GH: February 2024 Discussion Thread

[titan1978]

I don’t get it. He not only shows up onscreen and tries with every scene partner, he also actively tries to make an onscreen pairing work through recasts. Add to that they actually post about the show positively on their social media. All the GH younger set seem to get along and work well together. There is a huge difference between not liking a character or pairing and saying this kind of stuff about the actor. Just say I don’t like him, not he’s all uppity for no reason.

I am a fan of people working on the show and it shows they care about what they are doing. He has been in that camp his entire run. Compare that to Marcus Coloma or Maurice.

I hate the excuse fans bring up- they have been there forever or the material is boring and we can’t expect them to always bring it. Laura Wright does. Becky Herbst does, and she has spent nearly 15 years in one dumpster fire story after another. Genie Francis shows up every time. Hell even people like Lynn Herring pop in and out and bring it.

Edited February 26, 2024 by titan1978

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, typically people want to pile on & make unfounded assumptions. When people don't want to hear something there are many ways of sticking your fingers in your ears & saying, can't hear you! 

FTR, I adore NAC but that doesn't mean I'm not living in the real world. 

And, sometimes the old adage is correct. If there's smoke, guess what? Something's burning. 

I will only add one more thing & that is that it's sorta really on his people. He's a young kid. How could he know? 

Edited February 26, 2024 by Donna L. Bridges

[Khan]

 

I agree with you both!

[Vee]

I will say I think Genie these days is a bit of a different story than some of the late '90s/early 2000s, where I think there were a lot of BTS factors. They had to practically force her back on the show after her maternity leave and I think both BTS/interpersonal issues and the show mangling Luke/Laura/Stefan really hurt her. SN and GF had scorching chemistry but they totally mishandled not only that opportunity and their romance but failed to properly honor LNL during that period, which made when they finally paired Stefan and Laura a poisoned chalice (especially to latchkey kids like me who came in with their family return in '93). And I think sometimes her discontent and disengagement showed, while other times she was excellent. But they also just plain didn't value Genie as much as Tony and others, in addition to never dressing or styling her well after her pregnancy (still a recurring issue).

All that being said: I do think Genie is 100% committed in the 21st century because she now knows the mantle of show's steward falls on her, that there's no one else left to do it, and that Mayor Laura is at the center of the canvas. She takes that responsibility seriously. I appreciate that.

Edited February 26, 2024 by Vee

[dragonflies]

I agree, Genie could still be bitter and letting it show on screen and in her performance's but she doesn't IMO she always brings her A Game no matter the story etc

[titan1978]

As a viewer I did not notice her frustration as much as Tony’s or Maurice’s. It was there, it played onscreen, but not as clearly disinterested as theirs did. It was especially there when Laura was playing grief and frustration months after Lucky’s death through the Felicia affair, so it kind of suited things.
I think the women who have been the leads on the show have been more professional than the men when it comes to onscreen boredom. In my viewing history almost all the male leads have done it- Tristan, Tony, Maurice, Steve, and Tyler Christopher. Some people it didn’t last long, others it did. But I never really felt that way about Finola, Genie, the three main Carly’s or Brenda, Jane, or even NL as Emily. Only Kelly Monaco has acted as bad onscreen as the men IMO.

You know what male I felt was always there in a scene, even a boring hospital one or relegated to supporting his children? Stuart Damon as Alan. So was John Beradino.

Right? They let Geary have everything he wanted and his contempt onscreen was so present in his last few years.

[Vee]

I've seen some of his last days again recently, his very last air episodes. He was incredibly strong and commanding to the end, clashing with Matt Ashford's Tom.

Tony has real ups and downs in the McTavish, etc. period but I don't think he totally gave up and just started fúcking around until the mid-2000s. Something shifted and he wouldn't even give reverence to LNL anymore, it was all about getting back to the Bill Eckert dark night of the soul or just embarrassing himself hamming it up. But it's worth noting that in certain occasions - most notably the episode in 2015 where he and JJ rewrote their segments, shortly before his exit - he could still floor me.

I will say that it's funny how I often clocked Maurice as bored and cruising as early as the post-JFP 2000s. There's an element of truth to that, especially from 2003-onward, but he was never as much of a spent shell then as he's become since Vanessa Marcil's last exit in 2011 IMO. He may have surpassed Eric Braeden for general cruise control. He's just wrung out. I know everything he's going to do. Anyway, that all said yes I think it's generally the men who get lazy first, and the men who are excused for it.

Speaking of Kelly, I will say she's seemed engaged for the first time in awhile with this Danny material re: Jason. Makes me wonder if she is angling to go back there for job security (as she allegedly did a tearful, embarrassing mea culpa to their fans at an event not long ago). I hope not.

Edited February 26, 2024 by Vee

[Contessa Donatella]

I'm going to share something. I hope you don't make me regret it. Kirsten Storms is on a weight loss drug & is losing weight & she is so pleased & in such a good mood, that she is letting the support people do their jobs instead of ignoring them or fighting them & so that makes them very happy. And, in a few weeks maybe we will be able to tell onscreen. So, if you've been praying for KS, alter your prayer to help her keep this up! 

[Vee]

We won't be seeing William Lipton back any time too soon. Time for the Cam recast.

[Antoyne]

This is great news. When I came back for the Bobbie episodes seeing Kirsten was extremely jarring. It wasn’t even just the weight gain, she looked just flat out unhealthy to me. I don’t really follow the lives of soap stars so I’m not sure what her personal life has been like in the years since I dropped GH.

 

You make such a good point about certain male leads not even attempting to cover their boredom. Maurice Bernard is still as bad as he ever was to me. But I will say in the episodes I’ve watched, Sonny isn’t completely dominating. Sonny/Carly/Jason is what eventually ran me off the show. I enjoyed Billy Miller’s Jason but then Burton came back and I was over it.

[Contessa Donatella]

It is GREAT news! That day, the day of the memorial was a particularly bad day for her. They had this black dress for her to wear & she had a panic attack & said she couldn't deal with the dress so she just wore her own clothes & they were more for comfort than style, as you can imagine. It's just so good that things are looking up for her. 

[Beachstorm]

So now we HAVE to like an actor because he's previously been good in his role? IMO, NAC has outgrown the Spencer role because he's a more dramatic actor now. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I bet he's gotten too big for a soap opera, especially after his role as a creepy Menendez brother comes out. He will no doubt move on to bigger and better things than GH.

I have always said I don't like NAC in the role. Not just his height when paired with the most petite character on the show. He changed his acting style. I noticed after the Greenland crap. Maybe it was when Spencer and Trina were arguing, loudly, in that bank's safety deposit box room. He became this Shakespearean over-the-top actor (just like the actor who played Henrik/Peter) and they turned Trina into his mother for months. 

Since then I have been eager for NAC to leave and I hope every day for a recast. Once again, JMO.

[Vee]

So you're sure he's a nice guy but you're betting he is also 'high and mighty'. Thanks for the citation.

[ranger1rg]

I watched today's GH before coming to the soap board, and I thought Kirsten Storms looked thinner and less bloated, even though she was dressed in black. It's the best she's looked in a while.

 

At least you admit you never liked NAC as Spencer.

But "too big for a soap opera"? Uh....like others here, I'd love to see some examples of that. And no, I don't believe he went all "Shakespearean actor" on us.

In addition, I do think it is NUTS that GH hasn't decided what to do with Chavez. That's just incompetent production as far as I'm concerned.

 

[titan1978]

There is also the reality of the business right now. There have been many articles about the death of pilot season, and that it’s going to be tight for jobs as the streamers produce less. They are just now filming NAC’s project. Unless Murphy immediately books him as a lead on another show, he’s probably going to want to keep working as an actor.

But just like Cam and the OG Trina- unless ABC locks them in a contract, the show should move on/recast.

 

Good for him!