GH: April 2024 Discussion Thread

[DeliaIrisFan]

 

Perhaps.  Even as someone who loved Sonny BITD and still has a fondness for MB, it is impossible to center a show around this character, then let alone now.  And the way MB is playing Sonny at this point is not what I believe he is or at least was capable of, and I have no interest in seeing 60-something Sonny continue to lash out at all the women who are obsessed with him for "betrayal."

That said, some kind of downfall for Sonny, even if he stays on canvas with fewer defenders, could work for me.  I like a lot of the scenes with various characters turning on him, though the pill tampering angle is sloppy and does make me fear it won't go anywhere.

Of course, even if Sonny is knocked down several pegs, it's all for naught if Jason is still going to be the hero, after decades as being complicit with Sonny's worst deeds.  And I have no love lost for that actor.  So you may be right.

If nothing else, this might be the last time a really smart, talented writer gets to try and restore a daytime soap opera, so if nothing else it's intellectually interesting for me to watch.  I'm also not convinced ABC or any network is still topheavy enough anymore to micromanage Mulcahey to death to the extent that networks did when soaps managed to nab big names behind the scenes at the turn of the century.

Anyway, this week so far: I saw another character that I hadn't seen since the credits change: Ned.  I almost forgot Ned was one of the living Qs.  WTH?  I'm so glad Rena's Lois is on the show, I do get that Ned and Lois aren't going to have scenes together, but why can't they each appear in different scenes, have an acknowledged history, but not see each other every day: like real-life exes?

I still am indifferent to Brook Lynn and Chase both, but I never thought I'd see the child of a soap couple I enjoyed watching as a teen getting a big soap opera wedding.  (Well, we'll see how big it really is.)  So, for that alone, I have been enjoying the prenuptial festivities (except for the offhanded, continued Lucy bashing.  Did Lois and Lucy ever interact?  In hindsight, they should have known each other through Brenda,could easily have commiserated at some point over mutual disdain for Katherine Bell, and should have maintained a mutual respect for each other as entrepreneurs).

Speaking of '90s throwbacks, the music montage after Nina signed her divorce papers (with flashbacks to Sonny in a cowboy hat) was cringeworthy but the amazing Watros/West showdown was like some of the best of soaps in the mid-'90s.  There is still a ridiculous element to Nina—quoting Maya Angelou probably by way of Hillary Clinton to a BIPOC underling and passing it off as her own sage advice in the middle of her own pity party—but the way Nina is written now, she is weirdly endearing.

 

 

 

I would be lying if I said I understood much of any of that plot stuff, but in terms of Cody, I think I get it - the con he was after had to do with who his father was, not Dominique.  So did I just imagine during the Bobbie memorial week that Cody had leveraged his claim to be Dominique's son in order to wrest her inheritance away from Scott, and that was why Scott was in need of Tracy's money? 

 

 

I meant to note the other day when I criticized Anna's scenes on Friday that I really did like the scenes with Laura earlier in the week.  That made sense and they both came across as intelligent women engaging in real introspection - as opposed to Anna asking an inappropriate prosecutor to handle Sonny's case and second-guessing her own idea to protect Dex as an informant because Jocelyn told her off.

 

Edited April 24 by DeliaIrisFan

[Vee]

Yeah, the Molly thing was circular and weird at best given the circumstances and history. But I thought the dialogue in that scene - and the sentiments Anna expressed to Molly about the situation - were very strong, moreso than her likely canvas-based insistence that Molly take the case. I got the sense Anna was taking it out on Molly to prove the point to herself.

Nor am I. I have a hard time believing this ABC, even more than the ABC of 2014, gives a shît about most of this content. Nathan Varni might but I am not convinced he has any serious authority lol. The question is if FV has been demoted in creative control. We'll find out soon enough.

Ned and Lois can and have had scenes, BTW. That's not an issue for WK and Rena. The one thing they did (understandably) veto was a Ned/Lois reunion.

I also thought the Sonny/Nina farewell montage was silly, but it is the custom for pretty much any exiting couple on a soap in recent years so I get it. As long as they're over I'm happy.

Edited April 24 by Vee

[Contessa Donatella]

I shouted! Finally, Ned is back from Australia. Just in time, too, for this big wedding extravaganza for his daughter. 

[DRW50]

I do wonder how soon it will be before they panic over the usual fan complaints over what ship or character is not getting enough love, or if the numbers don't go up - if they don't have those expectations and they just allow Mulcahey to paint his own colors in the show's very limited canvas, maybe he can last.

I do think Burton is trying harder this time around, helped by choices like not focusing on his love life. That's given me a more positive impression than I had anticipated. Unfortunately, I am still not going to have any real interest in a show led by Carly/Sonny/Jason. Back in the Sarah Brown era I might have, but the bravado and hard edge of her Carly was balanced out by what a pariah she was to PC residents. With that gone, Carly (and Joss) are just vultures circling over the town with ever-increasing entitlement. 

[Paul Raven]

I know at one point ABC daytime used focus groups a lot to dictate storyline, but I imagine those days are long gone, so I wonder who is pushing that a 60 plus actor has to be a lead. Especially when the character is a criminal.

Surely they should be pushing younger actors, as happened in the past, and let the older veterans move into a more supporting role.

It seems GH can't move on from what was working 20 years ago.

[AbcNbc247]

It was posted on here, but the site that it came from wasn’t very credible. 

[Vee]

I do think Steve has come to work so far. I thought the scenes where he monologued about how he got the tattoo, etc. to Carly last week were very well-written and well-performed by both of them - the closest he and LW have ever had to romantic/sexual chemistry. The writing for Jason and/or rather how they handle him in relation to the town and his family/children is more nuanced, which I appreciate. The idea of Jason being less corrupt or fundamentally flawed than Sonny has been something the show has been laying in for many years going back to the late Guza era, as @titan1978 and I have talked about a number of times. I think it's true, as much as I so often despise Jason. But I'm also glad they have his loved ones and kids giving him the business about who he is and the choices he's made. I also like PM making the clear choice to have him back above Bobbie's/Kelly's again, and the echo of the classic scene of Carly in Bobbie's room from '96 with Danny in Jason's.

I agree the big 3 only hold so much interest for me. But again, like Delia I am far from convinced ABC gives a shít about horning in on GH's stories that much these days (so long as they're not showcasing rapists or serial killers, or Roger Howarth). What will matter or show us something is when the show has new stories going that aren't the Jason return arc, and besides maybe Drew and Nina's hate sex affair which is only the beginnings of a story/couple they don't really have that yet. So we'll see.

I don't think there is that much intense oversight, but nonetheless I think they'd have a hard time actively pushing MB or Burton off the show unless (current) BTS conduct warranted it. If they start phasing Sonny into a different role again, as they did in the late 2000s, then that is a good move.

[carolineg]

I think it would be wise to transition Sonny into a more supporting role.  His character has run it's course honestly.  We keep seeing the same stories for Sonny-betrayal by a women, mob threats, breakdowns, etc.   I don't think it would be a great move to get rid of MB all together.

I remember hearing somewhere that Sonny is extremely popular with the average viewer and the online consensus of his character isn't the general opinion of the audience.   It was a long time ago and I have no idea if it's still true but it's always stuck in my head.   I honestly don't know a single person in my real life that watches GH these days so I have no way to poll anyone lol.

 

 

[Liberty City]

And transitioning him into a supporting role would also open the doors for [hopefully] a more hospital-centric soap once again.

[Aragorn]

Will Blaze sing at the wedding since she knows both Chase and Brook Lynn?

[Vee]

I think like with a lot of online things the truth is somewhere in between. If you spend a lot of time on GH Twitter these days you'd get the sense that Sonny and Nina are a supercouple lol, that the average viewer gives a shít or has any idea whether or not Chris Van Etten still works at the show and that this is some major controversy, that people are deeply invested in Ava being a heroine, etc. I don't think most of that is true. There's a lot of self-important amateur social media pundits on there who want to sound very authoritative but don't really have their fingers on the pulse of anything in terms of broad viewership. And at the other end of the spectrum I tnink there are a lot of very basic, easy to please fans on FB or casual viewing or whatever who have been trained to adore Sonny, Carly, Jason, etc. and just want more of that or their families. But ultimately they'll watch what is put in front of them. I don't particularly love either of those camps.

But I do think Sonny, Carly and Jason are inextricable until certain actors choose to leave at this point. And I agree that cutting Sonny would hurt the bottom line in terms of existing viewership. So for me, again, these things are about execution - how you handle these characters you have to work with, how you write for them or make the situation more nuanced, and if they can move Sonny back into the kind of role he had in the late 2000s/early 2010s that would be for the best. 

I think the show has been pretty hospital-centric again for a long time tbh. I think it swung heavily back to that in 2005-2006 when Kimberly McCullough returned, when they hired Jason Thompson for her and brought in Epiphany and many others with the advent of Grey's Anatomy on the network, and I think it's stayed that way since. Not all those stories/characters worked, but some did and the focus on the hospital has continued. They even had another spinoff all about it. There have been a lot of doctors, nurses etc. on contract over the last decade-plus. A lot of story is either centered around it or at the very least is backdropped inside of the hospital. Yes, the mob is still a part of the show but it's the part of the show that feels more vestigial and left over from the past now to me. The hospital has been a constant for almost 20 years again, and hospital stories, hospital characters feature a lot. The issue there for me is the quality of some of those stories or characters.

Edited April 24 by Vee

[carolineg]

Yes.  I think Sonny needs to settle down and take on a more mature role.  Sonny still acts as recklessly as he did in his 20's.   I think the show would be wise to stick with a pairing for him and move away from his love life.  I believe @Vee once suggested that Sonny marries Brenda and Vanessa could appear as often as she wanted or even have her living part time in Rome to explain her absence just to settle his romantic life once and for all.   I'd be fine with him marrying Carly and sticking with it too.  There just really isn't anything terribly interesting about Sonny's revolving romantic life.

I agree the truth about Sonny/MB lies somewhere in between and most offline viewers still watching GH tolerate whatever is thrown at them.  

 

[Liberty City]

This has always been my point. As much as I would love a completely Sonny-less canvas, I also know that kind of immediate change would tank the canvas, given how integral he's [unfortunately] become since the late 1990's. If there would have been a time to remove him, it would've been around the launch of Port Charles and making that a mob-centric spin-off. But, that did not happen, alas.

Oh, it's had its ebb and flow of being hospital-centric and less hospital-centric. But I just want more from the hospital itself. That set, for me, is still too quiet. And has been for some time.

Oh, his whiplash of marriages is insane. Brenda would be a key choice. I just need to see less of Sonny. I really do.

[Contessa Donatella]

No. 

[carolineg]

At this point,  I can't believe any audience member can invest in Sonny's love life.  I know Sonny/Nina have a few intense, vocal fans, but even the most clueless viewers couldn't possibly think that marriage was going to last.  The energy and screentime for that could have been focused elsewhere.

I do admit I find some of the hospital stories quite dull and while Patrick/Robin put focus on the hospital again some of their stories were dreadful.  Blog Wars?  Robin's hunt for sperm?  Bleh.  I am not saying the focus shouldn't be on the hospital, but I don't find Heather's poison hip story very compelling if that's any indication of where PM/EK are going.