GH History Lessons: Because History is Always Repeating Itself

[JeezumCrow]

I'm watching Karen & Jagger's wedding (celebrating that the VCR still works!). Holy hairdos. Stone! Lois's accent is the worst and Miguel's hair is a close second. The title sequence was great - especially seeing the Quartermaine family all together (Monica, Alan, Jason, and AJ). But the saddest thing is Bobbie - she looks, moves, and talks like a human, no trace of the overworked, puffy, permanently surprised look she has now.

Also: I never missed Katherine.

[TeeVee329]

Classic Q shenanigans - Monica and Alan argue about Alan's near-affair with Bobbie all through the mansion with every Q on canvas at the time eventually joining the audience. 

 

[ch1]

Its amazing seeing the Q sets then compared to now.  Alan and Monica's bedroom was huge.  Now you have a wall with a bed when they need a set.

[UYI]

Alan and Monica move into the mansion--he gave it to her! :)

 

[Guest]

Classic Q shenanigans - Monica and Alan argue about Alan's near-affair with Bobbie all through the mansion with every Q on canvas at the time eventually joining the audience.

 

That was the worse thing about what they did to the Q's; it went from regular brawls in the Q living room with the whole family present to nothing.  Those Q fight were always good TV.  I miss them.

[UYI]

This becomes a lot darker to watch once you realize this was the last Thanksgiving where Alan and Emily were alive:

 

[TeeVee329]

Wow, did it annoy me that the Quartermaines instantly perked up when Saint Jason called.  Ugh.

[ch1]

How annoying is Emily in that scene?  If they ever decide to bring her back from the dead I hope its a recast.

 

Wow, did it annoy me that the Quartermaines instantly perked up when Saint Jason called.  Ugh.

 

 

I recently watched a scene when Emily was high and she ODed.  Jason called the house and Lila answered and said something like "O thank God you called Jason, come quickly, we need you" or some such nonsense.  It was nauseating. He proceeded to come and then do CPR on Emily.  It was like he was Batman and bat signal was on the fritz.  So nauseating.

 

It also made me feel embarrassed for Anna Lee.

[TeeVee329]

How annoying is Emily in that scene?  If they ever decide to bring her back from the dead I hope its a recast.

 

Very annoying.  "You Quartermaines are sooo selfish, unlike me, Emily!  I'm giving our whole dinner to the poor because that's how I roll!".  Ugh.

 

I can't remember, are Nikolas and Emily together at this point?

[ulkis]

Very annoying.  "You Quartermaines are sooo selfish, unlike me, Emily!  I'm giving our whole dinner to the poor because that's how I roll!".  Ugh.

 

I can't remember, are Nikolas and Emily together at this point?

 

Don't think so. I think she was still with Sonny D:

Edited December 7, 2014 by ulkis

[SlovakPrincess]

The only useful thing that could have come out of Sonny and Emily would have been if Jason went berserk and killed Sonny for it.  And then went to jail.  But, noooooo.  We can't have nice things.

[ulkis]

movinon, Robin became HIV positive in 1995. Her boyfriend Stone had AIDS because he slept with a girl who was a drug user got infected with a needle. Stone had an HIV test and it was negative, but he never got a follow-up test and they assumed it was safe to sleep together. Stone died in late 1995. Sonny was Stone's friend/mentor and took care of Stone and helped him and Robin throughout all this. It's why Robin has had a very strong loyalty to Sonny.

Edited December 7, 2014 by ulkis

[TheGourmez]

Very annoying.  "You Quartermaines are sooo selfish, unlike me, Emily!  I'm giving our whole dinner to the poor because that's how I roll!".  Ugh.

 

I can't remember, are Nikolas and Emily together at this point?

 

God, I hated Emily. The hate only intensified with the recast, but it was always there. Except for a teeny tiny relent when she was with Zander.

[WendyCR72]

Except for a teeny tiny relent when she was with Zander.

 

I admit it, I loved Zander and Emily, Original Recipe, and I was far from a teen even then (mid to late 20s), and while the recast version didn't have the chemistry AT/CB had together, I think NL/CB still could have worked if the support and writing was there, so of course, it got shit upon for Nik/Emily. I was thrilled when that went belly up.

 

And got a kick out of the fact that CB/NL's doppelganger characters ended up running off to happily-ever-after land in the end on that plane when CB made a cameo as a guy named Aaron.

[Harmony233]

I liked Ambers Emily better.She was a total brat and was more of a tom boy.NL Emily was made into a saint and too princessy and always had men falling all over her.

[UYI]

Don't think so. I think she was still with Sonny D:

 

I thought Soily were together in late 2005/early 2006, in the same time frame as Hulkamania, Brother! This was before I was watching, but the wretched mess that was Soily didn't go on for THAT long, did it? Almost a year?

[Chairperson Meow]

I found a weird clip. Jason had brain surgery, and Monica fantasies about if Jason never got in the car with AJ. Keeping with the writers hating AJ, I believe she says she lost AJ so um weird. But Jason is a plastic surgeon and COS because Jason is awesome always. But he's like addicted to coke.

Minus the AJ death, I'd rather this have been Jason's path than Holy Hitman. Steve Burton was good.

[UYI]

That's when Jason got in a car accident with Carly in August 2011, when she thought Joss was missing and enlisted Jason to help her (which earned her a smackdown from Sam shortly thereafter). There was this whole thing about whether or not Jason would wake up a different person, and Monica, Liz, Sam and Carly each had a Jason fantasy of their own afterwards. 

[Chairperson Meow]

Yeah, stuck in the Lurking Tour then on OLTL.

[Guest]

Faison also hypnotized Robert too, and made him think that Anna had slept with Faison (fair warning, Robert will be sporting a pony tail, and looking like a big goof):

 

This led to the episode where Bill and Robert got hammered and crashed Tracy's engagement party.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt_QCWRxHzE#t=42

[SlovakPrincess]

As much as I never cared for Bill and loathe Luke these days, TG and TR can be quite fun together.

There's a part I just watched in the ice princess story, where Robert saves Luke from being murdered by Tony Cassadine, and puts Luke in his secret computer room to keep him safe. Luke is all "wow, cool!" and starts touching the computer. Robert actually tells him to sit in the corner and be quiet, and Luke goes "well ok, Dad!"

It's weirdly adorable, because Luke looks awestruck when he realizes Robert is a secret agent. He gets this look on his face like "my new friend is so cool!"

[dubbel zout]

TG and TR have really great chemistry. Too bad Ron refuses to use it.

[ulkis]

I thought Soily were together in late 2005/early 2006, in the same time frame as Hulkamania, Brother! This was before I was watching, but the wretched mess that was Soily didn't go on for THAT long, did it? Almost a year?

 

Well, I don't know if quite late into 2006, but they definitely didn't officially start till 2006 - late 2005 we had hints, scenes of Emily helping out with Michael, etc etc.

[Chairperson Meow]

That garbage would have never happened with Amber Tamblyn as Emily, right?

[SlovakPrincess]

I should hope not - she would've looked way too young to be with Sonny. Bleach! (I meant to write "blech" but autocorrect must have felt dirty after I typed Sonny).

One of the funniest thing about Soily was that, of course, Carly was all over Sonny about it, and even said at one point "god, date anyone else, date Robin even!" Please, Carly. Carly can't even keep track of who she hates most at any given moment - we all know her head would have exploded if Sonny ever dated Robin.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Did Carly hate Emily specifically? I mean, I can see her not liking the relationship, because in Carly's sick little mind only SWMNBN wasn't a rival in one way or another, but Emily was one of Jason's biggest proppers.

[Box305]

I love this video of bloopers from the good old days: 

 

 

For some reason there are 79-80 bloopers mixed in another language but they're mostly 1983. 

Edited December 8, 2014 by Box305

[jsbt]

As most of us know, Sonny and Emily started out as a TWOP gag - something so repulsive we never thought they'd do it. But over the summer of 2005 it became sinkingly clear that they were, in fact, going for it. I couldn't believe it, but I could see it coming. Emily, the suffering bride of a thoughtless prince, was Sonny and his children's closest, chaste confidante. She was spending lots of time at the house, then living there. Her husband cheated on her with another woman. It was all clearly set up.

 

Part of it, I think, happened because virtually everything on the show that year was an unprecedented debacle - Nikolas and Courtney, Reese as Sonny's new woman, Maxie's reintroduction and her new boytoy Kid Kop Jesse, the disastrous Jennifer Bransford recast of Carly. After that they were trying to retool the show, which led to the hiring of LW, the return of Robin and the arrival of Patrick, and a semi-renewed if superficial focus on the hospital. And then they went for Sonny and Emily. I remember them kissing by Christmas - which made my stomach turn - but I don't remember them making it official til January or February. And it tanked so hard that they killed it later in '06, IIRC. Maybe by the fall. Emily was the saint who helped Sonny diagnose and deal with his bipolar disorder, and that was the end of their relationship.

 

It was hilarious, though, how hard they tried to push Natalia Livingston in the interval, to adjust her heroine image and age Emily up to try and make her more mature and more palatable with Sonny. They did things like have her graduate from med school, become a doctor. Like, 'look! She is an adult!' And they would keep having her talk about being an adult, and then they even pretended Emily was Latina to try and make her seem streetwise - I guess NL had some Latin heritage and so suddenly Emily is busting out Spanish to talk to Sonny.

[Box305]

I'm glad I missed out on Sonny/Emily. Gack.

[OnceSane]

It was gross.

[HeatLifer]

Did Carly hate Emily specifically? I mean, I can see her not liking the relationship, because in Carly's sick little mind only SWMNBN wasn't a rival in one way or another, but Emily was one of Jason's biggest proppers.

Yes, but Emily loved Robin and Jason/Robin. So you can imagine what she thought about Carly. And Carly knew this. So it started way back when.

Edited December 8, 2014 by HeatLifer

[annabel]

Lordy. I just watched some of that old Robert/Anna/Sean/Faison stuff and DAMN!! I don't think I had ever seen the young Anders, just this grizzled tangle-haired guy we've got now. I couldn't tell from what I saw, but was Anna ever conflicted? Please tell me she has not ever had sex with him.

[Box305]

It was gross.

 

I remember hearing about it at the time from my coworkers and being like, "Ewwww I cannot even imagine it." I missed a lot of 2005-2006 and started watching again around the time of the Metro Court hostage crisis (when I finally got my first DVR).

[Tiger]

and then they even pretended Emily was Latina to try and make her seem streetwise - I guess NL had some Latin heritage and so suddenly Emily is busting out Spanish to talk to Sonny.

Soily and that whole period is unfortunately all coming back to me, but I definitely do not remember this.

[UYI]

This scene is so gross. Emily arriving on Sonny's doorstep drunk, talking about how she wants to "bang" him. Ewww.

 

 

And yes, NL is half-Mexican on her mother's side (as is KMc, actually), and is fluent in Spanish. 

Edited December 8, 2014 by UYI

[ulkis]

As most of us know, Sonny and Emily started out as a TWOP gag

 

I see people at SoapZone say that it started out there, so in the interest of fairness, it was probably a cross-pollination fandom thing.

 

I remember hearing about it at the time from my coworkers and being like, "Ewwww I cannot even imagine it." I missed a lot of 2005-2006 and started watching again around the time of the Metro Court hostage crisis (when I finally got my first DVR).

 

I mean, imo, it wasn't even that Natalia Livingston looked that young, cause imo she didn't  - it was the past history that made it so weird.

[Tiger]

 

And yes, NL is half-Mexican on her mother's side (as is KMc, actually), and is fluent in Spanish.

I thought she was half-Philippino?

[Francie]

From the get go, Faison was intrigued by, and then obsessed with, Anna:

 

"In time, Anna Devane, I hope you find yourself doing it all for me."

http://youtu.be/lvq6CbKtEE0?t=8m5s

 

"Together we'll be invincible"

http://youtu.be/-Iz-bVBiKSY?t=4m18s

 

"I never mix business with pleasure."

http://youtu.be/AkMpnQ69Fsk?t=9m16s

 

Faison and Anna on a caper together. "I was right. We are invincible."

http://youtu.be/RanSa-68hDI?t=4m21s

 

Anna wants out of the DVX, because of Robert ("Another man?" "He's why I want out."):

http://youtu.be/d8kvshH5XTQ?t=6m23s

 

Anna always put him off, and no they never had sex, but she was also drawn to him.  The excitement, the danger, etc. I think that Gloria, who had returned in 1991, wanted to capitalize on Finola’s and Anders’s chemistry.  Here’s when Tom was trying to de-hypnotize Anna and she was  fighting it (here’s the whole scene, but her admission is at about the 7:00 mark):

 

http://youtu.be/UOzTtR9bxJQ?t=5m

 

and the follow up:

 

http://youtu.be/cWjW02t9FwU?list=PLB544682DA2E61508

Edited December 8, 2014 by Francie

[Cobalt Stargazer]

This scene is so gross. Emily arriving on Sonny's doorstep drunk, talking about how she wants to "bang" him. Ewww.

 

Was that when Max had to carry her up the stairs? Because I looked it up for shits and giggles, and NL is five-five while Maurice is five-nine. Let that sink in for a sec, just to complete the hilarity.

[Box305]

I mean, imo, it wasn't even that Natalia Livingston looked that young, cause imo she didn't  - it was the past history that made it so weird.

 

Oh, I know. Just the idea of Sonny and Emily was so weird. Soily was the perfect smush name for them ;) 

[OnceSane]

Was that when Max had to carry her up the stairs? Because I looked it up for shits and giggles, and NL is five-five while Maurice is five-nine. Let that sink in for a sec, just to complete the hilarity.

Yep!

[jsbt]

And yes, NL is half-Mexican on her mother's side (as is KMc, actually), and is fluent in Spanish. 

 

I get that, but Emily was not. I usually wouldn't be against adding a layer of diversity to the character, but it only seemed to be done as part of a concerted effort to try and make Emily over into a 'mature woman' for Sonny. It was just so off. I don't believe it was ever mentioned again.

[Berserk]

Lordy. I just watched some of that old Robert/Anna/Sean/Faison stuff and DAMN!! I don't think I had ever seen the young Anders, just this grizzled tangle-haired guy we've got now. I couldn't tell from what I saw, but was Anna ever conflicted? Please tell me she has not ever had sex with him.

No, they have not had sex. That's been made pretty clear in the past.

AH kind of had an oddly sexy vibe going then. He's not classically handsome, but there is something about him that's charismatic and alluring.

She may have been conflicted when they were younger and in the DVX together (pre-Robert anyway). I always found their backstory intriguing. They knew each other in childhood, spent a few years as kids in the same household, wrote letters to each other as teenagers. Faison's mother (and Anna's former nanny) made the comment that Anna and Faison had been very close in their childhood and teens. So, you have to wonder if there wasn't a crush on her part or some fooling around between them. It's very likely.

[SlovakPrincess]

I have to say I never liked any of the retcons that put Faison more and more in Anna's past.

I thought the double agent story was stronger when it was Anna owning her terrible choice and having to reform herself and Robert having to determine how much he could forgive and forget. Creating this sinister guy that kind of persuaded her into it weakened the story.

And then he comes back and lo and behold he was her nanny's kid and they grew up together. And the nanny just happens to be Holly's nanny too. And Robert just happened to have married both women. Just - agh, make it stop!

[Francie]

I have to say I never liked any of the retcons that put Faison more and more in Anna's past.

 

I hated the 1992 re-write after Finola left, too. I accept it as canon, but I hate it.

 

It was crazy stupid to make everyone know each other through that nanny. She just happened to be Anna's nanny in Canada and Holly's in England? Ummmm, okay then.

 

That was Gloria trying to rework a storyline to fit in Holly for her 1992 return, which crashed and burned. YMMV. Plus, Gloria was hoppin' mad that Finola left a few weeks early, and she really did a number on Anna's character once Finola was out the door.

 

The funny thing? Finola knows nothing of this. Some fans have tried to fill her on this, and her reaction is always, "What, wha???!!!" I don't think any of that registers with her at all. She played out meeting Faison for the first time, and all of that "Faison was the older boy who visited" was off screen.  So, in her mind, she met Faison when he was the head of the DVX.  

 

It's the same with Anders.  He played out the nanny mother part, but his scenes didn't involve a recounting of his and Anna's re-invented history.  So, neither of them have any clue of that!

[SlovakPrincess]

It was so transparent to prop Holly and it actually made me loathe her (her shitty attitude when Robert confronted her about playing dead didn't help either - "how could you remarry Anna?!" Like, seriously lady? You broke his heart and you're conning his brother right now. Shut up.)

A few years ago I watched youtube clips for the start of Robert and Holly in 1983. And I finally, finally get the Holly love. But 90s Holly was bad and 2000s Holly is ridiculous.

[Berserk]

I hated the 1992 re-write after Finola left, too. I accept it as canon, but I hate it.

 

It was crazy stupid to make everyone know each other through that nanny. She just happened to be Anna's nanny in Canada and Holly's in England? Ummmm, okay then.

 

That was Gloria trying to rework a storyline to fit in Holly for her 1992 return, which crashed and burned. YMMV. Plus, Gloria was hoppin' mad that Finola left a few weeks early, and she really did a number on Anna's character once Finola was out the door.

 

The funny thing? Finola knows nothing of this. Some fans have tried to fill her on this, and her reaction is always, "What, wha???!!!" I don't think any of that registers with her at all. She played out meeting Faison for the first time, and all of that "Faison was the older boy who visited" was off screen.  So, in her mind, she met Faison when he was the head of the DVX.  

 

It's the same with Anders.  He played out the nanny mother part, but his scenes didn't involve a recounting of his and Anna's re-invented history.  So, neither of them have any clue of that!

I know Monty had her reasons for reinventing their history. Part of me likes the idea of Anna and Faison knowing each other as children, but doesn't fit with what played out onscreen in 1990-91. Good or bad, it is canon. What frustrates me is that the current regime ignores the history that did play out onscreen. Her time in the DVX is completely glossed over, which I know is part of Anna's whitewash over the years. But it's a big part of her relationship with Faison, and it's a beat that the writers are missing.

[SlovakPrincess]

I don't know that Anna was whitewashed so much as she acknowledged doing shitty things, felt remorse and stopped doing those shitty things.

Her DVX past was relevant way back when Faison thought she might be up for being bad again. But it's been decades, he knows she doesn't want to run an evil empire with him, and the things he's done to Robin, Duke, and Anna herself by now are so beyond the pale that her own past is no longer the point. He's just a crazy stalker now. Who is unfortunately immortal.

ETA: the whole idea that they knew each other as kids was always weird to me because he looks a bazillion years older than her. He might not actually be, but they don't look at all in the same age range.

Edited December 9, 2014 by SlovakPrincess

[UYI]

I get that, but Emily was not. I usually wouldn't be against adding a layer of diversity to the character, but it only seemed to be done as part of a concerted effort to try and make Emily over into a 'mature woman' for Sonny. It was just so off. I don't believe it was ever mentioned again.

 

Oh I hear you, I was just confirming that was her heritage, because yeah, it's not immediately obvious just by looking at her, and Emily being of Hispanic and/or Mexican descent would have been completely out of nowhere.

[UYI]

 

 

That was Gloria trying to rework a storyline to fit in Holly for her 1992 return, which crashed and burned. YMMV. Plus, Gloria was hoppin' mad that Finola left a few weeks early, and she really did a number on Anna's character once Finola was out the door.

 

 

 

Actually, I think what happened was that Fin got that other show, and was set to leave at a certain time (while going between the two shows for her final month, I guess), and then, I guess because she was angry she was leaving, Gloria Monty let her go a month early, telling her right before shooting a scene that it was her last.

 

Fin talks about it in her Lifetime Intimate Portrait (go to 9:21):

 

 

Here are her last scenes in 1991:

 

 

 

It was so transparent to prop Holly and it actually made me loathe her (her shitty attitude when Robert confronted her about playing dead didn't help either - "how could you remarry Anna?!" Like, seriously lady? You broke his heart and you're conning his brother right now. Shut up.)

A few years ago I watched youtube clips for the start of Robert and Holly in 1983. And I finally, finally get the Holly love. But 90s Holly was bad and 2000s Holly is ridiculous.

 

There are some nice clips of Holly from her 92-93 run, though. I especially like her final scene with Tiffany. It's obvious how much they loved each other here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx11uCEhfbI