General Hospital
GH's Head Writer Ron Carlivati Interview Part Two: Who's Luke? State of Patrick & Sabrina, Michelle Stafford, Julexis & Daytime Emmy Snubs!
Photo Credit: NY Times
Last week, On-Air On-Soaps brought you part one of our latest interview with General Hospital’s head writer, Ron Carlivati!
While that part of our chat focused on the writing of the stories and the performances surrounding the Nurses Ball 2014, this second part focuses in on some of the current storylines, characters, and controversies that are stirring up the Port Charles canvas and the GH viewers at home!
Among the hot topics in Port Charles: Just who is this evil Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) anyway? Are Patrick (Jason Thompson) and Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) over for good? Has Sonny (Maurice Benard) gone too far? How will the entrance of Michelle Stafford as Nina Clay shake up the already star-studded line-up on the canvas? Will Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) finally get a mobster to choose her over a life of crime? Will Maxie (Kirsten Storms) find true love with Nathan (Ryan Paevey)? And that is just for starters!
In addition, after General Hospital was shut out in the Outstanding Drama Series, Directing, and Writing categories for this year’s 41st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Ron offers up his thoughts on the triple omission. So now, here is the rest of our candid conversation with Mr. C!
I read in a recent interview you gave that you are following what the fans are saying about their guesses of who this crime/drug lord Luke (Anthony Geary) really is. Right now, the viewers are maddened and they want to get to the bottom line of who this guy really is! They are screaming, “Enough is enough! Is he Luke … or an imposter?”
Courtesy/ABC
RON: It’s obviously driving people mad. Look, part of soaps is being frustrated and thinking, “When am I going to find out the reason he is behaving this way?” And you walk that line as the writers of, “OK, when do we have to give that away?” The payoff is coming very, very, very, soon. You will be getting a very big insight into why Luke is behaving this way within the next two weeks on the air.
You have now added powerhouse and Daytime Emmy winner Michelle Stafford to the cast as Nina Clay, and you already had added Maura West (Ava), another powerhouse Daytime Emmy winner to the canvas. What are you going to do with these actresses, not to mention the other incredibly talented heavy hitters in your line-up of women, in terms of story time and visibility on the show?
RON: It is an embarrassment of riches, and how do you juggle all this? It is a line that you walk. People will say, “Well, why am I seeing this person, instead of this person?” Monica (Leslie Charleson) cannot be Silas wife, for example. (Laughs) The characters are there for a specific reason. When we add somebody new, it’s not just for the sake of adding somebody new. It is because we need them to tell the story that we are telling.
Michelle Stafford recently commented in her interview with Soap Opera Digest that she did not want her, or the character of Nina, to be rammed down the throat of the GH audience right off the bat, because then people could potentially resent that. How are you strategizing having her on the canvas?
Photo Credit: Duffimages.com
RON: You want her to come in and make an impact and a splash, but you don’t want GH to become “The Nina Show.” We are finding that balance. I am thrilled to have Michelle and I have known her reputation. I have seen her at soap events and have seen some of her work, but I was not a regular watcher of The Young and the Restless. I would see her Emmy tapes, and I watched her web series, The Stafford Project which was so hilarious. I am excited to see more when she starts airing. Frank Valentini (executive producer, GH) told me he directed her first day on the set … other than the one day where we snuck her in to tape the one moment on the show. And after he directed her first scenes, everybody was just saying, “Oh my God! You can’t take your eyes off of her.” So, I am excited to see it play out.
Sonny (Maurice Benard) has been on one of the darkest roads we have seen him travel in many years of late. The “crypt sex” scene where Ava and Sonny did the deed in the Quartermaine mausoleum following AJ’s funeral was somewhat controversial and upsetting to some viewers. Was there any hesitation to go there?
RON: There wasn’t that much hesitance. We knew we wanted Sonny and Ava to sleep together. We were trying to figure out … how can we not? And how can we make that happen? I mean, that woman killed Connie! Sonny obviously does not know that. From the moment we started to link them together it became apparent. It started back when Ava was trying to coerce him to stop taking his meds. Those scenes were before the blowout at the wedding reception of Morgan (Bryan Craig) and Kiki’s (Kristen Alderson). You could see there was something great there, and we wanted to capitalize on it. So we locked them in a bond against their will, and Sonny shot AJ. We used that as a way to bond these two knowing that our goal was to have them have sex. When we were laying the story out, there was a moment of, “There’s no way we can have them have sex on top of AJ’s grave is there? (Laughs)” That is what soaps are about … those moments of, “Oh, my God! They didn’t!”
Courtesy/ABC
Did Maurice Benard come to you and Frank Valentini about wanting to have a very dark twisted story for Sonny such as this? He cheated on Olivia (Lisa LoCicero), slept with Ava, murdered AJ, etc, etc.
RON: Maurice has been so open with everything I have wanted to do with the character of Sonny. We have seen other sides of Sonny in the past couple of years. I think he is able to go to those dark places, and Sonny can scare you! We decided to see how far we can take him knowing that the payoff is coming down the line. What is going to happen, if and when, Sonny finds out Ava killed Connie? And then not only did he sleep with this woman … he helped protect this woman. He murdered AJ (Sean Kanan) then for no reason, and down the line … what is this all going to do with Sonny’s relationship with Michael (Chad Duell)? Down the line this story has such giant stakes, and that is the kind of story you want to have with a character such as Sonny.
What are your plans for Patrick (Jason Thompson)? People have been asking what are you going to do with the character now that Robin (Kimberly McCullough) is off the canvas? Will he have a brand new story of his own in the near future?
Courtesy/ABC
RON: Yeah, we are getting there. We took a big step recently as to where Patrick goes and that is such a challenge, because obviously it was a thrill to bring back Robin. But because we knew it would not be permanent, we knew down the road, and as soon as Kimberly left we have that problem of, “Now what?” We had that also when Robin “died”. Is Patrick dark? Is he a drug addict? You can’t be just like, “OK! Now he is in love with somebody else,” and then throw him into a romance in one second. We knew we had that problem. So you weigh the pros and cons and say, “Robin’s return is worth having that problem on the back end.” We are letting the story now tell itself. We had to play out the story of Patrick’s baby, and that gave of us somewhere to go that wasn’t a new love story. It was something logical for Patrick to be involved with when Robin left. We have this baby crisis and then when that crisis is resolved, we now came up with a new arc we are sending Patrick on, and it kind of grows out of the baby story.
Previously, many fans have expressed that the character of Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) was shoved down their throats, and many did not want her romantically with Patrick, and now Teresa is going on maternity leave in real life. Did any of those factors inform you and the writing team as to what the future holds for Patrick and Sabrina as a couple?
RON: Well, as you can see that is not what we are really doing. People think I exited Robin, so I could put Patrick and Sabrina together. I don’t know where that comes from, but it’s irrational. These are two people who care about one another and almost got married, but what we are now playing is that these are the parents of this baby. We are not playing the Patrick and Sabrina love story. This is a story about these two weathering a crisis right now. It’s not like that now Robin’s gone, we can put these two back together.
As for Carly (Laura Wright) and Franco (Roger Howarth), are you still invested in these two to be the romantic end game for each other? That pairing always seems to stir up some controversy, too!
Courtesy/ABC
RON: It has been controversial to put Carly with Franco. I like that people have strong opinions, but I can share that our last focus group showed that people loved Carly and Franco. Sometimes what you see online does not represent the entire audience. We got a very positive response on our last round of research for this couple, which is comprised of many, many things, not just ten people in a room. It is a real cross-section of our audience and there are things to be learned from the research.
We have talked in the past about Maura West being a revelation in her role as Ava Jerome. Do her performances inform you as to what you may do with Ava next?
RON: What her performance tells me is that Maura is capable of doing anything, and so we don’t have to be afraid, but of course as a writer you are scared when you take a character down the line of taking certain actions. The response is then, “Oh! They just threw this person under the bus. Oh! They have just written this character into a corner and now they must die next week!” The challenge is; if she does this, how can she survive it? Rather than thinking, “Now we have written her into a corner and we have to write her off the show!” Granted that sometimes happens in soaps, but Maura’s performance is so rich. She brings such heart and humanity to her performances that you do not necessarily understand what she is doing, but in a way you feel for her, or root for her in a strange way, despite the fact that she is doing horrendously horrible things. So of course, it pushes you harder as a writer, because it is worth keeping her around. The thing is … once you have made a character so bad and unbelievable it can turn into a “Who killed So-and-So!” Then, there is no saving them. I am sure you can cite tons of examples of characters on soaps who have been on for years and years, and have done as bad, or worst, than Ava.
Maxie (Kirsten Storms) came back to town, and you have Nathan (Ryan Paevey) primed to be the new man in her life, other than Levi (Zachary Garred), I should say. (Laughs)
Courtesy/ABC
RON: I think you could see the connection between Maxie and Nathan right away, and you saw it when she walked into the Nurses Ball. These two may be arguing, bickering, or sparring, but you can see there is a spark there which was our intention when we crossed bringing Nathan on the canvas, while we had one day left with Kirsten before her maternity leave. It was our New Years Eve show, and the scene was at Maxie’s apartment. We crossed these two then, and then we had to wait a few months to cross them again. The idea was always to pair these two characters in some way. So we had her return with her guru Levi who is another polarizing character! (Laughs)
Fans were immediately taken aback by Levi! I think he was being attacked even before he opened his mouth! (Laughs) And then several fans were saying bring Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) back!
RON: I know! And everyone loved Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) from the first five minutes he appeared on the show? Levi is here as part of a story and the character is here to tell a story. Maxie is such a fun character. We put her through the ringer before she left, and to have her come back saying she has found herself. It’s not that there is anything wrong with the views she comes back with, it’s just that she is throwing herself at it whole-heartedly with a guy she does not know well. I think she was so desperate to show somebody that she changed that she was going to latch onto the first thing that came along, and that was Levi. So we are really contrasting these two guys; Levi is this hippy-dippy free-thinking guy, and Nathan is a more hard-nosed, buttoned-down, practical guy. We kind of pitted these two guys against each other with Maxie in the middle! I mean, I would be happy for people to root for Levi and Maxie (Laughs) But … you can see. Draw your own conclusions when you see how this all play out.
Courtesy/ABC
Last week, the earth moved for all of us when Julexis finally had sex! They even were trending on Twitter! Got to hand it to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) … she still keeps picking men immersed in the mob, even though she dumps them for being in it! Go figure!
RON: Oh, my God! It was trending on Twitter for like an hour! This woman is this really smart, capable attorney and she goes for Sonny, Jerry Jax (Sebastian Roche), Shawn (Sean Blakemore), and now Julian (William deVry), and with Jax (Ingo Rademacher) and Ned (Wally Kurth) in there too. Bad boys do seem to be her weakness. We saw from day one that Julian and Alexis shared a child in Sam (Kelly Monaco), and what there is between these two, and what is the most logical love story to tell. Alexis fought and gave in because Julian is compelling and sexy, and there is that connection to Sam and their grandchild. They definitely are a hot couple. The trick is now: how does the mob fit into all of this? Yes, Alexis fought this and she broke up with Shawn over the mob, and if she is going to stay with Julian, can he stay in the mob? Or, can he get out? We now know he reports to Luke and he is not in control. It is not like Sonny, who could theoretically walk away from the mob, although I don’t really think Sonny could just walk away. Julian does not necessarily have a choice to get of the mob, but now he has more to live for than he did when he came to town. Back then, he was Derek Wells and didn’t have anything. Now he is Julian Jerome and he has Lucas (Ryan Carnes), Sam, Danny and Alexis. Now he has something to live and fight for! Does he want to do that in the mob …or … does he want to stand on his own two feet outside of that?
Finally, I want to address General Hospital’s Daytime Emmy snubs in the Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing categories. I can’t even remember the last time GH was not in the running! Some are theorizing that the reason GH did not make the cut in the Drama Series category is because one of the two series submissions was from last year’s Nurses Ball. Overall, you must have been disappointed in that it would have been great way to cap off the series 50th anniversary season which was during the eligibility period. In the writing category it comes down to submitting one episode … so what did you go with? And now looking back, do you think you would’ve submitted a different episode?
Courtesy/ABC
RON: For writing, we submitted the day after Robin had been seen at Patrick and Sabrina’s wedding. You got to see Emma (Brooklyn Rae Silzer) still run down the church to see her mother standing there, and Robin and Patrick’s reunion, and Duke (Ian Buchanan) and Anna (Finola Hughes) had scenes, and Luke was on the roof with Jerry Jacks, and that kind of material. But my feeling is: it is a very capable and worthy episode that is just as worthy of a nomination as any of the other shows that I saw. I am not saying that General Hospital should win, but I do think there is something strange there. I don’t think any subjective person could watch these show and go, “These shows are worthy of a nomination and this one is not.” It shows me that something does not add up. I am not accusing anyone of anything; but it just seems either there is something wrong with that system, or there is something unfair going on behind-the-scenes. You can argue whether the episode we chose was the best one to submit for the whole year, but certainly it was just as good as the others that I saw. I would say that about the Directing category and I would say that about the Drama Series category, and Writing. To me, it’s not about awards … that’s not what it’s about for us. We have fun writing the show. I want the show to stay on the air. But it would have been good for morale of the show and everyone who works there. It is disappointing.
So, what do you think Ron’s comments on the reveal of Luke? What’s next for Patrick? Maxie’s love life? Carly and Franco … and Julexis? Are you looking forward to seeing Michelle Stafford as Nina Clay mix it up on the canvas? What do you think about GH’s Daytime Emmy writing snub? Weigh-in below!
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That was a nice interview with Ron Carlivati.As for Ava and Sonny having sex i knew that was going to happen eventually but the stakes are are even higher now than if they had done it last year.I can’t wait for Sonny’s reaction when he finds out Ava killed Connie and that he killed AJ for no reason.As for the Patrick i think the baby will die and that may send Patrick on a crusade to find out who caused the car crash and why.
See my comment below about storylines being lost in the shuffle; because, I actually forgot that someone intentionally caused the car crash that hurt Patrick and Sabrina’s baby. When seeing Patrick and Sabrina at the hospital, I totally forgot that it’s a mystery as to who caused the car accident. Thank you for that reminder! 🙂
You’re welcome.Right now Patrick is focused on baby son and letting the police investigate the crash.However later he might wonder who crashed the car and since it was his car he might wonder if he was the target.Plus Patrick could wonder about Victor returning to town around the same time.So Patrick could wonder if somehow Victor had a hand in the crash.Most fans are assuming Sabrina was the target but maybe she wasn’t.As i wrote i think the baby will die and that will send Sabrina off canvas for bit to grieve.Patrick might focus his grieving on finding out who… Read more »
Yes I think at some point Carly will tell Patrick about Ava threatening Carlos and it goes from there.
You’re not alone. I’d completely forgotten there was a mystery as to who hit Patrick and Sabrina too 🙂 Ditto with who killed Connie and who killed Anthony Zaccara. By the time they got back to these storylines I think most of the audience has mostly ceased to care. Can you imagine how that plays to a focus group who may be soap fans in general but not necessarily regular GH fans? The stories might look like they might be interesting on the surface and get positive feedback but if any from the group actually do tune to check out… Read more »
I have been watching GH for 30 years I don’t like what is going on, Patrick and Sabrina are super couple and they should be together, because Robin is not around anymore Patrick need to forget about her, the writers should let him get married to Sabrina, if they don’t write good script GH is going to get cancel just like AMC and OLTL
Great questions Michael!
I am concerned about Julian and if he will survive “Luke’s” hit. Seems like they are setting it up so the character dies and I hope not because I really like Julian & Alexis together.
I also really, really hope Olivia and Sonny DON’T get together and I actually wish her character would have left when Scott Reeves left the show. I find her to be grating and not fun to watch at all. I welcome Sonny & Ava.
I don’t think the show is going to kill Julian anytime soon.Plus now that Julian is finally realizing what he’s gotten himself with his dealings with “Luke” and that his loved ones could be in danger as a result i could see Julian teaming with Sonny to take down “Luke”.
Hope you are right Andrew.
Actually I hadn’t thought about that but it would be a good twist.
The awards were always “fixed” in some way. Worse than that, we still enjoyed them because it was fun, watching the outfits, the clips, & entertainment. It just got less & less “soapy” & we saw entertainment from stars not on soaps, clips disappeared, not even a montage, & sponsors that didn’t want to televise the show! ??????? It didn’t matter who won, because everyone was a winner, & we were enjoying the show. I wish we could go back to the glory days!
The problem w/the Daytime Emmys has always been that each daytime soap makes 250+ episodes per year…and yet they are only allowed to submit ONE episode as their entry in each category. That is CRAZY. Also, the judges are people that don’t watch daytime programming on a consistent basis. Are the Academy Awards decided by non-movie people? No. How about the Tony Awards? Of course not! IMO, they should allow soaps to submit a series of 3-5 episodes representing a particular story they felt represented their best work that year. It could then contain comedy, drama, farce, multiple actors and… Read more »
Very well said! I couldn’t agree more!
I agree that the Emmys should let each soap to submit one full week’s worth of episodes that aired during the eligibility period.It could be a week that a story climaxed on a soap or whatever.
I was very excited to read this today, and thank you Michael for the wonderful interviews. We will finally get to learn what happened to Luke soon, want this payoff, fans //are// maddened indeed. No mention here of Genie coming back, which I wish he had shared. We may never understand why GH was not inlcuded in some of the heavier categories, but the intrigue and great story brought us to our feet in 2013. I am glad he will continue to write and keep the number one show in daytime going as long as he can, becuase there is… Read more »
Good stuff you definitely asked the questions everyone was thinking now wait 😉
The questions were great, the answers not so much. His pointing to focus groups and research proving that people love Franco and Carly is hysterical. RC usually just explains the gaping holes in his writing on twitter. Now he points to so called research to defend his horrible story choices. All good writers do that and telegraph a couple’s path right? He says a part of soaps is about being frustrated and not knowing; waiting for payoffs, and then he just tells you Carly and Franco are moving forward. He then says that sometimes what you see online does not… Read more »
I loved Carly with Todd Manning. Having Roger Howarth play nuFranco while acting like Todd is not amusing. I don’t care for Carly and Franco being a couple. I don’t think they are amusing or exciting to watch. I think if Roger returned and played a completely new character, or a long-lost Quartermaine, the couple and their storyline would be more exciting. Could care less about Silas, his wife, or his daughter-who by the way-cannot act or stand her ground with any of the talented, veteran actors. Love Alexis, Ava, and Julian.
I read that interview and i don’t think RC said Carly and Franco will be staying together.All he said is that some people liked Franco and Carly together.However he didn’t say when the last round of focus groups was.So that could have been a couple of months ago.As for focus groups i think all soaps use them but in different ways.
GH50, that “Monica can’t be Silas’s wife” irked me as well. I hate that kind of logic, or lack there of. It’s not only insulting to Leslie Charlson, it’s insulting to viewers as if to suggest we are so dense that they would expect that to happen. As you stated, why do we need Nina to be cast anyway? We watched Silas cry and wax poetic about Nina, whom we had not yet met, more than we saw Monica mourn the death of AJ, a core character, one of the last remaining Quartermaines.
Very well put! 🙂
Cosign your comment 200%.
Amen–the Monica slam was inappropriate, mean, and aegist. I’m enjoying a lot of aspects of GH right now—Dr. O and her children (I love Britt!), Nicholas, Tracy and Luke, Sabrina and Patrick, the three kids (especially Spencer), Ava, Julian and Alexis, TJ, the three gay guys, and Liz.
Can’t stand Sonny (and never will, under any circumstances, particularly after he murdered AJ), and don’t care for the storylines involving Kiki, Franco, Lulu, or Dante.
I do not think LC would think a thing about it she would probably laugh JFP and her gang are the people who dismantled the Q’s. Little campy for my taste but hey to each his own.
I don’t think RC was slamming the character of Monica or Leslie Charleston.I think he was pointing out that Silas’s wife had to be a new character on the show.So he might have been just using Monica as an example.
I think Ron has brought on too many new characters and faces, along with many of our favorite veterans. Storylines get lost in the shuffle, as viewers we forget about many of the storylines because the characters have not been on-air for a week +, then a quick wrap-up of a storyline happens, or we have to endure characters on-air conversations rehashing the storyline (because we have not seen it and may have forgotten what happened last). I’ve never been a huge fan of Michelle Stafford’s. I’m certainly not a huge fan of Sam and Silas; and I don’t care… Read more »
Great interview. An interesting read.
As a Sonny fan I’m just thinking my only payoff will be watching Maurice Benard work his magic with the dark material. What’s gonna be the pay off for the many Sonny fans that keep watching Sonny being miserable storyline after storyline????
Buddy…I don’t think there are many Sonny fans. You are definitely in the minority here.
WRONG!!!!! There are lots of sunny fans out there and johnny yes I will be glad when sonny is happy again im tired of him being miserable too!!!
I am a fan of Sonny’s, also..
MB is a terrific drama actor and he always brings it home!
Sunny is a great character and I luvs him ..
Sonny is a cornerstone of GH, and he can go every which way with stories and the acting is top hat ..
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, BUDDY! I LOVE SONNY WITH THE HEAT OF A THOUSAND SUNS. I WILL TAKE MY SONNY SUNNY SIDE UP IF YOU PLEASE. HE HAS THE SOUL OF A POET AND THE MIND OF A GREAT INTELLECTUAL.
dude what tunnel do u live in? sonny/maurice Bernard is huge in the world of daytime, and when your that big, well haters come along, yes, the sonny character can be polarizing just like the luke character, but even with that, these two are as big as they get. i do wish some character out there would give sonny his comeuppance, but apparently no writer is strong enough to really bring the character of sonny down.
Maybe Maurice Benard is okay with the show writing dark stories for Sonny because it gives him good material to play with.I also want Sonny to be happy but not totally either because that would be boring.
Love Sonny..just want him to be happy for a change
Why am I not surprised that you didn’t ask Mr. Carlivati about Elizabeth’s storyline… ::shaking my head:: Her storyline with Nikolas and Ric is one of the better storylines right now, and all three are characters that longtime viewers care about and are familiar with. But instead, Mr. Fairman, you tend to gush about newbies and your own personal favorites. I wish you would cover GH in a less biased way for many of the viewers that don’t share you opinions and enjoy other characters that aren’t your favorites.
I agree. Love Tyler Christopher & Rick Herst — finally she gets a storyline and it’s not even mentioned in the interview.
I couldnt disagree with you more. Liz/Nik/ storyline is the worst one going right now as far as I’m concerned. I can’t stand to watch it and I’m so tired of Liz yanking around every guy she’s with.
Liz is GH’s Brooke Logan . . .If there is a man around, well you know. She sleeps with everybody. Don’t like her – never have. The fact that she thinks she is so much better than everyone else only makes it worse – with her past who is she to judge anyone? Love Maura West – have since Y&R I think she is beautiful and as far as her going to far over to the evil side, just look at Todd M. in OLTL and all the rotten things he did and the fans still loved him. I hadn’t… Read more »
I agree with, Me and Lizzy. So tired of Liz being with every guy. I have a question, Why hasn’t Cameron aged? He was born when?
I’ve always called him Fair Man because I thought he really was, but lately he does seem to be too agreeable with Ron to ask the tough questions.
Good Interview, lots of questions answered. Love Michelle Stafford and think she will be a great addtion to the show. Can’t wait to see how Nina/Sam/Silas interact with each other. Pretty sure KM can hold her own against anyone. I think things are about to heat up for this story and about time.
Even though Ron is trying to insert some Old Skool ways of writing into today’s stories, something is STILL missing……can’t put my finger on it.
It needs a timeless love story. All these couples, I feel nothing for them. I’m talking about a “Lily and Holden,” a “Tad and Dixie,” a “Cord and Tina,” a “Luke and Laura” a “Bo and Hope” a “Marlena and John” … I can go on and on. Do you know what I mean? Right now GH and the other remaining shows have nothing like that. When there’s chemistry you can’t deny it, but I wouldn’t say these GH couples have the kind of chemistry that can span generations.
just like in the world of fashion where theres no longer really any supermodels, the same in daytime, theres no super couple, all the above you mentioned are from the golden era. sorry but is anyone really sorry that sonny cheated on Olivia? the women didn’t seem to have a problem crawling into bed with her cousins men whatsoever, now she’s crying like a big o baby.. no one really has that magic , were you think to yourself are these people together in real life, you know what i mean?
Aria and Monica, you both make good points. Another thing I have noticed is that scenes are a lot shorter. I am not talking only about GH, but soaps in general. I looked up a Youtube of Damian Smith (because I am wondering if he is Fluke) and there was a scene between Damian, Bobbie and Tony which lasted at least four to five minutes. It was high drama, well written, well acted and not dull at all. Then that scene was followed by a very poignant scene between two brothers–Frisco and Tony. Yes, these type of scenes were character… Read more »
Dance with who brung you. Use your legacy characters and build off that. I am excited to see Michelle Stafford but I would have rather seen her as a Skye Quartermaine recast.
She would be great as Skye, but MS is a diva who complained about not getting enough time on YR. Her story will eventually eat up the canvas. And who is tied in to it? Mostly newbies. Also, I agree about needing a power/super couple. I can’t root for any of the current GH couples. I could have rooted for Liz and Nik, but that has been ruined for now. They have the history, the chemistry, and the mix of two long term families. I am not rooting for Silas and Sam because I already know they are not going… Read more »
The problem with Skye is that the character was created on All My Children but went to OLTL and General Hospital.So there might be a question about who has control of the rights to the character right now.As for Michelle Stafford in an interview about her coming to GH is that she knows that there’s nothing worse than a show bringing a new character on and then cramming him or her down the viewers throats or writing the character in a way that is manipulating the audience to like that character.She points out that the fans will either like the… Read more »
But why recast Skye at all when the beautiful and talented Robin Christopher might be available?
I loved that they hooked Sonny n Ava up I cant wait to see where they go with it!!! Glad Julian n Alexis r together they def have chemistry!!! I like the slow build between Maxie n Nathan I think they will be good for each other!!! The problem with the focus group is they dont know the history of Franco. That is why I dont like Franco n Carly together. I agree that Laura n Roger work well on screen but having their characters be together doesnt work for me!!! I cant wait till they break up!!! Definitely surprised… Read more »
Jason Thompson who plays Patrick who just got nominated for Lead Actor was asked about GH not getting a Lead Show nomination said it might not be the easiest pill swallow but getting Emmy nominations isn’t what is important at the end of the day.So IMO GH could get all the nominations in the world but that doesn’t mean they are the best soap or have the best actors.I’m sure the show is happy for the actors who got nominated but the TPTB may not care that much one way or another if they get nominated.
If RC didn’t care he wouldn’t have been all excited about it last year when he was nominated.
Of course RC was excited last year about getting a nomination because who wouldn’t be?However he may have been in soaps long enough to know that getting a nomination or even winning an Emmy means nothing because he could win but get fired the next day for all he knows.Plus a nomination is just a recognizition of the work you did last year but RC may know what matters is what you do now and in the future and not in the past.
Woohoo!!! Love Carly and Franco!!!!
I know, everyone should go out with the guy who facilitated their sons rape in prison!
I know right!!! What foreplay fodder!!! And if Franco is trying to convince people he has changed, why does he act so surly, hostile, stand offish, rude, arrogant and stupid around people? He poses and postures, makes creepy inappropriate gestures, and basically acts like a demented sociopath to anyone within earshot. And Carly…poor dim murderer loving Carly…just stands there, twirling her hair and staring at him all doe eyed. I gotta go….I’m gonna be sick…
So do i
Good interview Michael. You always ask the questions that are on viewers minds. The answers, on the other hand, are definitely head scratchers thats for sure. But the do give insight as to why this show is so disjointed, inconsistent and suffers from terrible pacing issues.
Thank you! He didn’t even bother to talk about the epic failure in writing for Franco and Franco/Carly. Talk about how you plan to fix that. Tell stories on screen and lose some of the newbies.
Passions…um GH is a disjointed mess. Michael Fairman is the absolute worst stan of all. He practically feeds Ron the answers and doesn’t really talk about the issues with the show. He just pulls questions from Twitter complaints.
Andrea, that is very unfair to Michael Fairman. He went right at RC about people having had it on the Luke reveal, the fact that there are too many female characters and the risk of Nina overpowering, Sabrina being “shoved down our throats”, the dislike of Cranco, the negative response to the crypt sex and the Emmy snub. He asked all the right questions. He can’t give the answers.
Come on Andrea, pick a lane and tell us how you REALLY feel.
Passions!!! Exactly! Ron is veering closer and closer to Jim Reilly writing and that is NOT a good thing!! Totally plot driven…changing characters to fit story…senseless and constant violence…evil always triumphing…stories told for shock (schlock) value…etc. Good call!!
To Andrea and a note to the posters on my site: There comes a time when the chronic negativity, and the consistent complaints on the people that take time out of their day to do an interview with me for this site has reached a point where we are going to have to readdress the rules for the road that posters will have to adhere to. If not, we will have to ban them, and we have really tried not to go there, since many of you have such incredible passion for your favorite soaps, interesting insights, and clever thoughts… Read more »
Michael, I apologize. I think you’re awesome.
You know Ron’s Twitter nonsense is part of the general negativity, right?
He almost asks for people to complain. I’ve never seen a show runner/writer who taunts the fans like he does.
Yes @MichaelFairman we get it. It’s your site and therefor you have a right to say who traverses it and who doesn’t. But you need to understand that television is built on the passion viewers have for whatever is placed on table before us. No one is threatening anyone’s life or cussing people out on this site and I’m a regular visitor. As viewers we are keeping DayTime 4 soaps strong. As a blogger you have the responsibility of letting those who come to your site vent their frustrations irregardless of whether it bothers you or those writing the shows… Read more »
Hi David: Thank you for your comments. It has been fantastic for the last five years that this site has existed to see the passion from all of the fans, including yourself. I am glad this site can provide a place for people to express their opinions, and their frustrations with their favorite soaps! I posted tonight, however, as I do every once in awhile to make sure we all do a checks and balances with each other, as to what is going on here. So people can agree to disagree without any attack from one another and so they… Read more »
Davlestav1…I couldn’t…disagree with you more! First, this is Michael Fairman’s site. I think overall he’s extremely tolerant of different opinions and vents…and I don’t know anyone who would let people have free reign on a site/business that they’ve built. This site is his baby. It’s everything he’s just described in his response above. But personally? If this were my site and someone trashed me…I’d be seeing red and my readers would be hearing from me too. You don’t “bad-mouth” someone, especially the person whose site you’re on. If someone feels that he could have asked an additional question, dug a… Read more »
@MichaelFairman thank you for your quick and concise response. All said and done I certainly don’t blame you for not allowing people to come on here and as @katieperetti said to @Simon..”.HeeHaw all over my show”. In the words of the esteemed…”ONWARD”!!
@dav 1. It’s not just an outlet for frustration it’s fun in the same respect 2. You have GOT to let the lesser of us and yet the greatest..because we tune in everyday 3. We hear you..we hear them I still do : this is the 5th serial. have I been let down… believe you me… always. where’s my : “As the World Turns” where’s my : “Another World” where’s my : “Guiding Light” where’s my : “Santa Barbara” I still HAVE “my” Days of OUR Lives I traded Y&R for GH I thought this was one of MF best… Read more »
my 2nd to last paragraph I do fragment… and it escapes me.. even but… the production of each soap… head writers, writing teams, executive producers, directors : change… move… just as fast as our favorite actors.. be it veterans with newbies defining that fine line… and angst that my favorite actor isn’t getting story… and is gone by the wayside… smarts… don’t get me started on DAYS : where are my DiMera’s the whole cast it would seem… just dog….. Kristen Nick Theresa the self-righteous declare standards Puke Oye! imagination dream I simply LOVE DOOL can’t wait for Eileen Davidson… Read more »
@rebekkah1 it’s davlestev1 I know that shows clearly. This site is a major blogspot for television so i’m quite sure @MichaelFairman understood the pitfalls when he undertook this enormous operation in crafting this site. People have opinions, and some can be harsh mind you. But opposed to other sights where people have free reign..SPURS AND ALL…this site does not allow you to just attack maliciously and freely as you the spirit moves you. A good majority of blogs could be entered into the #Olympics in the category see just how nasty you can get to an unseen face. This outlet… Read more »
DAVLEStav2…oh my gawd…I read your post to me pretty early and just reread it. Perhaps my eyes are playing tricks on me but did you actually correct me…and then misspell my moniker on here…because you were pissed that I accidentally capitalized the d in your name??? Hahahha…Well, that sums up you. As for the rest of your post to me…nice attempt to basically retract what you said to Michael…then “lecture me” on what I just wrote to you. My point was, and still is…that people can and should voice different opinions. And yes, debate of any kind gets people amped… Read more »
@Rebecca posts are meant to inspire debate not a sparring match. I initiated that match because you misspelled my name. I initially misspelled yours and correctly spelled it at the end of my post to you. Criticism comes with the territory. Could it be said in a better way? Most likely. But when people sit down to a keyboard unfortunately it’s the one and only time to spill your unmitigated opinion guts and all. Once you send it’s out there to be seen or not seen. As you said, some people takes these sites as a way to stir up… Read more »
davlesttev…oops! so sorry. I seem to have left out your 1. davlestev1. there. feel better?
you “started a match because I (accidentally wrote your name with an uppercase D?) and…you’re admitting that? and, and…you think that makes sense?
not much more to say. and yes…smh!
@MichaelFairman Thank you very much for your post! I have appreciated the interviews you do and enjoy reading them. You don’t always ask the questions I want to know the answers to but the questions you ask are always good and well-thought out. I have unfortunately been turned off by many of the comments that get posted on your site as you have mentioned. I’ve been the victim of some personal attacks on this site and so have some of friends. As posts have to be approved before they are published, I had gotten the impression that you were okay… Read more »
He is a smart man but I never thought he was the type to listen to focus groups! That’s the death knell sounding and he should just tell the story he wants. He loves the soap genre though and it shows. And he’s cute!! 🙂
And I bet not one of the focus groups members was a long time viewer…
focus groups are public opinions and sponsors love them..
focus groups are not fan polls they are done by professionals who do them, it is their business to get the results as to what and why is being asked…
Carly and Franco are great!
And not many give a crap about back stories from decades past..
The million new viewers do not care lol..
The old timers who have been watching from day one, most of them have moved on into 2014 with writers/stories 🙂
Well he must care about decades past because he has brought back all the vets who are keeping the show on the air.
Yes. I love the focus groups. Love Franco and Carly together.
The point is there was no reason to bring back RoHo was Franco. He could have been anyone else and all would have been fine with Carly – then BOTH the focus groups and the longtime viewers would have been happy.
@Mark
LOL
nice touch!
“… He loves the soap genre though and it shows. And he’s cute!! ”
GH was saved from cancellation…. soaps rise and fall from week to week is just that….
I would be livid and up in arms…. if NBC and ABC LET GO… just cut off their balls… and let go the one staple that daytime needs… on THEIR network… yeah, i’n not mickey mouse….
CBS stands by their remaing two… so much so… they… block vote and disrespect the emmy process
RC… Hello
Of course Monica cant be Silas’s wife but Monica could still be tied to the story…she couldve been James Reeves ex girlfriend and Ninas real mother…i thought Luke could really be Jerry Jax but what if Luke is really LUKE! Maybe Helene Cassidine is alive and controling Luke with a mind controlling micro chip implanted in his brain…she has the money and power to back the Jeromes and at the same time make Luke look like a fool? Alexis seems less mature than Molly when it comes to sex…imo. Kiki should be Francos daughter…kristen and Roger work better together than… Read more »
Good to see Spinelli back even if its a short time…
Ellie too…yes!!!
Whats with these men on GH…are they doing their wash or is there a shirt shortage in PC…lol
I hear the theory that Luke is Frank Smith who never died. [Why cant Alan never have died?] Frank will usher in Damian Smith and take over PC. I do like your theory that Helena is controlling Luke. Levi is in town to steal the Aztec Treasure! Funny though, you only have to take intimidating pictures of Lucy to get Felicia’s jewels! I agree with the NB. It could run Friday live for donations and then run the second hour on tape Monday. Thats it, dont drag it out too long. Also, Lucy is enough! Have someone from Robin’s family… Read more »
Robert needs to be back in PC or even Holly…either one would clearly see Luke isnt himself…Robert would make a great MC for the nurses ball…love your ideas for it too…and it was a bit too long…
I hope Levi is there to steal the Aztec treasures if it gives Felicia and Mac some story…hope Levi is working for faux Luke and also caused Patrick and Sabrinas car accident…which youd think Anna would be investigating at the moment!!!
Uh, wouldn’t Frank Smith be at least 80 years old by now??? I know FLuke has been looking long in the tooth lately, but that’s still a stretch! I suppose he could be Damian since they recently threw his name out there…a red herring perhaps???? The thing that completely flummoxes me is the deeply creepy and perverse nature of faux Spencer’s debauchery…I cannot think of any previous character that completely fits this miscreant’s behavioral profile….the predatory nature of his sexual exploits, the drug use and the abject hatred of Sonny and the Q’s, heck, even the immense disregard for “family… Read more »
I thought someone else might have mentioned the Helene/mind control…if so i like to know?
fluke luke is not jerry jax, why? if he was he would not be all over Kiki, but instead be stalking Alexis, and not trying to kill her. also if he was jerry, why would Jerry be ok with Julian dating Alexis.? so no sense at all if everyone thiks he is Jerry, not when you factor in Alexis.
Thats part of the reason i changed my mind about being Jerry…maybe a Cassidine or someone connected to Frank Smith or The Balkin or Johnny but i still hope its Luke and someone like Helene controlling him…just hope reveal is soon…thanks for the reply!!!
Some are starting to believe it’s Damian Smither Frank Smith’s son.
I used to think the fake “Luke” was Jerry too but now i’m reconsidering that idea.Whoever it is seems to have a grudge against Sonny for some reason.Sonny has made a lot of enemies over the years.Plus “Luke” doesn’t seem to like Ric either IMO.So it could be someone from their past.Maybe the fake Luke is Ric’s dad Trevor Lansing back from the dead or Lorenzo Alcazar.
You absolutely correct. He’s doing a little bit of Gloria Monty and his own style of writing. I want him to return Patrick and Sabrina back together and make them a family with the baby. Anything other than that is a waste of the Story line. If the baby dies, I’m out PERIOD! I will not care what happens.
I want so badly to like this show again and not fast forward through more than half of it, but I don’t. It’s all so disjointed and juvenile.
Except they are not the family the family is Robin, Patrick and Emma. She is off helping a friend who helped her and gave her back her life, a life she wouldn’t have had or where she met Patrick and they had a daughter Emma. Scrubs and Emma have the love story and history and always will.
Kimberly McCullough left the show to direct, so what you’re emailing is redundant.
Barbara Long FYI Komberly was open to do BOTH not just directing. Patrick belongs with his wife Ribin the love of his life and daughter Emma. Many waited for them to be together. If FV got MS to come to GH he can work with Kimberly’s schedule.
Sabrina and the baby story was ridiculous to do and both are not needed.
I’m sorry to bust your bubble but Kimberly McCullough left the show of her own free will to direct, her own words. The story line has to move on without her. It’s not fair to take out Jason and Brooklyn from the job they love doing, that’s just selfish. Kimberly McCullough has moved on and so should everyone else who watches the show. Based on this interview with Ron, she left the show. Now if she’s saying she would stay with the show and direct, we have a problem because it’s obvious now that something went wrong with Kimberly, Ron,… Read more »
Kimberly might have been open to do both her directing and GH but the show might have known it would have been impossible to coordinate their production schedule and her directing.GH has a budget and they can’t postpone taping while waiting for KMC to be available because that could cost them money.In the past GH has given other actors time off to do other stuff but they knew at the end of the day that person would come back to GH.Plus if KMC wants to be on GH then maybe she should sign a contract with outs in it that… Read more »
Sabrina should have conjugal visits with Carrrrrrrlos and never be seen again. She is boring!
LOL
I think Carlos is HOT
I’m their
Carlos is refreshing… a change… a vibrant of new personality… different… I’d go their
yah sure.. many have said that and yet they still watch and post to complain, go figure..
I agree.If people want to stop watching GH that’s their right but i don’t think they have to announce it.Plus then as you point out they keep complaining.If i don’t like something i don’t keep complaining about it.I just stop watching and find something else to like.
RC don’t give a damn for old fans of GH
I have to disagree with you Dinah..RC and FV have brought back many of our fan favorites back..Some for recurring, some contract and some made brief apperances..I cannot say the same for the previous power regime, that got rid of so many of our beloved character!!
What interview? He answered no questions all I read were excuses for what he wants. Focus groups are usually people who don’t watch the show. He caused her son to be raped, now she is sleeping with him? I ff all carley so I don’t care anyway. Rogers mouth makes me FFhim. M S no thanks she ate Y&R so I will just FF her. I like Silas, Who’s Luke GREAT ANSWER RON ? Oh yes he didn’t answer. Damian Smith .but who cares he has made me dislike Luke the rapist now. I don’t care if he puts Purina… Read more »
Michael needs a recast. This kid cannot make the change from Howdy Doody to a man who tells his scum bag parents to go to hell and run ELQ. I’ll never believe this version of Michael can run a corporation!
I cannot stomach this
Michael… with Kiki by his side
to lame…
dissent…
Luke and Tracy
this just rankles and my grapple is hurled
fling… i’m fighting back
michael running a corporation is not believable, but i like Chad, so no recast.
Instead of accusing people of doing something shady, maybe Re-Ron needs to really think about what the fans are saying. He is so full of himself he thinks he is always right. No nominations should have told him to wake up. Instead he makes excuses. Apparently the nominating committee didn’t like his writing.
LOL someone is having a bad hair day?
There are great books at the library, they are free!
much better than GH, you will like them and then you’ll be a happy camper .. 🙂
Exactly!!!! Janet you have the right to your opipion, but you sound like a fool. Do you know Ron???? He’s probably laughing at you. He is loved by many!!!! I met him art an event, he was wonderful and probably leads a very charmed life. I think he is always right, after all he’s been named one of the greatest writer in daytime!!!!!
wow biased much on this page., su0000 is that you Ron? Seems only your bashing comments are allowed on this page. good to know
Bad hair day ?WTH are you talking about. Ron didn’t answer questions. He did what he does with the show. Skirted the issues.KMF Do you think I care what Ron thinks? I don’t. He doesn’t care what the fans think who cares what he thinks. When exactly was Ron named one of the greatest writers of all time. When he didn’t get a nomination ,when he wrote for himself, he just has himself to blame. Ron put himself out there by being a writer for a soap, he has to learn to take the heat that comes with it. I… Read more »
kmf: NO ONE is ALWAYS right.
kmf and su0000: Please grant other posters the courtesy of allowing them to express themselves without hurling insults at them. We don’t all have to agree. But we MUST all be civil to each other. That is the least we can do for Mike Fairman for allowing us this opportunity.
Tristan ….. Yes Ron usually is right he would not be in the job he has today. Also re read …. there’s a lot of crazies out there. If someone hate GH why bother commenting.. it’s comical
Tristan is so right. Calling someone a fool because they don’t agree with them is ridiculous and unnecessary. This is coming from the same posters time and time again. If you disagree with someone who is unhappy with the direction GH has taken, then argue your point, but do not call the person with whom you disagree a fool, bitter, unhappy and mean. Worse, yet, do not tell them to stop watching a show they have been watching most of their adult lives. We want GH to stick around, and because we want this, we want it to do better… Read more »
Great interview! I would curious for some of Ron thoughts on Silas & Sam. I feel that pairing is often avoided in interviews. I realize that Siam does have a following but the character of Silas hasn’t necessarily ended up looking like a prince with sketchy past & the attempts to make him a patriach (Kiki’s dad, Rafe’s guardian, *rumored* son with Nina, step-daddy type to Danny) have been a failure. Why are Franco and Carly more contraversal than Silas?
interesting point can Micheal Easton pull off any more? case in point… I was really watching his take… on when Felix delivered the flowers… to see a new take… and fresh difference up to this point.. he’s managed to squeak by… been I don’t dislike this paring at all…. it’s WONDERFUL to see Sam and Daniel Edward by I love this pair… for what they’ve been through….the demise of Jason the contrast of Jason and Silas is boom box… but not unavoidable… he has a legion of fans. of the three amigos… I don’t mind Silas in the least bit… Read more »
No mention of Duke & Anna. ::sigh:: I know. I know. Couples with actual history on this show don’t rate. It’s all about his new contrived creations like Julian & Alexis..
I know. I was disappointed as well. Would actually love to see a REAL storyline for them, and not just occasional guest appearances supporting everyone else. Duke as Sonny’s stooge???? Yuck!!! Odd, too, all the machinations to create new families for Britt & Dr. O, when poor Anna only has two blood relatives, Emma and Robin. In Anna’s almost thirty year history no regime has ever bothered to give her a family. AMC did it, when Anna was a cross-over character. But not her home show, GH. I would love to know why it was so imperative to build a… Read more »
i agree with you Tristan, its hard seeing Anna as a supporting character now. its insulting actually. as for her AMC family, i believe GH cannot mention Anna twin because of the PP mess, i think she also had a nephew and brother on the show, i think. Now as far as giving her family, i remember when Anna and Robert were presumed dead back in 1992, in the back of my mind, i always imagine that during that time, Anna was pregnant, and that when she and Robert were on the run, because they were accused of being traders,… Read more »
As i pointed out in another post RC can only answer the questions that he’s asked.So i’m sure if RC was asked Anna and Duke he would have answered that question but he wasn’t.As for the Julian and Alexis pairing they have fans.
Romance… LOVE… SEX… living together
need it
for it
Mac and Felicia
Anna and Duke
Kevin and Lucy
Tracy and Luke
Bobbi
Scotty
the common ground and staple… that together… just must… be shown
Kevin and Tracy
Bobbi present
LOVE Mac and Felicia
Luke shows some weakness
will the veterans always oppose newbies…
YES
todays standards arent’
One of the best pairings for Alexis was her courtship and marriage to Ric before Guza made him psycho. There was a wonderful Tracy/Hepburn quality about them that so many fans, including me, just loved. When she was paired w/ Jerry – the redemption story that began was fabulous… the love of a woman making him face his demons… learning that he was tortured and thought he gave up the woman he loved to save himself was a brilliant set-up, but Guza either suffered from ADD or just got bored, because the story and redemption was never fulfilled and Guza… Read more »
Beautiful post, Ilona. I absolutely agree.
OH gosh! thank you , with harry… @Ilona Ric… is on a shelf… all his own… I swear to gosh… I noticed a difference in Alexis… as well.. when she’s with RIC! I want the same thing for Liz… oh the conundrum… he could be dastardly helping Sonny… with his current trial and tribulations… Alexis is a hard one to conjure up any thing… she needs to stop her inhibitions… and smarten up…. legalese and otherwise… LOVE… lOVE… LOVE… with him… and YOU …. enjoy live it up imagine ric coming in to play… with Julian thinking he’s making inroads…… Read more »
Thanks for a great article! It’s always interesting to learn the behind-the-scenes strategies of story lines. I think Ron & crew are doing a fabulous job at #GH.
Right you are Sharon!!! Agree!!!!
Thanks for a great article! I think Ron & crew are doing a fabulous job at #GH. I was very surprised at the Emmy snub. Not deserving on any level.
I am disappointed that Patrick and Sabrina will not be together!…This couple is the only reason I watch this soap!..I love them together, and want them back together!.I thought that after their baby was born, we would get an reunion!…This doesn’t make sence, after watching them sing , “You Are Not Alone Anymore” which is Patrina’s song!…The same song that Epiphany at their wedding!..This was beautiful especially when Robin touched Patrick’s hand and he picked her up and walked to the glass window to see her baby brother for the first time..Then Emma placed her hand on the window, Sabrina… Read more »
I know, like right? Sabrina is the best thing that ever happened to GH. She is made of sugar and spice and everything nice. She gives us girls hope that some day our prince will come and take us away to a castle in a forest filled with rainbow waterfalls, unicorns and magical butterflies. Here’s a suggestion–whenever they show Sabrina and Patrick, the scenes should be Disney animated. That would be so AWESOME!
Scrubs has history and a HUGE fan base. They are the supercouple and Patrick chose already Robin and Scrubs and Emma belong together. Waited a long time to Scrubs to reunite and Robin should have been at NB which was about HIV with Emma and Patrick. NB was never about a makeover like last year or a preemie like this year. How insulting for people with Aids and HIV.
right now… I’m only worried, that, the baby survive
I’d lose my cookies for any thing…else.. beyond… that
does love circumnavigate that… I think so
A love of a child… bends
I’d love completely if he responded
Nice interview but I wish you had asked him about the Niz vs LiRic storyline. That and the Siam love story & the Fake Luke story is what keeps me tuning in. BH has such great chemistry with RH and TC that I can’t decide who I want Liz with.
What a great interview! My favorite part is hearing that offliners enjoy Carly and Franco, I just adore them together and glad to know I am not alone. Both funny and sexy too, I hope they are kept front and center as I cannot get enough of them.
I am really excited to find out what is going on with Luke, is an imposter or really Luke with some sort of mind control or some sort.
Interesting storyline for Sonny, looking forward to what develops with that as well.
I will eat my hat if it doesn’t become the “Nina show” for at least a month. Since Ron started, it has been the “Todd, McBain, Starr” show, then it was the “Franco, Kiki, Silas” show, it has been the “Sabrina show” and the “Britt Show”, then (and I would argue still to a certain extent) the “Dr. O show” and the “Ava” show . I’m just hoping that someday it ends up being General Hospital again. As far as the no Emmy thing goes – I would imagine that even though they are told not to, people look at… Read more »
And as far as Franco and Carly – there is no denying that the actors have chemistry. They do. They are great. But to believe that Carly would be with a man that set the rape of her son in motion (and that is a very VERY big re-write of history) and terrorized Jason, is just absurd. I don’t know who these focus groups are (I know that they supposedly are quizzed about GH history according to Nathan Varni) but they certainly aren’t the fans that have been there for years. And I would also like to point out that… Read more »
RC was not asked about Nik/Liz/Ric by Michael Fairman.RC can only answer the questions that he’s asked.Plus RC talked about Sonny and he’s been on GH longer than Nik/Liz/Ric.Plus RC brought Nikolas and Ric back.
@MC
your first paragraph speaks volumes… and it’s the TRUTH
in order for serial to circumnavigate the prerequisite for show to survive in this medium. requires a deadening of stimuli… then it has
allowing the current regime to progress… allow that
do i let bait and hook/switch to satiate… I dare not! I believe in what I know
what prevailed
so many have walked the walk…
I omitted and withstood… bellowed… huffed and puffed… my stance… that it aches some
I love Carly and Franco 🙂
We;; I think the emmy’s have always been shady, I thought thought the emmy’s were shady when Guza would win and the show was horrible. However maybe Mr Carlivatiron should take the snub of the Emmy’s as a clue he needs to do better. I think he could start by moving ME and RH around the canvas to see where they fit. I like LW and RH chem, but him being Franco is def a problem. I think we have to many new characters on the show that get too much focus. New people should be dradually introduced. The couples… Read more »
food for fodder
with 4 current
are they well aware of stimuli outside their congenial
DAYS had better prevail… and WIN… 2nd year in a row
Im glad he acknowledges Sabrina can t just go back to Patrick. She will always be his second choice and she deserves way better . Carlina forever
The writing on GH this year has been more captivating and humorous than it has been in years! I have never laughed out loud or cried more during any show on television these last 2 years. Going through some personal turmoil as of late, this show has been my sanity and my escape and has aided in my ability to cope with life’s hard times. The writers, cast & crew are a gift and despite the obvious Emmy snub should seek comfort in knowing they do not need awards or recognition to know they are an appreciated, brilliant, talented &… Read more »
Ron and his team are the best writers on GH!!!! Thank God they came on board. Ron Carlivati is the Bomb!!!!! Love ….. Love …the show!!!!!!
OH – yes, I guess Ron and team are the best writers on GH!
This week.
you know… GH is causing more uprising and dust settled
then Y&R letting go of Michael Muhney, Billy Miller, and Michelle Stafford.. cause Genoa City is but an ember
Port Charles enlivens… burns… and pulsates some….
just keep ON
I guess I am a farly new viewer in that Ive only watched regularly since the OLTL cast crossed over. The show today isnt even what the show was a couple of years ago. I can completely understand long time viewers frustration, BUT this show would be no longer had these guys not turned it around. My biggest problem with Showrunners and Head Writers is that they seem to never really listen to what the fans say or want. JFP has decimated The Young and The Restless. Ron and Frank need to get back to more of the basics as… Read more »
Some of the fans out there are crazy!!!!
“There he goes again.”
Ronald Reagan
@Rob
Damn you RC/FV… Listen to US
@Rob
I love your paragraph 2
Kathlenn Gati. : will burn…. with passion… a relief… a respite… a path of true inner
hen her bossom…
beckon her true calling….
declare any angst who dare call her young uns any less
I an waiting for this
LOL
till all this rings true
I’m watching Jordan diana ross her stomp and entrance
Carlivati mentioned Focus Group! Are you kidding me? Focus Groups contribute to the death of soaps. Focus Groups made OLTL get rid of the character Kevin Buchanan! STOP USING FOCUS GROUPS! LISTEN TO THE FANS!
I totally agree with you!
I’ll never forget that insanity. I was a lifelong OLTL fan and I LOVED Kevin Buchanan and Dan Gauthier.
I agree that something fishy is really going on about the nominations. No way
can B&B or Y&R be nominated. I have watched all 3 , and the acting , story lines and drama in GH is way superior to the other 2.
Agree Verna..GH is way above the others!
Dool, and BB and YR are owned by Sony pictures, ithat gives them a large voting block and i’m sure that somehow comes into play, but as much as i love GH, under RC and FV i don’t see them ever winning, remember under these two guys, oltl only won once for best show, so in my opinion for some reason, they are not popular with the emmy people. and now that theres only four shows and three are by sony, you do the math..
I believe you’re wrong. DOOL & Y&R is part of Sony. B&B is not.
Sony produces both Y&R and DOOL.However the Bell owns Y&R and B&B.So those 3 soaps may have advantages that GH may not have because it is owned by a network that cancelled 2 soaps.So even though the Emmy voters have to be impartial in voting i do wonder if their possible disdain for ABC carries over to their feelings about GH somewhat.
Clearly a mishap
however, this … and it had better
stratosphere… a big win… for DOOL
2nd year in a row…
ducks aligned… and no holds barred… on regurge.. and cast the canvas.. you have.. and bite
> People think I exited Robin, so I could put Patrick and Sabrina together. I don’t know where that comes from, but it’s irrational.
BS. People saw what the writing was, and disliked it on its own merits.
Patrick and Sabrina were not two people who loved each other and were going to get married. They were two people who were shoved into an engagement to create drama for Robin’s return. The villainification of her character is what people hate.
Ron’s disrespect for the fans is just awful.
I don’t like… the come backs… the story arcs
it’s not fair to how progressive.. a characters inroad have made
I will stand uptight…. Scrubs fans… belong… stand back
I have never witnessed… a greater love
even i’ll vent some at the current regime… RC/FV… LOVE is not dissed or messed with
I THINK RON LIVES IN HIS OWN WORLD AND REALLY DOESN’T CARE WHAT THE FANS SAY. NINA WAS TALKED ABOUT CONSTANTLY AND SHE WASN’T EVEN ON. SABRINA WAS ON CONSTANTLY AND SHE WASN’T EVEN LIKED BY THE MAJORITY OF FANS SO I DON’T KNOW WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT. HE CONTINUALLY HIRES NEWBIES INSTEAD OF WRITING FOR A GREAT CAST HE ALREADY HAD. I PERSONALLY DON’T THINK GH DESERVED ANY NOMINATIONS. I STILL WATCH BUT DO A LOT OF FFORWARDING.
SORRY FOR WRITING IN CAPS. SPILLED WATER ON MY KEYBOARD (YIKES). WANTED TO SAY GOOD QUESTIONS MICHAEL BUT DIDN’T LIKE HIS ANSWERS. ONE LAST COMPLAINT AS SOMEONE MENTIONED; HE STORY GAPS ARE TOO LONG AND OFTEN HAVE TO TRY AND REMEMBER WHERE IT LEFT OFF.
He says that Carly and Franco have fans? Plueeze! I run a Facebook group with over 5,000 members and I can count on one hand the number of members who like Franco and Carly as a couple. Most can’t stand them! And Ava is hardly a rich character with depth that you root for. The woman is a murderer and has slept with first her teenage son-in-law and now with his father and that is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons as to why this character is iredeemable. The only reason this character is on is because of… Read more »
The only reason this character is on is because of the actress. Maura West… has the ability… and it’s hard for me to emphatically state: she progesses.. the current day , realm… of television prerequisite she across the board on the GH canvas… resonates it would be a nice in-roads if Carlos does turn out to be the father… as this would be an easy let… that Dr. Patrick Drake.. be given a let… to do his OWN thing… his own gig… his own journey.. after you lose the love of your life… where he’s that good… let him be…… Read more »
Focus groups! Why doesnt he read these posts? THEN he would see what GH fans feel like and start pleasing people who commit 250 plus hours a year on the show he writes!
I, my family and friends are GH fans,,
We all watch everyday, and we are all happy..
We have great conversations about the stories and acting and we love GH..
very few complaints..
Most the friends are new to GH, 3- 2 yrs, as are the other ‘new million’ viewers, and I do not see them giving a crapola about decade old back stories etc.. lol
GH has more lovers than haters, imo .. 🙂
Where are you getting this “million new viewers”?
One thing I will say is that Ron IS bringing back decade plus old back stories.
Duke, the Jeromes, Lucy and Scott – old stories, old characters.
As a lifelong fan of ABC soaps I just don’t know where to begin with RC. I was a fan of his writing on OLTL. He seemed to be pretty good at storytelling for the most part. I am so glad GH is still on the air, but, to be honest, the show is a bit of a mess (I’m being kind). I’ll keep watching and supporting GH, but it really could be so much better. I won’t go into a lengthy diatribe, but the bit about a focus group liking Cranco? WTF? I’m guessing they showed the group a… Read more »
I’ll stop now and hope RC gains some self-awareness and insight at some point before he ruins GH GH is so much better than Y&R… B&B… should he watch some DAYS… sure DAYS has the same vein, follow through… love… insight… belong… that carries.. what we know ————– we all know the drill…. prime time soaps… are done before the season ends… a movie flops… a broaday play dims… a book gets lost I get the drill 1/2 decade plus… AND viewers are still watching the same show I count on these 4 I count on the lesser of entertainment… Read more »
Patrick, I support all the daytime soaps. I DVR DOOL, GH & YR daily. For the past year I’ve watched DOOL first, binge watch & FF through GH, and YR sits on my DVR for a week or two until I binge watch/FF through it. I only catch BB if I happen to be home on a weekday which is very rare, but I enjoy it when I have the opportunity and always wish the best for ALL the soap fans out there. I still miss OLTL 🙁 and wish for no more soap cancellations. When it comes to RC,… Read more »
I’m an Elizabeth Webber fan and I don’t give a frick about emmy powerhouse actresses from other shows I didn’t watch.
I want to know why everybody and their momma walking in the door less than five months has family connections built up and even a whole new family for newbies quickerthanthis but the Qs are diminished and Elizabeth Webber has nobody? I want to know why GH is still mob central without any strong hospital based storylines after over two years.
I couldn’t agree more. RC doesn’t write for her b/c that would require him to research and find out about what happened on GH before and after the 80’s which he watched. She could be involved any number of stories dealing with why her family abandoned her, what secrets are they hiding, was she adopted , who were her parents? She could be involed in the art world and maybe some kind of mystery. And heaven forbid he write ANY kind of story for the hospital other than the never ending number of “baby swap” or “who’s the daddy stories”… Read more »
il love Elizabeth too, finally she has two guys fighting for her. I still want more, hopefully she will get more. i wish they would show her having more of a balance life, she should still be involve with art, it would be great seeing her painting, and be involved in some storyline where theres a art heist something fun like that. heres what i feel the show miss the boat when the original Franco, played by James Franco never went after Liz? think about it, he was obsessed with Jason, if he truly knew so much about Jason like… Read more »
it’s amazing what powerhouses… Liz… Tracy and Monica ARE POWER my first thought: the writing team… hasn’t been able to : write up for…. Liz, Tracy, and Monica… but… they don’t have to… they stand alone… and WITH just like.. Franco and Carly what current day revelations… must they share ? be? our world is in so much infrastructure… that I don’t want any feature demand love and romance … sex and bills are paid I don’t want to venture to far in to the future… Russia is asking… that China help that country…. colluding… together… that their energies be… Read more »
Don’t see any chem between Maxie and Nathan or Levi.
Levi is a terrible character and Nathan is a terrible actor. How can an actress have chemistry with someone who can’t act? She might as well be standing next to a piece of cardboard. KS deserves so much better as talented as she is. The fact that Paevey not only has an acting job on GH but a prominent role is just offensive. But hey, he had his shirt off today. It’s bad enough that the writing and pacing is so terrible, but at least GH always put professional and skilled actors on the air.
GH50–I think Nathan’s chest should be nominated for best supporting actor in a drama series.
lol i go back and forth with nathan, mainly because he is so gorgeous and nice to look at, but yes, he’s not an actor, i hope GH still has that acting coach they had on set for the young actors, and hopefully we will see nathan or the actor improve. is mark teshner still GH casting director? or was he let go when RC and FV took over? i ask because i don’t think “nathan” would of ever made it pass the audition, he’s more someone you would see on OLTL , under RC an FV no less, because… Read more »
LOL
harry
surely you jest
I beat you
Levi’ mine
Thank god he said we’d be getting insight into the Luke madness coming up in the next few weeks because this guy is hella creepy and I can’t take much more of it! That rendition of “I am what I am” sent shivers down my spine! I love Julian and Alexis, they have amazing chemistry. Carly and Franco… not so much. Roger Howarth was much better as Todd, and I liked Carly with Todd more than Franco, even if its the same actor. The character just doesn’t ring true to me, and let’s not even mention his basket case mother,… Read more »
i haven’t belabored Sonny’ mix… in the show
Olivia is by the wayside
forget mixing in with Michael and Kiki.. as they are at ELQ
sonny has NO inroads… Carly is caught up in Franco
will FLUKE save Sonny
I don’t think so
I appreciate that Maurice Benard.. has truly stated… that at this point… in his heralded career… it’s about supporting his choice… and that’s GH
I keep saying… Dehlia Salem.. and Kelly Sulivan… are all he needs
I thank him… as he’s lauded so much… for caring with
If the writers will kill the baby & break Patrick & Sabrina…. I will honestly STOP watching this show PERMANENTLY.
Something does not add up alright. It’s the writing. Many of us would be happy to say why we think GH was passed over for writing. The writing is just not GH…it’s OLTL. GH is a Drama..always has been. GH NOW is a campy, comedic, over the top soapy mess….where it’s history is being changed everyday to suit the plot and where long time GH characters (some emmy winners) have been relegated to playing back up and supporting to new characters who leave many GH viewers NOT interested because they HAD BEEN wanting to see their regular longtime GH character… Read more »
RC and his writing team, the team that does the writing, they know GH very well.. You see; It is no longer 1980 , 2010, whatever year people are stuck in.. It is 2014, things change, and the way GH is now is exciting and the stories never bore me.. There is much variety and balance.. RC and ALL the writers are giving the public a great soap and they know well exactly what they are doing and why it is being done .. RC and FV also know the loudest complainer’s do not and will not tun out 🙂… Read more »
If I were Ron and he knew Robin was only going to be on temperately the logical thing to do in my opinion was to end Scrubs have Patrick chose Sabrina than the would not have to worry about where Patrick next story line is going to be.Of course they would of had to write Tc out for ML.I like Patrick with Sabrina and hope later on down the line they do get together. And as for Ron using the Patrick/ Robin/ Emma reunion for his Emmy nod was a absolute big mistake I thought the reunion was boring .
The reel for the nomination wasn’t the problem it was the writing and the Emmy people saw that. Best part was the Sceubs reunion and ratings proved that along with Scrubs together for Christmas and love scene. People were bored with Sabrina being shoved down our throats when story was about Scrubs. The worst part was her crying the the background and interrupting Scrubs and Emma.
The logical thing to do was not have this baby story and keep Scrubs together and work with Kimberly like they did for other and most recently MS.
If they can work around TeC pregnancy they can work around Kimberly’s schedule a vet of GH for over 25 years.
There should be no worry about Patrick’s story and it would be easy with Kimberly recurring like she should have been.
There’s a difference between TC going on maternity leave because she’ll come back full time right afterwards and working around KMC’s schedule because she doesn’t want to be on GH full time.Now the show might have been willing to work around her schedule if they knew for sure that she’d be there when they needed her.As for making KMC recurring as Robin that limits Jason Thompson as Patrick storywise.
It was boring cause it became about Sabrina and focused on her. You can blame her for the NB fiasco and let down. That was the other epi he submitted and was probably more of a reason for No Emmy Nod.
Great interview, Mr. Fairman! I for one enjoy the Luke story being played out in long term. Remember when stories used to take months, even years, to play out?
I also liking the Luke story and the mystery of it.Yeah RC could have revealed who is pretending to be Luke right away but that could take away from a bigger impact later.Plus when Tracy finds out this isn’t the real Luke how will she feel knowing she slept with and married him?
Praise the Lord Patrina Waste Of Time and Talent will FINALLY BE OVER. I loved how he called fans irrational for seeing what was happening on the screen. Fans knew Robin would not do what she did without be written out of character. Be done with PATRINA and call it what it truly is…AN EPIC FAIL.
The things RC & his writers laugh about, “can we have them have sex on Aj’s grave” are the things that infuriate long time fans of the Q’s. It shows a total lack of respect for that family. You couple that with RC’s twitter statement about “wouldn’t it be more fun to have Thanksgiving with this family (speaking of his newly created Westbourne clan) and many fans are expressing outrage at how little he cares for the history of the show. It just feels like he is systematically eliminating the importance of the legacy families and playing up his newly… Read more »
I agree 100%
(Liz was not married to Lucky when she and Nik had their affair, but Britt has said this 3 times on air.) THIS. its grated my nerve I’m going… HUH? but as a writer who went to school for it albeit I haven’t won an Emmy or a million a year salary…its simply a writers ploy to manipulate the audience… See if you are a new viewer and don’t know the history of the show then what Britt (who admitted she wasn’t around just putting Liz’ business out there on blast to another new character who wasn’t around either) …… Read more »
KareninTN..
you have a large list of what you do not about GH..
why on earth do you watch??
There is no sense in watching something you do not like..
You must actually like GH you watch it..
Nothing and nobody could make me waste an hour of my time watching a show that disgusts me and that I detest.. ..
It is logical if one watches GH daily they like it, if not there is something seriously wrong to force yourself to watch it 🙂 ..
Perhaps you have soap opera burn out ..
Weird. You don’t like Karen’s post but you spent all of this time writing about it.
How can anyone do that?
I mean, one should just turn off the computer if they don’t like negativity!
Su0000 you are constantly disrespectful to other posters, often getting personal with your attacks, questioning people’s sanity, motivations and mental health. There are things you don’t understand, like how people watch the show when they don’t like it. You have no idea how that can be. Well there are a lot of reasons, like being invested for decades and hoping it gets better. But I’ll try and explain my situation and possibly you might understand it. I watch GH almost every day. I have a TV on in my office most of the day. It is background noise. I have… Read more »
Su000 dear, did you read Michael Fairman’s post in which he admonished people for making personal digs at those with whom they disagree? Karen said she has been watching GH for fifty years. It’s hard to leave a daily series which which you have spent your entire adult life watching. Moreover, Ron does do certain things right–such as bringing back old veterans we have not seen in 20 years or so. But then he puts them on a shelf, like forgotten dolls to be played with later. There is a bait and switch kind of tactic being employed. I for… Read more »
AMEN!
If MF is going to interview Ron/Frank, get down to the nitty gritty.
Exactly. And this is why he does NOT know the GH viewer. If he did he’d understand that his way of writing for GH is the wrong way. He needs to writ FOR GH and it’s longer running characters and NOT for himself and his newbies. That is all GH viewers ever wanted. We didn’t ask for or want a new or different show. We only wanted GH to be continued. Instead it has been changed in to a different show that pales in comparison to it’s 50+ yrs of legendary and standout drama .
You said it perfectly.
Now be prepared for snide comments from other posters who for some reason won’t allow anyone to feel cheated or annoyed by the nonsense Ron C. puts on screen.
Yet we get to see every beat of the Westbournes’ bonding. A family I could care less about.
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