Can’t-miss-a-day episodes, fast pacing, payoffs and reveals, surprising returns, huge casting acquisitions and additions, inside humor in the dialog and scripts which the true connoisseur, or even the most casual fans who frequent the happenings in the town of Port Charles appreciate, bringing back plot points and characters from the show’s 51-year history, and a unique way of storytelling, in which just when you think the story is going one way, it swerves and dovetails into another … are just some of the reasons that ABC’s General Hospital kept television audiences on the edge of their seats in 2014!
MICHAEL:
Frank, do you ever get a chance with everything you have to do to put the show together, to just sit back and watch the episodes, and pat yourself on the back, and go, “Oh, my God. That was so enjoyable?” …Or … Are you always in production mode of, “I’ve got to get this done, and we’ve got to keep moving?”
FRANK:
Courtesy/ABC
There are all sorts of moments … seeing the show when it’s taping and then watching the show again after it’s edited. Sometimes you are seeing it in sweetening, or on-air. I always find things that I enjoy and some things that I missed earlier on. For our Christmas party, our Associate Director put together a really fantastic reel that was sort of a “Best Of” the year. That was really something I got to enjoy, and I was a little bit overwhelmed on how much great story Ron told, and how much we had done in production in terms of: weddings, fires, explosions and fights, and all sorts of great stuff, as well as really emotional scenes, and love and great romance, and all this other cool stuff. It was really fun.
MICHAEL:
The GH watercooler moment of 2014 has definitely been “Who is Fluke?” Did you have any idea how polarizing, or how much traction this would get? Did you have to change the story mainstream as to who the ultimate reveal of Fluke would be once Tony Geary (Luke) left the show for an elongated period of time? Some fans in the audience are of the belief, even you don’t know who Fluke is at this point, and/or have any idea where the story is going! (Laughs)
RON:
Courtesy/ABC
We do know where it’s going, and we have known for a very long time. I have seen a couple of comments by the fans saying, “I don’t think the writers even know who Fluke is.” (Laughs) We definitely do, and the audience will find out now that we have Tony back, and Luke and Fluke, back on the air. I think any story involving Luke is always going to be of interest to the audience, and I think the death of little Jake was his last big storyline, and so I think Tony was due for one. Frank and I discussed the Luke/Fluke story with Tony, and it was only then that I found out he needed six months off to have surgery on his back. It gave us a shorter window to tell the story. We discussed burning through the entire story before he left and paying it all off, but it was such a big story, and the three of us agreed. Frank told Tony and myself, ‘if there was a way to put a pin in the story and revisit it when he came back, we should do that.’ So we knew there had to be a big payoff for why he was acting so crazy. We revealed there was a Luke and a Fluke, where Tony pretty much addressed the audience as Fluke and says, “Who am I? Wouldn’t you like to know?” That gave the audience something to chew on until Tony came back. As you saw, we did find ways to weave the story back in, and had the character on Skype a couple of times, and then we had characters becoming suspicious of his actions, and we had some mini-adventures along the way; one of them going to Amsterdam and the re-emergence of Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roche). It helped us create a build until Tony returned, and to keep the story alive. And, we had our little fun in November Sweeps with the misdirection and delving into whether it could have been Faison (Anders Hove) or Larry Ashton (Hugo Napier), and giving the audience some subtext, and having some fun with our latex masks, which we like to do. We then realize Faison is just a decoy, and now that Sweeps is over, and we know Fluke is back in the bosom of the Quartermaine family, we know he is up to no good. This is where the story picks up from now and into 2015, and it kicks into high gear and starts to unravel as far as who Fluke is, and what is at the heart of all of this.
Courtesy/ABC
MICHAEL:
You had the Nurses Ball, which was a highlight of the year, which included Liesl’s (Kathleen Gati) shocking opening number of “Wilkommen”, the 13,000 episode celebration, as well as the 51st anniversary episode where you had the three Carlys (Sarah Brown, Tamara Braun and Laura Wright) in special scenes with Maurice Benard (Sonny). Frank, can you speak to me about these great moments of the year that you were able to accomplish?
FRANK:
I think when we pitch the stories that Ron has been writing, people just love them and think it’s very exciting to be a part of. Tamara and Sarah just loved it when I told them about it, so it was easy to get them to come on board. The Nurses Ball is always a labor of love, and always a milestone in the life of General Hospital. We’ve done two that are super fun, since Ron and I have been here, and that the fans really love. We are looking forward to doing it again in 2015.
MICHAEL:
Ron, how did the three Carlys concept come about?
RON:
Courtesy/Twitter
I was working with one of our writers Dan O’Connor, who was originally my assistant at One Life to Live, and he has been watching General Hospital forever. He knows the history really well. We wanted to have something special happen on our 51st anniversary show, and it was kind of timing out with AJ’s death and where a lot of plot stuff was happening. We thought, “Was there a way we could have a pause button, and have some emotional scenes between Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Carly (Laura Wright) on this big day, since they are such a big couple on the show?” However, that got us thinking about Carly’s history on GH, and the fact that the character has been recast several times, and how each Carly has made their indelible mark on General Hospital. So, we started tinkering with this idea of what if, as we go through the history of their relationship, we could actually see the different Carlys. I pitched it to Frank, who is great in that he rarely tells me “no”, (laughs), or he will say to me, “This is impossible, but I’m going to try.” As soon as I said; “What about having all these Carlys on?” … he was on the phone and making calls trying to make it happen. It was so interesting for Dan and me to take a walk down the history of Sonny and Carly, and how great it would be for the audience to see these Carlys again. As soon as it clicked into place it felt very natural. I was just thrilled that it got to happen.
MICHAEL:
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“Crypt Sex” would be another GH watercooler moment of 2014! Fans had a definite reaction to Sonny and Ava (Maura West) having sex in the Quartermaine mausoleum!
RON:
Again, you come up with these ideas, and you really don’t know how big of a deal it’s going to turn out to be, or how it will be received. I just had this image that Sonny and Ava should have sex on AJ’s grave, basically. Sonny already killed him, and then between Ava and him they have already done so much to AJ’s family, and then to have sex on top of his grave is like the ultimate insult! Obviously, I knew it would have a reaction, but I did not know we would be talking about “crypt sex” a year later! (Laughs)
MICHAEL:
The casting additions to General Hospital in 2014 have been simply stunning with Michelle Stafford, Billy Miller, and Donna Mills all joining the cast. So how did this all sort of happen? Frank, did you say, “I’m going to get these people on GH!” And Ron. you then said, “Are you really?” (Laughs) Michelle seems to be very into playing the part of Nina Clay; Billy Miller is truly making the role of Jason Morgan his own, and thus far doing a great job. Can you tell me your thoughts on landing these heavy hitters?
FRANK:
Courtesy/ABC
When I said to Ron, “Who do you want to be Nina’s mother?” He said, “Donna Mills!” … Then I said, “O.K.” (Laughs) It was as simple as that! We called, and Donna was so lovely. She is really a bright woman who asked a lot of interesting questions. She wanted to get on the phone with Ron and talk about who this character of Madeline Reeves was. So we did it, and it’s Donna Mills! And if Donna Mills says, “Let’s get on the phone,” you get on the phone. As far as Billy Miller and Michelle Stafford, I have been friends with Michelle forever! When this role came up, and we had ideas that maybe Michelle would be interested in doing this, and it sort of all came together.
MICHAEL:
As for Billy Miller, you got this three-time Daytime Emmy winner, and extremely popular actor, to come to the show. I thought it was a great idea to give the character of Jason plastic surgery, so it wasn’t like he just showed up on-screen one day as the recast Jason Morgan. Were you at all concerned how this might play out to the fans when they watched Billy’s entrance onto the show?
FRANK:
I wasn’t.
RON:
Courtesy/ABC
Obviously, it’s an iconic character for General Hospital … Jason Morgan … and when Steve Burton (Ex-Jason, now Dylan, Y&R) left and we had to write the character off, there was a void there. But, I think we filled it, and what was great then was with one Quartermaine son exiting, we had another Quartermaine son, AJ (Sean Kanan) returning at that moment. We giveth and we taketh away! So you had this other story to focus on, but we always felt that down the line the return of Jason would be a big story, but obviously then it’s some big shoes to fill. It wasn’t until we had the possibility of bringing on Billy Miller, who is such a big name in daytime and is so talented, that we thought we could do this. Billy is someone who we felt would fit the part both physically, and an actor who would be believable as Jason, and would bring something new to it. It was never my intention that, “O.K., he has got a new face, but “Stone Cold” walks in,” because I feel that would be us trying to recreate what the character of Jason was when he left. We felt we had to start over from scratch a little bit, and give the actor an opportunity to make Jason his own, and bring his strengths to the role. I felt there was so much story to tell, and I thought it would be more interesting for the characters on the canvas to not know he is Jason for awhile. That way we can get to know this guy, and the other characters can get to know this guy, before the big revelation, that he, in fact, is Jason. So we are having a heck of a lot of fun right now with “Jake”, and yet knowing we still have a huge story to tell eventually when we are ready to reveal that “Jake” is Jason.
MICHAEL:
Thaao Penghlis (Victor), Constance Towers (Helena), Anders Hove (Faison), Hugo Napier (Larry Ashton), Robert Kelker Kelly (Stavros), so many characters and actors were worked back into the story for major surprises and shockers along the way throughout 2014. Were you concerned how this might play to the audience resurrecting so many people who were dead, or frozen, or MIA? It was kind of delicious to watch it all unfold!
FRANK:
Courtesy/ABC
I love how it plays out, and I think it’s been great, and everyone talks about honoring the fans, and doing it for the fans, we do, do it. It’s a pain in the neck to get Anders Hove (Faison) here from Denmark. It’s extraordinarily expensive for the show, but I think it’s worth it, because of the people we have on the show, and not just for the idea of bringing people back from the past. Every time we have brought someone back, it has only furthered story on present day General Hospital, but it also gives fans a treat. However, it has to work in two ways, because otherwise it’s not worth all the money we’re spending, I think.
RON:
For me, Faison was a story thread that was left hanging that the audience wanted to know the answer to, which was: ‘what did Anna (Finola Hughes) and Robert (Tristan Rogers) do to Faison?’ We then sort of found a way to weave that into our Fluke story, and give some payoff to that. That one was a no-brainer. We knew that Faison would have to come back eventually to play that out. As far as some of the other characters you mentioned, luckily for us that family of people “The Cassadines” with Victor, Helena, and Stavros, that story started with such a far-fetched storyline all those years ago involving a weather machine that I think the audience will go with you on the story, because the Cassadines are so mercurial, and Helena has nine lives! Unlike certain other characters, I think it’s easier to swallow when they return. Like Frank said, “The audience loves these characters and they will go with you and accept them back from the dead.” So to me, I think it’s absolutely worth it to bring these people back. Some of these have been surprises to me: I vaguely remember Lord Ashton (Hugo Napier), and I know he was Ned’s (Wally Kurth) father, but I wasn’t so familiar with the actor. I had the idea to sort of weave him in to the Fluke story, and then I googled him and saw images of Hugo Napier. I thought, “You know, he could look a little bit like Tony Geary, and he has the right hair, and is in the age range.” I thought that Lord Ashton could be a believable suspect for Fluke. I thought Hugo was so delightful and I did not want him to go, but the guy owns his own business, and isn’t so much acting anymore. It’s like you’ve got to call up a guy who owns his own company, and who sits behind a desk and go, “Will you take a few days off and come play Lord Ashton?” (Laughs) Luckily Hugo wanted to, and I thought he was great!
MICHAEL:
Courtesy/ABC
This year, we saw the power women of daytime soaps front and center, and nowhere was it more so evident than the A-list female cast of GH, which includes the likes of: Laura Wright (Carly), Finola Hughes (Anna), Maura West (Ava), Michelle Stafford (Nina), Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis), and Jane Elliot (Tracy), etc. Do you ever get to a place where the two of you may be stuck trying to figure out how to work them all into story? It seems like you have found a great way to make sure everyone is working, and that they have story of their own playing out. Has there ever been a major concern at how to spread the wealth among such a great group?
FRANK:
For me, it’s not a challenge. I think that challenge goes to Ron to keep all those balls in the air, but I think people have their moments, and then they slightly reside, and then they come back to the forefront. I think that’s always good. Then there is a lot more variety on the show. I just think this show is jam-packed with good actors from top to bottom. Singling out those women who are exceptional, yes they are, but I think the entire cast is really good. When you add people to the show, you want to add really good actors if they are going to go up against the likes of: Laura Wright, Maurice Benard, and Kirsten Storms (Maxie). It’s just that … everybody is good in our cast! So, the people we bring on need to be just as good. We’ve been lucky that we have been able to add to the cast in a way that enhances not only the story, but the acting and the craft of the show.
RON:
Of course, it is a challenge to have such a large cast and to weave everybody in.Every time I look at the cast, I think, “There is nobody here that I don’t want to see!” I have such a great team that is able to find ways to weave them all into one story together, or to find ways for each of them to have their own moments to shine. First, we had Ava (Maura West), who was a new character on the show, and then we brought on Nina (Michelle Stafford), who was another new character on to the show. But these are two great actresses, and then you realize, “Well, these two need to be in a story together.” Luckily, it made sense because of the back-story of Silas (Michael Easton). It’s been such a delight to write for those two, I mean, from their first on-screen encounter, and then especially I would say, when Ava gave birth. It was just such a treat to watch the two women go head to head.
MICHAEL:
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Kelly Thiebaud (Britt) made the decision to leave the series. Her final scenes as Britt were so emotional with Spencer (Nicolas Bechtel) and Liesl (Kathleen Gati), and talked about by the fans of the series. I felt like I was watching this altered version of “Climb Every Mountain” from “The Sound of Music”, but with the baddies who needed to get away and escape to save their lives! (Laughs) Were you surprised at how well that played on-air?
RON:
No, I was not surprised. I love Kelly Thiebaud. I think she is so talented, and she was ready to try and do something new in her career. It was sad, but we had the story set up such that Britt’s life would have to blow up if Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) found out her latest deception. So, we had this escape hatch already when Kelly decided she was not going to sign a new contract. I love the relationship between Britt and Spencer (Nicolas Bechtel). I love her relationship with Brad (Parry Shen). I found that unexpected friendship something the audience really responded to. I also found that farewell video to Kelly that Parry Shen put together so sweet. Here these characters started out as schemers, who were sort of using each other, and a real friendship was built. I think not having that friendship on the show is a loss. I think her relationship with Spencer is a loss, but it is allowing us to spin Nikolas in a new direction, and Liesl (Kathleen Gati) still has her purpose with Nathan (Ryan Paevey) on the canvas. We are in decent shape with that, but yes, I found that to be a very touching goodbye with her mother, but especially saying goodbye to Spencer.
MICHAEL:
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Frank, Kimberly McCullough (Robin) coming and going from the series and figuring out how to write-in and write-out the character of Robin based on her availability, has that been one of the biggest challenges of the past year for you? Do you want to continue to have the ability to have Kimberly come back whenever she can?
FRANK:
We love Kimberly, and we love to have her back, but she is again pursuing other interests, and it’s hard to keep sort of bringing her back. It’s challenging story-wise for sure, but also scheduling-wise, because I never know when she is going to get a directing gig. So it’s never definite that we are going to have her, and that is tough some times.
MICHAEL:
Ron, did you find it tough creating a viable love interest for Patrick (Jason Thompson), which you now seem to have with Sam (Kelly Monaco), when there previously has been some form of pushback that Patrick should be with Robin and no one else, from many fans perspective?
RON:
Courtesy/ABC
I think it’s been less and less of an issue, and obviously Patrick and Robin were such a popular couple and relationship on GH, but I think as time has gone on, the majority of the audience understands that Patrick has got to move on without Robin. I think they are going with us more and more on that. Hopefully, they will be embracing this Patrick and Sam relationship as we go. As far as Kimberly goes, for me, it’s always such a great thing to have in your back pocket. Of course, it’s always been a challenge to find Patrick’s new direction, especially because we have him now, I feel, certainly on track. It’s always about having that thing out there. So in my mind, you know that someday Robin is coming back, and we also know she knows about Jason (Billy Miller). She hasn’t seen him with a new face, but she knows Jason is alive. Robin has a lot of information. But besides that, it’s having that legacy character out there knowing she could return at any moment to create shockwaves throughout the town. That is kind of a great thing for writer to have. I mean, it’s frustrating if you need to throw her in there all of a sudden right now. But, having her out there is a great feeling to be able to say, “I know I have that story ready to go when the time is right.”
MICHAEL:
Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com
Let’s talk about another addition to the cast this year … Ryan Paevey (Nathan)! Were you surprised, or did you know from the get-go that this guy is going to be hugely popular, not only because of his looks, but because you had very wisely positioned him as the good guy cop who falls for everyone’s favorite gal, Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms)?
RON:
Frank had sent me a tape to watch and said, “Mark Teschner (casting director, GH) found this great guy. We don’t have a character in mind for him yet, but look at this tape, and what do you think?” The tape was of Ryan. It was an audition tape for some other role. Of course, you’re struck by how handsome he is, but Ryan was also very believable as a possible cop on the show. He had that vibe. So, we decided to bring him on, because we sort of needed someone that was pressing this Nina story. It made sense that we needed a cop who was dogging Silas and Ava, and we decided to make that Ryan. And then love story-wise; the person that struck all of us that he could possibly be paired with was Maxie (Kirsten Storms). Of course, that was coinciding with Kirsten’s maternity leave. So, we managed to have them cross once with Nathan taking her apartment, and to be able to test their chemistry there, which I think people latched on to immediately. Then, what it did for Ryan was it allowed him to get his feet wet as an actor, and to make him feel a part of the canvas by just easing him playing a detective and not going, “Now, here’s your story” right away. I thought, “Let’s let him get comfortable.” I think everyone would agree how Ryan grew by leaps and bounds very, very quickly. Finally, then we had Kirsten back. We knew that would be the true test, and it seemed to be magic right from the beginning. It’s been really great to watch. I had an instinct that it would work, but of course, you just don’t know until you put them together. I am thrilled to see the audience response that Nathan and Maxie have gotten. It has been everything that we have hoped for.
MICHAEL:
Courtesy/NBechtelTwitter
Nicolas Bechtel (Spencer) became the GH scene stealer of 2014! His delivery of the lines, and his presence on-screen always provided some chuckles, cuteness, or some major drama. Ron, you clearly enjoy writing for him! When did you know you struck gold with Nicolas?
RON:
From the first time we saw Nicolas on screen, I thought he was so talented, adorable, and such a little ham, and so it just kind of evolved. What we also saw is that it brought out a nice quality in the character of Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher) with having to deal with this little troublemaker, and of course, once we latched on to his love for Emma (Brooklyn Rae Silzer) which gives him his raison d’être, we just kind of built the story from there. For me, it’s been such a thrill to write for these four little youngsters: Nicolas, Brooklyn, Michael Leone (Cameron) and Hannah Nordberg (Josslyn) that are somehow all able to handle the material. I think it brings such a nice sweet quality to the show and that is important for a multi-generational genre.
MICHAEL:
Some final questions for the head writer: One of the more incredible weeks of storytelling this year on the soaps was the first week in November on GH, when you had so many payoffs to so many stories. You had Nina drugging Ava which forced her to deliver her baby, and Nina and Madeline kidnapping the newborn baby girl! You had the Franco/Carly “Hallowedding” disaster, and Roger Howarth’s (Franco) incredible performance as you sort of re-set the character of Franco, as he watches, while pantomiming eating popcorn, Carly and Michael’s (Chad Duell) worlds rocked to the core. Then, you had Michael confronting Sonny with a gun now armed with the knowledge that Sonny killed his bio-dad AJ! Can you talk about crafting that week and how all those stories dovetailed into each other … and your thoughts on Roger as Franco?
RON:
Courtesy/ABC
We knew that all that stuff was coming. The whole reason we had Sonny kill AJ was to have that week. Once we had Ava pregnant, we realized that is the other big element to that story, and then as you mentioned, Carly and Franco’s relationship and how that would play into it. We knew all the pieces were there for a giant payoff. It was a matter of how that would all fit together. I had to sit down with the writers and say, “OK. If she goes into labor on this day, or Franco plays the tape on this day…” you have to move your pieces around until it finally clicks. We spend a lot of time mapping out when events are going to happen, in order for it to continue to tumble like it did as dominoes. And as far as Franco goes, Roger Howarth can do anything. I think once we decided to let the character of Franco be cheated on, and to let him go bad, and to let him be a little more like the Franco when he first came on the show, maybe not necessarily a serial killer, but let him be a bad guy, I think that has been great.
MICHAEL:
We have talked a bit about the use of prosthetic masks on the show, which you have used with the characters of Anna, Faison, Duke (Ian Buchanan), Liesl and now Luke/Fluke. But did you ever think it would end up being used as this sort of running plot device on the show?
RON:
Courtesy/ABC
Those are always the kinds of things that are a hard sell. Years ago when I was at OLTL, a lot of the over-the-top things that I wanted to do were the hardest sells; whether that would be to the producer, or whether that be to the network. There is always someone who will go, “Well, isn’t that too over the top?” Which of course is then my cue to say: “Look, I understand there has to be a balance.” Soap operas became known for evil twins, amnesia, and back-from-the-dead stories, and unfortunately in my mind that became a dirty word for soap. And for me growing up, that is what made soaps so much fun to watch. I feel there is a place for all of that on soaps. I felt there is a place for the well-placed amnesia story, or the well-placed evil twin story, or some larger than life moments. I love all that stuff, but I think that you have to be careful not to rely on it always. The stories have to be grounded in some sort of reality. It also helps to have great actors who can sell this stuff and type of material. That said, that is what brings a sense of fun to GH, and it’s not something we do every day. It was so successful when we did the mask with Faison. I think it was at that point I got some people from the network going, “A mask? Are you sure?” (Laughs) But I will say, it didn’t hurt that Mission Impossible did a high-tech latex mask, and so it doesn’t have to be silly. So we did that, and then the one with Obrecht was going to be an homage to the Faison one, and then when I came up with this way to play up the red herring being Faison in the Fluke story, I basically promised that this would be the last one! (Laughs) That said my other mantra is, “Never say, never.”
MICHAEL:
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And so now we have “mind control” going on again with Helena (Constance Towers) using that tool to have Jason, and perhaps even Nikolas, doing her dirty work. That draws on Helena’s history of using mind control on Lucky Spencer all those years ago.
RON:
Right! Those are all things that you have to be careful with, and when you raise issues like that. But the story was set-up as such that there was a plan for Jason that Victor (Thaao Penghlis) had. I think with an actor as strong as Billy Miller, he can play it more Manchurian Candidate. We try to take something that is over the top and have everyone play it and sell it straight. To me, it’s like the movie Tootsie. Dustin Hoffman as the lead character looked ridiculous dressed as a woman, but the actors played it absolutely straight in the movie, and that’s how you go with it.
MICHAEL:
In closing, what can you say to the GH fans on what they can look forward to in story in 2015?
Courtesy/Twitter
RON:
I think the audience comes to expect a certain something from General Hospital, and we want to continue to deliver that. We always try to find new ways to tell a story, or new ways to surprise the audience, and so that continues to be our goal. There are so many big things that have not come out yet, such as, who is Fluke? When will everyone find out that “Jake” is Jason? There are so many huge, huge story points that are still to be revealed. I think that is why I am excited going into 2015, because there was so much stuff begun in 2014 that we still have to play out in the New Year.
