Believe me, I'd much rather the show focused on Alexis as the D.A. who gets Jason to turn state's evidence and testify against Sonny to protect the kids from being corrupted by the mob.
Then, Alexis's nephew or best friend (Jax) finally come clean with her and reveal that Claudia is responsible for Michael's shooting and for some insane reason they decided to protect her and keep her secret.
Alexis could finally convict them both and get Sonny and Claudia both lethal injections. But none of that's possible as long as Guza's in charge. I'm just glad that we actually get to see NLG, even if that means Alexis has to be involved in the mob nonsense.
Eventually her contract's going to be up; hopefully she'll follow Hearst's lead and bolt. She can reunite with Hearst on B&B or Wally Kurth on Days. Those shows aren't very good either, but they consistently beat GH in the ratings.
Grahn should stay miles away from B&B. They cast a major new role and it disappears in a second flat.
If Grahn does leave GH, Jess Walton should be wary during contract negotiations with Y&R. Grahn might be a good Jill recast, and in an interview Grahn has already revealed that she works cheap.
A better idea might be to have Grahn pull a reverse-Skye and take her Alexis character to OLTL. I would give my left arm to see Evangeline wake up from her coma and start a law firm with Alexis and Tea. That would be like a soap-gasm.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: 742,
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Now all they have to do is dig up those babies he lost w/Lily, Carly, & Sam and we have a reunion.
They'll have Ian Buchanan reprise his AMC role as Greg Madden, who will revive all those lost children. Sonny's child with Sam would only be about five years old, but I hear he's already running a numbers racket at the local playground.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: 742,
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Originally posted by 742: Grahn should stay miles away from B&B. They cast a major new role and it disappears in a second flat.
If Grahn does leave GH, Jess Walton should be wary during contract negotiations with Y&R. Grahn might be a good Jill recast, and in an interview Grahn has already revealed that she works cheap.
A better idea might be to have Grahn pull a reverse-Skye and take her Alexis character to OLTL. I would give my left arm to see Evangeline wake up from her coma and start a law firm with Alexis and Tea. That would be like a soap-gasm.
I'd love for Alexis to move to Llanview. I always thought Nora and Alexis would be great friends. But if NLG does leave GH, I'd want her to leave ABC all together, because as long as Frons is in charge, I don't see any actress over 40 getting strong material.
I'd love for Y&R to take her, but they seem just fine with the actors they have. And obviously GL's dead and it looks like ATWT won't outlive it by more than 6 months. That only leaves B&B and Days.
Fans Rally to Save General Hospital Submitted by Jamey Giddens on July 1, 2009 - 9:59am
A group of ambitious soap opera lovers have organized a campaign to help keep General Hospital on the air, spurred on by recent near crippling ratings. I think once you see which couples these fans want to see back together, you'll see why I endorse this campaign whole heartedly! Check out the press release below:
GENERAL HOSPITAL RATINGS COLLAPSE Time for ABC/Disney to Improve Product Before It Is Too Late
For the week ending June 19, 2009, the ratings for GENERAL HOSPITAL (GH) plummeted to all-time lows. GH lost more viewers than ALL MY CHILDREN (AMC) and ONE LIFE TO LIVE (OLTL) combined in both total viewers and in the women 18-49 demographic according to the numbers reported by The Nielsen Ratings Corporation. GH also recorded its first ever 1.6 rating in total viewers and, for the first time in the history of any ABC soap, had a market share of 5. As GH fell to sixth place out of the eight daily soap operas rated (which will soon be seven when Guiding Light's cancellation takes effect), the question raised is: Will ABC/Disney continue with the status quo at GH and can they afford to?
One year ago, GH, led by fan favorite pairings Sonny and Kate, Jason and Elizabeth, Patrick and Robin, and Jax and Carly, was comfortably in third place in total viewers and in second place by a wide margin in the women 18 to 49 demographic. Each of the four couples mentioned is consistently rated eighth or higher in polls by ABC Soaps In Depth or Soap Opera Digest weekly, even while two of them are no longer allowed to share screen time. This separation is depriving many viewers of what used to be an enjoyable experience. Evidence of this is apparent in last week's numbers when only 754,000 women in the 18-49 demographic watched the show, down 7,000 viewers from GH’s previous all time low of 761,000 (week ending April 24, 2009).
All of this, combined with analysis of last week’s ratings (June 15-19, 2009) vs. last season's numbers, shows ABC's GH is currently down 25% in total viewers and down 31% in the 18-49 demographic. Given this continued steep decline in viewership, and over six months of complaints from GH fans who are loyal ABC/Disney customers, it is clear that management has not listened to the viewers by taking steps to improve its product.
Having joined together to form the SOS/Save Our Soap! GENERAL HOSPITAL Campaign, fans of Sonny and Kate, Jason and Elizabeth, Patrick and Robin, and Jax and Carly share a common goal in asking ABC/Disney to listen to the viewers and make changes. Over 12,000 postcards have already been sent to ABC/Disney executives to that end. All involved in this campaign want GH to be successful and want to help restore GH to the position it once held. However, as one fan stated, “women, who are the backbone of GH’s viewership, and obviously the most important demographic, resent being virtually banned from their TV screens by being forced to endure the degradation of strong, independent and professional female characters in favor of showcasing immoral, manipulative, lying female characters on a day-to-day basis. Women viewers have had enough and have decided that GH is no longer entertaining or enjoyable to watch and the ratings reflect that.”
The number of fans joining the SOS/Save Our Soap! General Hospital Campaign continues to grow in support of working for a better GENERAL HOSPITAL. For more information on the campaign, contact Dana L. Meyer or Kecia K. Picard at saveoursoapgh@gmail.com or visit the SOS/Save Our Soap! GENERAL HOSPITAL page on Facebook.
Posts: 5415 | Location: New York/California | Registered: September 30, 2006
“women, who are the backbone of GH’s viewership, and obviously the most important demographic, resent being virtually banned from their TV screens by being forced to endure the degradation of strong, independent and professional female characters in favor of showcasing immoral, manipulative, lying female characters on a day-to-day basis. Women viewers have had enough and have decided that GH is no longer entertaining or enjoyable to watch and the ratings reflect that.”
A-to-the-Men!
That's the real problem. In a genre driven by women, GH keeps pushing bitches and whores, not to mention promoting the violent lifestyle that has killed what few positive female characters there are.
As for the rest, I can get behind Patrick and Robin, and to a lesser extent Jax and Carly. But Jason and Elizabeth is a dead end just like Jason and Courtney -- the constant "I love you, but can't accept your criminal lifestyle" merry-go-round is a pain to sit through over the course of months, and would rather the show bolster the Elizabeth/Lucky relationship.
As for Sonny and Kate, I don't know who their fans were, but I never gave a damn about that romance, and Kate Howard was never an interesting character to me. Certainly a good deal better than Sonny/Claudia, but I'm not grading on a curve here.
If the show wants to get its viewers back, here's where to start:
- More Quartermaines, Spencers, and Scorpios, and less Corinthos, Falconeri, and Zacchara.
- More hospital, less mob.
- Have young characters idolize people like Alexis and Monica and vilify Sonny and Jason.
- Bring back Genie Francis as Laura, even if it means firing Anthony Geary to pay for it. Nowadays, considering his recent comments about Luke/Laura and Wendy Riche, and his awful Ethan storyline, not many of us will miss him.
Do those four things and the show can push forward any couples it wants. We need big changes on that show. Promoting four couples ain't gonna cut it.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: 742,
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
If I may also note, what the hell is Nathan Parsons doing? I'm watching today's show, and he's channeling Jack Sparrow without the irony.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: 742,
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
- Have young characters idolize people like Alexis and Monica and vilify Sonny and Jason.
There's an idea I could get behind.
I'm watching the show right now and seeing everybody fight over where Michael should live. Just 1 quick question.
Why are Michael's only choices to live with his mom Carly, "dad" Sonny or grandma Monica? What about grandma Bobbie? That way Carly doesn't have to worry about him being in any mob danger and Sonny doesn't have to worry that Edward's trying to turn little Mikey against him. And maybe we'd get to see Jackie Zeman more than once a year.
Because that would mean the show has to write for Jackie Zeman, and we know that will never happen. Presumably Carly's brother Lucas is an adult by now and could take care of his nephew for a while -- oh wait, he fell off the face of the earth shortly after coming out of the closet. Or cousin Lucky -- no, I haven't seen him in ages either.
You know, this show could open up so many avenues of storytelling if only Bob Guza were willing to explore the various family connections. Just writing it, I suddenly think it would be amazing to bring Lucas back to become a role model for his nephew and show Sonny "Machismo" Corinthos react to his son bonding with his gay uncle.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
I take back what I just wrote. It still makes no sense that Carly or Sonny would go to the Quartermaines before even considering Bobbie, but that final scene of Monica, Tracy and Edward bickering made up for it.
All of these suggestions are great and hopefully these number, which they care about, can make them meet the fans halfway.
What I have suggested on the DC board, is that if they are so hell bent on keeping Guza as HW, they need to pull a GL and have some of the veteran writers who have been there throughout the various regimes share the title of HW w/him. I say get Josh Griffith (who was a part of OLTL & ATWT during high pts. and created Sunset Beach along w/Guza & the late Aaron Spelling), Karen Harris (who had her own web show and has been there forever and does good work from what I hear), and Michele Val Jean (who wrote the critically acclaimed Luke & Lucky scenes about Luke raping Laura and wrote Liz's rape) to be there as the HW and then start from there, b/c I think w/that team there will be that balance that we are all asking for.
Posts: 5415 | Location: New York/California | Registered: September 30, 2006
what is so great about ll anyways? she has no chance of an emmy nom with byrne virtually having that spot locked up by voters outside gh(since i-s vote is/will be eliminated).
and as for the q's before bobbie, didnt jz ask for less airtime because of her face?
and the people at sc love this dante character. i dont believe the fans on that board have a clue what good soap opera is. and they are itching for sonny or jason to take another life, being claudia. the actor that plays dante does not look right and somehow i think they are just gonna recast him down the road with pelphrey or lago. this actor doesnt look like he will last.
Originally posted by OLTLfan: I take back what I just wrote. It still makes no sense that Carly or Sonny would go to the Quartermaines before even considering Bobbie, but that final scene of Monica, Tracy and Edward bickering made up for it.
I loved that scene. What a wonderful bit of levity and warmth in that Quartermaine scene. Bob Guza has it in him to write wonderful storylines, he just chooses not to. I don't know why it must be one way or another -- if Michael stays with Sonny he becomes a mindless mob thug, but if he goes with the Quartermaines he becomes a soulless corporate bastard. Can't he grow up with a mind of his own?
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Today's episode was good. Why can't the show be this light and fun everyday? Diane and Alexis were hysterical and Robin and Patrick were adorable. I didn't even mind watching Sonny, Jason and Carly. This show could be great if they'd lay off the darkness and violence all the time.
you know, i think the mob used to be watchable....until frons stepped in. without the mob who's to say we would have more stories like scrubs instead of necca? the worser actors are not in the mob, they are outside of it. before frons came on gh used to have stories within the mob stand out...sonny/carly/alexis, jason/liz/zander, roy/felicia, a.j./courtney, jax/skye. gh had five stories that stood out and it was those, and the ratings had improved when guza returned in 2002. then when vanessa marcil returned later that year she could even separate the sonny/carly and jax/skye equations, there was jason/courtney/liz/a.j., alexis/ned, and ric. even the alcazar connection didnt make these stories blend in too much to become unwatchable. once vm left, gh changed. the look changed, the quality changed....it was frons. he suddenly weakened the mob with his favorites being thrown in it, but the stuff outside the mob was getting more airtime, as well. suddenly emily/nikolas was taking up a lot of airtime, stefan came back to be ruined, and there were the teens that werent bad but didnt have the right story. of course, emily and courtney were the significant factors for tis show's boredom happening. and since then its gotten worse. now gh has ruined carly and nikolas and i dont see how they can ever be repaired again. carly would have to be recast, and honestly i would love for braun to return to the role. nikolas just needs to die. scrubs may be the only really likeable thing out of the mob because it certainly isnt anything spencers, ethan, or necca these days. i heard that frons has to approve of stories proposed before they air and that is whats wrong with the show. guza used to be creative, and he has been the epitome of ridicule all because of what frons has done. clearly the karaoke thing today with maxie, lulu, and rebecca(they just had to have her over liz or robin) was more his idea than guza to me. and seriously lisa locicero isnt better than sarah brown, not even close, and i think even guza knows it yet they are trying to hype her up while dgrading sjb. frons has something to do with this here as well more. i think frons needs to go and gh would be better. without guza but frons still around there would be more carbon copies of necca, ethan than scrubs and it would be even worse. i could bring up guza's accomplishments before frons if i need to.
I'm pretty sure Frons is a creative consultant or something on all of ABC's shows, which pretty much means he's the puppet-master. None of the three shows will be able to thrive long-term until he stops strangling them with his "vision." I agree, Guza has been very, very good before. 2006 was his best year, when he wrote the outbreak -- a stunt, but a catalyst for a lot of good character-driven stuff -- Alexis and Sam's mother/daughter reveal, Alexis's cancer, Liz's pregnancy, and the beginning of Robin/Patrick. Since then it's been a mess. The Zaccharas have hijacked the show, you get awful characters like Rebecca and Ethan, the assassination of characters like Lulu, the victimization of innocent children and women (Georgie's murder killed most of the affection I still had for the show). It's a disaster area. And thankfully the ratings are finally reflecting that.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
The ratings have been reflecting this for a long time now but it seems Frons and his cohorts are so hell bent on their vision that they can't seem to realize the damage they are doing to the shows, or maybe they just don't care?
all i know is that Pat Fili-Kusher or Angela Shapiro didn't strangle the show with their vision, they allowed for the most part their writers and producers to maintain creative control. Not that JFP alone would be much better.
Praying The Daytime Emmys air on TV in 2010!
Posts: 20081 | Location: just outside Providence, Rhode Island | Registered: July 28, 2002
I don't think Phelps is necessarily that bad. With Brian Frons pulling the strings and the head writers on the front lines, ABC's executive producers seem like ineffectual middlemen.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
