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The Vampire Diaries Co-Creator Julie Plec Reveals How "The Scotty Baldwin Theory" & GH Helped Shape Her Vision Of Villains In Storytelling!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: CW/Emmys.com

Photo Credit: CW/Emmys.com

Julie Plec, the writer/director/producer of hit primrtimes series including CW’s The Vampire Diaries (which she co-created), as well as The Originals, and the soon-to-be-seen Containment (which co-stars former OLTL star Trevor St. John (Ex-Victor Lord Jr.) is featured in TV Guide.com’s new online series, Visionaries.  

In one of her five part video feature installments, Plec discusses “Villains and Anti-Heroes” and the keys to those characters working in particular on The Vampire Diaries.  Julie admits that soap operas had a huge hand in her storytelling.  She recalls loving General Hospital, and how the character of Scotty Baldwin (Kin Shriner), and his relationships with Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), and Dominique Baldwin (Shell Danielson) was a perfect example of how the villain is not alwaya a true villain, and can also be involved in a moving love story.

Courtesy/ABC

Plec related on the soaps and GH:  “I always talk about Kevin (Williamson, co-creator) and I, and when we made The Vampire Diaries, and what are influences were.  He was a huge nightime soap fan, and I was a massive daytime soap fan, and those shows are the first show to tell you that a villain doesn’t have to be a villain. A villain doesn’t have to be redeemed.  I always called it the ‘Scotty Baldwin theory’ and the ‘Lucy Coe Theory’.  Two characters I loved from General Hospital ...  they were both so nasty for so long, and all of a sudden Scotty Baldwin falls in love with a girl with a brain tumor.  Suddenly, you love Scotty and Dominique more than any couple you have loved in your life, and you are right there with them. 

Courtesy/CW

You forget anything bad Scotty ever did, because if Scotty and Dominique can’t be together then the world must come to an end.  Thinking about that is sort of the root of the Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) character on Vampire Diaries.”

Watch Plec speak about her soap influences after the jump! Then share your thoughts on how soap opera villains have informed dramatic primetime series of today, and your thoughts on Scotty Baldwin, Lucy Coe, Damon Salvatore and more!

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I figure most drama, day or night, is a variation of the soap opera “formula.” Also thanks a lot to Shakespeare.

Also think vampires, werewolves and zombies are very “in” for telling a story to certain audiences. As strange as this may seem to some, the stories they tell can have many other layers and can ask interesting questions and suggest consequences of human nature (again a “soap” thing). StarTrek has done this. Like ‘Once Upon A Time ‘ right now…several evil to hero’s…Regina, Gold, Hook.

Getting back to the Vampire Diaries, which was derived from a teen series (lots of adults like to read teen series these days), it’s not hard to root for redemption of Damon or Katherine when they look that good. We somehow forget the damage they’ve done over many years. Makes Scottie and Lucy ‘s intrigues look trivial by comparison.

Agree with her. People, not just “villains” aren’t ever black or white. Always loved the character Scott Baldwin…still do. Wish he was a more permanent fixture on GH. He brings it all…history, humor, likeability…what is WRONG with these writers who don’t recognize the need and demand for the original players! These “scribes” should be talented enough to blend the past with the present and future. Sorta like real life!

I watched when Dominique had her tumor and it was so sad. It was lovely storytelling. Good to get more recognition for the soaps!

Don’t remember the actress playing Dominique, but she was lovely.

Scotty, Dominique, and Lucy…what a great story that was. I too wish that there was more blending of the past with the present and future. I also wanted to add that I believe there is truly one element that has been missing from GH for a very long time…and that is the relationship between Monica and Scott. They are practically family (due to Gail) but that has rarely been addressed since the early days of these characters.

No wonder why I like Vampire Diaries so much! The co-creator based it on beloved characters from my favorite soap!

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Will Ava Tie the Knot With Drew?

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Ava

On the Friday, November 13 episode of General Hospital, Drew (Cameron Mathison) convinces Ava (Maura West) they need to get married, to each other! Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) hopes to get the DNA results on Jude (Will Traval) she has waited for, and Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) secretly co-conspire to find out who in Port Charles had the infamous tick!

Here’s what went down: Drew explained to Ava that they needed to get hitched ASAP, that way, they couldn’t be forced to testify against each other in the Jack Brennan case. After initially being kind of sick of the thought of marrying Drew, he made her change her mind, by throwing out the fact that if she lands in jail Sonny (Maurice Benard) will have Avery (Ayla Bullington) all to himself.

Next, Ava heads to GH to ask Lucas (Van Hansis) to be her witness in marrying Drew. Lucas has already figured out the reason Ava is marrying Drew because it has something to do with Brennan’s death. Explaining she hates the idea of getting married to Drew, she has run out of other options. Lucas agrees to help her, but firmly tells Ava nobody would believe it was a real marriage anyway.

Ava and Drew

Photo: ABC

CAN MOLLY AND JOE STOP THE WEDDING?

At the same time, Drew asked Martin (Michael E. Knight) for a post-nuptial agreement. Martin was not happy to hear that Drew was going to marry Ava, warning that prison was a better option than tying himself to a woman like Ave Jerome.

Eventually Ava, Lucas, Drew, and Martin gathered at the city clerk’s office. Lucas comes up with a way to derail or stall the nuptials by saying that they need to wait for Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) and Avery to show up, as they should be a part of this, too.

Lucas may have saved the day, because Molly (Kristen Vaganos) and Joe (Jonathan Bennett) went to Drew’s office to serve him his warrant, but found the office door open. Next, Joe found a sticky note on Drew’s folder that revealed Drew had obtained a marriage license. A light bulb goes off in his head and he realized Ava and Drew are getting married, so he and Molly rush off to City Hall to try and stop it.

Brook Lynn

Photo: ABC

IS JUDE THE TRUE BABY DADDY?

Elsewhere, after receiving a text message that the DNA results are in at the hospital, Brook Lynn ends her discussion over Jude and baby Phoebe with Gio (Giovanni Mazza) and runs out of the Quartermaines.

Once Brook Lynn gets off the elevator at GH, she sees Jude and Britt  Kelly Thiebaud) looking might close. She quickly heads back towards the elevator sight unseen and was clearly shaken by what she saw. Earlier at the doctors and nurses hub, Elizabeth helped Dante by confirming by an ear gesture they had worked out; that the patient with the tick was Ava Jerome.

You can check out the scenes where Lucas gets a visit from Ava and he learns she wants him to be her witness in marrying Drew at City Hall.

Now weigh-in: do you think Ava and Drew will tie the knot before Joe and Molly make it to City Hall? What do you think the DNA results will show once Brook Lynn gets her hands on them? Have they been tampered with? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Carly Fears Escalating Tensions Between Sonny and Josslyn: ‘I’ve Already Lost One Kid Because of That Man. I Won’t Lose Another’

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General Hospital

On the Thursday, November 12 episode of General Hospital, as battles line are drawn by Carly’s (Laura Wright) ex-husband, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and her daughter, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy), she realizes things are about to get a whole lot worse, and she expressed her fears to Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart).

After Sonny came to see Carly to get her daughter to back off of him; especially when Josslyn lit into him in front of nuAvery (Ayla Bullington), Carly is terrified that Sonny could retaliate against Josslyn. Realizing, Josslyn is in danger, Carly won’t sit by and let anything happen to her. She tells Valentin, “I’ve already lost one kid because of that man. I won’t lose another.”

Viewers won’t soon forget the devastation Carly felt when Morgan (Bryan Craig) died in a car bomb explosion back in 2016 because of Sonny’s dealings in the mob in a complex story involving Julian (William deVry) and Olivia Jerome (Tonja Walker).

Avery

Courtesy/ABC

SONNY IS READY FOR WAR

Meanwhile in the aftermath of his visit with Carly, Sonny told his brother Ric what went down when Josslyn disrespected him in front of his own daughter and hurt Avery. Since Josslyn already make it known that she no longer considers herself part of Sonny’s family, he’s decided to treat her accordingly.

Sonnys first step in payback is to take away her support system at JJE by approaching Hudson Parker (Troy Lennon Appel) again, but this time in a much less-friendly way.

Ric points out that this would go against every move Sonny made as a legitimate businessman in Port Charles and would mean he’s back in the mob? Sonny doubles down, saying Josslyn changed the game when she involved Avery. While he showed concern of how bad Carly would feel over all this year, he said he is ready to finish what Josslyn started.

At the Metro Court, Ava (Maura West) is listening to Avery explain what happened between Sonny and Josslyn and how much she hates Josslyn right now, which Ava seems to be OK with.

WILL JOSSLYN’S WORLD BLOW UP ON HER?

Speaking of Josslyn, she is on the pier still after her talk with Hudson and still crying over her confrontation with Sonny and Avery overhearing it, and what she told her sister. Lucas comes across her at the pier while out for his run.

Explaining how badly she feels for what she said about Sonny to Avery, Lucas says that eventually Avery will discover the truth about Sonny. He explains to Josslyn that even though Avery hates her now, she will come to realize that what she said about her father was the truth, and that Josslyn was not lying to her at all.

So, what do you think about Sonny ready to play dirty to take down Josslyn? How will Carly ensure her daughter does not wind up dead? Who do you think is in the right here? Is Josslyn’s vendetta against Sonny justified, at the cost of the relationships with her family? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing

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Stacy Keach and Cynthia Watros

General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.

In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.

Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”

Photo: ABC

In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.

STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING

Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”

She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”

Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”

Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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