Dateline Port Charles: Renta-Yenta Edition

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Thank you OP!

Spinelli looks FTM

Is Brad's job just to do whatever his aunt tells him and also be Britt's GBF while having no love life or sex life of his own?

R4 Basically, I don't know why they haven't brought Lucas back I thought the last actor was cute. Though honestly I've always felt Lucas should be more of a flamboyant gay. I don't remember his biological mother, but his biological aunts include both Tiffany Hill and both Olivia St. John and Ava Jerome. His adopted mother is Bobbie Spencer and his adopted sister is Carly. Even his father Julian is quite dramatic. He should be a much, much more interesting character.

Really stupid that Lucas and Brad haven’t been in this never ending Wiley drama. Instead we get dopey Michael trying to take down Sonny.

Why is Spinelli dressed like an extra from Miami Vice?

Uh oh

To distract from that unfortunate face R7

Who are they planning on pairing Spinelli with? Maxie has Austin. Sam has Dante. Those would have been the two most obvious ones. I guess that leaves Britt but Cody seems to be warming to her. He still seems to be attracted to Maxie, so I guess Nurse Amy's size wouldn't be a problem for him. Plus, unlike Maxie, I'd say Amy is fat but still attractive, like Blanche's daughter on Golden Girls. He also seems like the kind of guy that would go for a tranny, so if Chet leaves I guess he could date Terry. I have honestly been surprised that there hasn't been more of an reaction to that story. I know its been very chaste but still, soapfans usually react to such things.

Who could be man enough (or crazy enough) for the Dragon Lady Selina Wu? I think she would mate like a praying mantis or a black widow spider 🕷

I think only Liesl could handle her.

I’m rooting for a Sonny/Selina one-nighter while Nina is away.

So we find out that Dex is working for Michael. The first meeting we see between them, they act like they don't know each other, but there was no one else around. Who was going to say anything, the horse?

Dex needs to fuck Michael, hard. I want to see him bent over a bale of hay, begging for mercy and wearing my tack gear.

I’d like to see Spinelli and Christina in a boss’ daughter kind of thing

Liesel has a fat arse!

Am I dreaming or did yesterday’s episode feature neither Carly nor Sonny? How rare is that?

Have they ever explained Max's absence?

R18 I think they've had Diane mention him a few times. I guess they are still together but he is like Audrey, in that the character is still alive and living in the Port Charles universe, we just never see them on camera.

I hope when Rachel Ames passes on, they honor her and Audrey like they did with Steve in 1996, Edward in 2012 and Lee and Gail more recently. Emily McLaughlin only got a moment of silence and no mention of Jessie's passing until 1993. There was a mention of Leslie Charleson retiring in some obscure gossip website but nothing on any of the official soap sites, but she hasn't been on since February, with a one day replacement for her. Hope she's doing well.

Did Stuart Damon ever get a memoriam episode? Not just an acknowledgement at the end but a full episode?

R20 I hope she hasn't retired she deserves to play a major role in the anniversary episode next year. Then if she wants to retire, say that Monica is now living on a tropical isle with her boy toy Uri.

There was one when Alan died which is when the show officially died. Killing him off was a huge mistake. But Leslie got some juicy material with him in the hospital and later on after Alan passed away. I didn't watch the episode where they honored Stuart when he died.

R23 Two of the stupidest deaths on soaps, was Alan on GH and John Abbott on Y&R. They were both unnecessary deaths that harmed the shows in numerous ways.

R24 Played by two actors who had great screen charisma as well with everyone they worked with. The other unnecessary screen death was of Liz Foster on "Y&R". Juliana McCarthy objected to the mess of the Jill paternity story from the start, and was told they'd recast if she didn't come back. Legacy characters deserve better, even if they weren't there during the early years like Alan and John.

Is that asshole who’s playing Officer Cabrera whethered the storm about his racist tweets? Little punk.

I didn't realize these two were such close friends all these years.

Mikey Knight is pals with all the guys.

Frank never gave us a Stuart Damon tribute episode so we definitely won’t get an Audrey Hardy one.

Oh NO! Nelson Branco isn’t attending the Daytime Emmys! Who the fuck cares??? He got punched out by a soap actor the last time he showed up…..DRUNK!

Everyone hates Nellie. He acts like he’s still an insider. Pathetic.

R29 There is a difference, I don't think FV wanted to bring attention to the fact that they had fired SD. Since we have received episodes for Lee, Gail, and Sean, I fully expect an Audrey one, when the time comes.

Anthony Geary 1999 Daytime Emmy Reel

Reel #1 - Luke recounts to Lucky the night he raped Laura

Reel #2 - Luke hires a prostitute to listen to his problems

Thanks, R27! Only Michael E. Knight could get me to sit through an hour of Maurice Benard.

Did Audrey die? Oh no!

Surpised that we haven't seen a Alan Q tribute episode since they usually do that when the actor dies (Tony G being the exception).

Looks like there's scheduling issues with LC, so they're probably waiting until those are resolved. Maybe also holding off until Steve B comes back to the show

[quote] since they usually do that when the actor dies (Tony G being the exception).

Tony G is dead?

Lezley Charleson died? Oh dear. They’re all croaking off.

We were told today that the latest shipment of Corinthos Coffee is being held in the harbor, but we could all see that there is still plenty of black shoe polish in Port Charles

Boy, NuNuJordan sure is pretty but she makes the previous actress look like Dame Judi Dench. Her scenes with Mo were painful.

I totally agree about NuNuJordan. Huge miscast. Her acting teacher is Holly Gagnier (NuJennifer Smith) who is also Nicholas Chavez and Avery Pohl's acting teacher. Holly is not going to be able to make lemonade out of this lemon, there's nothing to work with. She needs to go back to modeling.

Why is Frank so stubborn about admitting when he's wrong? He seems to dig his heels in and keep miscasts just out of spite to the audience. All storylines involving Nik fall flat because Marcus is a one note dead behind the eyes amateur. The new cop that looks like a kid needs to go too.

NuTrina can act and is basically acceptable when she's not using the baby voice. No chemistry with Spencer though and even less with new cop. Whose bright idea was the Trina/Cop pairing? That person needs to be fired along with whomever put Austin/Maxie together.

Cody actor needs to look into a keto diet and get to the gym. Then I shall reassess the situation with him. Frank told JPS he needed to lose weight when he first came on the show, why hasn't he told this guy to cut back on the carbs?

JPS needed to lose weight? Is that why he looks borderline gaunt these days?

It happened a couple of years ago. JPS told the story in an interview. He said he responded to FV's criticism with "my wife has been doing a lot of baking lately..." to which FV said "Your wife doesn't want you to be on General Hospital?". A bit harsh on Frank's part I must say.

That comment was early in the pandemic. JPS wife had been cooking a lot during lockdown and he had gained some weight. Frank made the comment about his wife not wanting him to be on GH shortly after they returned to filming episodes.

Frank’s a prissy old queen.

GH is scheduled to air its 15,000th episode on Monday, June 20.

That is unless bearking news pushes the episode back a day or two.

Kober is in the cast photo for the 15k. I hope Cyrus comes back full time.

R43 He should have a a conversation with Maxie's actress.

How are they filming GH these days, wasn't the Michael actor gone and then came back and is now out again?

I actually like Cody's body. He looks like a guy that has a naturally fit body, like a farmhand or a construction worker, not a gym bunny. I prefer it. The actor, also, doesn't seem to have aged since Llanview.

Violet is very much from the Shirley Temple school of child acting, but she is Katherine Hepburn next to the Commissioner.

I agree about his body. He looks great with those shweet tiddies stuffed into a t shirt. I'm sure the body he had on OLTL took a lot of work, but he had no ass back then.

Cody is fat. Yuck.

Maxie leaves her three children to follow some man she barely knows into the woods. GH was next level yesterday.

BTW, is Mrs. Patsy Ramsey, formerly of Boulder, CO, aware of the existence of Violet?

Gonzo Greg Harrison is now on contract.

Frank isn’t going to tell Kirsten Storms to lose weight. She’s fat because she got clean. She calls him “Uncle Frank”. She’s his charity case.

R54 Fuck it you can be sober and not fat.

What is Frank's reason for not giving zombie KeMo the heave ho?

Hypothetically, I'd love to know how many (and which) characters Frank would get rid of if Geary came back for a year.

Recent reports says that Geary can't even stand on his own feet right now, let alone act on the show for a year.

Guess the chem test with Alexis and Gonzo Harrison worked.

Most of Maxie's children were born in the woods, so you'd like they'd really enjoy camping

I don't care if Geary can do it, and wouldn't want him to. I'm curious who is expendable to Frank.

I'd love to see NLG written off, too.

Gregory Harrison is the hottest guy on the show next to Chase.

Isn't it interesting that Kim Delany was originally the big get in the Chase family saga. Gregory Harrison was an afterthought.

Now, Kim's long gone and Greg is on contract.

When was the last time Jackie Templeton Chase was even mentioned?

I found Kim Delaney unappealing, off-putting really.

That closeup of the cereal may have been the most obvious product placement I've ever seen.

I’m sick of seeing TJ stuck in this maudlin Hat Daddy story. Nobody cares about their grandpa that much. And his do-gooder “life partner” Molly is a drip.

Dude should join the WSB and do shirt-off, action-hero stuff.

NLG could be written off! Alexis isn’t even a lawyer. Her Cassadine angle isn’t explored. She has no real rivalries.

I’m ready to lose LW and get back TB in the Carly role Once she’s available. The Carly character needs the reset.

Why can’t we recast Nik and bring back Lucky (Jeff Branson?) and OG Lulu? Maybe even a Lois recast could work with Gina T?

Is that Zelda Bernstein’s lesbian daughter?

[quote]Gonzo Greg Harrison is now on contract.

How fucking much was Steve Burton making? He left and Frank was able to hire 20 new contract players and God knows how many knews sets.

It is amazing how many new sets we've been getting. Astonishing. Even a yoga studio and a nail salon. Plus a new Metro Court restaurant set.

Compare that to Y&R where the characters only have one restaurant to eat in.

R68 They also reuse sets a lot. I'm fairly certain that the bar Joss and Trina went to today was a redress of the Tan-O and that Sasha and Brando's new apartment is a redress of Dr. Kim Nero's.

This Zelda woman seems like a tranny, and she has all the charm of Leona Helmsley.

Michael Easton and Roger Howarth have been in the business for DECADES and they’ve been reduced to bit players at a campfire singalong. The GH writers are reaching new lows these days.

Is Frank trying to get Roger to quit by pairing him with KStorms like he got The Staff to quit with the cult story?

This week has been really boring without the Nik/Ava/Spencer/Esme disaster. They should be guaranteed three eps a week.

I can see why Frank wants to devote time to Finn getting close to Liz’s kids, but Austin and Maxie? Who cares. Does Will Lipton somehow have the clout to insist on performing one of his own songs on the show?

Oh no, they teased us with LW skinny dipping and then denied us!

If we didn’t get Roger as Todd why didn’t GH capitalize on what I think he does best and bring him back as a real bag guy with complexity? Could have still been a Q but more early Todd. A real foil and force to reckon with even if short term! Austin feels like a Franco retread and I don’t enjoy the quirky goof act.

Haha bad not bag

Easton and Howarth can both go. They’re duds. Imagine the money that would free up.

[QUOTE]Oh no, they teased us with LW skinny dipping and then denied us!

Barf bags across America were relieved.

I wanna see LW’s snatch! Yumm yumm yummy!

Are they setting up Carly to get snagged for insider trading? Lose the hotel, go to jail, end up a broke bitch?

^^It would be interesting to see if Sonny finds out and uses the info to put the kibosh on Michael's plan to "destroy" him *and* force Michael to allow Nina visitation.

James Patrick Stuart had more Botox in his forehead today than the OC Housewives.

I love that Peter French kissed his aunt. That's soapy.

Not sure he's really Peter, R82. At times he has genuine goo-goo eyes for Anna, but other times he does come off as robotic and oddly detached. I'm still thinking brainwashed, but with bits and pieces of the real personality seeping through.

Whoever did the editing of today's episode, bravo. I loved how as one scene ended it was like a person in the next scene was answering them.

The two black guys in today’s episode looked the same. They could be twins. Let’s cast black actors who look the same. No wonder GH did not win the casting Emmy this year. Yeah, yeah, I know that these black actors were cast long ago and not in this year’s casting competition. But they do look alike.

His biological mother name is Cheryl Stansbury r5 but she ended up dying in a car crash.

I was surprised to learn Molly and TJ are a couple in real life. They have zero chemistry.

She likes the chocolate stick!

I hope she is less insufferable in real life.

Is there a new thread or did no one care about episode 15,000?

There's been a lot of primetime lately, R90.

The ep was pretty good, if not a little hokey. Genie looked great.

I would've liked more clips but I'm glad they reminded people of Scotty's past. He was such a cutie back then, they should've figured out a way to make Cam is long lost grandson, they look a lot alike.

That clip with Baby Laura and Boobie! I died.

How many different softball teams were playing in the tournament?!

The storyline was beyond ridiculous, the writing was beyond lazy, but it was still really nice to see everyone. And I assume their budget only allows for so many recurring characters per episode because that's the only excuse for not having Michael Knight there. It was kind of funny how all the women in the final bar scene had all slept with Scotty at one time or another, except for Anna and Felicia.

Genie just turned 60, and I believe Jackie Zeman is hovering around 70.

Oh who the fuck wants to see Jackie Zeman kiss anyone?

Other than the flashbacks and Cyrus, I thought it was pretty disappointing. Forcing Maxie into the Laura and Liz scenes was egregious (was that supposed to be an actual cosmetic product placement that didn't come to fruition?). Sonny and Carly, front and center, of course. Poor Genie.

"Unca Chase, have you been pwacticing yaw swings wike I told you?" Where's a drunk driving Luke when you need him...

Great that they spotlighted the show's veterans. (Have we already seen the last of LC on the show? She must not be iin very good health if she wasn't available to participate in this)

Glad that they highlighted what is really the strength of show - the core families. Characters will come and go (poor unmentioned Luke, we hardly knew you) but the legacies of the show is what keeps us coming back

Shoehorning Maxie into the Liz scenes was bizarre, but they didn't really have anyother place to fit Maxie in this episode.

Maxie's defense of Peter helped him to murder Liz's husband. Are a few lipsticks supposed to help with that?

Maxie, Sam and Carly could’ve stayed out of this episode. Same with that stupid Violet. I’m sick of that kid.

Poor NAC, ever the professional, was leading the “Laura!” cheer in the master shot at the end with so much enthusiasm while everyone else kinda just phoned it in.

R94 Lmao true Jackie Zeman is hovering around 70. She's actually approaching their door since she will be 70 next year.

R98 I will say that at least they had Maxie acknowledge in character that maybe she shouldn't have been there.

Maxie also scored drugs for Lucky during his drug addiction (and he was married to Liz at the time). He was sleeping with her to score drugs. Then when he tried to break it off with her she faked a pregnancy, then faked a miscarriage. Maxie has a long, sordid past with Elizabeth which makes me wonder why she was even there.

What the fuck is with all the preemptions?

Why no new episode today? It was a repeat.

Preempted for January 6 hearings on the East Coast, so the West Coast got a repeat episode.

Same thing happened on Tuesday. And will happen several days next week as well.

At this rate, the Fourth of July episodes will be airing on Aug 4

Is Frank on that booga suga?

r107 We haven't even begun May sweeps yet.

.,.,

So, who all was missing from Episode 15,000?

Monica

Martin

Valentin

Dante

Nina

Drew

Willow

Austin

Brando

Sasha

Gladys

Aunt Stella

Marshall

TJ

Molly

Jordan

Phyllis

Esme

Trina

Josslyn

Cameron

Aiden

Jake

Kristina

Nurse Amy

Dr. Terry

r111 All the writers.

The only ones on that list that would've made sense was:

Monica

Martin

Valentin

Cameron

Aiden

Jake

Dante should have been there too, r113.

Dante is Laura's former son-in-law, father to Laura's grandson Rocco.

And isn't Dante on the PCPD softball team? That alone warranted his presence in that episode.

R114 Yeah I meant to include him.

did they actually say that Esme is Ryan's daughter?

I'm getting the feeling Effme is the daughter of Mac and Felicia

r118

interesting.. this article refers to her as Ryan's

I watched today after a multi-year break. Ryan Lavery has about two expressions. Michael has only one. Sonny glancing at the cue cards is annoying. Brando flexing -- appealing, but the acting! The only things I enjoyed were Chase (always watchable), Greg Harrison (I've been drooling over him for decades), and BLG (always amusing).

Why is Marcus still employed at GH?

Esme is Ryan and Felicia's daughter.

Why did they let Sonny’s hair go gray only to dye it black again? It looked nice gray.

Maura West likes Marcus so he will stay employed.

These Willow scenes are unintentionally funny.

Well Maura is besties with Stafford and now she's Marcus' protector. Does Maura also worship at the altar of Xenu?

Brando looks like he has new choppers.

Willow's last scene was so choreographed that they may have brought in the stunt team. OK, 2,3,4, stagger, stagger, big turn, then fall back

And the dark circles under her eyes. Looked like Y-Lee punched mama in the face.

BLG, R112? Who dat?

I predict Nina buys out Carly's half of the MC. Her conversation with Olivia about having a right to be there because that's where Crimson is seemed to be setting that up. Or maybe a Nina-Ava consortium, which would be even more fun.

r131 I think they mean BLQ. Or BLTs at Kelly's.

"Stillwater Venture Group" Has this name ever come up before, or does the name itself hold any clues as to its owner's identity?

Apparently some DL posters have been wrong AG is still capable of standing, talking, and therefore acting.

DL posters wrong????? Never!!!

Anthony Geary's last remaining fan has joined the discussion at R134 . Please be sure to clearly mark your "Disorderlies" memorabilia so it can be returned after autographing.

I expect we haven't seen the last of Anthony Geary in PC.

Jane snatch eater Elliot is coming back!

R137 Me neither, there is no way they killed Luke off like that except in order to resurrect him.

I've never watched GL in my life but I came a across a YT clip of Cynthia Watros as Annie recently and got sucked into a rabbit hole of watching quite a few episodes from 97/98. She really was good and very pretty too. I also didn't find Snarly as irritating as she is on GH.

Why can't these soap "stars" such as MB, LW and SB understand that insisting their characters ALWAYS WIN and be on the screen EVERY DAY and involved in EVERY storyline does not endear them to most people. I could tolerate LW and MB if their guarantees were 2 or 3 times a week instead of every friggin day. Also, why don't those two ever go on vacation? They need a month or so off like Genie and Finola take in the summer, it would give the viewers a well deserved respite.

If Emma Samms and Tony Geary are returning - I don't think that's a good sign for Robert Scorpio.

How can Luke return with the no rapists policy at ABC?

R142 The 60th Anniversary is next April, #Metoo seems to have died down, and it is Luke "Fucking" Spencer, abc will forget about that memo.

"What memo..." answered the mice at the abc.

Frank is on downers or something. His post Emmy Win interview with Queen Fairman was something. I won’t link it but mother of fucking god Frank, show some energy. Show SOMETHING.

[quote] Why can't these soap "stars" such as MB, LW and SB understand that insisting their characters ALWAYS WIN and be on the screen EVERY DAY and involved in EVERY storyline does not endear them to most people.

It's also not interesting to most fans.

I'm an oldtimer soap fan and remember a few interviews where one of my favorites, Beverlee McKinsey, talked about that. It doesn't work when an actor always wants to "win" a scene or be the victor in the story. To sustain a long term story, even the alpha male in a story has to have ups and downs.

GH doesn't really write for the long term, and it doesn't do fan service well these days either. It's just "let's shit out a bunch of words on the page to get us through the next 30 days."

I think y'all are wrong about LW. I don't think she insists her character win anything. If you've followed anything in LW's career you can see that lady is down for anything. It's boring for most actors when their characters win all the time, but it's easy to play. This means they can get in and get out and not have to put any effort into what they're doing. Not too many actors would allow the two former, and better actresses who played the roll, to come back for that Carly special

MC dancing for Mo.

I don’t think LW liked having previous Carly’s on the cast at the same time otherwise wouldn’t they have lasted longer? Both actresses got a raw deal and would still to this day make a better Carly IMO

Marcus Coloma can cum inside me, anytime!

R146 I agree I don’t think she demands to win all the time it is just because she was/is tied to Sonny and MB insists on winning so Carly was included in that for a long time because of the pairing. I think she is down to have some fun as her character.

[quote]I don’t think LW liked having previous Carly’s on the cast at the same time otherwise wouldn’t they have lasted longer? Both actresses got a raw deal and would still to this day make a better Carly IMO

I don't think that had anything to do with Laura Wright and everything to do with the writing. And to be honest, sometimes lightning doesn't always strike twice with actors and roles.

And for the record I'm not some big Laura Wright fan, I could take her or leave her, but I just don't think she is an ego maniac who is making demands. She just seems like one of these people who knows how lucky she is to have been employed steadily for 30 years doing what she loves.

NO to Officer Cabrera! Cannot stand that little weasel who in real life is a homophobe.

Who should Carly be paired with? Anyone be down for a who’s the real Carly Corinthos story like OLTL did with the Two Todd’s. Could be interesting. Hopefully better than the Drew/Jason stupidity.

Since I've been watching, LW's Carly has had chemistry with 3 people. Jax, Todd Manning, and AJ. I think Ron was planning to do some kind of Alan/Monica thing with AJ and Carly.

Vee, who is in the biz you know, has vetoed all attempts to recast Carly. Vee is in the biz!

I'm surprised WR hasn't returned yet as a brand new character.

Vee, who’s in the biz, approves of this message.

Hang in there R156 . WR is behind that Valentin mask.

Carly and SK AJ was the best! Too bad we never got that. What about snatching Ted King from B&B? Alcazar and Carly redux could work. Jordi V from YR could make a good Jagger recast? Could he work with LW Carly? Cameron Lavery is a bust as Drew!

LW just doesn’t spark with male co-stars but if we got SJB or TB Carson could work and Jarly would make sense.

R126 Which is so weird because Michelle couldn't stand Maura when they worked together on Y&R and the majority of the time they were both on GH, yet they're friends now lol same for Michelle and Laura, they were more so cordial until Michelle didn't want to have anything to do with her either, now they're on good terms again. When Michelle left, except for James Patrick Stuart, Marcus, Cynthia and maybe a few more, she acted like she was done with them (especially Frank, which she still seems to be lol) there were rumors that Michelle's bipolar and would have outbursts on set (along with her trying to "groom" younger female co-stars, whatever that meant lol it could've meant towards her religion) so that may explain it

Marcus is a favorite on set lol we're stuck with him unless he decides to leave.

R140 Yes Cynthia was incredible as Annie while Laura was more tolerable as Cassie lol.

The whole "Sonny/Carly/Jason must always win was actually established by previous headwriters, such as Guza (Sonny/Jason his two favorites, though Carly was third; Sarah J. Brown was Carly when he first started as hw) and Elizabeth Korte (Carly is her favorite). Former hw Michele Val Jean voiced her concerns about that, saying how it hindered story for them to always win, yet that's how it was established and Brian Frons made it a point for them to always win too. Guza and Tamara Braun had many disagreements (as did Jill and Tamara) so if you notice during Tamara's years as Carly, Guza was passive aggressive in his writing, so her Carly suffered a lot. Charles Pratt was co-headwriter then and he's friends with Tamara, so his writing for Carly was more favorable (along with Korte, who was a scriptwriter under them; she loves the character irrespective of the actress) however Guza would make it a point to have Carly lose a lot. When Carly had her breakdown in 2005 that story was already planned months down the line with the intention of Tamara still being in the role, however she got into a screaming match with Jill shortly before quitting, forcing the recast of Jennifer Bransford (while Jill waited for Laura to be available from GL; Tamara was asked to stay at least six more months, then Sarah was asked to reprise Carly for the same amount of time, both refused). So it wasn't originally the actors insisting they're characters win, it was designated to them, and they became used to it. When Frons stepped down as head of daytime programming, Mo and Steve took that "we must always win" mentality with them, which didn't sit well with Ron (and Steve's travel schedule didn't sit well with Frank) which is why Steve quit in 2012, and why Maurice led the revolt to Ron being fired three years later.

R146 That was Ron's idea lol. He wanted Jennifer Bransford back too, yet she refused, which angered Frank. At that time Laura didn't really have much say so since Frank prevented her from being fired a little over two years prior to that.

R148 She wasn't too comfortable with either one being hired lol however she didn't get either one fired. Sarah initially had a conversation with Jill about coming back, although it was made clear not as Carly. Sarah never signed a contract for the nearly two years she was on, and from the beginning she had problems getting along with Wolf, Guza and other writers, resulting in her quitting to join Bold & Beautiful. Tamara's case is different in the sense that she was in talks with Frank behind the scenes to return as Carly for LW was planning to quit and join Young & Restless. When that didn't occur, Frank hired her as Kim, and the "rumor" is that he hired Wes Ramsey after Laura felt she was being "replaced" by Tamara (Steve had just returned, and ABC wanted a "return to narrative" for GH that fall, so Laura felt that was a slight to her with Tamara returning). Kim bombed and her issues with Frank & the writers caused Frank to not renew her contract.

For R162 I meant their characters not they're lol. For R163 I meant that Laura didn't have say so in the Carly's anniversary show episode, and as others mentioned, her demands aren't necessarily about story, except for that one instance where she was unhappy in her pairing with Shawn, expressing her desire for Carly to be with Patrick or Johnny (pretty much anyone except Shawn) though that's the story Guza intended; Wolf/Altman broke them up and started her off with Johnny, then Ron broke them up in favor of Carly/Todd. Laura's demands are more minimal, such as her parking space (which Maura mistakenly parked in when she first arrived; Laura let her know that was her spot, which Maura kindly apologized for since she didn't know) and her insistence on taking Jane Elliott's dressing room when she quit lol so those (along with Wes being hired of course) are more of demands, unlike how Maurice and Steve used to tank scenes and try to get actors fired (which they admitted was wrong).

Stafford is also very good friends with Finola. This past Christmas there was a video of JPS and FH singing and dancing at a Christmas party at Michelle's house with Christain Le Blanc. Finola and Staff did a short lived tv series together in the 90s, Pacific Palisades, and have been friends ever since. Finola very quietly got divorced last year.

When MS left GH a DLer/GH insider posted that Roger H. had demanded Nina and Franco be broken up after his wife was visiting the set one day and MS got up in his wife's face and started yelling. MS had also recruited the Sasha, Willow and old Jordan to help promote her skin care line. I'm sure the Xenu sales pitch was strong too. That's one of their tactics, telling young actors starting out that xenu's teachings will help them be more successful.

It is also a xenu tactic to be over friendly and ingratiating so that's what Marcus is doing, everyone's instant best friend. See also: Tom Cruise. Too bad people are falling for it. Scienos are either being over the top charming and friendly or screaming in your face. I wonder if he will convert Nicholas .Chavez.

Kim Nero was completely ill conceived, and the entire Oscar and his eventual meadow storyline has to be one of the worst arcs in GH history. Braun has been much more effective back on DAYS.

The fact that Tamara was paired with zombie Billy Miller didn't help matters. Why TPTB let him go on for several years refusing to act or engage is baffling.

I come across as some big fan of LW, but I'm not. I just think that what she asks for seems more reasonable for someone with her tenure on the show, as opposed to some of the other demands that certain others make. I'm sure that she's not paid anywhere near what Mo or Steve made and she is essentially the leading lady of the show. I think someone said that Stafford was making more than LW and that Maura West is making a comparable salary to LW. If she wants Jane Elliot's dressing room, let her have it. If the guy she's fucking needs a job to keep his health insurance up, then find him a spot.

I think Billy Miller get a raw raw raw deal and was pissed about things that went down. Quite frankly he should have never been Jason in the first place. I think he should have been Dylan. Frank is an odd producer. I've read that was a tense situation on set while he was still there.

Frank is a creep.

Frank is a mathematician, not a visionary. If he can hire 5 beloved vets from other soaps at a certain price, for a certain time, he will. He doesn't care how they are written for, or if the audience hates them. It's a numbers game. He didn't keep Ramsey because of Laura Wright, he kept him because he had a contract and wouldn't waste the money. He did the same thing at OLTL with Crystal Hunt. She was universally reviled as Stacy Morasco (The Morasco Fiasco, anyone?), but he kept her on canvas until her time was up.

BM got screwed but his behavior in response to the injustice affected innocent people such as Tamara and was highly unprofessional. I've been screwed over in my career but had I responded by not giving a shit about my work I would have been out on my ass pronto. I'm sure they would have been happy to let BM out of his contract but he wanted a paycheck AND to display his anger. I've read here on DL that FV didn't want to take SB back but Mo went over his head to ABC execs who ordered Frank to take SB back. Things aren't as loving between FV and Mo (and SB) as they appear. I think FV just plays the game fawning over and acquiescing to Mo since Mo has ABC on his side. FV was probably thrilled to have an excuse to get rid of SB recently.

LW didn't just get her boyfriend a job so he could have health insurance, he got a long four year contract that was extended to an even longer four and half years. Recurring would have also qualified him for insurance until he found employment elsewhere. One year of that character/villain would have been sufficient. Also, these contract soap actors can be let go at I believe 16 week intervals, so there were many opportunities in 4.5 years to send him packing. LW's clout kept him there long past his expiration date. Same goes for BM and his zombie acting, why didn't they let him go at any of the designated 16 week cycles? FV had no problem abruptly sending the Shiloh actor packing despite him having a contract.

[quote]he got a long four year contract that was extended to an even longer four and half years

Seemed longer still for the viewers.

Maybe Frank was hoping that viewers would eventually come around to Peter like they did with Franco and Valentin. Remember how much everyone hated Franco? Also, remember how much everyone hated Valentin. Sometimes it just takes a little bit for audiences to come around.

When did viewers come around to Franco?

Pairing Tamara w/William de Vries made no sense at all. She should have been paired with Burton. It originally seemed the direction they'd go in. Kim was still in love with (who we now knew to be) Drew. Drew was married to Sam who should have been in love with both Drew and Jason, (she knew them as the same person until the undead one showed up). Sam would stay with Drew out of obligation. Kim would fall for Jason because of his strong resemblance to the Drew she had a child with. Jason would be drawn to Kim for various reasons, but mostly because he hadn't gotten laid in 5 years! They could have gotten two years of really great storyline out of that love quadruple. The best pairing would have eventually been the two identical twin brothers who hated each other but eventually grew respect and friendship, (Lucky/Nicholas 2.0). Perhaps that was the original plan? Boy did they fuck it up!

Tamara as Carly had so much chemistry with Jason so seeing her as Kim paired with Jason is where I thought they were going…hell we didn’t even get much Sonny & Kim scenes and TB was a close tie to VM Brenda as his best match!

R171 I actually liked Stacey Morasco.

R175 As soon as RH came back as Austin. Then viewers were like just bring back Franco.

And I’m surprised they haven’t figured out a way to get Carly and Austin together because she had great chemistry with his Todd, and even his Franco. Though I wasn’t watching a lot at the time and I’m still uncertain exactly why Carly and Franco were together, I mean she already knew about Michael’s rape then, right?

r178 I'll speak for myself then in saying that I want RH gone from the show. He's always been useless on GH and a waste of money and screentime.

R179 I thought he was fine as Todd but not as Franco or Austin, just that at least Franco was tied to Scott and Elizabeth so he was better than Austin who is just kinda there. Even Maxie seems bored with him.

Carly was almost killed off in 2001 (while Tamara was playing her) when then headwriter Megan McTavish wanted her gone since she couldn't stand the character; then ep Jill was in agreement, for Felicia Minei-Behr blocked her from hiring Gina Tognoni or Robin Christopher as Carly when Sarah quit, leading to the casting call which led to Tamara being hired somewhat by default. Maurice felt the character was essential to the canvas so he contacted ABC and was able to stop them from killing her off.

how the fuck did Mo get so much power?

R182 all I can guess is he must be fucking the mouse.

From what I've read, Maurice tests well and is very popular with the fans on all of the official ABC sites and the people who still write in to the show and attend fan events.

R184 No the rumors are that it is almost solely due to his strength among women in the NYC market. Mob wives and want to be mob wives on Long Island like a mobster, big deal.

ABC really does need to do a follow-up focus group to the one they did in NY years ago. They may discover sputtering stuttering cue card reading Mo who looks death warmed over isn't as popular as their outdated data suggests.

Gina T as Carly still has me hoping I could like that character again! Glad we had Tamara and if she’s Avila or that’s my first choice. LW is unlikeable in the role.

I'm not missing Burton at all, and don't think I'd miss Benard or Wright, either. Howarth and Easton can go, too.

People rave about James Patrick Stuart, but I can't stand Valentin. He seems like a confirmed bachelor, who goes home at night, pours a brandy, and slips into a teddy and heels.

I did not recognize Morgan Fairchild.

I liked that that had Gladys call into the show to calm Sasha down. She is turning out to be a good mother in law.

Morgan Fairchild is scary looking. Yikes!!

A research survey several years ago on daytime TV said that GH was the most popular daytime program in New Jersey while Y&R was the most popular in Louisiana and Days was the most popular in West Virginia.

Nielsen has ratings in tons of major cities. They determine the most popular programs.

R182 By being a fan favorite/network darling since his debut in 1993 (he was pretty popular prior to that as Nico on AMC too, though not on a Sonny level). Besides briefly leaving around 1997-1998 (to try his hand outside of soaps) he became one of their most recognizable actors/characters. The network, producers, writers pretty much catered to him (with a few exceptions, like Ron for example lol) so he got used to being the favorite. As someone else said, Frank mainly sings his praises because he doesn't want him to lead a mutiny against him in the same manner he led one on Ron.

Btw guess they're going to plan a big celebration for Maurice's 30th next August lol after the 60th in April.

The security pulling Maxie away......KS looks bigger than ever. BLQ I think is slowly losing some wright. Britt actually looks like she's gaining some pounds as well.

R183 😆

R187 LW is pretty unlikable and unrecognizable as Carly lol however it doesn't look like she's going anywhere. She recently upped her contract last fall (probably for another four years) so no dice.

Ron C finally wrote Sonny as the complicated villain of course Mo objected!

Frank is a cancer to GH. At this point, anyone can manage a budget. It’s not difficult.

I HATE this Sasha storyline.

The whole thing with Sasha today was horrifying to me.

They killed a baby for this godforsaken storyline.

The whole Sasha breakdown was far fetched, even by soap standards. Really, a fake baby?

Madame Wu to the rescue. The whole episode was shit. Why take Britt from accomplished, sexy schemer to bumbling heartsick idiot? The Sasha breakdown was a cringey train wreck. I fucking hate Maxie.

Yes R192 but I think this study was conducted by a either a cable or satellite company and not Nielsen.

I'm several episodes behind, but shouldn't Carly have many more assets other than the Metro Court by now. Also, isn't the Metro Court a chain now? I seem to remember them saying there is one in Canada? Toronto, maybe?

Dragon Lady Selina Wu should come to the rescue and bail out Carly, but only with the stipulation that she gets to run a call girl business through her half. I can just hear her acidly intoning "It's fate, Carly, after all, IT'S IN YOUR GENES!"

Mo is a narcissist who should have been let go decades ago. His kookoo youtube show has guests, but they have to sit there and listen to him talk about his own panic attacks.

Mo's show should be called "I know you're crazy, but let me tell you how crazy I am". This is why I don't understand why GH people act all smug, not a sane one in the bunch.

Whaaat r209.

I don't know if this has been posted, but NLG said that Leslie Charleson had fallen and injured herself which is why she had been offscreen for a while but she'll be back soon.

R211 Oh no, she fell again? I hope her dog didn't cause it this time. Glad she'll be back soon, they can't do the 60th Anniversary without Monica.

Lezlie is on her way out…………..

What's going on with NLG? She posting cryptic messages about being gone for a while and things she can't talk about. Did she get bumped to recurring?

Maybe she’s going on medical leave again? She seems like kind of a handful.

Frank calls her a pain in the ass. He’s relieved to be free of her for abit.

N, L, G Easy as 1, 2, 3 Or simple as Do-Re-Mi N, L, G, 1, 2, 3, go the fuck away, girl!

NLG has no one to blame for not having more and better stories because it has been reported for years that she refuses to play Cassadine stories. That would be like an actor playing a doctor refusing to do medical stories.

Frank should grow balls and fire her if she refuses to play a story. Her job is to ACT, not write. If she refuses, she breaking her contract and they have a right to fire her. I doubt that she has a storyline approval clause in her contract. If she does, they were crazy to allow that.

Was there even an explanation as to where Jackie went?

Alexis isn’t needed! I prefer so many other actresses in her age range.

I really like Greg Harrison. He deserves a good pairing/story. Hopefully, they move him on quickly. I'd take him over Fin any day.

[quote]Frank should grow balls and fire her if she refuses to play a story.

Why should she be treated any different than any of the other actors on that set?

Ok. Frank should grow balls and fire anyone who refuses to play a story and those actors who want to dictate story.

All of these stories have stalled. Where's the momentum?

Does anyone else feel like during the Gregory Chase and Alexis scenes, the writers were just writing NLG and not Alexis?

Is there a difference at this point?

R227 there should be and that is part of the problem.

Is there a Still of the Night thread? I've always enjoyed it. Meryl's been in worse movies.

r229 Oops. Wrong thread.

Which is less believable: Alexis constantly having male suitors or Maxie?

R231 Maxie. Alexis is annoying as fuck but she more desirable at 66 than Maxie is at 38.

Maxie makes me moist - down there!

I think you mean Maxi leaves moisture down there anytime she sits.

R218 Right Nancy has stated that she refuses to do any Cassadine stories; the closest they came to one was the explanation of her mother's abuse, although that wasn't exactly as much of a Cassadine story as they would've wanted. R219 Its not that simple since Nancy is one of the few with an ABC contract (Maurice and KeMo have one too) so he'd have to go through the network to fire her, unless they changed it (which I doubt). She's also a fan favorite, so even if he were able to he would face major backlash.

R236 So instead of Willow having a medical emergency needing Nina's assistance, is it safe to say her baby is the one who's going to benefit from Nina?

has she explained why she refuses Cassadine stories? Also she is just an actress... how does she have that much power regarding story(but the same could be said for Eric B, Mo B et al)

At this point, they should just rename the character NLG as that's exactly how they've been writing the character for a few years now. Her power is a loud social media fanbase.

Seems like Mo got jealous of her arrangement and pitched the Mike storyline so that could also play a character closer to who he is in real life, hoping he could be finished as Sonny. Since he's been back as Sonny, he's been playing most of his scenes like he's a broken and beaten horse

Mo Benard makes me moist - down there!

Seriously, what's with the increase with temps lately? I don't think it's ever been this much before.

Today Britt told Cody he is in good shape. KT deserves another Emmy just for saying that line without laughing. He is borderline chubby. Why hasn't FV told him to lose weight like he did JPS a while back?

R237 Lol she may not have as much power as Eric B. or Mo perse however she has some say so since she's been on so long (with a vocal fan base) however she only has so much that she can say no to. One way actors can get favorable storylines is when they're favorites of the writers; former headwriters Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman (especially Jean) loved Alexis/Nancy, so that's another reason why she was able to get preferential treatment while they were there. Besides the "no Cassadine" stories, she hasn't really vetoed too much of anything else over the years iirc. Her reasoning for not wanting to do any Cassadine stories were because they were "outdated" and "weren't able to be told well" in the present day or something to that effect.

Cody is definitely chubby.

[quote]Nancy is one of the few with an ABC contract (Maurice and KeMo have one too) so he'd have to go through the network to fire her

That makes zero sense. GH is owned by ABC, they all work for ABC. All of their contracts are ABC contracts. Can you please provide a little more detail?

R244 No, all of their contracts are not ABC contracts. Certain soap actors during Frons reign had specific "ABC contracts" that were different than individual contracts given through AMC, OLTL, GH & PC. Yes, ABC is the parent company however only a select few had the ABC contracts, which is what they were referred to behind the scenes, back in the day.

R245 Wasn't that one of the reasons Susan Lucci ended up on Devious Maids, which was produced by ABC Studios.

This show has become so boring I’m starting to miss SB. At least he was eye candy.

Aunt Val looked bored yesterday. Anna can do better. Say, Gonzo Gates, maybe?

Since the show's been on a slow autopilot for months now, I've had time to wonder if the main problem is the wrting or acting.

Lately, the writing's pretty standard soap opera, but the show's now loaded with mostly low charisma actors who can't even bring anything interesting to standard soap opera stories

R249 makes a good point. For reasons that I don't know, the show is sidelining it's powerful characters while bringing the "low charisma" actors forward. You couldn't take your eyes off of Josh Kelly on OLTL a decade ago, but he brings nothing to the GH in 2022. Josh Swickard is cute but cute can get you only so far. The "must watch" characters -- Laura, Liz, Portia, Alexis -- the ones we are drawn to -- are on seldom. The loss of the original Trina is sad. Nick Chavez is interesting to watch; it's as if the character is figuring out who he is as we watch him. Ava is wasted. Instead, we get a barrage of silly characters like Carly, Nina, Sonny, who move story ahead but the key to good soap opera is that it's the special combination of good story, characters we love, and good acting. On GH lately, we're getting silly stories, very little of the characters we love, and a whole lot of bad acting. Y&R is also having trouble telling compelling stories. They seem to not know where they are going.

Thanks you R245. I'm not sure I completely get it a 100%, but I appreciate your explanation.

Nancy can be a bit much, but she does seem to be devoted to veteran actors, having on occasion mentioned Rachel Ames and earlier Susan Brown. I'm glad she made a statement about Leslie Charleson. I've been very concerned. Leslie never seemed to have the desire to completely retire even when they pissed her off by firing the older Q's. It's ironic that she went from vixen to bitch goddess to matriarch. She's just always a pleasure to see.

Adding to R250 , yesterday was a prime example of the challenges of the shooting schedule. It was glaring that the pool scenes with Cody and Britt were filmed the same day as the scenes that aired the first day Cody was onscreen. (As were the scenes with Robert Adamson filling in for Duell.) It's got to be tough to develop a character when there's no forward progression, just cut and paste.

Marcus seems to be able to put his xenu beliefs aside in order to schmooze the right people and stay on GH. He has buddied up to Mo who is the poster boy for psychiatric treatment which is the exact opposite of MC's wackadoddle beliefs. MC got the vaccine at the very last minute before the ABC deadline so he could stay on GH, again vaccines not xenu approved. I guess the end justifies the means in that by staying employed he has more money to give to the scientos. He's pretty high up in org, Level 7 I believe, and teaches courses.

You make an interesting point, but I'm not sure if I agree with that R253. Movies and primetime shows film out of order and will group things together by location and have been doing it forever. I'm not sure if it's the schedule that's the problem or lack of competent directing.

I think this show’s cast is head and shoulders above, say, DAYS, which can’t afford more than 12 regulars in an episode and is hemorrhaging people. If anything, the frustration comes from GH having more strong players than it can serve.

I’d love to see Ava and Alexis, for example, get as much to do as Nina and Carly, but that’s more of a balance issue since Wright and Watros are both very strong IMO.

I’ve made peace with Benard’s bizarro delivery. I kinda like Nina and Sonny together. It’s fun to watch other actors play off Benard’s curveballs (Johnny Wactor seems to be stifling laughter in most of their scenes, whereas uber-prepared Nick Chavez stands up real straight and puffs out his chest).

I think Josh Kelly is charming, and has chemistry with Britt. But he’s joining this morass of 40ish white guys (Drew, Finn, Austin, Dante) who are really starting to feel redundant.

To me, the glaring weak links are Katelyn MacMullen’s robotic Willow, Tanisha Harper’s gorgeous but stiff Jordan (perhaps she’ll loosen up as Swickard did), and slurring Kelly Monaco’s Sam (good for her and Dante, I guess, but why are they on the show?).

[quote]I think this show’s cast is head and shoulders above, say, DAYS, which can’t afford more than 12 regulars in an episode and is hemorrhaging people. If anything, the frustration comes from GH having more strong players than it can serve.

What's the point of having a good cast if the writing isn't there.

I think part of the issue over the last few months has been the constant temps and never knowing when you are going to have the actual actors on set and ready to tape. Logistically it must be a nightmare.

So weird that Robert Adamson keeps subbing for Chad Duell. We're to the point where they don't even bother to say, "The role of Michael Corenthos is being played today by Robert Adamson."

He first subbed back in, what, May? Now we're in July. Very weird. I don't think I've ever seen a situation where a sub actor keeps popping up every few weeks like this.

When Stephanie Erb subbed for NLG, she was there for two weeks, and then NLG returned to play Alexis. Stephanie didn't keep popping up here and there.

Duell said on Twitter that his absence was COVID-related, so I assume they shot out of order.

R259 I think they are filming completely out of order. RA was probably only there for a few days but these episodes must've been filmed then.

Why keep bring Roger Howarth back as pointless characters? Would have liked him as a big bad so he could channel early Todd oltl days. Even if the character didn’t last long term at least he’d have more to do than now. Same goes for Michael Easton.

RH has a big dick. Or so I’ve heard.

r262 It's just a complete waste of money. He's on, what, once or twice a month? Let him go already.

I wanna see that big dick! Roger is still kinda hot

Austin needs to be paired up right - Maxie isn’t it! Carly? Ava? Sam? Always liked the chemistry with RH and Kelly Monaco.

Next thread:

R246 Well Susan always had "outs" in her contract (which allowed her to do Dallas for a season, along with her various movies of the week back in the day) so she still would've been able to do Devious Maids, however AMC was off of ABC a couple of years prior to Devious Maids' debuting. Devious Maids was originally slated to appear on ABC actually lol so she would've been doing double duty on the same network if they would've greenlit it (and if AMC had never moved to The Online Network).

"Needs More Cowbell" thread is paywalled now, so I'm dropping the link to the new thread here, since it still has space: