A line in Gerald Waggett's Soap Opera Encyclopedia from 1997 has always stuck with me, that Gloria Monty liked having successors in place. The example given was how when Anthony Geary left, Tristan Rogers had surpassed him as the crimefighting lead. By the end of 1983, Tristan had been on GH for three years.
By the middle of 1986, Anna and Frisco are both solidified as the resident white hats. Sean will get his turn later on, and Robert will be able to reclaim his hat not once, but twice, in the next two years. I don't know if it was so much course correction as it was a determination not to put all the weight on one character.
I'm looking forward to Duke, who would be the last hit character of Monty 1.0 -- sorry, Sandy Stryker; Tiffany doesn't count since she was a return -- but I'm also going to keep my eyes open for moments where Duke's blatantly intended to gain audience sympathy for Anna, or Anna/Robin are doing the same for Duke.
By
Franko ·