GH: May 2024 Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

@Vee  About the Labine era ... 

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And, I personally believe that Drew was expressing a good thing, a positive thought, the essence of chivalry & NOT being abusive, not at all. I will stand & die on this particular hill & I am far from being a Drew fan. I mean he said he wouldn't hit a woman. 

[Khan]

I've said this before in other threads, but the problem with doing stories about incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's or ALS is that they offer no hope to viewers in a medium that, at its' core, is supposed to offer hope.  (Like the song says, "there's always tomorrow.")

Furthermore, what's to keep viewers from tuning out once the afflicted party inevitably passes away?  It's like when OLTL's Megan died of complications from lupus.  The show, and then-HW Michael Malone, got a lot of good press and attention for telling that story - and rightfully so!  Once it was over, however, I was like, "Okay, now what?" 

Suspense is a crucial element in any good soap story - or any story, for that matter - but when the character dies at the end - and it's assumed that that death cannot be reversed down the road - then the suspense is pretty much gone; and with it has gone any reason to keep tuning in.

[titan1978]

The ratings didn’t really crater until the last few months of the Stone story. And truthfully, it was the only story they were telling at that point. They had just broken up Brenda and Sonny (the wire), Miguel was not popular, Luke and Laura were still fighting because of the shootout in their house, etc. Labine stayed to finish that story, and although better balance would probably have helped the ratings, I wouldn’t want to change anything about that period.

I am sure being close to the character’s ages helped cement how special that story was for me as a viewer. I also had watched for years and kind of grew up with Robin. Nothing any soap has done since was as big a risk as Robin being HIV+. The medications were not really there yet like they would be in just a couple more years, let alone today.

[Khan]

Gregory was a character we didn't know very well and didn't care about, tied to OTHER characters we don't care about; and as with most stories that GH has told for the past ten-plus years, they dragged their feet with Gregory's story so much and for so long that any chance they MIGHT have had to GET us to care about it had evaporated long ago.

I'm with you and @Vee, @carolineg: the ending was anticlimactic, but at least it's at its' end.

Edited May 22 by Khan

[titan1978]

I understand your point, but I think any good drama should include death, even in a slow and realistic form like ALS. The tomorrow for me is how the other characters rebuild their lives, including if appropriate new loves down the road.

Sometimes they play it too close to reality though. I thought Labine told Stone’s story with so much community and heart that it didn’t feel bleak. Had they told the proposed Audrey story, I might not have felt the same way.

When they fake killed Lucky, the first month of Luke and especially Laura grieving was almost too realistic. I think there is a happy medium to showing that kind of grief, and they went so dark it was hard to watch.

[carolineg]

To be fair, mostly every day GH ends I say "so that's it?"  It's definitely not exclusive to Gregory.  I am might have a cold, bitter heart that knows no emotion, but I thought so he's dead.  I hope Violet cries a lot off screen and needs to immediately go find her mother for comfort.

[Vee]

The thing is we're conflating viewer response (then and now) and network response. The network reacted to a ratings dip which was real (probably for a variety of reasons), but most viewers then and now did receive those stories well, and they still adore and venerate those stories. It wasn't a simple case of viewers rejecting them. And I don't think they would reject one in future if it was well told with a character they cared about either, so I think the premise of not doing these stories is fundamentally flawed. But given Willow's endless cancer (to the point we were sure she was faking it) and Gregory's long decline, I do think GH should take a break from them.

[titan1978]

My problem is I don’t care. I am not invested in Finn, his family stories, or his kid. Michael Easton isn’t the problem, it’s not his fault Frank keeps hiring him. Three characters in 10 years is just too many. Same with Roger. Their boss should not have put them or the audience through that nonsense.

I have said it many times around here- those characters might have worked if they had tried to hire other actors. Maybe Finn and Anna or Liz could have been rootable if he was played by another actor. Instead we have wasted Liz trying to make two characters work over the course of a decade. They tried to tie him to a name from the past with Jackie and threw Rebecca Budig at him. That is a lot that should not have been needed.

I like the actor but it was time for some people to hit the road, and Gregory might as well get the party started.

[Vee]

I've seen a lot of today and yesterday but i'm also catching up on much of the last week period nonsequentially. I'll miss the evolved business and interpersonal dynamic with Drew, Nina and Willow which I think has already elevated considerably (putting aside the hot Drew/Nina affair) - feels like the framework for something more stable and mature for all those characters, reminds me a bit of the business trios or quartets from the early '90s. I assume Korte will nuke it since she and some of the prior staff clearly despised the Nina character for taking Carly's husband and spent much of the last few years (until PM arrived) running her down onscreen every day.

Edited May 22 by Vee

[Sapounopera]

A strong show can afford to have some young, beautiful people with less talent. Perhaps they worked harder back then? They had a stronger support system? Perhaps we were just hornier back then?

[Liberty City]

Yup; I'm so worried the women on-canvas will again become weak. I feel as if Mulcahey was re-rooting women on the canvas to stand on their own two-feet and not be punching bags.

[carolineg]

I think I'll be really bummed if the writing for Nina changes.  It took me an entire decade to tolerate her.  It would be a real shame if they move her back into Sonny's orbit.

[Liberty City]

I'm not even speaking in terms of Sonny's orbit. I'm speaking in terms of being a punching bag for "saint Carly" and her chewing crew.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, yes, that would be a total drag. But, ya can't help but worry. I hope we are worrying needlessly. But, I just am still disturbed at this recent change. However, I don't think that Korte would change it & have Carly regress back to when she was actively still angry & saying so to Nina. I mean it's been ages since Carly got past that! She tried & tried to get Drew to move on, too. 

I tried to get someone who does know, to tell me if Patrick walked or if he was fired. Well, darnit, their reply was that it is Patrick's to comment on, or not, his to confirm or deny & they didn't feel it would be right for them to say. Of course, they're right. But, just phooey. I'm not sure why it matters to me, but it does. 

It's like who were the scab writers at DAYS. I know someone who does know but he doesn't feel like he should say. Obviously, that is his prerogative but, again, phooey. 

Edited May 22 by Contessa Donatella
one more thing

[carolineg]

I am hoping Drew and Nina stay removed from Carly for awhile.  If we have to use Carly I'd prefer her to hone in on Ava. 

I actually do think CW and LW play off one another as adversaries well.  I just can't remember the last woman who had a level playing field with Carly and that goes far back into the Guza era.

In my head, I was imagining Nina begging Sonny for forgiveness after the truth about his meds comes out.