Steve Burton is done with the show!

TV Guide Magazine: Word is, this is one of the most amicable soap exits ever — no money battles, storyline complaints, testy negotiations. Where's all the drama, dude?

Burton: I've been through 21 years of ups and downs with GH— regime changes, cast and crew changes, budget cuts, shakeups of one kind or another, and it's been nothing but a huge positive in my life and for my family. I have no complaints, no negative feelings at all. But it's time to go. I'm going to take some time off and do nothing but relax, just enjoy life a little bit with my wife and kids. I've bought a home in Tennessee, way out in the country outside Nashville. [Laughs] Probably too far out in the country! I've been talking about leaving GH and moving there for the last seven years. The timing was never right and then the economy crashed and I couldn't sell my house in California. I went there many years ago when I did the movie The Last Castle and loved it. Tennessee reminded me of growing up in Ohio. The people are nice, it's family oriented and, now that my kids are 6 and almost 9, I want to get them planted. My contract was coming up at GH so we put the house up for sale again and it went in, like, eight weeks. That opened the door for me to leave GH.

FULL INTERVIEW:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Steve-Burton-Quits-General-Hospital-1052432.aspx

I won't lie, I'm sad about this. We're losing another Quartermaine and I've been enjoying Jason now that the show doesn't revolve around him. I thought Carlivati had just barely tipped the surface in what he could do with Jason. I wanted to see more with Jason and Liz and I just enjoy him being there. I like the relationship with Carly and Michael, Sam and John, even Sonny. It's going to be weird to never have him there.

Yes. I'm sad to say that I've been on the receiving end of one of those Monavie pitches at a soap event. It made me want to punch someone in the throat.

Did his pitch go something like: "Monavie for you, money for me!"?

That's why I don't go to fan events.

Did his pitch go something like: "Monavie for you, money for me!"?

That would've been a refreshing show of subtlety. But it wasn't from SB. I would've at least found that funny.

Honestly, the first time I heard the name "Monavie," I thought it was another one of Bob Guza, Jr.'s ridiculous umbrella mysteries on GH. Then, I learned what it all was about and I thought, "Nah, not even Guza could come up with [!@#$%^&*] that whack!"

Ok, I need some dets on this juice thing, please.

GH needed this exit. I actually think Jason was more of a threat to this shows survival then Sonny was at Jason's peak of story (06-07). I think Sonny is still needed though and is an integral part of story here. He is connected to many different characters and it would be hard to kill him off or write him out considering all of his children, his many relationships and his ties to all of the key players on GH. Jason and Carly should both go, since they don't really matter anymore. It may take much longer to write Sonny out and diminish his role meaningfully. I will say that the casting of OLTL characters has been a blessing in disguise as it finally diminished the choke hold the terrible threesome had on this show for well over a decade. Had they not come on we would no doubt still be in the middle of the Sonny, Carly and Jason hour. Even though I wish the OLTL stories would end I recognize it for the gift that it is, a transition for the show to come out of the mob centrality it has been in since the turn of the century.

Ok, I need some dets on this juice thing, please.

It's a pyramid scheme, like Amway or Mary Kay.

http://www.monavie.com/

Somebody else will have to provide details about Burton's involvement. That day was the first I'd ever heard of the stuff and I couldn't figure out why this person was trying to sell me something in a wine bottle when I was so clearly and painfully hungover.

If anyone here goes the TWOP (Television Without Pity) forums, several pages in on the Soap Dish thread (which is now closed--it got too off-topic, I guess) a whole conversation about Monavie and SBu's involvement begins. It became a huge in-joke on that thread afterwards .

He's not the only one involved, either--BA, NL,and BH's husband, among a few others (the guy who plays Max, for example) have been involved with it, too.

It's on the second page of the Soap Operas forum at TWOP.

ETA: Tropicana wound up pulling its ads from GH after SBu/BA got in trouble for plugging MonaVie on the show (all but naming it in scenes).

Edited August 28, 201213 yr by MissLlanviewPA

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the network, at one point, admonish Burton and the rest for hawking that stuff?

Jason was a tiring, overexposed character but I will miss him a little bit. I didn't hate him as much as most here clearly do. LOL! I am NOT looking forward to Jawn McBain completely taking over his place now And in every aspect; I see him becoming BFF's w/Sonny and getting married to Sam by February sweeps.

Agreed with all of this.

No matter how many times people pull this song out at a time like this, it never gets old. GOODBYE Jason!!!

Like I said before, I am fine with Benard staying. However, this should open the door to push Scott Reeves and Bradford Anderson out. Burton was a major reason that they got and/or kept their useless roles.

BTW, James Franco's insistence on working with talentLESS hacks like Phelps and Burton explains why his career appears mired in mediocrity.

ETA: That should be "talentless." I would never describe any of them as talented.

Edited August 28, 201213 yr by Ann_SS

Like I said before, I am fine with Benard staying. However, this should open the door to push Scott Reeves and Bradford Anderson out. Burton was a major reason that they got and/or kept their useless roles.

BTW, James Franco's insistence on working with talented hacks like Phelps and Burton explains why his career appears mired in mediocrity.

Franco was never a great actor to me. His next movie is a teen movie with Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson

I don't get why Burton would be allowed to hawk that stuff at a fan event. Aren't they monitored by the network