GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[CeChase]

 

So, NAC will be off the GH set from mid-Dec to mid-Feb.  I wonder how they are going to handle this, story wise?  It's really not that long, and he will still have several  months left on his GH contract when Netflix filming is over.  I wonder if the stockpiled some scenes recently?  I suspect they did that with Sofia.  She really wasn't offscreen.  I just don't want to see some messed up storyline invented to explain Spencer's absence.  

[Sake614]

GH tapes at least a month in advance, so they're already covered through December. And they'll likely film extra scenes with him before his new show starts production. But honestly, he hasn't been on that much anyway so there's probably plenty of footage to insert when they need it. 

The big stories coming up are going to be Charlotte, Nina (SEC) and Adam/Joss. I think the B story will be Tolly's baby rabies. All of those encompass a good number of characters and have nothing to do with Spencer.

[Grinaldi]

I could see a story where Trina puts him on a timeout for the Ace stuff and Esme asserts her parental rights and cuts him out so he goes off to find Nikolas his damn self. They don't need to do anything that crazy for only a couple months. 

[dubbel zout]

This is GH. They'll likely do something crazy for only a couple of months. Look how badly most of the scheduled vacation absences are handled.

[jsbt]

Roger Howarth is (finally!!) out. SOD interview here.

From his IG:

Austin has never worked - the initial attempt to pair him with Maxie was gross - but ever since they tried moving him to Ava and embroiled him in everything with his weird offscreen crime family, he's come off increasingly sinister, unsympathetic and villainous. He's reeked of dead man walking for at least this past year. I'm just amazed it appears to be for real this time. I thought Frank would never let him go.

If he's done Easton has to be next. Finn is at least as irrelevant and sad a character at this point as Austin.

[Mirabelle]

I was going to say the one thing Finn has going for him is he's a doctor but so was Austin and the show never really did anything with that. 

[Sake614]

Nice interview with RoHo in SOD

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Sake614

[Sake614]

1 minute ago, CeChase said:

what makes you think Howarth was fired? 

Read the SOD interview. Frank told him his contract wasn't being renewed.

[jsbt]

2 minutes ago, CeChase said:

First of all I agree with you about Finn, it's time for Easton to go.  They should have kept Silas, but that's gone now.  But what makes you think Howarth was fired?

Silas was as dead a character as Austin (and Finn) are. Nothing was going on there back then either in his last year. IIRC the network (or someone) then intervened to make sure Ron Carlivati killed him off instead of Ric Lansing in the summer murder mystery in 2015(?) just before Ron himself was fired.

Roger says flat-out in his interview above that he was fired.

Edited November 20, 2023 by jsbt

[CeChase]

Just now, Sake614 said:

Read the SOD interview. Frank told him his contract wasn't being renewed.

Oh wow I missed that I'm sorry.  Okay, that is news.  I'm shocked by that.  Now I feel bad because I do like Roger, but I also think it was the right call.  Damn. 

Just now, jsbt said:

Silas was as dead a character as Austin (and Finn) are. Nothing was going on there back then either in his last year.

Roger says flat-out in his interview above that he was fired.

Oh I  loved Silas and I would like him onscreen now.   So we disagree there but does it matter no, because that's water long under the bridge.  And I believe Finn should go. 

[Sake614]

15 minutes ago, CeChase said:

I'm shocked by that. 

Yeah so was I. I agree it was the right call, but was still surprised they let Roger go. 

[rur]

49 minutes ago, CeChase said:

Oh wow I missed that I'm sorry.  Okay, that is news.  I'm shocked by that. 

I'm kind of pleased. I've gone on record before about not particularly liking the actor, mainly because the audience could often tell when he was half-assing his scenes. I don't expect anyone to have stellar day every day, but a professional should be able to NOT let the audience know his or her heart isn't in it. 

[Sake614]

30 minutes ago, rur said:

a professional should be able to NOT let the audience know his or her heart isn't in it. 

I never got that impression from Roger, although I've certainly seen it in plenty of other actors on various shows.

[DanaK]

2 hours ago, jsbt said:

Austin has never worked - the initial attempt to pair him with Maxie was gross - but ever since they tried moving him to Ava and embroiled him in everything with his weird offscreen crime family, he's come off increasingly sinister, unsympathetic and villainous. He's reeked of dead man walking for at least this past year. I'm just amazed it appears to be for real this time. I thought Frank would never let him go.

He worked at the beginning for me, but once they revealed he knew Nic was alive and was gaslighting Ava about it, he plunged right into being villainous and very unsympathetic. So at this point, I'm glad to see him go. Continually coming back as other characters (and none of them a twin) just seems weird, even for a soap

Preview of the storylines for this week. It also verifies that we will get a new episode on Thursday

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2023/11/general-hospital-prevue-for-the-week-of-november-20-24-2023

[jsbt]

I've seen Roger Howarth totally checked out before. I don't think he was as Franco or Austin, at least not a fair amount of the time. I think he really tried, in part because (like his equally long, equally dismal run at ATWT) he was just happy to no longer be playing a serial rapist, something he candidly discussed a few years ago on a non-soap podcast as haunting him for a long time. But while RH is talented he's also got a limited skill set and a certain bag of tricks, and it doesn't help that these two characters totally sucked. You can only make so much from a domesticated serial killer and a dude they slapped together overnight because your friend wants to keep you employed.

Edited November 20, 2023 by jsbt

[Auntie Velvet]

Irrationally, I blame Steve Burton for all of this. The Franco/Liz and Drew/Sam couplings were cute and they even had a foursome thing going. But the "real" Jason just had to come back and spoil everything. (I know we all hated the fact that Franco had a lot of baggage, to put it mildly, but in the last year or two I felt like the character really worked.)

[ComeWhatMay]

That’s a great exit interview by Howarth. Honestly, he has no reason not to take the high road as he got a lot of time and work. Doesn’t he make his home on the East Coast too? 

I don’t think blaming Burton is irrational. Beyond some icky stuff I read about, he seemed to treat GH like a revolving door and while I get always looking for more in any job, he also seemed to overvalue his importance to the show. 

[superdeluxe]

Well, Roger is gone and so am I.  I have no reason to continue to watch this nonsense.

[absnow54]

2 hours ago, superdeluxe said:

Well, Roger is gone and so am I.  I have no reason to continue to watch this nonsense.

Should we start the countdown clock for Days snatching him up? 

[Jaded]

19 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

Should we start the countdown clock for Days snatching him up? 

He'd make an interesting Peter Blake. I'm not sure how that character would work in the current state of Days though. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

I wish OLTL or AMC were still around.  I think he might have been a good fit on one of those shows.

[Sake614]

1 hour ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I wish OLTL or AMC were still around.  I think he might have been a good fit on one of those shows.

Considering that's where he got his start as Todd Manning, I would hope so! :)

[mostlylurking]

Well I'm a fan of Roger so I'm sad his run has come to an end.  I'm still real salty that they killed Franco and brought him back as Austin.  That was just all kinds of weird.  I know Roger's "thing" is that he doesn't like to get bored with his characters, but I think he did a lot with Franco and could have done more.  I mean he went from a serial killer, to a brain tumor, to a relationship, to a survivor of child abuse, etc.  He played a lot of characters in that one character and there was no reason that couldn't have continued just because he was finally in a stable relationship (how long do those ever last anyway?).

Anyway, he took the high road and seems like a cool dude.  I wish him well.  I think he's talented so I don't believe he'll have much trouble finding work again if he wants.

 

 

[superdeluxe]

7 hours ago, absnow54 said:

Should we start the countdown clock for Days snatching him up? 

I hope he doesn’t go there because one, that show is garbage.  I quit that show a long time ago.  And two, I don’t have Peacock.  But I’m sure Ron has already called him.

[PatsyandEddie]

IMHO, I would rather watch Days than B&B. I hope Roger doesn’t end up there. 

[Desperado]

IMHO RH would fit best at Y&R but they’ve already hired 4 older and experienced actors and have shafted them with horrible writing and a surprise firing, so I don’t wish that on him either.

The only one avoiding this fate was in for a very short stint and married to a lead actress.

Soaps really aren’t what they used to be. 😞

[ComeWhatMay]

I think the smaller budgets brought with them some of the extra ruthlessness of other mediums; i.e. outright firings, putting older vets with big contracts on recurring. The plastic surgery that disfigures faces we know and love is obtained attempting to preserve livelihoods. Roles dry up as one ages. I was glad to see Gregory Harrison and Cynthia Watros today and it is an all around more diverse show than I recall from 1999. 

I see now Doug Davidson left Y&R angry. It really is never the way to go. As much as I understood it when Kin Shriner popped off in frustration a while back, I also wanted to tell him to zip it. 

[DanaK]

Per the below article on comings and goings, the actress playing TJ and Molly's surrogate has wrapped her run

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2023/11/casting-about-coming-going-staying-on-your-favorite-daytime-soaps

[ulkis]

Edited.

Edited November 30, 2023 by ulkis

[Asp Burger]

I like Roger Howarth, but the Austin character was a classic example of bringing a big daytime star on (or "back") without a clear plan, and hoping the actor's personality and fan base would paper over the cracks until they thought of what they wanted to do with him. Which they never really did.

He was introduced as connected to the Quartermaines, and they half-assed that. He spent about a year and half in a pairing with Maxie that no one seemed into, least of all the two actors. When someone behind the scenes finally called the time of death on that coupling, the characters never even mentioned each other again. (Contrast with, say, Valentin and Nina. There, one of the members of the couple had a strong and solid reason to take a "dead to me" attitude about the other following the breakup, but they stayed connected, because Valentin and Nina—either Nina, much as I disliked The Staff's portrayal—weren't completely inert.) As @jsbtnotes, things never improved. Austin was just flailing with no direction. 

Best of luck to RH in his next gig. I feel he's given his three GH characters his best try, but each has been less successful than the last.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Asp Burger

[30 Helens]

I’m sorry to see Roger go. Austin was a dud from the start, but he gained some traction for me in his pairing with Ava. I thought they worked really well together, but the show muddied up the rest of his character by trying to give him some personality without ever deciding what it should be. (Is he a hero? A villain? A kind hearted ally or a spineless weasel?) I thought he gave it his all; it’s not his fault they didn’t know what to do with him.

I would welcome Roger coming back as yet another character, if they could actually come up with one that made sense. Yes, it’s weird to see the same face on multiple characters, but it’s all make believe anyway, so the additional suspension of disbelief is not a barrier for me.

In other news, I wonder if the exit of Molly’s surrogate means they’re circling back to the Kristina surrogate story we all (never) wanted.

[Auntie Velvet]

It is kind of weird that they dropped Austin so quickly. Even if Nikolas is coming back and may still be drawn to Ava, having someone in the way is obviously optimal from a soapy standpoint. Did they just want to try to shake things up with a classic whodunit? 

[jsbt]

4 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

He spent about a year and half in a pairing with Maxie that no one seemed into, least of all the two actors.

Were they actually legit in a relationship at any point? I just remember occasionally tuning in, seeing them sharing scenes that were flirtatious or chemistry-testing, gagging and turning it off.

Roger and Maura had a lot of chemistry when he first debuted as Franco and both their characters were at their campiest and most arch during their respective early appearances. But it would never have worked then either because of the Franco of it all, and his having one of the worst reintroduction stories of all time. If they'd wanted to do it he should've come on as Tom Hardy or Steve or something back then, or stayed Todd.

Edited November 24, 2023 by jsbt

[ComeWhatMay]

This may be naïve, but I think the reason Austin’s body has yet to be found is because of its location and that the passage of time in show time is less. Also, isn’t he single presently? It’s sadly not uncommon for those of us who are to take longer to be discovered. 

I agree the show has not always been respectful of its actors, but I take my lead from Roger who seems to be going out of his way to say it’s all good. 

Also, the NAC leave of absence is not something I saw happen in earlier eras. Didn’t Tyler Christopher once get booted after booking another gig? As much as I would have liked to have seen Leslie C.’s Monica yesterday, I also know she has health problems. 

The show has its problems, I know, but I think current management should only have to answer for current management as to decisions made. 

I do hope they don’t recast Nik yet again and not just because of fans like me, but out of respect for Genie, Mo, and others who clearly felt deeply for Tyler. 

[Asp Burger]

41 minutes ago, jsbt said:

Were they actually legit in a relationship at any point? I just remember occasionally tuning in, seeing them sharing scenes that were flirtatious or chemistry-testing, gagging and turning it off.

Yeah, we were actually supposed to think of them as a real couple. Maxie facilitated Austin's introduction (he found her in the woods, ready to deliver), and their first date was a few months later for Carly and Jason's wedding. For the next 15 months or so, they usually shared their non-work scenes. When they weren't together in public, there was typically a reference to explain it (the one who wasn't present was working, etc.). She introduced him to her kids and so on.

But they were sexless, even for a GH couple of recent years, so it did have that feel of a relationship that was always just getting off the ground. If they progressed beyond kissing over those 15 months, it was kept offscreen. And I never saw anyone complaining.

[jsbt]

13 minutes ago, ComeWhatMay said:

Also, the NAC leave of absence is not something I saw happen in earlier eras. Didn’t Tyler Christopher once get booted after booking another gig? 

The show has accommodated a ton of valued actors over the years taking leaves of absences for outside opportunities or various circumstances, the least of which is easily James Patrick Stuart's constant comings and goings as Valentin for other primetime work, including right now. Tony Geary regularly took like four to six months off every year over the last 20+ years, but many, many younger stars have also had outside outs and breaks. And no, I don't believe Tyler was ever booted for outside work.

3 minutes ago, Asp Burger said:

But they were sexless, even for a GH couple of recent years, so it did have that feel of a relationship that was always just getting off the ground. If they progressed beyond kissing over those 15 months, it was kept offscreen. And I never saw anyone complaining.

That's nuts. Reminds me of Lucy and Duke's largely, mercifully offscreen D-level 'romance' where one day they showed them having breakfast together when we'd never seen them consummate or even get fully involved IIRC. I had no idea Maxie and Austin had gotten past the flirtation stage or a kiss.

Edited November 24, 2023 by jsbt

[ciarra]

The blink and you've missed it Maxtin "romance".

[DanaK]

Charlotte’s portrayer talks about her confession to Nina

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/exclusive-general-hospitals-scarlett-fernandez-on-charlottes-confession/

[jsbt]

19 hours ago, ciarra said:

The blink and you've missed it Maxtin "romance".

How many of these stills were followed by actual kissing? Serious answers only!

[nilyank]

12 minutes ago, jsbt said:

How many of these stills were followed by actual kissing? Serious answers only!

I honestly don't think the characters had sex. It always seems they had a few dates but it never went past kissing if that.

[Melgaypet]

Apparently Jonathan Jackson has long-Covid? His wording's a little vague, but he seems to say so in on Facebook in this little vid where he's pimping some food company called Azure.

https://fb.watch/oyb3c17Q5-/

 

ETA: Sorry if this is old news, it's the first I've heard of it.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Melgaypet

[ciarra]

7 hours ago, jsbt said:

How many of these stills were followed by actual kissing? Serious answers only!

1:24  Hella awkward.

[pinkandsparkly13]

They were a weird pairing. Lol. Even when he came on as Franco back then, I couldn't imagine Maxie sleeping with him. 

[DanaK]

The Quartermaine clan dishes on more turkey day drama

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/exclusive-more-turkey-day-drama-for-general-hospitals-quartermaines/

[dubbel zout]

Meh. I don't need Gloria to stick around.

[statsgirl]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Meh. I don't need Gloria to stick around.

Me neither but if it takes away from more Carlys time ...

[Sake614]

From SOD:

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Mark Engelhardt (Roman Hume): Engelhardt returns as a rep for Pikeman Security Group.

Lyn Alicia Henderson (Claire Brown): Henderson pops up this week as a surrogacy matching professional that Molly (Kristen Vaganos) consults with.

Shelley Robertson (Dede Clark): Dede, an attorney, crosses paths with Finn (Michael Easton) this week.

Patrick Smith (Det. Briscoe): Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) has an encounter with this lawman on Tuesday, November 28.

[DanaK]

SOD interview with Scarlett Fernandez (Charlotte)

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/quick-take-with-general-hospitals-scarlett-fernandez/

[ComeWhatMay]

This guy… He can’t have known Tyler would die just over a week later, but still wow. I want to tell the fans chatting with Martines about returning to hit up Google. That memorial post for Tyler should have stayed in his drafts too.

Hopefully the shot SM took at Frank V. afterward about characterization indicates the show has no interest in his services.

I don’t want another Nik period, but bringing this individual back would be absolutely unfathomable to me. No offense to the Nik and Gia fans on here, but I just cannot with this guy. 

[DanaK]

Comings and goings from Soap Opera Network

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2023/12/casting-about-jackie-cox-lily-brooks-o-briant-vail-bloom