half way through 2003.

[Planet Soap]

Now that you mention it I really did like Jason & Brenda together. Their chemistry was really higighted during her 2002 & 2010 returns. Haven't consumed much of late 80s early 90s GH, but from the few clips of 1992 I saw I, liked their interactions in HS. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by ironlion

[carolineg]

I don't remember thinking much of Jason/Brenda pre-Jason Morgan.  They went to prom and I think kissed, but it wasn't anything special.  I remember thinking SK's AJ and Brenda were a better match.  Christmas Sweater HS Jason seemed a little dull for her.   In 1998 Brenda was doing some weird stuff during her breakdown like kissing Jason and the plane crash where they were interacting for awhile and it was interesting and had a palpable chemistry. Not exactly romantic, but you could tell they did actually like and were slightly attracted to one another.  I was never sure if it was because Jason took over Sonny's role or if it was real.   It wouldn't have worked because of Jax and Robin back then, but 2002 they were fire and I think it was legit as far as feelings. 

In 2010 their schtick got a little old, but you could tell they liked working together.  I am not exactly a Jason/Brenda shipper, but I thought it offered a lot of interesting possibilities and they had enough chemistry to pull the story off.  One of the many problems in 2010 is that the show or Mo/VM were so dead set on Sonny/Brenda at the expense of other possible storylines.  The show kept telling me Sonny/Brenda were awesome (duh!) but weren't showing me at all.  I think if Vanessa/Brenda was ever on the show long term Jason would have been one of her pairings and it holds up a little better than Brenda/Jax, which is a pairing that seems to have lost most fans even before Ingo became MAGA.   Idk, it's just probably one of those could have been pairings on soaps because it would never happen now.