GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[GHScorpiosRule]

Frankly, I think the only reason we got Sam and Patrick was because of all the Twitter pictures that Kelly was posting. Or was it Jason? I can't recall. Everyone was just goo-gooing over how adorable and cute they were together. But it was Kelly and Jason and not Sam and Patrick.

 

And of course, that douchenozzle being who he is, probably had a bulb go off in his head to have Sam and Patrick get closer.

 

As far as I'm concerned, I don't think Patrick would go for someone who wouldn't treat him like a GOD, and kowtow to him.  The fact that Robin only got to do so half the time (standing up to him and having a backbone), is just a coinkidink.

Edited December 22, 2014 by GHScorpiosRule

[HeatLifer]

That was KeMo on her Instagram. But that had be like, more than a year ago at this point. Which is interesting to me because now that I think about it, I don't think JT or KeMo has really "promoted" this duo on social media.

[GHScorpiosRule]

That was KeMo on her Instagram. But that had be like, more than a year ago at this point. Which is interesting to me because now that I think about it, I don't think JT or KeMo has really "promoted" this duo on social media.

 

Oh, I'm not saying that either of them promoted Sam and Patrick as a couple. I don't do Twiitter, (just using that as an example), but I've read comments whenever a picture was posted, or when the Instagram pictures were, and I'm saying my conspiracy theory is that the douchenozzle saw them or it was sent to him or whatever and it put the idea in his head.

 

Remember, "storylines" are written weeks/months in advance, and no one will convince me that this wasn't a last minute, hey, let's do this now, since we've finally recast Jason fakakta idea.

[HeatLifer]

Oh, I get you! Yeah, I definitely agree that Samtrick was done mainly because of the Jason crap. Anything that causes the most fuckage, Ron loves.

Edited December 22, 2014 by HeatLifer

[Cobalt Stargazer]

In regards to Samtrick, I think my issue was, this is where the story should have gone in the first place, with no detour through Sabrina.  She was unnecessary to start with for Patrick.  Patrick and Sam, however, coming together with maybe blame first than in friendship and romance, worked on more levels and was a better launching pad for what stupid fucking quad Ron was going to go to with Jason and Robin back.

 

Ron really has a bad track record of putting together couples who make no sense.  I liken Purina to just a nicer Tomas/Blair from OLTL.  It made no logical sense for Blair to be with the man responsible for kidnapping and switching Todd, yet Ron, as the end was winding down, put it out there wondering if Tomas would be freed and get back to Blair.  And, it made no sense that Patrick would fall for tween Sabrina, and even less when it was said she's had LOTS AND LOTS of sex.

 

But IMO, this just proves the point I was trying to make. Sabrina wasn't responsible for Robin being kidnapped and taken from her family, and yet from the tone of the posts on TWOP you'd have thought she ate live puppies for breakfast. Her worst crime was being a boring drip, and while at best I was only mildly fond of her, not since Dawn Summers had I seen such virulent hatred. Meanwhile, the voices of people like me, who thought that Patrick was coming off like a user and a sleazebag, seemed to be routinely lost in the maelstrom of sonic shouting that Sabrina should die, die, die.

 

Don't misunderstand me. I'm aware that fandom is a species unto itself, and that people who have watched Robin grow up might find it very uncomfortable to watch Patrick with someone else knowing that she's being tormented in some off-screen hellhole. But it doesn't escape my attention that its only now that he's trying to get with Sam that he isn't being totally let off the hook. And as Left Phalange says, if Robin comes back, the tide might turn and it'll be Sam taking the brunt of the viewers' anger. I can't say that it will, but it might.

[jsbt]

I was cool with Sabrina until the Nurses Ball 2013. I liked her with Felix and Lucy. During and after the Ball, though, when her character transformed, she came off very artificial and plastic with her new look and affect, as well as smug and cold - and her worshipful storylines didn't help. The mild appeal of the character, as the spunky wallflower, was gone. And the relationship with Patrick made no sense. I had believed, up until then, that her intro was just a stalking horse - that she'd crush on Patrick but end up finding love with someone else. When they went for it for real it killed her character. By the time Robin finally came back, sure, I wanted Sabrina crushed. Why not? She was smug, she seemed fake and the entire show thought she hung the moon. They tried to turn her into a love goddess and it didn't work. It turned me on her. I wasn't against Patrick with someone else; I like him with Sam. I was against Patrick with Sabrina. And I don't think he used her.

[HeatLifer]

You can't really expect the reaction to Patrina and Samtrick to be the same. They're two totally different scenarios/stories and acting partners. I'll just give one example in terms of some viewers' reaction to Patrick: in Patrina, he still obviously loved and missed Robin and was trying to move on from her death. In Samtrick, it's pretty much "F Robin" or "Robin who?"

So, to me, it's not shocking that some viewers, Scrubs and Robin fans, especially, would respond differently.

Edited December 22, 2014 by HeatLifer

[TeeVee329]

Here's Daytime Confidential's 10 Best Soap Opera Storylines of 2014.  Two from GH made the list:

 

http://daytimeconfidential.com/2014/12/22/10-best-soap-storylines-2014/

[WendyCR72]

I hate to defend that opening as I had zero use for it, but I think the whole idea of just the men at the end wasn't meant as a slight to the female cast. It was likely thought it would be something that women at home (whom soaps used to be for) would drool over or something. Having women all dressed up would defeat the purpose (unless one bats for the other team, anyway!).

 

So in that sense, the ending never bugged me.

 

But that doesn't mean it still didn't suck as an opening. Too frenetic.

[BestestAuntEver]

You can't really expect the reaction to Patrina and Samtrick to be the same. They're two totally different scenarios/stories and acting partners. I'll just give one example in terms of some viewers' reaction to Patrick: in Patrina, he still obviously loved and missed Robin and was trying to move on from her death. In Samtrick, it's pretty much "F Robin" or "Robin who?"

So, to me, it's not shocking that some viewers, Scrubs and Robin fans, especially, would respond differently.

This is me. I'm a Robin fangirl to the core. Purina rubbed me the wrong way and Sabweena the Disney Princess was awful. SamTrick doesn't bother me. Patrick does because he's an ass but SamTrick doesn't. ITA, that Patrick /Sam relationship would have been a natural progression but Ron is an idiot.

The only thing I want Robin fighting Sam for is who gets to punch him in the throat first. They can also fight over who gets the last hit as well.

[dubbel zout]

Here's Daytime Confidential's 10 Best Soap Opera Storylines of 2014.  Two from GH made the list:

 

"Nina Unhinged" and "Who Killed AJ?" which is misleading, as there was no mystery for the viewers.

 

I think the whole idea of just the men at the end wasn't meant as a slight to the female cast. It was likely thought it would be something that women at home (whom soaps used to be for) would drool over or something.

 

Maybe. The camera panned across the group pretty quickly and at something of a distance, so it wasn't exactly lingering on each man. I still think it was really insulting to ignore half the cast simply because of gender. 

[magnolia11]

It was Guza's world -- the wimmens were irrelevant anyway, unless they happened to be Cujo.

[dubbel zout]

Patrick getting together with Sam makes a lot more sense than him getting together with Sabrina, IMO, regardless of the situation vis-à-vis Robin. 

Edited December 22, 2014 by dubbel zout

[jsbt]

They tried so hard on that opening. They clearly threw a shit-ton of money at it (much of it stolen from OLTL, which did not overhaul its bargain basement opening ever again after 2004) and its many versions to make it look and feel as much like Guza finally getting his primetime action/drama show as possible. But you could tell they were bush league. The rock guitar version of FOTH was so awful, the strobes, and the male opening - I think it was really more 'look at our classy, serious drama cast, complete with the legend who can barely be bothered to be here, look, he's walking away right now!' It was obnoxious.

 

What always made me laugh is whenever a woman would fall in and out of favor with the show, usually because they were paired and then de-paired with Sonny and Jason. IIRC, Emily got the key second slot next to Sonny at one point, then dropped back into the Nik/Lucky/Liz ghetto. Liz briefly took her turn in the sun with Jason - whoosh! here she is, in your face! - then vanished back into the 'And The Rest' section. Reese, Kate, Claudia, you name it.

Edited December 22, 2014 by jsbt

[ulkis]

It was Guza's world -- the wimmens were irrelevant anyway, unless they happened to be Cujo.

 

Well, that was 2007, so miniCarly (aka Lulu at the time) counted a bit too!

 

"Nina Unhinged" and "Who Killed AJ?" which is misleading, as there was no mystery for the viewers.

 

 

Stop! Stop trying to pretend Nina is not only a success, but a smashing one to boot, Daytime Confidential! I'm still heaving over "best comic performance on a soap of all time".

Edited December 22, 2014 by ulkis

[SlovakPrincess]

I think Sam would be wise to steer clear of Patrick, at least for a good while to let him sort out the emotional issues he should have at this point.  Even if he weren't being written (out of character) in this ridiculously inconsistent and bizarre way towards Robin, he is still a guy who had two substantial relationships fall apart on him in the last year, in really traumatic, tragic and depressing ways (dead Gabriel with Sabrina, Robin believed to be "broken" and avoiding her family because of years of torture).  In the last year.  He needs to be alone for a while.  He probably needs to be in therapy.  

[Tiger]

But that doesn't mean it still didn't suck as an opening.

I especially loved that by the time they finally ditched it, literally half the men in that final shot were no longer on the show.

I believe someone at either TWoP or Soapzone said it was also extremely difficult to edit which is they switched to that PowerPoint presentation opening in the last years of Jill's tenure.

IMHO, nothing will ever even approach the original FotH opening, especially the way the heartbeats would start during the scene before the opening and then it'd slowly fade to the ambulance. I hated when Jill turned it orange and used a wind machine for all the wimmins shots.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Tiger

[dubbel zout]

I especially loved that by the time they finally ditched it, literally half the men in that final shot were no longer on the show.

 

The sad thing was nearly all those characters were killed off. Poor Justus, stuffed in a car trunk. Why was that necessary? So needlessly gross.

[jsbt]

IMHO, nothing will ever even approach the original FotH opening, especially the way the heartbeats would start during the scene before the opening and then it'd slowly fade to the ambulance.

 

Yeah, I used to love how they'd do that. Nothing beats it. Honestly, they could bring it back tomorrow with few if any changes.

 

I also loved how most of the male cast was dead or gone by the end of the Guza intro.

[Tiger]

Even funnier was that IIRC, JT started shortly after they debuted the opening and despite it being used until early 2010 or 11 was not in that closing shot. I think BB was also on contract for years and was never added period until the PPP opening.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Tiger

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Yeah, I used to love how they'd do that. Nothing beats it. Honestly, they could bring it back tomorrow with few if any changes.

 

When I was a kid, GH came on at around the time I was coming home from school on the bus. When the theme music started, our dog would to go the door and wait there until the bus dropped me off, then start barking when she saw me coming up the sidewalk. Good times.

[SlovakPrincess]

The sad thing was nearly all those characters were killed off. Poor Justus, stuffed in a car trunk. Why was that necessary? So needlessly gross.

 

Didn't they also de-age Justus with the second actor?  That character kind of stopped making sense and then they killed him off for no apparent reason.  

 

I still like the much simpler opening from my childhood, with the ambulance racing by and the hospital.  Trying to pack a bunch of actors into a soap intro - especially with all the turnover of characters - always seemed like a silly idea to me.  (And now I've totally dated myself, LOL - I swear I was still in school when they intro'd the new intro in the 90s, really!  LOL).

Edited December 23, 2014 by SlovakPrincess

[yowsah1]

The only thing I want Robin fighting Sam for is who gets to punch him [Patrick] in the throat first. They can also fight over who gets the last hit as well.

 

Replying in the History thread.

[ulkis]

Wasn't there a person who wasn't there for years and then finally when they got in they like left a month later? Or am I dreaming all that up?

[tvgoddess]

More Best and Worst of 2014 -

 

http://soaptownusa.com/?p=10417
 

I agree with much of it, mainly Maura, Finola and heh, KA. Although I'm wondering if ulkis wrote this part, hee.

 

Worst actor – Ryan Paevey as Nathan. There are some actors who are so engaging, they have chemistry with a piece of wood.  Sadly, in this case, Paevey is the wood.  He is nothing more than an underwear model…one who gets TPTB hot and bothered (by their own admission,) which is, I suspect, how he keeps his job.  He is not, however, an actor.  Paevey, from all accounts, is a very nice guy, but his abilities to emote have not progressed one bit since his first scene and he lowers the performances of everyone around him.  This career is not for him, and we would all be better served if Nathan West was sent packing.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2014 by tvgoddess

[Tiger]

Wasn't there a person who wasn't there for years and then finally when they got in they like left a month later? Or am I dreaming all that up?

That probably did happen because at some point after Megan Ward came on in the spring of '07, they just stopped editing that opening despite running it until 2010. I believe Lucky was even recast with JJ yet GV continued to appear in the opening.

By that point I believe BB, LLo, DZ, and a few others had been on contract for a while yet never added.

ETA: didn't they add Kari Wuhrer in place of Jennifer Bransford and then within two or three Reese was dead? And didn't she appear for months afterward until LW was finally added?

Edited December 23, 2014 by Tiger

[jsbt]

IIRC, Kari Wuhrer was in before Jennifer Bransford. I think they were both in for a while.

[ulkis]

More Best and Worst of 2014 -

 

http://soaptownusa.com/?p=10417

 

I agree with much of it, mainly Maura, Finola and heh, KA. Although I'm wondering if ulkis wrote this part, hee.

 

Hee. I would have said, "the only progress he has made is managing to not swivel his head to the side in the past year." I'll give him that much! :)

 

That probably did happen because at some point after Megan Ward came on in the spring of '07, they just stopped editing that opening despite running it until 2010. I believe Lucky was even recast with JJ yet GV continued to appear in the opening.

 

 

I think that's what I'm thinking of, how we were laughing at all these people who were gone still in the opening, even GV who had been replaced by JJ.

[jsbt]

Even I'll be nicer to Raised Pavement than that. I think he's a good guy and has actually come a long way in a short time, but I was irked when it was like there was this push to put him over as a great new star just because the dude's a nice guy IRL and was winning fans over. He was awful early on. He's not much better now, but he's watchable in doses. He cannot carry major story and his pairing with Maxie is a waste of both their time, IMO. He should be a boytoy and a sidekick to Anna and that's about it.

[ulkis]

I forgot to say, kudos to SoapTown for naming the tale of twelve hundred Lukes as worst story too. I feel like all the bloggers just focus on Tony Geary's (in their opinion) riveting performance.

[TeeVee329]

SoapTown lost me once I hit this:

 

Teresa Castillo did some outstanding work this year, as well.  As grieving mother Sabrina, Castillo was heart-breaking, incandescent, and fragile.

 

A more accurate statement would be:
 

 

Teresa Castillo did some work this year, as well.  As grieving mother Sabrina, Castillo delivered her lines as the character had a two-day mental breakdown, was off-screen, and then tried to murder an unborn child. 

 

Also?  The article names Lucas and Brad as best couple, but the picture is of Lucas and Felix.

[tvgoddess]

Yeah, I did a side-eye at the TeCa stuff also.

[ulkis]

I mean yeah, there were a couple I disagreed with, but I think they hit on a lot of the show's major problems. I disagreed with them saying there's no point in keeping Sonny in prison since he's going to get out. I'd rather he be there for a couple of months than not at all. I'll give bonus points to Ron if, when Sonny gets out, instead of the big parade he no doubt will expect, everyone he meets is just like, "oh, you're out? Uh, great. Well, see you later, I have to mow my lawn."

Edited December 23, 2014 by ulkis

[TeeVee329]

I mean yeah, there were a couple I disagreed with, but I think they hit on a lot of the show's major problems.

 

Oh, I don't disagree (and they said nice things about Britt!), but I was scrolling and my eyes focused in on the TeCa bit and then rolled up in my head.

 

It does really seem like this was the year the bloggers/critics stopped making excuses for Kristen Alderson.

Edited December 23, 2014 by TeeVee329

[jsbt]

There is some stuff I will violently disagree with them on, but given Soaptown's past reputation I am a little impressed they found someone so dead-on and articulate about many of the show's larger problems. God knows both DC and Michael Logan are too chickenshit to do it. Logan knows soap media is dying and he is trying to keep himself relevant by gritting his teeth and lavishing torrents of false praise on GH even when he clearly thinks it is fucked up.

[ulkis]

Oh, I don't disagree (and they said nice things about Britt!), but I was scrolling and my eyes focused in on the TeCa bit and then rolled up in my head.

 

It does really seem like this was the year the bloggers/critics stopped making excuses for Kristen Alderson.

 

Yeah that was good, although I get annoyed that whenever the bloggers mention her they make it sound like she only started being shitty when she changed to the Kiki character.

[Tiger]

More Best and Worst of 2014 -

http://soaptownusa.com/?p=10417

I agree with much of it, mainly Maura, Finola and heh, KA. Although I'm wondering if ulkis wrote this part, hee.

Paevey, for all his limitations, is much better than both Geary and Howarth. I have never seen him undermine his scene partner(s), draw focus, ham it up, or purposely tank a scene as those two hacks frequently do.

As for this 'well he gets shitty writing' that Howarth defenders use, as Soaptown articulated, Hughes frequently spins shit into gold. Same for West and Wright IMHO. I think Howarth could be getting brilliant writing from Kurt Sutter and he would still suck.

ETA: on another note, anyone going to that Hughes, West & Wright event being advertised at Soaptown? Wish I could go because those three are definitely worth paying to see!

Edited December 23, 2014 by Tiger

[ulkis]

Paevey, for all his limitations, is much better than both Geary and Howarth. I have never seen him undermine his scene partner(s), draw focus, ham it up, or purposely tank a scene as those two hacks frequently do.

 

 

replying in the Sonny thread.

[Tiger]

Yeah, but that's cause he's a) a one year vet - I don't think Geary or Howarth did any of those things either when they were at the show for only a year - and b) he can't do any of those things. How can he purposely tank a scene when the guy can't focus on anything but making sure he says all his lines?.

As far as I'm concerned, what Howarth and Geary did decades ago is irrelevant when it comes to what I see on my screen today. If Paevey is drawing focus, clowning around, etc years from now, then I'll call him on it then. He isn't doing those things now; Howarth and Geary are.

[ulkis]

I think Howarth is; I actually don't think Geary is stealing the spotlight or clowning around, although he needs to be reprimanded for that deeply stupid Fluke accent.

[ulkis]

At this point I almost think having him appear as a third character WOULD be better. It will still be bad (bad and stupid and a disaster), but at least it won't be fucking Franco anymore.

Edited December 23, 2014 by ulkis

[Ambrosefolly]

At this point I almost think having him appear as a third character WOULD be better. It will still be bad (bad and stupid and a disaster), but at least it won't be fucking Franco anymore.

At this point I am completely open to him coming on as Steven Lars. I was weirded out before because he was interacting with the character previously.

[jsbt]

At this point I almost think having him appear as a third character WOULD be better. It will still be bad (bad and stupid and a disaster), but at least it won't be fucking Franco anymore.

 

They'd try it if they thought they could get away with it, but I think it would be beyond pathetic. I also think fans would storm the studio with torches and pitchforks.

 

It doesn't matter who he plays anymore. Even Todd couldn't come back right now and be accepted well, IMO. That's how bad this is. He has got to go. I watch a lot of this show on Hulu Plus lately and they still run an ancient bumper of Todd (sometimes when I'm in a particuarly foul mood, I perversely wonder if FV just refuses to update it). I watched Todd for 20 years on OLTL but I can't even look at that fucking bumper anymore, I'm so tired and disgusted with this mess. I don't want to hear about any of it anymore. This man came from another soap, he's had two different roles, he's supplanted a lot of people and I'm supposed to hop onboard for Role #3 in three years? That is never going to happen. I don't care who he is or how much I enjoyed his role on another soap. It's unwatchable.

Edited December 23, 2014 by jsbt

[Dandesun]

Or, you know, they could cut their fucking losses. Third character? Will they call him 'Tad Personage' so any facade at him playing something OTHER than Todd Manning can be seen right through? I mean, it doesn't matter, does it? He's always going to be Todd no matter what. Ron would never attempt to write him as anything else anyway...

And then Ron can try his precious Character Roger Plays/Carly hookup. Again. Because, gods know, Ron would want to play that out for the third time, too.

[ulkis]

It doesn't matter who he plays anymore. Even Todd couldn't come back right now and be accepted well, IMO.

 

 

Oh, you're preaching to the choir here on this subject. I didn't even like him as Todd on this show. Well, I had some moments where I liked him but I never watched OLTL so I was never a fan of the OLTL characters coming on. But if Ron is never gonna stop trying with this guy - I'll take him as someone else. And by that I mean, I'll take him someone else and hopefully even Jamey Giddens will be like "what the hell is this shit" and finally RoHo will be booted from the friggin lot already.

[jsbt]

This is only still going on because Ron and Frank feel cheated. That's the only reason. They wouldn't go this far for anyone else. They had Roger Howarth back after the better part of a decade, they had Todd Manning and it slipped away. Fine, get salty about that, I would - but this was not the answer. Everything that could possibly be done to try to remake Franco into Todd has been done and none of it has worked. They even have Franco calling Nina his only friend, just like Carly was his only friend, just like Kiki was his only friend, and of course Todd Manning had far too many of those himself.

 

At this point I think they are trying to wait out the lawsuit. I'm sure they think that if they can just hang on for however many years, the OLTL characters will become free again and boop! Let's bring back Todd! That might have worked last year, I don't think it'll work so well now. Roger Howarth would have to be gone for months or preferably years for me to stomach his appearing on the show again, and I personally liked a lot of Todd's tenure on GH and welcomed crossovers. I am so tired of hearing about how much I should value soap star Roger Howarth and those great years as Todd Manning. I watched all that shit for decades. It has nothing to do with GH or what I am watching today, and magically bringing Todd back won't change the crippling handicap at the heart of the show. Just fire him and move on.

Edited December 23, 2014 by jsbt

[ulkis]

Or, you know, they could cut their fucking losses. Third character? Will they call him 'Tad Personage' so any facade at him playing something OTHER than Todd Manning can be seen right through? I mean, it doesn't matter, does it? He's always going to be Todd no matter what. Ron would never attempt to write him as anything else anyway...

And then Ron can try his precious Character Roger Plays/Carly hookup. Again. Because, gods know, Ron would want to play that out for the third time, too.

 

Don't get me wrong. I don't want him here at all, I never have. But when jsbt wrote "he's never gonna stop trying with him" was what prompted me to write that, cause if he's never gonna stop trying he might as well be someone else so I can suffer through some other dumbass character instead of Franco the serial killer. And at least it would be SOME sort of capitulation. And hopefully, like I said, even the kissasses in the soap media would have to call that out.

 

But I doubt it would ever happen, so it's all moot anyway.

[jsbt]

I think most of the soap press know Franco is still a disaster. They're just too chickenshit to talk openly about it very often with Ron Carlivati either talking to them or watching them on social media. Jamey Giddens in particular always wants to gild the lily. He was not watching OLTL in RH's first run, for the record.

[TeeVee329]

Or, you know, they could cut their fucking losses.

 

Seriously.  I get that Roger Howarth is Roger Howarth, you know, and it's not his fault that Franco was a "dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant" character from the get-go, but he's not exactly blowing the doors off the hinges with his performances these days.  Goodwill from years past can only take you so far.

 

There is no need for the show to needlessly twist the narrative for one actor to get a second/third chance.

Edited December 23, 2014 by TeeVee329

[LeftPhalange]

Howarth (and sometimes JT during Patrina) is the only actor who I think legitimately tanks scenes because he doesn't like the material. Geary may overact sometimes and Benard may not be all that good, but I do think they try to give the best performances they can. Even block of wood Pavey is probably doing the best he can. Howarth has been horrible since he started playing Franco and I get second hand embarrassment for the other actors who have to be in scenes with him when he decides to go completely off the rails.