GH: Discussion for the Month of March

[DRW50]

Robert didn't deal with his grief at all - he just transferred it. Luke is now putting his great friend in a situation where both he and Ethan (Luke's favorite child) could be killed because they are both acting on blind pain and insanity. For all Luke knows, this could end in a murder-suicide. Would Luke even care??

The problem with these stories is what may seem realistic is not good soap viewing. For instance - was it realistic for Luke to not care that he killed "Elizabeth's son that Lucky raised"? Sure. Was it realistic that Lucky dumped his kids without a second thought? Sure. Is it realistic that most of Robin's family has little interest in mourning together? Of course.

Does this make good viewing? I don't think it does. GH was not a show which became popular because of realism or honesty.

I'm not sure killing off a child is the way to do that...

I don't care as much about the funeral as I do that Robert had a whopping one day or less of scenes dealing with this story before he became totally immersed in Ethan's exit. It's just cheap writing and viewers who loved the character and his history with Robin got nothing in return.

[Juliajms]

I don't know how you can say he doesn't care. he just said he thought about killing himself and he thinks about killing Jake every day.

As for realistic? I'm not sure I called anything that is happening on this show that. LOL! I just said Robert trying to avoid his grief is understandable. I've never thought funerals are good soap. I hate them, both in real life and TV, but I think someone feeling they had to go would be the more "realistic" outcome, even if it made them wish they really had jumped after all.

[quartermainefan]

what a horrible episode for Scorpio today. "Hi Anna, our daughter died and that sucks for you, but I just got a new son so seeya"

[EricMontreal22]

And I didn't say that. Killing Hope was an easy out for RC--it gives him an instant story with Todd going after Sonny (let's face it, Todd would probably have cared, well, not at all if only Cole had died), is "high drama" and solves his seemingly long term dilemna of wanting to write Starr without a child... I was merely refering to shoving all that Blair/Todd backstory into awkward hospital chitchat in one episode.

Funerals haven't made good soap since the days they could afford to use a real church, hire at least some extras to fill the seats, and make a point of having character returns and memories/.flashbacks that honour the character that viewers are sad to see go. I actually feel pretty much the same about soap weddings.

[~bl~]

Starr could have gone to school in Port Charles sans her daughter, but that would have been too easy. What they did with Robert Scorpio if this is the final episode with Tristan makes me think of the shooting emoticon.

[DRW50]

I don't think he cares. What he says and what he feels are two very different things. He's a sociopath. That he cannot even acknowledge Jake as a grandchild, even now, says it all.

I guess I don't see this as being about a funeral. I see it as being about a grieving process. There were few, if any, scenes, of Robert having conversations with Robin's loved ones and processing this death. They didn't have to show a funeral. They didn't have to have Robert go to the funeral. All they had to do was have strong, moving scenes with Robert, Anna, Emma, Patrick, Mac, even Holly, maybe. Instead, Robert spends a few days on a bridge and gets the hell out of town.

It's a cheat, and like most RC returns, utterly pointless.

[DRW50]

Honestly I'm not sure how many soap funerals even had real churches. I think it's more a lack of heart and emotion that hurts - I don't care about extras, they just have to say "we limited this to close friends and family." I wish Ed Coleridge's memorial from RH was on Youtube - it was only a handful of people, in a thrown together funeral home set, and was still harrowing.

[EricMontreal22]

Oh the real churches is definitely at the low end of my priorities there... It's down to the writing, and using characters relevent to the dead character (even if they can't bring back too many from the past, to at least aknowledge the dead characters family members and why they aren't there is easy to do...)

[JaneAusten]

I think all 3 returns were wasted and was just a way to pay lip service to caring oh so much about GH's history while focusing on what FV/RC really care about another Sonny centric drama with his faves from OLTL. I actually understand and get the OLTL characters coming on to generate some interest its a shame its wasted on the same toxic GH characters.

Im bummed we got no flashbacks other than one where Robin meets Robert. None with Anna, Mac or even Patrick

[DRW50]

The oddest part for me is they rushed Robin's death yet got nothing out of it. They have avoided any real drama, not played any beats. If I hadn't watched AMC and GH I would think Anna is just this dull woman who doesn't have much to say or do or feel. I would think Robert was a deadbeat. Holly is just bizarre and stupid. Patrick has barely been seen, aside from a few days of howling. Jen Lilley is OK but can't really sell most of Maxie's grief.

I think RC/FV want flash and trash - that's what they sold on OLTL. And it does work to a point. People are talking about a child's death. They're laughing at and being shocked by Comedy Connie. But the show has the emotional weight of Spongebob Squarepants.

[VirginiaHamilton]

All I know is that Frank better work on bringing KdP on full-time for the remainder of GH so that I don't have to endure my Todd being saddled in more scenes with that cockroach.

I'm over the moon about Todd being GH's newest character, but not if this is the route that Ron'll be taking him down.

The last thing that I want is for Todd Manning to become another AJ Quartermaine or Jasper Jacks - two decent characters that were steamrolled over for that slore.

[DRW50]

I don't think it will be about Carly as much as it will be about conflict between John/Sonny/Todd. I can see Todd and Sonny as Spy vs Spy, with more sadface.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Johnny (the only newbie character that I actually like) deserves better than to be stuck with Sonny's leftovers. I wonder if backstage politics are to blame for having a character/actor that has tons of charisma and sex appeal wasted with craptacular characters, even though he's shown more promise away from the vortex of suck.

[DRW50]

Characters like Johnny have usually been written out, violently, after a year or two, so I always wonder why he's stayed. BB must be a sweetheart.

[Juliajms]

I wonder that too. I just thank God the piano is gone for the most part. That was unbearable. Possibly worse than characters that sing.