Well Happy Anniversary to Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten for making it to two (count them TWO) years of being head-writers together.

So I was curious to see what everyone else thought of them.

I'm sure my thoughts are clear. I did not like their first year. In fact, I stopped at one point during it because I found it so frustrating after the brief (and IMHO better even with BTS drama) head writing tenure of Patrick Mulcahey. I thought there were some good ideas there...some of which was piggybacked off of Mulcahey's leftovers. And after observing for a while, I prefer (and still prefer in fact) the episodes where Korte is at the top of the HW list over CVE due to her at least trying to write from an emotional place with history nods where I found CVE to be all...what I like to call as everyone knows...wacka wacka slapsticky humor. Humor that does not land with me.

This year though I came back. And part of that was that I saw that there were movements in plot. And they became quite good at what I call shifting. There could be a main story going on and when they put that story on the backburner, they were able to shift to a new main story without at all losing that momentum. I admit to being impressed by that because there were months where that was happening and it was...awesome.

The problem parts for me:

THAT WACKA WACKA HUMOR. While they appear (since I'm playing catch-up) to have pulled back on it...and for most of Year Two I have felt they did an excellent job of pulling themselves back from that impulse to jump off the writing cliff into Wacka-Wacka Land...that has not taken away from the recent period of its return which made catching up a chore. Thankfully, they climaxed storylines around that same time. Otherwise, I just MUTE.

WHAT IS IN ROMANCE? I said this at the start of the year. I also said it again halfway through. But it bears repeating during this anniversary. It's been two years since Korte and CVE took over...and their writing still has not progressed to the point where they can't write a diverse amount of ADULT romance? Must all the adults play their romance like teenagers with the plot devices of slapstick to go with it? Can't the conflict just be...internal of the characters themselves? Worse, Korte and CVE made it clear at the beginning of the year which romances they would make center this year. Sadly, outside of the start of Jason/Britt 2.0 (which was flawed itself) and Emma/Gio...they were all pairings I just don't care about. And they also screamed agenda...another turn-off for me. Seriously, it's been two years. Do better.

AGENDA. Well, it speaks for itself. Trina's isolation. The black cast and their stories. Saint Val of the Butt Crack. Nuff said. Not that I can do anything about it cuz...as I say frequently...Frank gonna Frank. It was not as bad as it used to be. When we would get great story momentum and then it would abruptly fall apart as if someone named Frank had his hands in all the plotting. But it's still there. I do love that during my tv system crash break that everyone commented on how there were four white guys running around like they were the Ford brothers in how alike they looked. Nuff said.

I LIKE SEEING MY VETS BUT...In what world does Laura...who has kids on the canvas or Liz...who has kids out there and so many connections...have less story than Saint Val of the Butt Crack? I mean really? At least we get to see vets on this show. I am happy to have Anna back...and looking fierce if not back to normal in the viewing I'm doing. I am always here for Felicia and Mac. I can't talk enough about how I'm looking forward to Serena's first scenes due to my love of PC...a long time coming. (Side-note...BYE, JACUTTA!!!)...and how that connects to Lucy. A break apparently seems to be doing Steve Burton good cuz I'm thinking not-nice thoughts...hehe...but happy to see Jason back and sounds like they might be running with another of PM's leftover tales. But...couldn't the stories be better and NOT propping?

Overall, Year Two HAS been better than Year One, but...room for improvement for me. Those are just the things that I have a serious problem with in spite of overall enjoying the show more.

What about the rest of you?

Nothing will truly change unless Frank is replaced

What's crazy is that Chris Van Etten has now been at the helm for nearly 9 years now.

10 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

What's crazy is that Chris Van Etten has now been at the helm for nearly 9 years now.

And every one of those years, GH has been the best/most watchable soap on the air. I watch every soap and never FF as a scene (except love scenes), and GH is consistently the best. Maybe Y&R under the new regime will give GH some competition because I just don't see DAYS/BTG/B&B giving GH a run for top soap.

Just now, Toups said:

And every one of those years, GH has been the best/most watchable soap on the air. I watch every soap and never FF as a scene (except love scenes), and GH is consistently the best. Maybe Y&R under the new regime will give GH some competition because I just don't see DAYS/BTG/B&B giving GH a run for top soap.

Oh, absolutely.

Even now, when it's in a bit of a lull, and the revolving door is revolving at warp speed, it blows all the other soaps out of the water.

I have been consistently watching since just before Rory took over as Michael. It’s the longest I have watched daily since the era of Spencer/Trina after Ron was ousted. Drew as a scumbag and Willow as unhinged and them trying to destroy each other has been the engine that kept giving.

What I don’t like- There is very little emotional core and virtually zero depth in all their stories, because they don’t explore the characters anymore they just regurgitate plot. That is also part of why they have a terrible time telling romance stories.

I think it’s pretty telling that the actors playing Spencer and Trina, and now Geo and Emma basically willed their romance stories into existence by doing it themselves with looks, holding hands, bringing their own intensity to underwritten parts. Everything is one level, nobody is dramatic or soapy anymore. Where is the longing, the heartbreak, the jealousy, the passion?

It’s also hard to reconcile who these people are anymore. Sonny and Carly do not remotely seem like the same characters. Nor does Anna. Lulu and the recently departed Ethan both lacked that Spencer grit and sense of play.

What I do like- it’s been bland and thinly written before since Valentini took over as EP. At least now they paper over that with constant twists, attempts to shock the audience, stories that move fast (until they slow them down or drop them).

Tracy is probably the vet they use the best. During the brief Mulcahey run she was almost pushed too far into nice. It looked more like morphing her into Jane than Tracy mellowing out to me. But I will give Korte/Van Etten credit for putting the edge back into Tracy, while also maintaining her recent growth as the Q matriarch. She still has more patience and shows how much she cares about her family more easily, but she also got back her bite and vindictiveness.

Jason’s slow return to the Quartermaines has also been welcome. It happened gradually and organically. I know fans have spent decades wanting him to get his original memories back. I prefer this Jason, the weight of his choices having caught up with him, trying to connect with his son and family wanting to avoid what he has watched Sonny’s choices do- all but destroy his own family over the years. This way they can trot out Stone Cold if they need to, and also let him have a real emotional tie to his family again. I don’t need the boring Jason to ever come back.

Willow/Drew just works. Although right now they are in transition and it would be a mistake to not soften Drew just a little bit, and keep them in the same orbit. Because without that it quickly goes back towards letting Willow go full tilt, kill Drew and Nina and be done with all three. Drew as the nasty Q was very needed. But there is a limit for longevity. Alan and Tracy were not saints, but they lasted because they had more going on than just spoiled scumbags.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by titan1978

The show barely feels like it has writers most of the time. There are a few basic story points but they are stretched out in clumsy ways if they aren't just dropped.

GH is a vibrant show, it rarely gets (really) dull. Something is always happening.
The show seems to respect the vets.

GH has sets!
I am really bored with the WSB stories.

When was the last time they (or any other soap) did a ROMANTIC story? People just get involved and have drama. After that they get involved with someone else. Sometimes the soap romances seem AI dictated, there is never any depth.

Another problem I have with the show is that I have no idea how to describe what it is about. And I can feel it while watching. The hospital? The Qs? The mob? The WSB? The Cassadines? Deception? I would love for the show to be tighter in some ways.

But the thing is that GH has been the best show on air for several years (with its several problems) and I think it is all Frank Valentini.

3 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

GH has sets!

I have my issues with Frank, but sets is never one of them. I will always go to bat for the fact that he always gives the show its set and they are shuffled around enough that it never gets boring. PC really feels like a city.

3 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

When was the last time they (or any other soap) did a ROMANTIC story?

Dani and Andre on BTG. And the fact that that was not at all the main plan for either of them and it still came together organically (they started as FWBs) and turned...in spite of the writers...into a hot couple for the audience was superb. Thankfully, the writers came around somewhat.