GH: July 2024 Discussion Thread

[John]

I had never heard that. 

[TEdgeofNight]

She has stated in her social media that she is a dialogue writer. She does not want a headwriter job. she writes dialogue. She does not sit in story meetings. Her job is to write dialogue. That is all.

[titan1978]

Why is Carly telling this man everything?

[Vee]

This has been happening for months. Carly goes over there and spills everything the cops are doing to Brennan. Why? She looks like a total idiot but it seems like it's all about them chemistry testing LW and flailing wildly because they know her and Steve aren't working. Carly constantly spilling everything to this dayplayer bad guy is ridiculous.

Edited July 16, 2024 by Vee

[titan1978]

I would have loved for this show to go full villain on Valentin. Anna leaves, and Valentin drops the charade, pulls out a tarot card, and we realize that he used Victor’s conditioning to get Charlotte to “make peace” with Anna, knowing it would throw her off.

I like the actor and I see a place for a calculating gray character on the show right now. But this is not the way to do it! She looks so foolish. Carly is impulsive to a sometimes dangerous degree, but not this stupid.

[Meredith]

Carly and Brennan would've made a good couple in another life.  I think they have chemistry.  I liked seeing Willow and Nina on better terms today.  You just never know who is reading your posts.  One of the actors actually replied to one of mine.  It was so random and unexpected. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I doubt I've ever said this before but I love these long-handled posts of yours!!! There is just so much there there!!!

Isn't it funny, Natalia is so deservedly hated because as Krissy said, she is choosing to be a bigot, dragging her feet all this time & NOT making any progress, at all, on adjusting to the new normal Ali has presented her with!! However, it made for such good soap! I agree about Kristina v. Natalia, also about Kirsten Storms & I am loving her line readings & how she dogs Lucy, which no one else would be allowed to do. Lois, just by being herself, is driving Lucy crazy & I find it hilarious. New appreciation for Lois, Lucy Irritant. Also agree about Jacqueline Grace Lopez who I believe has grown considerably in this role & is now able to hold her own. She's a different actress than she was a year ago. 

Me, too. The instant Scott said "have a breakdown in public" I knew she'd try to think HOW Could She Just Tip Him Over & since Ava lives in a fictional universe & thought maybe she'd find a way. Correct! Hilarious how Clement the Rx is so afraid of her. Ordinarily I'd think the pharmacist just wouldn't do it, or even worse, return Sonny to full dosage, but I think he is too intimidated by "NotMrs. Corinthos" to do such a thing, to do anything but placebo him. 

Don't you think it was for the political campaign?

 

[Taoboi]

I agree. But that is a big alas now. 

Because Carly is Carly-ing. lol.

 

Perhaps once. But I feel with the audience...or just here...that boat has sailed on full Villain Val. I thought he has been good at it and I was enjoying the cat-and-mouse with Anna, but I was hoping for others that it led to an exit. 

 

Oh, Charles Masure is great at that kind of character, which is why I felt they should put him where Valentin currently is. He has chemistry with both Carly and Anna. The potential is there. 

[Taoboi]

Thank you!!! I think for me it's just that it usually takes me forever to play catch-up. I feel I haven't been this caught up since Patrick M. came on. So I'm sure as soon as his name falls off the screen, that won't be the case...though I'm looking forward to Fall. 

 

You are hitting it on the nail, too!!! There was so many moving parts and nuances going on in the Deception scenes. Lucy and Lois having a good back and forth. How Lucy was totally trying to get her lick back on Natalia so that video dropping worked for her. And Lynn did so great with so little, but she's great as an actress in the background of scenes doing reactions. Always has been so she's always fun to watch. 

 

Yes! I was blanking on her name so glad I was thinking right. But agree. I don't think Jacqueline Lopez could have pulled off those scenes a year ago. It's why I pointed them out. Especially her falling to pieces when her label messaged her. You could literally see it all over her face. Music has always been her thing. And it was like her heart had been ripped out. She really did great with that. As an artist if I've been told I could not do what I love to do, I would not know what to do. She conveyed it beautifully.

 

This show has needed the old school villainess, so I love that Ava fits right in. And while the writing was on the wall that she might be written off, I felt that with Dante's talk to Sonny on the 7-5 episode, they might give her some wiggle room. She should stay like this. Just don't write her into a corner. That said, I feel the writers have more reason to find a plausible reason for her to get out of her corner versus Valentin who has definitely been written into a corner. And any way out of it would not at all be plausible for him.

 

Me talking about Drew and his scruff is just part of the continuing running joke on the threads about how CM's Drew has always been more interesting and hotter when he has his scruff vs shaven. 

[Liberty City]

Mhmm. He was brought in under the wrong executive production team, as well as a horrible time to be under the over-controlling eye of Disney-ABC Television.

[dc11786]

Originally, it was an innocent comment connecting the drinking of beer to Aiden's cupcake obsession. Then I realized the connotation and went with it. I figure those of you who read my endless rants deserve at least one cringe comment every now and again.

Thanks. There is a lot of potential that just wasn't utilized, which is a shame. I know some of us have discussed the need for more action, but I think if the show's scripts were stronger, the emotional confrontations would carry the show. I just don't think that level of writing is being achieved by the staff. I think someone like Richard Culliton would be spitting out gems for Jane Elliott the way he would for John Aniston on "Days." And Melissa Salmons would have elevated that Nina and Ava confrontation back in May to another level. The current crop of writers don't excite me.  

I didn't think about the Monica angle with Cody and Tracy, but that would have been nice. Monica's response to the Heather Webber stuff would have also been noteable I imagine. I realize that Charleston doesn't seem to be available due to health reasons so I respect her absence, and appreciate Elliott's presence even more. 

I liked the suggestion someone made about turning Michael into an alcoholic. I can't remember if someone else suggested it, or I expanded on it in my head, but I would have let Michael become paralyzed in an accident and milked the paralysis to keep Willow by his side torturing her.

I think I'll try my best to stick it out for the summer since I am off from school, but unless Drew / Nina / Willow is still in play or they have committed to the Stella / Tracy friendship I don't see myself committing to Carly's musical love interests, the on contract / off contract romances, and whatever else is in play. 

I didn't feel like there was a true commitment to the younger set. There were a handful of scenes back in March/April that seemed like they might, but I don't really remember a whole lot in the past few weeks. The younger set seemed to stall the week they recast Aiden and then none of that group got much outside Jake's bar trip (to reveal Finn's affair) and Danny and Jason bonding to fuel Sam's need to learn what the FBI has on Jason. 

I know we have talked about it several times. I remember thinking after Terry suggested that Tracy might have depression stemming from all of the loss in her life, including her husband Luke, that she should take up a hobby. If I recall, Tracy showed up in the stables and Cody was shirtless. The Cody is like Gregory line also stood out to me. It's possible Cody / Tracy was just built in order to maneuver Cody into the outskirts of the Gregory story to propel him to tell Mac, but I think someone wanted to try at something more than just friends between them.

It's one of the reasons I have no use for the Pikeman story. I think the psychological element of it was interesting with Sonny off his meds, but I don't get the sense that Bernard is interested in playing that. 

[Taoboi]

I still believe what we have discussed on this and the PM thread briefly. There was (is?) some BTS drama going on that we are not aware of. At least publicly. 

 

Just looking at the last month and a half...what stories appeared to be IMHO PM...were hitting the middle of their arcs...revealing why those stories went in THAT direction in the first place. And that goes back to me discussing stalling on some of the stories in order to have a fast reason (ratings) to get rid of PM. 

The irony of that with them given what they did to Chase would be delicious. 

 

We did. Often. There was quite a lot of clowning around on it and speculation.

 

 

 

[Vee]

They're wonderful rants!

They've definitely lessened any focus on Danny and Jake over the last few months, as PM's influence waned.

I don't think SLs were stalled as an excuse to deliberately tank ratings - I don't think FV operates like that in terms of the bottom line, ever. I do think stuff like the now-endless Pikeman saga, etc. stalled out due to BTS turmoil and likely different people at the show being at cross-purposes over stories or actors, and possibly other issues (like May sweeps vs. July 'sweeps', PM wanting to cut the cast and allegedly not being allowed, and the rather salient point that Jason and Carly, who seemed primed to be reunited, have zero romantic chemistry). Now we see the Willow/Drew/Nina story (which I suspect would've ended with Drew/Nina as endgame far down the road) likely coming to a swift and nasty end prematurely as Mulcahey's tenure wraps, and that's probably not by his own hand. We have Ava out on her áss vs. playing Sonny, and we have FV favorite Valentin's place in things remaining very murky as Anna catches feelings all over again.

I do think Jacqueline Lopez was very good in her monologue eviscerating Natalia. I just still don't see much of a character behind Blaze, and I don't need to watch one more minute of Natalia period.

Edited July 16, 2024 by Vee

[Contessa Donatella]

I don't see them abandoning Jason & his kiddos. I mean, why would they? The set-up with Danny is excellent. Jake is at a very good point but we may be losing him which might be temp, who knows. Sam, of course, may continue to add conflict about Danny. Good soap, right? 

Oh, yeah, of course, it bears repeating that chemistry is 100% a subjective thing. Some see it, others don't. Writing & characterization & tradecraft  have to be used & are. 

Edited July 16, 2024 by Contessa Donatella
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[Liberty City]

Oh, completely. And I always suspected post-May Sweeps storylines would begin shifting into what the regime was planning, and that is playing out right with [some] disastrous results, due to Mulcahey's exit.