Episode Discussion: TFGH

[annabel]

Off the top of my head, the only time RC's writing has surprised me was when the chandelier killed Ford, which was not telegraphed and extremely satisfying.

[tvgoddess]

 

Lulu/Dante: Are they really not going to acknowledge that their apartment is too small for 3, let alone 4. They are really using every inch of Lante's apartment set today, aren't they.

 

Don't worry, they can put the new baby under the couch. Or he/she can share a drawer with Ben. Yes, that's his name to me.

 

Wow, again tough to come up with something likeable. I'll have to do a repeat of my likes from yesterday. Loved Sam's "kiddo" to Molly, and Naxie are definitely my new sparkly summer pairing to replace Brik from last summer.

 

But other than that, really the best thing about today's show? NO Sonny, Kiki, Franco, Carly, Sabrina, Felix, Rafe, Shawn, Fluke/Luke, Olivia, Liz or Duke.

[Lillybee]

When will Michael dump Kiki?  If he does I may be back to caring for him. I think that Kiki is more annoying than Franco, Comawife, Levi and Silas put together.

[P3pp3rb1rd]

When will Michael dump Kiki?

 

She keeps feeding him (literally) along with sex, gossip, news, and ideas. She keeps him in touch with what's happening outside the world of ELQ that he is studying so desperately; she's his lifeline for now.

 

Of course she's also a parasite like her mother--we saw that when she was angling for a shiny renovated place of her own at the Brownstone or wherever. She's got a sweet ride on Michael's coattails. If Tracy successfully attacks and wins ELQ on the field of battle, Mikey and Kiki might grow even closer as allies. Even Puke's prurient interest  in Kiki may be to her benefit, if she can use him to help fend off Tracy from ELQ.

 

Looks like Kiki is in Mikey's life for the long term.

 

 

[sunnyface]

Is Nina gonna be the new Heather?  It really doesn't bother me because it provides life to the ever boring Silas scenes.  They definately aren't going to need any microphones on the set when Nina and Sonny (or Morgan) meet.

 

So Ron/FV think that all women either are wowed with pregnancy and little kids if under forty and love gangsters if they are over forty. 

 

Another week with little or no hospital.  At the very least, they are wasting a set.  Even though I HATE the mob stuff, the better actors on the show are not tied into the hospital.  Que Lastima.

 

I really am not enjoying the three one-life-to-live characters and actors.  They aren't as bad as Sonny - so far.

Edited June 21, 2014 by sunnyface

[blondiek237]

My brother in law is living with us now and has started watching GH with us, today here was his thought...Where is the hospital?

[MSquared]

My brother in law is living with us now and has started watching GH with us, today here was his thought...Where is the hospital?

 

A question I ask myself almost every day.

[Kim0820]

So it is possible Nina never was in a coma, and worked with Madeline to make it look that way.  She is still vengeful about Ava and the affair.  And the baby is out there somewhere.  

[P3pp3rb1rd]

I'm so glad that the wise judge did not buy the bull that the whole Maxie crowd was attempting to pull on him. Diane, the attorney, always comes as close to the line of insolence as possible with him, implying or acting as if he is slightly retarded if he doesn't immediately agree with her viewpoint.

 

He definitely noticed how the younger ones were trying to distract him from his main question about lying under oath. I thought he did a good job of trying to make them grow up and be truthful. Even if Levi had tipped the judge off somehow about the possibility of lies, the judge caught on by himself. Maxi and Diane act so entitled in insisting that Maxi get the baby immediately.

 

Where are Mac and Felicia? Wouldn't they be in court supporting Maxi or cautioning her not to lie or create false appearances of the facts? I guess the show can't afford them if Levi is on stage. 

[LegalParrot81]

 

So it is possible Nina never was in a coma, and worked with Madeline to make it look that way.

 

Is it possible that Nina isn't Nina?  Given RC's love of having people walk around PC wearing other people's faces, it wouldn't surprise me.

[Tiger]

If RP is officially 6' that means he's actually 5'9" or 10".  

 

Either way, when Anna finally arrests the greasy little shit, i want Nathan standing next to or near him in a way that accentuates how itty bitty his moobster ass really is.

 

Pepperbird,

 

Mac & Felicia weren't at Maxie's hearing or Gabriel's funeral.  Given that Emma is also absent, my fanwank is that they've taken her on vacation out of town. 

Edited June 21, 2014 by Tiger

[thewhiteowl]

So it is possible Nina never was in a coma, and worked with Madeline to make it look that way.  She is still vengeful about Ava and the affair.  And the baby is out there somewhere.  

 

 

Is it possible that Nina isn't Nina?  Given RC's love of having people walk around PC wearing other people's faces, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

Using no logic whatsoever like RC, of course both of these things are completely possible. At the same time.

[tricknasty]

Who is RP?

[Tiger]

Ryan Paevey who plays Nathan. 

[BestestAuntEver]

The GH creative arts staff have won Daytime Emmies(?) for make-up & casting. I like the casting director Mark Teschner, so I'm happy for him. I wonder what casting was like on the others shows thou because GH has been hit or miss lately.

I really don't get the win for the make-up department. Most of the time I think they don't do the actors any favors with their make-up. I definitely think they don't know how to do make-up fo HDTV. How often have we said the actors look better elsewhere?

[Patssy Stoned]

I thought Sam's dress was a little young for her

 

 

when she walked down the stairs I immediately thought "give Molly her dress back".

 

I am starting to get embarrased for the actors.

 

That was some fine scenery chewing by Nina yesterday.  Silas is a dope.  Helen Keller could have seen thru Nina's schtick.

[MSquared]

The GH creative arts staff have won Daytime Emmies(?) for make-up & casting. I like the casting director Mark Teschner, so I'm happy for him. I wonder what casting was like on the others shows thou because GH has been hit or miss lately.

I really don't get the win for the make-up department. Most of the time I think they don't do the actors any favors with their make-up. I definitely think they don't know how to do make-up fo HDTV. How often have we said the actors look better elsewhere?

 

While it is nice that GH got the cast award, I saw it said elsewhere that it was really FV who does the casting, control freak that he is.  They could have been joking, but I can see it too, especially with the number of male underwear models they seem to look for (though RP is getting better.)

[peachmangosteen]

The GH creative arts staff have won Daytime Emmies(?) for make-up & casting.

 

WHAT?! This has to be a joke. Unless the other shows are dressing their actors in Walmart hand-me-downs and Dollar Tree make-up.

[dubbel zout]

Maxi and Diane act so entitled in insisting that Maxi get the baby immediately.

 

Georgie is Maxie's baby; I'd say she's entitled to see her immediately. Full custody? Maybe not just yet, but to keep Maxie from seeing her baby at all is cruel. Maxie isn't a drug addict or alcoholic; she's a somewhat selfish, self-involved twit with bad taste in men. By any of those standards, no woman in Port Charles should have custody of her children.

 

I really don't get the win for the make-up department.

 

Same here. I think they still haven't figured out how to adjust to high-def. The lighting keeps changing, and that plays havoc on getting makeup right.

Edited June 21, 2014 by dubbel zout

[formerlyfreedom]

The conversation on the creative arts staff is better had over in the Fashion thread. Let's keep it to episode discussion in here. Thanks!

[Scarlett11]

So it is possible Nina never was in a coma, and worked with Madeline to make it look that way.  She is still vengeful about Ava and the affair.  And the baby is out there somewhere.

 

 

I'm wondering that, too.  I would hope that there's at least some sort of flashback scenes that show she's either never been in a coma, or was only in one briefly.  You would think Silas, a WORLD RENOWN DOCTOR, would just look at her and know there's no way she was in a vegetive state for two decades.  She looks like she just got back from a resort: tan, healthy, glowing.

 

Of course, if she was never in a coma, or only briefly, the odds of ComaBaby being alive and well somewhere skyrocket. 

Edited June 21, 2014 by Scarlett11

[OnceSane]

 

So how long before Rafe catches Nina walking and Nina blackmails him with his drug use?

 

Two weeks, tops.

 

 

RC has a habit of making the woman in a relationship do all the heavy lifting to break it up - generally by spectacularly screwing up in some way or doing something that makes the male character "justified" in breaking up with her.

 

Sounds like Guza.

[P3pp3rb1rd]

Georgie is Maxie's baby; I'd say she's entitled to see her immediately. Full custody? Maybe not just yet, but to keep Maxie from seeing her baby at all is cruel. Maxie isn't a drug addict or alcoholic; she's a somewhat selfish, self-involved twit with bad taste in men. 

 

A quick review of Maxie's young history will show that since puberty her va-jay-jay has seen more action than Liz Taylor's. On top of that sits the whole surrogate trainwreck where she conceived during/after a surrogate miscarriage and lied continually to the would-be parents et al. until the parentage of her live baby was finally clarified after further lies. Apparently, Maxi's habit of lying (even to herself, such as whether she wanted a baby) and difficulty making decisions is habitual, to say the least. While she isn't a drug-addict herself, she supplied drugs to addicted Lucky Spencer, and lied that Liz Webber was his drug source, so that Liz was arrested.

 

Now she's still not in a stable relationship, is being supported by her parents, does not have a job or a degree, and has solid experience mainly in saving dolphins to fall back on in the job market. Another couple, unmarried, has her baby, since one court order has already denied her custody. One besotted man is lying under oath to impress her and get her into bed, a bed that already has a Levi Dunkleman lurking in it. 

 

So naturally, now is the time to decide that she wants her baby back, STAT! Diane demands Maxie's babyback, STAT! And the judge is a "mean man" for hesitating? I think not.

 

 

[jennifer6973]

@P3pp3rb1rd

 

 

She has experience in helping run a magazine and at one time was working for Julian and before that Kate/Connie.

[Ambrosefolly]

Now she's still not in a stable relationship, is being supported by her parents, does not have a job or a degree, and has solid experience mainly in saving dolphins to fall back on in the job market.

 

I disagree, she has solid experience in fashion and her work on Crimson could probably translate into some sort of marketing career. I have been saying that Maxie should start working for CoeCoe Cosmetics. Of course it seems all women on this show have ceased having a life outside of  relationships and babies. 

[Bringonthedrama]

I think Patrick's outrage about Robin saying (via phone) she's not coming home immediately/staying put to revive Jason was too much. Emma was scared about being in the car accident and Sabrina/baby (what child wouldn't be), but not injured or traumatized. Traumatized is Kristina witnessing her big sis shoot somebody, screaming her head off, then going mute. Seems like Patrick wanted Robin there to love/attend to Emma while he's at the hospital attending to Sabrina and the baby. I think he also wants to be able to lean on his wife for emotional support. What's gotten lost there is that Patrick (in theory) is better equipped to help Emma feel better after the accident because he is also her parent and he was driving their car. That phone conversation/argument didn't seem like it was all about Emma's needs - more like "I can't handle all this, so you need to come home right now."

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I guess I was the only one stoked to see Nick Chinlund walk into the gallery? He's a great catch from the show's perspective ( always good at being a scary man), but I can only assume he needs a new roof, or his kids need braces, because...this show???? ( Maybe his wife or mom is a fan, who knows?) 

I know his time on this show will be brief, because good actors never stick around long, and Nicky Diamond is merely another in a long line of ultra baddies (who never shot their wives in the head, sons in the chest, had crypt sex with their other son's cougar, hooked up with their fiancees cousin shortly after the funeral, etc), who will be defeated by Sonny the moral mobster.  Same old, same old. 

 

Poor Nathan, His mom is Dr. O, his sister is The Britch, his cousin is Nina.....he might not like girls anymore by the time he's done with all their shenanigans. 

[Yolapukka]

Maybe I missed something, but I don't recall that Maxie's hearing was to allow her primary physical custody, it was to allow her any access or contact at all. Unless her mere presence or the sound of her voice is a danger to her child it is ridiculous that it would be denied. If this story wasn't written on the basis of absolute horseshit, I could see the judge's concerns about her fitness translating into her being allowed only supervised visits and permitting skyping etc. I'm also annoyed that TPTB didn't spring for an extra to say a few lines about representing Spinelli's interests and voicing  his position, it added to the idiocy of the whole thing. 

Edited June 21, 2014 by yuggapukka

[dubbel zout]

A quick review of Maxie's young history will show that since puberty her va-jay-jay has seen more action than Liz Taylor's.

 

This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with whether Maxie would be a good mother to her child. Neither does her marital status.

[Turtle]

So Ron/FV think that all women either are wowed with pregnancy and little kids if under forty and love gangsters if they are over forty.​

You forgot the third option - batshit crazy.  Actually, I guess that could be an "and" situation instead of an "or" situation.

 

So it is possible Nina never was in a coma, and worked with Madeline to make it look that way.  She is still vengeful about Ava and the affair.  And the baby is out there somewhere.

Please, god, don't let it be Levi.

[Cattitude]

FGS this is a soap, none of the mothers are going to be mother of the year. If it wasn't a soap Maxie wouldn't have done 1/2 the things she did. Fact is for a soap character Maxie doesn't deserve to NOT see her child at all. In my opinion I don't even see why she doesn't see her anyway. I didn't get the feeling Spin wouldn't let her see Georgie if she asked.

 

That judge got on my last nerve anyway, it was like he was trying to play Shakespeare on a soap, he was OTT in his annunciation(kind of the opposite of Sonny) and dramatics.

 

I just felt bad for Maxie and Nathan having to deal with the terrible judge and The Dunklemonkey at the same time.

Ridiculous that Maxie can't even see her child. Custody is one thing she should at least have supervised visitation if nothing else for Georgie's sake, she should have contact with her mother.

[Tiger]

I hope it's that mooch Keeks because her being the daughter of NINA & Silas would mean she was no longer related to Sam, Lucas, Ava, and Julian. All four of them have suffered enough.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Tiger

[LeftPhalange]

You would think the fallout from this surrogate fiasco would have caused Maxie to FINALLY grow up. Instead she comes back to town with a fake ass hippie and lets the freak convince her to give up on her child. That only is enough for the judge to be apprehensive about granting her partial custody, at least for the next few months. I do agree that she should be allowed supervised visitation and I don't see how a judge could prevent her from skyping Georgie.

 

Is Robin coming back just speculation or has then been confirmed?

[KerleyQ]

Oh Michelle Stafford, stop it...

 

Does she really think people were shocked?  Nina being crazy and/or being able to walk was called by about 3/4 of the audience the second she rolled onto the screen. (The other 1/4 called it as soon as rumors of MS as Nina came out.)  

 

Georgie is Maxie's baby; I'd say she's entitled to see her immediately. Full custody? Maybe not just yet, but to keep Maxie from seeing her baby at all is cruel. Maxie isn't a drug addict or alcoholic; she's a somewhat selfish, self-involved twit with bad taste in men. By any of those standards, no woman in Port Charles should have custody of her children.

 

Yeah, it just comes across like the judge doesn't want to let her near her daughter because he doesn't like her.  There's no genuine basis, at this point, to not let her near the kid.  There are a whole lot of flakey people who happen to be parents out there.  If you take all their kids away from them, orphanages will be more overcrowded than prisons.  

[dubbel zout]

Does she really think people were shocked?  Nina being crazy and/or being able to walk was called by about 3/4 of the audience the second she rolled onto the screen. (The other 1/4 called it as soon as rumors of MS as Nina came out.)

 

It's like they forget people have watched TV before.

[jennifer6973]

Honestly, I was shocked.  Moreso because of the fact she was the one to tear his apartment apart.

[peachmangosteen]

Poor Nathan, His mom is Dr. O, his sister is The Britch, his cousin is Nina.....he might not like girls anymore by the time he's done with all their shenanigans. 

 

Here's hoping! If I can't have CaJones then I at least want Lucas to get a shot with Nathan, dammit!

[Patssy Stoned]

Please, god, don't let it be Levi.

 

 

Should he get any more of a storyline I would seriously consider joining the barge and bring along a lifetime supply of vodka and cranberry juice.  It's bad enough he is doing limited appearances, should he get  front ant center storyline I would have to leave.  Even if it means no more pretty Det. Plywood.

[boes]

Yeah, it just comes across like the judge doesn't want to let her near her daughter because he doesn't like her.  There's no genuine basis, at this point, to not let her near the kid.  There are a whole lot of flakey people who happen to be parents out there.  If you take all their kids away from them, orphanages will be more overcrowded than prisons.

 

This.  I know that of all the crap Ron C. writes this may not be in the top ten but it irritated me to no end.  The judge's behavior was so obviously inappropriate.  And I know "it's a soap", so realism isn't going to be paramount.  I could argue that in the genre's golden age, the power of a storyline like this would have been because it actually mirrored reality, but God knows GH under Ron C. doesn't mirror reality in any way, but this is nonsense.

Family Court's main intention is to reunite families, not to keep them separated.  And although Maxie may be self-centered to an extent and God knows she can be foolish, she's still the child's mother and not a danger to Georgie or herself.  End of story.  Instead we have some Judge who modeled his behavior on Foghorn Leghorn.  Bad enough to have to see Diane popping out of her clothes like a clown character (and why do that to her?  She's a good-looking, usually well dressed woman), but to have the moustachioed Frito Bandito as the Judge was just stupid.

 

Now if he had said Maxie couldn't have Georgie until she got rid of Levi, THAT would have made sense.

[Syndicate]

Here's hoping! If I can't have CaJones then I at least want Lucas to get a shot with Nathan, dammit!

Be careful what you wish for just in case you're actually joking about "Nucas" or "Jucas".  There have been portions of the audience pushing for a hookup between them.  RC and company clearly read message boards and sometimes they deliver.  Tracy called Kiki, Kaka.  I definitely remember "Kaka" being bandied about on message boards many many months ago.

You forgot the third option - batshit crazy.  Actually, I guess that could be an "and" situation instead of an "or" situation.

 

Please, god, don't let it be Levi.

For me, everything about Nina has a big question mark behind it at this point. I still wonder if someway, somehow, her brother/cousin is actually her son.

[Turtle]

I don't mind a lack of realism in my soaps, not at all.  I'll get on board a 'back from the dead' story with the best of them, and I'm willing to hand wave a certain amount of police and lawyer stuff.  IF it's done well.  And that's why I get so mad at this show.  So much of it is just really poorly done.  Sometimes it's like the writers are more focused on the end game of the story rather than actually *telling* the story, letting it play out.  Character development, evolution of relationships - this is the stuff that makes the unrealistic silly crap worth watching.  And GH is missing so much of that.  Almost everything seems to happen just to propel certain plots forward, rather than letting the plots unfold "naturally" within the lives of the characters.  And so we have really inconsistent behaviors from characters and weird leaps in logic.  It's annoying and makes the show so much less fun to watch.  

 

Also, because I haven't said it lately, I miss Julian's Briefs.

[LeftPhalange]

 

Almost everything seems to happen just to propel certain plots forward, rather than letting the plots unfold "naturally" within the lives of the characters.

 

These characters aren't even real characters anymore. They're just vehicles used to move from plot point to plot point.

[P3pp3rb1rd]

The thought of Maxie getting her hands on that innocent baby continues to get my feathers in a twist. She stole drugs at one time to give to an addict (Lucky). Surely those records are available to the court. She's been a slut in the past, going to bed with lovers as a means to an end, which presages that the child would probably see an ever-moving, confusing train of men ("uncles") moving through its life. She lied repeatedly in the surrogate deal, and was giving a blind eye of encouragement to a detective/police officer who was lying in open court to a judge. She had the audacity to throw away a court summons to discuss the baby's future. Even if qualified to work as a gofer for a magazine or marketing firm, she isn't working--she's living off her parents. If she does start working, odds are that for childcare she will immediately dump the baby on parents Mac and Felicia to raise.

 

Levi sees exactly how weak she is, and I suspect that

Maxi may be his mark, whom he will rob for the Aztec treasure

.

 

Maxie would gain my respect and the court's if she laid out a plan whereby she can show that she has a steady job and has childcare planned so that she is the primary support and caregiver for the baby. She should be able to show that she has separate shelter for herself and the baby, and all that the baby needs. Diane should have brought advocates such as Mac and Felicia in court to assure the judge of Maxie's stability and independence. Maxie should have been taking some child-raising classes or community education on child-raising and parenting. If she just assumes that "the judge doesn't LIKE ME," she is continuing to prove herself a whining brat, IMO. If I were the judge, I would actually lecture her on these points in open court, since she and her attorney are apparently too dumb or too entitled to think of them independently. And I would sternly warn Diane to adopt a different, more lawyerly and respectful attitude in court, instead of either demanding, wheedling, or using emotional blackmail on the court. COURT IS NOT JUST ANOTHER "PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE," Maxie.

Edited June 22, 2014 by P3pp3rb1rd

[Tiger]

Is my wacko affiliate the only one airing GH from 1:59 - 2:57 all this week?  

Edited June 22, 2014 by Tiger

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I don't mind a lack of realism in my soaps, not at all.  I'll get on board a 'back from the dead' story with the best of them, and I'm willing to hand wave a certain amount of police and lawyer stuff.  IF it's done well.  And that's why I get so mad at this show.  So much of it is just really poorly done.  Sometimes it's like the writers are more focused on the end game of the story rather than actually *telling* the story, letting it play out.  Character development, evolution of relationships - this is the stuff that makes the unrealistic silly crap worth watching.  And GH is missing so much of that.  Almost everything seems to happen just to propel certain plots forward, rather than letting the plots unfold "naturally" within the lives of the characters.  And so we have really inconsistent behaviors from characters and weird leaps in logic.  It's annoying and makes the show so much less fun to watch.

 

Makes you long for old school soaps, doesn't it? (I still want Another World back and it's been 15 years) 

 

Nathan and Maxie's relationship has the most organic buildup I've seen on this show for a long time. They went from snippy, begrudging roommates, to hesitant friends. I wonder if it's a total accident. 

[tvgoddess]

 

She's been a slut in the past, going to bed with lovers as a means to an end, which presages that the child would probably see an ever-moving, confusing train of men ("uncles") moving through its life.

 

Slut-shaming aside, being a "slut" on a soap is no reason for a mother to lose visitation rights of her child. And as you said, it's in the past. (I didn't start watching until she was with Spinelli, so I can't answer whether she was or wasn't). Regardless, if you want to start looking at every female's sexual record so to speak, no one on the show would have custody of their own children. Not an effective argument IMHO.

[peachmangosteen]

Be careful what you wish for just in case you're actually joking about "Nucas" or "Jucas".  There have been portions of the audience pushing for a hookup between them.  RC and company clearly read message boards and sometimes they deliver. 

 

Oh, I've been down for Nathan/Lucas since day 1, so I'm not joking. Pretty much anything to get Lucas away from Felix is OK with me. As it is now, I've taken to hating Lucas because he's an asshole who actually likes Felix and it makes me sad to hate Lucas.

[Fylaki]

 

She's been a slut in the past, going to bed with lovers as a means to an end, which presages that the child would probably see an ever-moving, confusing train of men ("uncles") moving through its life.

I don't think it is remotely fair to call Maxie a slut, even by the world's standards let alone a soap. As far as I can recall there was the boy in High School (Kyle??), Lucky (and yes he was married but it takes two to tango), The Cop who got killed, Cooper Barrett, Franco and Spin and now Levi, that is seven for a woman in her mid-twenties, perhaps a "slut" in the Christian Circles I normally run in but hardly one in the world and hardly one on a soap. I think Carly has her beat by a few and Bobbie and Lucy have her beat by dozens.

[OnceSane]

Maxie deserves to at least have visitation, supervised or not, IMO.  & she deserves to ride Nathan like a cowgirl after Levi.

 

Speaking of Levi, he needs to be off my screen, so if

he's going to steal some Aztec treasure

, he needs to get on it.

 

WE NEVER CARED needs to also show her crazy to everyone sooner rather than later so she can leave too.

[sunnyface]

Speaking of Levi, he needs to be off my screen

 

My screen would prefer him off of my screen, but it would rather have Levi on during any day of the week than have Spinelli.  Say what you want about Levi, I think that the actor is doing a bang-up job of bringing out the Maxie in Maxie.  Having Nathan around ain't hurting her performance either.  I never enjoyed the character of Maxie when I started rewatching a couple of years ago.  Maxie has no chemistry with nuLulu and not even a younger Maggie Smith could have sold an acting performance of wanting to be with Spinelli.