Dateline Port Charles: O Charmin-baum

Previous thread:

When is Shearoun Stiegele debuting as nuAudrey??

Is Britt going to suicide in front of all her pals at her birthday bash? How about a murder-suey with Austin?

I'm going to suicide if they don't wrap up this story. Liesl and Nina moaning about it in the boxing gym is fucking embarrassing.

I’m loving Spencer and Cam with their floppy longish hair.

Tabyanna's goodbye tweet to Rory actor:

"Good luck in your future endeavors."

Ouch!

I guess she didn't like the pairing either.

I wonder if there'll be repercussions for tweeting that before he's actually killed on-screen? Oh who am I kidding, I don't care. She needs to go away, too. She looked like a five year old standing next to Joss yesterday.

I agree, between the annoying hoarse baby voice and her stature she just comes off as a little kid in every scenario, friends, family and potential love interests.

Cameron actor also tweeted "was a pleasure my man" to Rory actor. I don't recall them ever sharing a scene but was definitely a warmer sentiment than Tabyana's.

Ha ha ha to that mini person homophobe who played Rory. Good fucking riddance. And that baby voiced Trina can follow him out the door.

Between the opening title & description of this thread and the comments from R7, R8 & R9, it's already more interesting than watching the show 😆 btw, in the latest released ratings for the week of 11/21-11/25, GH is down 62,000 viewers, which could be written off as a holiday week, except Y&R is up 91k while B&B is up 195k for that same week. On a brighter note, GH is experiencing "Season Highs" overall, however, going by their current weekly ratings, they can't afford to sink further away from the Bell soaps than they already are. Frank will do another headwriter swap before he'll allow himself to take the heat lol

Today was good old fashioned soapyness. Punching, stabbing, longing stares,flatlining.

MC's entire acting repertoire consists of dead-eyed blinking and staring.

Does FV have an alcohol or substance problem? Why does he make such poor casting decisions?

Frank is long overdue to be fired. That’s bullshit that only he can manage the budget. We change presidents every 4 or 8 years but there’s no one else in the world who can manage a soap opera budget???? Please.

How were they able to determine that the hook killer is attempting to kill anyone connected to Joss, when it's clearly ppl that are connected to Trina? Her mentor Ava, Joss (which ended up being Brando), her lawyer Diane, the guy who could've helped Trina's case, now her boyfriend Rory. Joss isn't even acting like anyone who has a killer after them, for she's too wrapped up in Dex and hiding it from Cameron. If it's the other lawyer in Trina's case, then that's a weak copout. If anything, the idea some of you had where Trina has somewhat of an alternate identity who's breaking from reality and is stabbing ppl without any knowledge of it is intriguing, however I don't think the writers nor the actress can handle a story of that magnitude.

R12 There's a longstanding rumor that Frank likes the booger sugar lol however you can take that with a grain of salt, or in this case, sugar.

I'm going to take a "stab" in the dark and say that the Hooker is Finn's dad, Gregory Harrison. Motivation? Because all the stories have to revolve around Finn.

I wouldnt mind if someone would hook Finn. I can't stand him. Couldn't stand him on OLTL and I can't stand him now.

[quote]I'm going to take a "stab" in the dark and say that the Hooker is Finn's dad, Gregory Harrison. Motivation? Because all the stories have to revolve around Finn.

That would explain why they put Gregory Harrison on contract back in August.

If Finn's dad is the Hookler, they needed to make sure he was available when it came time for the reveal.

MC still horsing around with Mo. I'm disappointed in Kin fraternizing with these two. Comments are turned off probably due to the firing rumors.

Is that Mo's house?

The show plays fast and loose with timelines, but it seems pretty clear from this stabbing that Trina was elsewhere when it happened. It also probably would have been too difficult to for this actress to portray that Trina had a schizophrentic break.

They've also made it clear that the killer is a woman. Now seems they're going back to the easiest answer - the asst DA who tried to get Trina in jail

[quote]Is Britt going to suicide in front of all her pals at her birthday bash?

Reminds me of the film "It's My Party" starring Eric Roberts and GH's very own Gregory Harrison as his love interest. The Eric Roberts character is stricken with terminal AIDS and decides to have one last bash before he ends it, which he does, surrounded by all his friends and loved ones. Not literally in front of them, he sneaks off to his bedroom to do it, but still.

I'm sticking with the Assistant DA as the hook theory, as lame as it is. The whole story has been lame.

I will say, the last few minutes yesterday were actually pretty compelling, even though I don't care about anyone involved.

I hope NLG does get canned so she can write her bridge-burning book and never work again.

The fact that NLG refuses to do Cassadine storylines alone should be grounds for her dismissal or at least downgrade to recurring.

Last year they did a comical Cassadine Thanksgiving where they ALL got together and bickered. I was hoping they would make it a yearly tradition but no such thing this year. NLG driven decision?

Nik was especially catatonic today during his big divorce scene.

Actors act and writers write. No actor should be able to dictate what stories they do. Fire Nancy if she refuses to comply.

Catatonic is the perfect description of MC. Send him back to the sea org.

[quote]Actors act and writers write. No actor should be able to dictate what stories they do. Fire Nancy if she refuses to comply.

Absolutely! No actor should ever have storyline approval, much less have the power to rewrite dialogue.

Will both of these babies survive? At first, it looks like Esme's baby would be the goner, but the child already has stronger GH legacy ties - Cassadine, grandchild of Ryan and Heather Webber, Kevin, etc.

The other baby might die of boredom being the offspring of Michael and Willow. And storyline-wise, the child is still just another Wiley.

When Diane was attacked in Brando's garage, she said the hooker was wearing something like a jangly charm bracelet. Well, last week Heather was describing just such a chain that she took from the cabin when she left, with the "charms" being little souvenirs (from his victims, I assume) Ryan was keeping on the chain. Now let's see if she's missing a large gold hoop earring...

We'll see if the writers even remember the charm bracelet. What's it been, 3 years since Avery found the heart necklace in the woods? And that mother/daughter mess still isn't resolved.

Heather was referring to a charm that Esme used to track down her birth father, Ryan.

We saw that Esme was still trapped in the tower so she can't be the hooker

Of course Esme isn't the hooker. Someone in production likes her.

After Frank decided that Nelle and Michael had too much chemistry to pursue the "Nelle is Carly's daughter given away in Florida" story, thus avoiding revisiting the classic Carly destroys Bobbie's life, I have ZERO belief that GH can pull off an interesting maternity/paternity story. Making Heather and Ryan Esme's parents is a fanboy copout.

[quote]Heather was referring to a charm that Esme used to track down her birth father, Ryan.

Yes, but it was just one piece of the whole. Heather said that when E was a baby she reached up and grabbed at the chain, yanking off one of the dangling charms. It sounded like H still has the rest of it. Even if she's not the hooker, this chain could still cause a lot of trouble since they implied the charms were souvenirs of Ryan's victims. Maybe Heather gets blamed for some of Ryan's kills, or offers it up to cut a deal for herself.

Alan Sarapa and Frank Valentini write this show. Co- headwriters!

what a bitch

Fuck Coloma. Who needs future employment when they can just shit where they eat? He will not be missed.

Bring back Adam Huss.

I really hope Ava (or Esme or Liz or Spencer) puts Nikolas out of his dumb misery.

Adios! Au Revoir! Auf wiedersehen!

Go back to the sea org or thetan headquarters in Clearwater, you lame excuse for an actor.

[quote]Marcus Coloma has been written out of General Hospital, according to set side sources. The actor, who joined the soap as Prince Nikolas Cassadine in 2019, reportedly declined to film his final scenes after learning he'd been let go.

Why doesn't surprise me that he's refusing to film his final scenes.

His firing is three years overdue.

Nikolas should be on canvas. They’d be stupid not to have a recast on deck.

MC wasn’t right for the role but you have to admit, his Nikolas got really shitty writing from the start.

Kirsten Storms, Sleepy Monaco, Duelly, Willow actress, Michael Easton and Roger Howarth should be axed next.

So dancing with Mo doesn't guarantee job security?

Why is Michael Fairman tagging MC in the announcement? Makes it difficult to express a negative opinion. I suppose that's the point since so far only compliments for MC. Fairman trying to get MC some sympathy? Fairman have a crush?

Well, Phyllis is still alive after all.

If Maura doesn't tweet well wishes to MC I will take that as confirmation the rumors they had a falling out are true.

Frank is no dummy. This kind of BTS drama distracts online commenters from the fact that TPTB have no idea how to wrap up the hook story, deal with Sprina's lack of chemistry, or how to write Joss's reaction to Dex having been born Danielle.

That’s a pretty dumb assumption, R45. First, she’s hardly ever on Twitter. Second, you have no idea what’s been said to who and when bts. I wish folks would stop using social media as the center of everything. Plain and simple, they cycled out his contract like they did with Emme Rylan recently and Becky Herbst back in 2011, except Becky’s firing caused a major backlash.

Are they killing Nik off?

[quote]Are they killing Nik off?

I doubt it, but they may have him go disappear for an extended time to Cassadine Island or some such. Between Esme's imprisonment, the taped confession that Ava is holding and Heather and Ryan's vow to make him pay, he has plenty to run away from right now.

r47, I was thinking the same thing about you! It's pretty dumb of you to assume that I value your opinion.

Watros is really slipping into Annie Dutton mode. Her raised voice and exaggerated expressions are a lot.

I want Marcus Coloma inside me - quite deeply!

With Nina telling Phyllis how important she is and saying "what would I do without you" I'm wondering if Phyllis is about to get hooked. Or maybe she is the hooker.

Shocking news! Sonya Eddy, who played Epiphany, has died!!! She was only 55 years old.

No cause of death has been reported yet.

Wow!

RIP Sonya…just when Epiphany was getting a promotion and a boyfriend. She’ll be missed.

Very sad. Loved Epiphany. Have always wanted the current regime to feature her more.

And Sonya had so much personality. She will be missed.

Dibs on her scrubs.

And as usual, no cause of death given.

What happened? I'm assuming an illness, a heart attack or maybe an accident. Damn.

Anorexia, Rose.

She had a fat ass but she couldn't live forever.

R.I.P. to Sonya Eddy she was an amazing talent.

Bob Iger's intentions to spin ABC/ESPN away from Disney next year could be a good thing for GH, since that may bring more creativity without having to be directly under the Disney umbrella of virtues lol however it could also mean GH possibly going to a streaming service, such as Hulu. Frank will obviously still have storyline control though maybe this will keep Disney from directly controlling stories as well.

Well I’m sure the weight didn’t help.

Jmo, an organization for Scientology accused Disney of being hypocrites in 2018, during the Shiloh cult storyline, followed by Frank's "refusal" to give Michelle a raise (and instead asked her to take a pay cut) in 2019, resulting in her becoming irate with him while jumping ship to Y&R (where her friend Josh Griffith paid her what she wanted) combined with bts executive changes over the summer, prior to Johnny Wactor's exit, then Bob Iger's return, and now Marcus exiting, it's not too far of a reach for everyone who's connecting this to Scientology lol. Not saying the incident with Maura couldn't have been a reason, however the Scientology peddling has seemed to be a problem. Johnny Wactor was also accused of being an asshole to certain ppl, and he was a part of this group of "good old boys" that consisted of Mo, Steve, Ingo and Marcus, and look who's the last man standing lol

Has Chrissy Metz released a statement yet?

Sorry to hear about Sonya Eddy. She was one of the few things about the show that I liked.

The show already has several alternatives ready to easily to recast Nic, but it would be very difficult for them to recast Epiphany, so it's likely that the character also will die But it speaks volumes of how talented and memorable Sonya was.

They’re definitely not going to recast. Sure she was a fan favorite but that would be a waste. Kill her onscreen and do a decent send off for the character.

Maybe she'll go to medical school at Harvard and then practice in a needy community.

They should take Hatman with her whatever they do.

According to TMZ, she died from an infection after surgery.

And Austin, Fat Maxie and Finn too R72

Agreed Epiphany's death should be on-screen sometime Feb/Mar, doubt they'll recast. It'll also give Hatman more storyline with other characters mourning her as well, or they might wait to have her death near their Nurse's Ball, where she'll be honored.

Maybe they'll give her job to Elizabeth so we can stop hearing about how poor she is.

So were Octavia and Sonya scissor sisters? Neither ever married. Hmmmmmm. What a visual!

R9 How is the Rory actor a homophobe?

Also, what are the odds they bring back Tyler Christopher (the one and ONLY NC)?

They need someone with gravitas and a commanding presence in the Nik role.

Tyler burned bridges and caused a lot of production problem$ with his behavior. However, stranger re-hires have happened in soap history and on tv in general (i.e. Charlie Sheen). The fact that DOOL hired him after GH despite his problems being known speaks to ratings being the number one concern and a multitude of sins being forgiven in the pursuit of ratings. Of course DOOL regretted it...

I suppose there is a very slim chance they might give TC a limited opportunity that stipulates he be accompanied by a sober coach and only on a recurring basis as opposed to contract so they aren't locked in with him. His looks have faded so some of the attraction is gone. He looked rather dumpy on Mo's youtube show, in my opinion. Actually, his looks had faded even before he left GH, bloated, sweaty and looking older than his years. Personally, I'd rather they find someone else and make a sound decision this time not just who Maura liked kissing or whatever her lame reason for wanting MC was.

Unpopular opinion, but they'd be fine killing this character off. If this show still wrote dramatic stories, it would give Genie, Chavez, West and others, lots of meaty material, and months of story around wills, property, co-habitating on the island, etc. Coloma (and the writing) has ruined Nik for me.

Has Genie lost any weight yet? They dress her in ‘slimming’ black all the time. Remember when she bitched about Carol Scott shaking her head at Genie’s weight?

Adam Huss was a perfectly acceptable Nikolas when he subbed a few weeks back.

Competent actor. Could play subtext. Had the physical presence to play Nikolas and was the right age (ie. he wasn't a scrawny looking man who appeared to be five years older than Spencer).

Huss was and would be great. Let's see what Frank decides.

Alan wants Jordi Vilasuso as NuNuNik so that’ll probably end up happening.

Who is Alan?

I know R85 is probably a troll, but Jordi would actually be great. 41 is the perfect age, and he's got the chops.

It feels like they’re writing Nik off, though. The character is backed into an irredeemable corner. His scenes opposite Spencer yesterday were incredibly sad (mostly because Chavez is so good, but still).

You know the actress who plays Phyllis killed Sonya Eddy so that she could get Epiphany's storylines. The quickest way to becoming a doctor and gaining a love interest (Hat Man).

Alan is Alan Sarapa, the social media HOTTIE (my god he’s gorgeous, lol) who knows everything about soaps, along with equally HOT CaseySHutch ( a FAT slob). These twitter queens should shut the fuck up. They embarrass themselves.

So Maura and Marcus had an affair that went bad????? WOW!!!!

^^^I wouldn't be surprised. Her over the top defense of him in the beginning and cheerleading him on social media calling him her "prince" was too much.

A DLer reported a few years ago that LW was able to get the Dillon actor fired just for refusing her advances. An affair gone wrong with a lead actress would definitely result in the newbie getting canned.

Whatever the case, I'm glad blandy mcblanderson MC is gone.

Also, ABC better be on standby, the scientologists are a litigious bunch....

YES ! Phyllis in as new head nurse!

It wouldn't be too farfetched for Jordi Vilasuso to play Nik, seeing how Frank loves to dip from the Y&R/AMC wells. If anything, I can see Adam Huss filling in again to finish Marcus' exit scenes, then Nik being brought back down the line with him or someone else in the role. The temp actors aren't always the permanent recast however there are exceptions to every rule.

Esme as Heather and Ryan's offspring would've worked better with Robin Mattson, for I could actually see her as a mini combination of both actors, casting wise.

If Phyllis applies for the Head Nurse job, she better not stand at the top of any stairs with Liz around.

So was Epifany having the FAT surgery??

R96 Your post needs classic organ music at the end.

Sure was a lot of Disney merchandise in yesterday's episode.

Slight tangent: this Donny and Marie special with none other than Lady Geary.....trying valiantly to land a note or two.

This never fails to make me laugh

I find it curious that Kin Shriner follows Scott Baio on twitter.

Isn't Kin gay? Yeah, yeah I know, Kin's "girlfriend" plays the blonde waitress at the Metro Court but that doesn't mean anything in Hollyweird.

Good ep today! Lots of laugh out loud moments coupled with all the Christmasy feelz.

The writers couldn't have been more prescient about the current weather conditions.

There is NO reason for Howarth to still be on this show. You could literally see him glowering in the background today. Put him out of his (and our) misery.

Frank should have a surplus in the budget now that Nik Manuel-Miranda is gone. He couldn't spring for a live baby?

When does Tony Geary prance back onstage? He committed to coming back for the 60th.

Today’s episode was terrible. I miss the real Q days. Edward, Alan, Tracy, Lila and the staff - who really made the holiday episodes so entertaining. Was Monica upstairs sleep? Geez.

And holy shit, does wardrobe even bother with KSt anymore? Hilarious little Georgie begged her to not be “fashionably late.” Maxie looked like shit. The slathered on makeup, the cheap 15 piercings in each ear, bad roots, NO NECK. Recast already.

I love how Olivia mentioned Monica was upstairs and still not feeling well at the beginning of the episode. Then they have the fucking Virgin Mary screaming her fucking ass off giving birth with 3 other doctors trying to delivery a baby. Monica didn't hear any of the commotion? BTW Maxie looks like shit all the time, I was hoping the private jet was going to crash because they forgot to de-ice the wings!

deliver not delivery

I’ve heard LC wants to retire completely. I know she had a fall a few months ago. It’s time to make some kind of decision about the character if she can’t/ won’t return for episodes every now and then.

And KSt can barely talk with that thick tree trunk that’s replaced her neck. She’s very difficult to look at.

Maybe Monica and Epiphany should run off together offscreen.

I was only half paying attention and was surprised to see Ellie Trout. Has she even been on once in a decade? And is she shacking up with Griffin? These writers just pull shit out of their ass all the time.

Is Griffin coming back?

Did Lezzy Charleson and Sonja ever bump pussies???

Have they acknowledged Sonya's death yet? I keep looking up the actors on IG to see who's posting about it. MB hasn't. LW liked a comment. Ryan Carnes liked a comment. Finola, Amy the nurse, and someone else who can't remember made nice posts. And some cast members from "Those Who Can't" did as well

I noticed tributes for Sonya from co-stars on twitter from Britt, Liesl, Nurse Amy, Felix and the other nurse whose name I don't know and Mrs. Wu.

The only acknowledgements Marcus Coloma got of his sacking were from Maurice and Finola. No Maura, No Genie, No Chavez, No Avery, No Charles Shaughnessy who is constantly on twitter. No one. Nada.

Wasn't even aware that LW liked a comment about it lol since she didn't say anything. I know ppl grieve differently except there was an outpouring from Steve (Jason), Finola (Anna), Nancy (Alexis), Kelly T. (Britt), Lisa (Olivia), Kim (Robin) with Kirsten (Maxie) & Lexi (Kristina) commenting under Kim's tribute, also Sebastian (Jerry) from what I'm remembering without looking so there may be more, although nothing I've seen from Maurice.

About Marcus lol alot of ppl are rubbed the wrong way when someone has a heavy involvement in Scientology. Others have mentioned it here; not everyone's interested in it & lots of ppl consider it a cult.

I'm regifting a Christmas gift to you all 😃 these are soap opera blind items from Soap Opera Digest, courtesy of Soap Opera Network:

1. Regarding the performer terrorizing the show's cast/crew, including "unleashing their fury on. producers, directors, and other crew," the. magazine notes, "Staff does their best to avoid. contact, but co-stars and key departments are. forced to smile and play nice to not upset. production. It's a tense situation."

2. With COVID testing and positive outcomes becoming a regular part of our everyday lives, it's a wonder why "This soap is keeping a lid on which cast member, who figures prominently in a current storyline, [that] tested positive for Covid and had to quarantine at home."

3. According to the magazine, "An actor declined to name his/her significant other, although that person's identity is prominently displayed on social media." The answer is maybe too evident if you ask us.

4. A leading lady on her soap is threatened by the "rising storyline prominence of a more recent hire."

5. Meanwhile, two familiar faces will be "on this soap in the coming weeks."

no 2 puzzles me... why would that be a big deal anymore??

no 3 is the guy who plays Adam on Y&R, the actress who plays Sally is all over his SM

I’d say no. 4 is Sharon Case and Melissa Claire Egan from Y&R or Eden McCoy and Tabyana Ali from GH.

4. B&B's Brooke jealous of NuTaylor.

R121 I think it's because the vaccination policies aren't in place on the Sony produced shows, so they are possibly trying to avert any negative press/attention they could receive by reporting on a positive case. GH is the only soap where there's constant reporting on an actor/actress contracting Covid, which up until recently had the vaccine mandate. It's tough to believe that GH is the only soap where they're still catching it.

The first blind item is young Mr. Chavez.

r116 LW tweeted "💔💔" in reply to a tweet confirming SE's death.

I guess I could've looked for it but...This is nice.

Also, this guy gets A LOT of flack here but this fucker is HOTTTT

Poor Sonya had the anorexia.

Sarah Joy Brown will be on Mo's show next Sunday, Jan 1st.

I wonder what her mental health issue is or if she's going to instead talk about her daughter's father blackballing her career. What happened with her on Cold Case? Was she too difficult or did her ex have a hand in her dismissal? A few years ago all she talked about on SM was how he sabotaged her career.

Also, I thought SJB had issues with MB and SB. They must have resolved their differences or she just needs exposure.

Hmmm...

Scoche Marin (Kay Chancellor, Y&R) refuses to go on Mo’s show. He has invited her so much that she has changed her phone number.

She’s rarely on Twitter but I would have liked to hear something from Becky Herbst. She worked with Sonya the most and both have mentioned in multiple interviews how good friends they were. I understand not everyone has to take everything to social media though.

Has Genie been on Mo’s show yet? That’s an episode I’d watch.

r130 Has Vanessa Marcil been on yet? Lord knows she has plenty of issues she could talk about.

Months ago Mo said Vanessa was filming an episode.

R134 Sarah never really had serious issues with Maurice or Steve, she had slight disagreements with them, and she later vented about how there was a pay discrepancy when it came to her getting paid less than the both of them, though she didn't fault either one. Any issues with MB or SB were not nearly to the extent of her main issues with Wendy Riche, Bob Guza and Tony Geary, then in more recent years, Vanessa Marcil (they fell out after being friends for years). Tamara had the most issues with Maurice and Steve out of all the Carly's lol (along with her also having serious issues with Guza and Jill Farren Phelps).

Sarah's mental issues seemed to stem from being gaslighted by her ex, even if she had underlying issues before, he brought them to the surface. Some were saying she had somewhat of a mental breakdown and needed to stay away from social media outlets. He blackballed her career in soaps particularly with Sony and especially outside of soaps; she quit GH both times on her own, and she also quit ATWT, however things got a little tricky at Sony with B&B/Days (B&B dropped her from contract to recurring after a little over a year, in a "storyline dictated decision" then she was out almost immediately after that. She was fired from DAYS in yet another "storyline dictated decision" as a result of a hw change and Sony refused to rehire her at B&B or at Y&R). Sarah stated that Sony didn't want her on their shows as a result of being blackballed.

Yes Sarah was fired from Cold Case. They told her that she wasn't exactly a good fit without any further explanations given. Her termination was most likely because of her ex.

What were the issues between Tamara and Mo/Steve?

Is that part of the reason she left Dool so she would not have to deal with SB?

Sorry R134 that was meant for R130 (what was posted at R137)

R138 Tamara fell out with Steve and Maurice when their backstage antics and politics didn't exactly align or sit well with hers (tanking scenes; trying to get ppl fired; the favoritism they received, etc.) although she was close with Ted King (Lorenzo) who was another person that Maurice didn't particularly care for, and Alicia Leigh Willis (Courtney), so it was pretty cliquish when it came to Maurice/Steve's crew against Tamara's with Ted & Alicia's. However, Tamara has seemed to somewhat resolved her issues with them by the time she returned in 2017 (even though she was cast as Kim, Frank/ABC were planning to bring her back as Carly, for in early 2016, Laura Wright had planned to quit GH and join Y&R in the Fall of 2017, when her contract was up, however when her friend Jill Farren Phelps was fired from Y&R a year prior, that derailed her plans so she stayed at GH, so Kim was made for her, and she eventually fell out with Frank over the direction they took Kim in, resulting in her contract not being renewed) so no that's not the reason why she's leaving Days.

Maurice openly admitted to bullying Tamara in his book to the point where he made her cry. They were cool until Carly fell for Lorenzo and that pairing became a bigger hit with viewers than Sam and Sonny. He would trash the storyline/pairing to her face and one day she burst into tears. Ted King also said things changed bts during that story. He was friends with Mo up until that point.

I guess I'm naïve, because I really don't understand what an actor could get from "tanking" scenes. What's the benefit?

Can input from fans affect story arcs, casting/recasting?

Fans seemed to like Rebecca Budig's Hayden, but they canned her twice. People detested Wes Ramsey's Peter, but they kept him through his entire contract. Fans disliked Coloma as Nik, but I think his firing is more a result of backstage antics than what the audience wants. I've read that focus groups are what made Sonny the king of Port Charles, and we've been paying for that for decades.

R141 Correct I didn't read his book however those stories were legendary on the old soap message boards, where insiders would share bts gossip, storyline scoops, casting news before they made it to the mainstream soap media, everything in between. Maurice was jealous of CarLo taking off and yes Sonny & Sam flopped (similarly to how Jax & Sam flopped before them, only for Sam to finally take off in a pairing and shed somewhat of her image if being labeled as "yet another Brenda Bot" with Jason, breaking up Jason/Courtney, which actually had a fan base of their own. Jason/Elizabeth, Jason/Brenda had their legions of fans too, even though Jason/Brenda were a marriage of convenience and not actually a couple, had Vanessa chose to stay, they were going for a Brenda/Jason/Carly/Sonny/Skye/Jax sextet of sorts). Jason has always had more popular pairings than Sonny; Maurice wasn't expecting CarLo's popularity to be as big as it was; Guza had Carly & Sonny reunite (Guza and Tamara clashed- he hardly ever wrote in her favor; Chuck Pratt was her friend so he would do his best to write more favorably for Carly, as would Elizabeth Korte, who's always been a fan of Carly's, no matter who played her). That's when the Kristina paternity lie came out, and Sonny dumped Carly seemingly "for good" only for Sonny to then eventually meet and fall in love with Reese, which Maurice was hoping would be a big romance for Sonny, only for them to flop too. Jennifer Bransford's Carly would've reunited with Sonny, and he advocated for her to stay, though they were planning to get rid of her all along for Laura Wright, who's Carly was meant for Jax. Skate (Sonny & Kate) and his pairing with Claudia were two pairings that finally gave him buzz again in regards to being in a couple, and obviously of course Brenda's return in 2010.

R142 The benefit of tanking scenes is to not having to continue working with a certain actor or in a particular storyline that isn't exactly to an actor/actresses' liking, so they can tank the scenes in hopes of tanking the pairing and/or story.

R143 Yes especially back in the day. And if the fans are vocal enough it could result in an actor being let go or a storyline dropped. Sometimes it's done on purpose; when Jennifer Bransford was hired as Carly in 2005, it came down to her, Sarah Buxton (Annie, Sunset Beach) and Jamie Luner (Peyton, Savannah). Jill and Brian Frons intentionally chose "the worst" out of the bunch, for Jill had planned to bring Laura on as Carly, however Laura's contract with Guiding Light wasn't up until Fall. To Jill's credit, she did ask Tamara to stay for at least six more months (which was how long it would take for LW to leave GL) however Tamara (who engaged in a screaming match with Jill on set, prior to leaving) refused. Jill then asked Sarah Brown to return for six months, and she refused as well. Jill knew Jennifer wouldn't take off with fans (which she didn't) so by the time it came down to bringing Laura on, fans were practically begging for Jennifer to be out (she did do a good job in Carly's breakdown story, however to some fans, that still wasn't good enough, and they wanted her terminated). Another example is when Guza tried to paint Nikolas and Liz in a bad light with their affair; if you can make a character unlikable enough, it can work to the show's favor in contract negotiations by highlighting how unfavorable they're faring with the public and/or focus groups. It backfired on Guza because Becky & Tyler both had strong fanbases, which really became evident when Becky was fired.

R144 Brian Frons was probably the biggest Rebecca Budig fan 😆 he tried to place her on GH twice- in 05/06 as a Brenda recast, then in 2011 as an Elizabeth recast (the plan was for Liz to have a breakdown, fire Becky Herbst, send Liz off to a sanitarium, then return that Fall as Rebecca Budig, since AMC was being cancelled).

R144 Frank almost cast Rebecca as a recast Robin when KMc didn't want to stay on a full-time basis; Ron had to talk him out of it, convincing him that he couldn't recast Robin, especially since she's been there as a child and practically grew up onscreen with only KMc playing the role. Robin has a huge fan base that would've voiced their opinions about the recast, however when it comes to Frank, he's one of those that doesn't necessarily listen to fans and does what he wants.

Cam is starting to look cuter lol he always had like a boyish look to me now it's starting to be more mature like college boy. They should bring someone else on for him instead of this Joss/Dex situation that seems to be written more in favor of Dex than Cam.

The Niz affair was meant to ruin Liz, R147. Nikolas didn’t get half the shit Liz got from that. From teary-eyed Lucky calling her every name in the book to Lulu publicly slut shaming her at GH. They wanted the viewers to turn on Liz so it would be easier to fire Becky. They had no idea how vocal her fanbase was. The most Rebecca Herbst has talked about this was on SOD’s podcast a few months back during her 25th anniversary. She didn’t name them by name but said Jill, Guza and Frons were “close minded”. She accepted her job back after Jill came to her and said a mistake was mad but made it known she wasn’t happy with how it was all handled. She was also asked to tell her fans to stop writing in/calling and she refused. Frons hated the character of Liz, didn’t understand her popularity. Before he became obsessed with Kelly Monaco, he was a huge Alicia Leigh Willis supporter which caused them to axe Jason/Liz for Jason/Courtney. Jason/Sam reunion in 2009 was also network mandated.

It seems like every writing/producing regime at GH has tried to get rid of Herbst at one time or another. The fact that she's still there is amazing. I'm surprised that she didn't jump ship when it was rumored that Days wanted her to play Abigail Devereaux.

At least with 25 years under her belt, she will have a decent SAG pension.

R151 That's all true except there was a bonus/incentive to use that affair in contract negotiations bts when it came to Tyler, which was referenced back then by insiders. His job wasn't on the line like Becky's, it's just a negotiation tactic that's used. It's happened to actors before him as well as after him, though firing Becky was the main goal with Brian Frons intending to place Rebecca Budig as Liz upon AMC cancellation

R151 Then there was also Gia being swapped for Courtney as Sonny's sister, which was the original intention. Courtney was created by McTavish for Phelps and even named after Phelps real life daughter in 2001, then became a favorite of Frons when he became head in 2002. The running joke was how Frons had a favorite blonde on every ABC soap- Alison on Port Charles, Babe on AMC, Jennifer on OLTL, and Courtney on GH. So Courtney ended up with Elizabeth's love interest and the planned brother for Gia.

R152 Imo, I really believe that she didn't take Days upon their offer as Abigail because she probably thought Days didn't have too much time left, seeing how they were at the bottom of the ratings. They were subject to a few cancellation rumors that she might have felt wouldn't have been in her best interest long-term, knowing she wouldn't have been able to return to GH had Days received a cancellation notice. Then there's also that old saying, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know lol

r154

Had they set up Gia to be Sonny's sister before Courtney cam along? Also who was Gia's brother that ended up with Courtney and I'm assuming Elizabeth's love interest was Jason?

Another thing too is that Maurice actually saved Tamara's job lol Megan McTavish and Phelps were planning to kill Carly off in 2001/2002 for McTavish couldn't stand the character, while Phelps was upset that the network, particularly Felicia Minei-Behr, refused to let her bring over either Gina Tognoni or Robin Christopher from OLTL as Carly after Sarah Brown quit, leading to a casting call which resulted in Phelps hiring Tamara, saying simply how the show must go on. Phelps was ok with McTavish killing Carly off however Maurice wasn't, so he went over their heads to the network and convinced them to keep Tamara/Carly.

The previous head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Michele val Jean, before they were fired in favor of Megan McTavish, wanted Gia to be revealed as Sonny's sister, with Gia being the product of a relationship between Mike and the mother of Gia. I think I may have typed too fast lol I was saying how Jason ended up with Courtney instead of Liz, while Sonny ended up with Courtney as his sister instead of Gia, so Courtney took both Liz and Gia's place in two different storylines

Becky would’ve been better off at Days. I’m thinking she got pretty close to signing in 2016 as a few cast members started following her on social media including Billy Flynn. GH has underutilized her for years.

R159 She was extremely close, even her husband Michael was excited about it, for he felt the same way, that she was being underutilized at GH. Frank was trying to low-ball her with contract negotiations so that's when Days took notice. Frank even had a few in mind as a recast Elizabeth, particularly Melissa Archer (Natalie, OLTL). Becky wasn't one of those that were close to Frank, for they barely spoke the whole four years he was there prior to those negotiations. Becky has always been known to be somewhat shy and quiet, so she wasn't always up under him like his "niece" Kirsten or besties Kelly Monaco (and former bestie Michelle). If Becky had went over to Days, that would've saved years of the Kate Mansi/Marci Miller back and forth along with Abigail's demise, for I think Becky would've stayed there (not always with Chad, however I think she'd still be there now).

the PR machine at work

Sprina sex scene incoming

Someone is not advising him well. Sprina is expired, and I can see them getting rid of the girl this year.

Teenagers don't watch GH. The fans paying $20 for the fan club must be scary fraus or sketchy gays.

R161 Lol using that old "fulfilled their contract" excuse. Frank is notorious for not renewing certain actors contracts, leaving them blindsided (Billy Miller, Tamara Braun, William de Vry- although there were rumors his wasn't being renewed, among others) or forcing them out by either lowballing or not giving them what they want anymore (Michelle Stafford, etc.)

MS was never going to stay at GH. The Dawn of Day story just made her leave sooner than planned. They screwed Gina Tognoni over big time.

LINK------>>Coloma is making excuses for NOT filming final GH scenes. Of course he claims he was "exposed" to covid. What a coincidence. On the same day you got your walking papers?

I cannot believe Nick C has a patreon. Low Rent. Having said that, I WOULD subscribe to his OF.

R165 Dawn of Day is what started the process to drive her out lol however when it came down to negotiations, she went to Frank asking for a pay raise, while Frank asked her to take a paycut, and wanted to slash her wardrobe budget (which was the highest). Frank wanted her gone by the time came for her to renegotiate her contract, or at least have her stay at a reduced rate, for he had grown tired of Michelle (allegedly) and was aware the backlash Nina had continuously received. Michelle was so livid with Frank that she called her good buddy Josh Griffith at Y&R after a "rumored" argument with Frank (which was probably built up from Dawn of Day lol along with the negotiations).

Gina T. definitely got screwed; her Phyllis had caught on with fans (more than Nina had caught on with GH fans) and some were not happy about Michelle returning to Y&R (including some of her co-workers; one being Sharon Case) though Josh gave her everything she wanted and wasn't going to get from Frank.

However, it should be noted that Sharon seems fine with her now since Michelle's return, similarly to how Maura West is good with her now, even though Michelle couldn't stand Maura most of the time when they were on Y&R together, and when Maura first came to GH. Michelle has a pattern of falling out/making up with co-stars, particularly females that are around her age ( she usually gets along fine with the younger ones, who ppl have accused her of trying to groom towards Scientology)

Btw lol when Michelle left Y&R for GH, it was because she didn't like Jill Farren Phelps and wanted to escape from her lol so that's when Frank (and Ron) got her on GH in a "surprise" industry move. Although there were familiar faces who auditioned for Phyllis (Laura Leighton, Sydney from Melrose Place and Jamie Luner, Peyton from Savannah/Liza AMC) Jill chose her friend Gina, who was actually flying in from the East Coast during her run. Gina was still there under Mal Young and would still most likely be there now if not for Michelle/Josh Griffith. When Michelle left GH, Frank was considering casting either Eden Riegel (Bianca, AMC) or Alicia Minshew (Kendall, AMC) as Nina, with insiders laughing at both presumed decisions, saying how they were both too young to be Nina. That's when Cynthia entered however she wasn't first choice.

Nina would've been a perfect two-year character. Awakes from coma, discovers misdeeds done by her lover and mother, fakes paralysis, exacts revenge, and is murdered in a whodunit, with a long list of suspects. After eight years, she's exhausting.

KT is getting a bigger, longer, more dramatic sendoff than Tony Geary. I like her as much as the next guy, but it's a bit excessive.

R166 😆 yeah especially since he just had it. Not to say he couldn't have contracted it agan however the spin isn't working because A) if someone quit on their own, why unfollow everyone, B) why dissociate yourself from your former job, and C) make a video where you seemed sad and in shock about leaving.

R167 😆 not low rent. I think he'd have to be off GH to do an OF though lol that's probably where you'll find former soap stars. You might find someone like Bryan Craig over there lol I remember he used to charge fans just to talk to him/ask him anything.

R171 Good point, except they were going off of Michelle then Cynthia portraying her; Frank is more about actor over character, so this is a prime example. Nina would only be insignificant to him if Cynthia were to leave without a "soap name" as a recast, or if he were to somehow get tired of Cynthia (like he did with Billy Miller & Tamara Braun) though Cynthia seems unproblematic.

R171 To your other point, one main difference is that Ron was still the headwriter when Tony quit, and Tony couldn't stand Ron, which Ron was aware of lol so the Fluke story/Luke's background story could've been more than enough of a sendoff for Ron towards someone who didn't like him. Tony, however, did like Frank so I suppose Frank could've pushed for more of a sendoff, though he was more concerned with replacing Ron and saving his own ass since ABC wasn't too happy with the ratings dropping/negative feedback they were receiving (this was in 2015, when GH took a dive, with Maurice leading the mutiny to get Ron fired).

Cynthia was always amazing as Annie on Guiding Light. Glad she found her way back to daytime. Nina was a dead end character until CW took the reins. FYI - She beat Lucci, Zimmer, Davidson, and Jackie Zeman (who had an amazing year)---for the Best Actress Emmy.

I don't disparage Watros or her Emmy win as Annie. But she's still playing Annie on GH.

I cannot see Michelle Stafford playing any of the scenes Nina has had in the past two years. Cynthia has made Nina her own.

Cynthia may still be playing a version of Annie Dutton, but her Nina is a more fully formed character than she ever was while played by Stafford.

Cynthia has taken Nina places Stafford never could. I honestly can't see Stafford able to play any of the Nixon Falls storyline, much less being in love with Sonny.

Nina is actually a flawed but sympathetic heroine. under Cynthia rather than a scheming bitch that she was under Stafford.

We get it, R178 . You like Watros' Nina. Take it over to daytime confidential with the rest of the GH fraustans.

I wish they’d hired a few more extras for Britt’s party but at least they sprang for a real song for karaoke.

Nik: "Mother, you are no match for Victor. Leave it alone."

Laura will kill a bitch, as she's done before. Shaughnessy plays Victor like some theater troupe dandy. That's like Andre reminding the audience the other day that Helena thought Aunt Val was the most lethal of the Cassadines.

Did Tony G ever say why he disliked Ron's writing? It won him an Emmy

I read on a gossip site today that John Stamos got his job at GH back in the day by....wait for it....fucking Gloria Monty.

Has ANYONE ever heard this before?

[quote] Cynthia may still be playing a version of Annie Dutton, but her Nina is a more fully formed character than she ever was while played by Stafford.

She's an improvement over The Staff but we're all waiting for her to have that Annie Dutton Snaps moment. THEN shit will get real and it will be fun.

I’m just gonna say it: I thought Maxie looked cute yesterday and today.

This had to be the episode that finally got Coloma fired He was terrible.

R182 This is from Tony, in his own words, in an exit interview he did with Michael Logan, in 2015, for TV Guide:

ML: In sending you off, GH head writer Ron Carlivati undid two epic events. Mob Don Frank Smith, who was killed by Like, came back from the dead and so did Luke's grandson Jake, whom Like accidentally slaughtered in a car accident. How'd you feel about the revisionist history?

TG: I loved that they brought back Emma Samms [Holly], Genie Francis [Laura], Jonathan Jackson [Lucky] and Nathan Parsons [Ethan] so I could work with them one last time, but I did not like the conceit that brought us all together. It was ill-conceived, cheesy and showed a lack of imagination. We saw Luke shoot Frank in the back over twenty years ago. And by the way, that character was old then. He would have been in his hundreds by now.

ML: And Jake?

TG: The audience saw that little boy dead on the operating table, and his organs were harvested. I do not understand the value of disassembling two of the best stories we've told. I guess the point of bringing the child back from the dead was so Luke could be redeemed, but I never felt he needed that. I hate redemption. I'm sure there are audience members who didn't want him to be a child killer and so they're pleased, which is fine. But I was not thrilled.

R182 To give you an even better idea, when Ron decided to change Ethan's paternity from Luke to Robert, Tony was so upset that he went to over Ron's head and demanded that Ethan stay Luke's. Tony, similar to Maurice, weren't fans of Ron's writing, needless to say. Tony's main issue was Ron's rewriting certain stories, while Maurice's was Ron's supposed unfavorable writing of Sonny.

Here's Maurice's (with Bryan Craig, who was described as his "hype man" lol) comments a couple of weeks after Ron's firing, with Chad Duell there also, at a GH fan club event:

Mo: As you guys know, just to get some deep part then we'll get to some other part....We got rid of the writer. I'm not one to bash but the thing with him was, obviously, he wasn't a fan of mine....and that's a stupid thing.

(With the crowd cheering in the background)

Bryan: You don't cross Sonny. Not Sonny.

Mo: The good news is, moving forward, I gotta tell you there's been some great stuff. So if you guys had any doubt about what's going to happen, I can tell you right now that the future looks so promising. This is the first time in I can't tell you how long that I can't wait to go to work, and work.

The head writer is not the Executive Producer. You know, the captain of the ship, the visionary. If Ron was running wild with story, it was because Frank wasn't paying attention, or didn't care. Tony had nothing but contempt for the audience (and Genie, and likely himself). Fuck him.

And just like ABC mandated that GH do a live show with a wedding and a killing, they probably mandated that Luke be redeemed for Jake's killing. Much as they mandated dialing back the mob elements when they fired JFP. Tony isn't missed, nor would Maurice be if he was gone.

IA the Frank Smith story was stupid. Ethan as Luke’s son never made any sense. And killing Jake was only to go along with firing Herbst.

Geary's entire thing is him being sour and bitter that he wasn't spoken of in the same sentence as Olivier.

He and Kim Zimmer were the two daytime performers who would complain about anything and everything. But Tony was way worse. He didn't like much of anything that wasn't his original story written by Doug Marland and produced by Gloria Monty.

Don't know how I said "Like" twice instead of Luke at R187 😆 and that's true R190 about Ron's storytelling; Frank had to rein him in certain times at OLTL and at GH, sometimes because of Frank not agreeing with certain ideas, network mandates, or even actors complaining. On the other hand, there were times where Ron had to actually rein Frank in at both OLTL and GH as well, with Ron making suggestions to Frank that he felt were necessary, for Frank had out there ideas as well.

It's funny you mentioned Luke & Laura, because he had this to say about that in the same interview:

ML: So we know your high points. What was the low points of your run at GH?

TG: I just get really tired of the whole Luke-and-Laura thing. I think Genie would tell you the same. We've both been dragging the corpse of that relationship around for 30 years. I was able to insist on moving away from it, but being hyphenated as Luke-and-Laura has been a real pain in my ass. It irritates me that, no matter what I did on the show, no matter how many Emmys I won, I could never unhitch from that. Every time I was introduced anywhere in the last 33 years, they'd run the clip of that fucking wedding. It's like having your high school graduation picture dragged out. [Laughs] Nobody wants that! And yes, this is a guy who is biting the hand that has fed him. I fully understand that. I think at age 68 I'm allowed to say these things, and certainly now that I am no longer under contract.

Yeah, well the plumber who retires after 30 years probably doesn't want to relive crawling under people's houses in the dead of winter to unclog shit from frozen pipes, but it paid the mortgage and put food on the table. No sympathy from me.

GH basically gave Britt a tribute since KT leaving but couldn’t put anything together for Stuart Damon or even Rebecca Herbst for 25 years at the show??

I literally said the same thing at the same time as Britt. "Shoot her again." This show fuking sucks.

[quote]GH basically gave Britt a tribute since KT leaving but couldn’t put anything together for Stuart Damon or even Rebecca Herbst for 25 years at the show??

A Stuart Damon tribute is much needed. I agree.

But it would largely depend on the availability of Leslie Charlson. It would be difficult to pull off without her.

Perhaps they are waiting to see how LC's health is.

I’m assuming Tyler Christopher won’t be back but I’d like to see Colin egglesfield as Nik.

I don’t see why wouldn’t have Nik leave town. He’s irredeemable.

I guess I’d rather keep Nik than another Cody or Austin.

Perhaps the show can write off Austin and then bring Roger Howarth back as Nikolas.

Heather being the hook killer might've had more of an impact if she was revealed to be Esme's mother after the audience learned she was the murderer. They pretty much gave it away once she was confirmed as her mother since it gave her motive. Only other option on there was the lawyer who tried to prosecute Trina lol so at least this makes sense.

Heather was pretty inept at hooking, so I hope she's a red herring. Making her the hook seems like a copout.

I mean...was Britt SO impactful that she needed a tribute? That seems overzealous.

R187 You are BRINGING it.

R203 😆 along with how easily she seems to always keep escaping from maximum security, however I think she's now in a minimal security facility. It is a cop out although it makes more sense than the lawyer lol imo it shouldn't be either of them though. Imo, Felicia should've been Esme's mother like they were originally "rumored" to be headed towards, for her being Heather's daughter is also somewhat of a cop out.

R205 Thank you so much sometimes what goes on bts is more interesting than what happens on-screen 😆

R206, this stinks of rewrites. There are several "tells" when a soap story has been changed and this one has all the signs. Someone got cold feet, probably the network.

R208 Which storyline do you think was changed, the hook killer or Esme's maternity? I'm in agreement 100% you can tell when stories are switched midway through the story lol I suppose they think we can't tell or that we will.just get over it since it's fiction. Sometimes it's by Frank other times its mandated by the network, which hinders story and can actually ruin it. I still think ABC made a mistake by not letting Todd Manning return in one of their mandated moves lol

[quote]Which storyline do you think was changed, the hook killer or Esme's maternity?

Both.

I think Heather was brought in as a quick, easy cleanup.

I believe Felicia was going to be Esme's mother, but then they brought Cody on and didn't want Mac and Felicia to both be dealing with an unknown kid storyline. Remember, the show put her back on contract - the was a reason for that. And that reason was Esme, I'd bet anything.

It's also clear they had other plans for the Hook Killer. I'm not sure who the original killer was supposed to be, but this ain't it.

R210 So Heather killed two birds with one stone, or one hook by absolving Felicia and a mystery woman going on a killing spree. I did see them making Esme Felicia's; besides her and Mac both having similar storylines with long lost kids, I think another reason is they possibly didn't want to deal with the ramifications of tying a kid with Ryan to Felicia, which actually seems like a network mandated decision, seeing how Ryan tortured Felicia for years, it sort of fits their non-rapist/victim policy to not tie them to each other. Even though Ryan never raped Felicia, he victimized her, so that most likely didn't sit well with Disney. I also think at one point Trina having an alter through schizophrenia was considered, aiming to kill anyone close to Trina, though that really doesn't seem like something Disney would approve either. Brian Frons was able to approve more of those type of storylines when he was in charge however once he stepped down, there did seem to be more of a change towards less dark stories, which is sad because soaps are known for telling a combination of light & dark (as well as in between) stories. Not saying Frons was the best, however certain stories like Kristina's abusive boyfriend Kiefer or Michael's prison rape wouldn't able to make the airwaves today, which means we're actually moving backwards instead of forward.

I was wondering if they nixed Felicia as Esme’s mom because Kristina Wagner needed time off to grieve the loss of her IRL son.

Didn't he die like a year ago?

He died last June—but considering we learned that Ryan is her dad way back in March, there would have been time to work that in.

Another shitty side bar to bringing on Heather is what about Jeff? They went to the trouble of having Liz kill Finn's wife who Jeff was fucking behind his wife's back 25 years ago, introduce a mother we had never seen, then had Jeff come to PC to make amends or whatever. I think he was there for 2 days? Meanwhile, Heather was reintroduced and brought to the hospital at the same time. Heather was obsessed with Jeff, and even more so with their son, Stephen Lars, 40 years ago. Were there no beats they could play regarding actual history? Sorry, but I still think Alley Mills and the writing are terrible.

I too would like to be cuddled by a tall rich guy in a peacoat.

Looks like a vampire cuddling a troll doll.

Jeff's return might have been better if they'd had him interact with longterm legacy characters who interacted with him when Jeff was a regular on the show in the late 70s, early 80s.

Ideally, he should have had scenes with his ex-wife Monica. But since Leslie Charlson seems to be unavaialble for health reasons, I suppose such scenes would not be possible. But Jeff could have had scenes with Laura and or Scotty.

Also could have made reference to visiting Audrey.

Jeff did have scenes with Heather but those sort of range flat since it wasn't the "real" Heather aka Robin Mattson.

Thanks R218 . I missed his scenes with Heather.

R215 IA and I still think they should've had Cameron Mathison as Steven Lars instead of casting him as Drew. Apparently they feel that Steven Lars isn't necessary enough to be on canvas however he had a close relationship with Liz, a brief dating history with Carly, an even more serious one with Olivia, GH could use another doctor, etc. Even though that would've made him and Rebecca Budig onscreen siblings lol in sort of a reverse situation of Melissa Claire Egan and Billy Miller portraying siblings on AMC then lovers on Y&R, I think some would've looked beyond the whole Ryan/Greenlee angle, especially since Rebecca B. is no longer on GH. This isn't a Liz story, nor a Heather, Jeff or Carolyn story, it's all about Finn, his frustration with Liz, his anger with Jeff. Did he even seem to be upset with his wife for cheating on him lol because she should be at fault too.

R218 Right except this story was meant for Finn. Originally I think it was designated for Liz, especially when they were hinting at her possibly being molested by Jeff, though I feel that Finn had to be integrated more heavily into the story eventually. Imo it's a good thing they had to change it from Jeff being a molester, although their alternative is ridiculous.

So Joss inherited Carly's promiscuous gene apparently lol if Dex turns out to be Brenda's son, I'm wondering if they'll retcon the racecar driver Alexander as his father and somehow make Sonny his dad, although Jax not Sonny was the one who would take trips to visit Brenda before she returned in 2010 iirc. Another angle they could go is when Brenda left Sonny in 2011, she wrote him a letter which I'm not sure if he read, so that could have been an admission of a pregnancy. A Sonny/Brenda offspring involved with one of Jax/Carly would have interesting potential if written right. Dex doesn't physically look the part of a Brenda/Sonny child however the story practically writes itself. Brenda's son was originally supposed to be Dante's and then Ron was considering having her possibly have one with Michael after they had presumably slept together, only for both stories to be nixed, with Maurice "allegedly" vetoing them.

[quote] Perhaps the show can write off Austin and then bring Roger Howarth back as Nikolas.

The essence of that idea makes sense, but Roger and Genie are only 6 years apart......

Certainly Austin ain't working.

Correcting myself at R222 Guza was the one who wanted Brenda's son to be Dante's while Ron wanted Brenda/Michael to have relations with a possible pregnancy.

Lol if Roger Howarth has to start from scratch and come back as another character then he'll be neck and neck with Michael Easton:

ME- John McBain, Stephen Clay, Silas Clay, Hamilton Finn

RH- Todd Manning, Robert "Franco", Austin Gatlin-Holt

[quote]I also think at one point Trina having an alter through schizophrenia was considered, aiming to kill anyone close to Trina, though that really doesn't seem like something Disney would approve either.

That sounds like a great story, but there was no way in hell the Network would have allowed that story.

And for the record, I still think that Brenda slept with Michael the last time she was in town and has a Michael kid waiting in the wings.

Wow, hell of an episode today. Great performances by Gati, Lipton, and West, especially.

Esme went off the parapet AGAIN, survived AGAIN and just so happened to swim in freezing cold water to The Haunted Star? Come on, GH. lol. Not to mention, Heather coming and going as she pleases in a so-called maximum security unisex prison. I hate blatant rewrites and plot point bullshit.

Also, please get rid of the Josslyn actress.

It was a good episode today, and I'm probably in the minority, but can you really blame Joss? I mean just look at Dex. How could you not fuck that?

I hate to admit that I’ve come to actually like Eden McCoy.

R226 Brenda sleeping with Michael and having a baby by him would be interesting lol except Maurice would have to come around since he didn't want them to tell that story the first time, then there's also the fact that LW might have an issue with Carly being a grandmother to one of Brenda's kids, given VM and LW's history of not getting along with each other lol however Maurice was rumored to be the main one who didn't like that story, or the one with Brenda having a son by Dante. It was something about him worrying that it would tarnish the Sonny & Brenda legacy, which he still seems to be holding on to, even though Vanessa hasn't been back in almost ten years. Since it was around the 50th anniversary when that incident with Michael occured, it would be funny if they had her come back with his baby around the 60th 😆

I never thought I'd say this lol Eden McCoy was actually pretty good today. I think if she tried to act less like Laura Wright and more like herself she'd be better lol

This is so stupid - I think that Esme did not swim to the Lucky Star. That guy that was her "guard" , the one that she had the candlelight steak dinner with, was waiting down below and took her to the Lucky Star. She happens to walk through the door that Spencer and Trina are closest too. Now she has lost her memory? Come on this is too stupid to stop watching LOL!

R228 R233 Well the writing is pretty bad lol it's been off the rails since around October/November 2021 and hasn't really been back on track or anything close to it since then. Some of the acting is what's saving these otherwise shitty stories

[234] Yes the acting is really incredible on today's episode from all, well maybe except MC but even he tried to keep up. I can't believe they killed off Britt, but they didn't show her being pronounced dead. They skipped the whole transfer from the Lucky Star to GH. Unless I missed it.

R235 I didn't see her being transported from the boat to the hospital either, iirc it went to commercial with her lying on Liesl then when they were back, Liesl was alone when Scott approached her, unless I missed something as well. I'm wondering if Britt is faking her death however it looked believable lol and we all know no one really stays dead on soaps

You must be in my head R234 , because I've also clocked Fall of 2021 when GH went off the rails. I stopped commenting on some forums because the fans are so rabid they will forgive all transgressions and have emotional meltdowns if you say anything negative.

McCoy is good actress, but the character is repugnant. Joss crying to Cam about staying friends after already having sex with Dex twice was so Carly.

R237 I must be 😆 it's so weird how quickly it changed course back then, idk if it was Frank, or the network mandating even further, but something shifted in a negative way. I know that having to let Jason go altered the outcome of his stories with Carly/Sonny & Britt, however I don't think that's enough to impact an entire show. It's almost like they just stopped trying and just started throwing everything against the wall just to see what would stick. You should just stay posting here lol because those other boards (especially Soap Central) are notorious for reporting ppl or having them blocked if your views don't align with their majority. I had to stop years ago (I was even blocked from Soap Central) from leaving comments anywhere else except for here. IA Joss was definitely in mini-Carly mode with that move she made lol Carly almost always compromised herself and her relationships for another man lol

it's a matter of time before this show ends. I bet they announce it this spring.

Either that or they try to squeeze another year out and end it on the 60th

Isn't its 60th this coming April 1st?

If it moves to Hulu I'll never see it again.

R240 Oops you're right. I had 1964 in my head but it was 1963.

I think they'll move it to Hulu or Disney+ before they actually cancel it, seeing how Days is on Peacock, they'll try their own relocation to streaming format, then it'll be easier to cancel it from there if it doesn't perform well. Just like it'll be easier to get rid of Days from Peacock then it would've been to just flat out cancel it from NBC. GH is like a million viewers behind Y&R, B&B so there's pretty much no way for them to catch up with them unless they moved GH to CBS 😆 so yeah they're probably not going to be on ABC as long as they're going to be on CBS.

*GH is probably not going to be on ABC years from now as long as Y&R/B&B will continue to be on CBS.

I took a long break from watching: I was driven off by the repetitive sonny storylines with the Balkan and Karpov.

I came back when they resumed production in 2020 since I was home and wanted to support the genre overall.

I’m enjoying the show much more than I did during those awful Balkan years although I don’t know everything I missed in between.

Similar to R244, I came back to the show during the pandemic after not really watching since the late ‘90s. It’s amazing how many of the same cast members are still on.

Yesterday’s scene in which Sonny breaks the Britt news to Spencer is an example of why Chavez is so good. He could’ve gone full soap histrionic, but instead you see an already sad young man just quietly collapse inside. Beautiful stuff.

Is Jeff’s stint over?

Coloma was worse than ever last week.

As much as I like the snide, flippant Liz, wasn't she just dealing with delayed emotional trauma and memory lapses? Did I miss the episode where all of that was resolved?

I think figuring out what happened with Reiko resolved Liz’s blackouts and memory issues. I am enjoying her pivot to Shifty-Eyed Liz.

Nancy Lee Grahn has COVID:

Coloma was looking HOT tho at the hospital with Liz. He just needs a new haircut.

Coloma isn’t the best actor - not even the worst on the show - but I do think he would’ve fared better if he’d been originally paired with Becky Herbst. They have a good dynamic and actual chemistry. Their hospital scenes after Esme was brought in last week were entertaining. It’s mainly Becky though, who really thrives when Liz is being dry and snarky.

He’d make a great orderly number three.

Willow’s storyline is by far my least favorite current one, so today’s episode was a chore. To take my mind off it, can we discuss the big bowl of moss in Carly’s kitchen? When did this happen and why?

5ish years ago R254 ? Whenever they gave the Corinthi that kitchen set. It has its own (pretty funny) twitter.

If Cam is still so bothered by the sex tape, he should recognize that the problem was trying to live a heterosexual life when he would be so much happier as an enthusiastic gay bottom. I could see him as the next Justin Owen with that glorious hair.

I so loved the Carly/Nina scene. That’s what soap operas are all about!

Shaved head, whiny Cam proved to the world that acting is not his strong suit. And clearly if his puffy body hasn't been to the gym by now, it never will be.

Queen Watros putting the *whole* jar of mustard on it when she finally called Carly a bitch. Glorious.

Oh, please. Poor psychotic baby-snatching, husband stealing Nina was lied to.

GH stans love Ava's friendship with Nina, and have chosen to think that Stafford's character, and her myriad of transgressions, is not the same character as Watros'. (For years now) I'd hoped that Ava was using Nina to convince Sonny to give her full custody of Avery, and that the friendship was all a ruse. But these writers have been on the job long enough for me to know that nothing that interesting will happen.

You've guys must've given up on the show or just don't care enough about it anymore lol because there are barely any mentions of the Nina/Willow reveal

From what's being referenced in regards to the 60th, they're suddenly wrapping up stories now so that way they can focus on the Nurses Ball, Tracy's visit, etc. I read that Epiphany's death will happen in March presumably leading up to their ball with a tribute.

I know Laura Wright is generally despised on these threads, but I through she gave an amazing performance last week.

My favorite actor on the show is Dominic Zamprogna. I’d love to see him have a big storyline.

You must have insomnia r265 (?)

Does he help get you to sleep?

[quote]My favorite actor on the show is Dominic Zamprogna. I’d love to see him have a big storyline.

I remember when Dominic started in 2009-2010, he was electric. You couldn't take your eyes off him. He was the most exciting thing on the show. He got fantastic writing and he gave great performances.

But the show hasn't really written for him in the past 6 to 8 years, especially the past two since he came back. The fact he can hold anyone's attention is a miracle.

R267 = Video. Dante (Dominic) first week. Shirtless.

R268, thanks—I enjoyed that. I just started watching GH again last summer after an approximately 25-year hiatus. I remember when Rebecca Herbst first joined the show! There are a number of actors I remember clearly from that time who are still around, and I’m enjoying seeing ones newer to me. I find Dominic very authentic but I can see how he doesn’t come across to others as exciting nowadays. I do also love some of the more lively performers, such as Maura West. I really get a kick out of her.

I've been waiting for Watros to open her can of Crazy Bitch.

R264, I for one hate Carly but think LW is a gifted actress who plays the shit out of her:

I’m in a similar boat to R265…quit watching in the ‘90s and then resumed during the pandemic. Zamprogna is an interesting case because he’s on almost every day—Dante the cop always has a reason to be standing around asking someone a question—but he never drives story. They must’ve given him a big guarantee to come back.

I'm pretty sue Zamprogna reached out to TPTB to come back. Those steady paychecks are pretty missed when they're in the rearview mirror. I'm guessing eventually we'll get a Dante/Sam wedding so Lulu can wake up from her coma.

The thing about the reveal R262 is that since the audience has known for so long, and since they've written Willow as such a worthless cunt, the payoff wasn't that great. It wasn't written to Watros' strengths, or her "can of Crazy Bitch" as R270 called it.

R262 The site has been on prime time since before Christmas. Only paying members can post.

R274 Thank goodness

R273 You're right he did lol for Frank has never really had much of an investment in Dante. When he first left back in 2016, it was because of Frank offering him a reduced rate contract with only five guarantees per month, and Dominic reportedly balked at such an offer and refused, so Dante was written out. He came back for a few guest appearances before Frank caved and let him return on a more permanent basis.

Also those are terrific points lol Willow is pretty insufferable especially since she's been with Michael and the whole waffling back and forth between him and Chase. As for Nina, even though that's what the audience wants, I don't think that's what Frank wants. Nina started off as a villain under Michelle then they watered her down to make her more worthy of being rooted for by victimizing her to be relatable and likable, which didn't necessarily work because a lot of ppl can't stand Michelle and/or her Nina. I think more ppl like Cynthia's Nina and he portrayal of Annie so they're expecting her to play like that lol except Frank/the writers don't want Nina to drive back down that crazy route, for they're positioning her as a heroine. The problem is that they're sort of weakening Nina because they don't have to make her crazy perse, yet they don't have to make her a victim either.

R274 No wonder 😆 now it makes sense

So since Esme and Willow are both pregnant and in the hospital...it looks like it could be an opportunity for Esme to lose her baby, only for Heather to sneak in and switch Esme's with Willow's, seeing how Willow will be ok other than despising Nina. It's a little too obvious and convenient so they shouldn't go there and be a little more creative lol however whatever creativity they've come up with is apparently being stifled (Esme's maternity, Hook killer'a identity, etc.) so even if they aren't switched there, they might be soon.

Interesting R276.

Cynthia started as a heroine on GL as well, and then had time as sort of a troubled soul capable of both bad and good before she went full on crazy bitch.

But she was certainly most entertaining as a crazy bitch.

R279 That's true lol she was sweet nurse Annie Dutton who was previously married to Dr. Rick Bauer (off screen I believe) then had an alcohol problem. Then she went off the deep end when her troubles got to her, primarily Reva returning from the "dead." I do think she'll rock it as crazy bitch Nina except they're probably not trying to go there since Nina has always played her crazy cards under Michelle and they don't want to undo any growth Nina has accomplished since then. However if they do go that route, Sonny should be sympathetic seeing how he's bipolar when everyone else writes her off as psychotic. It would be fun to watch, except they just might not go there.

Lady Val's forehead is a work of art today.

Entire reveal was a letdown. Mind you, Nina has been looking for her real kid since the Stafford days. I’m so tired of Carly skating in every story. These writers had the audacity to have Willow say she was better off with Harmony. The same Harmony who pimped her out to Shiloh. All of this to make Carly look good. None of this was to protect Willow - it’s because Carly was upset about Sonny and Nina. Beyond stupid.

And CW wiped the floor with LW during those scenes.

Why the show has kept Willow---a mediocre boring character---is astounding. Course I can say the same thing about Cameron.

At least Cameron has a penis.

R284, a very tasty one!

Cameron: "Sorry, Curtis. I thought your ad read "barback" not bareback.

R282 Well damn 😆 tell us how you really feel 😆

R282 No seriously those were accurate assessments. Then eventually Carly's going to be forgiven by Michael and Drew; Sonny will probably be upset longer than them however he'll come around too. Nina will confide in Ava and they'll agree how nasty and despicable Carly is, although that's how they already feel lol and nothing much will come from it. Nina could get revenge however they're writing Nina as more of a heroine so I guess they're Even Stevens now lol Carly kept Nelle and Willow away from Nina, while Nina is keeping Sonny and the Metro Court from her lol (even though Nina did try to give both of them back to her)

R283 Because Frank likes her lol remember Willow and Sasha arrived around the same time; Willow was supposed to be Nina's daughter from the beginning, while the fake daughter Sasha was only scheduled to be short-term. Sasha grew on the audience more so Frank decided to keep her too. Nelle was really supposed to be Carly's except Frank wanted Nelle with Michael so badly that the writers were told to not make her related to Carly.

Disagree intensely.

Cameron is especially likable.

Willow is a little bland bur an important part of the canvas.

Most of you just like to bitch about nothing.

Willow is worthless and wouldn't be missed.

I liked Sonny's self-awareness in his scenes with Carly yesterday.

Hat wants that Emmy.

All I want for Christmas next year is for Dex to smash Cam’s bussy.

I can't stand the Hat man. And how many mental health stories do we need at one time!

This show hasn’t had a decent story payoff in many, many years.

At first I was thinking that Dex could be Brenda's son as some of you have also suggested, however after today anyone think it's possible that Dex is Sonny's? The only child that could've been born on-screen where the timeframe matches with Josslyn's birth is the son that Sonny lost with Claudia. Then there's also the possibility that Dex could be Sonny's nephew, by way of him being Rick's son, or maybe even Faith Roscoe's lol there's some sort of personal connection where Dex feels the need to get payback, which sounds more like a long lost child, other relative, or a child of an enemy.

I am very attracted to the actor playing Dex. I would even be willing to give him my virginity.

I still love Cam’s hair but I’ve come to the conclusion that the actor playing him is truly atrocious. The way he speaks, especially when there are emotions involved, is not like people talk in real life.

Can we have an honest discussion about Maxies obesity? This is way beyond a few extra pounds.

R298 Lol wait this is interesting are you a virgin in every way or just a partial virgin, like in certain areas? Or maybe you've been with women, and you want to lose your male virginity?

Dex assuming the bj receiving position.

R300, I was joking. I’m a male whore like everyone else here.

Well you can be a virgin many times, each first time with a different guy!

Dex is like 5’2” and has tiny nipples. Still hot, though.

I enjoyed watching Cam not let Joss off the hook. Can someone direct him to her bitch mother, now?

Dex still seems FTM to me.

Maxie and Sam, two brokedown whores, are having conversations in a bar, not at either's home, where their numerous children (by numerous men) are left fending for themselves.

Why is Nicholas still in episodes.?..Wasn't he axed weeks ago? Shouldn't we have heard about a recast by now? Despite what Coloma says, he refused to film his final scenes. I have a bad feeling this is going to be a stupid "Nik disappears" plot.

Holy shit R299.

The fact that they keep draping Maxie in that same pale peach sweater from Marshall’s and calling her a fashionista…

R302 Lol it's rare to find any virgins these days so my interest was piqued lol I had questions, however I don't judge so it's nothing wrong with being a non-virgin.

R303 That's so true lol

DEX....Evan Hofer...Totally Fem Teen....(22 second mark). There WILL be lisps!!...Giiiirl....

Evan...Off Script and FEM....(2:29)....With his "roommate"...Oh Dex...

That first interview at R310 screams Bryan Singer pool party poster boy. Evan's vocal coach must be rich as shit.

I had assumed Carly and Drew were fucking since the cliffs of Jacksonville, but today was their first time? WHET soap whores? They’re all so prim and proper.

Also, die, Willow, die!

I love Cliffs of Jacksonville!

Send Drew back into captivity. Is he really only around to lick Carly’s ass? Embarrassing!

Drew Ryan Lavery. I never realized CM had no range until he joined GH.

Matheson was the perfect kind of bland for Hallmark. I wonder why he went back to soaps?

R317 = Ryan is 53. Not exactly in his prime. I wouldn't be surprised if Hallmark sent him on his way.

R317 He asked to come back because he needed steady work. Like R318 said he was sort of "aging out" for other actors like Ryan Paevey were starting to become Hallmark stars. Also, his hosting duties on Entertainment Tonight seemed to diminish as well. His Drew is more Ryan and less of Billy Miller's Drew, however Frank usually chooses actors over characters, even if some of his recasts or new characters don't make sense with particular actors in the role.

Billy Miller's Drew would never have forgiven Carly. You are right -Matheson is playing himself, certainly not the character of Drew we knew.

Colomas last episode was yesterday....Nick Recast. Is it Adam Huss? For the fans who think GH would ever hire Tyler Christopher back, I seriously doubt it. How many chances does one actor need? Plus he had issues on Days. I don't see his return happening.

Dex has no shoulders.

Not sure if you all remember her as Amelia Joffee but Annie Wersching died. Amelia was the producer on Sam’s tv show “Everyday Heroes”. Her father was one of Sam’s many husbands before she showed up in Port Charles. Really liked her as an actress. Cancer sucks.

Carly's ass is ginormous.

Frank, where is the caftan budget?

I love how EVERYBODY has forgotten how awful Nina is

How many of us were pleading with Willow to go into the light?

R325 = Laura Wright

R323 Remember well, R.I.P. That's when Kelly Monaco was considering leaving for prime-time, so they wrote Sam sleeping with Ric, gave her multiple ex-husbands, had her stand by while Jake was kidnapped, etc. Then Kelly decided to stay at the last minute so they had to redeem her somewhat.

Really wish they abstained from the cheesy smoke machine and white light effects in the Ghost Harmony scenes. How much more effective would those moments have been against a stark white background, unadorned?

I love how they styled Ghost Harmony in that black dress—she was promising Heaven but her look (and what we know about her) suggested someplace more sinister.

Those scenes looked like a high school production of Beauty School Dropout from Grease. Supercuts employee of the month Harmony was leading weeping Willow to the wash station to rinse the activator out of her perm.

The redemption of Harmony - who literally pimped out her child and murdered multiple people - to make Nina look terrible and Carly right for keeping the maternity secret is beyond ridiculous. I don’t understand the obsession with Carly on this show.

R329 R330 😆 😆 😆 at the production value, Harmony in the black dress, and Weeping Willow

R331 The obsession with Carly goes all the way back to when Sarah Brown first played her; scriptwriter Elizabeth Korte is a big fan of the character, since Carly's inception, and so is Frank, who loved 90's GH (Ron was a bigger fan of 80's GH) so no matter who's playing her, they're obsessed with the character. As former writer Michele val Jean pointed out years ago, Carly must always win (along with Sonny and Jason) so even if she's down, she's never out. They've positioned her as the leading female of the show, and that's why Frank thought he struck gold with Nelle, for she was slated to be Carly 2.0 lol unfortunately Nelle nor Chloe Lanier really caught on with fans like Sarah Brown, Tamara Braun.

Also Laura Wright has her built in fanbase from Loving/The City & Guiding Light however there are ppl who still favor Sarah's and Tamara's Carly over hers lol

Huh R333 ? "They've positioned her as the leading female of the show, and that's why Frank thought he struck gold with Nelle, for she was slated to be Carly 2.0 lol unfortunately Nelle nor Chloe Lanier really caught on with fans like Sarah Brown, Tamara Braun."

These threads have often reported that rather than making Nelle a Carly 2.0, Frank thought they should put Nelle and Michael together. Nelle always seemed to be poised to be a baby that Carly gave up before she left Florida to blow up Bobbie's life.

R335 I'm one of the main ones who's reported that Nelle was supposed to be Carly's daughter 😂 which she was, until Frank instructed the writers to not make her Carly's daughter, however he wanted her linked to Carly somehow, which is where the Frank Benson angle originated from. In the story, it wasn't necessarily that Carly had voluntarily given Nelle up, that was going to be what Nelle was led to believe, for Carly (like Nina) would've thought she was stillborn or blocked it out, maybe Frank sold the baby, etc. (I don't think they were planning to have Virginia giving her up)

What I'm saying is that Frank still positioned her after Carly. Going back to when Nelle first arrived, how she was trying to undermine Carly, working under her, ultimately trying to destroy her life, attempting to (or pretending to) sleep with Carly's husband, then being involved with Michael, getting pregnant, etc. that was all based off of Carly's history with Bobbie, Tony, and AJ with Carly, Sonny, and Michael in those roles. Yes usually when someone is supposed to be a 2.0 version of a character, there is a relation, however, that's not always the case. There are characters who are based (either loosely or not) off other characters without any form of relation to them, on several other soaps. That's also why the Nelle backstory reveal happened in April of 2020, with the flashbacks, for Frank wanted that to air around the 24th anniversary of Carly's arrival in Port Charles. Frank thinks that Maxie is a 2.0 version of Erica Kane 😂 so he tends to see things differently than others. Since Chloe Lanier received such high praise for her portrayal of a young Pat Spencer, he kept her in mind, for he wanted to bring her back for a big role, which was a younger version of Carly. His problem was that he wanted to redo the Carly/AJ angle too, which was against what the writers were trying to do, which was have her as Carly's daughter. They even redid Carly falling down the stairs while pregnant with Sonny's baby when Nelle purposely fell and framed Carly for pushing her lol if Chloe wouldn't have asked to be let out of her contract, Frank would still be in the process of shoving her down everyone's throats.

If Spencer doesn’t trim his claws I’m not going to let him finger me anymore.

Chloe Lanier didn’t impress me in that Luke episode and she didn’t impress me as Nelle. She was a boring actress with a weird face. She would’ve been better in a Duggar biopic.

And while I understand GH always favored Carly, it’s never been this bad. LW’s one-note portrayal also doesn’t help.

I liked Chloe Lanier. I always thought she did what she was supposed to do. Be a troublemaker and foil to Carly. I also never liked Carly when she first showed up but she evolved over time. Nelle never got that chance.

R338 😆 😆 other ppl have compared her to an Amish or Little House On The Prairie character so I see the comparison. Imo Esme is more of what Nelle should've or could've been, with a stronger actress in the role. IA that Chloe Lanier was underwhelming and less than stellar lol it also didn't help that she had developed somewhat of a "big head" on set. She let the accolades she received as Pat inflate her ego, so when Frank specifically handed the role of Nelle to her, the rumors were that she was walking around like she was younger Meryl Streep 😆 😆 which also led to her asking to be released early from her contract, hoping to go from one "big break" to an even bigger one outside of GH.

Well Wendy Riche didn't get along with Sarah, and Bob Guza/Jill Farren Phelps grew to dislike Tamara, so Laura for one doesn't have those backstage problems lol also, Sarah and Tamara, along with Jennifer Bransford, seemed to have a vulnerability about them that they brought to Carly, which lacks in Laura's performances. She plays Carly like a mean girl, smirking through her scenes with an air of conceit. The previous Carly's played Carly as insecure with abandonment issues, making her more sympathetic and relatable. Even when they schemed, you could see where they were coming from and why they did certain things. LW's version is more like a former bully who's now morphed into a suburban soccer mom who still has that mean girl streak lol while there have been some who've stated that essentially Laura Wright is playing herself 😆 😆

R339 Chloe asked to be let go and Frank chose not to recast. She probably would've evolved under a different actress.

Look at this punim.

Ergh, I mean *this* punim.

All right fuck this IBB is freaking out

I hate to be this person, but Kelly's face is disturbing. And what the fuck happened to Josh Kelly. He used to be gorgeous. And poor Kirsten Storms, drugs are a bitch.

Kirsten Storms would’ve been let go for looking the way she does in another era. She’s fat AND a lazy actress. Even makeup and wardrobe has given up on her.

Actual screenshot of Maxie. Todays episode.

Spencer at 23..Rough. This will not be a pretty 30..

Back in 2017, R347.

Maxie....Today....Thinking about chocolate..

Not sure what's more shocking at R349 : Storms' cracked-out appearance, or Stafford's use of indoor voice.

Yeah, wow, Storms looks much better now. So glad to have Watros now instead of Stafford.

This is how lousy GH has gotten now. They can't even keep a DL thread moving anymore. Even Cody Scorpios wig is just dialing it in now.

I dunno, I thought the Nikolas/Laura/Spencer stuff on Friday was gripping. Adam Huss is terrific as Nikolas—totally upends the dynamic to have an actor who doesn’t just get steamrolled by his son in scenes.

R354 = Agreed about NewNik...Already an improvement but I have a feeling he is just here for the Nick sendoff storyline.

I feel bad for Nicholas. Everyone treats him like he’s the scum of the earth but he’s no worse than half the population of Port Charles.

Maybe they will write Nikolas out but bring him back in a couple of months with Adam Huss again playing the part. Fingers crossed.

I really like Huss, and, barring hiring Vilasuso, hope he returns. The problem with any future Nik is that Chavez is turning into a 60yo man and will never look younger that whoever gets the role.

Sure, R358, it’s impossible to tell which one is the father and which one is the son in this shot.

Ooops, here’s the shot.

No Ooops necessary, R360 . My point was made.

The destruction of Nik this time around started with the Ava pairing. It was brutal from day one and I’m not just talking about the casting of MC. Nik’s loyalty to Ava above all else really ruined a lot of the character. Taking a torch to his relationship with Spencer was just fallout. But making him this out of control to prop up Ava as well as Finn is just insane.

I enjoyed Ava referring to Esme as the little demon.

Marcus Coloma is now claiming he's glad he got fired.

So are we, Marcus. So are we.

Are they killing off Nik… again?

Do you guys like Huss because he isn't Coloma or do you really like him? He's okay, but he's not Nicholas.

Huss is far, far better than Coloma. No question about that.

Is he Nikolas? No. Not yet. There have been several of his line deliveries where I've been shaking my head going, "That's definitely not the way a European prince should be saying that."

Could be become Nikolas? Yes. He needs time to fine tune his performance, especially working on subtext and underlying family dynamics.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen better acting by Genie Francis than in her scenes with Nik and Spencer on Friday and Monday.

R369, I’ve been very impressed with Genie also.

I loved the callback to the original story when Laura said that she should have remained on the island and raised Nicholas herself. That was a nice touch.

Listen...I don't care how many recast they have Tyler Christopher IS the one only. They should clean him up and get him back.

Tyler was much loved as Nik the first time, the second time, and the third time he played him. They're not bringing him back again.

While nothing surprises me, the people who seem to know these things have been pretty clear that Tyler can't come back, and that's fine. However, I just want to know who saw Marcus Coloma's headshot and said, "That's Nicholas!" The actor has no gravitas and that role needs gravitas. What's James Scott doing?

Ayahuasca, R374 .

Tyler was lazy, bloated, drunk and fat. It’s been well over a decade since he even tried to give a decent performance as Prince Nik.

I never really cared for Tyler as Nikolas. And i certainly never appreciated what Tyler did with the character until I saw Marcus trying to the role and performing it so badly, Still can't believe they kept Marcus on for three years.

That's not to say I'm gung ho Tyler now. Just that I appreciate what he did with the role better.

But he burned his bridges at GH and Frank, wisely, won't have him back.

I still say Coby Ryan McLaughlin would be great in the role. Adam Huss is doing a far better job than Marcus ever did.

What's Tracy's return going to bring to the canvas, and whose salary(ies) is(are) getting jettisoned to make room for her?

My understanding is Jane Elliot is only coming back for a visit in conjunction with the 60th anniversary.

I don't think she's back on contract. Not like they're going to have to fire someone to pay for her.

But the salary of Marcus Coloma, Johnny Wactor and Kelly Thiebaud would all be available if need be to pay for Jane.

So Nik is really dead? Was he already going to be killed off or was this decision made after Coloma was fired?

[quote]So Nik is really dead?

Yes, DEAD DEAD. Every one who dies in Port Charles ALWAYS stays dead. No one has ever come back from the dead in Port Charles.

[quote]Was he already going to be killed off or was this decision made after Coloma was fired?

Adam Huss has only been filling in as Nikolas for a little over a week. Obviously they decided to kill off Nikolas as a way to finally get rid of Coloma. That decision was made long before Coloma had his hissy fit and refused to shoot his final week of episodes.

R381, I know characters are always coming back from the dead. But the circumstances often involve no body being found, don’t they? This seemed a little definite, with an actual body in the closet and a doctor (Austin) presumably confirming the death.

[quote]This seemed a little definite, with an actual body in the closet and a doctor (Austin) presumably confirming the death.

Yes, you're absolutely right. No writer would ever think of a way to undo that and bring Nikolas back to life at some point down the road.

Too bad the Cassadine family isn't experienced with freezing people and then bringing them back to life later.

I'm flashing back to Soapdish and Whoopi Goldberg's character of Rose Schwartz saying, " He doesn't have a head. How am I suppose to write for a guy who doesn't have a head? He's got no lips, no vocal cords."

"It's true. When you're dead, you're dead"---------->>Stavros, Laura, Robert, Sonny, Anna, Jake, Helena, AJ, Lucky, Drew, Edward, Julian, Olivia, Brenda, etc etc.....

Dead Stavros.....

They could’ve put Austin with Ava without “killing” Nik.

I guess Fat Maxie heads to Cody now.

I love how Maxi keeps getting hot guys out of her league. The show wants up to think every Port Charles single man has a fat fetish.

It seems like just yesterday that Dr. Finn and town doormat Nurse Webber declared Peter August dead, but we still had to endure him for months to come.

I haven't watched it in a couple of weeks. They're killing off Nikolas AGAIN?! Again?

Laura is going to be crying for weeks.

Cue the waterworks, Genie! Would be a great time to recast both Lulu and Lucky. Give us a break from Willow and Michael.

Well, Laura needs at least one of her children on the canvas. So, yes, time for Lulu to wake up from her coma or Lucky to decide he wants to see his son.

On another note, Adam Huss was so good in his week of performances, especially the confrontation with Spencer, I think he should submit those scenes for the Emmys in the Best Guest Star category.

Adam Huss really delivered. He brought the A-Game that Coloma never possessed.

I love Maura West DeFreitas but I wonder who she pissed off to get stuck in that purple McDonald's Grimace outfit. When she walked in and Austin said that she looked beautiful they both had a little smirk on their faces because they knew better.

Maura West is one of the few things about GH that makes it watchable. I went on YT last year and told Steve I was glad he was gone and asked him to stop by the studio and take Mumbles with him.

QUESTION----Since I have Ava on the brain----->>Was Avery calling Carly mommy the other day? I understand Carly and Sonny raised her but Carly is just the stepmother...Did I mishear Avery saying that?

I think Avery refers to Carly, her ex-stepmother, as “Mama Carly.”

R296 = oh brother. That sounds like something Carly would make a child do.

Avery has been referring to her stepmother as "Mama Carly" for several years.

But I don't think I ever heard her refer to Nikolas as "Daddy Nikolas." Actually now that I think of it, I don't think I ever recall seeing a Nikolas and Avery scene.