GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[Francie]

On ‎6‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 5:17 PM, jsbt said:

 I don't think she would ever have chosen to be paired up with the serial killer, Roger Howarth or not.

Oh but she did, jsbt. She did.

I won't deny that making Howarth Franco was Ron's and Frank's brain child, and they were insistent on bringing him back and plopping him right back into a pairing with Wright. So, technically, perhaps she didn't have much, if any, of a choice. But she embraced it. She welcomed the idea. That I saw from her own statements, the least of which was her getting on twitter and trying to put displeased fans in their place by comparing Franco and Carly with Luke and Laura.

Wright could have gone to bat for more scenes and more of a storyline with Sean Kanan. Ron actually liked to please the actors when he could. He liked to think that he was on good terms with them and that they personally liked him. He wrote in Laura cutting her hair onscreen because that's something she wanted. I know a minor point, but an example nonetheless. Laura was practically giddy about working with Howarth, and she pushed it with Ron during some ABC Casino Night fundraiser in New York.  She pushed the pairing whenever she got the chance, and she didn't care who Howarth was playing.

[Francie]

10 hours ago, LeftPhalange said:

Even if every actor came out and said they think the show is shit, what good would that do? A bunch of them would be written out or get even worse stories and the show would still be shit.

TPTB aren't going to do anything they don't want to do. The actors can make suggestions or demands but if TPTB don't want to give in they won't and the actors will either suck it up and deal with it or leave. If anyone at ABC wanted the show to be better it would be.  

 The  original question being pondered was "why don't the actors want honest criticism from the soap bloggers?"

 I'm postulating that half the time they don't even realize that they are  being subjected to affectation. They honestly think they are putting out good drama and are perplexed why the fans don't respond to their current "offerings" (I can't call them storylines because they don't  have a narrative components to qualify as such).  

 Moving onto your point, there's also a huge distance between the rah/rah stuff that they and the soap bloggers do and calling the show "shit."  It's OK to acknowledge the somethings don't work out well. Or that a certain plot point is a bit forced.  Instead, the tactic usually seems to be to insult the audience and blame them for either not getting on board or just not getting it at all. 

[HeatLifer]

 Moving onto your point, there's also a huge distance between the rah/rah stuff that they and the soap bloggers do and calling the show "shit."  It's OK to acknowledge the somethings don't work out well. Or that a certain plot point is a bit forced.  Instead, the tactic usually seems to be to insult the audience and blame them for either not getting on board or just not getting it all

I think the actors who know a story or plot or pairing or whatever is shit also just...stay quiet. An example of that would be JT with Samtrick. He didn't even TRY to get the audience involved or attempt to convince them that they should give them a chance or accept them, on social media or otherwise. It wasn't until that final interview where he admitted, "Yep, we knew it was forced! We tried!"

I just don't think some actors feel comfortable enough to even question things publicly (no matter how diplomatic) while they're still employed.

[Ambrosefolly]

This is where we need an executive producer that cares about the show. They should be open enough to ideas and objections of actors when it benefits the show, but be willing to put the foot down when the actor is being self serving.

[LeftPhalange]

12 hours ago, Francie said:

Oh but she did, jsbt. She did.

I won't deny that making Howarth Franco was Ron's and Frank's brain child, and they were insistent on bringing him back and plopping him right back into a pairing with Wright. So, technically, perhaps she didn't have much, if any, of a choice. But she embraced it. She welcomed the idea. That I saw from her own statements, the least of which was her getting on twitter and trying to put displeased fans in their place by comparing Franco and Carly with Luke and Laura.

I remember LW being excited to be paired with RoHo when he was playing Todd. Other than that tweet I don't remember her saying anything supportive of the pairing with Franco. And even that tweet didn't come off as being supportive, more like misguided and defensive because she knew people weren't happy.

 

11 hours ago, Francie said:

 I'm postulating that half the time they don't even realize that they are  being subjected to affectation. They honestly think they are putting out good drama and are perplexed why the fans don't respond to their current "offerings" (I can't call them storylines because they don't  have a narrative components to qualify as such).  

 Moving onto your point, there's also a huge distance between the rah/rah stuff that they and the soap bloggers do and calling the show "shit."  It's OK to acknowledge the somethings don't work out well. Or that a certain plot point is a bit forced.  Instead, the tactic usually seems to be to insult the audience and blame them for either not getting on board or just not getting it at all. 

I believe the actors know the writing is crap but still champion it on social media and in interviews because they understand the reality of the situation. If people aren't watching the show it's more likely to be canceled and then they're out of a job. I'm sure a lot of them are scared to say anything negative because they worry there will be repercussions, and rightfully so. I don't get the impression that the people in charge are very receptive to criticism or constructive feedback. 

[dubbel zout]

15 hours ago, HeatLifer said:

I just don't think some actors feel comfortable enough to even question things publicly (no matter how diplomatic) while they're still employed.

I can't blame them for this. I think it's kind of tacky to publicly badmouth a story while it's going on—or when it's over, but I think it's fair at that point to say it wasn't a favorite or something along those lines. No one gets a good story every time, that's the nature of soaps.

[Sake614]

Ratings are out...

http://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2016/06/ratings-new-low-days-pre-emptions-crush-yr?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[In2You]

On 6/22/2016 at 10:51 AM, TeeVee329 said:

Eh, I'm with jsbt.  If Molly and Rafe had taken off as a couple, we would have seen a lot more of it on-screen, regardless of HP's age and appearance.  Molly and TJ both really recessed once Rafe (and Felix's annoying sister Taylor) flopped.

Can we really call Taylor a flop though. Both actresses combined the character was only onscreen less than 20 episodes. She literally just came on to sleep with TJ so they could have an excuse to hook up Molly with Rafe.

[Badsamaritan]

I don't blame the actors so much for not speaking out, it's when the soap press interviews the exec producer or writers and doesn't press them. Soap writers and producers have even less of a chance in the soap world if they get canned because there's only one or 2 at most per show. I mean, for all we talk about him, where is Ron Carlivati now? Will JFP from YR be on the unemployment line for the next year too? It's the folks in charge that the soap press needs to push back on. That Jelly interview only told me one thing - the dumb asses write the story and then think about characters, an ass backward way to write a soap if ever there was one. So why wouldn't Fairman press them on that, ask why they aren't delving into the characters they already have to create new story? I just really wanna ask Frank why he's trying to single-handedly employ damn near every out of work soap actor there is.

I'm grumpy this morning, and willful ignorance and arrogance just really chap my ass.

[TeeVee329]

12 hours ago, In2You said:

Can we really call Taylor a flop though. Both actresses combined the character was only onscreen less than 20 episodes. She literally just came on to sleep with TJ so they could have an excuse to hook up Molly with Rafe.

I think she flopped, or at least Ron lost interest in her once Molly/Rafe flopped.  They were also setting up another story with her and Felix and some secret she had over him that went nowhere.

[UYI]

3 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

 Will JFP from YR be on the unemployment line for the next year too? 

 

She's about to turn 66. She may just retire. 

[Ambrosefolly]

14 hours ago, In2You said:

Can we really call Taylor a flop though. Both actresses combined the character was only onscreen less than 20 episodes. She literally just came on to sleep with TJ so they could have an excuse to hook up Molly with Rafe.

I think with better writers and producers, Taylor could have been Brenda 2.0, but only if the first actress had stuck around, but she went to off to greener pastures. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by Ambrosefolly

[Francie]

I mean, for all we talk about him, where is Ron Carlivati now?

I've heard he's still on contract with ABC.

[TeeVee329]

Wasn't he writing some primetime pilot for them or something?

[Francie]

1 hour ago, TeeVee329 said:

Wasn't he writing some primetime pilot for them or something?

I think he did. But whatever it was, it didn't get picked up. 

It was after pilot season ended that someone noticed that he had updated one of social media profiles (facebook, maybe? It wasn't twitter) to identify his occupation as "staff writer" for ABC.

[Sake614]

His FB profile just says 'worked at Disney ABC"

[In2You]

9 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

I think with better writers and producers, Taylor could have been Brenda 2.0, but only if the first actress had stuck around, but she went to off to greener pastures. 

Ironically both actresses went on to recur on The Fosters but neither were on the show long enough for the character to go anywhere. Cuz Ron had no real direction for the character.

[Tiger]

The first Taylor was really good on that show with Terry O'Quinn & Vanessa Williams, and I think she left GH to do a movie.  I'm surprised she hasnt gone on to become a star.

[RedVelvetWaffles]

RE: That interview with the writers, I blame Mo, Frank, and Nathan for the crap that is airing more than the writers. Frank seems especially hellbent on the destruction of GH. Mo pitches his fits and they give him what he wants to the detriment of the show as a whole.

Mo doesn't seem to realize if confronted with a real life mob boss he would shit his pants, because he doesn't seem to realize Sonny isn't real and no one would be scared of a midget mob boss. The other mob bosses would have offed a real Sonny years ago.

Edited June 28, 2016 by RedVelvetWaffles

[ulkis]

Cute! and hot.

[Francie]

I adore Ingo. From his taking a stand against the juice Ponzi scheme. To just being plain cute.

[In2You]

19 hours ago, Tiger said:

The first Taylor was really good on that show with Terry O'Quinn & Vanessa Williams, and I think she left GH to do a movie.  I'm surprised she hasnt gone on to become a star.

She's been cast in alot of pilots since then(she was the oringinal actress in the ABC Family Recovery Road pilot but after it was greenlit they decided to recast) and she's currently in the Cruel Intentions remake

[TeeVee329]

Oh gawd, another Varni interview:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weekdayswithmurph/2016/06/28/interview-with-abcs-nathan-varni

[Sake614]

Oh my! Is Sebastian wearing s speedo????? :#bestillmyheart

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Oh gawd, another Varni interview

WHY?

[yowsah1]

2 hours ago, Sake614 said:

Oh my! Is Sebastian wearing s speedo????? :#bestillmyheart

Screw GH.  Just film these guys cavorting around a pool.  ;)

[Badsamaritan]

Ignacio Serricchio...mmmmmmmmmm......DAYUM that man is Fine as FUCK, Lawd hammercy!!!

They should just film him and Curtis walking around PC half nekkid. Guarantee the ratings would go up, bet.

[tvgoddess]

15 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Oh gawd, another Varni interview:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weekdayswithmurph/2016/06/28/interview-with-abcs-nathan-varni

Anyone want to summarize? Or just give a couple of tidbits? 

[NiqueAlexis]

12 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

Ignacio Serricchio...mmmmmmmmmm......DAYUM that man is Fine as FUCK, Lawd hammercy!!!

They should just film him and Curtis walking around PC half nekkid. Guarantee the ratings would go up, bet.

His Diego was a sorry excuse for a character at the end but IS had mad chem with KSt, LL & manage too strike a match with chemistry challenged JMB.

Edited June 29, 2016 by NiqueAlexis

[Oracle42]

Awe, Diegoak! IS was the original Tree but unlike RP, IS generated chemistry with just about every female he shared scenes with - I thought he and LL were particularly engaging

[KerleyQ]

18 minutes ago, NiqueAlexis said:

He is Diego was a sorry excuse for a character at the end but IS had mad chem with KSt, LL & manage too strike a match with chemistry challenged JMB.

I was so pissed when they ignored the clear chemistry between Diego and Maxie in favor of pairing her with that bland cop, Jesse.  

[UYI]

Were IS and KMc ever a couple? I remember there were rumors around 2008 that they were.

[dubbel zout]

What happened BTS that Diego turned into a serial killer? And a zombie? That was all so WTF.

[OnceSane]

I think they wrote themselves into a corner.  Logan was supposed to be the TMK, but they wanted to keep him & had to scramble to find a new killer. 

[TeeVee329]

Didn't they get some flack about their portrayal of war vets around that time?  Or was that after Logan went crazy?

[dubbel zout]

Their portrayal of vets hasn't improved much—Shawn is in jail for attempted murder.

The only part of the TMK story I liked was Carly looking at a list of text abbreviations when trying to solve the case. The rest of it was garbage.

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, UYI said:

Were IS and KMc ever a couple? I remember there were rumors around 2008 that they were.

No one ever knew if it was just heavy flirting or what.

[Fellaway]

Looks like there is somebody beside Ingo.  I wonder who didn't make the cut.

[HeatLifer]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

No one ever knew if it was just heavy flirting or what.

LOL, fans always thought KMc was dating X person in the cast. I think part of it is because she was always so private about her dating life after FPJ.

[NiqueAlexis]

5 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

I was so pissed when they ignored the clear chemistry between Diego and Maxie in favor of pairing her with that bland cop, Jesse.  

Me too & I liked Jesse/Maxie but I always felt that IS & KS had wayyyyy better chemistry & heat too them. I always thought that going with them was the better route then Jesse & Brooklyn. Lucas & Brooklyn had the chemistry.

[WendyCR72]

5 minutes ago, NiqueAlexis said:

Lucas & Brooklyn had the chemistry.

They really did which is why it seemed to totally make no sense they were dropped (and fast) and then Lucas came out. I'm not against him being gay, but his initial rendering had no uncertainty about his sexuality and he was really into Brooklyn, so the abrupt change made no sense to me.

I've gotten used to the switch now, but the whole thing was handled horribly.

[NiqueAlexis]

23 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

They really did which is why it seemed to totally make no sense they were dropped (and fast) and then Lucas came out. I'm not against him being gay, but his initial rendering had no uncertainty about his sexuality and he was really into Brooklyn, so the abrupt change made no sense to me.

I've gotten used to the switch now, but the whole thing was handled horribly.

I actually found that strange too. I never understood why they made Lucas Jones gay. It always came across too me that Guza being Guza didn't know what to do with Lucas so well let's make him gay. Cop out & then send him off out of town. 

[Oracle42]

It's never led to any kind of decent story for him and the character was first sent away and then sidelined when he returned. They're doing the same thing with Kristina and it's gross. 

[WendyCR72]

3 hours ago, Oracle42 said:

It's never led to any kind of decent story for him and the character was first sent away and then sidelined when he returned. They're doing the same thing with Kristina and it's gross. 

Which is why I was against Kristina suddenly switching teams, too. Not because being gay is "wrong" (which is ridiculous in 2016) but because soaps still shy away from this at all, so - as sad as it is - it hampers a character going forward because it's about statistics to say a show has gay people than it is about telling a story with people that just happen to be gay. Probably why - at least for now - Kristina still seems ambivalent so the show can either say she is bi (which means men, too) or just say she was "confused". Like it or not, gay characters become wallpaper. Days once seemed like it would buck that trend...and now, not so much. It's sad, and I say this as a straight female. But the soaps pat themselves on the back only to back pedal. I don't see it changing, ever. Not with only 4 soaps left and with seemingly the old guard forever in charge.

Either way, soaps are still afraid to explore this. So I have no idea why they even broach the issue if they won't deal with it.

[NiqueAlexis]

22 minutes ago, Oracle42 said:

It's never led to any kind of decent story for him and the character was first sent away and then sidelined when he returned. They're doing the same thing with Kristina and it's gross. 

Hell let's be real they can't write a decent story for a straight character let alone a gay one where they have too be even more careful how they write. Especially ones like Lucas & Kristina who were straight for there whole life. You have too get it right & not blur the lines if you understand where I am coming from.

[TeeVee329]

53 minutes ago, NiqueAlexis said:

Especially ones like Lucas & Kristina who were straight for there whole life.

...when were Lucas and Kristina supposed to have come out as gay/bisexual?  I think the show could be do a way better job with their stories, but them coming out as gay/bisexual during their high school or college years doesn't seem that egregious to me.

[Oracle42]

I don't have an issue with either of them being gay/bi/"sexually fluid". I think it's super gross bullshit that they've been so obviously sidelined since then and the answer to that isn't making them straight, it's having writers who aren't stuck in some weird time warp where Thorn Birds is a legitimate soap story idea

[NiqueAlexis]

28 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

...when were Lucas and Kristina supposed to have come out as gay/bisexual?  I think the show could be do a way better job with their stories, but them coming out as gay/bisexual during their high school or college years doesn't seem that egregious to me.

No I meant in the sense that they were straight 1 day then the next they were gay. Especially Lucas. Kristina been away for Yrs so her coming back from College liking women isn't as much as a stretch for me then the 180 they did with Lucas.

From a writing stand point not about when they came out is what I meant . I accept Lucas is gay don't particularly care for Brad but that's the least of my issues. Kristina I don't care about either way.

In regards too straight all I was saying that they can barely write for straight people so them not being able too write for gay/ lesbian/bisexual isn't surprising 2 me.

I have a cousin who liked boys until 1 day she liked girls at like 16, she is 19 know & goes both ways. So it's not like I don't believe it can't happen.

Edited June 30, 2016 by NiqueAlexis

[UYI]

30 minutes ago, Oracle42 said:

I don't have an issue with either of them being gay/bi/"sexually fluid". I think it's super gross bullshit that they've been so obviously sidelined since then and the answer to that isn't making them straight, it's having writers who aren't stuck in some weird time warp where Thorn Birds is a legitimate soap story idea

small voice...I love the Thorn Birds, even knowing a story like that would never fly today. *runs*

I was watching tape from 2002 last night, when SN had a huge marathon of memorable soap weddings. Soap Center was included on it, and TC had just married Eva Longoria. How long ago was this? Tyler had not yet returned to GH (Coltin Scott was still playing Nik), Eva was still on Y&R and hadn't hit it big on Desperate Housewives, and this was her first of THREE marriages! She just married her third husband recently. Bizarre. (And she's BFFs with Posh Spice, which I guess is in its own way bizarre.)

[Asp Burger]

unlike RP, IS generated chemistry with just about every female he shared scenes with

Not Alicia Leigh Willis, though. Ick. Diego was permanently crippled for me from the moment he walked into She Who Will Not Be Named's place as her nearly adult foster child and was sleazily flirting with her.

He was usually in stories with the rest of that awful youth set I could not have cared less about, so I was okay with that, but I thought saddling Lorenzo Alcazar with him was a bad idea.