GH: Classic Thread

[janea4old]

Thanks!  This Feb.2025 SOD article quotes,
in part, an SOD mini-interview from 2021.
I found that here:
https://www.soapoperadigest.com/photos/scene-and-heard-1707864/

It was a single block of text, as a caption to an image.
(sorry but there were no paragraphs/spacing).
(The image was credited as being "from twitter" but doesn't say whose twitter).
This was for the SOD "Scene and Heard" feature, in September 2021:
Here's the image and caption:

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According to  Jon Lindstrom (Kevin/ Ryan), the creative evolution of his characters on GH is thanks in no small part to the contributions of one of the show’s former scribes, Michele Val Jean. He says her influence on Kevin can be felt “in every way possible. The character was created out of necessity to, at that time, replace Ryan with someone who looked like me and who didn’t need to be redeemed, since Ryan was unredeemable. [Then-Head Writer] Claire Labine threw Michele the reins and then she and I talked a lot about what ways Kevin could be differentiated from Ryan. Michele is an incredibly articulate, well-read person. I think Kevin’s syntax, the way he speaks, never would have developed clearly without her.” Pairing Kevin with Lucy was “all Michele,” he adds. “It was her idea to put them together. I think her take on it was something like, ‘What if Lucy goes to therapy, not because she thinks she needs it, but because she thinks Kevin is cute?’ She pitched it to Claire and she told Michele to run with it. And man, did she ever! The story of how Lucy chased Kevin, who didn’t trust his own heart then, was her doing. She wrote all those scenes, so she was, in a word, indispensable. She not only wrote the Kevin/Lucy stuff, but she was primary writer on all the Kevin/Ryan scenes going forward. She told me the first significant thing she wrote of Ryan was his first confession in the police station with Sean and Mac, and that she fell in love with his ‘crazy’ from those scenes and wanted to write him every chance she got. Ryan was so well-defined in a twisted sort of way, and only Michele can pull that off.” Their collaboration was constant in those days. “We talked all the time! I’d come up to her office — she was working in the building back when writers did that — and we’d throw ideas around. Things like motivation, backstory, Kevin’s thoughts and feelings about Ryan and their separate history, Kevin’s guilt, nature vs. nurture, all kinds of angles. We got to be great friends through that process, so there’s an added bonus. We still are today. She has so much more to give. She should be doing feature films.”
(end quote from SOD Sept. 2021)

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The new SOD article Feb. 16, 2025 that @Vee linked to, quotes some of that,
and then adds new quotes from Lindstrom about his casting on BTG, and his continued respect for MVJ.
https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/jon-lindstrom-and-cady-mcclain-join-the-cast-of-beyond-the-gates/

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Edited February 19 by janea4old

[janea4old]

Oh and here's a copy of the same from the print edition of SOD:

https://x.com/MicheleValJean/status/1436441562091642880

 

[Vee]

I remember this. It was barely there and was more of a very minor side beat to Nikolas and Courtney getting it on, with Courtney and Lucky being somewhat jealous of the awkward situation. It never went anywhere. I think it was only a means to an end to make Nik and Courtney jealous/out of sorts and help to trigger their affair (which had many factors, including Nik's frayed relationship with Emily), and also make both them and GV's Lucky look worse. Out of all the characters in that story, Liz and Jax were the ones with the least airtime and perspective.

Edited February 19 by Vee

[Liberty City]

Thanks for sharing, Vee!

[MissPalmer]

Does anyone know the real date of Laura's (Genie Francis) first episode in GH? Some say it is on 8th February 1977, others that her first time taping the episode was December 1976, 28th... Is that true?? Thank you!!!

[titan1978]

IIRC, she was booked on FAMILY before she landed GH, and according to IMDB her two episodes aired in November of 1976. So if she did start airing in 1976 it was the end of the year.

[cassadine1991]

@depboy might know

[DRW50]

Thanks. That whole period seemed to revolve around which character Guza or Guza/Pratt wanted to minimize.

[depboy]

I don’t have a definitive date for her first episode.

[Contessa Donatella]

I posted the question to Kin Shriner on Twi/X. No idea if he will reply but he seems to have a great memory of the good ole days. 

[Doc Lesley]

Per Tune In Tomorrow:

February 7 – 11, 1977

Jeff told Heather he can't marry her, even though she's pregnant with his child, because he reconciled with Monica. Lesley found a bitter Laura in a Canadian commune. Diana worried about Mike having nightmares.

So, that would be in line with the 2-8-1977 reference.

 

They were taping about 2 weeks ahead of time in 1977.  So, perhaps 12-28-76 was a screen test or something.

[depboy]

Not that this is much help, but the earliest episode info I have from ‘77 shows that the episode airing May 13th (Friday) was taped May 5 (Thursday).

[janea4old]

In 2022, SOD said said Genie first aired on Feb. 8, 1977.
https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/genie-francis-marks-the-45th-anniversary-of-her-port-charles-debut/

(I have no idea if that is accurate or not, but that's what it said)

[Khan]

An intriguing part of Laura's past that has never been fully exploited, IMO.  It would've made so much more sense to tie Cyrus to that part of her life, for example, than to make him and Martin her insta-half-siblings.

[cassadine1991]

That’s because someone online posted on Laura’s Wikipedia page that Feb. 8, 1977 was her first air date. It had been December 26 or 28, 1976 on other soap sites