GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[peachmangosteen]

imo, it'll depend on how much hair he'll have in a year and a half, poor boy.

 

LMAO!

[ulkis]

I don't even say it to mean, it's just facts. Maybe he can start shaving his head now and see how that looks lol.

[TeeVee329]

Daytime Confidential op-ed about Andy Cohen's comments about reality shows like "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" replacing modern soaps:

 

http://daytimeconfidential.com/2014/12/03/andy-cohen-absolutely-right-real-housewives-replacing-modern-soap-opera/

 

Jamey Giddens' opinion that the biggest problem with modern soaps is a lack of glamour, that there's not enough rich folks in expensive clothes and blinging jewelry, is obnoxiously tone-deaf.

[jsbt]

Oh, that guy bugs me. He is obsessed with '80s glamour, pomp and circumstance, this overly heightened, broad drama, and the nighttime soaps he grew up on (along with Y&R). In the case of his love for Guza's GH, I think he was really into the illusion of primetime and superficial style, which Guza put over on people well. He still misses Sonny, Jason, Carly and the gunplay from the early 2000s, and I just found that awful; it's when I stopped watching daily for years.

 

Jamey is a great student of some soap opera, but IMO the major soap I grew up on (OLTL in the '90s) would put him to sleep. I don't know how much time he had for Claire Labine's GH, either. He has a real love for the genre and he can cite some wonderful stuff and make good points when he wants to, but I think he has a very specific box for what is the apex of soap and everything else he can take or leave. He is also prone to being dazzled and let any kind of critical appraisal go. The '80s are over - a lot of Dynasty doesn't age that well, IMO.

 

I think soap opera always has romance and escapism, absolutely. And that is very important. But the reason it garnered generational audiences for decades is because it was also the ongoing serialized story of a community, a family, people you could get to know inside and out and see everyday. Watch grow up, get married, have kids. It's not just about escapism - it's about people and life and families and homes. There's a reason the '80s nighttime soaps are no longer on the air.

 

I think soap opera can and should be both aspirational and relatable. Maybe not every character or story is both, maybe some characters (like Erica Kane on AMC) are one or the other. But at the same time, didn't people also sometimes relate to Erica or Rachel Davis on AW? Those two characters are a single Agnes Nixon archetype; Rachel was cloned from Erica after Agnes put her AMC bible in a drawer for a few years. I remember Harding Lemay telling a story in his book about black students in his college courses, who told him they didn't care for the heroine Alice when he took over at AW, preferred Rachel, the vixenish girl from the poor background, whose destitute life and family were a regular part of the show. They said they loved her because "Rachel goes after what she wants" and was trying to make a better life. She was both relatable and aspirational. Rachel didn't start out dripping with jewels and furs, she started out in her mother's kitchen getting schooled by Constance Ford, and even after she married a rich man she kept getting that time with her mother til the day Ford died.

Edited December 3, 2014 by jsbt

[kristabell]

That's an interesting article. I agree with Andy Cohen, but not with Jamey Giddens. I remember old-school soaps where in fact not everyone was filthy rich (which was one of the things I enjoyed about them) and Erica Kane, et al were definitely never my favorite characters. Regardless, the reason I would say that the reality genre has overtaken soaps is that people are actually invested in these "reality stars" and their stories. The reality shows feature - shocking, I know - relationships and families and friendships. I mean, they're all manner of messed up, but at least they're there. There's no melting masks or stolen babies or serial killers in sight. And honestly, the BTS stuff is more interesting than most of what's on the screen for soaps anyway. Back in the day, one of the things soap mags always touted was that you'd want to invite these characters into your home everyday. That holds true for a lot of people regarding reality stars, but why would you want any of the completely unlikeable soap characters in your home?

[TeeVee329]

I mean, there is definitely room for glitz and glamour and over-the-topness.

 

But I'll always remember something "One Life to Live" star Jerry ver Dorn said in an interview back in 2009:

 

We literally could do this story in front of black drapes and the audience would watch. What they’re not into watching is explosions and earthquakes. We’re into the narrative, not the special effects.

[tvgoddess]

Okay, I'm not even a fan of MB really (too hard to separate actor from character), but this thing his wife posted is pretty darn cute. And has Chad been working out or something? He looks bigger than Bryan, which is something I would never say.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn1djMgu_7E&feature=youtu.be

[jsbt]

God bless Chad Duell and all his works.

[dubbel zout]

If only they showed as much personality onscreen.

[OnceSane]

That was hilarious; I watched it three times.

[Chairperson Meow]

Maybe it's Matt Drake. He's in Maxie's age group, so I'd guess late 20s.

My other guess would be Lucky, but wrong age to fool us.

[Fylaki]

I saw today that ABC Family is in the process of re-branding for millennials, this to me is the prefect opportunity to get a hold of Sir Rao and relaunch Night Shift. He would not need to commit to the daily grind of a Day time Soap, he could show run the night time version. Move Morgan, Michael, Sam, Molly, TJ and some new young doctors on over. Re-cast Ethan (or get Nathan Parsons back)  and use him as a combination of his two fathers Robert and Luke (when he was good).

 

Something along this line could breathe new life into GH and allow the show to continue in some form for a long while. Ron and Frank need to be pitching this

[TeeVee329]

 Move Morgan, Michael, Sam, Molly, TJ and some new young doctors on over.

 

One of these things is not like the others...

[Fylaki]

 

One of these things is not like the others...

Hmmm in that Sam is older? Or that TJ has talent  LOL it was a generalization  :)

[TeeVee329]

LOL yeah, I was talking about Sam, but mostly teasing.

[Chairperson Meow]

Can we unshackle TJ from Molly?

Damn GH cast some young ladies because not every dude has to date Kiki.

[OnceSane]

Maybe it's Matt Drake. He's in Maxie's age group, so I'd guess late 20s.

My other guess would be Lucky, but wrong age to fool us.

If it's Matt, his last name is Hunter, not Drake (he has his mother's last name and wasn't raised by Noah).

[Chairperson Meow]

Dammit, I knew I got something wrong.

I stand by my guess. We kept the wrong Noah spawn.

[TeeVee329]

Kathleen Gati talked about working with Constance Towers on her Twitter:

 

Kathleen Gati @gatitweets  ·  3h 3 hours ago
"@b_anthony97: @gatitweets how did you like working with Constance Towers?" She is an actor's dream to work with and a beautiful person too!

 

Love it.

[TeeVee329]

So Jamey Giddens followed up yesterday's "Soaps need more glamour and ball gowns!" op-ed with one saying "Soaps need more topical storytelling!":

 

http://daytimeconfidential.com/2014/12/04/ferguson-notonedime-billcosby-asking-agnes-Nixon/

[WendyCR72]

So Jamey Giddens followed up yesterday's "Soaps need more glamour and ball gowns!" op-ed with one saying "Soaps need more topical storytelling!":

 

http://daytimeconfidential.com/2014/12/04/ferguson-notonedime-billcosby-asking-agnes-Nixon/

 

All well and good, but before the current (small) crop even try to be topical, the shows need good writers that can do the material justice. And that means RC is out of the running.

[yowsah1]

I suspect the ratings for Thanksgiving Week and this week will tell the tale on the popularity or unpopularity of Franco/Nina, since that is when they got a major amount of focus.

[Kim0820]

I thought (but could be wrong)  kmC said in a print interview that she asked FV if she could direct and was told no. She has been pretty clear that he's a huge supporter of hers, and in fact helped her get the job at Grey's. I just can't help but wonder why, if she's good enough to direct prime time, he doesn't want her at GH?

 

I had read that directing soaps was different, in that it wasn't really directing.  Since they don't have rehearsals.  So maybe he's doing her a favor telling her he wants her to do only real directing and that soap directing isn't anything that gets you credit.  

[movinon]

 

I find that Bryan's acting tends to vary in quality depending on who he's scening with. I think he still kills it with Maura, the dismantling of Morgan and Ava aside.

Honestly, everybody kills it with Maura.  She is one hell of an actress and that tends to bring out the best in anyone she works with. Newest example is Silas - I never found him remotely interesting until I saw him work with Ava.  He is not as boring as watching paint dry, when he is working with her - he looks alert and in the moment, and I just may learn to like him.  I know Ava killed a woman and, since I love Sonny going to prison, she does need to be punished.  I just hope they don't kill her - in my opinion, she is the best actress on the show.

Edited December 5, 2014 by movinon

[jsbt]

They should send Ava, Carly and Obrecht to a women's prison.

 

You'd watch it!

[Tiger]

They should send Ava, Carly and Obrecht to a women's prison.

 

You'd watch it!

It'd be worth it just to see the facial expression LW would use when Dr. O burst into song. Laura is the queen of on-point background facial expressions.

They should send Ava, Carly and Obrecht to a women's prison.

 

You'd watch it!

It'd be worth it just to see the facial expression LW would use when Dr. O burst into song. Laura is the queen of on-point background facial expressions.

[WendyCR72]

They should send Ava, Carly and Obrecht to a women's prison.

 

You'd watch it!

 

The hell I would.  :-P

 

Besides, a campy show called Prisoner: Cell Block H already did something like this in the '80s.  :-)

[Francie]

Logan and Ron are going at it again on twitter.  Is Ron really that big of a moron? He claims that Logan doesn't "get it" because Logan is complaining that no noticed that Faison is a good 6 inches shorter than Luke. 

 

The point is, the second it was revealed that Faison was the impersonator, everyone should have said, "there's no way he could have pulled that off -- given how much shorter he is."  Logan isn't saying that he thought that Faison was impersonating Luke for a year. He's saying no one in Port Charles should believe that Faison could pull it off. 

 

God I find Ron insufferable. He gets all adamant and superior when people don't dumb themselves down to accept his lazy, non-sensical writing.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Francie

[yowsah1]

Jamey is a great student of some soap opera, but IMO the major soap I grew up on (OLTL in the '90s) would put him to sleep. I don't know how much time he had for Claire Labine's GH, either. He has a real love for the genre and he can cite some wonderful stuff and make good points when he wants to, but I think he has a very specific box for what is the apex of soap and everything else he can take or leave. He is also prone to being dazzled and let any kind of critical appraisal go. The '80s are over - a lot of Dynasty doesn't age that well, IMO.

 

What this guy doesn't realize is that, even if the word didn't exist back then, DYNASTY was probably the most hatewatched show of it's era.

 

Which is why, when the fun of hatewatching wore off (shortly after the Moldavian "Massacre"), it's ratings fell off a cliff and never recovered.

[OnceSane]

Logan and Ron are going at it again on twitter.  Is Ron really that big of a moron? He claims that Logan doesn't "get it" because Logan is complaining that no noticed that Faison is a good 6 inches shorter than Luke. 

 

The point is, the second it was revealed that Faison was the impersonator, everyone should have said, "there's no way he could have pulled that off -- given how much shorter he is."  Logan isn't saying that he thought that Faison was impersonating Luke for a year. He's saying no one in Port Charles should believe that Faison could pull it off. 

 

God I find Ron insufferable. He gets all adamant and superior when people don't dumb themselves down to accept his lazy, non-sensical writing.

Ron looks at criticism the way Sonny looks at a condom: doesn't want it, doesn't use it, doesn't think he needs it.

[Francie]

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Logan gets let go by TV Guide one of these days.  He produces almost nothing for the magazine itself (his column appears very sporadically these days) and very little content for the web site.

I didn't know that -- that's interesting. With only 4 soaps left, I imagined that there wasn't much space dedicated to daytime. His web publications have had horrible, sloppy typos -- not professional at all. I wonder how close Logan is to retirement.

 

I remember the days when TV Guide was one of the most, if not the most, circulated magazine in the country.  Everyone I knew subscribed to it.  Now, with cable guides and the internet, it's completely obsolete.

[Veronica]

Did anyone else notice when Alice was telling Fluke about getting Mickey's heart, she told him she got a mobster's heart after the mobster was shot by an FBI agent?

Later, someone tweeted Ron to ask him how Alice knew Jordan was an undercover federal agent. Ron's reply was that it was a mistake, it wasn't in the script.

[SlovakPrincess]

So Jamey Giddens followed up yesterday's "Soaps need more glamour and ball gowns!" op-ed with one saying "Soaps need more topical storytelling!":

http://daytimeconfidential.com/2014/12/04/ferguson-notonedime-billcosby-asking-agnes-Nixon/

I'd settle for realistic emotions, actual payoff of stories, some actual romance, and the good guys winning way more often. Glamour or topical stories is not the point - the point is that the shows aren't very satisfying because there are few characters to root for and little point in rooting for the few decent ones. Edited December 6, 2014 by SlovakPrincess

[jsbt]

I am digging on Chad Duell's real talk on Michael from the mags:

 

“In a way, he was always a Quartermaine at heart. He wasn’t this rowdy or bad kid or anything like a mob boss’ kid would be. They tried doing that with the character once before, but it was never justified in a way that would make Michael a totally different person. This is the first time that it’s justified taking him into a different arena.”

 

I think Michael was troubled early on as a young adult, but at heart, especially with the recast, I think he was bound to end up back with the Qs after waking from his coma. IMO everything else was him reacting to the trauma of his life - at core he is a good man.

Edited December 7, 2014 by jsbt

[TeeVee329]

Awww, Kathleen Gati posted a nice good-bye to Kelly Thiebaud.

 

https://twitter.com/gatitweets/status/542088093642149888/photo/1

[UYI]

Bryan Craig acknowledges his girlfriend Kelly's departure from GH (and "The End of the Brittmor Legacy!"):

 

[OnceSane]

Parry Shen's goodbye to KT was perfect.

[dubbel zout]

Here's a link. He's adorable.

Edited December 9, 2014 by dubbel zout

[jsbt]

Bryan Craig acknowledges his girlfriend Kelly's departure from GH (and "The End of the Brittmor Legacy!"):

 

 

Everything about this is unnecessary, starting with the newsboy cap.

[ulkis]

I don't know about that, he needs it to hide the back of his head.

 

I like Morgan, so I refuse to watch, lest I am overcome with douchechills.

[tvgoddess]

I like Morgan too, and I really like BC and I still watched. But yeah, I'm glad we won't have to hear about this anymore. Now I'm just waiting for the eventual engagement. Maybe it'll be a race between them and CD/KA.

[TeeVee329]

Two (many) Francos:

 

http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/snls-vanessa-bayer-shows-james-franco-the-new-gh-franco/2014/12/09/

[Chairperson Meow]

Roger Howarth looks hotter than James Franco has lately. I saw JF twerk with a cat, and I was like "Yeah that's about what Franco did on GH."

[jsbt]

Hot means nothing to me if their character is an unadulterated walking abortion.

[TeeVee329]

Was I the only one who felt icy fingers grip his or her heart when they read Ron's tweet about the Battle of the Francos?

 

'Cause he'd do it.

[jsbt]

Was I the only one who felt icy fingers grip his or her heart when they read Ron's tweet about the Battle of the Francos?

 

'Cause he'd do it.

 

He would, but I'm pretty sure James Franco is never coming back.

[Tiger]

Was I the only one who felt icy fingers grip his or her heart when they read Ron's tweet about the Battle of the Francos?

 

'Cause he'd do it.

I'd die from alcohol poisoning if I had to watch that story.

[Chairperson Meow]

I watched JF twerk with a cat for free. If these Sony hackers succeed, I don't doubt he'd go to GH.

And I was judging based on the looks only in that pic. And the cat twerking.

[amaranta]

Parry Shen's goodbye to KT was perfect.

   

Here's a link. He's adorable.

 

Oh, that was really good; thanks for posting. Funny, touching and well put together; he did a great job.  Hilarious how he included a clip of First Brad.

 

I wish KT the best; I liked her. 

[HeatLifer]

William deVry (Julian)

What performance on your show do you think was a standout this year?

I see people like Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) and Jason Thompson (Patrick), even Billy Miller (Jason) now, and Michelle Stafford (Nina) having to play crazy every day. I'm always really impressed how well they do what they do in such a short amount of time.

LOL! You're right, deVry! JT does play Patrick as crazy. Validation!!

http://abc.soapsindepth.com/2014/12/gh-stars-share-their-best-of-2014.html