Ghosts of GH Past Viewing Party: '80s, '90s, And All Eras Of Non-Suckitude!

[Pete Martell]

Who is the doctor and his daughter? I don't know them. What were their stories?

It's funny how as soon as she walked up to him to talk I thought it would be an exit scene. Soaps often have that tone in those types of scenes...

[dubbel zout]

Wow, there's a lot of hair and shoulder pads going on in that clip. Hee.

[Pete Martell]

It's so odd seeing Liz Keifer looking like that. I never saw her GH work (I only know fans hated the character) so I've just seen that photo of her in a nun's habit that was reprinted 50 times in SOD throughout the '90s.

[SlovakPrincess]

9 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Wow, there's a lot of hair and shoulder pads going on in that clip. Hee.

I think 80s Anna and Felicia had the most hair of anyone on the show, ever.  

[dubbel zout]

FH also had some impressive eyebrows; I remember some GH history thing she was in and she laughed at how she and IB were all eyebrows.

[SlovakPrincess]

Probably for the best she had such impressive arch-y eyebrows.  Made her look less baby-faced for the role.   

Although there are scenes during the Aztec Treasure story, where Anna is running through the woods in jeans and a bouncy little ponytail ... and she does not look anywhere old enough to have had a whole spy career in her past.   

[SlovakPrincess]

Random fun factoid from my weird little project of trying to find and watch all the early 80s episodes:  the hospital is constantly paging "Dr. Robert Troutman" over the intercom.  

That poor, never-seen guy never gets a break...

[SlovakPrincess]

You must watch the Frisco music video in this 80s episode.   Because this song will now be stuck in my head and I must inflict it on the rest of you now .. (starts at ~ 1:46)

Fun fact:  Frisco's hair will never look this good again.

Edited September 9, 2016 by SlovakPrincess

[Pete Martell]

Partial episode from 1990. Another with a lot of Decker/Dawn, for their fans. Lots of fun with Lucy and the Qs as well. I have no idea why Monty saw them as a problem for the show.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

I know they likely made some changes with Lila due to Anna Lee's declining health, but the steely but still gracious woman of this era is so much better for me than later years where she was mostly there to make sad faces about Jason. 

[dubbel zout]

Or be charmed by Sonny's dimples. The dude hired her grandson to be his hit man!

[Francie]

On September 5, 2016 at 6:55 PM, SlovakPrincess said:

I think 80s Anna and Felicia had the most hair of anyone on the show, ever.  

I think Edie Lehmann may have both of them beat:

Edited September 13, 2016 by Francie

[SlovakPrincess]

Oh geez, Katherine Delafield.  I'm bored all over again just looking at her.  The late 80s prom dress isn't helping ...  

[Harmony233]

I liked Katherine delafield lol.To be fair I liked all of Roberts love interests.

[Pete Martell]

[SlovakPrincess]

I literally have no idea what that clip from October 1990 is about.  Or who anyone is except for Anna and Sean.  And here I thought I was an expert on old timey GH, LOL!  

 

Jumping back to 1984 ... what the hell was going on in the writers room in March of that year??   Everything about the write-offs for Lesley and Blackie is super depressing.  Sheesh!

[ulkis]

8 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I literally have no idea what that clip from October 1990 is about.  Or who anyone is except for Anna and Sean.  And here I thought I was an expert on old timey GH, LOL!  

 

Jumping back to 1984 ... what the hell was going on in the writers room in March of that year??   Everything about the write-offs for Lesley and Blackie is super depressing.  Sheesh!

Didn't Denise do something to piss Gloria off? She left or she wanted time off or something?

[SlovakPrincess]

Did John Stamos and the woman who played Lou also piss her off??   Man, that month was kind of a bloodbath. 

On the plus side, early '84 brought us Frisco.  And Tania, who's adorable!  

On the other hand, Ginny works my last nerve.  Brock is horrible, and Bobbie staying with his abusive ass is cringeworthy.   And the plot at the spa is extremely meh so far -- here's hoping someone gets murdered in that pink and lavender monstrosity of a set.   The Two Grants story is dragging, and I kinda don't care if Celia gets killed at this point.   

[ulkis]

I hate Frisco. :p Did Tony debut that year too.

[UYI]

13 hours ago, ulkis said:

Didn't Denise do something to piss Gloria off? She left or she wanted time off or something?

She had met her future husband, and after 12 years on the show, wanted to work on a more recurring schedule. Gloria responded by having Lesley killed off screen.

According to Denise, this story wound up on the front page of the New York Times, because of how long she had been on the show and how abrupt her dismissal was. 

12 hours ago, ulkis said:

I hate Frisco. :p Did Tony debut that year too.

No, 1985.

[SlovakPrincess]

I think Tony does turn up in '84, because he gets shot in the head at the beginning of the Aztec Treasure stuff in early '85 and already was established as a character.  

[Francie]

Mainly what UYI said. The story, as I heard it, is quintessential Gloria. Denise went to Gloria to ask that her role be scaled back a bit. She had been on th front burner forever, and she wanted a lighter load for awhile.

Gloria reportedly replied something along the lines of, "Of course, dear. I'll be in touch with your agent."

And then she summarily had Lesley Webber written out, dead, without so much as a final goodbye scene. Just a body rolled into the E/R. A victim of a car accident. 

It was a 1984 daytime tv version of "I told you I was hard core."

[SlovakPrincess]

It was effectively done, I suppose -- Lesley's car-accident death offscreen seemed oddly realistic and so you could feel the family's shock.  But, man, what a downer!  

The Bobbie actress seemed a bit ... off and vaguely disgusted in the scene where she realized it's Lesley in the ER.  If she disagreed with the decision to fire a well-liked co-worker, that would explain it! 

[SlovakPrincess]

On October 3, 2016 at 11:09 PM, ulkis said:

I hate Frisco. :p 

Heh.    Pre-Felicia, supporting-character Frisco is a delight, though.  Frisco coming to Lesley's memorial to support his bandmate Blackie actually made me verklempt.   And Frisco is a good friend during Blackie's exit.  The first Robert / Frisco scenes actually involve Blackie's arrest,  with Frisco starting to cry a little when interviewed by the police, and Robert putting a hand on his shoulder to be kind.      

I am currently watching - and cringing - at the scenes where an evil music producer's henchmen punch Frisco in the throat repeatedly and he spits up blood.  Ouch!!!      

[Pete Martell]

 

[Pete Martell]

oops - wrong post

Edited October 18, 2016 by Pete Martell

[Cheyanne11]

These clips remind me how much I loved the Q guest house and Susan Moore's cottage.  

[Pete Martell]

I was never sure where to put 90s material so I started this. If it's redundant or if people want another title, be my guest. 

November 1997 episode - about a week before Guza officially rejoined as headwriter, and one of Emma Caulfield's appearances pre-Buffy.

[WendyCR72]

I have merged the '80s/'90s viewing party threads into one and have altered the title a bit to encompass all past decades. Carry on and enjoy!

[cmahorror]

I am also watching old school GH and man, I hate Terry Brock. Annoying, shrill and completely unappealing in every way.

During the Asian Quarter storyline she was screeching because Robert wouldn't arrest some doctor named Patrick (not Drake) based on no evidence and about Patrick never having to pay for what he had done when he was cleared of killing a man (Josh, a character whose death kicked off Frisco going undercover). There was also a singing binge of some sort that left her with severe exhaustion - no, I am not even close to kidding about that.

I don't know why they felt this character was necessary but I make a point of skipping every scene that she is in, whether it is relevant to the plot or not, because she is just that annoying.

Is it just me? Am I missing a big, important character arc that impacts the rest of the characters on the show?

Edited October 24, 2016 by cmahorror

[SlovakPrincess]

Heh, Terry.   I was getting bored with spring of '84 and jumped ahead to watch some '85 stuff the other day.   Terry was created to be the adult daughter of Bobbie's abusive a-hole husband DL Brock (and thus Bobbie's stepdaughter, though they were close-ish in age).  

The night DL Brock got murdered in spring of '85, Terry was supposed to be getting help because DL was being violent towards Bobbie ... the little genius skipped the elevator and instead got trapped in the stairwell of Bobbie's apartment building, and then spent the night running up and down 12 flights of stairs, screeching and crying because the door on every floor was locked and nobody could hear her to let her in.  Meanwhile, Bobbie got knocked unconscious and woke up to find her husband dead and ended up a suspect in his murder.  Terry was ... not helpful.   

I think the only other plot of import she was in was in late 80s, when she had some singer boyfriend named Dusty.  The reason I remember this from childhood is only because that plot involved Robert and Anna, since Dusty was being brainwashed by a lady terrorist who eventually got shot in the throat and ended up in the hospital, silently staring daggers at anyone who tried to interrogate her (y'know, the woman who'd just been rendered mute).   Although perhaps I'm confusing this with the Colton plot?   

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I think the only other plot of import she was in was in late 80s, when she had some singer boyfriend named Dusty.  The reason I remember this from childhood is only because that plot involved Robert and Anna, since Dusty was being brainwashed by a lady terrorist who eventually got shot in the throat and ended up in the hospital, silently staring daggers at anyone who tried to interrogate her (y'know, the woman who'd just been rendered mute).   Although perhaps I'm confusing this with the Colton plot?   

Wasn't he played by Shaun Cassidy? 

Was Terry there during that weird story I've never really seen much of, just read about, where Bobbie was taking care of a dead woman's children while she was paralyzed from the waist down? 

I know she wasn't very popular with fans (I'd heard the Laurelton story in particular was not well-liked, aside from Lucy's introduction), but given how many years she was a part of Bobbie's life, I thought they should have brought her back when BJ died or when her marriage to Tony collapsed. 

[SlovakPrincess]

Ohhh, yeah, I kinda remember Bobbie being paralyzed for some reason, and taking care of a teenage girl who kept getting into trouble.  I forget how Bobbie ended up temporarily paralyzed, where the girl (or multiple kids?) came from, or what happened to the kids -- they didn't stick around, and eventually the show moved onto Bobbie and Tony, and some stuff with Scotty coming back to town, and then Bobbie illegally adopting baby Lucas and that whole mess ... 

I do think Terry was there during the Bobbie paralysis story / caring for random kids story.   This was during the time when Bobbie owned the brownstone, and a third of the characters lived there, and Terry was probably one of the tenants.  

Don't know for sure if Shaun Cassidy played Dusty, but he was a singer so that makes sense!

[UYI]

I know Terry was a part of the wedding party when Tony & Bobbie got married in 1989, but wasn't she gone shortly after that?

The teenage girl Bobbie took care of was played by Ami Dolenz (Mickey Dolenz's daughter).

And Shaun Cassidy was definitely on the show around 1987.

Edited October 24, 2016 by UYI

[HeatLifer]

Waitaminute. Have I been posting in the wrong thread this entire time? This thread is for talking about past episodes and GH History is solely for questions?! @WendyCR72, help.

[ulkis]

28 minutes ago, HeatLifer said:

Waitaminute. Have I been posting in the wrong thread this entire time? This thread is for talking about past episodes and GH History is solely for questions?! @WendyCR72, help.

I suggest the two threads be merged.

[WendyCR72]

This is basically a video thread of episodes past. The history thread is mainly to discuss said history. Naturally, there will be overlap. But I think merging would derail the specific purposes of the threads, with videos peppering discussions and videos being derailed by a lot of talk.

As of now, I think keeping them separate is the way to go. But if it remains a concern, perhaps the idea of merging can be discussed with the mod team then.

Thanks!

[HeatLifer]

45 minutes ago, ulkis said:

I suggest the two threads be merged.

Yeah, I mean, the content has been the same in both.

ETA: So this thread is just for video? Got it.

Edited October 26, 2016 by HeatLifer

[UYI]

I guess it's too late to suggest this, but I was thinking that the History thread could have the shorter clips, while this thread could contain full episodes, reflecting what era someone is currently watching. 

Edited October 26, 2016 by UYI

[WendyCR72]

13 hours ago, UYI said:

I guess it's too late to suggest this, but I was thinking that the History thread could have the shorter clips, while this thread could contain full episodes, reflecting what era someone is currently watching. 

That seems rather redundant, IMO. I think the status quo, with the Viewing Party thread being for clips of all lengths is fine. The history thread can remain discussion oriented.

[cmahorror]

Was doing a rewatch and this scene from 2011 really stuck out for me. It is just a married couple, talking about their jobs and their feelings about what they do. Patrick's doubts about Jake's surgery and talking through them together was nice.

 

 

Robin: No, listen to me. I'm telling you the truth, not because I love you but because it is a medical fact. There's no surgeon that could have saved Jake.

Patrick: Hmm. What about my father?

Robin: Oh, come on. What are you talking about? One of the first things you said to me ever was that you were better than your dad.

Patrick: Well, I was just trying to impress you. That was all bravado crap.

Robin: Yeah, but then I got to know you and I realized that it wasn't. You're one of the only people that I know that are so in love with their own brilliance but could actually back it up. So why are you wasting your time and energy comparing yourself to your father?

Patrick: I know I'm better than my father now. I don't know if I'm as good as he was when he was at his best.
 

[HeatLifer]

Their conversations were so fucking natural. I could watch them discussing anything, including what their favorite color is.

Also, THIS:

Robin: Well, I am not shy about expressing my opinion, especially when it comes to disagreeing with you.

Then he smiled.

They really found their perfect match. *cries*

[Pete Martell]

In honor of Claire Labine - I'm sure the scene and clip have been watched and remembered a million times, but it still gets me every time. 

 

[Pete Martell]

If I need to delete this, I will, but this link has a lot of 1986 episodes.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/deglimuses

[jsbt]

It was wrong of me to compare you to my mother.

Edited November 13, 2016 by jsbt

[dubbel zout]

Oh, Wardrobe. The mock turtleneck is kind to no one.

Why does LC sound so strangled when she talks now? Maybe it was always there and it's an age thing?

[jsbt]

Don't attempt to understand me. I don't even understand me. Constance Towers' first day.

[jsbt]

And from 1996: Helena's first reappearance since Liz Taylor, in the form of a brief appearance with actress Dimitra Arliss. This was during the initial "Return of the Cassadines" storyline created by Bob Guza in his first stint with the show; CT's debut as Helena came with his own BTS return a year later. People give the Arliss Helena a lot of shit for her Russian/Dracula accent, but I think it works. The entire storyline was genius in the way it revised and re-approached the wild sci-fi/adventure GH of the 1980s through a contemporary lens, by exploring its darker realities and gothic themes. 

Edited November 14, 2016 by jsbt

[dubbel zout]

6 hours ago, jsbt said:

Constance Towers' first day.

What an awesome (re)introduction. Of course Helena would be playing opera (probably a recording of Alexis's mother singing), then turn slowly around in a chair with a look of the cat who swallowed the canary on her face.

Helena was often very cartoonish, but they also got a lot of little things right a lot of the time.

The incidental music was so much better back then.

[jsbt]

IIRC, the opera music was Kristin Bergman, Alexis' mother.