GH: Discussion for the Month of March

[alexisfan07]

This cast photo is so cool

[VirginiaHamilton]

a.k.a.: the last time this show had more than 2 Negroes (at most) on the show at a time.

[DRW50]

That must be 1997. It's weird to see Denise Alexander in that because she was MIA from the show for years at this time.

Was Senait Ashefanti fired like five minutes after that photo was taken? She was just about done by this time. It's a shame, as I had started to really like Keesha by then.

[Vee]

I've seen this before, but not in years. I was surprised to see SA there.

Denise Alexander had actually just been brought back to the show by Richard Culliton at this point. That's why she's there.

Genie was clearly still off on her extended maternity leave, which brought her into conflict with the show. They used to regularly interview her co-stars about it, who admitted they had no idea when or if she would be back.

[alexisfan07]

Yeah I believe it's 1997.

The concept of the photo frames is so innovative to me, it's still fresh 15+ years later.

It's cool for me to recognize so many characters having only just seen so many in the past year or so. I hope to see many of the others I've seen you guys talking about that are pictured (Serena & Stefan for instance).

[MissLlanviewPA]

At the same time, though, I don't think she can win. She's was accused of being spineless, and then she shows one yesterday and she's STILL bashed at? Which is it?

Honestly, for me it's like a reverse Blair vs. Luna situation on OLTL. Except this time, it's the Blair (Britt) I hate, and the Luna (Sabrina) I like/don't hate as much. And that just makes me feel dirty.

So I guess that makes Patrick Max, and Robin Gabrielle? Bizarre.

[R Sinclair]

I remember reading about that back then (before I started watching regularly) and couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why the heck she was allowed to go off on "maternity leave" and hold the show hostage. I remember something Michael Logan wrote along the lines of Bob Guza writing a story in hopes of luring Genie back from her maternity leave and thinking "Lure, for what? Doesn't this bitch have a contract?" I never understood that.

[DRW50]

Denise had been brought back for Genie's maternity leave exit story, and was never seen again until somewhere between 2000-2002, I believe. She might have shown up a few times to be with Lulu, but not much. I don't remember her at all during the time this photo was taken.

[carolineg]

I believe this was done for the 35th anniversary. Wasn't it in SOW?

[DRW50]

I think the gist was she probably didn't want to come back, and they were trying to be polite. There was a rumor that they threatened to sue her and that's why she returned.

[Vee]

I remember it differently, I saw her around from time to time during this period through til about 2003 or so. Her appearances did drop off around 2000.

I'm not sure on why Genie tried to stay gone. She did come back for the rape revisit when Guza returned, so it may have been another case of "GH cast gangs up on Richard Culliton." Who admittedly did write some bad stuff for the show, but not to the point where it justified Tony Geary beating him with a chair or whatever it was that the rumor once claimed.

[alexisfan07]

Oh so it would be early 1998? That would make sense, as long as all the cast members in there were still with the show at that time.

[Vee]

I seem to recall Genie returning in 1998 and not before, so this has to be 1997 IMO, though I may be off. It's also notable that Scott, Serena, Lucy, Kevin, etc. are there as 1997 was the year they launched Port Charles, and worked hard early on to have the shows be symbiotic.

It would beg the question of where Mary Beth Evans is, however. Katherine was a big deal under Culliton - she only "died" when Guza returned, and she fell from the parapet in the same storyline in which Laura returned. Her exit ushered in Genie's return, and they were both on the show at that brief point. Yet neither are pictured, when one or the other should be.

[DRW50]

At this time she was with Laura, offcamera, I think, although much of this period bored me, outside of Carly and the Quartermaines, so you likely remember more than I do.

I don't think Genie's issues were with Culliton - she also vanished for fairly lengthy periods of time (albeit not as lengthy) during the last year of Labine's time as headwriter. I'm pretty sure they very kindly ordered her to come back. This was also around the time that Tony Geary "accidentally" forgot to mention her when he won an award. I think she was just plain done. And aside from a few performances during the rape revisit (AKA poor Lucky, how noble he is to verbally abuse his mother for being raped), she just slept through the role for years after her return.

Genie came back in April or May 1998. May, I think.

[DRW50]

Real Andrews being in the photo but Maurice Benard not being in it would put this around October 1997 or November, or a little later. Helena being in it would maybe put it at December even, or very early 1998. MBE must have just been out. NLG also isn't in it.