GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[peachmangosteen]

I don't know if any of that stuff @yowsah1 posted about JT is true but I love it anyway lol.

Edited May 23, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, yowsah1 said:

since both problems are very much on display in Jelly's GH

I think a lot of that has to do with the nature of block taping. Fixing the pacing of the show would improve things dramatically. The stories would still be crappy, but at least they'd play out in a timely fashion.

[AheadofStraight]

On 5/19/2017 at 7:39 PM, statsgirl said:

ETA:  I hated that "poor Anna has cancer" plot.  Yes, technically it is cancer but it's managed by donating blood.  Try surgery, chemo for a year and radiation and still feeling sick six years later and worrying that it's coming back.  She got off so easy.

 It is not managed for many by just giving blood. My husband is on two drugs which cause significant side-effects (one a form of interferon, one a form of chemo, NOT the drug advertised on GH) and will be for the rest of his life, of which is at high risk of being shortened by clot, stroke or heart attack. If only giving blood would help him with the excruciating bone pain & fatigue, the constant itching where he wants to rip his skin off, and the constant worry of progressing to myelofibrosis and/or leukemia. GH dumbed it down considerably and we hated it.

[HeatLifer]

14 hours ago, yowsah1 said:

vocal Scrubs fans have made it clear they will not accept him with anyone except Robin

This isn't directed at you, I'm just responding to this thought, but why were Scrubs fans always supposed to "accept" Patrick with other women? They're Scrubs fans for a reason. Just like JaSam fans don't want Jason with anyone else. Or Lante fans don't want Dante with anyone else. And at the same time with Scrubs, specifically, Robin was always being tortured at the same time that Patrick was with others. It would be kind of weird for those fans to want Patrick to be a serial engagement giver while that was happening.

[Oracle42]

Plus, is it really surprising that a popular well-written couple continued to outshine two badly-writtten, rushed couplings that required at least one or both parties to behave completely OOC? 

And having a pairing that's so popular that fans aren't interested in seeing the characters with someone else isn't just a soap staple, it's a goal of many soap writers. Patrick got Luke and Laura-ed by a good pairing, that doesn't negatively reflect on JT

Edited May 24, 2017 by Oracle42

[ulkis]

Plus, vocal Scrubs fans didn't do anything. He was on the show for, what, 3 years after Kim left? They would have kicked him off 6 months after she left if vocal Scrubs fans influenced FV to that extent.

It was completely the headwriter's choice to have Robin captive the whole time and make more than just Scrubs fans resistant to another pairing for him.

Now, I have to post this lol:

Edited May 23, 2017 by ulkis

[dubbel zout]

Did a paint-filled balloon explode on Lucy's skirt? That dress is terrible. LOL.

[HeatLifer]

17 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Now, I have to post this lol:

And that reminds me....Scrubs fans were also supposed to be OK with Emma and Patrick's girlfriends while her mother was a CAPTIVE. Scrubs fans were always asked to behave in ways no other fans ever would.

Thank Jasus JT left or I'd still be watching Patrick and Emma begging for Sam while Robin apologized for breathing.

[ulkis]

10 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Did a paint-filled balloon explode on Lucy's skirt? That dress is terrible. LOL.

I think it did. If it's the actual design, yikes.

[peachmangosteen]

Meanwhile, I love the bottom of her dress lol. The top is horrible though.

[dubbel zout]

The top is silver and the bottom is gold/red paint. It's two different dresses, and they don't work together.

[ulkis]

Hmm. Jamey Giddens is hinting ME might leave.

[OnceSane]

4 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Hmm. Jamey Giddens is hinting ME might leave.

Pfft.  Just like Roger had one foot out the door…

[ulkis]

They'll probably bring him back in 6 months. As McBain. Gah.

[peachmangosteen]

31 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Hmm. Jamey Giddens is hinting ME might leave.

Don't fucking tease me, Jamey!

25 minutes ago, ulkis said:

They'll probably bring him back in 6 months. As McBain. Gah.

LMAO. Actually, if ME really does leave it will probably be because FV wants to bring him on as McBain.

Edited May 23, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[TeeVee329]

I really hope this is true, but this show so rarely gives me what I want.  I would not be at all surprised that ME was the one who wanted out because I don't think Frank would ever fire him.  Then again, ME was the first one out the door the last time the ratings were on a downward roll.

Edited May 23, 2017 by TeeVee329

[ulkis]

Didn't Frank fire him the first time?

[TeeVee329]

But wasn't that a last minute thing forced on him and Ron by the higher-ups?  Ric was supposed to be the person murdered in that stupid whodunit and they made them kill Silas in his stead?

[ulkis]

Kinda . . . they were told, it was said, not to kill Ric, but they didn't have to choose Silas instead.

[Oracle42]

I wonder where Uncle Frank will run into him this time

[OnceSane]

6 minutes ago, Oracle42 said:

I wonder where Uncle Frank will run into him this time

Laundromat.

[TeeVee329]

Liquor store.

[yowsah1]

9 hours ago, HeatLifer said:

This isn't directed at you, I'm just responding to this thought, but why were Scrubs fans always supposed to "accept" Patrick with other women? 

I was originally going to say "Jason Thompson fans", but then I realized - Jason Thompson doesn't have fans.  At least not the way Maurice Bernard or Becky Herbst has fans.  Much as I hate the character of Sonny Corinthos, I have to admit - his fans may argue about which woman in his harem he should end up with, but as long he is front and center and driving story (and winning), they're happy.  I have literally never seen a post by a "Jason Thompson fan" where he wasn't treated as an adjunct to Kimberly McCullough.  And Kimberly McCullough fans were remarkably open to numerous other pairings for her - I saw posts excitedly talking about the possibility of Jason/Robin, or Lucky/Robin, or the like.  But Jason Thompson?  It was Scrubs or nothing for him.  I don't hold it against Scrubs fans that they agitated for their favorite pairing - that's what fanbases do - but I do hold it against Thompson that he not-so-subtly encouraged Scrubs fans to try to kill whatever new pairings the showrunners came up with, all the while insisting on retaining his leading man status.  He wanted it both ways.  And now he's stuck.

9 hours ago, ulkis said:

Plus, vocal Scrubs fans didn't do anything.

They managed to convince FV/RC to throw in the towel on two Jason pairings in a row, that's not nothing.  But once again, fanbases agitating for the pairings/stories they want is par for the course, I only wish us poor Liz fans would have the same success in killing off Friz that Scrubs fans had in killing off Patrina and SamTrick. 

Quote

He was on the show for, what, 3 years after Kim left? They would have kicked him off 6 months after she left if vocal Scrubs fans influenced FV to that extent.

They really should have written him off when KM left, just have the two move cross-country to work at a new hospital like they eventually did.  It would have worked out better for everyone involved.

1 hour ago, Oracle42 said:

I wonder where Uncle Frank will run into him this time

 

1 hour ago, OnceSane said:

Laundromat.

 

1 hour ago, TeeVee329 said:

Liquor store.

Unemployment office.  ;)

Edited May 24, 2017 by yowsah1

[HeatLifer]

1 hour ago, yowsah1 said:

but I do hold it against Thompson that he not-so-subtly encouraged Scrubs fans to try to kill whatever new pairings the showrunners came up with, all the while insisting on retaining his leading man status.  He wanted it both ways.  And now he's stuck.

Here's the thing. As long as the show kept Robin alive (literally and figuratively) in some way, I think JT would have been perfectly fine playing a single dad. I don't think he really cared to have a romantic love interest in the way other actors have that desire (mostly actors want a romantic pairing because they know that's the best way to stay relevant). So, yeah, if we want to accuse him of anything, it's the fact that he never did his part to truly promote and advance any of his pairings after Scrubs. 

[ulkis]

bwah:

https://mobile.twitter.com/EmmeRylan/status/867227141624279042

[jsbt]

Jason Thompson didn't tank his pairings. The show did that by leaving Robin a prisoner of a supervillain for years and poorly writing the new character paired with him, who they overpropped from her very first day on the air.

I am not some couples loyalist. I was all for Patrick with other people. It failed because the show fucked him, fucked the narrative, and because he was miserable with bad writing. He gave it his best until the writing totally collapsed. I think pretending Patrick and Sabrina would've been some pairing for the ages if only JT had given it 200% is a fantasy that does not take the poor writing and cardboard saint they invented overnight into account. And I liked Sabrina at first despite all that - but her crush aside, actually putting her with Patrick was a huge mistake. The moment she became Cinderella at the Ball, pretty and glossy with prisoner Robin's man, she was DOA.

[TheGourmez]

2 hours ago, jsbt said:

Jason Thompson didn't tank his pairings. The show did that by leaving Robin a prisoner of a supervillain for years and poorly writing the new character paired with him, who they overpropped from her very first day on the air.

I am not some couples loyalist. I was all for Patrick with other people. It failed because the show fucked him, fucked the narrative, and because he was miserable with bad writing. He gave it his best until the writing totally collapsed. I think pretending Patrick and Sabrina would've been some pairing for the ages if only JT had given it 200% is a fantasy that does not take the poor writing and cardboard saint they invented overnight into account. And I liked Sabrina at first despite all that - but her crush aside, actually putting her with Patrick was a huge mistake. The moment she became Cinderella at the Ball, pretty and glossy with prisoner Robin's man, she was DOA.

The biggest failure in that storyline was not telling it from Patrick's POV. He was the character we knew and loved. Instead, we got a newbie in a predictable makeover plot swooning over Patrick Drake and no indication that Patrick ever even noticed her for months....yet we also didn't know what Patrick *was* doing. God, that annoyed. Jason Thompson is one of my GH all-time faves (My faves fill a baker's dozen, I'm sure).

[Melgaypet]

1 hour ago, TheGourmez said:

The biggest failure in that storyline was not telling it from Patrick's POV. He was the character we knew and loved. Instead, we got a newbie in a predictable makeover plot swooning over Patrick Drake and no indication that Patrick ever even noticed her for months....yet we also didn't know what Patrick *was* doing. God, that annoyed. Jason Thompson is one of my GH all-time faves (My faves fill a baker's dozen, I'm sure).

He was sleeping with the other newbie. Remember? Bad Girl Britt, counterpoint to Saintly Sabrina, who I think showed up the very same day. It was ridiculous. It was high school.

I agree with you that Patrick had no POV in that story. He was just the object to be fought over.

[Badsamaritan]

They should've had Patty go back to his whorish ways, out of Emma's view, of course. They could've written him as believing Robin was his soulmate and he would never love like that again, so he hardens his heart. Still could've had him & Britt hook up as just a booty call. Sabrina should've been written as a quirky, nerdy type and put in Michael's orbit from jump. She should've helped AJ with his stupid panic attacks (if they still wanted to go down that road) and developed an antagonistic relationship with Michael because she would be all 'Whut??' with his family issues. And AJ would like her because she could've been 'Fuck the Mob, who even does that anymore?' because again, she would have been smart.

Why is it that viewers can come up with way more plausible and interesting storylines than the dumb fucks who actually get paid to write this bullshit? I just don't get it.

[TeeVee329]

This tweet is so meta about the show's problems.

"Nurses Ball or no, Sonny is still front and center!".  Ugh.

7 hours ago, jsbt said:

The moment she [Sabrina] became Cinderella at the Ball, pretty and glossy with prisoner Robin's man, she was DOA.

I'm not sure if it was the writing or the way TeCa was playing her post-transformation and snagging Patrick, but Sabrina was sooo smug that summer, she was insufferable.  Which made rooting for Britt to ruin her life all the easier.

Edited May 24, 2017 by TeeVee329

[HeatLifer]

9 hours ago, jsbt said:

I think pretending Patrick and Sabrina would've been some pairing for the ages if only JT had given it 200% is a fantasy that does not take the poor writing and cardboard saint they invented overnight into account

I take it all into account. But I also can't deny how viewers react when an actor/actress like the pairing they're in, along with what the audience  perceives to be "chemistry." Unfortunately, a segment of soap opera viewers do not care about writing or good story anymore. And they certainly don't care about X character (in this case, it would be Robin) when they believe X pairing (in this case, it would have been Patrina or Samtrick) has "IT." 

[TeeVee329]

I think courting/trying to appease couple stans has hurt soap operas in general.  That's why you have things like what's going on with Sonny and Carly right now, where they're apart, but not really because everyone keeps telling them they're awesome together, and they have wistful flashbacks of each other, etc.  Because the writers are too terrified of the blowback.  The UK soaps seems to put much less emphasis on that, for the better, IMO.

[ulkis]

16 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

I think courting/trying to appease couple stans has hurt soap operas in general.  That's why you have things like what's going on with Sonny and Carly right now, where they're apart, but not really because everyone keeps telling them they're awesome together, and they have wistful flashbacks of each other, etc.  Because the writers are too terrified of the blowback.  The UK soaps seems to put much less emphasis on that, for the better, IMO.

Which is bizarre because it's Sonny and Carly. Neither of their die-hard fans seem to be that intense about the coupling. In fact they seemed to get annoyed when the other is given more attention in the pairing. And the only reason they hooked back up is because Ron decided to pair Franco with Nina instead.

Honestly, in this case it may be less about the couple and more about keeping both characters relatively moral.

[HeatLifer]

17 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

I think courting/trying to appease couple stans has hurt soap operas in general.  That's why you have things like what's going on with Sonny and Carly right now, where they're apart, but not really because everyone keeps telling them they're awesome together, and they have wistful flashbacks of each other, etc. 

 

I don't necessarily disagree. But, IMO, every show needs a number of staple couples. I'd say maybe two or three. If they didn't, and every character was basically a "Sonny" (falls in love every 6 months or so), it also wouldn't work. It's all about finding the perfect balance. I feel like GH, in particular, has way too many pairings they won't ultimately separate.

[ulkis]

Yeah, but I think they should be moved off the canvas eventually. They can bring them back, but coupled or not, some need a break. Even if they're not in a coupling. Sonny has been featured, with one one year break, for 23 years. Carly 20. Liz 20. Alexis 20. None of the frontburner characters on GH were ever on for that long without breaks on the frontburner. Maybe Bobbie? 

[HeatLifer]

5 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Yeah, but I think they should be moved off the canvas eventually. They can bring them back, but coupled or not, some need a break. Even if they're not in a coupling. Sonny has been featured, with one one year break, for 23 years. Carly 20. Liz 20. Alexis 20. None of the frontburner characters on GH were ever on for that long without breaks on the frontburner. Maybe Bobbie? 

I think the Sonny/Carly/Jason/Sam era of the show should have been over by now, yes. Some written off, some backburned, take your pick.

[Oracle42]

Quote

General Hospital
While General Hospital did not beat its lowest overall numbers, coming in at number three of four soaps and pulling in 2,325,000 viewers, it did set a record for its lowest ratings in the 18-49 female demographic

But don't worry, no one is going to be fired and FV/JP/SA are just going to keep doing what they've been doing

[TeeVee329]

I think Sonny and Carly are particularly in a weird spot because they can't work as the patriarch/matriarch of the show, and they also can no longer be that tempestuous couple that breaks up and makes up continuously.

In other news, Despair in the Afternoon is covering the Nurses' Ball, thank gawd:

https://despairintheafternoon.wordpress.com/2017/05/23/nurses-ball-2017-day-one/#more-21216

Edited May 24, 2017 by TeeVee329

[ulkis]

It's time for Sonny's swan song. If they really can't give him a TG deal, send him to exile, people can visit him on the Island, or he can sneak back into town.

Theoretically, of course. It's not going to happen.

[IWantCandy71]

I liked Ian's comment in one of the soap mags covering JE's exit party. Something about he would go anywhere or do anything to get to see Jane. Well yeah, Ian.  He's such a cutie. He seems to actually have a sense of humor, unlike Dull Dead Duke.

[TeeVee329]

"The problem with this picture is...there's a greasy SERIAL KILLER at the table."

"The problem with this picture is...Craig and Alex have to sit under the table."

Your turn!

[dubbel zout]

"The problem with this picture is...no one cares what's going on."

[TeeVee329]

This is a little cute, sorry...

[tvgoddess]

Parry is just awesome. I love his sense of humor. But that isn't ice cream, it's fruit bars. Too healthy.

[stlbf]

8 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

"The problem with this picture is...there's a greasy SERIAL KILLER at the table."

"The problem with this picture is...Craig and Alex have to sit under the table."

Your turn!

Technically, there are 2 "former" serial killers at the table. 

[Badsamaritan]

14 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

"The problem with this picture is...there's a greasy SERIAL KILLER at the table."

"The problem with this picture is...Craig and Alex have to sit under the table."

Your turn!

"The problem with this picture is...there's a greasy SERIAL KILLER at the table.".....And he's sitting next to his sexual assault victim. Nice optics there, Frank. Ugh.

"The problem with this picture is...Cadmium and Antimony are setting fire to Gram's house to GET SOME DAMN ATTENTION."

[Oracle42]

Meanwhile, the CW is doing a remake of Dynasty and the trailer for that show looks soapier than anything JP/SA have  managed during the course of their entire terrible careers.

Somehow FV/JP/SA have managed to turn a soap opera into the dramatic equivalent of dry toast. Their main young lovers are Michael/Nelle (the living embodying of anti-chem) and Kiki/Dillon ( who look like what i assume you'd hear if a Sear's* catalogue had dialogue)

What happens when the CW proves that soap (old school soap like Dynasty, no less!) is viable in the 18-49 market?

 

*Does Sears have catalogue models? I don't know! but it looks like the most boring store at a mall that's slowly dying so.....

Edited May 26, 2017 by Oracle42

[TeeVee329]

And, I mean, obviously every day/episode can't be a big reveal, a catfight, a couple doing it for the first time, etc.  But they also stumble at the every day, sense of community stuff that soaps should be doing.  That's why we have to guess why Valerie/Amy 2.0/Kristina are in a number instead of knowing why.

[IWantCandy71]

8 hours ago, stlbf said:

Technically, there are 2 "former" serial killers at the table. 

Ssssshhh. We're not supposed to ever, ever ever talk about the fact that Jasbot is a killer, too. Because that makes Sam look stupid(praising one killer and condemning another).

[TeeVee329]

9 hours ago, tvgoddess said:

Parry is just awesome. I love his sense of humor. But that isn't ice cream, it's fruit bars. Too healthy.

I do admire Parry's gung-ho spirit, that he's going to promote himself/his character because you know the show has no interest in doing so.

Edited May 25, 2017 by TeeVee329