GH 50: Discussion for the Month of April - May 3, 2013

[Vee]

So, cross-posting.

It's painfully obvious how bad Molly wants Rafe - it's come off her in palpable waves since January. And here we are with Rafe "reminiscing" about [!@#$%^&*] that only just happened with this newbie. It's not that either kid is that bad, but the material is, and I've talked before about how much I hate how Frank and Ron have basically turned Hailey Pullos and Molly into Kristen Alderson and Starr from OLTL - high melodrama, breathless enthusiasm at all times. I hate stories like this when Frank and Ron do them because they're so very obvious and hamhanded about who and what we are supposed to want, which is the two pretty white kids together. There is never even a scintilla of doubt.

What really got me, though, in terms of a superficial comparison of the damaged kids on the new AMC or OLTL is when Sam and Alexis were talking about how Rafe is a traumatized teenager who lived on the run with an unstable mother who was butchered by his insane father. Okay, great, and that is a character with such obvious potential as they just described him onscreen. So why is Rafe, in actuality, just a nice apple-cheeked boy with an institutional haircut who is fully socialized, sweet as apple pie and blushing over Molly? He's just another cute white kid ready for a summer teen story. And this is not a GH issue, this is a FV/RC issue. Because that character could be exactly what Alexis and Sam described - a fucked-up, angry kid tearing the penthouse apart, and Sam has to struggle to relate to him as best she can given her own horrible youth. Rafe is a character with such a strange, wonderfully weird backstory, but he's just this junior varsity underclassman. What is going to distinguish him from Morgan when Morgan shows up, looking older than Chad Duell by all appearances? It's just a waste of potential, IMO.

The role of A.J. Quartermaine will now be played by Fred Sanford. Oy. I love A.J., but oy.

I will miss Johnny, a lot, given the pickings we're left with (I like Nikolas as a character, except I haven't actually liked him in years - and his renewed thing for Liz is awful). Talk about wasted characters. I'd take him back anyday. I was so thrilled he got in one last Johnny and My Guys omniscient narrator moment. It's also weird when suddenly the mob and online gambling is feeling like it might be a welcome grounded story to watch.

Maurice Benard has got to stop with his hair. It looks like a dead animal back there. Stop. Or shave your face.

Sabrina and Felix are getting weirder all the time. The bizarre Mama Rose routine with Felix is just way too much and really unnerving. He's there all the time! Telling Sabrina and Patrick what to do! Managing the situations for them! You guys are dating, right? So date! Here, let me help! It's getting creepy. And the pairing has no real chemistry. Jason Thompson's disheveled look is starting to look like a protest beard. He's starting to look suicidal. The baby storyline - awful.

[dragonflies]

Wow Sabrina really is a Disney Princess *smh*

yesterday was BORING

[ChitHappens]

LMAO Vee!

See, when the eppy started, Mo was fine as hell! I missed Sonny looking like that. But then, halfway thru, something happened and the hair got fuzzy and you could see the Loreal dripping! Yikes!

Molly? HP is not the right girl for this story. This is KA all over again. Totally agree about Rafe. Let me preface first by saying PUKE! He's all upset about Molly so he wants to go to his room? His mother just died and his father is a wacko, but "I want to go to my room". Yikes!

AJ's panic attack was the worst thing FRon could have done to this character, which makes his next move with Carly all the more pointless. He looked like a collosal pu$$y! Everyone has to ask - why? However, I will watch their scenes today, and perhaps a reason will be somewhere in the dialogue. God willing!

I envy any fan that does not have FRon helming their shows!

[Vee]

The "something happening" was he turned his damn head. It's all back there! It's happening as we speak! He has looked even more of a mess than usual for months now, with that white-ass beard on his face and the hair just falling apart.

I like the panic attack stuff for A.J. because I think it's very realistic that he would be plagued by PTSD, etc. after his many ordeals in the past ten years - unlike Rafe, he has visceral reactions. But when it turns into a series of scenes where A.J. quivers on the ground gasping for breath as everyone hollers it's just silly and over the top. I do think A.J. and Carly are still smoking hot, but the story is just a trifle at the moment.

[dragonflies]

I can't with this gawd awful wriitng for Carly.

This twit got in a fight in the MC lobby but yet thinks AJ is a loser cause he taunted Sonny into punching him and

Wow Carly thinks AJ should abuse someone when he's angry, uhh wow

[alexisfan07]

Oh my god, Lulu is kissing Milo. Someone make it stop.

[Antoyne]

I haven't watched the show in a few weeks but I keep up with this thread and I'm honestly shocked that they really are trying to make Milo happen...wow.

[dragonflies]

Milo is not a lead character Ron & Frank ugh

LW and SK are smoking hot, that'll be some hate sex with CarnAj lol

[R Sinclair]

What happened to Molly?! And no, I won't watch her scenes because I really do have this deep-from-my-gut hate for Rafe! The actor's a dweeb and the writing for the character sucks musty grandpa balls.

I had to re-read that about 3 times before my mind quit autocorrecting my eyes. I kept wanting to read that as "chinchilla" of doubt!

[Vee]

And now we have my new profile line.

[Days22]

I shouldnt have tried to watch.

[EricMontreal22]

As someone who suffered from panic attacks after a bad accident I had for several years--I appreciate that they are touching on the subject, and it is realistic (although I guess very realistically, every soap character should suffer from PTSD ). ANd I know everyone reacts differently to them--but I can't get past these scenes--for me it would feel like I was suffering a heart attack, especially the first few times before I knew what was happening--but people around me couldn't really even tell it was happening except I guess I'd get sweaty and completely quiet or shaky if I tried to walk. Anyway--the scenes with AJ are getting old.

I agree with everything you said in your great post, above. I think I've said this before, but what is so frustrating about Frank and Ron for me--and why I even bother posting about them (ie compared to how I would react to Dena Higley writing the show) is there always is potential there. As you said, these characters could in theory have some really interesting story beats to play out. But they aren't even *trying* to at this point.

GH is particularly suffering right now and I can't help but think that--much like some of their OLTL events (but maybe even more so) that it's due to several factors. They have written for a year and the stories they have stacked up to play out now just aren't very good is one. Another is they worked so hard going up to the Nurses' Ball week and now are coasting. And--and I think this has to be said--they're buying into all the praise of being soap saviours that they've been getting--particularly with all the articles about how they saved GH for its anniversary, etc. And gotten lazy. This by no means means I think their past year on GH was brilliant by any means but it really is at a low poin of interest right now.

And... As someone else mentioned (KM?) I think they DO have largely carte blanche right now at GH--that's my impression. They still have to deal with all the crap of exec and advertiser interference that network daytime suffers from right now, absolutely, but at OLTL when they'd reach deep lows in story interest like this, people always pulled out the Brian Frons excuse. ANd that simply can't be used now.

I hope the PP soaps prove to be the success that they seem to be--I think FV and RC are underestimating their audience if they think the only way to compete with the PP soaps for viewers (and yes, I do think some viewers will watch those shows *instead* of GH--I've already seen many comments that say just that) is to put the OLTL three in brand new roles,...

(I guess we really are lucky the PP revival didn't happen when originally planned with FV/RC)

[chicklitsandfantasies]

All I can do is

[KMan101]

+1

I think you summed it up quite nicely.

And even though I had seen AMC and OLTL twice already today, I watched them during GH (of course I have it on DVR). I really haven't had even an interest in watching today's GH episode. FRon frustrate the piss out of me because I still think they could deliver. They just aren't. At all. It could be there. But it's not.

[ChitHappens]

EricM, some posters on Twitter have already stated in the GH TL that they are using the GH hour to watch AMC and OLTL 2.0. People are simply demanding better. FRon couldn't hide their schlock behind the vets forever...