Monday, August 9, 2010

One Day Until Brenda-Bration! Today's Editing: BIZZARO

I'm trying not to mention it so much, but it's hard not to start the clock. Especially tomorrow with the Marathon. How many are watching? It's running 3 to 1 on twitter for NOT watching! LOL. I want to see the other stuff happening on those episodes as well...it won't be 100% Brenda. That alone will be worth some watching!!

OLTL today..that actress playing Ford's Mama  is terrible. I don't say that often, but she totally ruined the scene today with telling her kids about their past. Wowza. Wooden and just evoked no emotion from me.  What a shame-- OLTL usually does well with casting. In contrast, Tea/Blair scenes were perfection. sniffle. The montoage at the end was so cool... the fights! The hugs! The tears! The Todd! LOL. Ratings be damned, OLTL is the best written show on ABC Daytime.


I snagged this fine photo from Lisa LoCicero Fan Space. They have the best daily snappies and media nets of your fave Olivia.  Looks like she'll  be dishing with Mike!

TODAY'S SHOW: Shirley's daughter,  Marty was so bitchy and good acting on her part. You hated her as soon as she opened her mouth. She looks a lot like Megan Ward to me. Don't really get the whole point of that scene but whatever. Someone on twitter mentioned that they should have gotten the chick that played Elizabeth Walton to play the part! LMAO. Perfect!!

Carly's shirt is bugging the hell out of me. The timeline is all off too. Hell, Lucky flew out to Oregon, it's night so in Port Charles it would be about 3am if it were still the same day. Ugh.
Question this: Why was it so easy for Lucky to find Franco's Mama and the baby?? hmmmm. Plot point? Setting the stage? Meant to be? Did he put a chip in the kid? CRAPTASTIC EDITING ALERT:   Lucky was on the couch talking to Karen, the next second he's on the plane with the baby! whahahahahaa. Commercial jump, and he's already gathered the baby and  is flying home?  Oh, how stupid. Someone HAS to get continuity right on this show. THEN Aiden is HOME in his mama's arms  the SAME 'NIGHT"!! Good God. I'm sorry, I know you need to rush all this because of Brenda but ughhhhhh. that's bad.

Sonny on the docks in the  fog-- looking for Brenda but finding Claire. Ah, that tricky mist!!  It's the same fog that made Luke think Laura Templeton was his angel. Sonny chats up Claire with stories  about Brenda.  Nice way to flirt.  Guess we have to catch the audience up.

Last scene with Brenda and  Sonny...they look so cute. And young. 
PS. Michael Saucedo is tweeting that Becky (Elizabeth) is in the hospital, getting ready to deliver the baby!!!

19 comments:

  1. The editing is ridiculous. Are we supposed to be stupid or something?
    I am hating that stories are rushed or dropped just to keep up to current Sonny stories. How are we supposed to invest in characters, if the writers aren't invested themselves?
    I am watching the episodes tomorrow. Just because I want to remember what good GH writing used to be like!

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  2. all i want to is rip the flags off carly's shirt! also when will this whole brooklyn/carly mess be over? i am hoping for lulu to totally lash out at carly and spinelli! maybe lulu can become best buds with brenda and have brenda mess with carly!!

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  3. Hopefully this post isn't as long winded as the past 3 posts I've done.

    Editing,terrible! Who needs poor writing when the editing alone makes the story beyond belief? Not to say the writing is any better.

    My wish for tomorrow is that the entire GH family watches the Brenda marathon. Here's hoping that FRONS, PHELPS, GUZA, the backstage workers, the cast (both the senior cast and new cast) watch tomorrow and see what the used to be and what it is today. How far they have fallen in story telling capability!?! I wish by watching tomorrow, the Burtons, McCulloughs, Benards, Grahns, Christophers, Charlesons, Ingles, Jacksons, Gearys (wishful thinking), Elliots, Zemans, Yorks, Rademachers and Herbsts all ask how has the show gone from that, to the state in which it is in now?
    And the newer cast ask, why can't we be in a show with this sort of writing? Cast integration, stories that don't center around one character all the time, stories that are told on the basis of character history and growth as opposed to just mere plot points and finally, you'll love this one, a story that is actually told to completion.
    That's my wish! Change. One can only hope. I miss Wendy Riche, pre Carson.

    Phew! I think that wasn't too long...

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  4. Luke's Angel? You mean Tracy? Because over the past few years, Guza and Geary want us to think that Laura was just one of many women in his life who he just happened to have two kids with.

    The other night TVLand showed the "Roseanne" episode where Geary and Francis cameo at the end. Huge applause from the audience and the 90's GH theme plays. It's sad to watch now because of how much the show has trashed their legacy.

    Somehow, I'd like to think that the real Luke who was fun, loved his children and Laura was kidnapped by the Cassadines and is on some kind of island.. and the drunken, idiotic one we've had to deal with these past few years is some kind of clone. LOL.

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  5. KD you said OLTL is the best. Well I agree to a point. The writers are getting to be like GH. Why doesn't John access the Boston Bar to come up with a picture of Bennett Thompson? I know police detectives like John are smarter then they are showing him to be.

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  6. How many shows of just Brenda are they show? when does it all go back to normal? I don't see what the fess is about! VM is not that great!

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  7. Watchintele: Clapping, you said it. Part of why I want to watch tomorrow is to see what ppl are missing.

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  8. That Laura Templeton story you mentioned was choppy, poorly told (I think there were 3 head writer changes over those 6 or so months), and still superior than anything we get today.

    Why did the missing baby story have to be wrapped up before Brenda returned? Because Guza can't focus on more than one story at a time?

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  9. Thank you for the applause, Karen. Maybe the clapping should be turned into slapping those fools in charge, to realize the potential that is being wasted.

    What I still don't understand is how the show has gotten to this state? It's an ensemble cast. Yes you have your stars, however, there are other characters that shouldn't be used just as fillers. Sonny, Jason, Carly, and Sam (RME, gag me - can't stand this character or Carly) are your front burner characters. Nevertheless, that should not mean that they engulf the entire show.
    How was it possible that when Luke and Laura, or Robert and Anna, or Alan and Monica were your stars that you were still capable of including the rest of the cast? And, now it's the complete opposite.
    There needs to be an ebb and flow with a rotation of who at the moment is on the front burner. Meaning that when a story is developing it may not be the front burner story until it reaches it's climax. Until that point, another story is your main focus, but also allowing other stories their time and need for growth. Allow for the audience to invest in the story you are telling. Show your main story 3 times a week 'til it's reaches the point of climax and requires 4 or 5 days, but still giving opportunity to other stories as a reminder they still exist. This falls into the category of editing. Which we can agree has been severely lacking.

    The beats of your story should coincide with the characters, not plot points. Plot points are only successful when they cause a major shift in how your character deals with said situation. It pulls the character out of their niche so to speak.
    The best stories are the ones that involve the entire cast. That involvement though is slowly worked towards the climax. Example Stone's death and the complications of HIV/AIDS. Now most stories are about the danger theme - and threat is from the same source, Sonny and Jason. Again, show is called General Hospital, not Gangster's House. Tell a story that can be related to by all that is about the hospital.
    If Brenda is being brought back with the backdrop of sex trafficking, and the mob's influence in this area, please tell the story properly. Then it won't be so bad that Brenda is in Europe for that amount of time. That being said, integrate it with a character that has witnessed the ugliness of it first hand, that is in PC at the moment. So when Brenda does come back, it's not out of left field. Or even better, here's an idea, tie Sonny getting Karen Wexler involved in stripping and drugs as a beat for the story. Explore that. Karen Wexler had ties to Robin, Brenda, Sonny, Jason, Scott (nice lead in to bringing him and Laura back). It will touch on history.
    This is what GH used to be, watch tomorrow and you'll get a glimpse of how great this show was and could be again.

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  10. Oh for crying out loud......please quit complaining or seek therapy. OK...so you complain about editing. Get over it already. A two year old is 16 within 3 years and you really want to see all the details about him gathering the kid and getting on to the plane and then you complain when stories get dragged out too long. Seriously, get over it already.

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  11. Anonymous, it's Karen's blog- she can write (or complain) about anything she wants. If you don't like what she has to say, then YOU can stop reading her blog! It's one thing to go after one of the posters, but to go after Karen? I guess there's a reason why your "anonymous"...

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  12. Dear Anon, Please do not attack a fellow poster, it's not nice.

    I'm surprised no one mentioned Claire's dress yesterday, she looked like a ho.

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  13. Wow. Take it easy girls. Everyone is taking everything so personally. Perhaps Anon doesn't understand what blogs are for? Perhaps you haven't watched GH for decades like some of us have? Perhaps you don't know how good this show can be? Perhaps you don't know how much we love this show? Most of us work whether outside of our home or not, and some how find solace here at this blog as well as in front of our TV the 25 minutes it takes to FF thru it every day. There are good things we say too. Trust me!
    Having said all this, lighten up cookie or find a new place to hang your hat.

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  14. Congratulations are in order this evening to General Hospital’s, Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), and her husband Michael Saucedo (Ex-Juan) tonight. The couple welcomed in to the world a little baby boy weighing in at 8lbs 4 ounces. According to Michael and Becky’s twitter accounts, as of yet the couple have not revealed the name of the latest addition to their family. This is Michael and Becky’s third child.

    Long time friend and Herbst castmate, Scott Reeves (Steven Webber) has visited the couple at the hospital and tweeted, ”Just went and saw the newest beautiful addition to the Saucedo family! Congratulations Michael and Becky !!!!!! Good work!!”

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  15. Can Lucky PLEASE find out that Aiden is his...and fast! He has had to raise two little boys as his own since almost their birth. Let him be able to raise his own as well!! JJ did a wonderful job acting yesterday. Made me really feel for Lucky.

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  16. Anon, your right about the sorasing of characters. It doesn't allow you to see them grow up, like we did with Robin, Maxie (more or less), Lucky, Elizabeth, Emily, AJ, Jason, Brenda, etc., the latter were seen from high school. So there is no real investment in characters when one minute they are 1 and the next they are 12, or whatever. But, you must understand that times have changed and the genre is no longer on the same footing that it once held. So you really can't have characters age in sequential order. The turnover rate has been expedited for characters. Only the core characters are seen for long periods of times and then eventually phased out to bring in the new generation. This is why you've seen Michael, Kristina, Morgan, Molly (all Corinthos - the main family of the show now) sorased. And, lets not forget Dante. They want us, the audience, to invest in them. See them grow from young adults and watch how their lives are shaped. Only problem with that is - the theme is always the same, DANGER!

    This wouldn't be a problem if the show was written as it was in the 90's, 80's, etc. Reason why there is so much investment in characters like Lucky, Elizabeth, Jason, Robin, Brenda, is because you saw the day to day life of teenager - in school. That's the key element that's missing here. We no longer see these kids in school. Interacting with teachers, other kids, involved in activities that a normal kid would be in. Note, the missed opportunity to explore Kristina's abuse within a school setting. How was she being treated by other kids, before and after it all came out? A good area to focus on and reach out to your audience. Is that the reason she was smoke pot? No explanation! It was just there out of the blue. That's why it's so difficult to relate to them now. One minute you hear they are in school(don't actually get to see it) and next thing you know they have a job as an assistant to a Fashion Magazine editor (I'm pointing my finger at you, Lulu). They don't explain really how they got there, they just have them there and expect us, to fill in the blanks.
    And, this is why Karen is talking about editing. Because, whether you want to see it or not, editing is a big part of storytelling when watching TV. If the editing is poor, then there is no flow. It all ties together. Writing, editing, and even sorasing characters. When one is lacking, all the others are doing poor also.

    For instance, you'll have to introduce new characters at some point, to go with existing core characters (young and old), and they may stick or they may not. However, it's always better if they have some sort of connection to existing characters, whether large or small. Example, when Brenda was introduced, she was a family friend of the Q's. Allowed for the character to grow on the audience. Karen Wexler, found out she was Scott's daughter. Now you have characters introduced and they tend to fall flat or really only last for a short time. Example, you brought in Matt Hunter - Patrick Drake's brother. Why isn't Noah back on the show to explore that relationship. I'm sure there still exist some sort of anamosity. Instead, it was left off in a neatly tied bow. Spinelli, his only connection to the show family wise is Stone Cold! Why? He's been an essential part of your hero's life for 3+ years now, isn't it time to explain his roots?
    These things are all intertwined. Again, if one is lacking, then they all fail.

    This is my opinion on the subject, and I believe this is what Karen is hinting towards. If I'm wrong, sorry. Just wanted to clear the air on the topic.

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  17. It can't have effect in fact, that is exactly what I suppose.

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