GH: December 2018 Discussion Thread

[alexisfan07]

I have no faith the writers or producers will execute it well but, I have to say, the Michael and Willow dead baby/alive swap messery has really good old fashioned soapy potential. Willow will get closer to Michael in order to see her son, Michael's godson, not knowing her baby actually died, and Michael has no idea his godson is his actual alive son, who he currently thinks is dead. They fall in love - just before all the sh*t hits the fan. On paper, it sounds fantastic. My interest is definitely piqued. 

[victorlord75]

The Ryan Chamberlain story is the story that I like best on GH at the moment, and I would agree that JL and MW have benefited most from the current headwriting regime.  I just pray that Shelly and Chris don't dare try to redeem Ryan like RC attempted to redeem Franco.  If they go that route, I'm done with GH for good.  

[KMan101]

 

On paper, this and the Ryan storyline have a lot of potential. As far as execution ... something remains lacking for the entire show.

[titan1978]

Agreed.  Most of the plots/stories are actually good in my opinion.  There are short term goalposts and signs of long term storytelling buliding towards payoffs.  The mix of vets and newbies is pretty good.  The whole show isn’t just about Sonny.  Characters like Laura and Liz are being used better than they have in years (even if I hate Franco, I can appreciate that the writers have given Liz a relationship, kid trouble, and she shows up at the hospital).

 

The show looks better than it did when I was checking in and out a year ago, although I wish Frank would turn down the lights a little bit.  Every set is way too brightly lit.  Which is a shame because I think they have some great sets right now. The classics are still there and I love Liz’s house and Laura’s apartment.  Anna’s house is nice too.

 

The problem for me is some very poor casting decisions, the day to day writing and scripts, and the final product lacks energy.  All issues with Frank and his team.

 

The background music is lacking and lackluster, and that adds so much to drama on these shows.  They need to amp these things up, the energy and the mood to work with the stories they are telling.

 

Willow is fine if she was going to be a bit player.  She is not strong enough to carry this story and a potential love triangle.  The woman playing the fake daughter has more going on as far as presence so it’s a shame they didn’t cast her as Willow. 

[titan1978]

Somehow, this is the most in character I have seen Laura since Lucky died.  She isn’t a doormat, she is still a character with deep emotions, and she’s not being portrayed as weak.  She’s using her brain.  And she looks great.

 

The current HW team is doing well by many of the female characters.  They have points of view, aren’t all fighting with each other (Guza I’m looking at you), and they aren’t all playing supporting to the men in their lives.  Sam has a story brewing that is about her life before Jason and doesn’t involve him unless she lets him be involved.  That’s pretty remarkable when you think about this show since about 1999 to today.

[alexisfan07]

 

Oh, I totally agree. The fact that they wrote Felicia out (more or less) midstream is really upsetting, though not at all surprising. It was nice to see her on again today as part of the Ryan story but it's all so few and far between. I have no doubt she'll pop in toward the end of the story again when Ryan is revealed but it's such trash that Ava and Carly took her place in this story alongside Laura. That, and Ryan needs to get to killing more people! I knew he wouldn't kill anyone shocking or any of Frank's pets but come on!

[Faulkner]

The Felicia absence in the Ryan story is a good point. With Brad and Lucas conspicuously missing, a lot of key players are offscreen in stories they are intimately involved with. Meanwhile, they continue to play Kim/Drew/Oscar.

[Eboneece]

 

ICAM! Shelly and Chris are rocking it with their perspectives on women characters. 

 

Related to other points regarding Felicia’s absence, is that Kristina Wagner’s doing or the fault of TPTB?

[cassadine1991]

There's a rumor that

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[titan1978]

That’s disappointing if true.

[alexisfan07]

 

I saw that. Not sure what it's based on but the next victim is definitely the documentary producer, which was obvious with today's episode tag. That being said, I have zero issues with

not to mention there about 20 characters that are more irritating that could go first.

[ranger1rg]

 

Seriously? It’s not Kristina Wagner’s fault. I highly doubt she said “Give me one episode a month.”

 

And I don’t think Shelly an$ Chris rocket with their perspectives on women characters an6 more than other soap writers.

[alexisfan07]

 

Absolutely. If she's not in tomorrow's episode (which she likely won't be), she'll end the year with 20 episodes - not even averaging two episodes a month.

 

John York (Mac) is used even less, ending this year with only 10 episodes. I think the issue here is the shoestring budget, which Frank tries to maximize. John York was the longest running contract cast member through 2014. He was on contract for the better part of 23 years - I think he had a year or two on recurring circa 2003 - but before he was dropped again near the end of 2014, he was billed before Maurice Benard in terms of senority. I can imagine his per episode price tag is pretty high, hence why we see Felicia twice as much as him, and hence why Frank would rather hire Chase and Willow instead of use that money and feature Mac more, because he sees more story potential with two for the price of one. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but he's being logical and practical with the show's money instead of investing in fans' desires and emotions.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

Funny how they brought that guy on just to be Ryan bait. 

 

It's also kinda funny how Ryan only kills on Holidays now.  Too bad he skipped Christmas. That would have been perfect for him to do in Nina on. 

[victoria foxton]

The best parts of today's episode were Felicia & Laura talking about Ryan. As Ryan watched the rough cut of Peyton's documentary. It was also nice to see Emma. The rest was insufferable. GH really lacks energy and momentum.