General Hospital Watching General Hospital

[Daniel Avery]

I know we should admire Britt's loyalty to her BFF Brad, but trying to get him a job at the hospital is a bit much. They approach this as if Britt and Terry can do as they wish in hiring him, but the Hospital Board (with Monica as the Chairman and Michael and Nikolas as voting members) would very easily veto any such effort to hire him. Britt is only there on a technicality--Cyrus hired her intending to manipulate her due to her inexperience--but now they'd have to come up with "just cause" to terminate her or else get sued. Trying to hire Brad back might constitute such a cause. Brad's friendship isn't worth her endangering her job, and frankly he ought to care enough about Britt not to ask her for a job. He also should not want to work there because apparently Lucas still works there ( :eck: ). If he is trying to avoid being forced to work for his aunt, he could apply at Mercy Hospital nearby.

On the B&B thread I recall people talking about how Susan Flannery and Ronn Moss detested having to do scenes talking about Liam and Hope, scenes we commonly refer to as "propping" (as in "Propping up those characters"). Flannery especially thought it was a disservice to her powerful character to be seen going on and on about a couple of teenagers and how supposedly important the ins and outs of their relationship was. I was reminded of that conversation with Flannery as I watched Sonny last week with his associate Brick (the one played by the guy from ESPN) in one of their famously testosterone-laden conversations about.....the Joss/Cam sex tape, Trina's arraignment, and his "chat" with Esme to put her on notice. Big, Bad Sonny, scariest mobster on the Eastern seaboard, is reduced to bullying a snotty, little teenager and having conversations with his fixer-guy to "take out" said snotty teenager who is being mean to Joss and her teenaged friends.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I got Tuesday off and thought I'd get to see GH 'live'. There was a subway shooting in Brooklyn that morning that had gotten wall-to-wall news coverage, but after a couple of hours of "We have nothing new to report, but let's sit here and discuss not having anything new to report" they decided to go to regular programming. But then, inexplicably they showed a rerun---a particularly important rerun (Maxie/Peter and Anna/Finn's aborted double wedding), but still....why?

Because in the final minutes of today's episode (the one that should have aired Tuesday afternoon), some goons busted in Charlie's Bar waving guns. ABC must have made a last-minute decision that it might not be the best time to be showing such a story, which....yeah, I get it, but does putting it off one day really make a difference? Are we so de-sensitized to such events that they think we'll just forget the subway shooting in 24 hours?

Strange times we live in, isn't it?

 

[Monzo]

I wasn't surprised that GH was preempted on Tuesday, but I don't think ABC wanted to be particularly sensitive, just that one of the calculated preemptions came through. As far as I know, ABC always calculates a certain number of preemptions and produces fewer episodes per year. In August 2019, a few episodes had to be repeated without reason because there had been no news or political preemptions in previous months.

Have you noticed that Chad Durell has gained a lot of weight? The drama surrounding his personal life (everyone sees him as the villain even though he cryptically pretends that Courtney Hope is the villain) is now showing in his body and face. In fact, it's rare to see traces of personal troubles in an actor, but it's the case with Chad Durell.

Regarding current storylines: There is nothing that really bothers me, but nothing that excites me either. Sonny & Nina are already going in the direction of Sam & Dante: boring couple. And it's hard to believe that Phyllis didn't know that Nina was expecting twins.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I wasn't surprised that GH was preempted on Tuesday, but I don't think ABC wanted to be particularly sensitive, just that one of the calculated preemptions came through. As far as I know, ABC always calculates a certain number of preemptions and produces fewer episodes per year. In August 2019, a few episodes had to be repeated without reason because there had been no news or political preemptions in previous months.

Have you noticed that Chad Durell has gained a lot of weight? The drama surrounding his personal life (everyone sees him as the villain even though he cryptically pretends that Courtney Hope is the villain) is now showing in his body and face. In fact, it's rare to see traces of personal troubles in an actor, but it's the case with Chad Durell.

Regarding current storylines: There is nothing that really bothers me, but nothing that excites me either. Sonny & Nina are already going in the direction of Sam & Dante: boring couple. And it's hard to believe that Phyllis didn't know that Nina was expecting twins.

I think that the Victor Cassadine plan is the big priority, and that they are in a type of holding pattern with other stories


I think that the pacing is too slow
What is Marshall's secret and what does Stella know? (By the way, I think Vernee Watson is the best actress on the set, with honorable mention to Laura Wright and
Maura West)
New Jordan looks too glamorous.
I was enjoying the redeemed Harmony, and now they are no doubt writing her out.
I don't care for Liz, but the possible reintroduction of Jeff Weber can be a good story.

Please give Cameron Mathison a decent storyline - Still like him better than Dante with Sam
I never liked Dante and his self-righteous stuff

 

[Daniel Avery]

Have you noticed that Chad Durell has gained a lot of weight? The drama surrounding his personal life (everyone sees him as the villain even though he cryptically pretends that Courtney Hope is the villain) is now showing in his body and face. In fact, it's rare to see traces of personal troubles in an actor, but it's the case with Chad Durell.

Oh, when Tyler Christopher was going off the rails he had days where he looked terrible onscreen. But I'm sure the show is much more critical of such things than fans are. Michael has likely bulked up from carrying around that massive chip on his shoulder.

And it's hard to believe that Phyllis didn't know that Nina was expecting twins.

That is an excellent point. It reinforces my thought that if they really want to nail down this whole story (that is, answer plot holes like that one), they should do some proper flashbacks to the time when Nina fell into the coma, featuring a younger Nina, Silas, Phyllis, Harmony...maybe even a small kid to play Nathan, with Donna Mills once again appearing as Madeline since Donna Mills still looks like it's 1995 anyway. Rather than revealing the past story in dribs and drabs, show us what actually went down.

What is Marshall's secret and what does Stella know?

It amazes me that this character (Marshall) has been on the show since October or November and has done nothing but talk in circles. At least Stella has an occasional stroke to break up the monotony.

New Jordan looks too glamorous.

They do need to tone it down. We know the Police Commissioner doesn't chase criminals in dark alleys, but she's dressing like she ought to be working for Deception or Crimson. But while I was watching that rerun the other day with the former Jordan, I was struck by how beautiful that actress was--but how she was miscast in that role because she was too young-looking. The current Jordan is also too young-looking, but is also not dressing appropriately for her job.

I know CamMath did not come cheap, so one would think they would be doing more to get their money's worth.

 

[Monzo]

Drew seems to have become useless, just like the first time (after realizing he's not Jason). Why doesn't he take care of Jake who's obviously struggling? Both have been to Cassadine Island, the connection is there. I don't like it when Drew can remember things that only Jason witnessed, like the fights between Carly and Alexis in the old days. I also don't like how Drew keeps praising Carly. When frenemies like Sam or Britt cheer her up it's somehow interesting or even funny, but it doesn't make sense with Drew.

 

[Daniel Avery]

They need to attach Drew to the WSB clique (Robert/Anna/Felicia), since those characters ain't gettin' any younger and they will need someone to do all the heavy lifting in their spy stories. They tried to move Dante into that group but it did not really stick (and DZ ended up leaving for a while). If they mold him into their new super-spy/action hero character who saves the day whether you want him to or not, then he doesn't necessarily need a love interest full time.

Of the current "list" of potential love interests for him, I'd pick Liz, Britt, or Sam (in that order) ahead of Carly. I'd pick the re-animated corpse of Courtney Matthews over Carly, in fact. The character of Carly is just too "big" right now, so overbearing that anyone who shares screen time with her ends up being a supporting player even if the scene is supposed to be about them. They need to tone her down, perhaps resist the urge to inject her into every other story (whether she is needed or not) and let us have some time away from her. Absence can make the heart grow fonder.

 

[Monzo]

I recently read an interview in which Jack Wagner said he was open to an arc for GH's 60th birthday next year. I don't care if Frisco returns, but I'm wondering if we're already seeing 60th anniversary stories in the works. Could Luke return next year? Anthony Geary could be persuaded if Jane Elliot and Jonathan Jackson also return for a birthday arc.

What was the point of Gregory's recent visit? I thought he would definitely be in another episode but nothing happened.

I'm amazed that Port Charles PD is so well staffed that patol cars can drive up and down Elizabeth's street 24/7.

 

[alovelylady7991]

I wasn't surprised that GH was preempted on Tuesday, but I don't think ABC wanted to be particularly sensitive, just that one of the calculated preemptions came through. As far as I know, ABC always calculates a certain number of preemptions and produces fewer episodes per year. In August 2019, a few episodes had to be repeated without reason because there had been no news or political preemptions in previous months.

Have you noticed that Chad Durell has gained a lot of weight? The drama surrounding his personal life (everyone sees him as the villain even though he cryptically pretends that Courtney Hope is the villain) is now showing in his body and face. In fact, it's rare to see traces of personal troubles in an actor, but it's the case with Chad Durell.

Regarding current storylines: There is nothing that really bothers me, but nothing that excites me either. Sonny & Nina are already going in the direction of Sam & Dante: boring couple. And it's hard to believe that Phyllis didn't know that Nina was expecting twins.

I actually think that Chad has returned to a more normal weight and appearance - since this last romantic entanglement - ended - especially his skin has improved and he just seems overall to be healthy, again. Not saying this guy doesn't have a ton on personal issues - he just can't seem to keep a lady in his life - so - there has to be a there - there.

It's fairly well known that EP Frank doesn't have much use for Chad - since Chad broke up with Kristen Alderson - a few years back - she was the young lady who played "Starr Manning" on both OLTL and GH - Frank's always considered her something of a "pet" and after that nasty breakup - the writing for Michael (Chad) has been fairly awful - nothing close to the Emmy-worthy material he had been getting.

 

[Monzo]

Alexis' temporary recast couldn't have come at a worse time, at least the actress is expressive. Still, I would have loved to watch how NLG would have reacted when Alexis found out that Harmony killed Neil. Anyway, Harmony is going downhill faster than I thought. Before she attacked Carly, I thought Harmony was going to jail and eventually released sooner or later, but if you want to harm Carly, you've reached the point of no return.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I don't need a calendar to tell me May Sweeps has arrived. Harmony's cray-cray just got turned up to 11. Someone elsewhere on the web suggested that maybe Harmony also killed Madeline in jail years ago, since Liesl kept saying at the time that Madeline was always in excellent health and thus did not believe that heart attack story. Maybe Harmony was "volunteering" at Riker's (where Madeline was being held) and has been wielding that gi-normous syringe all this time.

If Harmony had wanted this plan to succeed, she should have called up Dr. Monica for an assist. Monica would have gladly helped Harmony pitch that heifer into the trunk, maybe even brought an appropriately-sized rock to put on the gas pedal to make sure Carly and her car ended up at the bottom of the harbor.

"I'd ask you to say hello to AJ for me, but I'm pretty sure you'll be on the opposite escalator, so....never mind."

 

[Daniel Avery]

So I got to see "Fauxlexis" today, or at least some of her scenes. That has to be a wig she's wearing, right? I mean, it's just so....big, and just happens to be NLG's exact shade. Whatever the case, the nation let out a collective groan as it became apparent Carly was going to get out of this safely, not even a TBI or something to give us some sort of break from her.

This was the first sustained series of scenes I've watched featuring Spencer and New Trina. While I am relieved that the hair stylists have gotten some of that hair out of Trina's face (seriously, it was taking over) I still am not seeing the same level of sparks between this actress and the kid playing Spencer. Granted, the Spencer kid started off kind of wooden but is now doing great work, but I'll still wait and see if the new Trina actress manages to take off in the same way the Spencer actor did. I had really gotten used to Sidney Mikayla's style of acting; this actress seems a lot less "bold" and confident. They were good scenes, though, and I think the show is still invested in the pairing. The longer they were kept apart, the more I worried.

 

[Monzo]

Ava and Finn's chance meeting at the nail salon made me think of Ava's ex Silas and I suddenly realized that Michael has been dating all three of Silas' daughters: Kiki, Nelle and Willow. By the way: wasn't Nelle a few years older than Michael? Her twin sister Willow looks like she's a lot younger than Michael.

When it comes to Silas, he is one of these characters who didn't impress me at all, I'll probably say the same thing about Finn when he's gone one day. I wonder how much longer Michael Easton will be dragged along.

I got used to nuTrina faster than nuJordan, which I still have problems with. I like the actress, just not in the role.

How about GH taking inspiration from B&B's steamy Carter & Quinn affair and Curtis letting Selina seduce him?

 

[Daniel Avery]

Silas was a twin, which lends some credence to Nina having twins by Silas. Of course Silas's twin brother Stephen was a vampire rock star on Port Charles who got "killed off" on GH (the body disappeared!), so they likely want to forget that happened. No one acknowledged that Finn looks like the Clay brothers (or John McBain), so there is no 'link' to the other characters...which is too bad because we missed Nina having a mini-breakdown upon seeing Finn and thinking it's her husband Silas back from the dead.

I liked Silas the best of Easton's characters, mostly because of the colorful back-story and his dramatic exit. He had Michelle Stafford and Maura West fighting over him, and got murdered by Donna Mills! And he managed to keep Kelly Monaco awake most of the time.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Liz's 'stalker' manages to keep one step ahead of security cameras and common sense once again today.

Finn ought to buy her a Fit-Bit, secretly synch hers to his, and keep an eye out to see if she has sudden, strenuous activity right before "the stalker" decides to do some redecorating.

 

[Monzo]

RIP Harmony. She had a great run. Her death was probably the best solution. It's hard to imagine that after her redeemption she would have become as interesting as Britt and Liesl.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Liz's 'stalker' manages to keep one step ahead of security cameras and common sense once again today.

Finn ought to buy her a Fit-Bit, secretly synch hers to his, and keep an eye out to see if she has sudden, strenuous activity right before "the stalker" decides to do some redecorating.

Liz has a split personality I think. She is the stalker.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

RIP Harmony. She had a great run. Her death was probably the best solution. It's hard to imagine that after her redeemption she would have become as interesting as Britt and Liesl.

I am sorry that they reverted to Harmony as villain. I thought that her initial redemption was quite effective, and could have led to more possible character development

 

[Daniel Avery]

More specifically, I think Liz is doing these things under the influence of Ambien*, since they made several obvious references to her having taken a sleeping pill. Some of these stunts have occurred, however, during the day and at times when she would not have had the need to take medication. I have heard of multiple instances of Ambien making people do crazy stuff while appearing to be awake and going about business as normal, but I haven't read up on it enough to know if all of Liz's stuff could be explained in that way. But Liz, a NURSE, and Finn, a DOCTOR, ought to have thought of it by now. But you will recall these are the two who declared Peter dead after his fall down the stairs and hid his "body" in that freezer in the basement when he wasn't even dead.

* They might get sued if they say the name of the medication, so they might just blame it on 'the sleeping pills she's been taking'.

Making Harmony into a calculating, unbalanced killer did not exactly come out of nowhere. Even if you overlook the whole situation with Willow, Nelle, and Nina, she aided the leader of a sex cult, even pushing Willow into his clutches. She was said to be working for Cyrus Renault in some capacity after the Dawn of Day stuff blew up, though they had to drop that angle due to the pandemic (the actress is from Canada and was not allowed to travel for work). Her working to "assist" Ryan as a prison volunteer also set her up to look suspicious, given how no one should want to hang out with him. So she was always sketchy from my point of view.

When Harmony was in jail (due to her role in the DoD stuff) she was Nelle's cellmate; I wonder if she ever learned that she was "roomies" with the other twin?

It bugs me that they had to insert Carly into the whole plotline, keeping dead Harmony's secret about Willow. It's as if there is some writing directive that Carly has to be involved in every single story on the show somehow. Yes, they're going for "parallel" story (Carly keeps the Willow secret from Nina just like Nina kept the Sonny/Mike secret from Carly) but I just need a break from Carly. Does Laura Wright ever take a vacation? I fully expect Carly to be the one giving Liz Ambien and making her do crazy stuff.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

This show needs some rethinking about its stories.

I agree that Sonny, Carly and Michael all have significant faults, but that doesn't excuse Nina's selfish, self-centered, false victim claims.
Nina should be held accountable for her deeds. It disgusts me that they are pairing her with Sonny.
The Marshall story is dragging
Please give Cameron Mathison something to do. He seems wasted.

How about..

Liz is her own stalker. Will Jeff come to her aid (after ignoring her for decades)
Bring back Cyrus
What if Morgan is alive and comes back ready to take over the business
When Victor comes back, let's not make it the "good" guys against bad Cassadine.
Victor's critics have done more than their fair share of stuff
What if Victor's motives while misguided are at least somewhat beneficial
Nicolas - Wise up. For a man raised among psychopaths he seems oddly clueless
Not liking the Austin/Maxie and Dante/Dam pairings
Bring back original Lucas

Just some thoughts