General Hospital: October 2022 Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

And, that's a really well put description of what happens when they say that such and such an actor has been phoning it in for years! MB has set pieces that he pulls out & uses. Nailed him!

[carolineg]

Thank you!

This isn't a brand new insight on Sonny that others haven't said before, but one thing MB had was that Sonny's interactions with people were different.   The way he acted with Brenda was different than Karen, Lily, early Carly.  The way he interacted with Stone was different than Jason.  His friendships with Luke, Robin, Lois, Lucy were all unique.  I know he checked out years ago, but it's even more difficult to watch when you know he's capable.   Anyway, Sonny rant over.

Esme and Nik don't tend to interest me, so I guess I only had Sonny to talk about.

 

[ranger1rg]

I think you explained it perfectly, and it’s why I have no use for Sonny any longer, and why I’m tired of MB.

in addition to all you said about his acting tics, we also get the days when he’s clearly struggling to remember his lines. Those of us who see it are not making it up. His dialogue should have been cut back a good while ago.

Meanwhile, everyone at GH has to treat him like a master thespian who can do no wrong — while kissing his ring. GMAB.

[carolineg]

Most days it seems like Mo only has a vague idea of what his lines should be.  It's not an acting technique because if you watch him in the 90's there isn't a stutter in sight.  He's always been mumbly, but his sentences were still fairly clear.

[titan1978]

And that was back in the day when GH had incredibly long scenes.  Labine and earlier Guza had long scenes full of dialogue.

He went all shouty all the time first, then started the fumbling of all his lines.  It reminds me of the later Geary years where he was still ad-libbing but was noticeably struggling to pull it together for his scene partners when he went off script.  He used to have a real talent for getting back to where he was supposed to be for his scene partners that didn’t adlib as well, but that was in better days for the show.

In his defense, we know Valentini shoots things fast, and sometimes out of sequence.  Many actors have complained about this hurting their performance.  HBS was very vocal about it on OLTL, that all the block shooting by set was destroying continuity of performance and the ability to do much more than say the lines and hope for the best.

Once upon a time it was not everyone was cut out for the rigors of soaps.  Now even those that once were fine or even great struggle with the current production models.

[carolineg]

I want to defend him and think Mo's problems are due to the pace or ad-libs, but he's been doing this since 2002 at least.  I do tend to think there is just a huge element of laziness there, but I also don't think anyone has dared to correct him or change dialogue to suit the faster pace either.

[janea4old]

As expected, Thurs 13 Oct GH is preempted due to congressional hearing.

[victoria foxton]

Oh No! No dry General Hospital today. No Sonny's old entitled haggard mug.

[janea4old]

Today, (Oct 13) for those in US timezones not affected by the hearings, and on CityTV in Canada, GH reran the January 27, 2022 episode.  They usually try to select reruns that relate to current episode storyline themes. They may have chosen this one because it was Sonny "dispensing wisdom" about grief to Brandon. (Sigh).  And Esme putting the drug in Trina's drink at the cabin. 
But srsly?  It's a Peter episode.  NOBODY wants to see that.

Edited October 13, 2022 by janea4old

[ranger1rg]

I see that Maxie still has the same dresser. YIKES.

[Ponds]

Just because the actress has gained weight due to health issues, they don't have to dress her and do her hair like she's living on the streets!

[carolineg]

Agreed, but Maxie/KS's hair has been an issue since she started on the show.  It's honestly always looked a mess.  I don't know if it's super damaged or something, but I can't remember a single haircut that was flattering in all her years on the show.

[Contessa Donatella]

The Costume Designer & the Hair & Makeup people are prepared to dress & design & coiff all types, everybody gets their best time & attention. If something's going on with one person's look but not with other people's look, then you look to that person ... because something's going on there. Some people have trouble trusting their body & their hair, etc. to the very people who could make it great for them. because they have issues of their own.

[ranger1rg]

I don't either, but now her outfits are a match for that hair. She could not be dressed more poorly. One outfit after another is a "God, she needs a makeover" moment.

Also not helping? Her annoying interference into others' lives, including screeching about them.

[carolineg]

And her hair looked fine on Days, so I am not sure what the issue is.  I would assume it's just really damaged and thin so it looks stringy or something.

The bottom line is it may be KS's choice and she may be insecure about her body, but at some point someone in charge has to step in and tell her it's not making her look good.   Or just only give her options that are appropriate for the character of Maxie.  It's really hard to say what size she is by her clothing choices, but I highly doubt she's even considered plus size and has multiple options that would look good on her.  Baggy sweaters and jeans are not the answer.  Her weight gain is not taking me out of the character, it's Maxie looking anything but a stylish make up exec.