GH: O’Connor/Van Etten OUT! Mulcahey/Korte IN!

[Khan]

I think that's what he meant as well.

It seems like Riche wanted to minimize, if not eradicate, the violence that had become a GH trademark, while Guza was intent on focusing GH on Sonny, Jason and their ilk - which, of course, meant that violence would be a necessary part of the storytelling.  But I could be wrong.

[titan1978]

In the Locher interview he talks about Culliton without naming him outright. But it could only be him.

 

[titan1978]

One thing I found interesting was him describing Riche as being very involved in story meetings, very detail oriented and point by point which drove Guza nuts. But once decided, she didn’t let the network pull back, if it made it through that process, she did everything in her power to go to air.

Which is what Labine said too- if they wanted to do it Wendy made sure if it was approved there was no backing out. Look at Stone- the ratings went down, the network got uneasy about Robin being HIV+, Labine said the tragedy is the whole point. And Riche took it to air without compromising the story.

And after the fact, I’m just going to add that sometimes a story is more important than the ratings, and that was a prime example.

[Contessa Donatella]

Wendy Riche is and was a treasure! Angela Shapiro was a fool to fire her. Of course her farewell was not long after. Because I am cynical I thought that ABCD had run Claire off & WR explained to me that Claire was totally exhausted & it was her choice. 

[BetterForgotten]

And Nancy Curlee was almost Labine’s replacement before she backed out at the last minute!

Riche had also admitted to being burnt out by the end of her GH stint. The show by then wasn’t in great shape and had already started to resemble what Guza would ultimately do unchecked. 

[Vee]

The Carly thing always seems like the chicken and the egg. But honestly it seems both simple to me and slightly more nuanced than people sometimes prefer.

Labine's team, it seems, created the character sketch for Carly - long-lost daughter of Bobbie, probably out to make trouble (and possibly the affair with Tony was already on the table, but I have no idea). They intro'ed her onscreen in Labine's last days. But it was Guza and co. who fleshed out Carly and made her what she became. Simple as that.

Edited January 31, 2024 by Vee

[titan1978]

They never should have launched PC the way they did. She was over extended on both shows, and truthfully, the writing was rough right from the start. They should have taken more care over all. I know it was a little bit of a rush job.

At least Riche freely admits she should have left earlier than she did due to her burnout.

[John]

Maybe WR should have launched PC in 1997 and Given GH to someone else like Shelley Curtis but still consulted

[Khan]

Or the other way around: stay at GH and let Shelley Curtis produce PC.

You could tell that PC was a bit of a rush job by the fact that not enough effort was placed into making the spinoff more distinct from the mother show.  PC might have been centered more around the hospital than GH was by that point, but that was about it.  Otherwise, in terms of storylines, characters and even production aesthetics, watching an episode of PC was no different from watching another half-hour of GH, and we all know only too well what 90 minutes a day of AW did to that poor show.

Of course, when I said back then that PC needed an identity that wasn't just "GH2," time travel and vampires was not exactly what I had in mind, lol.

In retrospect, ABCD should have gone with the Labines' Ned-and-Lois-centric spinoff instead.  To me, that series had more "legs" than "GH: The Intern Years."

[Contessa Donatella]

Curlee would have been beyond fabulous at GH about that time. I really hate that she never got back in. 

I never felt like I knew whether she said that as a face-saving measure or whether she too had become exhausted. I do believe that these 2 jobs, EP & HW, on today's (and yesterday's) soaps is stressful & taxing & it really takes it out of people. Fighting with the network, fighting for your people & trying to put on an hour of good television 250 days a week, let's face it, is extreme. Probably at the time & also looking back she saw that she had burnt out. PC was her idea but they should have put someone else good in place to implement her idea. Two shows is one too many to produce! 

I, too, would have liked to see the Claire Labine soap & that is also true at NBC. I'd have picked Claire's show instead of SUNSET BEACH. 

Edited January 31, 2024 by Donna L. Bridges
combine 2 posts

[John]

I would have loved the Ned and Lois spin-off. I remember Claire saying that Jane Elliott would have brought Tracy over and that Helen Gallagher would have played lois Grandma

[titan1978]

Once they couldn’t get Jagger and the original Karen they should have revamped their entire plan.

Although I did love having Scotty there with Serena, and Lee and Gail back more regularly. And I liked Debbie Morgan as a no nonsense character.

Even if Mulcahey had never been at GH before I would be excited. His work brings so much character and depth.

[John]

I liked the Karen recasts on PC. Jagger was not needed. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Yes, me, too. I thought the cast was in good shape. 

[Liberty City]

Port Charles should have been a mob-centric spin-off of General Hospital to free us of the Sonny Corinthos Show.