8 hours ago, Vee said:

I liked Karen a lot on PC but the original character just always seems to have been shoehorned to me. They needed a heroic young girl to try to build a youth set after the dire death of Monty II and they brought her in, and got lucky with her and Antonio Sabato in a moment when they really needed a little heat while Riche tried to reconceive the larger show. Then they made her Scott's kid literally on her way out the door while Kin was already gone (truly a bizarre move). That link paid off on PC, but never on GH itself. Karen to me was a precursor to young leads that really connected to the core and had staying power - Brenda, Robin, even Carly and Elizabeth, etc. So at this point I just see no purpose, especially when Serena (and the oft-forgotten Christina, no relation to Kristina) are alive and well to use. Both of whom I'd bring on, to shore up Lucy at least as much as Scott.

(I'd eventually reincorporate the presumably-deceased Livvie Locke via a child of hers to shore up Kevin, but that is a whole other story. I would probably not bring Livvie back or Kelly Monaco.)

Duhon allegedly had real issues with his female leading ladies that pretty much tanked his promising run. I don't recall if there was a drug component as well. It was a waste because it was a good character and a talented actor.

I often wonder how long Karen would have lasted in the 90's.  My assumption it that ASJ would always have left since his career was red hot back then and with Brenda, Robin, and Carly coming into prominence I could see her part being minimized.  I suppose she could have filled the romance role that Keesha did with Jason/AJ and a Dr. is always needed, but I don't see Karen with much staying power on the main show.  The young adult scene was very crowded in the 90's.

I don't think I ever heard Duhon had drug issues-just problems with JMB and Kirsten Storms.  I think Kin spoke very highly of him.  I believe Duhon also went on a post-GH press tour claiming how talented he was and how GH would regret firing him or something of the sort.  That's why he was never picked up by another show despite being actually talented lol.  In fact, I don't think Duhon has worked since GH anywhere.

22 minutes ago, bossruen said:

I thought the Tracy/Lucy scenes were great. They allowed the writers to acknowledge Monica as she truly was, especially her turbulent history with Alan.

It was far more meaningful than watching actors who never shared scenes with Leslie talk about what a saint Monica supposedly was.

I thought those scenes really worked too.  Lucy knew Monica and it was meaningful given their history even if Tracy/Lucy aren't close.  

I do agree with @DRW50 that it would be nice for Tracy to talk to Cody and Stella about Monica since they are her friends and care about her though.

The whole week should've been dedicated to Monica. Secondary stories could've waited until next week. Gave more time for flashbacks and popups with from old castmembers. 

But they dont know how to write soaps anymore....

Edited September 23Sep 23 by Marco Dane

22 minutes ago, Marco Dane said:

The whole week should've been dedicated to Monica. Secondary stories could've waited until next week. Gave more time for flashbacks and popups with from old castmembers. 

But they dont know how to write soaps anymore....

I don't mind other stories happening this week.  I do agree the main focus should be Monica.  I would cut the dog nonsense and would have re-introduced Nathan next week.  I can understand GH having those stories going on in hopes lapsed viewers who come back to watch Monica's funeral will find those other stories interesting and keep watching.

What old cast members would you suggest?  I am having trouble thinking of anyone.  Robin?  Most of the people closest to Monica are either dead on the show or unfortunately passed away in real life.   I would love a Sean Kanan AJ back from the dead pop up lol.

Amber Tamblyn was the only Emily Quartermaine for me.  I just couldn't get into Natalia Livingston's Emily. I know Natalia's Emily has appeared as a spirit to usher characters into the afterlife.  But I'd prefer Amber's Emily to do that for Monica.  Amber did appear on the GH 60th anniversary primetime special that aired in January 2024, so it seems she does feel connection with the show.

 

Credits for Tuesday, September 23, 2025:

Created by: Frank & Doris Hursley
Executive producer: Frank Valentini
Head writers: Chris Van Etten, Elizabeth Korte
Writers: Emily Culliton, Scott Sickles, Cathy Lepard
Director: Denise Van Cleave

I can’t believe this is the path they are taking with Britt. In what world would Jason want to be with her with the way she is acting currently? With Drew they at least decided he’s a bastard, let’s roll with it. They aren’t spending a lot of time trying to make the audience sympathize with him.

Tracy really broke my heart today. Monica is her last tie to her own past with her family.

Edited September 23Sep 23 by titan1978

Drewfus villian turn is so simple it's brilliant. He's jealous of Jason and Michael 

30 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I can’t believe this is the path they are taking with Britt. In what world would Jason want to be with her with the way she is acting currently? With Drew they at least decided he’s a bastard, let’s roll with it. They aren’t spending a lot of time trying to make the audience sympathize with him.

Like I said the other day: By the time they dig into the plot-driven reasons for some (not all) of her doubling down it won't matter to the audience. The Rocco thing they've tried to whitewash is a poisoned chalice in and of itself as well.

It doesn't surprise me they overreached, it just surprises me how extreme it's been so quick. Someone in-house (probably CVE based on the vibe I've gotten over the years, but who knows) thinks Britt actually is the fierce gay icon they tried to sweatily reverse-engineer her into, and that all of this is a winning formula. It's not, and the limits of what KT can lift as an actress and screen personality are always apparent when they give her too much.

 

33 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I can’t believe this is the path they are taking with Britt. In what world would Jason want to be with her with the way she is acting currently?

As @Vee mentioned, I assume they are going to walk back Britt's behavior with the drugs she's taking or with something worse like a brain chip.  Unless FV thinks Britt's behavior is bitchy, diva, and funny, which is possible considering we are supposed to find the "Britch" nickaname funny.  Perfectly acceptable for a 40 year old Dr.

57 minutes ago, carolineg said:

As @Vee mentioned, I assume they are going to walk back Britt's behavior with the drugs she's taking or with something worse like a brain chip.  Unless FV thinks Britt's behavior is bitchy, diva, and funny, which is possible considering we are supposed to find the "Britch" nickaname funny.  Perfectly acceptable for a 40 year old Dr.

This is the biggest gripe I have! These are grown ass people. I would have no issue with Emma calling her that, they have history and she is young.

All this Leslie Charleson talk at the same time as this rough Britt re-entry just makes me think about her work as Monica. Monica was vicious to Lesley Webber. And Alan (who gave as good as he got). Awful to Jeff. But she was also portrayed as a good doctor, had steady as a rock Gail Baldwin to call her out and also support her, etc. Played by an actress who could show all facets of a complicated woman while also having vulnerability. And she was a smart ass! When the Quartermaines argued you could always count on Monica to be the sarcastic one. On paper this is exactly what they want from Britt, but she can’t do it with the writing they give her, and I’m not sure if she is a strong enough actress to pull it off.

I love how much people have been hating on Lulu on other forums, and even many of them are taken aback by this Rocco story. I keep seeing “ I still hate pushy Lulu, but…”. It’s cracking me up!

21 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

This is the biggest gripe I have! These are grown ass people. I would have no issue with Emma calling her that, they have history and she is young.

All this Leslie Charleson talk at the same time as this rough Britt re-entry just makes me think about her work as Monica. Monica was vicious to Lesley Webber. And Alan (who gave as good as he got). Awful to Jeff. But she was also portrayed as a good doctor, had steady as a rock Gail Baldwin to call her out and also support her, etc. Played by an actress who could show all facets of a complicated woman while also having vulnerability. And she was a smart ass! When the Quartermaines argued you could always count on Monica to be the sarcastic one. On paper this is exactly what they want from Britt, but she can’t do it with the writing they give her, and I’m not sure if she is a strong enough actress to pull it off.

Britt is acting like a spoiled child.  She can't close a window, but can run an entire hospital.  Small things like that matter.  

I don't think KT has ever had the depth to play a multi-faceted vixen/villain/anti-heroine, whatever she's supposed to be.  Even today with Jason talking about Monica she was sympathetic but turned it around to herself saying it's better Jason didn't get to say goodbye. She knows from experience.  Like what?   She has the emotional maturity of a 12 year old.

There's almost a lack of any rational thought within Britt's mind.  Ben/Rocco is her son, Jason needs to do her bidding, Carly should cater to her free housing needs, everyone should open their arms now she's not dead with no questions asked.  

And Lulu and Dante are the bad guys because they don't want some embryo stealing criminal that fakes their death regularly around their son.

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

As @Vee mentioned, I assume they are going to walk back Britt's behavior with the drugs she's taking or with something worse like a brain chip.  

I don't expect them to blame a chip in her brain or anything sci-fi unless it gets really rough and she starts circling the Natalia drain lol. Which her reentry occasionally reminds me of atm! But I do think some of her behavior re: Rocco, Jason, etc. is being presented onscreen as her 'having defensive walls up' or 'trying to protect them' from her evil employer, so she acts out.

What's funny is her sweaty, clearly unsettled fans on social media trying to put all this over as something we should all embrace, when both Kelly and the writing team have never been nearly good enough to rise above this kind of nastiness and make it nuanced enough to work. We're not exactly dealing with Sarah Brown here, and I both hated Sarah's Carly and was fascinated by her in equal measure in the late '90s.

Yeah... Portia is a raging douche.

At this point, I'd rather Curtis go back to Jordan. And that they find someone new for Isaiah as well.

As far as all this talk about legacy kids- I would absolutely hire Cary Schroeder away from the military (IDK if she is still active or not), and bring Serena Baldwin back to town.

When we had Maxie, Cooper, Lulu, Logan, Georgie, Dillon, and Spinelli, I was thrilled. While lacking majorly in diversity, they were at least all engaging and had enough going on that it felt like the show had just created its future with all those characters to build on. And they dismantled it way too quickly. It’s another of the JFP/Guza era blunders I can’t get over.

I was really into Karen when she was on the show. And then when they left the rest of the show was so good that I didn’t miss them at all.