GH: November 2024 Discussion Thread

[carolineg]

For sure.  I am not shaming her in any way.  I am just glad she has some spark back and feels more comfortable.  I don't care if she's taking weight loss meds one way or the other.  Maxie transformation has been enjoyable to me because I was about ready to say rest her or recast a year ago.

Edited November 19, 2024 by carolineg

[Liberty City]

So many of us were; so happy Patrick Mulcahey infused some spark back into Maxie Jones, and that Kirsten Storms showed up for it.

It snapped her back into character in every single facet.

[Soapsuds]

It's his first acting job. He was recently interviewed by Steve Burton.

[detroitpiston]

As messy as the departure has been BTS the show has done a really great job honoring Sam’s character with this death, today was a worthy funeral send off.

I thought the speeches and flashback usages were excellent. Loved how they highlighted some of Carly and Elizabeth’s best fights with Sam onscreen while the characters got to talk about how their dynamics with her grew for the better.

Spinelli’s speech was touching and playing a moment of Sam encouraging him when he and Maxie first got serious showcased the beauty of that dynamic.

I thought Danny’s actor actually really did well with his eulogy and he and Jason hit the emotional punch the hardest for me. Shout out to KV, DZ, KS, JJ and Rocco’s actor for their performances as well.

NLG did decent work too and I had forgotten how great she and KeMo both were during that Kristina transplant story and the initial Sam and Alexis paternity reveal. Alexis having Molly and Kristina just sit with her at the end was nice and then that final Sam montage was excellent. This character was basically the second lead actress for the majority of her run and I’m glad they showcased all of her history one last time.

I liked Ava and Lucas talking at Julian’s grave. I think y’all are a bit harder on VH than he deserves but he does tend to hit false notes in his performances. Maura West carried him though and I loved Ava’s line about Lucas only being a visitor of this kind of blame and isolation.

I liked the Lulu reveal at the end and can’t wait to see what Alexa Havins brings.

[ranger1rg]

-- I agree with you. I'll abide by the moderators here, but I never thought of weight loss meds as a bad thing or as something shameful. I don't see this as any different than commenting on an actor getting Botox.

-- All the comments here from the last 24 hours make it pretty clear that GH is where potential goes to die. I don't think any other soap created characters with so much unfulfilled potential.

-- I do not understand the criticism of Asher Antonyzyn (Danny). I thought his performance at the funeral was one of the best, and I was moved by it.

[DRW50]

Thanks for mentioning this. I hadn't thought about it in many years but this sounds familiar. 

[Taoboi]

11-15

 

Ric vs Jason? YES, PLEASE. 

 

Dining with Ava. Being called by Drew. I don't suppose that Ric can take Robert's job now that he's out and about, can he? Regardless of Felicia and Anna's talk this episode unless it's roped into Valentin coming back (Ugh), I don't expect to see Robert any time soon.

 

Ooooo...they remembered it should be Isaiah/Jordan and not Isaiah/Molly. Hehe.

 

I am not at all liking Drew (though sidenote CM suuuuure has been wearing those pants the last few days cuz that bubble...Mmm), but Drew ain't wrong in telling Carly off. I still laugh at how fast he dropped her when he found out Jason was back in town. And he's right. I also enjoyed Carly telling Jason off.

 

Lucky ain't s@#$. Which is not what I had in mind when I found out he was coming back. And that is nothing against JJ at all, either. Actingwise, he has been on point. But after Liz reading him, I really don't want him anywhere near her if he is going to keep whining like this. 

 

Another uneven week. Good week, but it just felt like there are these good pieces, but they just don't fit to form a puzzle.

Same.

 

But the potential is there. Just coming off of last week, I see it, but...gotta keep them 'factory settings' going.

 

 

[Antoyne]

Now you got me wanting Ric to take Robert’s job

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[Taoboi]

I'm just saying. lol. 

 

The transition would be seamless. And I'm all for him vs Jason, too. The adversarial chemistry is even better than the tension between Jason and Drew. 

[DRW50]

I think Stephen was wonderful in his first year or so as Stefan - smoldering, easy chemistry with everyone, and a genuinely mysterious figure. The Stefan/Katherine nonsense took most of his edge away, and even though Guza created the character, I don't think he ever found him again after returning to the show. I lost count of how many times they retconned Nik's paternity, Helena overshadowed Stefan, and he felt emasculated. The complete tedium of Stefan/"Lasha" did not help, but it was beyond that - the Cassadines in general seemed to lose the sense of dread they brought to the canvas in 1996, and it never has returned. That's one of the reasons I don't care that much about a revival. The only one in the long term who kept that menace was Constance Towers, often in spite of the show's best efforts (like Luke humiliating Helena by showing her nude portrait).

Ned and Alexis weren't unpopular with fans, but I mainly remember a great deal of apathy surrounding them, and with most material surrounding Ned post-Lois. I felt like they became a default pairing. That's one of the reasons Jax/Alexis were so much more vibrant to me early on, before it became obvious, like with Jason/Carly, the pairing would never happen, and there were some misogynist reasons as to why (allegedly).

DAYS is right up there too.

(not getting into canceled soaps - if we were, Loving would be in the mix too)

Edited November 19, 2024 by DRW50

[Taoboi]

Yep. Pretty much.

 

Same.

 

 

[Antoyne]

The second they locked eyes you just felt the animosity, history, and hatred.

11/19

Really thought the funeral was very well done today. Absolutely loved all the flashbacks. The GH cast for the most part has aged pretty well despite how bad the lighting is on the show.

Kelly really looked alive in the flashbacks and I have to wonder when she became the zombie a lot of us now remember her as? Hell even those early Dante and Sam flashbacks she seemed happy and more like the early Sam in the flashbacks.

[Taoboi]

Very.

 

That scene on Friday...MMmmmm. I was here for all of it. 

 

So they want Liz with who? lol.

[carolineg]

I don't know if the material around Ned/Lois post-Lois was the any writers fault.  Didn't Rena go on mat leave and make it known she basically wasn't coming back since her contract was up soon?  A lot of plans including Jax/Lois were entirely scrapped.  It did feel like Ned was in limbo for awhile and just sort of let Lois go, but I thought the very slow intro to Ned and Alexis was acceptable.

The whole Jax/Chloe/Alexis/Ned storyline was fun and Alexis/Jax had chemistry to spare.  I didn't even mind the Jax/Chloe pairing too much.  It felt nice and light even if TS/IR lacked major chemistry.  It was an appropriate pairing directly after the drama that was his and Brenda's relationship and Jax still mourning Brenda's death.

I thought most of the antipathy came towards Ned/Alexis during the Eddie's Angels and runaway bride stories.  That mostly soured me on them because it felt so silly and unnecessary.  This, to me, begins the descent into heavily neurotic, almost ditzy Alexis that moves through the Sonny affair, and ends with the story that was Dobson the butler.

[DRW50]

That likely is when the antipathy began. I was barely bothering at that point. I have a vague memory of a scene where he was carrying Alexis out of a room...

The main problem with Chloe was trying to replace Brenda in Jax's life. She was perfectly pleasant, but it was an impossible task for the viewers who loved Brenda. I think it made sense to go with someone who was very different to Brenda, but the pairing also underscored that Jax just wasn't very compelling without a strong scene partner. I was not really into Jax/Brenda either, but I can admit now that Vanessa did a lot of heavy lifting. Tava Smiley couldn't. I think NLG could have, but the show wasn't going to go there, for whatever deeply sad reason.

The story also seemed to go on and on with an underwhelming conclusion, because in a story like that, when you have mixed marrieds, you expect more tension and maybe a surprise ending. Otherwise why are you telling the story? They never had a story where Sonny married Lois and Ned married Brenda. 

I don't know if it is the writers' fault, or anyone's fault, per se, about Ned post-Lois. I do think the decision to focus on his self-imposed martyrdom to the Quartermaines and being a sanctimonious ass was extremely tiresome. As I also had little interest in seeing Wally Kurth rock out, there was little of value for me with the character. I think Ned just wasn't an interesting character most of the time and it was only the Lois period that truly clicked with a lot of fans.

Edited November 20, 2024 by DRW50