GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[b2H]

THANK GOD it's not Guza!

 

 

One of Marland's big rules was:  Don't fire anybody for at least 6 months.  Does anybody think this show can withstand another six months of Nina/Franco?

 

 

 

While everyone has been focused on the disastrous 14 weeks, it should be noted that ratings started severely declining when RC rolled out the big Sonny/Julian mob war.  If TPTB are smart, they'll either axe the mob shit altogether or make it a side note to other, more popular stories.

 

The viewers have been asking for less mob wars for years.  All those requests did was to generate more mob wars.  These executives are tone-deaf when it comes to listening to their audience.

[ulkis]

To be fair, that is not strictly true. There are plenty of viewers who fine with the mob/Sonny in general, and there are lots of viewers who are fine with it as long as it doesn't take over the show.

 

The mob should be lessened, but I don't think it in and of itself is the real problem. Just like everything else, it's how it's written. Don't have it take over the whole show, and don't make the man who is in charge of the mob the paterfamilias of the whole show.

Edited July 27, 2015 by ulkis

[Tiger]

Damn, this is one of those bear scenarios isn't it?

I don't want any more freaking babies but this would allow for the Q's to have an actual blood relation infant they can react with.

I will forgive Shelly & Jean for not already immediately firing Michelle & Roger if they write in Sabrina & Michael having a Q baby!

[ulkis]

Someone pointed out that TG did talk about, well, talking to Ron. From this interview (http://www.tvguide.com/news/anthony-geary-luke-1083604/)

 

TV Guide Magazine: I was starting to get the feeling that the current GH regime had either lost interest in you or had no idea what to do with you.

 

Geary: I think you're right. A year or more ago I went to them and said, "I'd like to exercise the out in my contract. I'm really not pleased with what's going on with Luke. I feel like I've done it and done it and done it." As you know, I have a wonderful life in Amsterdam and felt it was time for me to pack it in and go there permanently. And [executive produce] Frank Valentini and [hear writer] Ron Carlivati were wonderful. Frank said, "We don't want you to go, but we understand." Then, when I had about four months left to go, I realized it was going to be hard to walk away — a lot harder than I expected. This show has been my life for so long and I felt I still had something more in me. They said, "Great! What do you want to do?" I told them, "I'd like a story when Luke is proactive rather than reactive. I want him to cause problems for people, rather than helping them solve problems. I want to see a side of Luke we've never seen." When Ron came up with this Fluke idea he said, "Now, this is pretty far out. I don't know if you'll want to do it." And he got about three sentences into it and I said, "I'm in! Sign me up!" This storyline has revived my whole interest in the game.

 

Either he's that cranky Ron tried to put L&L together one last time, or he honestly just forgot that he talked to Ron. 

 

Also this is interesting in light of what happened:

 

TV Guide Magazine: You're clearly having a ball with this story and your work — especially in the scenes where Fluke met Luke — has been spectacular. I haven't seen you this turned on by the writing in years!

 

Geary: Thank you very much. That's wonderful to hear. Doing Fluke has been a real cleansing after all my years of complaining and wondering what happened to Luke's black hat. To be able to take something this far and this dark has been a real joy after 36 years. Of course, we had to do it with a different character, since Luke is not a sociopath.

 

Just kidding! He totally turned out to be a sociopath!

[TeeVee329]

Either he's that cranky Ron tried to put L&L together one last time, or he honestly just forgot that he talked to Ron.

 

Definitely the former part.  Again, it's glaring that he was complimentary about writing that let Fluke be a lecherous, coke-snorting asshole, but bashed writing that aimed to redeem Luke of his darkest sins.

[HeatLifer]

Sabrina will never leave this show, will she?

[ulkis]

Nope. :)

 

http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/ghs-jackie-zeman-interview-bobbie-and-luke-say-arrivederci-her-final-scenes-with-tony-geary-writing-regime-change/2015/07/26/

 

Look Jackie, you may not have done drugs, but Geary definitely did.

[TeeVee329]

I want to harp on Michael Fairman making it all about Luke and not asking what JZ thinks of Bobbie's stories, but then I had to concede that Bobbie really has had no stories so the question was kinda moot, heh.

 

ETA...I was actually always surprised Ron didn't do more with Bobbie.  She's the closest thing GH has to a Viki-type character.

Edited July 27, 2015 by TeeVee329

[Oracle42]

I will forgive Shelly & Jean for not already immediately firing Michelle & Roger if they write in Sabrina & Michael having a Q baby!

Please no. If they write it in, we'll never be rid of her

[HeatLifer]

Please no. If they write it in, we'll never be rid of her

We never will be!!! :/

[jsbt]

I think Ron did nearly as much as he possibly could with Bobbie if only in terms of her volume of airtime, simply because Jackie's face and performances have had so many ups and downs. I love Jackie and there's only so much I can take of her at this point. The real issue was in how RC sometimes used her, like the endless HS catfighting with Lucy over Scott, or not bringing her into Val's orbit until months after Pat died and she's already fucked Dante.

 

I have a feeling Bobbie and others will go MIA with the new writers, and I hate that. But simply having them appear semi-regularly was not always doing them favors at this juncture.

[dubbel zout]

I will forgive Shelly & Jean for not already immediately firing Michelle & Roger if they write in Sabrina & Michael having a Q baby!

I don't care whose baby it is: NO MORE BABIES.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Can someone please clear something up for me? Usually, Serial Drama is very reliable in its information--but last week, when it was announced who the new head writers were going to be, they, along with the people who commented, seem to think that Passanante has just now been hired; and that she hasn't been writing for the show since whenever. And I recall reading her, that for awhile now, she's been co-head writer? Like unofficially? All Serial Drama (on FaceBook, I haven't been to their site), have been saying is that she's from As the World Turns, Young & the Restless and that she's AWFULLLLL!!!! Same for Altman.

 

So...are they wrong?

[KerleyQ]

You fire Ron, and the gloves come off at Soaps In Depth:  

 

Soaps In Depth ABC ‏@soapsindepthabc  4m4 minutes ago
If you've got a major event, and you're advertising it, you make sure to do something to KEEP the extra eyeballs who will be tuning in.

 

Soaps In Depth ABC ‏@soapsindepthabc  4m4 minutes ago
Sadly, I can't say that this episode did that. There was no forward momentum, nothing that would make me say "gotta watch tomorrow."
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Soaps In Depth ABC ‏@soapsindepthabc  3m3 minutes ago
The script is good, has some fun stuff in it. But it's not tune-in-tomorrow good.
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And sorry, if you advertise "be there for Luke's farewell," I'm gonna want FLASHBACKS galore! A montage! Heck, a whole hour of Luke! #GH
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[dubbel zout]

They're not wrong.

[Dandesun]

The thing is... it's not Luke Spencer who is famous. It's Luke and Laura. That's what the general populace knows. They don't know Luke and Tracy, they don't care about Luke and Tracy, they don't know or care about Luke and Sonny or Bill Eckert or Luke and Holly or any of that. What they know is Luke-n-Laura. That is fact. That is the way the world is and Tony Geary raging at that is as pointless as being angry at the rain for falling. He says he's 'almost accepted' that his obituary will read 'Luke of Luke-n-Laura died today' but he clearly hasn't gotten anywhere close.

 

There weren't flashbacks because the ones that matter are of Luke/Laura... facing down Cassadines with machine guns and evening wear. Robert's not around so there is not going to be a series of flashbacks of their friendship or an honest to God farewell scene where Luke tells ROBERT to take care of Port Charles. If they were going to do a full on farewell then they would have had to give Luke and Laura their due which covers a LOT of ground and I think we all know that Geary wasn't going to have that. He hates the wedding clips, he hates the legacy, he hates and resents it all... so he got a farewell worthy of what he's worked so hard to diminish.

 

That is not a farewell that's going to bring anyone back and anyone who is mildly curious is going to wonder why the fuck Luke and Laura aren't together in this and who the hell are all of these other people?

 

Well done, GH and TG. Pissed it down your leg again. Spite's a beautiful look on you.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Dandesun

[HeatLifer]

The ratings are going to be hiiiiilarious.

[jsbt]

It's a very strange and weirdly sad coda to Ron Carlivati's tenure, and firing, that this is how Luke went out the day after his own dismissal. Redeeming Luke and reuniting Luke and Laura were Ron's biggest dream from the day he started at the show - you even had Starr and Cole from OLTL retelling their grand love story to each other. I think it was his great white whale, and his instinct there was correct. But he could never get it past Tony Geary.

 

I think Ron might have been able to rally and push FV and the network more, to lean on Geary, the show's biggest star to accept the necessity of the show's biggest supercouple, the way he and Frank once did in a similar situation at OLTL (and which I will always be very grateful to them for) - if only he hadn't let the rest of his GH collapse in a mess of ego bias, stubborn personal favorites and meandering, eternal storylines he has refused to conclude for years because he became convinced he was the light and way of daytime in the new millennium. He became so obsessed with the OLTL struggle, with Franco and Nina, with Obrecht and his endless legion of villains, with the mutating Fluke story that was changed up to taunt the audience. He spent all the capital he had with the audience, with the network, with his EP who, whatever people want to say on social media, has almost certainly been his closest advocate and has shielded him from various network regimes. By the time it was all over, he had absolutely nothing left to write a proper "final Spencer adventure" story, or to even get Luke a half-decent sendoff on his last day.

 

Today they're both gone, in a whimper. It didn't have to be like that, but Ron bought his own ticket.

Edited July 27, 2015 by jsbt

[Chairperson Meow]

I want to add that it's kinda bittersweet because Ron came in with a bang (a cop besting Sonny and Borg? AJ Quartermaine alive? Michael learning the truth bombs of his life? Jason dying?) and went out with a whimper.

I hope the new writers can right some of the wrongs (Sonny, Westbornes, Sonny, Kiki, Sonny, Franco, carbs) and continue with the few decent things (Q's united, evil Nik, Michael hates the mob, strong women in charge).

I'd cut Sloane first though. He's not even on screen. Yawn.

[dubbel zout]

The Fluke stuff was a very long way to go just to write off TG. I know it wasn't quite that simple, but it's what it turned out to be. What a shame.

[Artsda]

 

And sorry, if you advertise "be there for Luke's farewell," I'm gonna want FLASHBACKS galore! A montage! Heck, a whole hour of Luke! #GH

So true, B&B did this today with Ally's funeral. Montages and clips of her with everyone. Yet Luke, nothing they had the opportunity to show so much good stuff. With Lucky, Ethan, Puerto Rico, with Sonny, Niagara Falls. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Artsda

[KerleyQ]

I just want to know when Ron's going to return to Twitter.  I'm so disappointed that we're not even getting passive-aggressive internet meme tweets from him.  

[HeatLifer]

I'm waiting for his one-on-one with Jamey.

[Tiger]

Praise Jasus on high! Within four days, two stupid delusional motherfuckers are both finally out of our lives!

Edited July 27, 2015 by Tiger

[WendyCR72]

I don't care whose baby it is: NO MORE BABIES.

 

Vasectomies and/or sterilization FOR ALL.

[magnolia11]

I really could get used to this getting-rid-of-someone-every-day thing.  Ron, Geary, Easton.  Can Tuesday be Howarth day?

[WendyCR72]

I really could get used to this getting-rid-of-someone-every-day thing.  Ron, Geary, Easton.  Can Tuesday be Howarth day?

 

Sure! Wednesday is Michelle Stafford. Thursday is Theresa Castillo. I'd also had loved to devote two days to Sonny and Carly exits, but we know the score there, don't we?

[ulkis]

I don't mind Carly. I like to hate her a lot of the time.

Sonny needs to be less full of murder, or either have people dialing back on kissing his butt.

[TeeVee329]

Yeah, I won't even waste my breath wishing away Sonny and Carly.  And Carly is kinda fun to hate.  I really want her in another story where we, the audience, are waiting for the roof to cave in on her...like if Avery turns out to be Morgan's and she switched the tests, for example.

[magnolia11]

Yeah, I won't even waste my breath wishing away Sonny and Carly.  And Carly is kinda fun to hate.  I really want her in another story where we, the audience, are waiting for the roof to cave in on her...like if Avery turns out to be Morgan's and she switched the tests, for example.

 

But, going by past history, people in town ultimately just end up shrugging, rolling their eyes and saying, "Oh, that's Carly" and asking her if she's OK after she acts like a colossal asshole, and she never actually suffers.  If these new writers should want to take a different approach to her, though, I'd by all means love to watch it.

[KerleyQ]

If we can just get a nice "rock to the head" or "busted for all of her lies at her own wedding" moment for Carly like twice a year or so, I'd be good. 

[TeeVee329]

Exactly.  Because right now she's all goo goo gaga with Sonny and that's not fun.  Carly can't be an insufferable shrew AND boring, you know?

[WendyCR72]

Exactly.  Because right now she's all goo goo gaga with Sonny and that's not fun.  Carly can't be an insufferable shrew AND boring, you know?

 

But in all seriousness, S&C seems to be the default and code for "everything with these two has been done and we have no fucking clue what to do with Sonny and Carly, now, so back to couplehood it is!"

 

It's been almost 20 years with Carly and 20+ years for Sonny. And with few breaks. Barenaked Ladies put it best when they said. "It's all been done."

[TeeVee329]

It's been almost 20 years with Carly and 20+ years for Sonny. And with few breaks. Barenaked Ladies put it best when they said. "It's all been done."

 

I'm still waiting for Josslyn to hit her teens and make Carly's like a waking nightmare.

[WendyCR72]

I'm still waiting for Josslyn to hit her teens and make Carly's like a waking nightmare.

 

I'm just not sure Joss will be aged right now with so much else to do. And because keeping her young keeps Carly younger (which is sexist, true, but until RC - and who knows now - characters with all grown kids were shoved into an old people's closet). So I'm not counting on that.

[KerleyQ]

I'm still waiting for Josslyn to hit her teens and make Carly's like a waking nightmare.

 

If we don't get Joss in full "you're not my father!" glory to Sonny after the wedding, I'm going to be pissed.  Seeing Jax's daughter cozy up to Sonny would make too gross for words.  I need her, at some point, and her teens would be a good time, to find out all the shit Sonny's pulled on her father over the years, including trying to kill him and being instrumental in keeping her away from him, and just lose her shit on him.  And on her mother for marrying the moobster who tried to kill her father. 

[TeeVee329]

Oh no, I wasn't saying they're going to age Joss now, or even that they should.  But that story is the one Carly story left I would wholeheartedly be into.

[jsbt]

I just want to know when Ron's going to return to Twitter.  I'm so disappointed that we're not even getting passive-aggressive internet meme tweets from him.  

 

Pretty sure the answer may be 'never'.

 

Sonny and Carly are the least of my problems these days. The show knew they did wrong even though they were somewhat loath to acknowledge it at times, and they let Michael keep some of his strength and pride. MB seems to play it the right way, IMO. LW is doing LW's Carly and for the most part her Carly works, especially with stronger writing than we have right now. If they're allowed a modicum of vulnerability they don't bug me that much anymore.

Edited July 27, 2015 by jsbt

[ulkis]

http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/anthony-geary-leaves-general-hospital-say-goodbye-to-luke-spencer-2015277

 

6 Most Memorable Luke moments

[jsbt]

Laura Wright talks the change at GH and TG's exit. That woman is a pro.

[HeatLifer]

She always knows what to say. But I also think it's easy to be that person when you're the lead. I'd love to hear from some of the actors who were clearly pissed on by the writers.

[backhometome]

 

6 Most Memorable Luke moments

That list became invalid when they mentioned the awful Fluke story. 

[Oracle42]

Fluke is memorable - just not for the right reasons.

[yowsah1]

I'm waiting for his one-on-one with Jamey.

 

 

I'm waiting for his no-holds-barred tell-all behind-the-scenes memoir.  It'll be epic.

[dubbel zout]

That woman is a pro.

She's been in daytime for 24 years. You don't stay that long without knowing how to play the game.

 

I liked her mentioning that Ron brought back some core characters like Lucy and Felicia. You talk about that, too, jsbt, and rightly so. It's too bad Ron lost interest in them, as he tends to do.

 

I also liked her acknowledging that Ron (and Frank) saved GH. No matter what happens now, those two bought GH some years its sister soaps unfortunately didn't get.

[TeeVee329]

He's broken his silence:

 

Thanks to everyone @GeneralHospital for 4 wonderful years. And thanks to the #GH fans for all your love & support. It means the world to me.

 

EW, and then there was this horrible tweet he replied to from the actor who played Ford on OLTL.  Shut up, dude!

 

David A. Gregory ‏@davidagreg  Jul 25
@carlivatiron you're a champ! You gave me some of the best writing I've ever worked with - hope the next chapter rocks your socks

[Tiger]

Uh, how does Feb 2012 to July 2015 equal four years? The same way Jake dying in Apr 2011 and being revealed alive in July 2015 equaled five?

[TeeVee329]

Uh, how does Feb 2012 to July 2015 equal four years? The same way Jake dying in Apr 2011 and being revealed alive in July 2015 equaled five?

 

To be fair, I think ABC hired Ron and Frank to take over GH the summer of 2011, right after OLTL was cancelled.

[HeatLifer]

He's broken his silence:

EW, and then there was this horrible tweet he replied to from the actor who played Ford on OLTL. Shut up, dude!

Yup. And now he's thanking all his favorite pets. Fitting.

[Tiger]

To be fair, I think ABC hired Ron and Frank to take over GH the summer of 2011, right after OLTL was cancelled.

Jill was definitely there until at least Dec 2011, and Wolfe's material continued to air until at least Jan 2012. I'm pretty sure Valentini was credited on screen for a month or more before Ron was. And I'm pretty sure OLTL didn't go off the air until early Jan 2012.