12 minutes ago, prefab1 said:

Both the character and actor are lousy. I can't believe he's been on and off the show for over 12 years now.

It's odd Brad was the character they kept over Felix. I would have dumped them both, but Felix at least was a good guy. I guess Britt propping gets you a lot farther than Sabrina propping lol.

7 minutes ago, carolineg said:

It's odd Brad was the character they kept over Felix. I would have dumped them both, but Felix at least was a good guy. I guess Britt propping gets you a lot farther than Sabrina propping lol.

It's because Parry Shen [sic] had chemistry with Ryan Carnes and they got a following. They let that ride even though Carlivati's initial endgame was clearly supposed to be Lucas and Felix, his brief favorite. Brad and Lucas was supposed to be the obstacle.

Edited December 18, 2025Dec 18 by Vee

35 minutes ago, Vee said:

It's because Parry Shen [sic] had chemistry with Ryan Carnes and they got a following. They let that ride even though Carlivati's initial endgame was clearly supposed to be Lucas and Felix, his brief favorite. Brad and Lucas was supposed to be the obstacle.

Fair enough. Marc Samuel and Carnes didn't have much chemistry, but I don't think Shen/Carnes had enough to change the course. Neither pairing was great.

21 minutes ago, Vee said:

It's because Parry Shen [sic] had chemistry with Ryan Carnes and they got a following. They let that ride even though Carlivati's initial endgame was clearly supposed to be Lucas and Felix, his brief favorite. Brad and Lucas was supposed to be the obstacle.

Brad also seems like a proto-Leo, and we know how Ron adored Leo.

34 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I don't think Shen/Carnes had enough to change the course. Neither pairing was great.

It was diverting at best and got worse over time with heavier story. Now Brad is just scum agan.

Edited December 18, 2025Dec 18 by Vee

Credits for Thursday, December 18, 2025:

Created by: Frank & Doris Hursley
Executive producer: Frank Valentini
Head writers: Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten
Writers: Emily Culliton; Steven Rosenberg and Cathy Lepard
Director: Tina Keller

The end of Wednesday's show was such a joke, treating the reunion of Britt and Brad like it was something similar to the reunion of say Luke and Robert? 🤮🤮

7 minutes ago, Jdee43 said:

The end of Wednesday's show was such a joke, treating the reunion of Britt and Brad like it was something similar to the reunion of say Luke and Robert? 🤮🤮

That's how much this team (I suspect it's mostly CVE at this point but who knows) loves their own forced mythology re: these two asshóles.

7 hours ago, titan1978 said:

I don’t think so either. I think the volume and speed they work necessitated him coming up with a tighter version of the filming model he was using on OLTL, and he can’t change what he does anymore either by lack of vision, control, his own taste, or all of the above.

Right away the longer scenes were going to be a problem. Right away using Sam so much was going to be a problem. The deeper focus on character just isn’t what he does anymore, if he ever did it. When Shelley Curtis was on MB’s show and said even in these days every script should have the set of scenes that are the focus, and they should be given more care and time to breathe. MVJ on Soapy just said those short scenes for everything are not the way to go. But that would entail him changing what he does, and he’s just not going to do that.

With Geary’s passing I have been finding random 1990’s episodes on YouTube and watching the whole show. It’s fascinating how much emotion is there compared to today. Every episode had something that was an emotional centerpiece. When you watch that and then turn on today the show is so hollow.

One of the reasons I appreciate Jane Elliot's work so much is she often manages to find that small emotion in scenes even with the way the show is now structured. I think Dominic does too, among others.

I have a lot of respect for Laura Wright in her work ethic, being a daytime survivor, etc. but I think what you have mentioned lacking in GH in recent times is one of the reasons I still never quite see her as Carly. The emotions I should be feeling from Carly or for Carly are not there for me.

8 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I have a lot of respect for Laura Wright in her work ethic, being a daytime survivor, etc. but I think what you have mentioned lacking in GH in recent times is one of the reasons I still never quite see her as Carly. The emotions I should be feeling from Carly or for Carly are not there for me.

I still blame that more on the pace, production schedule and shallow short scenes. Laura will never be my preferred Carly but I have defended her as selling it from Day 1. In the Guza years she still had some nuanced beats or emotions to play from time to time, and during Jason's initial return last year (again, when PM was on the scene) they gave her some quieter, more emotional stuff with him re: Bobbie, etc. that I thought was very unshorn and strong.

I also thought she did well with the Bobbie memorial eps and Kristina Wagner and Jane shortly before that, particularly when she talked about how Ruby had essentially trafficked Bobbie. Tracy noted that what Ruby did was seen as something else in those days, and Carly quietly and kindly took that but said that it was still what it was. She understood the nuance of the backstory and didn't overplay it as outrage or anger.

I think when Laura has to simply service plot beats she goes hard at them because that's what she's expected to do. I don't really put that on her, and I think Carly's role is also often different from some other characters. She has to push more and do it harder and louder a lot of the time. They give cartoonish stuff to Tracy too, but generally give Carly less facets on the page these days.

30 minutes ago, Vee said:

I still blame that more on the pace, production schedule and shallow short scenes. Laura will never be my preferred Carly but I have defended her as selling it from Day 1. In the Guza years she still had some nuanced beats or emotions to play from time to time, and during Jason's initial return last year (again, when PM was on the scene) they gave her some quieter, more emotional stuff with him re: Bobbie, etc. that I thought was very unshorn and strong.

I also thought she did well with the Bobbie memorial eps and Kristina Wagner and Jane shortly before that, particularly when she talked about how Ruby had essentially trafficked Bobbie. Tracy noted that what Ruby did was seen as something else in those days, and Carly quietly and kindly took that but said that it was still what it was. She understood the nuance of the backstory and didn't overplay it as outrage or anger.

I think when Laura has to simply service plot beats she goes hard at them because that's what she's expected to do. I don't really put that on her, and I think Carly's role is also often different from some other characters. She has to push more and do it harder and louder a lot of the time. They give cartoonish stuff to Tracy too, but generally give Carly less facets on the page these days.

I was repulsed by a lot of Guza's second run so I probably am not the best judge, but with Carly, I really need to feel those emotions as being out of control and needy and insecure was her guiding force. Without that Carly is never quite the same to me. Laura is a real pro and has held the character together in what she was elevated into being, I just miss that humanity. I do remember her managing to play it when MVJ reintroduced some of this during her headwriting stint.

4 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Laura is a real pro and has held the character together in what she was elevated into being, I just miss that humanity. I do remember her managing to play it when MVJ reintroduced some of this during her headwriting stint.

MVJ was only briefly a co-HW in late '00 or early '01 before Jill arrived and installed McTavish, but I do take your point.

Sarah Brown has been very public about how much Geary meant to her. And truthfully, Sarah Brown is the only Carly that felt like a Spencer. Tamara Braun was slightly too polished, and Laura Wright has always felt like a spoiled brat all grown up. Jennifer Bransford had that grit, but it didn’t work for what they wanted Carly to be at that time. It may never have worked to be honest, she felt like Carly took a wrong turn and lost everything and was mostly just bitter. Which was a Sliding Doors option for SJB’s version.

The stuff I said about finding the emotion, in every Labine episode I have watched over the last couple of days something moving happens. And these were not the big moments, not Stone dying or BJ’s heart. Just quiet scenes where they leaned into the heart of the matter. 1996 Guza has those spots too, but they are more about damage and less about hope as a tone.

16 minutes ago, Vee said:

MVJ was only briefly a co-HW in late '00 or early '01 before Jill arrived and installed McTavish, but I do take your point.

Oh right...I must be thinking of Wolf. I thought MVJ was headwriting somewhere in that timeframe.

Well, at least we got our first taste of wacky hijinks from Brad/Britt. ☹️ Let's order an expensive dinner without asking who's paying ha ha ha! I hope Jason can stop being up Joss's butt in time to pay so they don't have to hilariously wash dishes together or something.