GH: Classic Thread

[Vee]

The problem is, per SN's own comments, they clearly intended to just use him as another vet shoved onto recurring to show up every 3-4 weeks and play some unremarkable romantic foibles with Laura or Bobbie in the background of the canvas. That was how Ron and Frank told a lot of veteran story (and how Frank still does with some, though actually somewhat more committed). It would've been unworthy of both Nichols and Genie. In those days Bobbie, Scott, Lucy and Kevin were around, yes, but they played a paper-thin subplot about them all swapping partners that would only appear every few weeks. And then there was the Duke/Lucy(!!) romance where we checked in one day after weeks and suddenly they were officially involved and having breakfast together.

 I doubt they would've brought Stefan back to be the villain based on how he was being referenced at the time onscreen, in more positive ways by Nikolas, etc. I think he was just going to be 'look, we got another vet' and probably play cheap romantic spoiler to LNL in Ron's mind.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Vee

[Liberty City]

Pretty sure Nichols would've been used for a "Hi bye" situation, and that's not what he wanted.

Oh God, did you need to remind us of Duke/Lucy? Ugh. That's almost as vomit-worthy as Anna/Luke. Ron clearly said "let's throw names into a hat, and as they come out... pair them!" Would have hated to see where Frisco would have paired had he stayed beyond a limited guest run. 

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 I'm kind of glad Lynn Herring put her foot down and said she wouldn't stay if she were limited to the Nurses' Ball, and for the most part that has stuck.

[carolineg]

Yeah, I can see it not being worthy of his time.  None of those 'vet' returns were very good even though it was nice to see some of them eventually be weaved into the canvas.  I know Ingo got DWTS and had to cut his run short, but I will never understand the logic of Ron having Jax/Brenda engaged only to break up a day later and that's the end.  Just cut Jax entirely.  

[Vee]

I will always be grateful to Ron and Frank for bringing back many of these vets and especially Lucy. But after the early material for Lucy it all became so careless and halfassed. I'm not exactly thrilled re: Lucy's romantic options today but she and the other vets are actually more substantial in their roles on canvas today than they were ten years ago (particularly Mac, Kevin and Felicia).

The Jax/Brenda instant engagement was the same cheap trick as Ron inexplicably having Laura and Scott return engaged again and marry again in that horrific courthouse quickie wedding where Laura looked like she was facing a firing squad in that white tablecloth 'dress'. Just no reason to do any of that so quickly and so briefly (or do at all, to be clear) but Plot Plot Plot, it made zero sense for any of the characters and ultimately Tony wouldn't even let them do LNL which was clearly the plan and we ended up never seeing Laura and Scott as married people before it was over.

I remember thinking for many years back in the early-mid 2000s that Tony and Finola would be hot together. By the time they went there (under a very poorly-written quickie pairing in '12) I was very wrong. 

Edited December 1, 2024 by Vee

[Liberty City]

It just felt like a "meh" pairing, plus, I'm neither an Anthony Geary or Luke Spencer fan, so it was a "NO" pairing for me. I appreciated the poor-use of history, though. 

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 I attribute it to the loss of Robin (in my head) for justifying that lapse in Anna's judgment.

[dc11786]

I did end up watching the final days of Dominique (April 28-May 4, 1993). Wendy Riche produced some of the best deaths in daytime. Dom's death takes a very different structural approach than Stone's. First off, the story opens the Sweeps period rather than ending it and takes place at the end of an episode on a Tuesday. The episodes leading up to Dom are more emotional (IMO) than the last episode of her life, which is a very interesting strategic decision. 

The final days of Dominique feature so many just beautiful character beats that make the impending demise of this bright, vibrant young woman even more heartbreaking. The decision to pair Dom's dying with Lucy's decision to carry Scott and Dominique's child is such a smart decision. In story, Dominique wants Scott to have something to look forward to after she's gone, but it also keeps the audience from deep diving into all the possible misery that presents itself. There are some really nice moments in those final days Dominique makes a video with Lucy for their unborn baby. In the hospital, Dominique informs Gail and Lee that she has decided that the baby (no matter the gender) will have Lee as a middle name as long as they are ok with that. Julia's final visit to Dominique highlights not only Dom's spirit but Dom's hope in Julia's resilience as she continues to face her man problems. There is also Lucy's final gift to Dominique: convincing Tony to do an ultrasound of the baby even though the likelihood that they will detect the child is minimal all so that Dominique can see the baby before she passes. 

The Lucy / Dominique relationship is one of my favorites. Through Dom/Lucy, I understand why Lynn Herring has been such a beloved figure. Herring delivers some powerful non-verbal performances especially in the moments after Dominique dies when she enters General Hospital as Scott carries Dom's lifeless body to the nurses station. In that moment, all of Lucy's pain and isolation reads on Herring's face and the impact that Dom, the one person who might comfort Lucy in this sort of situation, is gone resonates. Later, Lucy pleads with God in another moment that Herring manages to blend the humor and the heartbreak seemlessly. 

The episode after Dominique dies is beautiful. The transition shots from Dominique's death to the flowers to Meg looking down at them from Dominique's room at General Hospital while Amy cleans up in the background is stunning. The shots of the staff reacting to Dominique's demise (which isn't confirmed yet, but it's obvious they know) going from so many of the show's tentpole figures (Alan/Monica, Steve/Audrey, Gail/Lee) to even Julia quietly losing it in the background just resonates the loss of a character who a year ago wouldn't haven't even mustered an ounce of sympathy from the cast or viewers. There's also a rather painful moment where Tony and Bobbie meet up in the hallway after Bobbie has cleaned out Dom's room and Tony has signed the death certificate that is haunting given that a year from then they would be torn apart by B.J.'s death. 

What also stands out in comparison is that no stories are stopping for Dominique's death which highlights some very curious story decisions. At this point, Bill Eckert and Holly are hot on the trial of Richard Halifax having tracked him down to a French convent where he has been keeping the presumed dead Victoria Parker. The Halifax art/gaslighting story is not my favorite by any stretch. Probably one of the weakest links in a strong show. The climax to this story is stronger than usual (but also has moments of complete insanity). 

Set in this darkened French convent, we hear Richard talking to Victoria and her calling him John before Richard slips away. Bill literally emerges from the darkness to appear to Victoria only for Bill to learn that Victoria is blind. Halifax returns and then we get all the exposition about Victoria faking her own death to protect Bill but blinding herself in the process and the revelation that Victoria knew that it was Richard masquerading as John for years. It borders on farce at times, but the gothic tone enhanced by the well designed sets and the dark lightening seems to be a pre-cursor to what I imagine the Cassadine storyline may have evoked. 

In the better (at least in construct, if not content) stories, Felicia's "funeral" is staged as part of the plot to drive Ryan Chamberlain over the edge into confessing his role in all the murders. It's an odd choice of timing to tell this story as Dominique is dying for real and Victoria is also coming back from the dead. The Felicia/Ryan plot is a winner though. It's a classic GH caper set in the hospital with the hospital staff focused instead of the typical WSB crew. I love it. The only thing that stands out as problematic is the fact that Ryan is allowed to continue treating patients while he slowly unravels. Steve isn't worried about the liability of General Hospital if Ryan messes up? The Felicia/Mac flirtation continues to be tons of fun and Mac delivering Felicia's eulogy while Felicia listens in the coffin is fun. 

There is some ELQ drama brewing with Tracy setting up Paul for a warehouse theft, which also makes Ned look bad. Tracy has recently joined ELQ in a minor role that Edward has created to keep her quiet, but its clear that Tracy wants more power. I can only imagine the heights Tracy would have reached had Jane Eliot not left when she did. The highlight of this is the Tracy / AJ dynamic as they have become partners in crime which could have been a very interesting relationship to continue to play. Paul and Jenny are aware that Tracy is up to something, but they aren't sure what. Paul's legal practice has let him intersect with Jagger in Jagger's pursuit of finding his siblings. The community connections really work. 

At the same time, the show also is laying the groundwork for Karen's sexual abuse. In a minor plot, Rhonda has started dating ex-cop Frank Dobson who beats her badly landing her at GH in the care of Alan. This situation allows Karen to reflect on all her mother's relationships with bad men and has an ominous, but obscure, memory from her past. Ray Conway doesn't show up for another 2 months but its clear that this is part of that path. Rhonda's hospital stay also allows her to be treated nicely by Alan, who has become smitten with her. Alan's general concern for Rhonda, trying to convince her to report Frank, is a nice layer to the dynamic. Alan trying to avoid Monica because of the tension with AJ due to the Nikki situation leads to a beautifully heartbreaking moment where Monica reminds Alan of a dinner invitation for later that evening which Alan blows off. Moments later, Jason arrives and gives Monica a present for tonight's dinner as it is her birthday. Alan's realization of the blunder is a strong, quiet moment that seems very common at this point in the show. 

In another quiet, understated moment, during Felicia's funeral, Bobbie speaks to Sean on behalf of Tiffany, who has been kept out of the gaslighting situation. Bobbie thinks Sean should let Tiff in on the plot, but Sean says he cannot trust her. Tiffany's grief is real. Almost everyone else present knows that Felicia is alive. When Tiff stops by Bobbie's after the funeral, she discovers a crowd has gathered and she realizes she has been left out. Tiffany's unraveling is hard to watch, but is so compelling. I know @carolineg isn't a fan and I can start to see more of how hard it must be to watch someone who was beloved unravel especially given the misogynistic slant of some of Levinson's writing, but my heart breaks for Tiffany while also seeing that she is often the source of her own misery. 

I'll probably stay in May because I want to see Dom's memorial, Nikki's brief return, and more of the Jagger/Karen story. 

[Kane]

IIRC, Stefan jumped into the bog to rescue him and then Luke came along (having possibly been brought there by Foster, as I recall that Lucky brought the dog along on the adventure) at the end of the rescue to pull them both out. I think the video game was part of some elaborate spying plot of Stefan's against the Spencers. I remember a scene where the Spencers find bugs in their living room and have a fake fight for Stefan's benefit - but that may have been part of a completely different plot, as a lot of the Spencer v. Cassadine stuff blends together in my mind.

[carolineg]

So according to Lucky's bio from the internet Timoria was an elaborate computer game made by Stefan that eventually led to presumed dead Lesley's whereabouts and everyone finding out she was alive.  Again, it's the internet and the wiki article immediately jumps to Lucky/Liz's romance as the next thing that happens to Lucky so I could be missing some pieces here lol.

Like @Kane mentioned, a lot of the Cassadine/Spencer stories blur together for me as well.

[DRW50]

Thank you. I remember some of this. I guess the bugs were part of the whole story where Laura faked her death, which at least had a bit of drama in a moribund period with Bobbie slapping her.

@carolineg Thanks for the further info about the breakdown story. I blame the writing more than anything else (wasn't there some scene of her swinging some tripod around...), but Vanessa was right to cut it short.

@dc11786 I always enjoy reading your writeups about these years of GH. I don't have the emotional connection to the show that many do (I think I came to GH too late in its run for that sense) so you help me cover the bases in a more analytical way.

That sounds right (still wish they'd done more with Lesley's return...or, frankly, anything). I don't think he has much else to do until he stars chasing after Sarah Webber. In 1997 he's written more than ever as Luke Jr.

[carolineg]

Believe me, I didn't feel short.  Tripods were injured and possibly murdered.  The beginning of the story of her slowly breaking down was okay and her being triggered by Nik being shot outside Luke's made sense, even the light exploding at the photo shoot reminding her of gunshots worked.   Vanessa was actually fine playing it subtlety, but once it had to be full manic breakdown, restraints, delusions, etc it became clear it wasn't easy for her to play out and, frankly, pretty depressing she'd lose her entire mind over Sonny.

I think Genie/Tony leaving for extended periods of time just threw off the momentum for Lesley's return.  I honestly don't think the time frame is that far apart from Lesley/Laura leaving to Sarah's arrival.  It just doesn't feel like Lucky is doing anything terribly substantial. 

 

[Vee]

@dc11786 thanks for the wonderful analysis, as always. I've seen bits and pieces of the Halifax thing but the one thing I always remember is Randolph Mantooth's many interviews in prose and on video talking about how he could not flee GH fast enough to return to Loving.

[Vee]

Rewatching some classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 and I'd forgotten they threaded early '60s episodes of GH into several of their shows whenever a movie would run short. The stuff with Jessie and Phil really is amusingly dour and grim and makes good joke fodder. I wouldn't hate it if they did it again with very old soaps, but I imagine the rights situation is far trickier today.

[Franko]

"Oh, sweet cake, you're the only one who understands me."

The riffs are great, but I'm actually genuinely compelled by Ken/Cynthia/Phil/Jessie. In particular, the moment where Jessie and Cynthia know all too well what's going to happen when Phil & Cynthia are alone. Cynthia tries to stop it from happening, while Jessie's resigned herself to the inevitable.

[titan1978]

It was quite a hybrid. You had Karen Harris and most of the writing team still in place, and Riche who wanted to hold on to the story projections that were in place. So they had at least 5 months of story mapped out when Guza was still there, with threads that could have continued. Then you have ABC forcing Tracy back onto the show for sweeps to lead Jane into The City. Then more of Culliton’s influence.

From everything I have read/heard over the years, faking Laura’s death, the how of Lesley being alive and kept, and Katherine being shot by Stefan are when Culliton’s stories launch fully. And even that was with influence- it was Shelly Curtis who thought SN and MBV could spark again and should be paired.

1996, even with a couple of duds, is still the last year that I fully enjoyed pretty much the entire show. When Guza came back it was just too dark and male centric.

They brought her back without investing in her actual character. I think Genie’s never ending maternity leave didn’t help (once she actually left she only came back for that sweeps stunt with the faberge egg then was off in hiding until 1998). I don’t think they had anything really planned out for Lesley except making her more stable to serve as a talk to for Laura. They brought her back for that, not to have Lesley in the show. Which was and is a shame, she was a major character during her original run.

[carolineg]

It didn't really feel like the show had anything planned out, but I always chalked it up to circumstances BTS fumbling it up a bit.  It was one of those situations where the show went to all this trouble to lay out this elaborate mystery and bring Lesley back, but no one had a "what's next?" plan I guess lol.   I can say I wasn't the biggest fan of the story.