BTG: History, Behind the Scenes Articles & Photos

[Maxim]

I too have mixed feelings about this, but till I see it on screen, I won't be able to say anything more. 

Edited November 15, 2024 by Maxim

[Faulkner]

Which could be good or bad! But it is what it is so I’ll wait and see before judging. He’s been out of the game for a while, and again, he’s not running the whole show (alone, that is). 

I have quibbles with the writing team on paper but you never quite know how things will turn out on a completely new soap and fresh slate. And, perhaps, a different approach from a network standpoint where characters aren’t “censored” as much as on the legacy shows.

Edited November 15, 2024 by Faulkner

[Liberty City]

Being co-head to Val Jean's head is a comfort for me. I trust Val Jean.

[vanguard]

Ahhhh.......so he seems to be overwhelming GH alumni. Was he responsible for the mob stuff? I personally stated my belief that BTG would probably have an overwhelming suspense element given how the characters were crafted. Love and romance will probably be secondary and almost non-existent.

[Errol]

The mob became the core of the show under Guza, yes. I do blame Frons more for that though as Guza was able to provide a well balanced show for the most part up until it became mob and central all the time with the four core (Sonny, Jason, Carly & Sam).

That said, Guza is a great writer with many great ideas. I would consider him a visionary for the genre. Additionally, considering he's been gone from the industry for 13 years, I'm sure he has a lot of fresh ideas to present. 

[Liberty City]

Some of Guza's work from his multiple tenures as head writer at GH: (1997–2001, 2002–2008, 2008–2011)

[Chris B]

Guza's GH was great, even when it became The Sopranos. He knew how to balance the violence with the mob with romance, had strong teen scenes, strong female characters and he could craft an event like no other. I do understand why GH fans were conflicted about him because some of the vets did suffer when he wrote the show, but you can't deny the impact he had on that show.

For Michele Val Jean it's literally the perfect choice. It's someone she knows really well and someone she knows can get the job done. She's creating an all star writing staff and I'm excited to see what they give us.

[AbcNbc247]

Ehhh… just as long as they keep the canvas balanced and not have everything revolve around 3 annoying characters, at the expense of every other character, it should be fine. 

[Planet Soap]

 

Pros of Guza: his GH had exciting action storylines like the Metro Court hostage crisis. He was able to give the show masculine appeal with mob plots. His show was far more entertaining and well written than the current GH. 

Cons of Guza: Under Executive producer Jill fahren Phelps, Guza accelerated General hospital's focus on the mob and made it a crime action show. GH was a more balanced, human emotion, "This is Us", type show under Executive producer Wendy Riche.

Idk if this was more Phelps or Guza, but under his tenure, several longtime characters like Bobbie were back burnered, demoted to recurring, or killed, as Sonny Jason and Carly became the central focus. 

[Errol]

Agree with the pros.

Jill and Guza's GH was too dark and more concentrated on the core four. I wasn't much of a fan. Riche and Guza's GH was the best, not factoring in the 1999/2000 boyband craze with Emily/Juan/Lucky/Liz quad. 

According to Michele Val Jean, it wasn't Guza who wanted to exit Alan Quartermaine, and allegedly it wasn't JFP either. However, the late Jacklyn Zeman was ousted by JFP as Bobbie. That's true.

 https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2012/08/jacklyn-zemans-bombshell-gh-interview

Technically, the core four at BTG will be the Duprees, led by Anita and Vernon, followed by their daughters Nicole and Dani. So, if anything, they'll be front and center for the most part, but I'm okay with that as each of them will help expand the other characters. Unlike at GH where it was just the same four in the same storylines with the other characters being window dressing.

[DRW50]

IIRC anything of Sunset Beach that worked (whatever did) popped up after he moved on.

Most of Guza's work (in my opinion) tends to be based in worship of mobsters and thug storylines, misogyny, and comes hand-in-hand with a general contempt for soaps, in spite of their giving him steady employment for decades. To me, the only headwriting stint he ever had which generated returns was his turn on GH in 1996, parts of which were supposedly based on plans left over from the Labines. GH ground to a halt within a year or a year and a half of his 1998 return, and that's not even getting into his third stint. All this with the help of a strong writing team.

I am aware he may just be there to guide the show, but his getting a larger role as they get closer to their debut, along with the involvement of some extremely...flawed writers from other shows, makes me wary about what the end result is going to be.

Edited November 15, 2024 by DRW50

[Vee]

As I've said before, I am cautiously optimistic about Guza here. In their best days and even some of their worst, his team (which MVJ was a key part of for years) understood propulsive storytelling, intricate dialogue and character work, and even on a crass level pushing the envelope in terms of getting eyes on a show when it was needed during sweeps. BTG will need that, as opposed to the somnambulant pace of modern Y&R, late ATWT/GL and whatever the hell it is B&B does daily for decades.

Moreover, MVJ came up under Labine as well and above all this is her show, not his. Guza has many vices and flaws but I won't lie and say don't I wish a bit more of him and his team were still in the mix at GH in the last decade. MVJ and others who worked for him have long defended elements of what happened in his 2000s run at GH, claiming certain choices weren't his fault or that he wanted to do more, etc. I've always taken many of those chummy stories with a grain of salt, though I'm sure Frons and other factors were in the mix. But now's his chance to prove himself again beyond the all-consuming obsession with the mob and the misogynistic, cable-envy flavor of many of his later lowlights. In the post-prestige TV era we're in now, where everything that used to be rarefied and mature is now commonplace and often cliche, maybe he's learned something with the time away. I have heaps of criticisms for Bob Guza, but I do think he knows how to deliver harder-hitting drama and character work than most of the skeleton crews left in current daytime. So, with MVJ still steering the ship and in control, I am willing to let him cook with her.

I think very little of that was the Labines, AFAIK anyway. Carly was a character concept on paper but according to everyone involved (including Labine, I believe) it was Guza's team that fleshed it out past maybe the first few days. Jax was intended as a romantic spoiler for Ned and Lois when Labine left. The rest is all Guza.

Edited November 15, 2024 by Vee

[DRW50]

I think the Jason/AJ car crash and Jason brain damage may have also been tied to them, although I may be wrong.

[Vee]

Guza's writing staff (partly inherited from Labine, like MVJ) as well as his own work on the day to day often kept the show afloat daily in some absolutely wretched years all the way up to his exit in 2011. At its worst (and there was a lot of worst) you could still have literate, layered scenes to watch anchored by great acting that was at times still given room to breathe in longer scenes. That ended with FV and RC and the larger purge of the dialogue staff. Yes, the show got lighter, more adventurous and broke the back of the mob (for awhile) and did many fun things that helped save the show from the axe in 2012, but the dialogue and character work went to the dogs and has largely stayed there since.

That was Labine, yes. But that all happened over the winter of '95/'96 IIRC. I think she was out in March or April.

Edited November 15, 2024 by Vee

[Planet Soap]

Yup! Once I saw Guza and Ron Carlivati listed I went ... Uh oh! Hopefully JFP doesn't touch this show. And hopefully BTG is nothing like the current CBS soaps' quality.

Guza helped destroy GH, and eroded characters like Luke. Yes GH temporarily got its life back around the 50th anniversary under Ron and Frank, but it's remained crappy since 2015ish. Poorly crafted storylines, overloaded cast, harshly bright lighting, lightning paced scenes and stunt casting.

I enjoyed Guza/Phelps GH growing up, but grew to dislike it after watching Riche's GH. Now after years of Valentini I like Guza/Phelps' era again, lol. It was better written, acted and more exciting.

I wish network executives could look at message boards like these filled with analytical soap critics, before making writer and storyline decisions.

Instead they appear to rely on easily impressed fandoms that will accept anything, as a barometer of show quality....not to sound snobby.

Edited November 16, 2024 by Planet Soap