GH: May 2024 Discussion Thread

[ranger1rg]

It's definitely worth the effort, because it's a staple of daytime. You cannot be saying that soaps need to stay away from romance/sex because it might not work.

[NiqueAlexis2020]

Steve Burton saying that he is a serious actor now so he can't take his shirt off anymore is hilarious. Steve got jokes & needs to stop playing. Like Ric Hearst was a very serious actor & he took his shirt off and did love scenes. God forgive me for invoking Tony Geary but he was a very serious actor & took his shirt off. Does SBu really think only non serious actors take their shirt off

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[detroitpiston]

I thought all the new pages would be episode discussion but its just a bunch of talk about actors refusing sex scenes

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speaks to how interesting the show is

Yup. I feel bad for Easton because he seemed to be doing decent work but the directing and editing choices stifled his performance impact. The set up kind of reminded me a lot of “The Body” from Buffy but a very paint by numbers version that lacked the real devastation and heartache. Man where is JFP when you need her???

[Contessa Donatella]

Not a problem. 

[allmc2008]

Dunno if I should post this here or not. It's a fan made opening I'm doing. It's not complete, of course.

 

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[ranger1rg]

Agree with you about Easton. After the early scene where Finn found his dead father -- which was very good -- the show lost all emotion and was flat.

And I still say GH took the easy way out with Gregory's death. I know the audience doesn't want to see the complete devastation of ALS, but this was kind of ridiculous. He had trouble breathing...and then he died. OK then.

[carolineg]

I think Easton is capable of solid work and I don't actually hate him.  I hate the fact he was forced on me from OLTL and then had several different characters on GH.  He's definitely grown leaps and bounds since his time on Days lol.

I also agree about Gregory's death.  This may sound morbid and I really have 0 medical knowledge, but he seemed okay and then just died.  I understand ALS is tricky, and they drew out Mike's story for a very long time and it was depressing, but i think there might have been more to squeeze out of this story?*

*Not that I care Mr. Finn is gone.  It just seems like a weird letdown for all the build up.

[DRW50]

It used to be, but I'm not sure these days. The demos who watch soaps now don't seem as interested, younger people don't seem as interested, etc. Looking at the response to Nina/Drew, for example, outside of a few fans, reminded me of how much times have changed. I hear people say they want to see a character being a ho, but the reality seems to be different. I do think the show needs stronger relationships in general, along with actual storylines and characters who have more of a spark to them.

The scene where Finn was over Gregoy's corpse, weeping, looked like someone trying to recreate a painting. You could sense the "moment" rather than feeling a genuine response.

Coronation Street is currently telling an ALS story which has gone on for over a year, and they've shown the loss of function over that time - no longer being able to walk, or speak, and recently, putting in a feeding tube. I question whether viewers actually want to see this (it hasn't helped the ratings, although Corrie, like all the British soaps, is just about unwatchable these days anyway), but they are committing more. Generally, I do feel like daytime just isn't a great place for this type of plot - much as we all probably used to laugh at "soap opera disease" when we were younger, I wonder if Bell, Nixon, Irna, etc. had the right idea.

[carolineg]

I certainly don't want to see all that.  I don't even want this story to drag out longer than necessary.  I just think his decline could have been played out better than this.  I guess this is the best way for Gregory to go out, with some dignity, but it seems anti-climatic.

[allmc2008]

Regarding the romance situation. I really feel that if there are two actors who have explosive chemistry it'll work for young people. Chemistry that that will arrest the viewers imaginations and make their heart beat fast.

Also, and not to get off topic, but I do feel that Bill Bell's casting was great in that. Certainly, some of his hot actors didn't have much of an acting talent. But, when you compare the actor who plays Dex compared to 90s Scott Reeves it's clear that Scott has a bigger draw. Maybe it's charisma?

 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Grudgingly I gave Easton major props for that scene today. It reminded me that he is a talented actor who has been criminally underused. 

What does this mean? Agnes, at GL, Bert's uterine cancer, was legendary. At AW Irna had Pat have an illegal abortion & become sterile as a result. (Later went away, of course, and had twins.) Of course, Miss Susan had an actual woman in a wheelchair & the audience was offended. 

[DRW50]

I think he's been used a generous amount given his very limited range. I respect him for trying today, and I know he's been going through a lot recently per the article about Kamar, but when I just see the effort, I can't connect.

It means that those writers and soaps in general in those years were more likely to be vague about soap illnesses than later writers who felt more obligated to try to write a specific illness even though they weren't capable of making it feel real. People remember the legendary issue stories, but most illness stories back then were not so detailed. 

The abortion plotline is another subject entirely and I'm not sure what I should say about that part.

Edited May 22, 2024 by DRW50

[Vee]

Except that isn't about puritanism IMO. That's about stans of the Nina character being overprotective of her, disliking Drew (which they have a right to) or in many cases committed to one pairing (Sonny) which is done.

[DRW50]

I see what you mean, but I would say that only wanting a soap character to have any kind of passion with one character and being so vehement when that doesn't happen is also part of the new puritanism.

[Vee]

I think they had a ton of very poetic, elegiac character scenes for Gregory and Tracy over the last few months. But honestly at this point I was past ready for him to die. Abrupt maybe, but I'm just glad it's done.

I might advocate for the longer, more detailed story with another character more well-liked who hasn't already been wasting time on canvas for years, but with Gregory I was ready to be finished.

Is it though? We've seen couples stans lash out at them with anyone but their chosen fave for decades.