44 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

There was a scene  under Riche/Guza where Jason had been shot by a rival mob, but made sure to stop by the Q mansion  to read a bedtime story to Michael. After he left, Monica noticed the blood-stained stuffed animal Jason had used to hide his wound while with Michael. The scene sickened me, most of all because this was shown as an example of what a loving father he was. 

Is that the same shooting when he saw Carly/Sonny together?  And just left and left the show lol

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

I see your point, but then again, Stone’s storyline was possibly the most important thing I watched peer aged characters going through on television at that time.  I am also a gay person, and knew folks dying of AIDS.  It was heartbreaking but ultimately very moving.  The same thing with BJ’s heart (which was not a long illness like Stone).

I think both those stories worked well, but for very specific reasons. Primarily, the writing was exquisitely beautiful and heavily predicated on character development and relationships. Few, if any writers available to daytime TV today would be able to pull sagas like that off. Plus, both stories mixed hope and heroism in with the tragedy. BJ died but her death resulted in saving her cousin's life. Stone also passed away, but he regained his sight at the last moment and was able to see Robin one last time; Robin, who was also HIV positive but who survived, and who then championed the fight for HIV causes. Along with the pain, there was a ray of light.

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

 It would have been heartbreaking to watch Audrey decline.  It would also have given her and Steve something important and worthy to do, something with a lot of humanity for them to sink their teeth into.

In the short term, yes, but then the hopelessly grim plot would be over, and the show would be left without the only decades-long matriarch left on its canvas; a character who had been a hub of the wheel since almost the beginning. The show could never, ever replace a character like that. I've always felt that cutting off the vets is like hacking away at a plant: if a soap tears out the last remaining roots, the entire plant will suffer for it.

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

The issue with dementia is that it doesn’t get better.  It’s hard to watch that in real life, let alone in entertainment.

Right.

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

 Truthfully, AIDS was kind of similar, in that it slowly, one illness at a time, breaks a person down until they have no immunity left to fight anything.  But I am still glad they told that story.

At least nowadays, the prognosis for HIV+ patients is more optimistic.

49 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

There was a scene  under Riche/Guza where Jason had been shot by a rival mob, but made sure to stop by the Q mansion  to read a bedtime story to Michael. After he left, Monica noticed the blood-stained stuffed animal Jason had used to hide his wound while with Michael. The scene sickened me, most of all because this was shown as an example of what a loving father he was. 

When TPTB don't even understand the degeneracy of what they are presenting, you know soaps have taken quite a tumble. 

Edited August 26, 20214 yr by vetsoapfan

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

Is that the same shooting when he saw Carly/Sonny together?  And just left and left the show lol

I don't think so - I think this wasn't long after Carly married AJ. 

9 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I don't think so - I think this wasn't long after Carly married AJ. 

I think it was.   I would have to look it up, but Carly slept with Sonny because she saw Jason making googly eyes at Liz and was all hurt.

8 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

I find GH's glorification of violent, criminal degenerates and murderers to be morally repugnant. Talk about elements I do NOT want to see on soaps. Hold back my hair, I'm going to hurl.🤮

👏

That is exactly how I feel about Emmerdale and the reprehensible Dingle family! 

8 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

👏

That is exactly how I feel about Emmerdale and the reprehensible Dingle family! 

I no longer have access to episodes of Emmerdale, alas, so I have not been able to watch it in years, but even way back then, the overexposure of the vile Dingle-berries turned me off, big time. TPTB killed off and otherwise eliminated a huge number of the core Sugden family, and THIS was their idea of a new principle clan? More like an infection. Yuck.

13 hours ago, titan1978 said:

The issue with dementia is that it doesn’t get better.  It’s hard to watch that in real life, let alone in entertainment.  Truthfully, AIDS was kind of similar, in that it slowly, one illness at a time, breaks a person down until they have no immunity left to fight anything.  But I am still glad they told that story.

I would add that dementia is also not very visual, so it is difficult to portray on screen.  Of course, you could write a few scenes of someone being forgetful, but most of the experience is internal.  The cruelness of the disease is that once people see the decline, there is too much damage to have an effective treatment.   So, it really becomes a story about those around the person with the illness as opposed to showing the issue itself.

On the other hand, pseudo-dementia which is a symptom of geriatric depression would be an interesting story and an educational oppertunity.

57 minutes ago, j swift said:

 

On the other hand, pseudo-dementia which is a symptom of geriatric depression would be an interesting story and an educational oppertunity.

And that would have been a wonderful story for someone like Audrey, especially after she lost Steve and had to confront her past after Liz was raped to better help her heal.

11 hours ago, titan1978 said:

And that would have been a wonderful story for someone like Audrey, especially after she lost Steve and had to confront her past after Liz was raped to better help her heal.

Especially because Rachel Ames did such a fantastic job when Audrey learned what had happened to Liz. Her sharp rebuke of Sarah to back off because she didn't know what it felt like would have fit in perfectly with that type of affliction. Audrey was already in denial.

On 8/27/2021 at 12:51 AM, amybrickwallace said:

Especially because Rachel Ames did such a fantastic job when Audrey learned what had happened to Liz. Her sharp rebuke of Sarah to back off because she didn't know what it felt like would have fit in perfectly with that type of affliction. Audrey was already in denial.

When actually given material to work with, Rachel Ames was an excellent actress.

On 8/23/2021 at 8:14 PM, j swift said:

there's some irony after reading the 1977 recaps in that thread and seeing Audrey marry Steve and being a leading character to twenty years later having a dropped dementia story, when you think about how the leading ladies of GH today like Carly and Sam do not seem to have aged as much in character in the last twenty years.  While it is true that Rachel Ames in 1977 was three years older than Kelly Monaco is today, one can't help but wonder when today's leading ladies will be asked to play aging storylines

 

On another note, befitting the topic, I am reminded how the recasting of AW's Cecile from Susan Keith to Nancy Frangione changed the course of that character.  Keith's Cecile was less proactive in her villainy, she was a snob, and she desired attention, but she was never mean.  The re-casting and the presence of Blaine really changed the character into a nastier, more conniving villain.   One suspects that Blaine was always meant to evolve from a schemer to a romantic lead, sort of reflecting Rachel's progression.  However, it may not have been as popular if not for the turn that Cecile took in becoming a protagonist who also took down Pat as collateral damage. 

Never mean!? Pat Randolph would like to have a word with you. 

Speaking of Pat, would Irna and Agnes ever pictured her as an alcoholic?

Or for viperous Liz to become a gossipy old busybody?

On 8/31/2021 at 3:10 AM, vetsoapfan said:

When actually given material to work with, Rachel Ames was an excellent actress.

Her GH heyday was before my time, but her work in the Liz storyline then was wonderful. 

4 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Her GH heyday was before my time, but her work in the Liz storyline then was wonderful. 

Yes. She was given some meaty material, after many years being sidelined, and she hit it out of the park.

As much as I loathe the current, apparent story with Doug and Julie on DAYS (I do NOT want to see Doug deteriorate with Alzheimer's), I have no doubt that these beloved vets will work their magic on screen as well.

What about a character like Blake on GL?  I have read she was introduced by scab writers, and Pam Long came back and made her Holly and Roger’s child after the fact when the strike was over.  I would say that is a fundamental part of who Blake was.