GH: Classic Thread

[titan1978]

If you watched the show during SJB’s Carly, they spent a significant amount of time building to Jason being in love with Carly on paper, and Steve very visibly fighting any of that on camera.

Part of it was his holding out for KMc to come back as he preferred Jason with Robin. After she began her leaves for school, he would be in the soap mags saying how much Jason still loved Robin and in at least one interview I read he fully stated Jason would never fall in love with someone like Carly.

His exit storyline was built under an assumption that Jason would feel betrayed that Sonny and Carly had sex while he was doing mob business and got shot. It was laughable because Burton had spent that entire time visibly fighting it.

Kelly was vocal about feeing Sam had moved on and was happy, and again, visibly acted frustrated with reuniting with Burton the entire time the show put them back together. She was vocal online about it and about Billy Miller’s dismissal.

[titan1978]

I fell into a rabbit hole and watched a bunch of stuff from 1979. Makes total sense  how the ratings soared that year. There isn’t a weak link (aside from Anne Logan) or a boring storyline (even overbearing Jeff Webber is watchable).

It is always so interesting for me to watch Scotty, Laura and Bobbie. Bobbie and Laura are fascinating in those early years. Jacklyn Zeman really landed a fantastic part and they made it so complex between Marland, Monty, and Zeman. She’s doing so much shady stuff and she’s so rootable, even though Laura and Scotty are so adorable together. And Scotty is so different, although he is volatile enough that his later behavior after heartbreak makes sense.

Does anybody have access to the episode where Monica falls down the stairs/is pushed by Alan? I keep watching her in episodes in the hospital bed around the accident but not the actual accident.

Edited April 3, 2024 by titan1978

[Vee]

Bobbie is absolutely vicious to Laura in '78 especially. Gives Carly a run for her money.

It's the Heather/Taylors story that got me hooked awhile ago. Mary O'Brien is underrated.

[titan1978]

It’s a great cat and mouse game. And I actually like Brooke Bundy as Diana. I know she was not really a popular recast. I like Peter too, one of a few legacy actors left before he is killed off. I remember being so excited when I finally got to watch the entire LSD episode on YouTube.

[AMCOLTLLover]

I watched the entire last year of Brooke Bundy and didn’t knew the OG Diana but Brooke wasn’t a bad recast. I don’t get why she wasn’t more popular. I’m still upset that Jeff left and Diana got murdered coz with Robin‘s Heather we could’ve had such a great feud between Heather vs Diana with Jeff in the middle. All we got was a paranoid and annoying Anne Logan that was more whacko than Heather. Lol

Can someone from the Soap Community help me out with a name: I can’t find to seem to find the actress name of that character Nurse Stacey Rawlins that got introduced in 1981. It drives me nuts. Dr Zack Stewart I was able to find out but nothing about Stacey Rawlins

[Paul Raven]

Stacey was played by Robin Eisenman, also temp Nikki on Y&R, among other soap roles.

[AMCOLTLLover]

Thank u so much.. Wow she was a temp. Nikki. I can see that. 

[Vee]

I have a lot of fondness for Brooke Bundy as a horror fan, remembering her in a couple of the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels as Patricia Arquette's bitchy showbiz mom (who keeps nagging her even after getting decapitated by Freddy Krueger). But I can never get past that memory in my head as I watch her, lol. I've always wanted to see more of the popular Valerie Starrett, who it seems got pushed out in a power play by the new EP pre-Monty. It's sobering to realize the Taylors were a beloved tentpole couple for a lot of years before the Heather saga just annihilates them in the end. And Diana goes out like a pathetic, deluded and desperate woman. But it's very gripping story - a domestic gaslighting tragedy.

Edited April 4, 2024 by Vee

[Franko]

How long were Zack & Stacey around? I keep wondering if their story was supposed to go anywhere, and if if was, were they done in by either the writers strike or the apparent decision to mostly stick with what they had in terms of hospital-based characters?

[Paul Raven]

It was Tom Donovan that brought Brooke Bundy in as Diana.

Edited April 4, 2024 by Paul Raven

[AMCOLTLLover]

I am currently in August 1981 and they were just introduced. It feels like Stacey was thrown in just to give Noah and Bobbie a bit more of jelousy drama. Zack has been in it for a month by now and he is just THERE. Whatever plans they have or had at this point seem to be completely dropped already lol he is just a new Doctor hanging around with the younger adults (Claudia, Amy, Bryan, Bobbie, Noah) at the disco and eating pizza and dancing with them. 
 

What I could figure out was that he is around until 1982. It feels like they were just introduced to fill some spaces coz Laura wasn’t with the younger adults anymore and involved in high profile story’s. And Jeff and Diana left and they needed some characters filling up that space 

[Vee]

Yeah, that's what I thought, hence my mentioning pre-Monty. I was under the impression he came in with a big broom which also included adding Leslie Charleson from his LIAMST vs. Patsy Rahn.

[titan1978]

She arrived and he left shortly after. And the cast liked Patsy Rahn, so it took time for them to accept LC. Which is crappy behavior- she didn’t fire her.

From everything I have read Donovan was liked by many people in the cast, and had modernized the cameras and sound equipment, which Denise Alexander said was from the dark ages before he got there, and DAYS had very modern everything (for the time).

I have only seen a handful of scenes with Valerie Starrett’s Diana and she seems fine, I never felt really drawn to her like I always am to Audrey, Leslie, and Jesse. Meg Baldwin draws me in too. But I haven’t gotten to see anything that really focuses on her Diana. I just like Brooke Bundy, and my first time seeing her was also in The Dream Warriors.

[dc11786]

@carolineg You were asking about Tom Hardy's role at the hospital. He was a psychiatrist, but in November, 1990, he was promoted to assistant chief of staff. This is probably would you were remembering. He replaced the departed Harrison Davis, who was briefly presumed to be the father of Tommy Jr. Before Davis, I believe the position was held by Alan Quartermaine, but I might be wrong on that. Maybe he held it afterwards. 

I'm in mid-December, 1990. Joseph Hardy's final days are a bit bittersweet. I find the story with Rita Lloyd Jones to be quite compelling still. Frisco has discovered she was getting money sent to her in San Francisco by a series of men and assumes she must be a high end call girl. It's an odd angle for Frisco to harp on given Bobbie's history. It's almost as if they are purposely trying to make Frisco look bad. Anyway, Rita remains a pretty neutral character despite being pushed into the center of Tony and Bobbie's marital issues. Not only is she lending Tony an ear so he can talk about his issues, she has run into Bobbie on several occasions going into Broxton's suite at the Port Charles Hotel (Bobbie is there to get proof about Lucas' adoption). In the later episodes when Monty is there, Rita is portrayed as a clear schemer and quickly run out of town by Scorpio. 

The Edge/Dawn relationship continues in Decker's absence. Now that Edge isn't a Jerome he is said to be pursuing Dawn because he thinks she got a huge divorce settlement from Ned. Obviously, this isn't the case as she is living at Willow Shores. Dawn is now pretty sick in the hospital as the polluted water continues to wreck havoc on her system. Dawn has also managed to get involved in some modeling for Frankie, who clearly wants Dawn and has used her to further his own chances to work with Edge on the music video he will be producing for Frisco. It's all very plot heavy with not enough introspection. 

Cheryl seems to be losing touch with reality more and more each day. The show seems to continue to build towards the revelation that Lucas is Robert's son, but I think Monty undoes that pretty quickly. Her and Shep's relationship seems to be wrapping up as well as he is super jealous. Poor Bradley Lockerman. I think Shep has some potential, but I won't say I'll miss him. 

It was pretty wild realizing that it was Don Jeffcoat playing Robin's older boyfriend. It's actually a bit unsettling. 

The end of diamond caper is pretty silly. I've been working on some episode summaries for Palumbo's run of "Rituals" and I find myself seeing the same scenario play out: Scheming woman (Lucy/Taylor) trying to convince her potential suitor (Scotty/Logan) of her new ways with something ended up thrown into the lake (the diamonds/Taylor's sable coat). Scotty and Lucy are fun. Alan and Lucy are done. I think the show would have gotten more mileage out of Alan and Lucy's marriage if the baby had been Alan's and the child had lived. Monica raising Lucy's daughter would have been something else and filled the void of Dawn's loss. 

I'm not sure how far I got into 1991. It wasn't very far, but I know I was also jumping around. I'm morbidly curious to see the day to day, blow by blow deconstruction and reconstruction of Monty's 1991 "General Hospital."

[carolineg]

Yes!  That's what I was remembering and I think that's why I thought he was more of a general practitioner back then.  Thanks for the clarification.  I thought I was crazy lol.  I guess that position no longer exists these days.

Very unsettling about Don Jeffcoat.  KMC and Robin looked so young for so long.  I wonder if soaps don't realize how young these actresses look when they pair them with older guys.  I feel like Days did the same thing with a young Christie Clark as well and it just looked squicky.