GH: June 2024 Discussion Thread

[carolineg]

Yeah, I remember Eden winning last year competing against literal children lol.  I guess they decided to cut it all together.   Oh well, I still think it is a viable category if they changed the ages a bit.

[titan1978]

When Monty tanked the ratings in 1991, she did a course correction and the show was getting better. She moved the Q’s off the backburner and told one of her adventure stories . When ABC/Riche got Luke and Laura back, every story had a connection to them. Riche had been there a year, and she knew that stronger writing (Labine) and using those marquee characters would be good for the show and lapsed viewers.

What is Frank going to do? Re-hire Roger? Flood the show with bland white men? This show is in a creative and ratings free fall. No longer just stagnant, it’s a mess we can all see onscreen. GH needs to feel like General Hospital again, even if he doesn’t want it to. Do what is right for your show, not your ego.

[Vee]

Frank isn't going to do it, so the network would have to. And their brief moment of will for that was just killed in the crib, so I expect very little. They will likely just reinstate 'Emmy-winning' CVE and continue apace.

Anyone else would go after Vanessa or JJ, but IMHO we know why Frank doesn't do that. It would destabilize the bland show he prefers to make which is often so milquetoast now that it can be retrofitted to add any preferred favorite actor he wants.

Edited June 8, 2024 by Vee

[carolineg]

If Frank had any brains he would do a reset and work his butt off to get Vanessa, JJ, and even try to get KMc back.  Fire 50% of the current cast and bring some Quartermaine/Wards in to build that family.  Bring Lulu back and I would even say try to find a way to bring SK/AJ back.  Figure out the teen scene and bring that front and center and recast or age the weak links.  GH has enough veterans and actors willing to work that fans like.  All Frank really needs to do is cull the cast and focus on a core group.

Obviously, a writing change is needed, but I honestly could probably sit through dull writing if I saw characters I liked and was interested in.

[Vee]

Great minds - I just said that for the umpteenth time myself too, lol. I don't think you could ever get Kimberly back on contract again given her current focus on directing for primetime, but she's never seemed averse to appearing as a guest whenever asked over the last decade. She's appeared many times since Robin's last permanent exit in 2015(?).

The rest is all true, but I don't think FV would ever commit to it unless it meant his job. And I do wonder if part of the resistance to cutting the cast that Mulcahey allegedly encountered is also down to Varni playing favorites or someone obsessing over aged Facebook viewers who just love everyone.

[Contessa Donatella]

Yes, their "solution" announced earlier this year, was to do away with the category altogether. You & I & tons of fans disagree!!! 

[carolineg]

I have little hope of getting KMc back full time, but I do think she'd come back for a bit.  Even if it was just to transition Emma back and do sporadic appearances.  Brenda, Robin, and Lois all sharing the stage again even for a brief moment is my dream lol. 

I don't know if we will ever get a straight answer about the cast size.  FV appears to be very budget friendly and the show has entire families that could disappear and I wouldn't notice.  That would free up a lot of cash.  I know RH and Easton are personal faves, but it doesn't appear that FV has any particular favoritism to, say, the entire Ashford family-yet they all continue to appear.

I never go on Facebook or seek out GH Facebook pages, but it's difficult for me to imagine some of these characters or couples even have 5 to 10 fans lol.

[Vee]

I think they just want to keep what they see as their core audience (older white middle Americans) happy, and those people seem to love either the mob or just everyone. I have to figure personal favoritism and Facebook are the only reasons to keep this gigantic cast.

I think the Ashfords are only still around because FV has zero investment in Black story, and it is easier for him to keep them around in mediocre plots and say that's diversity vs. having to actually cast new people and come up with new stories. Portia, Trina and Stella are great but I'd nuke Curtis and T.J. tomorrow.

And yes, I think KMc would easily do little stints. Probably nowhere near as long as her extended visits in the late '90s, but enough.

[titan1978]

Pretty close to what I would do too! And I think it is beyond necessary. The way he likes to rotate people in and out is fine, if it meant we had 7 months of solid usage for those folks like Vanessa and JJ that don’t want the grind anymore. Great! They did it for Tony and kept Luke in story plenty! Give them the time they want and others can fill those 5 months.

KMc should pop in, even if it’s just her voice on the phone with Anna or Robert. Again, something they can accomplish easily that fans would enjoy.

The only other soap character/performer I would accept in this reset would be VI as Dr David Hayward. He is a conflict generator at the hospital (which needs it) and his ties to Anna make him way more suitable than Jackson Montgomery as an ABC daytime refugee on GH.

[Vee]

I would be happy to have David appear on a recurring guest basis to come in from time to time to make trouble. But I was also the guy who wanted Angie Hubbard to appear briefly as a one-time thing for an abortion rights storyline to help out Portia and Elizabeth, so I'm not averse to my own weird ideas.

The problem solves itself, but again I think FV won't do it because Brenda, JJ's Lucky, etc. are too big for 'his' version of GH. Brenda means much less room for multiple pointless characters played by actors he likes.

[carolineg]

As a slightly less older, white West Coast American I feel sorry for older, Middle Americans who find this show entertaining lol.

I don't come from a place where I have the knowledge or right to really speak about the diversity on GH, but I have always felt FV did the bare minimum with his minority characters and just had multiple black characters to show how progressive and diverse he is.  PM did some good work with the Marshall scenes though. 

The same thing with Selina Wu being around so much.  She's not an actual character but she's Asian so it counts as diverse!!!

I actively hate ABC soap transplants and have been pretty vocal about this.  That being said, I could see David Hayward working pretty easily on GH and VI/FH had great chemistry.

I tend to agree they that have too much "star" power and audience appeal for this current GH, but FV seems to be fine working with Burton and Benard.  Burton was okay putting his co-workers in danger by not getting vaxxed and was welcomed back with open arms.  JJ and VM might care about their characters integrity and vocalize this but could possible bring in lapsed viewers, so it's a no from Frank lol.  It makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

[Contessa Donatella]

GH has one Social Media person & 2 interns. That's it. I honestly do not think much happens in terms of decision making based on fans online. It is true that Facebook has a great many soap fans but there's tons of differences in the groups. It's certainly not one group mind! You might recall one day when I was personally shocked at how many people there are in 3 or 4 FB groups all devoted to Willow's family. But, that's me & my bias!!! 

I don't know why the cast is so protective of Frank, but it's clear that they are. That also is a clue to us: the actors like Frank! Come to think of it, the dept. heads like Frank, too. 

The only way I can think that Frank might change would be if someone, unknown who, would have a heart to heart with him saying, these are the ways that you are not playing the game. Because that's what he values.

I am with you on this! 

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[carolineg]

I agree that FV seems well liked by everyone.  I think that's key to him keeping his job.  Plus, he does the baseline minimum of keeping the show under budget AND winning awards.  There really isn't a strong argument to fire him unless you actually care about the show and watch it daily lol.

[Khan]

I'd go even further -- to when Bob Guza left the first time to help launch SuBe.  Between that, Richard Culliton (and later, Janet Iacobuzio/Christopher Whitesell) coming in and making a mess of things and Wendy Riche stretching herself thin between running GH and launching PC, I feel like the delicate balance that Riche and Claire Labine helped create for the show was ruined, saved only by GH's stable of excellent breakdown and script writers at that time.

[DRW50]

I think the era that JJ thrived in died about 25 years ago, and if he returns he will probably just be another directionless male character who looks sad (they already have Michael Easton for that), but I do think it's a mistake to not try one more time with Brenda, especially while Rena Sofer is around. 

100% with you here. It was only the scripting teams who kept some semblance of quality until the late '00s or so. Most of the stories and character decisions from late '96 and onward sucked and often felt like a square peg being bludgeoned into a round hole.