Spoilers and Speculation: Clink Boom and Cheese Fondue

[IWantCandy71]

14 hours ago, ulkis said:

I think it's safe to say Nelle was/is a faliure. Most people were excited when they heard about the casting. People wanted to like her. It was part the writing, part her. She's a good actress, but she can't overcome the writing and her lack of chemistry with Michael. (Which is partly CD's fault too.) And it's shallow but she needs a haircut/style. (As do half the cast.) 

IDK. I don't think personally that I would overall call a character a failure just because they don't have chemistry with a pairing and they have a bad haircut. If she's a failure because according to the internet, she's not well liked, then Sam is a failure too, because people hated her guts for years. And absolutely EVERYTHING was done to make her irrelevant self important. Sure, some people don't like Nelle,  but it can't be said that NO ONE likes her. Because in order to say that, you'd have to be able to see inside the minds of every single current viewer of GH. And I don't think the internet opinion is representative. I think the majority of viewers don't bother posting about GH anymore. Aren't the ratings still indicating the show has millions of viewers ? And there are maybe a few hundred, tops, who bother posting these days about the show ? It could be possible that Nelle is one most of the offliners like, or are lukewarm about, but either way, they don't hate her to the point of wanting her off the show. But that's just me-I think if Nelle's target were a beloved heroine, then yes many would hate her. But her target has mainly been CARLY. And I think even most Carly fans can agree that she's been in need of a good dose of karma for years. And while yes, Nelle's plaaaans have been lame, so have most revenge plots in soaps for years. When was the last time anyone had a truly good "get  back at you" plot in soaps ? I'm honestly asking because I don't watch them anymore at all, and I cannot remember ever being all that pumped by something someone did to get back at another. The last time I truly giggled over any type of revenge plot was way back in 1992 when Tracy uncovered that Jenny had an affair with a married senator. Probably because Jenny was such a smarmy "better than you" mealy mouthed bore. Ever since then, I've been "meh" about revenge plots because to me, they were all lacking. When Carly seduced Tony to get back at Bobbie, I was like "eh".  Anything Dorian did to Vicki, again....eh. Jack and Victor on Y&R ? They were stale decades ago. If anyone can think of a truly well written, juicy revenge plot that was actually UNIQUE and surprising, well written and acted, in the last decade, I'd love to hear about it. Because I'm coming up empty when I try to think of one.

Although Victor framing Deimos for the murder of his fiancé on DOOL was a good one, if truly evil. And of course Deimos turned out to be bad after all, so it was kind of ruined by that.

All that to say that of course ulkis you are entitled to see Nelle as a failure. I just think by those standards, 99% of the characters, the last time I watched, would qualify as failures. There wasn't one single "good" couple, and very few entertaining characters, when I last regularly tuned in. And as far as the hairstyles, I've never honestly paid much attention to things like that, myself.

Edited February 21, 2018 by IWantCandy71

[TeeVee329]

Poor Kevin, the hits just keep on coming...

Quote

#GH - Kiki supports Kevin. {March 5}

[ulkis]

1 hour ago, IWantCandy71 said:

And as far as the hairstyles, I've never honestly paid much attention to things like that, myself.

You would if you watched Nelle lately. :p

[Cheyanne11]

The worst thing about this Nelle story is we know how it's going to end: with Carly coming out on top and being seen as the strongandbraveandloveswitherwholeheart victim of psycho Nelle.  Ho-hum.

[nilyank]

1 minute ago, Cheyanne11 said:

The worst thing about this Nelle story is we know how it's going to end: with Carly coming out on top and being seen as the strongandbraveandloveswitherwholeheart victim of psycho Nelle.  Ho-hum.

We know the plan is going to fail because Michael does not love her and short of Carly killing the baby, he will forgive his mother whatever Nellie tries to implicate Carly into doing.

[IWantCandy71]

56 minutes ago, ulkis said:

You would if you watched Nelle lately. :p

LOL !  Fair enough.  But can anything really be worse than the 80's high hair days ? To quote Doug Heffernan from King of Queens "you had so much hairspray in your hair, you could have stopped a bullet". That kind of style beats them ALL in the horrible hair hall of fame IMO. 

[dubbel zout]

8 minutes ago, nilyank said:

short of Carly killing the baby, he will forgive his mother

He forgave Sonny for shooting AJ, so I wouldn't place a bet on him not forgiving Carly. It might take him more than two weeks, though.

[TeeVee329]

What exactly is Nelle's plan?  To drive Carly crazy so she gets locked up in the nuthouse?

[dubbel zout]

Nelle has never said exactly what her end game is, other than to "make Carly pay." 

Edited February 21, 2018 by dubbel zout
missing word

[ulkis]

49 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

What exactly is Nelle's plan?  To drive Carly crazy so she gets locked up in the nuthouse?

I think so . . . I guess Carly harping about Nelle being in a mental hospital wasn't just random Carly obnoxiousness after all.

[TeeVee329]

And all she's done so far is claim she's going to name the baby Morgan and make that one gaslighting phone call, right?

She should really pick up the pace then, it's the same (boring) thing that happened with "sleeping" with Sonny.

[dubbel zout]

I think Chloe Lanier would have a lot of fun going all out as someone hellbent on destroying Carly, but the writing just isn't there. The show positions Nelle as a schemer who doesn't do much actual scheming, so she's a big bore.

1 minute ago, IWantCandy71 said:

It sounds like the only real purpose of this plot is to give Chad, Laura and Mo an Emmy reel.

Mo's Emmy reel is Mike's descent into dementia. There's nothing in Nelle's story that says Emmy to me for anyone, though I guess that could change. I doubt it, though.

[IWantCandy71]

It sounds like the only real purpose of this plot is to give Chad, Laura and Mo an Emmy reel. And I guess the actress that plays Nelle as well. The timing is right.

[TeeVee329]

9 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I think Chloe Lanier would have a lot of fun going all out as someone hellbent on destroying Carly, but the writing just isn't there. The show positions Nelle as a schemer who doesn't do much actual scheming, so she's a big bore.

Yup, as ulkis said earlier, I wish Nelle was taking more joy and relish in her scheming.

Back to the baby swap idea, have Nelle and Maxie crossed paths at all since being pregnant?

Edited February 21, 2018 by TeeVee329

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Nelle has never said exactly what her end game is, other than to "make Carly pay." 

What exactly does Nelle think Carly has to pay FOR? Is it still back to the dumb kidney thing?

[TeeVee329]

Being a buttinski bitch, which honestly is motive enough for me.

[IWantCandy71]

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Mo's Emmy reel is Mike's descent into dementia.

Mike's still alive ? The show dusted off Ron Hale for that ?  Lordy. Poor RH. And if that's not a big red flag that the writers are running out of ideas for Sonny, I don't know what is. I mean, if MIke had been even a regular recurring character the past few years, I wouldn't think that. But he wasn't even there during Morgan's death, was he ? So yeah this smacks of desperation to me. I mean, I'm glad RH is getting work. But I hate that it won't be him getting any recognition for it.

[dubbel zout]

Max Gail is now playing Mike.

[IWantCandy71]

Quote

Max Gail is now playing Mike.

Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me.  DUDE. That totally takes away from any emotional resonance with the audience, and isn't the whole point of the story, to hit the audience emotionally ? Sure, many viewers can relate to a parent or other relative who had dementia. But still. That would've been like Carly being killed off when Jennifer Bransford played her. It's like Fake Larry all over again.

It sucks all the goodness right out of the material. Why should Mike know who Sonny is, when the audience doesn't know who this version of Mike is ? But to be fair-anyone as a new viewer in the past ten years (hasn't it been that long? ) won't know Ron Hale as Mike, either.

[Melgaypet]

1 hour ago, IWantCandy71 said:

Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me.  DUDE. That totally takes away from any emotional resonance with the audience, and isn't the whole point of the story, to hit the audience emotionally ? Sure, many viewers can relate to a parent or other relative who had dementia. But still. That would've been like Carly being killed off when Jennifer Bransford played her. It's like Fake Larry all over again.

It sucks all the goodness right out of the material. Why should Mike know who Sonny is, when the audience doesn't know who this version of Mike is ? But to be fair-anyone as a new viewer in the past ten years (hasn't it been that long? ) won't know Ron Hale as Mike, either.

The story is all about Sonny, so automatically it's supposed to hit us emotionally! Who doesn't love Sonny? Who doesn't want to invest in Sonny's angst and daddy issues and whatever the hell else! Mike could be played by a wig on a stick, that's not the point, the point is SONNY! C'mon, people, focus!

...is what I imagine the thinking is. Actually, Max Gail seems to be doing a decent job, though he doesn't really feel like Mike to me.

[IWantCandy71]

They should have just had Sonny battling early onset Alzheimer's. But no, show still likes to pretend Sonny and Jason are young, hot studs. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

[statsgirl]

I don't think Mo has the acting chops for it.  Max Gale is going to be heartbreaking.

[IWantCandy71]

It's always hard to deal with a parent or other loved one not knowing who you are. I can imagine it will be sad, even if it will be all about Sonny.

[BlancheDevoreaux]

22 hours ago, ulkis said:

You would if you watched Nelle lately. :p

Nelle and Lulu both have horrible hair.  It just hangs there loosely and FAR too long.  Lulu's is stick straight and Nelle's has those loose waves, but other than that, it is the same (bad) style.  Just change it.

I also wouldn't mind if they got Alexis' bangs out of her face, but that has been her style for over a decade so I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[dubbel zout]

I don't know why everyone hasn't looked at Hayley Erin and said, "That's what I should do!" I mean, HE looks GREAT with the shorter hair. It's practically Kate Howard levels of amazing. It made @ulkis like Lauren (a bit)! That's some magic hair.

[Asp Burger]

On 2/21/2018 at 6:48 PM, IWantCandy71 said:

Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me.  DUDE. That totally takes away from any emotional resonance with the audience, and isn't the whole point of the story, to hit the audience emotionally ? Sure, many viewers can relate to a parent or other relative who had dementia. But still. That would've been like Carly being killed off when Jennifer Bransford played her. It's like Fake Larry all over again.

It sucks all the goodness right out of the material. Why should Mike know who Sonny is, when the audience doesn't know who this version of Mike is ? But to be fair-anyone as a new viewer in the past ten years (hasn't it been that long? ) won't know Ron Hale as Mike, either.

They're playing fair with it, though. They aren't pretending that Mike and Sonny have been LIKETHIS all this time. Part of the hook is that Sonny hasn't been spending time with Mike in recent years. Mike hasn't lived in Port Charles since (2011?). We can surmise they've been in touch to the degree that soap family members are when one of them isn't on the canvas -- phone calls once in a while -- but he just assumed Mike was doing his thing and was fine. Then he heard about Mike having a problem involving missing money and he thought it was the usual again, the gambling. And it was fairly subtle, the way the real issue came into focus. Mike called Carly by the wrong name. He forgot whose child Avery is. Things that could waved off as just misspeaking or being tired. Then he got out and about on his own in a town where he hasn't lived recently, and things got worse in a hurry.  

So, the story they're telling is that of a son who's up against something he can't fix, may have missed early stages of this problem, and also didn't take full advantage of good years before the dementia began. I normally can't stand Sonny, but it's poignant enough for me. There's a good blueprint there for emotional material, and it's been one of the better stories on the show this month. They're doing about as well as it can be done on a show like this, with a lot of other threads running at the same time.   

I do think Max Gail was an excellent recast. He's similar enough to Ron Hale in age and the kind of energy and persona he has, but he's convincing as an older, frailer version than the one seven years ago. I like that they're not shying away from the frustration the family member feels, and the stubbornness and oppositional tendencies of the diagnosed person. It's a bitter pill on both sides, for sure.  

Edited February 23, 2018 by Asp Burger

[Cheyanne11]

2 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

I do think Max Gail was an excellent recast. He's similar enough to Ron Hale in age and the kind of energy and persona he has, but he's convincing as an older, frailer version than the one seven years ago. I like that they're not shying away from the frustration the family member feels, and the stubbornness and oppositional tendencies of the diagnosed person. It's a bitter pill on both sides, for sure.  

I'm not on board with Max Gail's portrayal.  He constantly looks like he's going to start laughing.

[IWantCandy71]

4 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

They're playing fair with it, though. They aren't pretending that Mike and Sonny have been LIKETHIS all this time. Part of the hook is that Sonny hasn't been spending time with Mike in recent years. Mike hasn't lived in Port Charles since (2011?). We can surmise they've been in touch to the degree that soap family members are when one of them isn't on the canvas -- phone calls once in a while -- but he just assumed Mike was doing his thing and was fine. Then he heard about Mike having a problem involving missing money and he thought it was the usual again, the gambling. And it was fairly subtle, the way the real issue came into focus. Mike called Carly by the wrong name. He forgot whose child Avery is. Things that could waved off as just misspeaking or being tired. Then he got out and about on his own in a town where he hasn't lived recently, and things got worse in a hurry.  

So, the story they're telling is that of a son who's up against something he can't fix, may have missed early stages of this problem, and also didn't take full advantage of good years before the dementia began. I normally can't stand Sonny, but it's poignant enough for me. There's a good blueprint there for emotional material, and it's been one of the better stories on the show this month. They're doing about as well as it can be done on a show like this, with a lot of other threads running at the same time.   

I do think Max Gail was an excellent recast. He's similar enough to Ron Hale in age and the kind of energy and persona he has, but he's convincing as an older, frailer version than the one seven years ago. I like that they're not shying away from the frustration the family member feels, and the stubbornness and oppositional tendencies of the diagnosed person. It's a bitter pill on both sides, for sure.  

I think Max Gail is awesome. The story hits a little too close to home for me though, not quite ready to watch. When my own father had a stroke before he took his own life(not trying to bum anyone out, it just helps to talk about it) he had a brief period of dementia where he could not remember that he had any children. I'm glad that in the end the dementia didn't last long, and the last thing I said to him was "I love you". Not all people are so blessed. Saying all this just to say that even though I have little to no use for his character, I know Maurice will make me cry, because just about any fictional story remotely close to my own experience leaves me a weepy mess. So, kind of conflicted: would love to at least check in because Max Gail, but not really into voluntarily watching anything these days that I know is going to depress me.  GH on the whole I don't have any interest in. So, we'll see.

[dubbel zout]

Sorry for your loss, @IWantCandy71. I don't blame you for being torn about watching this story.

My biggest problem with this is that already it's become all about Sonny. No surprise there, but can't we see more of Mike before Sonny nails himself to the cross? I liked the scene with Ava a lot, though I'm sure Sonny will yell at her for not knowing who Mike is and calling 911 first instead of him. And I'm sure he'll throw in a threat about access to Avery, just because he can. I want Sonny be talking to Griffin about what Sonny should expect and how can he deal with it, not blaming himself for being a terrible son. That train sailed a long time ago.

[In2You]

Chloe's not a great actress to me and Nelle as a character is horribly written. I never got the hype over her anyway based off that one retro style episode she starred in.

[statsgirl]

3 hours ago, IWantCandy71 said:

I know Maurice will make me cry, because just about any fictional story remotely close to my own experience leaves me a weepy mess. So, kind of conflicted: would love to at least check in because Max Gail, but not really into voluntarily watching anything these days that I know is going to depress me.  GH on the whole I don't have any interest in. So, we'll see.

Max Gail is making me cry so I don't recommend you watch it, at least not right now.  He's so defiant, and then so sad when he realizes what's happening to him that it's heartbreaking.  Sonny is still making it all about himself, or rather about other people failing him and not warning him or giving him information to fixing the problem.  But you may identify with his situation.

I wish they would put Kevin into this storyline because watching Max fall apart and Sonny doing his usual berating of others instead of helping him is heartbreaking.

[dubbel zout]

28 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Sonny doing his usual berating of others instead of helping him is heartbreaking.

I think they're trying to frame it as Sonny feeling helpless and not knowing what else to do. But Sonny regularly yells at and berates people, so it comes across more as default mode than anything else. It's typical Sonny when things aren't exactly the way he wants them. And MB doesn't put any nuance into it, so it angers me instead of moves me.

Edited February 23, 2018 by dubbel zout
finished my thought

[Neptune]

The Scoop: GH previews, teasers, and spoilers for the Week of February 26, 2018

http://soapcentral.com/gh/content/scoop/spoilers/2018/180226.php

[TeeVee329]

Quote

Carly's temper flares

In other breaking news, the sky is blue, and water is wet.

Quote

Scott and Kevin reach a truce

I'm excited to see them interact, but wouldn't whatever truce they're reaching be more impactful if we'd seen them share a scene in...gawd, it's been at least three years, I think.

Quote

Dante struggles to accept Nathan's replacement

By the way, who do we think Chase is here to bang?  My guess, KMN, is Amy 2.0.

Edited February 24, 2018 by TeeVee329

[dubbel zout]

7 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

By the way, who do we think Chase is here to bang?  My guess, KMN, is Amy 2.0.

Really? I can't see the show positioning her as anyone's love interest. She's someone who has inappropriate crushes and meddles semi-harmlessly in other people's lives. Did OG Amy ever have a love interest?

[Gam2]

I’m alway so distracted by Scott’s hair that I can’t hear anything he says.

[TeeVee329]

20 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Really? I can't see the show positioning her as anyone's love interest. She's someone who has inappropriate crushes and meddles semi-harmlessly in other people's lives.

But who else is there, really.  LWB/FS is here to get into Lulu and/or Maxie's pants, and I'm sure a full-time Spinelli return is the eventual endgame for Maxie.  There's Kiki, I guess, but she has to survive whatever pervy storyline they're cooking up with Dr. Bensch.  We never see Valerie.  So, yeah, Amy 2.0.  I feel like she was supposed to be a legitimate challenger for Dillon or Nathan, but they fired one and the other gave his notice.

[dubbel zout]

38 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

But who else is there, really. 

Lauren. Competition for creepy Dr. Bensch.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, TeeVee329 said:

But who else is there, really.  LWB/FS is here to get into Lulu and/or Maxie's pants, and I'm sure a full-time Spinelli return is the eventual endgame for Maxie.  There's Kiki, I guess, but she has to survive whatever pervy storyline they're cooking up with Dr. Bensch.  We never see Valerie.  So, yeah, Amy 2.0.  I feel like she was supposed to be a legitimate challenger for Dillon or Nathan, but they fired one and the other gave his notice.

Give New Nathan to Nelle. They're both useless.

[statsgirl]

I assumed he was here for Kiki. There's no one in her age group other than Michael, which already failed.

I'm starting to wonder Bensch really is going to get pervy with Kiki, or if he's going to turn out to be some sort of father figure after all.  They seem to have wanted him to stall Alexis getting back with Julian but Kim and Finn are going to be doing that right now.

Quote

Sonny can't reconcile himself to his father's fate

Elizabeth thanks Jason

Really, I never would have guessed.

Quote

Drew and Curtis team up to get some answers

Sam needs Jason's help

I'm glad Drew has a friend and Curtis has a function but it's  annoying that they want to have Jason vs Drew for no logical reason.  It's got to be Drew's fault of course; Jason is perfect.

[ulkis]

Maybe NuCop can be for Michael. I don't think Nelle will be for anyone given she is using the precious memory of St Morgan of the Gingerbread Houses to freak Carly out.

Edited February 24, 2018 by ulkis

[nilyank]

Unless NuCop got a contract, I think his only purpose for now is to provide conflict for Dante who has to face the reality of Nathan being gone and being assigned another partner. Also NuCop needed to be around so that he could be involved in Mike's arrest while Dante was busy with Carly trying to track down her crank caller.

[LillyB]

Nucop looks way too much like Dr. Monro. BTW, I have a feeling that Morgan isn't really dead.

[yowsah1]

On 2/23/2018 at 6:59 AM, Asp Burger said:

So, the story they're telling is that of a son who's up against something he can't fix, may have missed early stages of this problem, and also didn't take full advantage of good years before the dementia began. I normally can't stand Sonny, but it's poignant enough for me. There's a good blueprint there for emotional material, and it's been one of the better stories on the show this month. They're doing about as well as it can be done on a show like this, with a lot of other threads running at the same time.  

 

I mentioned in the Episodes thread that ever since CVH took over as co-Head Writer, there has been a marked improvement in the writing for the show.  It's not anywhere near great across the board, but at least it is heading in the right direction.

From the spoilers:

Quote

Sam needs Jason's help

Quote

Elizabeth thanks Jason

... because God forbid the wimmins be allowed to solve a problem or handle an issue by themselves!  No, they must always be helpless and frail so St. Jasus can constantly come to their rescue! [/SoSoSoSoSoMuchSarcasm]

Edited February 25, 2018 by yowsah1

[Asp Burger]

1 hour ago, yowsah1 said:

I mentioned in the Episodes thread that ever since CVH took over as co-Head Writer, there has been a marked improvement in the writing for the show.  It's not anywhere near great across the board, but at least it is heading in the right direction.

Co-signed. Maybe I'm giving Van Etten too much credit, but he projects sincerity, intelligence, and genuine love of the medium in his interviews. A lot of soap writers can talk a good game about "our amazing cast" or "these wonderful characters and their history," but you look closely at what they say and you can tell they're just tired old hamsters running on the wheel. All they know how to do is move characters in and out of formulas and eat up time, and if they can fill five hours a week and get people arguing on social media over whether one woman was right to slap another one, or which pairing should be together, they feel they've done their job.  

This guy is up against a lot, but he seems to care.  He sees characters as people with dimensions. The improvement started instantly with his promotion.  

Edited February 24, 2018 by Asp Burger

[ulkis]

13 hours ago, LillyB said:

Nucop looks way too much like Dr. Monro. BTW, I have a feeling that Morgan isn't really dead.

He did, but that's partly cause they styled their hair the same way and they were wearing similiar coats.

Edited February 24, 2018 by ulkis

[Neptune]

[dubbel zout]

17 hours ago, nilyank said:

NuCop needed to be around so that he could be involved in Mike's arrest while Dante was busy with Carly trying to track down her crank caller.

I guess Valerie wasn't available? Jasus forbid we use somebody already on the canvas. (Though I agree that NuCop was also there to emphasize to Dante that Nathan was gone for good.)

16 hours ago, LillyB said:

BTW, I have a feeling that Morgan isn't really dead.

Valor was canceled, so BryDog might have some free time now.

[Neptune]

[Oracle42]

Ew.