GH50: Discussion for the month of July...

[Cheap21]

I do think the rape makes it tasteless. He was forced to have sex with a man against his will and now he's being blackmailed into it (which some might argue is a form of rape). I don't think he will oblige, but its gross that its even thrown on the table

[DRW50]

I agree with what Vee said. I think there are a few other problems, like that Frank Valentini seems to have no vision (beyond bad acting, cheap production, and casting doughy, dead-eyed twinks), and that Ron was so praised for the crudest, cheapest aspects of his writing. He thinks soaps are a chucklefest, the cruder the better. Soaps are a parody of a parody to him. He got so much praise for the cheap stuff on OLTL, like David Vickers, and it's also an easy out. You can see how happy he is when GH makes The Chew. That is his ultimate validation. He writes trash and people love trash. That's the end of it for him. In his mind, soaps are trash, viewers are dumbasses, and he's Jacqueline Susann with designer stubble.

[Vee]

And here's the sad thing: I still think Ron has done a lot of good at GH. We'd never have half these people back or half these changes without this team, and I think a lot of them have been for the better. There's a lot of good raw material and ideas, and characters that are needed and cherished that I never thought I'd see again, certainly not in this ongoing capacity. And he has, in a lot of ways, broken the show away from its mob/crime narrative and back towards an adventure show. They also forced out Steve Burton, which I thought was necessary. They broke the back of Guza's GH, and I didn't believe anyone would ever do that. And I'm so glad they did, because now GH can obviously be anything again, anytime.

But the problems are the same as they were at OLTL, only worse - Ron can sometimes restore great things to a show, or add new ones that are quite decent. But when he hits the downswings now he hits them harder than ever before, because this is not the same Ron that took over at OLTL. He's a good showman but his taste and sense of proportion - as well as the audience - has atrophied. If it was me I'd give him a co-writer, someone who has serious control over him. Frank obviously is only focused on the money, and while he does very well with that that also has its own series of issues in terms of rehearsal time (even poor Andrew Trischitta has markedly improved into a half-decent actor on the new OLTL with a little more time to breathe), cutting for plot vs. character, pacing, etc.

And it has to be said that as lame and repetitious as the Guza GH airing at like six in the morning is - with no variety of characters, all Sonny, Jason and the mob all the time, and how I do prefer this one to that - the fact is that show often had far more sophisticated dialogue and character work than what we have now, just in the service of all the wrong stories and beliefs. If you could utilize those people to work this show, who knows what you'd have.

Unfortunately, when you have a lot of the soap press stuck in a mentality dating back to watching the campiest soaps and primetime soaps from the '80s - you're not going to get that much clear-eyed feedback in the press.

[Eric83]

It is disturbing. What kind of person especially a doctor thinks blackmailing someone into having sex in exchange for keeping a secret is funny or OK? Why is he thirsty for Michael when he is straight? Why is he even worried about Michael and KaKa kissing? What will he get out of exposing them?

[ChitHappens]

Michael being raped doesn't mean that the character needs to stay away from controversial stories. It's how the characters handles it and the purpose of the "story" plot. Right now, it's just for sh!ts and giggles. The rape made him stronger once upon a time. Now he is just a sad little horny freak jonesin' for his cousin. It didn't have to be this way!

[greens_dupres]

I have tried and tried to think of how I could ever possibly find myself nostaligic for elements of Guza GH when I basically lit candles for his departure and hated the mob focus. That explains it. Ron does not know how to do character work/moments. At all. And that is so key to soaps. I didn't even realize this on OLTL because I was so happy to be entertained again after Higley and he started very strong with Asa's funeral but watching a much more character driven OLTL now, its way more apparent. And I think with GH too, in the fall/winter, the scaling back of the mob and giving material to long ignored characters like Monica made him seem like a savior. But he doesn't do character & his scriptwriters don't use history in non-perfunctory ways. And without that, the show has little to no heart.

Vee, have to shout out to your ability to blast off these eloquently worded and insightful posts one after another. You could write a soap thesis- it would probably make me cry.

[Cheap21]

hence why I find it tasteless. Given what he has gone through, this type of stuff shouldnt be thrown at him for sh-ts and giggles. It makes everything a mockery. Putting him in a position of being sexually vulnerably isnt really the big issue if its handled and written well and from the comments on here, that doesnt seem to be the case. The motivations and the weapon used to proceed with this blackmail is just wrong on so many levels.

[Mr. Vixen]

So thrilled I dropped this show!

[DRW50]

At least Michael hasn't raped himself - only the ladies do that for a guffaw.

[ChitHappens]

I agree with all of it (accept the Guza stuff because I liked the mob but struggled with what it was doing to Carly), especially the highlighted part.

It's funny you should mention being happy that Higley was gone (my only problem with her was Spencer Truman - the year OLTL died, IMHO) because Marceline compared having Ron to Dena. It was funny because she described it as Dena being so absusive to the audience that they were happy for Ron if it meant not being shoved down the stairs. That was so many months ago, but I still laugh when I think of it. I may not have gotten it completely right, but you get the jist. It's like Charity Rahmer. After her, ANYTHING would be acceptable, although Martha Madison was a pretty darn good fit!

[Vee]

It's not me, it's the cold and sinus pills I've been mainlining for days. My whole body is sore and I wish I was dead.

[greens_dupres]

Shhhh recasts of Kirsten roles are a dicey subject this week. Farah will come for you.

[ChitHappens]

I welcome it! God, I salivate at just the thought of it!

[EricMontreal22]

With OLTL, that definitely played a part. Higley, for me, was just so bad, first offensively bad, but then just boring bad, that when Ron came on, even initially as co_HW while she finished her run, it was a breath of fresh air.

[Antoyne]

I thought of Ron as a breath of fresh air here as well and then it all went just so terribly wrong. I still believe Todd should have been the only OLTL character to cross over. Starr and John were loved by everyone when OLTL ended so there was no need for them to relocate and their staying in Port Charles always seemed beyond forced.