GH: January 2024 Discussion Thread

[Vee]

I'd forgotten John Beradino did an on-air mention of Emily McLaughlin's death (though Jessie was only acknowledged briefly two years later), but I'm sure people know this one.

 

[DeliaIrisFan]

Thursday's show was really good.  I believe this was the first full episode of a current soap I've watched in years: maybe since the Prospect Park AMC and OLTL reboots, and GH around that same time for the 50th anniversary festivities.  The veteran soap actors whose deaths affected me the most in recent years had primarily starred on shows that were no longer around to give them on-air tributes, and/or their characters had already been killed off.  I happened to be home recuperating from some dental work on Friday and had read the tribute to JZ was happening, so I watched much of the week.  Agreed that the dialogue on Monday/Wednesday was hit or miss, but at worst it was innocuous, and again Thursday's payoff was worth it.

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I also give them credit for the human trafficking story, and not just the good intentions.  It was well-done (mostly, aside from the aspect I mentioned in the potential spoiler).  It was awesome how with just a few lines of dialogue they corrected the record on Bobbie's back story as it had always been presented - not discounting what had come before, just stating the obvious that we all should have known better.  I was impressed that they even managed to acknowledge Ruby and Luke's roles, while holding space for Bobbie's genuine love for them.

I agree the pacing was weird and the time jump jarring to see on a daytime soap, but it didn't bother me too much because I wasn't particularly interested in continuing to watch/fast forward through the rest of the show long enough to see it play out in real time.  The "to be continued" on Wednesday and lack thereof on Thursday helpfully signaled that Bobbie's story had been wrapped up and I didn't need to keep watching.  I just can't help but think it defied some of the fundamental conventions of the genre (make them wait...).  I have a Hulu subscription so it would have been easier than ever for me to tune in a bit longer to see the resolution (compared to when I figured out how to program a VCR as a preteen), and theoretically I could have been drawn in by something else the longer they had my attention.  Even the Cornelia actress seemed better in her few scenes than many of the contact ingenues, and this certainly would have been a powerful way to introduce a new major character with no blood ties.

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The passing reference to Monica being too sick to attend the funeral was very distressing.  Have I missed any recent updates about LC?  (And who was that character who provided that exposition?  Has Emily come back from the dead, or Dawn?)

Edited January 14 by DeliaIrisFan

[janea4old]

Willow gave the explanation about Monica. She's married to Michael. They live with the Quartermaines.

Lesley Charleson has some health issues but that hasn't been specifically disclosed.  She appears rarely. Usually Monica is said to be "away at a medical conference" or "in the other room".

I am concerned and wish her well.

Edited January 14 by janea4old

[Khan]

I wish her well, too.  We have lost so many wonderful people from this industry lately.  It feels like soap operas are just vanishing before our very eyes.

[DeliaIrisFan]

 

Oh, dear.  I wish Leslie well, too.

I vaguely remember Willow from some scenes earlier in the week, but I fast-forwarded when the conversation veered from Bobbie and didn't recognize the actresss without hospital scrubs.  I gathered she was married to Bobbie's grandson, but I assumed Michael must be long-gone and Carly had another son with AJ or Jason, based on his personality.  Michael lives with the Quartermaines now - progress?

[Vee]

I don't know if you were privy to all this so my apologies, but Leslie had a fall or something in early 2022 IIRC. She was supposed to be back onscreen within months (Leslie/Monica has appeared fairly often in recent years) but a year later she was still MIA. Finally they had Leslie do a voice cameo on the phone with Elizabeth for Epiphany's memorial last spring. Then about a month ago she appeared onscreen briefly in the scenes surrounding Finn's medical malpractice situation. She looked very frail to me, but the show promoted it, knowing fans had been worried. I'm still very concerned, as are we all.

Michael has been deep in the Quartermaine bosom for over a decade - working at ELQ, close with the family, close with Sean Kanan's A.J. during his too-brief return in 2012-2014, etc. I find Chad Duell very tired in the role and I think Michael needs a break from the canvas, but I am glad for that sea change that has mostly stuck for the character as part of the Q scene.

Edited January 14 by Vee

[DeliaIrisFan]

Wow.  I must have missed that news a couple of years back.  Thanks for filling me in.  Sending good vibes, etc. for Leslie.

[titan1978]

She had a scene at the Q mansion too around the Finn appearance, letting Lois know she could stay as long as she wanted to. She was in a wheelchair IIRC.

[DeliaIrisFan]

That's a really good point.  In fact, wasn't Drake Hogestyn's son even playing Lucas during the coming-out "story"?  Agreed, you wouldn't know that watching this past week.

I too want to echo all of the praise for Ryan Carnes's Lucas, and share some personal reflections on this character.  Now seems as good a time as any, when realistically we may not see the character ever again.  I was actually a little surprised at how meaningful Lucas's scenes were for me this week.  I think I've checked out GH for almost every incarnation of Lucas in the past ~20 years, and always promptly checked out soon enough for the reasons others have discussed above.

A big part of the affinity is personal for me, because the character and I have had a few things in common.  Lucas came out not long after I did, in the grand scheme of things.  However, it was a few years later, by which point I was definitely an adult—and, frankly, I had enough distance from the genre in its then state—so I had some perspective.  I wanted to tune in but didn't have high expectations, and I was disappointed but not too surprised with how the show (mis)handled most of it: from Bobbie's initial reaction and then how quickly that was resolved, to the lack of any real exploration of Lucas's sexuality, to say nothing of how I heard they had killed off Tony a few months later as part of the "climax."  Ultimately, though, I just turned the TV off again and hoped someday GH would revisit Lucas's character and do a good job.  I'm still hoping for that last part, but agreed it's unlikely at this point.

I also personally appreciated that Lucas's type 1 diabetes—something else I have in common with the character—has been referenced at appropriate points as (just another) part of who he is since childhood.  And the show has generally treated diabetes realistically, for at least 30 years on and off that I've seen (I have not seen his original diagnosis as a baby). 

Then this week brought a really random and momentarily disorienting coincidence for me: Bobbie's (retroactive?) birthdate listed on the placard outside of the funeral happened to be the same as my own mother's, who has been having some health problems recently.  I think they cut to Lucas's return immediately after that shot of the sign, or at least it felt to me like they did.  I almost lost it right then. 

All to say, I have long related to Lucas (or at least tried to) for various reasons, but seeing the reactions from others makes me realize it's not just me projecting.  I think this speaks to how powerful legacy characters can still be, even when soaps seemingly do everything they can to sabotage them.

In a parallel universe where those in charge of soaps were willing to try slightly more modern takes on what has worked best throughout the history of the form, Dr. Lucas Jones would have been a frontburner character for decades.  He should have had multiple love interests that were important plot- and/or character-wise, with at least one long-game soulmate who was also a core character and had his own sexual/romantic detours in that time (Dr. Tom Hardy, Jr., perhaps)?  And Lucas deserved a rich, on-screen adult relationship with Bobbie and Tony over the years, who in turn deserved age-appropriate, perhaps at times supporting but still substantive material of their own throughout that time.

Even in this world, it's not too difficult for me to tilt my eyes a little and see some of that in the collection of crumbs GH threw over the years, especially because Carnes is so good at filling in the blanks in the script.

Edited January 14 by DeliaIrisFan

[Contessa Donatella]

Yes, they taped her in 2 shots - one, seated at her desk & two, in a wheelchair. 

[DRW50]

@DeliaIrisFan That was so beautifully put. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. On paper, Lucas being the show's first major gay character should have been so profound, given his position at the heart of the show starting from the late '90s. Even more than Luke coming out on ATWT. I'm sorry that never happened. I guess at least he hasn't been killed off (yet).

[Vee]

He was. I thought Ben Hogestyn did a very good job in that period and has never gotten enough credit as Carnes' return overshadowed him - I thought Carnes was a lousy actor in the 2000s even when Russell T. Davies fancied him and brought him over to Doctor Who (something Davies did often with hunks he found hot in those days), and he only impressed me when he returned to GH in the 2010s. I think Carnes is the best Lucas now of course, he's done the work and done well, but I do think Hogestyn fell through the cracks.

IIRC they did tease Lucas having a romance in that period in 2006 with a young gay guy named, well, Guy. But it didn't get far.

To Frank and Ron's mixed credit, I do think the show pushed him hard for a time as a part of the GH firmament in the early 2010s - Carnes even played Phil Brewer in the flashback sequence in Luke's big psychodrama episode, alongside Jason Thompson as Steve and Becky as Jessie. That active role is how he should've remained, but the show didn't value him enough and Lucas' mostly lousy, tacky storylines with Felix, Brad, etc. were C or occasionally B-plots at best. (And the fact that Carlivati likely thought Lucas and his pet Felix were endgame and that didn't happen was glaring, IMO - Felix has barely been seen since.) Lucas should be back in a key role again today, I agree.

Edited January 15 by Vee

[Khan]

It was pronounced "Ghee."  I'm kidding.

Did Ron Carlivati really think Lucas/Felix were endgame?  Aww.  Bless his heart, lol.

[Vee]

I think that was the plan until fans glommed on to the chemistry Carnes had with Parry Shen - Brad was supposed to be a pervy, predatory day player and Felix was the rooting interest character even before Lucas returned. They moved more towards Brad/Lucas over time and after RC was fired it was dunzo for Felix and his fade. Honestly Lucas is too good for both at this point though.

Edited January 15 by Vee

[Khan]

I remember how merciless many of us were at the time about Felix.  His presence seemed to confirm for me my own, worst suspicions about Ron Carlivati and his attitudes toward gays and African-Americans.  It's the reason why, to this day, I don't trust him to write either a gay character or one of color (or both) with any sensitivity or insight.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't mind seeing Lucas back on the show permanently and paired off with another, male doctor, who is unquestionably brilliant and not apologetic about his sexuality, but who is also so closed off emotionally that it makes him seem arrogant and, at times, irascible or prickly (possibly because he's the scion of a well-to-do family who has mastered the art of keeping one's feelings and emotions close to the chest).

Edited January 15 by Khan