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

[Pete Martell]

Anna Lee interview from 1987. So sharp. I'm really sorry that most of my GH viewing years were only with Lila as the weeping woman saying "Oh Edward" and mooning over Jason. 

[pianogirl73]

I have been watching the Grant Putnam kidnaps Anna story and what strikes me is that I cannot stand Anna with Duke. I used to love them but now it is glaring to me how much better Anna is with Robert. Duke is coming off to me as a jealous whiner.

[Francie]

On 1/17/2017 at 6:16 PM, pianogirl73 said:

I have been watching the Grant Putnam kidnaps Anna story and what strikes me is that I cannot stand Anna with Duke. I used to love them but now it is glaring to me how much better Anna is with Robert. Duke is coming off to me as a jealous whiner.

Hello, I'm Francie . Will you be my friend?

Since I live on the barge - ask around, people will tell you what that is - we may have to be pen pals, though. 

[pianogirl73]

On 1/19/2017 at 6:18 PM, Francie said:

Hello, I'm Francie . Will you be my friend?

Since I live on the barge - ask around, people will tell you what that is - we may have to be pen pals, though. 

Sure! I guess we are 2 of only a few Anna/Robert fans?I can't believe how stupid Anna is looking with her being married to Duke. She looks no smarter than she does today.  I'm on the barge too by the way. 

[Pete Martell]

[cmahorror]

I'm team Robert and Anna too! This scene, despite the crappy way the characters were brought back, is great because of the way they describe their love for each other.

 

Robin: Will you guys stop? I have a question for you. Did you two ever love each other, like normal people?

Robert: More than you'll ever know.

Anna: Robert is right. I did want him from the moment I laid eyes on him. But it wasn't just physical. Look, I know. You asked, ok? So suck it up. I felt connected to someone else for the first time in my life - deeply connected. Robert felt like roots for me, like home. And I would have to say that no other man has ever really affected me quite the same way. I would have to say that. But you know, I take great pride in my independence and Robert is the only man I've ever allowed to rescue me. Hes the only man I've ever needed. We had an incredible life. We shared adventures that most people can only just imagine. And I think we experienced a once-in-a-lifetime love. Right?

Robert: That's right.

Anna: Right. But I think what I would have to say the greatest thing that we've ever done together is to create our extraordinary daughter and for that reason alone I, I'm really sort of thankful for the day that he walked into my life. Ok? So, there - now you know.

Robert: Um - I tend to disagree with your mother on principle. This time she's got me. Without question, you are our greatest achievement. Not a day goes by that I don't give thanks for that. You said before, how much did we love each other? I loved this woman beyond reason.

Robin: I can see it from both of you, so why --

Robert: Why couldn't we get it together? Oh, I mean, your mother's independence, my need to compete. But I can say at this moment, at any time, Anna Devane still takes my breath away. Ok, enough soul-baring for one day. I'm out of here. You can pick over my bones, if you wish.

Anna: Well --

Robin: You still love him.

Anna: Of course I do.

[HeatLifer]

1 hour ago, cmahorror said:

I loved this woman beyond reason.

Aw, that's a Scrubs thing, too. 

[ulkis]

Was that scene on nightshift or gh?

[UYI]

17 hours ago, ulkis said:

Was that scene on nightshift or gh?

GH in 2006. Night Shift didn't start until a year later. 

[ulkis]

39 minutes ago, UYI said:

GH in 2006. Night Shift didn't start until a year later. 

Thanks. I just really liked this piece of the dialogue:

Ok, enough soul-baring for one day. I'm out of here. You can pick over my bones, if you wish.

And GH mucked up Robert's return, so I thought it might have been Night Shift.

[cmahorror]

Patrick's beyond reason speech - keep in mind he never heard Robert say it.

 

Robin: I thought we promised epiphany that we would go easy on the P.D.A.S.

Patrick: I don't care - I have to tell you this. Yesterday when I woke up, I thought the worse thing could happen to me was to find out I was H.I.V. Positive.

Robin: Mm-hmm?

Patrick: But I was wrong. When I thought I lost you, I was in complete panic. I had never felt so alone, so helpless in my life - at least, not since I lost my mom. And I realized that living with H.I.V. would be a blessing compared to living without you. So I'll go take the test, I'll go to the chapel and say a prayer, I'll paint the kitchen that awful yellow because I love you beyond reason.
 

[HeatLifer]

Lawd, their chemistry was effortless.

[Francie]

On 1/23/2017 at 11:09 PM, ulkis said:

Was that scene on nightshift or gh?

That was in the Markham Islands storyline. 

[SlovakPrincess]

I always preferred Robert / Anna over Anna / Duke, even when I was a kid and they were supposed to be just friends while she toiled away at her marriage with Duke (and, boy, did that seem like a lot of work).  And I actually really liked Duke back then, and I like Ian Buchanan a ton!  I just thought Anna and Robert were far better suited and more fun together.   Duke was definitely jealous of Robert and, well, he had reason to be.

The frustrating thing about the Markham Islands scene was that finally Anna and Robert were saying emotional things about each other that rang true for their character history ... and then the whole family forgot that the reason Anna and Robert couldn't "get it together" was that, um, they did "get it together" and then Faison and the WSB deliberately destroyed their lives and kept them all apart for a decade.    That was the only decently written scene in the whole Markham Islands mess -- and it was still nonsensical in parts.  

[UYI]

19 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I always preferred Robert / Anna over Anna / Duke, even when I was a kid and they were supposed to be just friends while she toiled away at her marriage with Duke (and, boy, did that seem like a lot of work).  And I actually really liked Duke back then, and I like Ian Buchanan a ton!  I just thought Anna and Robert were far better suited and more fun together.   Duke was definitely jealous of Robert and, well, he had reason to be.

The frustrating thing about the Markham Islands scene was that finally Anna and Robert were saying emotional things about each other that rang true for their character history ... and then the whole family forgot that the reason Anna and Robert couldn't "get it together" was that, um, they did "get it together" and then Faison and the WSB deliberately destroyed their lives and kept them all apart for a decade.    That was the only decently written scene in the whole Markham Islands mess -- and it was still nonsensical in parts.  

There was also the whole "Holly turned up alive in 1992 so their marriage isn't really valid" thing, but we don't need to remember that. ;) 

[Ambrosefolly]

I guess I am the only one that preferred Holly and Robert :sits alone at the table:

[UYI]

56 minutes ago, Ambrosefolly said:

I guess I am the only one that preferred Holly and Robert :sits alone at the table:

Trust me, you're not. I'd say the fan bases are fairly evenly divided as a whole (and of course, R&H and D&A fans are usually one and the same, even if some people prefer one more over the other).

Edited February 7, 2017 by UYI

[katie9918]

2 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

I guess I am the only one that preferred Holly and Robert :sits alone at the table:

Don't worry, I vastly prefer Holly and Robert as well. 

 

Here's where I'm at a table by myself: my favorite Anna pairing was Dr. David Hayward. As much as Duke is a GHer, I really wanted Ron and Frank to bring him over for Anna back before their GH went off the rails (2014, I guess?). Obviously, now I'm glad they didn't, but I wanted that so badly.

[Oracle42]

3 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

I guess I am the only one that preferred Holly and Robert :sits alone at the table:

I adored them! and I loved Anna/Duke. I really enjoyed Robert/Anna but I love the other two

[SlovakPrincess]

All three couples work really well in their original stories. I just tend to prefer Robert and Anna as characters (at least back when they were well written), and think they're the best two actors of the bunch, and thus I like them best together.  

I do really love how Holly and Robert get together in '83 ... and the fact that it makes Luke miserable, mwahahaha!  Oh, how I dislike Luke ....  

[cmahorror]

Some more Robert and Anna scenes from Night Shift:
 

Anna: Robin called me.

Robert: Oh. Aw.

Anna: [Sighs] You know what's so funny? While I've got my dancing shoes all picked out, she's actually worried about you.

Robert: Yeah. She's like that.

Anna: I, however, know better. You have died plenty of times, and we still can't get rid of you.

Robert: That's 'cause I know you would be devastated.

Anna: Clearly.

Robert: Oh, you gotta love doctors. Especially the one our daughter's running with.

Anna: He's a good guy.

Robert: She has horrible taste in men.

Anna: Well, she takes after her mother.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anna: Yeah, you don't know. Some men change after they get married.

Robin: Ahem.

Robert: Didn't happen to me.

Anna: No, no. You were always insufferable. You just got more so. Don't listen to your father, 'cause it just--

Robert: Don't listen to your mother. She's addicted to marriage.

Anna: Well, I was trying to get it right. Actually, I was more addicted to the honeymoons. Remember that villa in Italy?

Robert: Ahh. Yeah, the hot springs. For 3 weeks, I was a--I was a different man.

Robin: Ok, thank you. Burning a hole in the eardrums here. [Sighs] How are you?

[katie9918]

And it's Anna's post-2006 constant snarking at Robert that I simply cannot take. 

 

SHE was responsible for their "deaths," even discounting the 1991-1992 retcon of her history with Faison, and NO ONE ever made her accountable for it, while Robert was held responsible for everything.

 

It still turns my stomach seeing how she was permitted to skate on all of it and he kept paying.

[cmahorror]

A little Scrubs Valentine's day throwback for my fellow fans - I love jealous Patrick.

 

[Vera]

Count me as another person who loves Robert and Anna together! 

 

 

[cmahorror]

Since the show refuses to acknowledge it - a few scene from Robert's return in 2008 after his chemotherapy treatments:

 

Robin: You want to meet your grandpa? This is Robert Scorpio and if you need a hero ever, he is your guy.

 

Later on...

Robert: Rule 101 for surviving cancer is thou shalt enjoy life.

 

Robert's colon cancer is canon, something started in Night Shift and brought over to GH proper - why aren't they talking about it now that Anna is battling cancer?

Edited March 5, 2017 by cmahorror

[Cheyanne11]

Talk of the Nurses' Ball has me reminiscing on when it was REALLY good and REALLY meaningful--and nothing will ever touch the 1996 NB and Robin's speech:

 

[HeatLifer]

It doesn't matter how many times I watch that....I still get teary-eyed.

And JnR babies. SBu played that perfectly. 

Also, I love this exchange they had later, which still applies. All their dialogue amazingly still holds up.

Robin: I guess you made a big impression when you rescued me from the Nurse's Ball.

Jason: That's not what happened. I was the one who couldn't take it. I can't stand to see you hurt. It does something weird to me inside.

Robin: I know. I feel the same way about you. It's nice being connected like that.

[Cheyanne11]

Quote

Jason: That's not what happened. I was the one who couldn't take it. I can't stand to see you hurt. It does something weird to me inside.

And, honestly, I think SBu always played this, in a way, right up until he left the role (Billy--not so much).  He subconsciously acknowledged that connection they had once upon a time (before Carly and Cottage Hell and the Red Menace).

[HeatLifer]

2 minutes ago, Cheyanne11 said:

And, honestly, I think SBu always played this, in a way, right up until he left the role (Billy--not so much).  He subconsciously acknowledged that connection they had once upon a time (before Carly and Cottage Hell and the Red Menace).

Oh, yeah. I can say a lot about SBu, but the one thing I'll never say is that he didn't play his connections with characters properly. He always did. He knew what different people meant to Jason and played that accordingly.

The show also always did a good job with JnR, as well. Surprisingly, Ron wrote a piece of dialogue that I always felt described Jason and Robin's relationship. Robin said something like, "I could have not talked to Jason for 10 years and I'd still help him." Jason and Robin were those people who would always have an unexplainable connection, regardless of anything else.

[cmahorror]

The first scenes of the Scorpio family together...

 

The confusion and disbelief in Robert's voice as he puts the pieces together is just perfect.

 

Anna explains why she didn't tell Robert about Robin.

 

The thing that kills me each time I watch this scene is that Anna says that she kept Robin's identity a secret but she gave Robin his last name on her birth certificate. Isn't Anna supposed to be a world class spy or can she really just not put 2 & 2 together?

Edited April 29, 2017 by cmahorror

[Vera]

Two things about the above clip:

1) Anna, Robert and Duke meet Tracy Quartermaine!!!

2) 'I think Duke's being extremely generous sharing his wife with her ex'! I really love the R/A/D dynamic. 

[MissL]

Awww look at all of them!!! I miss this show. And that clip just helps me remember why I was always a Robert/Anna fan and never got the Duke thing...or Katherine. I will say Duke was awfully nice to Robert in this clip.  Has to be close to Duke's death because if I remember right Robert and Katherine aren't together that long before he breaks it off and starts in with Anna. But I was young and mostly watched during summer break (before VCR came into our house) so they may have been together longer than I saw them.

[Vera]

3 hours ago, MissL said:

Awww look at all of them!!! I miss this show. And that clip just helps me remember why I was always a Robert/Anna fan and never got the Duke thing...or Katherine.

You know, I was watching some of the '87 clips again and it's soon after DnA break up the first time and Anna is adamant that they are not getting back together. But for some reason, everyone seems to be pushing them back together. They were also playing a lot with RnA that summer. 

I could never get into Duke either. It always felt like Anna had to lose a part of herself with Duke. Between the mob, his constant lying and the cheating, I thought Anna had to suddenly lose a few of her brain cells to be with him. Not a lot different from the past couple years really. Only that then Duke wasn't a mob ass kisser and actively wanted out of it. Duke was also always so insecure. I felt so bad for Anna here:

 

Quote

I will say Duke was awfully nice to Robert in this clip.  Has to be close to Duke's death because if I remember right Robert and Katherine aren't together that long before he breaks it off and starts in with Anna. But I was young and mostly watched during summer break (before VCR came into our house) so they may have been together longer than I saw them.

Duke died in March or April of 89 I think. Robert and Katherine start dating officially in the summer and end in a year. RnA are together Feb of '91.

Here, have another clip I adore:

[Pete Martell]

 

[Pete Martell]

[Pete Martell]

[Pete Martell]

That opening scene is a chiller.

Norma Connolly was always such a lovely understated actress. A nice performance from Bob Hastings too (for a criminal mastermind he was a pretty decent guy...).

I don't know who the nurse is in this but she annoys me. 

I wonder if they made a bet with David Groh on how many times he could say "Ginny Blake."

Sometimes you forget about just how much the world has changed until you get to the part where they painstakingly tell us that maybe with the help of "computers" they can find Luke and Laura...

Edited May 22, 2017 by Pete Martell

[Cheyanne11]

Oh, Susan Moore's cottage!  I loved that set.  

[statsgirl]

I guess I'm not the only one doing a re-watch of the Asian Quarter escapes.  I'm amazed at how much fun it was compared to today's episodes. There was suspense, there were clues, and there were people being smart and doing different things.

I'm also surprised at how much K McC's Robin is a real player in the storyline, not just the usual child of today who looks soundlessly or mouths a couple of lines, or endlessly opens up his magic box to show the chimera stamp.  I was also surprised later by how nice Catherine and Anna were to each other.  None of that Carly catfighting stuff.

This clip amused me.  Demi Moore is so very, very bad and at about the 3:40 mark Ensign Sulu shows up as a potential bad guy.

[Pete Martell]

5 hours ago, statsgirl said:

This clip amused me.  Demi Moore is so very, very bad and at about the 3:40 mark Ensign Sulu shows up as a potential bad guy.

That's Robyn Bernard (oddly enough she does look a bit like Demi there).

I didn't know George Takei was on the show. It must have been odd for an actor to go from a big budget film series to what many would call a stereotype, but work's work. 

Tia Carrere was around at this time too wasn't she? Was she any good on GH? I know she didn't depart under happy circumstances. 

[Pete Martell]

Jessie's last Christmas. 

Dawn/Decker fans must have been so upset to go from these promos to a horrific murder months later. 

[Melgaypet]

Now this is an interesting scene that I don't recall ever seeing before. I can't imagine something so quiet and yet with so much depth as this ever appearing on today's show. Also featuring: Adorable wee Lucky, Jason Q being outwitted by his intellectual superiors, and an epic love affair!

[SlovakPrincess]

That may not have been her in that clip, but yes, Demi Moore was quite bad on GH.  Might've been her youth at the time, the fast pace of soap acting, or maybe she simply wasn't trying all that hard because she was already getting noticed for movies.  

But it was probably at least in part because the Jackie character wasn't well written even for the year she got to be a heroine, and then the writers turned her into an unreasonable jerk.  Kind of a chicken / egg thing -- did the writers destroy Jackie and Demi started phoning it in, or did the showrunners get mad at Demi for some reason and then choose to wreck Jackie?  Or was she always supposed to be unlikeable (probably not, since they gave her so much screen time with Luke and Robert at first)?

[Pete Martell]

This cracks me up.

 

[Pete Martell]

Emma Samms talks a bit about losing her brother, charity work, being accepted by GH audiences, and also how they changed Holly's "death" due to fan backlash. I think I'd heard some of you talk about the latter before but it was interesting hearing her talk about it.

[SlovakPrincess]

Aww, she seems nice!   

But those earrings ... ouch!  My earlobes hurt just looking at them, lol.

[Pete Martell]

 

Their use of organ music in these years was very clever.

[dubbel zout]

It sounds cheesy now, but it's a better sting that what we get today.

[Pete Martell]

31 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

It sounds cheesy now, but it's a better sting that what we get today.

I remember reading in one of the old soap books that they were very experimental and creative in using organ music (by this time the other soaps had pretty much given it up). They mentioned the comedic organ music used when Lucille would be walking into a scene, etc. 

[Pete Martell]

 

What a mess. 

Lila telling Alan and Tracy she's enjoying herself and the bits with Felicia fighting being locked away just because she's a woman are the standouts for me...the actual woman holding the gun not so much.