Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[dubbel zout]

12 minutes ago, nilyank said:

The show wanted to move onto the next stage of this story for Michael in prison so that he could get raped and they were just lazy with these shortcuts.

It really was slapdash to get to the rape, which was its own horror.

I love how everyone acts as if being in the PCPD lockup is the worst. Michael had his brother walk him through the process, and he's getting visitors every five minutes. He's also away from any other prisoners. Spare me.

[gp1999]

Its funny how Jason and Sam showed up like 30 seconds after Michael killed Claudia. If Michael had waited 30 seconds, then Jason would've taken care of her anyways.

[dubbel zout]

And gotten away with it, LOL.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Today's had Judge Country, right?

I think I hand waved the ridonkulousness of him sending SLS to jail, because doing so gave Mooby pain, and losing, sort of, so I was fine with it.

I mean, this court system on this FAKAKTA show since Mooby is ridonkulous to no end. We had that judge who gave full custody of Georgie to Jar-Jar Binks FOREVER because Maxie lied about whose child she was. The show, I guess, couldn't be bothered with Maxie trying to revisit the custody issue, which is par for the course. But it was still stupid she didn't even try.

I still remember Kevin's trial--when Lucy Coe first joined the show. That was some good lawyering by Jake. And believable. Or when this show used to have decent supporting roles that played defense attorneys/DAs...

[GHScorpiosRule]

The BEST thing about yesterday’s episode was my closed caption showing [stuttering] when Mooby was...stuttering while trying to get to the point that Devil Spawn Michael shot Kate.😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

As for today? 
 

Judge Country (Carroll): To everyone who lied, perjured themselves, were part of the cover up: “You disgust me. Now get the HELL out of my courtroom.” 
 

SLAMS gavel!

Me:🙌🙌👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Even if the whole questioning was a violation of the Eeyore’s constitutional right against self-incrimination.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[rur]

The show really is doing a tremendous (but probably unintentional)  job of showing us that Sonny and his crew have been horrible for a long, long time. 

When all of this is over, I wonder if TPTB will wish they had gone the route of Y&R and show things like a week of weddings instead. 

Oh, wait, they'd probably just show us a week of Sonny and Carly getting married again and again.  Never mind. 

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, rur said:

The show really is doing a tremendous (but probably unintentional)  job of showing us that Sonny and his crew have been horrible for a long, long time. 

I know. It cracks me up. All these "best of [whatever]" episodes show how awful the characters are. It also shows that the writers have been in a creative rut for decades. Nothing has changed.

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I know. It cracks me up. All these "best of [whatever]" episodes show how awful the characters are. It also shows that the writers have been in a creative rut for decades. Nothing has changed.

Nope. Nothing has. It's quite the opposite. The few people that called Mooby and SheBeast out on their behavior are gone. Jax is the only one left, but even he, in his deluded whatever for Nina, is talking nonsense.

And after watching yesterday's show, and even relishing Judge Country's smack down, it was all kinds of WRONG. SO WHAT if Dante arrested Eeyore (cuz that's what he was then), based on his investigation? That doesn't mean Eeyore should give up his right to remain silent. Or his right to self-incrimination. But that's just what the judge made him do.

And I guess Diana was too scairt of Judge Country to object and say that Eeyore had rights. And Dante, when arresting him, left out the most important part--how anything he said could be used against him...that he had a right to an attorney...

But all that said. It wasn't done, and Eeyore confessed on the stand without the benefit of legal counsel because PLOT! and the need Guzasshole had to do the rape story in prison for Eeyore.

But Tracy was all kinds of AWESOME.

And STFU, SheBEAST! Look in the mirror when you're calling someone a bastard; and if Dante is Mooby's "bastard", then Eeyore is YOUR bastard.

All that said, these episodes are just awful. Awful, Awful, Awful.

Frank and Company are just downright DELUSIONAL in their thinking that viewers want to see this crap of Mooby's World, instead of the more classic and better episodes. Because they're airing episodes from the Guzarsehole era, then they can go back to the better Monty years, as far as I'm concerned. Like Sean and Tiffany's Wedding! Frisco and Felicia's Wedding! Or actual hospital stuff---like when Monica, Bobbie, and other doctors were held hostage because some woman died, and her husband was angry and Robert got shot, because Luke was trying to be the "hero". When we got that glorious slap Holly gave Luke with "This is ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Good times, Good times! But we can't have that.

Edited July 9, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[dubbel zout]

Sweet baby Jasus, this trial. It's giving me flashback rage blackouts, LOL. I accept a certain amount of inaccuracy in soap trials because they're soap trials, but GHSR pointed out some of the biggest holes that really shouldn't happen, the biggest being the judge basically forcing Michael to incriminate himself, and Michael having no lawyer of his own. I know we came in in the middle, but did Diane even try to stop his testimony? And the fact that she didn't/couldn't appeal any of this nonsense is ridiculous. All this pretzeling so Michael can go to jail and get raped.

Aw, baby Haley Pullos! Lexi Ainsworth looks the same, LOL.

The judge's remarks after Dante's outburst were pretty on target, talking about how the adults in his life flout the laws everyone else has to follow and gave him terrible advice to cover up the crime. However, given it was so clearly self-defense, the sentence is still ridiculous. That said, I do enjoy that Carly/Sonny/Jason finally get some consequences from their idiotic actions. Too bad Michael is the one who pays.

[GHScorpiosRule]

45 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I know we came in in the middle, but did Diane even try to stop his testimony?

Nope. While Judge Country was questioning him yesterday--and Eeyore started from the beginning, Diane definitely did NOT jump up to object to try and stop the testimony. That's when she should have intervened, since she's clearly the family's lawyer! But she and Claire remained mum throughout the whole thing, while the camera panned to the SheBeast as she shed her tears.

[nilyank]

Why would Michael waive his right to a trial?

He was rich. He had a solid defense. He  came out of year long coma. There was a lot of mishandling of the evidence in Claudia death. 

Although Michael confessed on the stand, Diane should have gotten it tossed.

And even if the district attorney would have chosen to prosecute Michael (without out offering some kind of deal), Diane should have him in front of a jury who would have heard everything that happened to Michael starting when Claudia and company caused his year long coma that he was never expected to wake up.

On this show, long time Gang Leader Manny with all his tattoos and killings and serial Killer Franco were able to get off their many, many violent crimes because of a Tumor. You are going to tell me baby-face Michael who saved his mother and baby sister from gun-wielding Claudia would not have gotten off from the Port Charles jury pool. 

 

[dubbel zout]

29 minutes ago, nilyank said:

in front of a jury

There was a jury, remember? Alice, for some reason, was the foreperson, I think, and whined about how she would have to wait another year to be on a jury. (LOL, there are certainly a lot of trials in PC if people get only a year between summonses.) And Colman was sprung from jail.

The whole thing is so galactically stupid. They didn't even try to have it make sense, even by soap trial standards.

[gp1999]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Nope. Nothing has. It's quite the opposite. The few people that called Mooby and SheBeast out on their behavior are gone. Jax is the only one left, but even he, in his deluded whatever for Nina, is talking nonsense.

And after watching yesterday's show, and even relishing Judge Country's smack down, it was all kinds of WRONG. SO WHAT if Dante arrested Eeyore (cuz that's what he was then), based on his investigation? That doesn't mean Eeyore should give up his right to remain silent. Or his right to self-incrimination. But that's just what the judge made him do.

And I guess Diana was too scairt of Judge Country to object and say that Eeyore had rights. And Dante, when arresting him, left out the most important part--how anything he said could be used against him...that he had a right to an attorney...

But all that said. It wasn't done, and Eeyore confessed on the stand without the benefit of legal counsel because PLOT! and the need Guzasshole had do the rape story in prison for Eeyore.

But Tracy was all kinds of AWESOME.

And STFU, SheBEAST! Look in the mirror when you're calling someone a bastard; and if Dante is Mooby's "bastard", then Eeyore is YOUR bastard.

All that said, these episodes are just awful. Awful, Awful, Awful.

Frank and Company are just downright DELUSIONAL in their thinking that viewers want to see this crap of Mooby's World, instead of the more classic and better episodes. Because they're airing episodes from the Guzarsehole era, then they can go back to the better Monty years, as far as I'm concerned. Like Sean and Tiffany's Wedding! Frisco and Felicia's Wedding! Or actual hospital stuff---like when Monica, Bobbie, and other doctors were held hostage because some woman died, and her husband was angry and Robert got shot, because Luke was trying to be the "hero". When we got that glorious slap Holly gave Luke with "This is ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Good times, Good times! But we can't have that.

Its because they're just reshowing the collection they released on the ABC app a year or two ago

[dubbel zout]

Just now, gp1999 said:

Its because they're just reshowing the collection they released on the ABC app a year or two ago

Interesting. I had no idea.

[nilyank]

1 minute ago, dubbel zout said:

There was a jury, remember? Alice, for some reason, was the foreperson, I think, and whined about how she would have to wait another year to be on a jury. And Colman was sprung from jail.

The whole thing is so galatically stupid. They didn't even try to have it make sense, even by soap trial standards.

Yeah, but the jury was for Sonny's trial. They were dismissed without reading their verdict as they had to drop the charges against Sonny.

Michael never had a chance to make a case of self-defense or anything. 

At the start of trial, they stated that this federal judge was brought in specially for Sonny's case.  The Feds wanted to get a case against Sonny - Mob Kingpin. It was not the local district attorney going after someone who committed a crime in Port Charles.

There was no reason why he had any authority to sentence Michael when it wouldn't fall normally under his docket. Even with the stupidity of Michael waiving his chance of a trial, he would have been brought in front of a different judge. It was not a federal crime.

Ugh, this is no frustrating. I remember getting annoyed about these same things when it originally happened and the rewatch just reminded me of this frustration. It was all for the sake of drama.

They liked the judge and just wanted to just use him again but they didn't want to do another trial.

[dubbel zout]

3 minutes ago, nilyank said:

Michael never had a chance to make a case of self-defense or anything. 

Today the judge said Michael waived his right to a trial. Which, what?

[ByaNose]

I will say that Chad Duell looks better now than he started. He was such a baby when he started but wasn’t really considering how young Lexi & Haley we’re but he still looked like a baby. Time flies.

[statsgirl]

What infuriates me is that every blue moon or so, we get someone like this judge saying exactly what I think when watching this show, that the adults around Michael are criminal and toxic and he's better off away from them. And then the show goes right back to idolizing Sonny and Jason and all their criminal connections.

It's like they're deliberately mocking me, saying 'See, we know what's wrong with this show. And we don't care, we're going to double down on all the worst parts of it."

[GHScorpiosRule]

❤️🥰❤️LUCKY!!!!!❤️🥰❤️

SHUTUP! Maxie!

HELENA!!! (Really I mean CONSTANCE!!)

The less said about the “sentencing” the better. Though I did derive so much glee at all the chickens coming home to roost for Mooby, Jaysus, and SheBeast! Even if it was short-lived.

While I’m a fan of Michael Lerned, I resented why she was brought on for her short stint.

How many episodes were between yesterday and today? Did they recast Morgan in between? I ask because according to my synopsis, today was supposed to be a Brenda episode from September 2010. 

I also HATED how Dante kept trying to explain his actions to Jaysus and SheBeast. Like he was seeking their absolution or forgiveness.🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[Winston Wolfe]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

LUCKY!!!!

It has been nice to see JJ's Lucky over the past few days. We got to see before our eyes him growing a very solid performer. His version of Lucky, judgemental tendencies aside, embodied the best character traits of Luke and Laura.

Speaking of standout performances, Ingo gave a master class in today's repeat of acting solely with facial expressions. Every time the camera cut to Jax you could see a range of emotions on his face, sadness, worry, regret, etc. Very nice job, and it's sad his talents haven't been better utilized.

Edited July 9, 2020 by Winston Wolfe

[dubbel zout]

13 hours ago, statsgirl said:

It's like they're deliberately mocking me, saying 'See, we know what's wrong with this show. And we don't care, we're going to double down on all the worst parts of it."

It's exasperating, isn't it? They always want it both ways.

[Sake614]

My favorite part of the trial show was Sonny telling Olivia that she raised Dante to hate Sonny, and her saying that Sonny really doesn't get it. That it isn't all about him, but about how his life is dangerous for his children. He just kept throwing a temper tantrum about how it isn't fair to HIM. That Dante did all this as a slap in the face to HIM.

I know that Olivia became a Sonny apologist like everyone else, but it was so refreshing to hear her call him out.

Equally refreshing was Tracy calling out Carly. And damn, Jane Elliott looked FINE!

[TVbitch]

Love him, but I am reminded that Jonathon Jackson had quite a few stretches with really unfortunate facial hair. 

I really, really just want to live long enough to see Sonny and Carly brought down. I'm 54, so it's questionable. : D

Assuming the show doesn't last more than 5 or so more years at best, I do hope the producers bring it to a decent moral conclusion. If the violent, unethical mob boss and his clan get some kind of heroic happy Walton's ending, it will be soooo unsatisfying. There must be a huge fan base keeping them as heros and protagonists, but I just don't get it.  

[racked]

2 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Love him, but I am reminded that Jonathon Jackson had quite a few stretches with really unfortunate facial hair. 

I think he uses facial hair to look older, but I don't understand the patchyness of it. I've been watching (much) older episodes from the late 90's on youtube and miss that look. Very angelic and looked perfect next to Becky. Truly fortunate people who have always had perfect skin. 

[dubbel zout]

24 minutes ago, racked said:

I don't understand the patchyness of it.

He doesn't look like a very hairy guy, so maybe that's the best he could grow. 

[sacrebleu]

Seeing Abby again reminds me that Michael has a type-- Abby looks a lot like Sasha. Bland but pretty, long hair with beachy waves, a little vocal fry/breathiness, and of course, absolutely no qualms about his criminal connections. 

 

(also, I can't remember why the hell Terrell came to GH-- what did Lisa have over him that he'd unquestioningly quit his job and move to upstate NY???)

[dubbel zout]

Way to make Kristina's guilt all about you, Sonny. Good lord, he's such a selfish jerk.

11 minutes ago, sacrebleu said:

Seeing Abby again

*Wishes Crane had taken care of her a lot sooner*

[nilyank]

4 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Way to make Kristina's guilt all about you, Sonny. Good lord, he's such a selfish jerk.

*Wishes Crane had taken care of her a lot sooner*

Ugh. I wished they showed the scene when Sonny first met her in the waiting room and looked at her up and down, and pegged as a stripper.

[nilyank]

Robin said she "was born and raised in Port Charles."

Um no the first.

[dubbel zout]

It's so gross they made Abby a stripper. I know they backtracked on that later, but anyone watching knew what was she was.

[rur]

This episode was from 2011. Although on one hand, I can kind of understand her concerns as a mother, on the other hand, with hindsight It is interesting to me that we have proof that Carly has been injecting herself into  Michael's love life for a long time. I would have thought he'd tire of it by now. Once again, so much for character growth. As @dubble zout said, "Nothing has changed."

Edited July 9, 2020 by rur

[nilyank]

8 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

It's so gross they made Abby a stripper. I know they backtracked on that later, but anyone watching knew what was she was.

It wasn't even that she was a stripper but the only reason why Michael met her was because Sam sent her over to see him because she knew that he issues because he was raped in prison. She thought that Abby could help.

It was ridiculous and obvious that Sam didn't send her so that she could talk to Michael. They had nothing in common.

Then to ply up the ridiculous "friendship" Michael was tutoring so she would get her GED and then of course she had an abusive ex-boyfriend that Michael had to save her.

I remembered back then as this Abby nonsense was going on that I wanted Michael  to have someone to speak to who would have understood his trauma at such a young age from such a violent act. That person should have been Liz. The way Bobbie helped Liz after she was raped.

But no, we got the Stripper who was too old for Michael. I think the story would have worked better if the stripper was at least around the same age as Michael.

[dubbel zout]

2 minutes ago, nilyank said:

It wasn't even that she was a stripper but the only reason why Michael met her was because Sam sent her over to see him because she knew that he issues because he was raped in prison. She thought that Abby could help

They deliberately made her a stripper, though, with its connotations of sexual availability. Remember, she was supposed to "heal" Michael by sleeping with him. And to make her a stripper and have an abusive ex-boyfriend? That's a whole other layer of gross.

5 minutes ago, nilyank said:

I remembered back then as this Abby nonsense was going on that I wanted Michael  to have someone to speak to who would have understood his trauma at such a young age from such a violent act. That person should have been Liz. The way Bobbie helped Liz after she was raped.

Well, that's the logical thing to do, so of course the show went the other way.

[gp1999]

4 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Love him, but I am reminded that Jonathon Jackson had quite a few stretches with really unfortunate facial hair. 

I really, really just want to live long enough to see Sonny and Carly brought down. I'm 54, so it's questionable. : D

Assuming the show doesn't last more than 5 or so more years at best, I do hope the producers bring it to a decent moral conclusion. If the violent, unethical mob boss and his clan get some kind of heroic happy Walton's ending, it will be soooo unsatisfying. There must be a huge fan base keeping them as heros and protagonists, but I just don't get it.  

I hope that never happens. 

[Blackie]

1 hour ago, rur said:

This episode was from 2011

 

predicting the pandemic!

[Cheyanne11]

5 hours ago, Sake614 said:

My favorite part of the trial show was Sonny telling Olivia that she raised Dante to hate Sonny, and her saying that Sonny really doesn't get it. That it isn't all about him, but about how his life is dangerous for his children. He just kept throwing a temper tantrum about how it isn't fair to HIM. That Dante did all this as a slap in the face to HIM.

I nearly had a stroke yesterday when Sonny told Dante he's a terrible son.  So sayeth the father who shot his son in the chest.  

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, Cheyanne11 said:

I nearly had a stroke yesterday when Sonny told Dante he's a terrible son.  So sayeth the father who shot his son in the chest.  

Come on, he wouldn't have had to shoot him in the chest if Dante weren't such a terrible son.

[dubbel zout]

He didn't know Dante would be a terrible son when he shot him in the chest. He was just a lying, unarmed undercover cop.

[statsgirl]

It's Olivia's fault because she didn't let Dante grow up with Sonny. I heard Sonny tell her so.

Spinelli is badly is need of being smacked down because he's a child with terrible manners, and those nicknames are not cute especially in an adult.   If anyone was bloviating this episode, it was him.  Everyone from Jason to Sam to Diane treating him like he's someone special has ruined him.

It's sad that Michael has grown up not a jot in the past 10 years.

I saw Andrea Bogart in Steven Soderburgh's Side Effect, and this season in Hawaii 5-0.  As an actress, she deserved better than the writing that the show gave Abby.

6 hours ago, TVbitch said:

If the violent, unethical mob boss and his clan get some kind of heroic happy Walton's ending, it will be soooo unsatisfying. There must be a huge fan base keeping them as heros and protagonists, but I just don't get it.  

Every time I read Teri Kanefield or another writer explain the distinctions are between authoritarian and rule-of-law preference styles, I think of this show and the mob as an illustration of the former. For people who prefer the authoritarian, it doesn't matter if their guy breaks the law or hurts innocent people, what matters is that he's their guy and will protect them. On the surface, Sonny and Jason always protect those who are their people at the moment, that is. Fall out of the charmed circle and nothing is off the table (like Carly and Spinelli setting Dante up to look like a dirty cop to ruin him.

So I'm really not surprised that Sonny and Jason have a huge fanbase.  Just disappointed.

[gp1999]

5 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

So I'm really not surprised that Sonny and Jason have a huge fanbase.  Just disappointed.

Everybody has their opinons 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

He didn't know Dante would be a terrible son when he shot him in the chest. He was just a lying, unarmed undercover cop.

I was joking.  Nothing is Sonny's fault.  In his mind.

[Melgaypet]

1 hour ago, gp1999 said:

Everybody has their opinons

Opinions are like assholes.

I'll go ahead and say it: not all opinions are equal. "Sonny is a character I enjoy, and I like seeing him win" is an opinion I can respect, even though I strongly disagree. "Sonny is a good man who only deserves good things" is an opinion someone has a right to have, but I'm going to think that it's dumb and delusional as flat-earth theory.

[racked]

46 minutes ago, Melgaypet said:

Opinions are like assholes.

I'll go ahead and say it: not all opinions are equal. "Sonny is a character I enjoy, and I like seeing him win" is an opinion I can respect, even though I strongly disagree. "Sonny is a good man who only deserves good things" is an opinion someone has a right to have, but I'm going to think that it's dumb and delusional as flat-earth theory.

I always think that people must be sick of the mob, that the general viewership cannot possibly still enjoy watching the same story over and over where Sonny wins and Carly is the heroine of the show. But then I go on facebook and reality hits me in the face. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

He didn't know Dante would be a terrible son when he shot him in the chest. He was just a lying, unarmed undercover cop.

I was joking.  Nothing is Sonny's fault.  In his mind.

My quote is exactly why nothing is Sonny's fault. He didn't know!

[Kiki777]

15 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

He doesn't look like a very hairy guy, so maybe that's the best he could grow. 

The patchiness is unfortunate because it looked like Wolverine- which works on a man like Hugh Jackman but not baby-faced JJ.

[Kiki777]

9 hours ago, racked said:

I always think that people must be sick of the mob, that the general viewership cannot possibly still enjoy watching the same story over and over where Sonny wins and Carly is the heroine of the show. But then I go on facebook and reality hits me in the face. 

Not gonna lie, I’m very judgmental when it comes to fans of Sonnycarlyjasonsam (not a typo, I just see them as one horribly annoying entity).  I’m not on social media but when I meet a person IRL who watches GH I’m initially happy to have someone to discuss it with.  Until I hear OMG Sonny is amazing Carly is such a good mom Sam and Jason are soulmates lalalala.  Then I write them off as a basic bitch and politely decline their invitation to go to Starbucks for a pumpkin-spice latte. 

[Sake614]

3 hours ago, Kiki777 said:

Not gonna lie, I’m very judgmental when it comes to fans of Sonnycarlyjasonsam (not a typo, I just see them as one horribly annoying entity).  I’m not on social media but when I meet a person IRL who watches GH I’m initially happy to have someone to discuss it with.  Until I hear OMG Sonny is amazing Carly is such a good mom Sam and Jason are soulmates lalalala.  Then I write them off as a basic bitch and politely decline their invitation to go to Starbucks for a pumpkin-spice latte. 

 

(sigh) I have several friends who feel that way. I'll never understand it. I've asked them how they can possibly believe that and they just shrug. 

[ulkis]

At this point "the swell mob" is the premise of the show. You either go with it or you don't. I don't go with it but that's because the actors give such shitty performances now. If there were a hot charismatic mobster, I might.

[dubbel zout]

It would also help if the town didn't deify Sonny and Jason. Let some people hate them and not be mocked for hating them. That's what really annoys me. 

And there's no conflict. Carly hating Michael's umpteenth mousy girlfriend isn't conflict. Sonny whining about missing shipments isn't conflict. Jason and Sam bemoaning having to stay apart for a year isn't conflict. Ava screech-crying about being unfairly treated by someone isn't conflict.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So, what was that yesterday? That was after Robin found out about Patrick's affair with Lisa, right? Because they're separated, and he's whining about coming back home.

I would have much preferred seeing Robin the well with "Stone" but I can't have nice things. Or even her kicking Patrick's cheatin' ass out of the house.

And it was that whackadoo's Lisa's bright idea to get Terrell to come to General Hospital--to get him to "seduce" Robin into an affair? Like, whuuut?

But Daniel Benzali!!!!! Chewing the scenery so charmingly! I laughed when he told Mooby that Mooby should show some gratitude.

Only on this show do doctors who want to work at General Hospital get interviewed at the nurses hub station, where EVERYONE who is walking by, or hanging around, can listen in!

Good Lord, I'd forgotten how bad the Abby actress was. When SLS told her something, her reaction "I'm so sorry..." with dead eyes and no affect. Yeaaah. I can really see/feel the empathy radiating from her whispery voice.