GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[ciarra]

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Why must we suffer?

At least he's wearing clothes.  Check out his movie "Latter Days". 

[ulkis]

Cynthia Watros is NuNina. Oookay.

[LexieLily]

20 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Cynthia Watros is NuNina. Oookay.

We. Don't. Need. A. Nina. Recast.

Seriously, no one in Port Charles would miss her except maybe Valentin, for five minutes.

[YaddaYadda]

24 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Cynthia Watros is NuNina. Oookay.

Really? Why do we need Nina at all?

[dubbel zout]

Maybe they'll finish this idiotic Sasha story and Nina will be so mad she leaves Port Charles for good.

[ouinason]

Yet another recycle of other shows' actors.  At least they could have gotten someone new.

[ByaNose]

Cynthia Wattros was awesome as Annie Dutton on GL. Although, I'm not really sure Nina is needed but I guess Valentine needs somebody. CW is 50 and MS is 53 so they kept the character is the same age range. At least, they didn't go with the some 30 year old. I give them credit for that. I bet Kim Zimmer is like, "Hey! What about me??!?!?". LOL!!!

Edited April 11, 2019 by ByaNose

[katie9918]

At least it’s Cynthia Watros, I guess? I’d trade most of the contract cast for her.

Damn shame Nina isn’t just disappearing, though.

[UYI]

LOVE Cynthia Watros, she earned that Emmy as Annie on GL in 1998 for sure (and she was up against Eileen Davidson, back when she was Kristen AND Susan AND all their other siblings on DAYS, so she had some real competition for that award, too). That said...this seems like a character that should be gone once MSt is gone. 

[TeeVee329]

6 hours ago, ulkis said:

Cynthia Watros is NuNina. Oookay.

I know Cynthia Watros has major soap cred, but to me, she'll always be Libby from "Lost".  I was, for some reason, fascinated with that character from the jump.

I could actually see her as Nina, but why?  WHY?  To finish the Sasha story?  Nobody cares, Frank.

Edited April 12, 2019 by TeeVee329

[TeeVee329]

Oh also?  If this has to happen, I need at least one scene between Cynthia Watros and my girl Kathleen Gati, thank you! 

[UYI]

25 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

I know Cynthis Watros has major soap cred, but to me, she'll always be Libby from "Lost". 

Other than Guiding Light, I'll always remember her as Drew's wife (post-Kate) on The Drew Carey Show. 

[jsbt]

Cynthia Watros is insanely good. And she could actually make something of this horrible character. I just wish she was playing anyone else.

[movingtargetgal]

Cynthia Watros was SO good as Annie Dutton on Guiding Light.  Annie was such a sweet character until she married Josh then she went batshit crazy.  It really is understandable why.  Josh's not so dead wife, Reva, showed up at their wedding.  I hate it whenever that happens to me. :)

[Sake614]

I only know CW from LOST and her brief stint on Y&R. I wasn’t impressed with her in either role so I’m not looking forward to seeing her on GH. And we neither want nor need Nina. Never did, never will. But if she can somehow make the character remotely likable, I’ll be okay with it.

[WendyCR72]

I cannot believe Nina is being recast. And Cynthia Watros is good, but really? (It's kind of ironic, though, since some here often confused her with Cynthia Preston [ex-Faith Roscoe]!)

[statsgirl]

Cynthia Watros also played Wilson's ex-wife one season of House.

Either they really value the character of Nina or there is some storyline with her that they want to play out to hire someone with CW's cred.

[30 Helens]

6 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

I know Cynthia Watros has major soap cred, but to me, she'll always be Libby from "Lost".  

Oh, OK! Thanks for that info. I don’t watch other soaps so I had no reference. Maybe this won’t be so bad, after all. At least they hired a real actress. 

[ulkis]

4 hours ago, statsgirl said:

Cynthia Watros also played Wilson's ex-wife one season of House.

Either they really value the character of Nina or there is some storyline with her that they want to play out to hire someone with CW's cred.

FV valued Michelle Stafford, although I suppose Chris Van Etten may have valued her over-the-topness. I suspect they started making Nina extra annoying recently because they knew her contract was coming up.

I don't think it was just about the storyline that they wanted an actress like CW but just to show Stafford they had someone to recast her with. Which, duh, of course they could replace her; the character is unpopular. Probably the most unpopular character on contract.

Edited April 12, 2019 by ulkis

[jsbt]

It's just a shame. Cynthia Watros is still a major casting coup for GH. And they saddle her with Nina?!

I mean, can she play that type - absolutely, in her sleep. And who knows, maybe you could reinvent the character. But I have no faith that she won't get the same schlock they've always given Nina. Nothing will change without a creative team change.

[Badsamaritan]

I loved CW as Annie on Guiding Light. When Annie found out her baby was stillborn, her scenes were so powerful to me. If I'm not mistaken, she's a recovering alcoholic and I believe there were rumors that's why she was recast on YR (she was arrested for DUI back when she was on Lost) but I hope if she is a Friend of Bill, that she is taking care of herself. Maybe she can change viewers' opinion on Nina but that's definitely an uphill battle. I wish her luck.

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 hours ago, jsbt said:

Nothing will change without a creative team change.

And this is it in a nutshell. NOTHING will change with the current show runner and "creative team" (and I use that loosely) change. And unless there's a miracle, that ain't never gonna happen.

[dubbel zout]

9 hours ago, ulkis said:

FV valued Michelle Stafford

Until she asked for something he didn't want to give her.

6 hours ago, jsbt said:

Nothing will change without a creative team change.

Things didn't change when the show got rid of Guza. I mean, they did, but now it's terrible in a different way. The show needs people who aren't afraid to really shake things up creatively, and that should include cutting some of the dead-weight characters, even if they're popular. But for whatever reason, that is unlikely to happen.

[UYI]

42 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Until she asked for something he didn't want to give her.

Things didn't change when the show got rid of Guza. I mean, they did, but now it's terrible in a different way. The show needs people who aren't afraid to really shake things up creatively, and that should include cutting some of the dead-weight characters, even if they're popular. But for whatever reason, that is unlikely to happen.

I know that Doug Marland had his seven rules about how to write a soap opera without ruining it, but this is one instance where the model used by OLTL in 1991 might be best.

From the OLTL forum:

Written by me:

Quote

The switch from longtime Executive Producer Paul Rauch--who had been there since 1984--and the then-most recent writing team of Leah Laiman and Craig Carlson (and the year before that, the death of HW S.Michael Schnessel, who wrote a lot of the late 80's glory years), to Linda Gottlieb as EP, and novelist Michael Malone as HW, that summer and fall. The former had produced Dirty Dancing and worked primarily in movies beforehand, and the latter's hiring? You certainly wouldn't see a novelist brought into daytime now.

The show experienced almost a complete makeover, in stories, in costume design, in lighting, in the cast (several people were let go/brought in), and while it largely saved the show, some of the long time actors weren't so happy. Erika Slezak herself said she didn't think she was very good for the show.

Written by Jase:

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The show changed overnight in '91, much like when Gloria Monty came back to GH the same year for her disastrous revamp of that show, featuring the Eckerts, etc. It was ultimately for the better but my understanding is there were some false starts with some attempts at short-term telenovela plotting that didn't always work out. There are a lot of episodes from that period on YT but it's not always easy to get a cohesive picture of the sort of rocky evolution if one wasn't watching at the time. They introduced a lot of new people very fast, some of whom were lasting stars in one form or another (Marty, Blair, Andrew Carpenter, etc.) and some who were short-term players for short-term stories that didn't work or became something else. They began seeding long-term stories and new ideas and couples, but I don't think the whole picture really became fully formed until the Megan death story in early '92. I have vague memories of the Rauch era (and the theme song) when my babysitter watched the show, but I didn't really start watching OLTL until I think just after Marty's rape in '93, maybe weeks later. It worked, but if you look back at the airdates vs. story turnaround people might freak out today - I think Andrew came on in maybe September of '91? And by October or November he and Megan were very tight, he was falling in love with her and he has a huge role in her final story while her husband Jake, played by Joe Lando who by then had a primetime show, only comes back for a short-term run. And (Asian) Blair comes on somewhere around the fall, immediately insinuates herself into Cord and Tina's life and then is with Cord when he 'dies' and John Loprieno leaves the show after the better part of a decade. It was a lot of whiplash. But they made a lot of it work with great writers and actors, at least in the eps I've seen. That being said the seams clearly showed.

And yeah, a lot of people really did not like Linda Gottlieb, particularly Erika, who's usually so politic but who went out of her way to say she liked her neither personally nor professionally. But the woman was a genius for the show. She changed the medium, top to bottom, music to editing to production. She did what Monty had done in the '70s, but with only a fraction of the same noticeable impact - a lot of the stuff was more behind the camera than in front of the camera with big supercouples or epic adventure stories, though she definitely honed social issue storytelling.

And one more point by me:

Quote

Linda Gottlieb apparently recommended Wendy Riche for GH after Gloria Monty was finally let go. She knew her in the film industry. 

Again, in most instances, this would be a disaster, and I certainly don't think these situations make for a perfect comparison, but it's probably the closest I can think of. 

[tvgoddess]

It will likely turn out badly, but I'll hope for the best until shown otherwise. I'm happy to not get someone from the parking lot or the grocery store for a change. Cynthia is a fantastic actress, I'm curious to see her against Maura.

[TeeVee329]

Oh lordy, c'mon now Frank ('s intern):

Nina was a plot point character the show used to try and prop up Michael Easton's second character, WHY DOES SHE HAVE OR NEED A LEGACY?!?!

[HeatLifer]

Nina’s legacy is what we’ll all remember from General Hospital. Good one, Frank. Tell me another joke about how you feel about the characters of Liesl and Franco. 

[ulkis]

15 minutes ago, HeatLifer said:

Nina’s legacy is what we’ll all remember from General Hospital. Good one, Frank. Tell me another joke about how you feel about the characters of Liesl and Franco. 

He's a Baldwin and helping continue Lucky's legacy by raising Aiden!

[TeeVee329]

2 hours ago, HeatLifer said:

Nina’s legacy is what we’ll all remember from General Hospital. Good one, Frank. Tell me another joke about how you feel about the characters of Liesl and Franco. 

I wish Dr. O's legacy had been as Anna's arch-nemesis who perished in a volcano while wearing a Carmen Sandiago hat after an epic duel.  I still like my O when she pops up, but that would have really been leaving a mark.

[jsbt]

Since I'm being quoted let me be clear: I love her, but Erika was wrong about Linda Gottlieb. I think Linda Gottlieb was absolutely transformative for OLTL in the best possible ways despite some flaws, and so was Wendy Riche at GH.

Edited April 13, 2019 by jsbt

[katie9918]

Cynthia Watros is an upgrade in all possible ways. 

Shut up, Frank.

[bannana]

16 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

that should include cutting some of the dead-weight characters, even if they're popular.

And by that, do you mean the mob extended family?  Cause, yeah.

[UYI]

13 hours ago, jsbt said:

Since I'm being quoted let me be clear: I love her, but Erika was wrong about Linda Gottlieb. I think Linda Gottlieb was absolutely transformative for OLTL in the best possible ways despite some flaws, and so was Wendy Riche at GH.

Absolutely. I quoted that because so much of what you said in terms of how it might work towards GH today. As I said, it's not a perfect comparison, and the soap climate has changed so much since 1991, but it's still interesting to imagine what might happen if a similar situation happened at GH today.

(Truthfully, I probably didn't need to keep the LG quote at the end, but I did because of how it referenced GM.)

[Asp Burger]

So, if Watros has to take time off, will Nina be played by Signy Coleman? Ha ha. 

Seriously, as far as the recasting of a dud character goes, this went as well as it could have gone, in my opinion. Watros is the right age, she can play crazy/troubled, and she's really good. I grudgingly see why the creative team would disagree with the majority of us about the importance of Nina played by anyone. She does have a lot of connections and she's had big stuff going on lately that still has to play out. She's not as much of a "lift right out" as Griffin.    

But..."legacy"? Whatever. Goddamned Sam barely has any "legacy," and she's been there about three times as long.

I will forever wonder what Stafford thought about the Dawn of Day story.. It gets more like her own "faith" every week. I know that much of it is just Anycult boilerplate, but now they even have Molly pointing out the errors and derivative passages in Shilohnetics.  

Edited April 15, 2019 by Asp Burger

[GHScorpiosRule]

I don't know why Frank and his ilk seem to be under the delusion that the Nurses Ball from 2014-2018 is anything to laud. If they want people to see actual talent, acting that pulls and jerks at the heart strings, that actually has HEART, then they'd include the ones from the beginning--1994-1998. I can't remember if there was one for 1999. I do know that 2000, maybe? There was just this montage where we saw Robin and Mac getting ready to leave. And then Robin saw that the SHEBEAST was married to Mooby. If only Robin had stuck to her "I've lost all respect for you" to that mumbling marshmouth. And that was it for the Ball until Sabrina"Yes!1000xYES!"Santiago decided to bring it back to get closer to Robin's husband.

Oh, wait. Frank wasn't running the show during the GOOD YEARS.

[ulkis]

it was 1994-2001. They probably didn't put up any of those because of song copyrights.

[UYI]

50 minutes ago, ulkis said:

it was 1994-2001. They probably didn't put up any of those because of song copyrights.

And the one in 2001 was cut short because JFP ripped herself off by using the train crash which "killed" Nora on OLTL the year before and using it to injure Emily before Amber Tamblyn left the show (Alan sang to Emily after he found her, though, which was at least touching to see). 

[Ladybyrd]

Oh, I don't know... I never loved the Nurses Ball the way others do.. even back in the 90s I think most of the numbers were at least halfway embarrassing. The same is true today, but I think it's sweet they make the effort with the budget stripped down as it is, and I'm always happy to see Ms. Coe. 

Edited April 15, 2019 by Ladybyrd

[ulkis]

7 minutes ago, Ladybyrd said:

Oh, I don't know... I never loved the Nurses Ball the way others do.. even back in the 90s I think most of the numbers were at least halfway embarrassing. The same is true today, but I think it's sweet they make the effort with the budget stripped down as it is, and I'm always happy to see Ms. Coe. 

Why so many back-up dancers though? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy? :rips off shirt:

Also the red carpet. Terrible.

[GHScorpiosRule]

17 minutes ago, Ladybyrd said:

Oh, I don't know... I never loved the Nurses Ball the way others do.. even back in the 90s I think most of the numbers were at least halfway embarrassing. The same is true today, but I think it's sweet they make the effort with the budget stripped down as it is, and I'm always happy to see Ms. Coe. 

Effort? What effort? Frank changed the whole idea of what it's supposed to be about. While Port Charles is supposedly in a metropolitan area, this event was always, always a local event. That red carpet garbage with the posing for pictures and "interviews" is beyond cringe worthy.

While the performances in the mid to late 90s was cheesy, at least the actors were trying and went along with it. And some were funny and sweet.

9 minutes ago, ulkis said:

Why so many back-up dancers though? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy? :rips off shirt:

Also the red carpet. Terrible.

[statsgirl]

The red carpet is the worst of what is often a cringe-worthy show.  A red carpet interviewee is supposed to be someone special, not casual attendees to have a moment to pretend that they are someone famous or have something to say worth listening to.

[YaddaYadda]

58 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

The red carpet is the worst of what is often a cringe-worthy show.  A red carpet interviewee is supposed to be someone special, not casual attendees to have a moment to pretend that they are someone famous or have something to say worth listening to.

And the product placement.

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

And the product placement.

A necessary evil if the Nurses Ball is going to happen. IRL there are sponsors for this sort of thing, so at least it's not entirely craven, and I have to say the show has gotten a lot less clunky about the pimping. It's still obviously pimping, but at least most of it is done within the context of the NB, instead of forcing poor NLG and CH to extol the virtues of Ragú or Prego, whichever is "the working woman's friend." Oof.

[UYI]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

A necessary evil if the Nurses Ball is going to happen. IRL there are sponsors for this sort of thing, so at least it's not entirely craven, and I have to say the show has gotten a lot less clunky about the pimping. It's still obviously pimping, but at least most of it is done within the context of the NB, instead of forcing poor NLG and CH to extol the virtues of Ragú or Prego, whichever is "the working woman's friend." Oof.

It was Prego. I've seen old archives from the GH TWOP board where you talked about it. 🙂

And really, compared to the product placement that DAYS and Passions had a decade ago, where they basically had whole scenes substitute for commercials for products like Cheerios, Midol (!) or KY (!!), I doubt the NB product placement is THAT bad. 

[Tenshinhan]

7 hours ago, ulkis said:

it was 1994-2001. They probably didn't put up any of those because of song copyrights.

What happened to 2013?? Same reasons?

[ulkis]

3 minutes ago, Tenshinhan said:

What happened to 2013?? Same reasons?

No clue. 

[makelemons]

16 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

And the product placement.

Maybe this year GH can have Scam pimping sleeping pills!

[Vera]

FH retweeted these.

[Neptune]

Grey's Anatomy's Chandra Wilson Returning for a Third Guest Spot on General Hospital

https://people.com/tv/chandra-wilson-guest-star-general-hospital/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-button-sharing

[LexieLily]

Jon was robbed for Lead Actor. Mo won. 

Hayley, Max and Vernee won their categories.