GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[ffwbe]

13 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Wow, Dominic Zamprogna is coming back and Lindsay Hartley is a temp Sam? Huh.

Is DZ back for good or just a visit? If it is for good, understandable. The man has a family to feed!

The article didn’t say. I’ll just say that DZ was hinting heavily, pretty much begging for another contract during the quarantine so I don’t think he’s coming back on one because I think he already knew about this return. 

[ByaNose]

2 hours ago, ffwbe said:

The article didn’t say. I’ll just say that DZ was hinting heavily, pretty much begging for another contract during the quarantine so I don’t think he’s coming back on one because I think he already knew about this return. 

Yeah, he was sorta begging pre pandemic. I think it’s a somewhat 2-3 year contract since he wanted to come back full time. I like DZ but unfortunately he’s in the Sonny vortex. That said, he’ll get lot of airtime. I will like to see him back in the police station working with Chase. They worked together briefly before DZ left. I’m curious how long the PSTD storyline will last though. If they want him back to “normal” and back at the station it could be a quick cure. Especially, with the pandemic and viewers wanting to enjoy/escape real life issues on their soap. Time will tell. I’m glad they are giving it a try and I’m sure it will be fine just like B&B.

[jsbt]

Mark Lawson - I loved Brody on OLTL. Loved him. But the guy has no reason to be here. The character is incidental to Frank hiring an old buddy from OLTL. That's not acceptable to me, it's insulting. I don't love any character or show that much. Jim dePaiva showing up as a pervy doctor annoyed me too. At least Hillary B. Smith had reasons to appear as Nora. If he'd come on as some Quartermaine kid or a long-lost Webber or Spencer relative you might have a case. And Amanda Setton, another OLTL alum, may have broken the Brook Lynn curse, despite bad story. But Mark Lawson as Rando Boyfriend? No. Gotta go. Along with Howarth and Easton.

I don't care about any of these other dudes. Chase - cute, sure, but he's just a slightly better-acted Nathan to me. Willow and Sasha I cannot distinguish between and both must be destroyed. I have no idea how fans feel about Nelle at this point or what the hell the story even is now.

AFAIC GH shit its last golden chance ten years ago. They had JJ back as Lucky, selling it as a cop. Big time. He made it work for the Lucky he created at age 12 or whatever. You totally believed it, for the first time. He was golden. He had great rapport with DZ as Dante. Those two were the future of the show together, they were Luke and Scorpio all over again. You could still have that; Nashville is gone and in these times both men will need steady work for their families. You center the show around them and PCPD/WSB capers along with romance, you have a chance at a viable future. But that would involve the will for a massive retooling of the show no one there is interested in. Do I need to mention that Vanessa/Brenda might actually be a viable option if Sonny got out of the business and moved into white-collar crime shit? No? I'd still bring Sarah Brown back too, I don't care if she keeps claiming unmarked cars are following her everywhere (she might be right!). Anyway thanks for coming to my TED Talk

Edited August 1, 2020 by jsbt

[ouinason]

The tweet that KM's mom wrote about why she is on leave seems weird to me.  Like, it sounds like an excuse.  Perhaps KM didn't want to abide by the mask rules and the PTB put their foot down and suspended her for the two weeks.  Or maybe she was seen out around town without one and they refuse to take a chance on it.  I'm not saying this is fact or anything, but the ... defensive tone of that "we don't know why they insist on two weeks quarantine" is weird.

[jsbt]

8 minutes ago, ouinason said:

The tweet that KM's mom wrote about why she is on leave seems weird to me.  Like, it sounds like an excuse.  Perhaps KM didn't want to abide by the mask rules and the PTB put their foot down and suspended her for the two weeks.  Or maybe she was seen out around town without one and they refuse to take a chance on it.  I'm not saying this is fact or anything, but the ... defensive tone of that "we don't know why they insist on two weeks quarantine" is weird.

I don't buy it, either.

[TeeVee329]

6 hours ago, jsbt said:

Mark Lawson - I loved Brody on OLTL. Loved him. But the guy has no reason to be here. The character is incidental to Frank hiring an old buddy from OLTL. That's not acceptable to me, it's insulting. I don't love any character or show that much. Jim dePaiva showing up as a pervy doctor annoyed me too. At least Hillary B. Smith had reasons to appear as Nora. If he'd come on as some Quartermaine kid or a long-lost Webber or Spencer relative you might have a case. And Amanda Setton, another OLTL alum, may have broken the Brook Lynn curse, despite bad story. But Mark Lawson as Rando Boyfriend? No. Gotta go. Along with Howarth and Easton.

This is all true, and yet lol.  I dunno, I just like having him on my TV, and would much rather watch him in a pointless role versus Howarth and Easton in their overpropped roles.

5 hours ago, ouinason said:

The tweet that KM's mom wrote about why she is on leave seems weird to me.  Like, it sounds like an excuse.  Perhaps KM didn't want to abide by the mask rules and the PTB put their foot down and suspended her for the two weeks.  Or maybe she was seen out around town without one and they refuse to take a chance on it.  I'm not saying this is fact or anything, but the ... defensive tone of that "we don't know why they insist on two weeks quarantine" is weird.

Yeah, something about this explanation seemed weird to me too.

[dubbel zout]

I love Mark Lawson, but he's pointless on GH, I agree. Lulu doesn't need or deserve a love triangle, despite the nice chem ER has with both DZ and ML. But it's not fiery or passionate at all, and triangles definitely need those things. As a teacher Dustin has been a dud, given he's been tied to Joss and her e n d l e s s mourning. Fingers crossed they've permanently backed way from a grooming story (with any of the kids). 

Unfortunately I can't see the show ever getting rid of Sonny being in the mob. For whatever reason, everyone is tied to it for eternity. 

[jsbt]

I never thought I'd say it because I found her so burnt out by the end but they might as well beg Julie Berman to come back. Or find another very strong actress. Emme is passable but she ain't enough to make the role a star. Of course none will be unless Frank allows it.

[ffwbe]

15 hours ago, ouinason said:

The tweet that KM's mom wrote about why she is on leave seems weird to me.  Like, it sounds like an excuse.  Perhaps KM didn't want to abide by the mask rules and the PTB put their foot down and suspended her for the two weeks.  Or maybe she was seen out around town without one and they refuse to take a chance on it.  I'm not saying this is fact or anything, but the ... defensive tone of that "we don't know why they insist on two weeks quarantine" is weird.

I thought the same. Especially since if it’s just the show being overly cautious, they would have probably done the same with the other cast and crew members she was in contact with that day. I wondered if she broke some kind of protocol and they sent her home and temp recasted her as a warning to her and the other actors. 
 

Though, if it was completely legit and there wasn’t something missing from the story, I don’t see how she’ll be ok with wearing a mask after 2 weeks. Her mom said she’s been claustrophobic since she was a kid.  

Edited August 1, 2020 by ffwbe

[jsbt]

I don't dislike Kelly but if you can't wear a mask in public you're not on the show. Period. But they shouldn't be filming anyway AFAIC.

[tvgoddess]

Here's some info on the rules for coming back to work -

https://abc7.com/entertainment/abcs-general-hospital-returns-after-production-shutdown/6347125/

"Valentini says masks are now work at all times, except when actors are taping a scene."

[YaddaYadda]

The Mike story is wrapping up in a couple of months? Why?

Big surprise is probably Dante.

[TeeVee329]

...they're still doing the Nurses' Ball?  Maybe...just skip it this year?

Also, it's kinda surprising that the reporter didn't ask the producer of a soap opera allegedly set in a hospital if the COVID pandemic would be worked into storylines.  Still better at his job than Lulu, though.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I don't dislike Kelly either, but it seems odd to me that a woman who scuba dives would be made claustrophobic by wearing a mask. 

 

[dubbel zout]

The amount of physical intimacy is limited," said Valentini. "We're going to leave a lot more to the imagination."

I already have to imagine a lot the way it is, Frank!

3 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

The Mike story is wrapping up in a couple of months? Why?

So that every single person in Port Charles understands on a granular level how devastated Sonny is that his father had the nerve to die before Sonny was ready to let go. His pain is the worst pain ever. Ugh, and I thought Joss's incessant mourning for Oscar was bad. This is going to be infinitely worse.

2 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

...they're still doing the Nurses' Ball?  Maybe...just skip it this year?

Maybe they already spent the sponsor dough? They could have said it happened during the break. The Covid coordinators have their work cut out for them to make sure the acts are safe. 

[rur]

On 8/1/2020 at 1:02 AM, ouinason said:

The tweet that KM's mom wrote about why she is on leave seems weird to me.  Like, it sounds like an excuse.  Perhaps KM didn't want to abide by the mask rules and the PTB put their foot down and suspended her for the two weeks.  Or maybe she was seen out around town without one and they refuse to take a chance on it.  I'm not saying this is fact or anything, but the ... defensive tone of that "we don't know why they insist on two weeks quarantine" is weird.

Based on what I've heard about the biz in general and GH in particular, I would not be surprised to learn that she was uncomfortable with the required closeness of some scenes,  was sent home to quarantine herself for a while, and that having issues with a mask was an attempt to put a positive spin on the situation. But I totally understand that everyone else's mileage may vary.  

[nilyank]

37 minutes ago, rur said:

Based on what I've heard about the biz in general and GH in particular, I would not be surprised to learn that she was uncomfortable with the required closeness of some scenes,  was sent home to quarantine herself for a while, and that having issues with a mask was an attempt to put a positive spin on the situation. But I totally understand that everyone else's mileage may vary.  

That might be true, but her romantic partner is Jason and the show had already written a story line why they have to keep apart (her parole guidelines) so there isn't going to be any love scenes or intimate moments like kissing and snuggling. But then again, there was no threat of that happening before Covid-19;

[jsbt]

She's either got it, won't go by the regulations or the show is being unsafe itself. Which I can't see being possible, but the idea that they're trying to do a Nurses Ball in the middle of this is ridiculous unless it's a COVID benefit in-story involving solo acts isolated in separate spaces. But again, these shows should not be filming at all, let alone returning with the same dumb stories.

[TeeVee329]

12 minutes ago, jsbt said:

She's either got it, won't go by the regulations or the show is being unsafe itself. Which I can't see being possible, but the idea that they're trying to do a Nurses Ball in the middle of this is ridiculous unless it's a COVID benefit in-story involving solo acts isolated in separate spaces. But again, these shows should not be filming at all, let alone returning with the same dumb stories.

That's what I wondered, if they'll have the NB tie into the pandemic.

But given the article says the Ball will air this month, it's crazy the idea they would take on that logistic challenge their first month back into production.  Why wouldn't you ease into something like that?  Like, come with a holiday ball this year to take its place and give yourself some time.

Edited August 2, 2020 by TeeVee329

[dubbel zout]

Not to mention it's been ages since the last love scene between anyone, and that's not even including the break.

[Laur]

Do we think VM is coming back?

 

[TeeVee329]

Oh geez, could that be the inserted surprise Frank talked about in the interview?

I mean...Carly's head tends to explode whenever Brenda is in the city limits and that's always fun, but still, Brenda would just mean more frontburner Sonny story.  Pass! 

Edited August 2, 2020 by TeeVee329

[dubbel zout]

In context with Mike dying, I can see Brenda coming back. At least it's somewhat organic. Anyway, when is Sonny ever not frontburner? Even when he has no connection whatsoever he's shoved into the story. 

Maybe Brenda is back for Dante? It's gross she's been with his father, but I'd rather see Dante/Brenda than a triangle/quad of Dante/Lulu/Dustin/Brenda. The latter is a recipe for zzzzz.

And like you, @TeeVee329, I love how Brenda's mere existence drives Carly up a wall.

[Sake614]

So I checked out twitter today and by overwhelming majority, people do NOT want KeMo back. They all seem to share our view that she sleepwalks through her scenes lol! But everyone is unanimous in their concern for her health regardless of the reason for her temp reprieve..

[rur]

13 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Maybe Brenda is back for Dante? 

And like you, @TeeVee329, I love how Brenda's mere existence drives Carly up a wall.

Maybe she'd be back for Jax. I'd rather see her with him than Nina. And it would still make Carly's head explode.

[ouinason]

OMG, if Joss started looking up to Brenda as some kind of role model, or even just liked her, Carly would EXPLODE!

[Sake614]

https://tvsourcemagazine.com/2020/07/a-love-letter-to-the-soap-opera-fan/
 

he’ll I’m a soap fan and even ‘I’ don’t understand a lot of this. Like waiting on line for hours at a mall or attending every soap fan event.  I’ve seen some of these people and they are cray-cray!  Like they legit think these characters are real...

[tvgoddess]

24 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

https://tvsourcemagazine.com/2020/07/a-love-letter-to-the-soap-opera-fan/
 

he’ll I’m a soap fan and even ‘I’ don’t understand a lot of this. Like waiting on line for hours at a mall or attending every soap fan event.  I’ve seen some of these people and they are cray-cray!  Like they legit think these characters are real...

I don't think a lot of this applies to nowadays. There are still events (I've attended a few), but there aren't long lines or standing in the sun or going to malls. I think those were the heydays of soaps.

[TeeVee329]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

In context with Mike dying, I can see Brenda coming back. At least it's somewhat organic. Anyway, when is Sonny ever not frontburner? Even when he has no connection whatsoever he's shoved into the story. 

Maybe Brenda is back for Dante? It's gross she's been with his father, but I'd rather see Dante/Brenda than a triangle/quad of Dante/Lulu/Dustin/Brenda. The latter is a recipe for zzzzz.

And like you, @TeeVee329, I love how Brenda's mere existence drives Carly up a wall.

Well if Brenda is the added-in surprise tomorrow, it can't be about Mike dying because that's supposedly - sigh - still months off.

I also can't imagine the show bringing her in to seduce Sonny away from Carly at this juncture, given that invisible baby they just had.  I'd love to see her just in a new relationship, a new dynamic other than Sonny or Jax, but the options are terrible.  Franco?  NO.  Valentin?  NO.  Dr. Michael Easton?  NO.

But who even knows if it's for real, we hear these "Brenda's back!" rumors all the time.

[Sake614]

9 minutes ago, tvgoddess said:

I don't think a lot of this applies to nowadays. There are still events (I've attended a few), but there aren't long lines or standing in the sun or going to malls. I think those were the heydays of soaps.

Still never got it. Sure I had/have my favorite characters/couples and was thrilled when they finally got together, sad or furious when they broke up. But I never went to a mall fan event.  I went to super soap weekend in 2001 and couldn’t believe what I was seeing/hearing from middle-aged to older women! Honest to God, they thought the characters were real. They yelled out character names to the actors. Someone asked Hillary B. Smith when she and Bo were getting back together. Others yelled out ‘we love you GREG’ to Larry Lau (ex-Greg AMC) who was playing Sam Rappaport on OLTL at the time. 
 

I don’t mean to knock fan events.  They can be fun and sometimes you come away with some juicy gossip. 😀. And if they’re local, sure, go and enjoy.  😀

 

[peachmangosteen]

6 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

They yelled out character names to the actors.

I mean, there's some abnormally devoted viewers out there, but I have to give some leeway on this since a lot of actors themselves will actually speak about their characters as if they were their character so!

[Sake614]

10 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I mean, there's some abnormally devoted viewers out there, but I have to give some leeway on this since a lot of actors themselves will actually speak about their characters as if they were their character so!

Yeah not these actors. They kept correcting the women to no avail, lol!

[peachmangosteen]

I just hate it when actors do that. It's bizarre and it muddies the waters for fans imo.

So, the new eps start tomorrow? I might check it out, just for the novelty. I meant to watch B&B/Y&R when they came back but I forgot lol.

[statsgirl]

17 hours ago, tvgoddess said:

"Valentini says masks are now work at all times, except when actors are taping a scene."

That seems like Russian roulette to me. Either the other actor doesn't have it, in which case there is no danger mask or no mask, or he/she does in which case you'll catch it in the scenes that are taping unless you're 6' apart.

Quote

Maybe they already spent the sponsor dough? They could have said it happened during the break

Valentin said that Deception was sponsoring the Nurses' Ball this year so I can't imagine that there is that any dough to spend. Unless they've already shot the performances, it should have happened during the break.

7 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I don't dislike Kelly either, but it seems odd to me that a woman who scuba dives would be made claustrophobic by wearing a mask.

I can understand it. When you're scuba diving, you can breathe air through the mouthpiece. Wearing a mask where it's harder to breathe can feel claustrophobic.

[Cheyanne11]

9 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

7 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I don't dislike Kelly either, but it seems odd to me that a woman who scuba dives would be made claustrophobic by wearing a mask.

I can understand it. When you're scuba diving, you can breathe air through the mouthpiece. Wearing a mask where it's harder to breathe can feel claustrophobic.

yeah, but California has had mask mandates for months.  Has she just not left her house this entire time or not adhered to wearing a mask? 

[Sake614]

51 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I just hate it when actors do that. It's bizarre and it muddies the waters for fans imo.

So, the new eps start tomorrow? I might check it out, just for the novelty. I meant to watch B&B/Y&R when they came back but I forgot lol.

Y&r isn’t back yet. They’re taping but GH will be the first to air new episodes 

[tvgoddess]

1 hour ago, Sake614 said:

Still never got it. Sure I had/have my favorite characters/couples and was thrilled when they finally got together, sad or furious when they broke up. But I never went to a mall fan event.  I went to super soap weekend in 2001 and couldn’t believe what I was seeing/hearing from middle-aged to older women! Honest to God, they thought the characters were real. They yelled out character names to the actors. Someone asked Hillary B. Smith when she and Bo were getting back together. Others yelled out ‘we love you GREG’ to Larry Lau (ex-Greg AMC) who was playing Sam Rappaport on OLTL at the time. 
 

I don’t mean to knock fan events.  They can be fun and sometimes you come away with some juicy gossip. 😀. And if they’re local, sure, go and enjoy.  😀

 

I never went to a mall fan event either. I can understand the freak out at the time of Luke and Laura's wedding or seeing Erica Kane or Victoria Lord, but I can't stand the name thing either. Know your actors or don't bother going.

I confess going to out of town events (went to one local because it's rare) but I always combined them with going to visit my out-of-town boyfriend so it was a dual purpose trip.

[ouinason]

I admit that as a teenager I watched EVERY soap.  I had multiple VCR set ups to record all three networks every day.  I was a mess in the mid 90's over these shows.  

 

HOWEVER, those crazy ass fans made me embarrassed to admit to watching.

[tvgoddess]

I quit watching soaps cold turkey in the late 90's because I couldn't keep up. 😂

[KittenPokerCheater]

16 hours ago, statsgirl said:

On 8/2/2020 at 11:14 AM, KittenPokerCheater said:

I don't dislike Kelly either, but it seems odd to me that a woman who scuba dives would be made claustrophobic by wearing a mask.

I can understand it. When you're scuba diving, you can breathe air through the mouthpiece. Wearing a mask where it's harder to breathe can feel claustrophobic.

You're right about the breathing.  But I have some friends/cousins who are claustrophobic- it's why they won't scuba dive (one had a panic attack doing it).  Here's where they are coming from, and why I thought Kelly would hate diving as well:  

"The feeling of being “trapped” underwater, perhaps exacerbated by the pressure of the water, can make some people feel claustrophobic. This can cause anything from discomfort to all-out panic, which can lead a diver to ascend too fast from depth."

(source): https://scubadiverlife.com/five-fears-stop-people-scuba-diving/

But YMMV, and you raise a very good point.

Edited August 3, 2020 by KittenPokerCheater

[TeeVee329]

So EW posted an article spoiling the surprise Frank was alluding to in today's episode.  I'm not linking to it because I actually think it's shitty of EW that they spoil the return in the headline of the article and in their tweet of it, which contains actor name/character name/picture.  And what's the point of a surprise, Frank, if you let a media outlet spoil it like two hours before it airs?

Anyway, it's

Dante...which we already knew.

[dubbel zout]

That spoiler was out last week, wasn't it? Not through EW, though.

[TeeVee329]

9 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

That spoiler was out last week, wasn't it? Not through EW, though.

We knew

he was coming back via Daytime Confidential, but not that he was being inserted into the first episode back.  Frank hinted at a surprise in the first episode back in a different interview.

[dubbel zout]

Ah, gotcha.

I'm not surprised they're putting Dante in the first episode back; might as well give people a reward of sorts for suffering through the terrible reruns.

[TeeVee329]

We're going to have a Temp!Brook Lynn because, aw, Amanda Setton's on maternity leave!

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2020/08/03/general-hospital-temporarily-recasts-brook-lynn-quartermaine

[dubbel zout]

I guess that explains some of the terrible clothes poor AS had to wear.

[ouinason]

Yay for AS.  Happy news is always appreciated, but damn if we don't all need some good vibes these days.

[Melgaypet]

Normal Person Reaction: Aw! That's wonderful for Amanda.

Selfish Soap Viewer Reaction: THANK GOD they didn't write it in. NO MORE BABIES.

[ouinason]

Yeah, have to admit my first reaction was "so glad Brook hasn't been in any pairings" because you know they would have written it in.  I'm still surprised that they didn't write in ER's last pregnancy as some kind of "Miracle".  Happy about it too.  

[Sake614]

22 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I guess that explains some of the terrible clothes poor AS had to wear.

I always wondered if she was pregnant.