I love Ethan…and I agree…while he’s not my favorite…just cause I like em all…love Lucky, too…there was an instant connection between Ethan and Luke. I hope they don’t change the parentage…

I think Nancy IS Bob Guza!

Young man, please do not put words in my mouth (btw, I think we are all free to post our opinions). No, I am not referring to the previous regime with Bob Guza whose major focus was violence and mob. I am referring to the writers such as Doug Marland (which Genie Francis cites in her interviews for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences–see on YouTube). Genie credits him with the Luke and Laura story. Also such greats as Pat Falken Smith. I am talking about the writers who actually took time to create complicated characters and integrated story lines. The writers on GH do not appear to have that capability; instead, they give us jerky sketches and dropped story lines. The also have violated almost all of the legacy characters and story lines. I am only speaking the obvious.

Timmm, bite your tongue! I am a poet and short story writer–and NOT a fan of Guza nor Phelps. And I abhor violence and adher to the adage that the “pen is mightier than the sword.” So there.

@Dan- Kudos!!! No matter what FV & RC doooooo…there’s no pleasing everyone.
It is what it is. Be happy JJ and NP were able to carve out a little time,from their busy
schedules to bid TG a fond and respectable ADIEU. Personally I’m thrilled.

@Timmm: you’re comeback, “PRICELESS”.

@Nancy: Young man, huh? Lol, it’s been a long time since I’ve been called young. But thanks for the compliment! Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, just as I’m entitled to disagree with it. That’s the beauty of this board. Marland and Falken Smith are before my era of watching GH, though I certainly appreciate and respect the history of the show. Claire Labine was writing the show when I started watching, so she’s always the bench mark for me. Sounds like we agree on Phelps and Guza, at the very least.

@Timmm: Love it!

@Fanny: You’re exactly right. Some people seem to get off on criticizing FV and RC, and I mean, yes there are things they deserve to be criticized for. But criticizing them for shows and stories that haven’t aired yet, and criticizing them because JJ and NP are only able to drop in for a short-term appearance on the show, so naturally it’s gonna be more of a “sketch” than a long-term story, that’s really reaching.

What I always go back to is an undeniable truth. People can say what they want, but if it wasn’t for FV and RC, there would be no GH for us to be talking about today. It would be in the soap opera graveyard along with AMC, OLTL, ATWT, GL, and all the rest. They came in, stabilized the show, and got the ratings back up to a level that ABC was pleased with. We haven’t heard any cancellation talk in a long time. For that I will always be grateful.

Dan, to say that someone (meaning me) “gets off” criticizing TPTB is beneath anyone writing seriously on this board, I should think. If everyone has the right to his/her opinion (as you rightly say), why get rude and accusatory to someone that disagrees with you or simply states her opinion? Unnecessary and really uncalled for. I’m very disappointed that you would make that statement. It adds nothing to an intelligent discussion by the other more courteous posters. Now go to the (black) board and write 100 times: “I shall not say “get off” to the teacher”–English teacher, that is–and that would be me. BTW, are you old enough to remember the days when the teacher had one do this for punishment? LOL

Thanks Dan. You’re so right. Without Frank and Ron there’d be no GH. They took a show that was about to be canceled and made it so much more compelling and better. It’s not 100%–no writer ever is (I say that as someone who makes their living writing–though nonfiction).

I thought today’s Luke & Anna scenes were packed with emotion. Finola’s been killing it all week. And to say that’s not Anna is to say it’s impossible for people to change and evolve or do awful things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. We’ve all done it in real life, so why can’t soap characters do it as well?

Nancy, if saying the words “get off” are rude and disrespectful then so is referring to someone as “young man”, as you did to me earlier in this thread. I chose to laugh it off, because that’s what I do. I’m not someone that goes around life looking for things to get offended about. Life is too short.

But I certainly could have, because calling someone “young man” is a demeaning and dismissive way of talking down to a person, like a mother scolding a child, or in your case, a teacher lecturing a student. So if there was any rudeness in this thread, that’s where it started.

Btw, sorry to tell you, but “get off” wasn’t directed at you personally. If it was, I would have mentioned your name, which is what I do when I have something to say to someone individually. It was a generalized statement and also a figure of speech. Perhaps I could have chosen my words better, and so I apologize if you were offended or upset.

CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?!?! 🙂 🙂

I think that great points are made by all, at least when the principals are not being offensive to each other (intentionally or otherwise).

Dan, your observation about the regime “that fired Stuart Damon, Genie Francis, Rachel Ames, Kristina Wagner, among others” is astute and absolutely correct. I totally agree with you. Certain executive producers have little to no respect for the veterans, with Jill Farren Phelps being the main instigator.

Nancy, I actually agree with much of what you say regarding FV and RC. I applaud you for being critical of the show as you see fit. You are basing your projected criticism on past performance. (It only makes sense….) I, too, am critical of GH…

I wish more for the show than what we’ve been given. My main gripe is disgust at the character of Sonny, everyone in his orbit (including Jason), and the endless mob storylines. The day they changed GH from hospital-centric to Sonny-centric was a sad and pathetic day in soap history. I just feel that there is no rooting value for an abusive, negative bully and jerk. Carly is not much better. And, yet, the powers that be cram these characters down our throats day after day, year after year, decade after decade. Also, GH has an enormous cast, half of whom it seems are recurring, and the powers that be don’t seem to know how to use everyone effectively.

My viewing has been sporadic in the last couple of years. I am a huge fan of Genie Francis, so I will tune in to see her, for as long as she is on the show. I am old enough to remember Genie when she first started on GH. (I first started watching in 1969! — Don’t get me started on how great the show was in the 1970s, especially before the Luke & Laura phenomenon….) So I am definitely not a “young man” either.

I am not making up anything, just stating the obvious.

The best way to predict the future is to look at the past, however, I remain optimistic about Luke’s exit strategy.
Tony Geary has a lot of influence over the writing–he wants to obliterate the dreariness of the patched up Fluke story by bringing viewers some good old fashioned Luke adventures.
I am over the moon that JJ is coming home—he really feels like he is the son of Luke and Laura. We’ve watched Lucky grow up and he actually feels like family. I am also excited that Nathan is coming back as Ethan. He’s a great character and I wish he’d stick around.

Nancy you are insinuating that they will only be on for one day which is not true so yes you are making stuff up. I have to agree with Harry, Geary has a lot of input so i think his exact will be decnt. TPTB may not always be the best but they know the shows history and have always done a good job incorporating that into the show so these next couple months should be a lot of fun.

Well said, Nancy.

Harry…you and I agreed on this before Harry…we both love Ethan. Actually, I have two Nathan Parsons sitings because I am FINALLY watching True Blood. Binge watching actually. Within two days I’ve watched two seasons. I hear he’s in the final season…so…while I want to savor this show and actually slow down my binging…I can already imagine how fantastic he must have been as a vampire. But I digress…

@Rebecca: When you’re through with True Blood…You may want to consider
The Originals on the CW, ( Don’t LAUGH! A spinoff of The Vampire Diaries )
the first episodes will introduce the characters & how they came to be…
They just finished season 2 & have been renewed for a third season…
Nathan P play’s Jackson a Werewolf, the role suits him well.
Sebastian Roche is also on this show, he plays Mikael……

Hi Fanny. Thanks! Actually, I haven’t watched The Vampire Diaries yet, either. So, those two shows will be next on my catch-up list. I love the whole vampire lore…

I am soooooo loving True Blood. I’ve now gone thru another season…pulled an all-nighter. It’s a catch-22…I’m “hungry” for each episode and yet I don’t want to get to the end of the series…

Delete one Harry. 🙂

It was not very emotional for me because it was not Anna–I could not believe it; thus it failed to have the emotional impact that it would otherwise have had. The scene, like so many other was spurious and contrived for sweeps–sheer sensationalism.

Can we please ease up on Nancy? I think she did a good job stating her case and was kind of funny in the process. Of course, Nancy, I would have called Dan a ‘whippersnapper’ so you have me beat in the class department. Nancy, I sounded like you a few months ago but subsequently gave up after realizing that all my bitching was just putting me in a worse mood (if that is possible). I do root for GH and what appears to be hatred on my part is really my being defensive of an old family friend. Perhaps you feel the same. As I have said many times, hatred is not the opposite of love–indifference is. And when indifference and apathy set in we stop watching, hence the ratings go down. Therefore, for the sake of saving our soaps, we should be encouraged to speak up regardless of whether the content of our opinion is positive or negative. The collective nature of these forums signifies interest which is always a good thing for our four remaining soaps. So keep talking! It’s okay to disagree!
Rebecca, like Nancy you manage to be a class act while disagreeing with others. Yes, you and I agree when it comes to Nathan, aka Ethan. I think this guy is down to earth, off beat, and lovable in all his quirkiness. I truly believe he is Luke’s son.
Wilda, I fast forwarded through much of today’s show because it featured Valerie too much. I truly do not care about her and wonder why anyone thought adding her to the already over crowded punch bowl was a good idea. However, I watched intently as Tony Geary said goodbye to Finola Hughes. Yes, that was their goodbye scene and Luke and Anna were emoting real emotions. It was very poignant and quite lovely.

Okay, everyone….anyway…
I think that Luke’s and Tracy’s engagement party is in honor of Tony’s exit, yes? Nice send-off.

I meant wasted “THERE” not their.

Patrick, I agree with you. TG has disrespected fans forever. He always seems angry at the fans and ambivalent about the character of Luke. No one twisted his arm, and drama is a two-way street. Where is the actor without an audience? TG can’t seem to get over the fact that, eons ago, some fans shouted “Rape, me, Luke!” (according to him). Where is his sense of humor that he so famously displayed when he first created Luke? Couldn’t he just know they might have been voicing their enthusiasm at seeing their favorite star that long -ago time? He says he walked off the stage. How petulant!
He never gives the audience credit for being serious, discerning and appreciative of good drama.

@Nancy: I agree with your assessment of “No one twisted his arm”. When
he became so popular & well recognized on GH, he chose to leave & explore
different avenues of entertainment. What he hadn’t counted on, was the “it”
factor that had made him a soap “STAR” didn’t translate into nighttime TV &
Movies. So to some degree he reluctantly returned to GH, RESIGNED to
playing LUKE indefinitely. However disappointing that prospect was to TG,
he became the HIGHEST payed actor on daytime television. So he made
out better than okay…….

SOD : “In his own words”

– Geary has shared a lot of shocking details about himself over the years in Digest interviews –

” I don’t live for my fans. I don’t even act for them. I act for myself and that character. That character has been my first friend… I am sure that some of your readers will be incensed, but I want to make that clear. They found me. I didn’t go after them. This is not to put them down… If I ever get too tired to find a reason to do it for me, then i’m out of here, folks. ‘Cause I’m not going to stick around for the fans. For what? This is the most fickle medium in the world – please quote me. Today it’s Geary, tomorrow it’s somebody else.” 12/20/83

“Luke and Laura were created out of a lot of angst and neuroses, and you need to hang on to that. If you redefine them as a happy couple, as much as the audience says they want that, they get bored. and so do we… frankly, there’s nothing I hate more than playing the nostalgic moments around the hearth with the family. I loathe it.” 11/27/01

etc…

I’m certainly not that far removed…. that I kindled the thought that these figures (actors) should matter vice versa with the audience

as posted…. I chose AMC over GH years ago… I’m not slighting his motivation
I will applaud him… when the character goes dark

I got caught up in the moment at the grocery store… (lol) is our fervor with 4 REMAINing wild

I am so excited to see what’s in store for Jane Elliott

speaking of GH : you know what got me incensed

LOL : was Dr. Leisl losing her Painting, from Franco

I near screamed, when Nina smashed it over Franco head

I like the tease and banter between Leisl and Franco : provocative, no?

You guys gotta understand something, when Tony and a guy like Eric Braeden have been on their shows for so long they do deserve a say in their characters stories. Its out of respect to all their years on their shows and they do care about who they portray and want them to be portrayed properly.

Thanks, Justin!

Hmmm, good point Timmm, I just feel that in Geary’s case, the character of Luke has been destroyed. I grew up watching and loving his antics and adventures, and of recent years, I cannot remember the last time that I liked that character.

I feel the need to point out that Tony Geary was not happy with the writing of the Fluke story. He said that he said to his dear friend Jane Elliot that they would just have to make the best of it–and he did. They did.
While he has some influence over the stories, we cannot blame him for the Fluke debacle.
I know many disagree with me on the aforementioned–but the writing afforded to the Fluke was crap and didn’t adhere to the basic story arc which includes: introduction, conflict, rising action, climax and resolution. It was all over the place.
I just hope Ron doesn’t make love like her writes, (will this get past the censor?)

I apologize for my jumbled post above (if it goes through–waiting for moderation).
Trying to type on my cell phone is a daunting task for me.
I actually hope it doesn’t go through!

Very true, Harry! Very true!

Thanks so very much, Harry, for your bit of levity. You are always a breath of fresh air! Love it!

Harry, thanks again–and you truly are a class act!