GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[Box305]

Their obsession with him is why we're subjected to his presence on our TVs way too much.

[ulkis]

So disappointing.

 

ETA: I decided to check RC's twitter to see how much smoke is getting blown up his ass from this. He's retweeted like 100 tweets congratulating him. This is the worst, from Chris VanEtten, who writes for the show:

 

Blergh. Chris Van Etten is Ron Enabler #2, besides Scott Sickles. Loves Obrecht, Spencer, etc.

[Artsda]

DOOL won the best drama Emmy less than a year ago and their writers still just got fired. They shouldn't be that comfortable. Pratt's actually looking good at YR based on Monday's show. 

[ulkis]

I think this show has turned into a giant cliche-and-cheese fest, but I would still take the show now over what it became under Pratt, just Jason/Courtney/Sonny/Carly-of-the-jabby-elbows-you-know-WHATS 24/7 with a side of magical Nem.

Edited February 15, 2015 by ulkis

[Harmony233]

Their obsession with him is why we're subjected to his presence on our TVs way too much.

I didn't mind spencer until they shoved him down our throats with this crap about true love hes friggin 8.WHat the heck does he know and god knows with there obession with him will probally get courtney back god help us all.

[SlovakPrincess]

GH just won the best daytime drama writing award at the Writer's Guild Awards. If you all thought Ron was already insufferable he's going to be about a thousand times worse now.

What?! How? Why? The writing on this show patently makes no sense. The stories right now are dumb dumb dumb and unpleasant even though I suspect we are supposed to find it all "fun." I can't even ... What?!

Either someone got paid off somewhere or the other shows are REALLY bad right now. Ugh.

[ulkis]

I think the only other show in the category was DAYS, but I can't confirm it.

[Box305]

I think the only other show in the category was DAYS, but I can't confirm it.

 

GH and DAYS were the only two daytime dramas I saw listed as noms in an article about the WGAs on Variety. 

[SlovakPrincess]

There's only four daytime soaps clinging to life, why weren't they all nominated? Lol.

[LeftPhalange]

Days isn't all that great right now but it's still better than this trash.

[Tiger]

Days isn't all that great right now but it's still better than this trash.

I have to respectfully disagree; GH, for all its faults, is still on its worst day miles above Days on its best. That said, I think the big reason for that is that the acting on GH on the whole is infinitely stronger than the acting on Days. GH has a very large contingent of performers that consistently spin wacky writing and/or minimal screen time into gold. IMHO, Days only has John Anniston, Lauren Koslow, Jen Lilly, and Freddie Smith capable of doing so.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Tiger

[Fylaki]

So what is the deal with the facebook page, are those folks paid to like Sonny? I mean there is almost no balance at all. Is the page being edited to delete any negative comments concerning the writing? 

[ulkis]

No, I remember when the Stavros plot was happening people were writing about how disgusting and gross it was over there, thank goodness. And they also hate Nina like fire. They just like Sonny too, alas.

[tvgoddess]

I didn't watch it, but RP co-hosted on The View today. Apparently, he tried out for the role of Christian Grey. I'm not sure I could buy him in that kind of role. I mean, I'm not sure his acting could convince me of it.

[HipOldBat]

So what is the deal with the facebook page, are those folks paid to like Sonny? I mean there is almost no balance at all. Is the page being edited to delete any negative comments concerning the writing? 

 

This is why I quit going over there - they love Sonny and constantly defend him.  Some even go so far to indicate that they love 'gangstas' in general, in real life, and I found that just too sickening to read.  Anytime someone criticizes Sonny, 50 people jump in to catalog all those other bad characters and what they have done, which actually has nothing at all to do with the subject, which is 'Sonny is an evil thug'. 

 

Regarding Nina, they hate her because she has a mental illness.  They hate Heather and Franco for the same reason.  And they hate AJ not for being fat, but for being a 'weak alcoholic', which in their pea-brains is infinitely more damning than being a 'strong, tough gangsta' (the reason they love Robot Jason, too).

 

So, in Facebook world, alcoholic/person with mental illness/person who doesn't use violence to resolve problems = bad

hitman/thug/anyone who does anything violent = good

[Chairperson Meow]

I was briefly in a GH FB group. I had to leave because of all the Sonny worship. That's literally how they feel. Sonny kidnaps a kid, person oh he has a reason! But they're still hanging onto the two big crimes AJ committed years ago. That fat, weak alcoholic. How dare he come back, face charges and want to see his kid? The things they're saying about Micheal and now CD were so bad I was like no. I couldn't even troll them. I get not liking a character or actor. I like Roger Howarth, most of you don't. But you've never seriously wished death threats etc on him. My breaking point was a comment that Micheal deserved something that happened to him. It was atrocious.

[HipOldBat]

I was briefly in a GH FB group. I had to leave because of all the Sonny worship. That's literally how they feel. Sonny kidnaps a kid, person oh he has a reason! But they're still hanging onto the two big crimes AJ committed years ago. That fat, weak alcoholic. How dare he come back, face charges and want to see his kid? The things they're saying about Micheal and now CD were so bad I was like no. I couldn't even troll them. I get not liking a character or actor. I like Roger Howarth, most of you don't. But you've never seriously wished death threats etc on him. My breaking point was a comment that Micheal deserved something that happened to him. It was atrocious.

 

I like Roger Howarth, too...always have.  I liked him on OLTL and, when the writers tried to make Todd and Marty a romantic couple after the rape, Roger quit over it.  AND he went public about how he found fans yelling, "Todd, rape me!" at him when he went out absolutely sick, disgusting, and scary.  He can do no wrong, in my eyes.

 

Some of the fans on FB are sick, it's true.  My breaking point was when fans began to threaten each other, using gang language, over Sonny.  As in, threatening to beat people up in real life, over a flippin' soap opera character.  The posts like that didn't stay up long, but it weirded me out.  Some also wanted the actress who plays Olivia to miscarry.  Sure are a lot of sick folks out there in cyberspace.  And I won't even deal with Twitter, it seems like a home for drama kings and queens.

[Tiger]

This is why I quit going over there - they love Sonny and constantly defend him.  Some even go so far to indicate that they love 'gangstas' in general, in real life, and I found that just too sickening to read.  Anytime someone criticizes Sonny, 50 people jump in to catalog all those other bad characters and what they have done, which actually has nothing at all to do with the subject, which is 'Sonny is an evil thug'. 

 

Regarding Nina, they hate her because she has a mental illness.  They hate Heather and Franco for the same reason.  And they hate AJ not for being fat, but for being a 'weak alcoholic', which in their pea-brains is infinitely more damning than being a 'strong, tough gangsta' (the reason they love Robot Jason, too).

 

So, in Facebook world, alcoholic/person with mental illness/person who doesn't use violence to resolve problems = bad

hitman/thug/anyone who does anything violent = good

Sadly, this mentality is reflective of this county's general social culture. The fact is that good things happen to bad people.

[Chairperson Meow]

I'll never forget the quote Roger Howarth used in a SoD interview about Todd and Marty being together. He said it would be "morally reprehensible ". He's never tried to sell any of his characters as good guys. He's said the only thing he likes about Todd are the suits he wears. Imo where so many actors can defend their character's actions, that's a great trait.

But yeah, I actually trolled a Sonny fan with legit hip hop lyrics after they tried to be like "Sonny is a gangster with a heart of gold. " Well, if Sonny were on the streets legit, he'd have been killed long ago. He's a Suge Knight trying to be Tupac or Biggie.

[HipOldBat]

Sadly, this mentality is reflective of this county's general social culture. The fact is that good things happen to bad people.

 

My sister - rest her soul - was a public defender in Wisconsin.  She used to say, "There's the law, and then there's fair."

 

So true.

[HipOldBat]

I'll never forget the quote Roger Howarth used in a SoD interview about Todd and Marty being together. He said it would be "morally reprehensible ". He's never tried to sell any of his characters as good guys. He's said the only thing he likes about Todd are the suits he wears. Imo where so many actors can defend their character's actions, that's a great trait.

But yeah, I actually trolled a Sonny fan with legit hip hop lyrics after they tried to be like "Sonny is a gangster with a heart of gold. " Well, if Sonny were on the streets legit, he'd have been killed long ago. He's a Suge Knight trying to be Tupac or Biggie.

 

I hate that "gangster with a heart of gold" trope.  On TV, meh.  In real life, that kind of thinking can get you killed.  Yes, everyone has a good part to him or her (usually), but that doesn't mean they get a pass, or that people should trust them, or that they aren't violent individuals who would as soon kill you as look at you. Musical talent or not.

 

I wish MB would just once, in an interview, do a "Roger Howarth" and comment on his character.  He brags about how his character's bipolar storyline helps others (even though, in my opinion, it doesn't), why not make a comment about the negative aspects too?

[Chairperson Meow]

I have bipolar disorder and while MB means well, by not acknowledging Sonny's negative attributes he's perpetrating the stereotype that bipolar people will commit crimes and/or kill. We're all different. At least Rebecca Herbst has laughed in interviews about Liz's love life. So damn, dude.

[ulkis]

MB has poked fun at Sonny plenty of times, if not actually specifying that maybe using bipolar to cover the worst of Sonny's crimes is a good idea. But he's quite aware Sonny is a nut.

[HipOldBat]

I have bipolar disorder and while MB means well, by not acknowledging Sonny's negative attributes he's perpetrating the stereotype that bipolar people will commit crimes and/or kill. We're all different. At least Rebecca Herbst has laughed in interviews about Liz's love life. So damn, dude.

 

I totally agree with you. 

MB has poked fun at Sonny plenty of times, if not actually specifying that maybe using bipolar to cover the worst of Sonny's crimes is a good idea. But he's quite aware Sonny is a nut.

 

I know he has done this.  What I would like to see is MB making a comment about glorifying gangsters and such.  In the interview I read that he had with Fairman, his only comment about fans being upset that Sonny gets away with things was something along the lines of, "there are other fans who don't see it that way."  He blew a good opportunity to make a statement there. 

[tvgoddess]

And I won't even deal with Twitter, it seems like a home for drama kings and queens.

 

Oh, but I love GH Twitter for the shade. Plus it's like a whole new language. I've learned some real gems there.

[HipOldBat]

Oh, but I love GH Twitter for the shade. Plus it's like a whole new language. I've learned some real gems there.

 

That's part of my problem with it, I think.  I don't understand a lot of the terms, and I can't tell (much of the time) who is talking to whom (all those "@" things).  I guess I'm not that much of a 'hip old bat', after all!

[Fylaki]

Having had some expereince with the prision system (where Jason was very popular and Sonny Secondary) and gangs I find it funny that people think Sonny is living the "gangsta life" Sonny is about as far removed from real gangsta's as Mickey is from real mice.  People who think that Sonny is any kind of real portrait of a mobster, either on the street gang level or in the organized crime fashion are seriously ill.

 

I agree that MB means well when he speaks of his BP and Sonny's, and having bipolar I appreciate that Maurice really was the first celebrity to speak out that he had the condition. If I am correct he pre-dates Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stephen Fry and Russell Brand by a few years, even decades. And I give him (and them props) for coming out of the closet so to speak. I wonder sometimes late at night (cause that's what BP's do LOL) how much good Robin Williams would have done for us and himself if he had just come right out and said it.......but having said all that, I agree that he and ALL TPTB at GH could do a much better job at pointing out Sonny's faults and weaknesses.  I will give Ron some credit in that yesterday when Carly was sprouting all that stuff about what a great father Sonny is, I was not sure if we were meant to believe her or meant to see her as Mike did a poor sick demented egotistical nut job. With Guza it would have been clear that She was truth telling. Ron at least added nuance 

 

And having said that I am still dismayed by Ron on many levels, most importantly his portrait of children, the mental ill and classic characters such as Luke. I wonder if and when the Disney people are going to look and go "OMG that does not fit the mouse."

Edited February 18, 2015 by Fylaki

[Box305]

I think Patty Duke beat him by a few years with regards to coming out as bipolar (manic depressive) but yes, it was great that Maurice was so forthcoming with his own experiences. And as I fellow person with bipolar, I feel you on the late at night thinking. Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain down with a switch. 

[UYI]

I think Patty Duke beat him by a few years with regards to coming out as bipolar (manic depressive) but yes, it was great that Maurice was so forthcoming with his own experiences. And as I fellow person with bipolar, I feel you on the late at night thinking. Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain down with a switch. 

 

 

I agree on Patty Duke being first. There's also Kristy McNichol, who left Empty Nest in 1992 over her BP (although she returned for the final episode in 1995), but she also retired from acting largely afterwards so her profile on it probably wasn't as big.

Edited February 18, 2015 by UYI

[HipOldBat]

 

 

Having had some expereince with the prision system (where Jason was very popular and Sonny Secondary) and gangs I find it funny that people think Sonny is living the "gangsta life" Sonny is about as far removed from real gangsta's as Mickey is from real mice.  People who think that Sonny is any kind of real portrait of a mobster, either on the street gang level or in the organized crime fashion are seriously ill.

 

 

For me, it's not so much that the fans think Sonny's character is a "true-to-life" gangster, what I object to is the defense of his character AS a gangster precisely because they have this notion of "gangster with a heart of gold" or, as it's known in Memphis, "He's a good boy, he goes to church." (as they're taking him away in cuffs for a gang-related shooting)  I don't like the glorification of people who kill others, deal drugs, beat women, and on and on, and I think the Sonny character sanitizes all the crap that is a part of that kind of life.  And any night on the news in places where gangs are common - in Memphis, for example - you will see this "gangster with a heart of gold" trope being spewed by real people, about real gang members.  It's crap on tv and it's crap in real life, too.

 

The thing I wrote about MB and bipolar disorder was merely to point out that MB talks about how he helps people with the storyline and so on, but seems completely oblivious to how Sonny's gangster storyline might affect beliefs and attitudes about criminals.  I gave Roger Howarth as an example of an actor who denounced what his character had done, in public, because the fans were glorifying rape.  That's all I was saying.  It would be nice for MB to do something similar.

 

It is stupid, yes, that some fans blur reality and soap.  But the fact is, they do, and Facebook has a very large group of Sonny fans who like it that he's a criminal, and like that kind of image.  In real life.  No, it's not the responsibility of the show to straighten them out, just as it wasn't RoHo's responsibility to denounce what his Todd character did....it would be nice, though.

 

In general, I wish TV shows would just quit doing stories around mental illness, because they so very often get it wrong.   People with bipolar disorder are not more creative than the general population (ala all the actresses and actors "coming out" about bipolar disorder), nor are people with bipolar disorder (or autism, for that matter) more prone to violence than the general population (ala 'in-depth' stories about people who commit mass murder).  Very seldom is it described as something that is, for the most part, a torturous battle that requires life-long medication and therapy.  Patty Duke did a great job with that, and I think she is the exception.

[Harmony233]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this or not but I saw on twitter that on the daytime confidential podcast they have KiKi around to lead the younger crowd.I'm sorry but who the heck was clamoring for Kiki lol.

[OnceSane]

Shouldn't one of the legacy kids lead the younger kids? Once again, TPTB do not know what the fuck they are doing.

[HeatLifer]

Why am I not surprised that the episodes Ron submitted for the Writers Guild Awards were about Sabrina.

http://abc.soapsindepth.com/2015/02/gh-wins-the-writers-guild-award.html

[Sake614]

Of course he submitted those scenes! And I have to admit, to someone who hadn't watched the rest of the year, they could have been seen as good writing and good story. In fact, they SHOULD have been both. But because the lead up was so poor, they were neither.

[TeeVee329]

Ugh, he submitted the one where Sabrina went cuckoo and thought it was her wedding day to Patrick?  And it won?

[dubbel zout]

And I have to admit, to someone who hadn't watched the rest of the year, they could have been seen as good writing and good story.

The reels are judged on their own merits, so I can see why Ron chose that story. It was a pretty classic soap story.

[WendyCR72]

Why am I not surprised that the episodes Ron submitted for the Writers Guild Awards were about Sabrina.

http://abc.soapsindepth.com/2015/02/gh-wins-the-writers-guild-award.html

 

Oh, barf. But the more I think of it, how great can an award be if the competition is so low? (That keeps me from frothing at the mouth here!)

[HipOldBat]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this or not but I saw on twitter that on the daytime confidential podcast they have KiKi around to lead the younger crowd.I'm sorry but who the heck was clamoring for Kiki lol.

 

I have seen a lot of people who were clammoring for Kiki...to get killed off or leave GH in some way, shape, or form!  She hasn't been a popular character with anyone, it seems.

[HeatLifer]

Oh, barf. But the more I think of it, how great can an award be if the competition is so low? (That keeps me from frothing at the mouth here!)

They had no competition, but it's so telling that out of all the episodes last year, they choose Sabrina, Patrick and Shamwow as their best writing. Their.best.writing. For.those.characters.

[WendyCR72]

They had no competition, but it's so telling that out of all the episodes last year, they choose Sabrina, Patrick and Shamwow as their best writing. Their.best.writing. For.those.characters.

 

I can't hear you. < Holds hands over ears > Lalalalalala...

[HeatLifer]

I can't hear you. < Holds hands over ears > Lalalalalala...

That's pretty much what I do as I watch the show.

[Chairperson Meow]

Why not submit the scripts from the AJ reveal or his funeral? Cryptsex was better than that.

[ulkis]

Because to enjoy that you have to get the context partly. With Sabrina/Patrick there's really nothing more to get except she had an early pregnancy

[Sake614]

Kathleen Gati is joining the cast of Winterthorne

 

http://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/kathleen-gati-joins-cast-winterthorne

 

No word on whether that means she's out at GH but I guess since it's a Web show, she can do both.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Sake614

[ulkis]

Sounds like something where she can easily do both. She's not on contract at GH anyway.

[Sake614]

For some reason I thought she was on contract. Maybe because she was on like every damn day for a year! I mean I like the actress a lot, but the character should never have driven story, especially for so long.

[jennifer6973]

On twitter she said it's a guest starring role only, nothing permaneant

[Fylaki]

Oh God I hope she goes, I like the actress well enough, but Dr O as COS is a big fuck you from Ron to Steve Hardy and all the old time GH Fans

[TeeVee329]

I'd be more worried about Ron trying to get her to bring Linda Gray back to GH with her.

 

It does seem like Ron is a bit over Dr. O, though.  She's barely been on since Christmas.  I mean, couldn't she and Helena at least have gone out for a "Congrats on finagling your way out of jail!" brunch?

[dubbel zout]

That's because Dr. O is a plot point, not a character. When Ron needs some camp, she'll be back.