Episode Discussion: TFGH

[ciarra]

I wish Sonny would have fallen into a steaming pile of cat crap.  He's been laying in the dirt for months, I mean a day or so, why can't he get a disease?  Why hasn't gangrene set in on his leg? 

[Asp Burger]

10 hours ago, Linny said:

Au revoir, Spencer. May you enjoy your fancy French school, and may Laura and Kevin enjoy living life on their own terms.

A life we will see only slightly more of than we do of Spencer at the French school.

When Laura and Kevin first got together (a development that had something to do with cryptography, law books, and Helena's will), they were on about twice a month.  With Laura's main source of story now eliminated, I suspect she will go back to Lulu support duty, with Kevin as her occasional sidekick.  

[boes]

3 hours ago, P3pp3rb1rd said:

I don't like GF crying at the drop of a hat when her grandchild is sent back to school, even though I know it has always been her MO. Tears and sniveling when she rendered her disciplinary decision about sending Spencer back to finishing school caused me to roll the eyes. She was right to explain to him that Valentin is her adult problem, but I'd like to see her cheerfully and enthusiastically describe the new challenges and adventures he will enjoy at school. Spencer should be in math and chess competitions and play his favorite sports and act in his favorite plays and travel to develop himself  instead of scheming vendettas to avenge his father. He needs pets and music lessons and a ton of fascinating books to read. Teach him exercise and how to cook. Riding lessons and sailing lessons. No need for tears and drama. Teach the kid to enjoy life and its countless opportunities.

Or she could have told him he's a supremely annoying little twit and he's always going to be exactly that.

GH hasn't been an affirmation for the best life has to offer in going on 20 years.  And Lil' Spencer is a giant sized pain in the nether regions. And I wouldn't give him even a python for a pet.

Damien has more charm.

Edited August 5, 2017 by boes

[stlbf]

Ava's depression could be interesting if this show ever handled any serious subject even remotely decently. Sure, this moronic "disfigurement" is ridiculous. The makeup is a joke. But the idea that Ava has major guilt over being a major cause in Morgan's demise(a man that had loved for quite some time in recent years) isn't out of the realm of possibility. But I'm sure all she needs is for a man to tell her to clean up, smile and that'll get her right over her silly little issues!

[Asp Burger]

How much of Friday's show was really a show? It felt like a quarter of it was reused footage of the Sam/Sonny confrontation.  KMo and MB are repetitious enough when they're doing new material; I don't need to see exactly the same performances from them.  

[sunnyface]

Quote

have the Cockroaches get caught in a blast, dig themselves out, go to the hospital, have Sonny go through surgery to get the bullet, come out of surgery and wake up groggy in recovery

Couldn't Sonny have stayed in a coma for a bit?  They had to wake up the big bad mobster to narc on his #2's moll?

Quote

And someone else please tell me they hear the way CL smacks her lips before every other sentence, cause it's bugging me.

She has tics (e.g., extraneous eye movements while she waits for opposing actors to spit out their lines).  There have been a lot worse actresses in that age group that show has hoisted on us. The actress seems to be of the age to know that it's tough to get a gig and she wants to hang on and has been able to withstand her clunky background story intro.  CL has been able to deliver her lines seemingly as effortlessly as the actors who have decades of experience.  I don't think that I have ever sighed when I see her come onto the screen - unlike MB/Carly/Jason who make me sad/angry every millisecond that they continue to stain this show.

[HipOldBat]

8 hours ago, stlbf said:

 But the idea that Ava has major guilt over being a major cause in Morgan's demise(a man that had loved for quite some time in recent years) isn't out of the realm of possibility. 

That, sort of (I was never a Morgan fan and celebrated his demise)...but imo, her compassion for Spencer and her respect for Nikolas and his memory are issues I would like to see GH address, and eventually used to redeem the character (somewhat).  Probably not going to happen, though.

[Cheyanne11]

Things that made me nuts this week:

Sonny and Carly barely getting dust on their clothes after being involved in an explosion.  I know this is SOP for soaps, but it drives me bananas.

Ava claiming she had consulted "all the best doctors in the world and they said there's nothing they can do for me."  Oh, bull-friggin-shit. 

Does Valentin's before makeover pic get worse and worse each time?  I suspect next time he shows it he'll have a third eye in the middle of his forehead.

Nelle suddenly being a bullet expert.  I only approve of this if they're going to ret-con her as an international assassin and she gets to take out Sonny, Carly, Jason and Sam.  Otherwise...

[ciarra]

For a brick building, there sure was a lot of papery drywall that landed on Scummy. 

[yowsah1]

On 8/2/2017 at 9:22 PM, Lobsel Vith said:

What's bizarre is that I can't imagine anyone with a semblance of intelligence thinking that appealing to only a single fanbase will somehow keep this show afloat.

Appealing to a single fanbase while alienating all the other fanbases.  According to the shit-flinging monkeys who run this show, that's the key to success!

 

On 8/4/2017 at 6:52 AM, Winston Wolfe said:

How about when Luke went to Casa Corinthos and made Sonny cancel the hit he ordered on him?  I loved that episode just based on the dismissive way Luke handled Jason.  It was kind of like "go away little boy, the grown-ups have stuff to talk about."

So it's been over 20 years since Sonny has lost, even a little bit.  That explains so much.

[statsgirl]

3 hours ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Things that made me nuts this week:

Ava claiming she had consulted "all the best doctors in the world and they said there's nothing they can do for me."  Oh, bull-friggin-shit.

Nelle suddenly being a bullet expert.  I only approve of this if they're going to ret-con her as an international assassin and she gets to take out Sonny, Carly, Jason and Sam.  Otherwise...

Nelle being ret-conned as an international assassin, or even a member of the WSB, gets all my support.

Ava said she had consulted all the best doctors "over the internet".  I rolled my eyes.  Did she have a high def camera so they could get a good look at the actual scarring?  Or is "all the best doctors" enough writing for her story?

[P3pp3rb1rd]

8 hours ago, yowsah1 said:

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 8:22 PM, Lobsel Vith said:

What's bizarre is that I can't imagine anyone with a semblance of intelligence thinking that appealing to only a single fanbase will somehow keep this show afloat.

Appealing to a single fanbase while alienating all the other fanbases.  According to the shit-flinging monkeys who run this show, that's the key to success!

Does MB get so much screen time and storyline and tie-ins to other sl is because he was in a full motion picture as Desi in the Desi/Luci movie? Carrying a major role in a movie might impress the writers to use the character more. Just wondering.

[Vella]

1 hour ago, P3pp3rb1rd said:

Does MB get so much screen time and storyline and tie-ins to other sl is because he was in a full motion picture as Desi in the Desi/Luci movie? Carrying a major role in a movie might impress the writers to use the character more. Just wondering.

No, not at all. That was a widely panned flop of a tv movie from 25 years ago. 

What pushed him to massive popularity and endless front burner status was the success of S&B.  What keeps it going is the nostalgia of THAT Sonny and that time period and that pairing.  The show may brag about his legendary status, the mob, S&C etc. but really, I think his front burner status lives off those S&B fumes. 

[Asp Burger]

It's always hard to say. When you think of the iconic performers of daytime television, or the mainstays of particular shows, they're not always the best actors. I don't think Susan Lucci or Deidre Hall was any great shakes, either, but you cannot think of All My Children or Days of our Lives without thinking of them. It's some combination of a storyline or pairing that launched them in a big way, a character who was right for a particular era, and then the actor's willingness to settle down for a long time and work hard.

In the case of Sonny, most of us here may be sick of the mob crap, but the character is a type that has had appeal through the ages. Clark Gable became a star in the '30s playing a whole series of characters like that. They shoved women around (figuratively or literally), they were smug, they were macho, they were "dangerous," they were often involved in illegal things, the heroines knew they "shouldn't" have gotten involved but they couldn't resist, etc.  It wasn't that Clark Gable was the best actor around. He and the studios were just smart enough to keep him doing what he did well, for the most part. There was one movie in which he tried to stretch in the role of an enlightened Irish politician, talking in a refined way and saying things to the female lead like, "I've kept you waiting; I apologize," and he even had a big tearjerker deathbed scene. It was the biggest bomb of his career.  

I have to grudgingly admit it's more than S&B fumes. That Sonny/Brenda and Sonny/Brenda/Jax period did make him, but that was a long time ago, and a lot of actors have come and gone since then. Another factor is that the show has had more than one head writer or executive producer who wanted to heavily feature organized crime, and so General Hospital became "the organized-crime show that also has a hospital in it." Since MB did already have an existing (and sizable) fan base, the straightest line to follow would be to make Sonny the center of that, rather than the characters played by Ted King, Brandon Barash, or William DeVry.  

Edited August 6, 2017 by Asp Burger

[Originalroux]

On 8/2/2017 at 0:37 AM, Asp Burger said:

They probably were not trying to be funny, but the last two lines of Stone's character bio at GH Wiki crack me up.

On September 29, 2010, Stone returned to help Robin when she was trapped in a well.

On August 1, 2017, Stone returned to help Sonny when he was shot and trapped in a dumpster. 

So, in other words, Stone is Lassie.

[dubbel zout]

7 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

When you think of the iconic performers of daytime television, or the mainstays of particular shows, they're not always the best actors. I don't think Susan Lucci or Deidre Hall was any great shakes, either, but you cannot think of All My Children or Days of our Lives without thinking of them. It's some combination of a storyline or pairing that launched them in a big way, a character who was right for a particular era, and then the actor's willingness to settle down for a long time and work hard.

Exactly. Lucci was first nominated for a best actress Emmy in 1978; it took 21 years and 18 nominations to finally win (and she was nominated two more times after that). To a certain extent that doesn't mean much, but compare it to Erika Slezak, who had a similar run as Victoria Lord on OTLT and won a record six best actress Emmys (and had only nine nominations). I'd say Slezak is definitely the stronger actor, and is the icon of her soap, but whose name is better known? Lucci's, and not only because of the Emmy stuff.

GH will forever be known as the show with Luke and Laura, no matter how much emphasis Sonny and the mob gets.

Edited August 6, 2017 by dubbel zout
bit of clarification

[mostlylurking]

On 8/4/2017 at 10:01 PM, P3pp3rb1rd said:

I know it has always been her MO.

Even when Laura isn't crying, most of the time she looks like she could burst into tears at any moment.  This has always bothered me about her.  I call it Resting Cry Face.

Honestly I don't even think Ava looks that bad.

[dubbel zout]

54 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

Honestly I don't even think Ava looks that bad.

She's not insta-cured, so kill her now. *rme*

[Asp Burger]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

GH will forever be known as the show with Luke and Laura, no matter how much emphasis Sonny and the mob gets.

There is something I would never be able to find, and I wish I had saved it at the time. I would be reposting a photo of it every six months. Some mainstream media publication gave a nod to one of the important anniversaries of the Luke/Laura...something. You see why I'd never be able to find it. It was the 20th anniversary of the wedding episode, or the 25th anniversary of the rape episode, or the 25th anniversary of their first meeting. But really, whatever anniversary it was, that was just the launching pad for a story about what an off-the-charts phenomenon they were, how many people were watching, how Elizabeth Taylor was a big fan and wanted to be on the show, all of that.

At the end of the story, the writer included the most delicious burn I've ever read on GH and Sonny. It was something like "Today, General Hospital only manages a fraction of those numbers. Luke and Laura are still around, but [summary of whatever lameness they were involved in in the early aughts]. Most of the focus goes to Sonny Corinthos, a sullen, emotionally fragile gangster played by Maurice Benard as a collection of tics and sub-Brando muttering."  

Edited August 6, 2017 by Asp Burger

[TeeVee329]

40 minutes ago, Asp Burger said:

There is something I would never be able to find, and I wish I had saved it at the time. I would be reposting a photo of it every six months. Some mainstream media publication gave a nod to one of the important anniversaries of the Luke/Laura...something. You see why I'd never be able to find it. It was the 20th anniversary of the wedding episode, or the 25th anniversary of the rape episode, or the 25th anniversary of their first meeting. But really, whatever anniversary it was, that was just the launching pad for a story about what an off-the-charts phenomenon they were, how many people were watching, how Elizabeth Taylor was a big fan and wanted to be on the show, all of that.

At the end of the story, the writer included the most delicious burn I've ever read on GH and Sonny. It was something like "Today, General Hospital only manages a fraction of those numbers. Luke and Laura are still around, but [summary of whatever lameness they were involved in in the early aughts]. Most of the focus goes to Sonny Corinthos, a sullen, emotionally fragile gangster played by Maurice Benard as a collection of tics and sub-Brando muttering."  

Not to get too off-topic, but on the flip side of this, I remember reading an article in Entertainment Weekly years ago comparing "General Hospital" and "The Sopranos", something like "The Sopranos is on another million month hiatus, why not watch this soap with mobsters while you're waiting" kinda thing and saying which characters were comparable.  It probably made Guza's entire life.

[dubbel zout]

23 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Not to get too off-topic, but on the flip side of this, I remember reading an article in Entertainment Weekly years ago comparing "General Hospital" and "The Sopranos", something like "The Sopranos is on another million month hiatus, why not watch this soap with mobsters while you're waiting" kinda thing and saying which characters were comparable.  It probably made Guza's entire life.

"When you're desperate for something—anything—mob-related, watch this."

[TeeVee329]

Parachuting a dayplayer Raymond Berlin in at this juncture to have this mostly nothing conversation with Rebecca Budig is bad soap, plain and simple.

Already sick of the Sonny/Sam flashbacks.

[dubbel zout]

4 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Parachuting a dayplayer Raymond Berlin in at this juncture to have this mostly nothing conversation with Rebecca Budig is bad soap, plain and simple.

Did Rebecca Budig fly to New York state to visit her father in jail? 

I like Hayley Erin's haircut. That's a good length on her.

4 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Already sick of the Sonny/Sam flashbacks.

It's not as if that stuff happened months ago. We just saw the most recent ones last week.

[Vella]

2 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Parachuting a dayplayer Raymond Berlin in at this juncture to have this mostly nothing conversation with Rebecca Budig is bad soap, plain and simple.

What sucked was that he was really good and he's only here the one day, but I bought their relationship.  They've had a few really great dayplayers recently, it's always a bit sad to see them go, especially when lazy ass actors who tic and mumble and yap over other actors lines get to stay.  Really, the scene should have been between Curtis/Hayden or Liz/Hayden.

Enough with the Sam/Sonny endless flashbacks. If the show is trying to show me how STUPID Sonny and Sam respectively are that they need to remember the shooting again, and again and again, they're doing a fine job, but please STOP already.

[Linny]

I loved Dante today, for he is clearly as Done with this Sonny nonsense as I am. He asked the same question ten different ways, got zero clear answers from Sonny, and had to put up with an overly pushy Carly. I don't blame him for throwing up his hands and walking away. It's scenes like these that reinforce my belief that Dante resents being related to these people and wishes they would all disappear.

Ava agreed to leave her apartment and go to the hospital, only to get yelled at by Sam. Bet that makes her feel great about her decision to step outside of her comfort zone. I still like Griffin and Ava and wish they'd act on that potential. And Kiki's haircut is very cute and flattering.

Hayden has spent her life making criminal mistakes and running away from her problems, which in turn has created new problems. And she thinks the best thing to do now is repeat that pattern? Okay, great plan, very smart. It's also super smart to run to daddy in prison and ask if he has any illegal funds tucked away to help her out. I'm really annoyed with every aspect of this storyline.

[seasons]

Wow, sonny really looks bald and old from that bedside angle.

 

Sam should just do all her lines in bed. At least that would explain her chronic, sleepy affect.

[dubbel zout]

2 minutes ago, Linny said:

Dante resents being related to these people and wishes they would all disappear.

Can you blame him? He can't do anything right: he's either the enemy or he doesn't try hard enough. They harass him no matter what.

I don't get why Rebecca Budig doesn't tell Finn she's being blackmailed and why. It shouldn't come as a huge shock to him. Props to Jared for sending that "tick tock" e-mail.

[seasons]

Oh, FFS. They let you bring a cell phone in to a prison visit???

And that stupid tick tock message from her ex???

Good grief.

I know when I've been insulted.

[TeeVee329]

For whatever reason, Dante investigating police cases involving Sonny et. al is annoying me more than ever before.  Just tap out and let Nathan or Jordan handle it, dude.

[Vella]

If Dante genuinely hated being related to Sonny and his cult, it would show.  The only thing that shows is he gets annoyed, a bit, when he knows they aren't telling him something.  He could have sent Nathan to interview Sonny, he could have made sarcastic remarks about the bulletproof vest and rolled his eyes at the self-defense claim because it should BURN him every single time Sonny starts shit that flies out of control. Instead, Dante tends to run around protecting Sonny and worrying about his fool ass. He's been like that from the moment Sonny shot him in the chest. He LOVES being a Corinthii.

[dubbel zout]

The only flashback of this story I can watch forever is Sam kicking Sonny into the pit.

Edited August 7, 2017 by dubbel zout
clarification; I was wrongly absolute

[LillyB]

Or "Duke" kicking Jason into the lake.

[Perkie]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Props to Jared for sending that "tick tock" e-mail.

Ugh, I thought that was so stupidly annoying.  You gave her a week, eff off until she doesn't come through in a week.  Douche.

Sam tries to get out of bed, Felix walks in and stops her, so she gets back into bed than literally in the next scene which is immediate and not after a commercial, she's out of bed finding and talking to Ava.  What was the point of Felix's scene?

Had to laugh when Sonny woke up at the end only to find a weird Sam standing over his bed.  The look on KeMo's face was hilarious .  Also Am I supposed to think that Sam isn't quite as cured as Finn thinks she' is.  

Okay, raise your hand, when Finn walked into Sam's room, who wanted/expected to say something about her halucinations being strong since she was seeing ex lover Silas in her room.  I mean, have these two shared any scenes since ME became Finn?

Edited August 7, 2017 by Perkie

[TeeVee329]

On 8/7/2017 at 5:06 PM, Perkie said:

What was the point of Felix's scene?

The eternal question.

On 8/7/2017 at 5:06 PM, Perkie said:

 I mean, have these two shared any scenes since ME became [Dr. Michael Easton]?

They have, he's the one who told her she was pregnant.  And even though Jean and Shelly said in an interview she wouldn't comment on his resemblance to Silas, someone else superseded them and she did, lol.

Edited August 11, 2017 by TeeVee329

[Perkie]

12 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

They have, he's the one who told her she was pregnant

Well sure, why wouldn't the internal infectious disease specialist give you that news?!!

[ulkis]

2 hours ago, Vella said:

 Instead, Dante tends to run around protecting Sonny and worrying about his fool ass. He's been like that from the moment Sonny shot him in the chest. He LOVES being a Corinthii.

I could have gone with "loves". But "LOVES", we'll have to agree to disagree, lol.

@Linny, I don't think Dante resents Sonny and Carly and wishes they could disappear. I think DZ plays the annoyance though.

Edited August 7, 2017 by ulkis

[movingtargetgal]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

The only flashback of this story I can watch forever is Sam kicking Sonny into the pit.

I will never see this clip too much.  I wish I knew how to make it my screensaver. 

[Star Aristille]

I don't get why Sonny doesn't just say that Sam shot him.  Some angle he's working here or something?

[TeeVee329]

Previews...uh oh, Ned wants to unseat Michael as CEO?  That could be some good old-fashioned Q fun, but will most likely result in a lot of Sonny (who made his money via illegal mob activity) and Carly (who got her international hotels via marrying rich) snarling about the Q's being backstabbers and the like.  Shut up in advance, you losers.

[P3pp3rb1rd]

56 minutes ago, Star Aristille said:

I don't get why Sonny doesn't just say that Sam shot him.  Some angle he's working here or something?

Maybe Sonny is planning to guilt Jason into taking over the mob for him? Sonny can tell Jason it was Sam who shot him, and to protect Sam and conceal from the Law and Society the knowledge, consequences, and guilt of her crime, Jason will do Sonny's bidding and pick up the reins?

Didn't Sam use her own gun, not Garvey's, to shoot Sonny? So aren't there different ballistics stats for the two bullet attacks on Sonny? Dante will be able to tell that two different guns were used?

Edited August 8, 2017 by P3pp3rb1rd

[IWantCandy71]

6 hours ago, LillyB said:

Or "Duke" kicking Jason into the lake.

Classic.Moment. I wanted to have RC's babies just because of that. Yes show, some of us DO see Jason as the murderous scuzzball he is. Thanks.

So, no ex Liver as Raymond Berlin? Even for a day, no Jerry Ver Dorn ? Somebody musta locked Uncle Frank in the janitor's closet. He probably rearranged all the cleaning supplies while he was in there.

Edited August 8, 2017 by IWantCandy71
Because it's Jerry VER Dorn, not Very Dorn.Stupid auto correct.

[ciarra]

So, is Dante going to find the gun that Sam put in the dumpster?  The gun will have her fingerprints on it.  Why was she so stupid to leave it there?  There's a giant lake she could have thrown it into, on her way home, but no, she leaves it 3 feet away from where she shot Sonny.

[ulkis]

2 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Previews...uh oh, Ned wants to unseat Michael as CEO?  That could be some good old-fashioned Q fun, but will most likely result in a lot of Sonny (who made his money via illegal mob activity) and Carly (who got her international hotels via marrying rich) snarling about the Q's being backstabbers and the like.  Shut up in advance, you losers.

That could be interesting, because in that instance, Olivia should be on Ned's side, and there could be a breach as well between her and Sonny and her and Dante. There could be lots fractured loyalties there, but GH now would probably just have Liv tell Ned how mean he's being. And Kiki and Dillon, Dillon is on Ned's side and Kiki cause of the pesky guilt over Morgan.

The missed opportunities - done on purpose a lot of the time - are crazy.

Edited August 8, 2017 by ulkis

[nilyank]

I am fine with Ned going after ELQ. I was always happy when he was CEO and found it ridiculous that he stepped aside so that inexperienced Michael could run the company. I hope Ned brings up the fact that Michael wanted to work to work with his father the mobster in that development deal.

[movingtargetgal]

I hope Ned goes after ELQ because Michael has chosen to go into business with a MOBSTER.  Michael is setting ELQ up as a  mob front.  This is such a betrayal of Edward, Lila, Tracy and Monica.  Sonny has done such damage to the Quartermaine's and he killed AJ in cold blood.  How could Michael do this?  

[Asp Burger]

11 hours ago, Vella said:

What sucked was that [Raymond Berlin dayplayer] was really good and he's only here the one day, but I bought their relationship.  They've had a few really great dayplayers recently, it's always a bit sad to see them go, especially when lazy ass actors who tic and mumble and yap over other actors lines get to stay.  Really, the scene should have been between Curtis/Hayden or Liz/Hayden.

Seriously, that was just about the best performance by a male actor on General Hospital all summer. Maybe there's something about getting these crappy scripts dropped on the doormat every week like bags of poo that wears someone down, but if you can get in and out quickly, you can be good.  

Edited August 8, 2017 by Asp Burger

[NutmegsDad]

9 hours ago, ciarra said:

So, is Dante going to find the gun that Sam put in the dumpster?  The gun will have her fingerprints on it.  Why was she so stupid to leave it there?  There's a giant lake she could have thrown it into, on her way home, but no, she leaves it 3 feet away from where she shot Sonny.

Don't worry. They've already set up the framework that Sam  wasn't competent when she shot Sonny, and she contracted the toxoplaximia because of Olivia, who was allowed to kidnap her because Julian didn't say anything even though he knew.

Ergo, Julian shot Sonny, so he's going to jail.

[NutmegsDad]

17 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I don't get why Rebecca Budig doesn't tell Finn she's being blackmailed and why. It shouldn't come as a huge shock to him. Props to Jared for sending that "tick tock" e-mail.

As I mentioned before, I can see Dr. Finn Miracle Doctor tracking down that little girl and, not only making her walk again, but turn her into a world-class athlete. Compared to other misdeeds that Hayden did as Rachel, this is weaksauce for Finn not to forgive.

[peachmangosteen]

Who played Hayden's dad? He looked really familiar to me. Granted, I was watching him on fast forward so maybe I'm wrong about him looking familiar.

[Asp Burger]

Raymond Berlin was played by Robert Curtis Brown. He's a Hey, It's That Guy type; you probably have seen him in dozens of things. Ongoing roles on daytime soaps like Search for Tomorrow and All My Children. Small parts in big movies like Catch Me If You Can and Red Dragon.  He was on the old-school 90210 for a stint. He's recently been in The Handmaid's Tale.