By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman
Maura West
So let’s take a survey. How many Thinking Fans think Roger Howarth’s great charm as an actor can overcome the unbelievable maneuvers that have been made to bring back evil Franco as a viable everyday character? Erasing Franco’s responsibility for the rapes of Sam and Michael has taken quite a bit of tap dancing by headwriter Ron Carlivati, and I find the moves bizarre to say the least. I guess they had to give Howarth a character with some bad boy flavor, but Franco? Tell me what you think of this decision and whether or not you think it will make or break General Hospital’s current ratings. They’ve taken quite the risk here, je pense.
Emme Rylan
An additional thought from moi: the very strong additions of Emme Rylan (new Lulu) and Maura West (Ava Jerome) just might also be enough to counterbalance any kind of ratings or popularity hit the show may take because of the Franco fiasco. Que pensez-vous?
The Bold and the Beautiful: Seductive Brooke Strikes Out
I’ve watched Brooke Logan flit around as a practicing sex addict on The Bold and the Beautiful for more than twenty-five years now. But she’s never have been as pathetic as she was this week when she used all her seductive moves to get Eric to leave Taylor and “father” her unborn baby (who was really conceived with brother-in law Bill Spencer?). Eric resisted her moves! He’s usually so easily seduced and Brooke is usually such a successful seductress. By this point Eric should really be looking into senior housing. But Katherine Kelly Lang’s Brooke will probably never get too old to pull her patented seduction act. How truly refreshing it was to see Eric say no — at least for now — to the usually irresistible Brooke.
The Young and the Restless: A Classy Tribute for a Classy Lady
What a classy and truly meaningful episode-long tribute The Young and the Restless did for the late Jeanne Cooper this week. In forty years of soap watching, I can’t remember this amount of time being allotted to a departed actor in this way. It was so sweet to have the entire cast share their memories of Cooper with the audience. I could have done without their tales of Cooper’s habit of pinching all the young male character’s body parts, though. But I guess it’s nice to know that that even a lady full of class could be naughty once and a while.
I don’t care for Emme Rylan as nu Lulu. In fact, I’m not that crazy about her at all. Didn’t give a damn about her on YOUNG AND RESTLESS or GUIDING LIGHT. I was hoping GH would have tapped Farah Fath, Gigi from ONE LIFE TO LIVE to take over the role of Lulu.
These days, GENERAL HOSPITAL is a sorry state of affairs and you say the ratings may not fall because of Emme Rylan and Maura West. Maybe you’re right. We’ll have to stay tuned. Emme Rylan and Maura West do have boatloads of admirers, but I don’t know if two talented actresses can keep a badly written–Ha. Badly written? Try preposterously written. But talented actresses can’t save a sinking ship. If it ain’t on the page, viewers will not hang around.
Instead of trying to find the next starlet or hunk, soaps should work on unearthing skilled storytellers. Like it or not, writers do headline the show. There ain’t no show without them.
Only if the lemonade the GH writer want us to drink is spiked with vodka would Franco be a viable everyday character. He is a serial killer, kidnapper and attempted murder of Sam and Lulu, RH is too old for this character, etc. He is not redeemable, so no, in my opinion RH talents are wasted. It also seemed that with Carly’s jail scene with “Franco” they are still testing the chemistry that she did have with RH when he was Todd. To that I say…..EEEWWWWW
Thanks Diana…couldn’t agree more.
I’m just about ready to give up on GH. I never would have thought a few months back when I first started watching DOOL that THAT show would become more watchable than GH.
I adore Roger Howarth and am not one of those who thinks everything he had done other than Todd Manning is stinko. Todd is clearly his greatest work so far – most of the time anyway – and I was just fine with his Paul on ATWT. He completely scared the sh*t out of me in Prey – I think the show may have ultimately failed due him being just way too convincingly terrifying. ~shudders~ No wink and nudge performance of evil here folks – he was pure unapologetic, cold and totally believable EVIL. I don’t even know how he got that across and don’t really want to think about it LOL. ~shudders again for good measure~
But this?? This Franco schrick is REMARKABLY horrendous. Like this is a mind-numbing and totally insulting parody of the form horrendous. The whitewashing of a character that folks mostly found annoying and a waste of time to begin with? And Roger’s rendition? It doesn’t engage me in the least.
Loved Rylan on Y&R and can’t exactly say why she is not working for me as Lulu – I was never that attached to the previous actress but this is missing the mark altogether for me. Maura West is one of the few who can really do no wrong for me – but I don’t think it’s enough. She is not around for the long haul as far as what I have heard goes – so no real inspiration to invest on that one anyway.
Yep – deleted GH off of my DVR finally – I don’t have time to waste on this – I will waste it on entertainment that doesn’t so thoroughly express it’s disrespect for its audience’s taste and intelligence. You know – entertaining entertainment?
Whoever you are, I love your last paragraph. I’m almost to that point (deleting GH) myself.
I have been watching GH for about 30 years. I know that characters come and go but really. It was bad enough when Jason left (I thought he was quitting the business for family; I guess I was wrong). The new Franco is unbelievable and not a charismatic the original. Todd Manning was evil in his own right but not suitable for this character. Couldn’t they find someone who at least looked similar (good looking with dark hair). KiKi; really. First she was Michaels love interest. She left and came back as his cousin. Seriously! I don’t even want to comment any further other than this is no longer my favorite soap. I focus on nighttime now. Really Producers stop with the changes that do not make sense at all.
The audience is not that stupid. We really do observe and are not to happy with your most recent changes in characters.
I wonder if Brooke’s unborn baby will survive? Or if she’ll miscarry. Some may think what was the point of Brooke getting pregnant if the writers had her lose the baby. Please. Brooke getting pregnant by her sister’s husband and losing the baby has dramatic possibilities. Brooke or Bill wouldn’t want anyone to find that out.
And there is Bill across town threatening Maya, telling her to stay away from Rick Forrester or he will see to it that she is sent back to prison. Maya seems like she has some spunk. I would love it if Maya stumbles on Brooke’s secret and tells Bill to stay the hell out of her private life. “Or else, I will reveal a secret that you don’t want known.”
He smirked. “A secret? Maya, you don’t know anything about me. Not a damn thing.”
“You sure about that?” she asked.
“Clue me in. Tell me, what is my deep dark secret?” His tone suggested that he found the conversation amusing.
“You had sex with your wife’s sister. Oh, my Mr. Spencer. What happened to that smirk you were wearing earlier? Wonder how Katie would feel if she learned that her husband had sex with her sister. I think the whole thing sounds revolting and I’d wager Katie would feel the same way. And if you don’t back off with your threats, she is going to learn the truth. I’ll see to it.”
Next topic. Yes, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS’s tribute to Jeanne Cooper was simply lovely. She dedicated four decades of her life to that show and character, so she deserved it. I was disappointed that Thom Bierz wasn’t there. Maybe he’ll come in for Kay’s funeral.
Speaking of Y&R, the show has been extraordinarily dreary lately. It needs a heaping cup of excitement. Under Josh Griffith, the men have become a bunch of wusses. Lauren cheats on Michael with a younger man and she implores him to forgive her. He is readily receptive to the idea. Why didn’t he tell her that there was no way in hell he’d forgive her?
And Dylan is a wuss. He sleeps with Chelsea. She tells him that she’s carrying his kid. He barely knows this woman. yet he had unprotected sex with her and when she pops up pregnant, he doesn’t question that the baby may not be his? Dylan could use a busybody, middle age Aunt constantly sticking her nose in his business. And finally, Carmine is a wuss panting after a woman old enough to be his mama. I thought he was going to try and use Lauren for money to buy a new party spot or gym. He looks like he’d try something like that. But Jill Farren Phelps is trying to send out the false message that young studs like Carmine crave older women like Lauren. Yeah, right. Jill wishes that were the case. I am in my fifties and I know better.
It looks like Lily is about to get sexually busy with Tyler. Considering that Y&R just finished an extramarital affair story, why even go there? It’s like the scribes aren’t imaginative enough to concoct diverse tales.
I repeat, Y&R is tired. It is in dire need of a shot of adrenaline. But Josh Griffith is a first-rate writer and should be retained. The man needs some help. He could use a talented co-head writer. someone who could make the stories edgier.
When the Carlivati team took over from the Guza team, everybody in the industry/media called the incoming writers as the saviors of soaps. They’ve never proved it to me.
Today Carly is constantly over the top. Storylines start and then go on vacation for weeks at a time. The Patrick baby story is beyond dumb. Lulu ‘suddenly’ remembers everything? Are we going through yet another Tony Geary going-on-vacation-related storyline? Is Helena really dead (does anybody ever do an autopsy at GH?). Will somebody take Sonny’s gun away from him and send him to acting school? Will Silas get a hair cut?
When the next Ratings Sweep Week comes up, can we feature one of those patented GH Explosions that REALLLLLY eliminates a bunch of thethe superfluous GH characters? (Who are your candidates, Marlena?)
Getting off my soap box.
Bringing back Roger Howarth as Franco will be GH’s downfall. But mark my words, Ron will probably change his mind and then make him another character. How many characters can these OLTL actors play in 2 years? Meanwhile, GH actors like Genie Francis and Finola Hughes sit on the sidelines. Get rid of the OLTL actors. They don’t belong on GH! I’ve had enough!
GH is my favorite soap! I am very disappointed with RH being the recast pf James Franco’s “Franco”!!! There are so many ways RC and Fv could have gone with RH. I also have to say that I am a huge Steve Burton/ Jason fan! I would not have wanted anyone recast as Steve Burton’s “Jason”! I always will hope that SB will come back and they have him come back as Jason Quartermaine and not Morgan. The day before the reveal I was thinking maybe RC was having RH come back as the real Jason Quartermaine… that Heather switched SB’s Jason with another baby. That would have been better than this casting! Ideally I wanted RH to be Alexander Quartermaine or some other unknown Q. I also thought he would make a great Barrett or a Barrington. I would have even accepted him as a Jerome or a Cassadine… but… not a recast of James Franco’s crazy, evil and demented Franco! We had already had way too much of him! Our only hope is that this character is killed off and RH can come back as someone else. I believe he is Kevin’s patient and maybe he could have a labotomy and be changed. Anything to not have him be Franco! Truly a mistake… will I stop watching… NO! Will it hurt the ratings… possibly… if he is truly not changed or reformed or cured… yes they may go down. Could this be the plan to sink GH so that PP gets all 3 ABC soaps… maybe… hopefully not!!! I love RH’s talent and none of this is his… it’s a job and a way to have him explore playing a new character… I just hope it’s not this character for long!
I like Emme Rylan and I think she is doing a great job as Lulu!!! We have only begun to see her be Lulu and she will get better and better.
Maura West is great in everything she does and I hope she stays around for awhile.
GH will get better… I have to believe that… I want to believe that! We do need to send the message to RC and FV that we are not happy and maybe… they will listen. Too bad we can’t have what we saw be a bad dream and we find out they were just messing with us!
I love Emme Rylan and Maura West, so agree with you there.
But Roger as Franco….just seems like the dumbest of all possible choices that TPTB could have made. They could have gone a hundred different ways to connect him to the Q’s or to GH.
I mentioned a few weeks back that some of the moves GH had made with regards to bringing the three actors back so quickly seemed almost like a case of personal spite, a big middle finger to Prospect Park and/or the previous regime. Making Roger be Franco feels very much the same. The current regime may feel like they’re fixing a mess by the old regime, but the character of Franco was so toxic that I think it’s going to shake the show way off kilter.
I hated the character of Franco the first time around, and I don’t like him any better here. The whole boat party was pretty distasteful — if you’re going to do stories about rape, then at least have the courtesy to show respect for those stories later on and not make them a cheap talking point. The idea that Sam, Michael, and even Carly would somehow interact with and actually have a relationship of some kind with an attacker like Franco — no way in heck. I have lots of willing suspension of disbelief on soaps (they’re soaps, after all), but this is too far. I really hope they dial it back and figure out how to make a better character. Oh, and a better dye job for Roger Howarth wouldn’t hurt — that color is terrible.
Emme Rylan is growing on me — I’ve liked her in the past, so I hope she can take Lulu and run with it. I don’t see a lot of chemistry between her and Dante, but maybe that will change.
Maura West is terrific, but Kiki is grating. I hope Kiki grows up, and quickly.
The writers have that classic soap problem — they’ve introduced too many characters too quickly. It’s made worse by the fact that the audience knew these actors as other characters and, for the most part, grew to like them.
My overall advice to GH — slow down and give us a reason to care about these people, because right now, we don’t. And in the meantime, show plenty of our other favorites.
I agree with Jessica 200%. James Franco is one of the worst things to ever happen to “General Hospital.” I remember around that particular time period, every time he was interviewed and the interviewer asked about the soap opera, Franco always avoided talking in detail about the character, the soap, the writing, etc. and always brought it back to his current movie role and/or his next movie role and how great he was.
Ron picked the storyline and character I hated the most over those long dismal Guza years. Franco. Loathed Franco. Even took my hate out on the actor–I never want to see James Franco in ANYthing after the GH disaster. I thoroughly resented his intrusion on my soap and how much time was wasted on this ‘star’, and hated every minute he used up that could have been used for good story with people we liked.
Roger, on the other hand, is delightful and he had integrated his Todd into PC so beautifully…and now a year’s hard work is wiped out. I do NOT want to watch him as a character so freaky, so evil, so–boring, so unredeemable as Franco. This recast is a total disaster.
As is Kirsten as Kiki. They have made her into a mouthy little slut. I do NOT want to watch her sexing out on the couch with that awkward kid they hired as Morgan. Kirsten is a good actress and does not deserve to work with this level of cliche nasty kid story.
I can’t get interested in Michael Easton as this weird doctor, either. I REALLY liked John McBain, so why couldn’t they simply make ME an FBI agent or some kind of law and order guy. He was excellent that way…
And breaking up Luke and Laura? What’s with that? WHY??? Is it because they didn’t sign Genie up to a full contract and she and Kin are leaving together? Are we supposed to believe Laura could EVER be happy with sour Scotty after her lively years with Luke? Or that romantic Luke ‘fits’ with Tracy? He’s merely a bit cynical, not a glutton for punishment from a tongue knife. Sheeze…
And Finola IS on contract so why aren’t they using her? She could practically carry this show if they gave her more to do. She needs to be on a couple days a week with major story. Last year they handled the Luke vacation so well with the pretaping. I had high hopes for this year, but feel I’ll be disappointed.
I am not rushing to the VCR to see ‘my show’ now. In fact I am so unhappy and frustrated with it that I may just skip daily soap watching for awhile. Emme may be a good actress, but she is such a different type from Julie that I still can’t see Lulu there. Just don’t believe it. I do like Maurey and she was awesome on her first day with Geary, but they have to handle this right. They need to get the cast size down to managable and not be adding newbies. There is just not much I want to see now–if anything. Don’t have any interest in Britt or Patrick or Sabrina or even Maxie. No longer care about any of it. Love to see Kevin, but suspect he isn’t going to be around much. Wish they’d hire him for permanent shrink at GH. Love to see more of Mac and Felicia–less of Sonny and Connie. Sorry, but Sonny is way past his shelf date.
I was such a happy supporter of the new regime all last year, but boy, have they hit a slump in quality.
Franco. I cannot imagine what Ron and Frank were thinking!! Of all the worst things they could think to do with Roger, they hit the ultimate bottom.
Sad, sad.
Marlena says: I agree with you on all of this, Marilyn. Ron is really off the track and as you say it is sad, sad.
Chere Marlena,
While Roger Howarth seems to be enjoying himself, this Franco redux is a mess. Franco was a poor character to begin with and trying to rewrite history to reintroduce him is disgusting. This is worse than the vampire storyline revisit we endured in February. As much as I like Ron C, he clearly is giving the finger to Prospect Park about taking back the rights to the Llanview Three. Unfortunatley, we viewers are the ones suffering.
If Ron was bound and determined to tie Roger’s new character to the Qs, there were any number of better ways that could have been accomplished:
1. As was widely rumored, he could have been the son of Tony Cassadine and Alexandra Quartermaine from the Ice Princess storyline. That would have tied the character to two families.
2.. He could have been Edward’s illegitimate son. Edward was presumed dead in the Caribbean for over a year in the late 80s. He could have sired a son during that time.
3. Susan Moore could have had triplets — Jason, Franco and a new character. It would have been totally in keeping for Heather to withhold that detail when she confessed to selling Franco to Betsy Frank.
4. He could be the son of Jimmy Lee Holt.
5. He could be the son of Justis Ward.
6. Alan could have sired another child during one of his many affairs. Perhaps Rhonda Wexler got pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption.
7. Tracy could have given birth to another child while she was off the show in the 1980s. Perhaps Tracy went to Springfield and had an affair with Ross Marler. Or perhaps Tracy went to Salem and had an affair with Justin Kiriakis. Or perhaps Tracy went to Pine Valley and had an affair with Palmer Courtlandt.
I am so disappointed with GH these days. I agree with all the negative comments above, so I won’t reiterate them again.
CarTooni are doing to GH what they did to OLTL, in my opinion, and that’s making the show un-watchable. I had to quit OLTL the last year it was on because of all the ridiculous storylines they were spewing out. I will soon quit GH for the same reasons.
There are so many wonderful veteran actors on this show who are getting no air time due to the horrific newbies being brought on. It is so unfair, and I wouldn’t blame any of them if they walk when their contracts are up.
I totally agree.I think they are confused about what show they are doing. All we get is newbies, and old O.L ers.I don’t care if the teens are on, but been there , done that..
I just hope if Danny needs an organ etc, its AJ his uncle that gives it to him. Not Todd. But I should know better I think I am watching OLTL now instead of GH.
I am so disgusted with the Sean character on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Carly and Sonny asked Sean if he would kill Franco and he agreed to do it. Oh, my goodness. I admired Sean. He was sexy and muscular and took in TJ and ran Kelly’s Diner. I didn’t realize that he was a paid assassin. Or maybe I saw it, but didn’t really contemplate it.
I repeat, this man agreed to take out Franco and afterwards, he goes to Kelly’s and drop fries, makes cheeseburgers and discusses TJ’s prom date with him. How sick is that? GH is trying to make sociopaths look normal.
And Alexis is an attorney, having a love affair with a hired gun. I think it would be interesting if some woman comes to Port Charles and unearths irrefutable proof that Sean is a criminal and Alexis is aware of it. She tries to get Alexis disbarred. Maybe Alexis was responsible for her husband going to prison, where he committed suicide. And she wants to get even.
I love roger howarth, and while I think the franco story line in the past was ridiculous, I’m open to seeing what new elements roger can bring to the role. I think they chose franco because he’s dark, but with some humorous moments, just like Todd. It’s not general hospital’s fault that prospect park decided not to them keep John, Todd, and Starr. They’re making the best of a bad situation. These three actors are fan favorites and still have two years remaining on contract. Roger howarth being franco isn’t nearly as stupid as Cesar Faison posing as Duke Lavery. My whole family has been enjoying (and actually getting a laugh) at many of the quirks Roger is bringing to Franco. But as usual people like to piss and moan without giving it a chance. There have been worse story lines (Kate and Joe jr.) and there will be worse to come. No body likes every aspect of every show, but that doesn’t mean their bad. I hated anything to do with Susan lucci, but I loved AMC. If you don’t like the franco parts, fast forward. Some people really enjoy where this is going. I’d rather him be Todd, but on gh he can’t, so I’ll take what I can get. If I dropped the show every time there was a storyline I didn’t like, I’d’ve stopped watching it the year I started, but 16 years later I’m still watching. And many have been watching longer. Clearly something is being done right.
I agree with all of the negative comments already posted. GH has declined even more since they reintroduced the three former OLTL actors. I pretty much fast forward through the entire show these days, the acting has been terrible and the storylines absolutely unbelievable.
I feel most sorry for people like my Mom. She is almost 80 years old and has been watching GH as long as I can remember. She doesn’t own a computer and doesn’t know about all of the behind-the-scenes things happening with her shows. I try to explain things to her but honestly, it’s too complicated for her to understand. She has no idea what is going on with GH these days — the three former-OLTL characters all look familiar but she assumes at least two of them are trying to disguise themselves as the people they were the first time around (John/Silas and Starr/Kiki). She, like everyone else, always thought the whole Franco storyline was stupid from the get go — she hates this version of it even more.
I used to worry about GH being cancelled forever. I can honestly say that I won’t miss it if this is what we’re going to get.
The arrival of Maura West is the best new character addition to the canvas in terms of opening up story possibilities. I loved her Carly Tenney-Snyder on ATWT so here’s hoping her Ava Jerome doesn’t sink to the cartoonish depths that always seem to occur with this particular headwriter.
As for the recast choice for Julie Marie Berman’s Lulu Spencer-Falconeri, it’s obvious that FV and RC settled for (and seriously miscast), an actress who is nothing more than competent. She can memorize lines, she’s blonde, she fits into the wardrobe. I have seen nothing in her interpretation going now for three months that tells me she “knows” who L is, much less loves her the way Julie has for 7+ years. There is no depth and very little range to be seen for what has always been, with Julie, a character that is both complex and fascinating. Interesting also is that there has been very little interaction between the recast and either AG or JE. Julie’s work with them was always stellar. Witness her recent Emmy reel and subsequent win this past Sunday (6/16/13) as Best Supporting Actress. As it stands now, for me, Dominic Zamprogna is the one carrying this pairing and I seriously wonder how much longer he can continue when the young woman opposite him is stilted in her delivery of dialogue and whose screen presence shrinks with the entrance of more characters into various scenes. That Julie and Dominic were shunted off to the sidelines during their own faux surrogacy story and their talents criminally wasted during much of 2012 doesn’t give me hope that this regime knows how to write for one of the core GH families. A family that RC claims to “love”. Sad state of affars. And I won’t go near the Michael and Lauren schtick…
Longtime GH fan, watched on and off for years since the 70’s. I agree with many of the comments here. The celebration of the 50th showed a lot of promise and I was excited to be watching again. But boy have things gone downhill quickly! First and foremost why on earth would they make the totally insane decision to dissolve Luke and Laura’s relationship? They were, arguably, the most popular couple in daytime (and all of television) history. Wouldn’t it have been great for them to rediscover their love and remarry? What a ridiculous wasted opportunity. Instead we are asked to believe that Laura loves Scotty. Right. And speaking of Laura, remember the big media blitz to announce her return? Is she even on the show anymore? At this point she pops in for 5 or 10 minutes as a supporting character every two weeks or so. Seriously, why bother having her back at all? And, I’m sorry to those who feel differently, but this Franco storyline is HORRIBLE, utter garbage. And Carly has become an utter caricature of who she once was, ridiculously shrill and, at times, idiotic. Remember when Carly arrived? The great storyline as Bobby’s long lost daughter? Remember those days? When the stories had emotional resonance and were compelling to watch and you hated to miss it? I could,go on, but I just needed to vent my frustration at having just watched today’s ridiculous episode. I find myself wondering if ABC isn’t actively trying to tank this show. Sad.
The show is in the toilet. Franco is a evil crazy nutcase. Why bother to try to reform him, and I don’t care how many fans Ro HO has his smirk ,and his come to poppa make my skin crawl. We know KIKI and her daddy??They couldn’t find another character for him to play. FrankeRon think they are still doing OLTL. I watched very very little of that show, so don’t want to see this. Not only that but these two are on everyday in most of the plots. We get the Q’s back, and we have to have them in the middle of them????
NO Laura and only Anna and she must have had a lobotomy in her time away. Can’t catch a cold.
Sean killed a man accidently, almost lost his mind because of it, he becomes a mob enforcer, first he kidnaps Konnie, Threatens Rafe, then runs a diner, Now if he had shot Sonny instead of Olivia, he would be my hero. Now he is just Jason. Olivia deserved the bullet from Sonny. She protected him
when he looked her son in the eye and shot him. Perjury anyone. Alexis is an officer of the court, could have fooled me. I still think Guza is hiding in the writers room, with the monkeys .This is the same old same old we had when the unholy three were doing the show! Stupid cops, sonny wins and Carley jumps in without thinking and never pays . next thing we will see her jumping is FrancoTodds bones.
The show has (or had) people like Brandon Barash, Finola Hughes, Kimberly McCullough, Robin Mattson, Kin Shriner, Lynn Herring, Nancy Lee Grahn, Tony Geary, Genie Francis, Tristan Rogers, Ian Buchanan, Maurice Bernard, Kristina Malandro Wagner, John J. York, Lisa LoCicero, Kelly Sullivan, Kelly Monaco, Tyler Christopher, Rebecca Budig, even Steve Burton (stellar names that are synonymous with “soap actor” in soap history – and the list is staggering when you reread it and think o it) and somehow, that cast is being tossed aside because of the egos, clearly, of the two showrunners, the head writer and the executive producer.
When people were touting the “saving graces” of those two, I could only think, “wait until you see what they REALLY do to the characters and show you love.” And those of us who knew what FV and RC were capable of with our characters from OLTL were just waiting, and hoping it wouldn’t be the same for GH – and it was. The head writer seems to want to focus on the three One Lifers with a side of Michael and Carly, and it’s just sad. Look at that list of talent, and that’s not all.
Sadly have already given up GH after being a fan since 1976. It’s not the same show, by a long shot. What was done to Todd from about August 2012 on while on GH was bad enough; the character was misused and miswritten, and the others backburned. He wasn’t Todd, not really, not the way the actor had developed him for years. But it didn’t matter to people because it was GH, and OLTL didn’t matter anymore, nor had it, for some.
Wrong, clearly. Glad to see that character saved and preserved, even if not full time and even if some of the so-called Roger fans will take him doing just about anything as long as he will have his shirt off. I can’t stomach a second of Roger’s Franco, and I love the actor a great deal. But the sadder part is what is happening to GH, the rest of the cast, and the whole General Hospital brand because of these two egotistical petty people who just can’t let go.
The “red-headed step child” as it was known, is now back and currently safe from this kind of damage. I feel that in losing GH, I’ve lost something that was there over almost all of my life, but at the same time, I can’t bear to watch it die this way.
Wow, Amanda–right on! Very well said! I, too, will join the ranks of those no longer watching unless there is a dramatic improvement in the near future.