Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sunday Surgery: Prepping the Patient

Ok... now, take a deep breath-- and know what I say is not a joke: I enjoyed GH this week. Let it sink in. THE WUBQUEEN ENJOYED GH this WHOLE WEEK. :thud:  I know, I know-- what can I say? It had light and funny moments, a great angst storyline playing out in real- time (Johnny) and well, the dialog was  spot-on. You can tell someone said something about the direction of the show. 


Yes, I do think that GH is being prepped for the change coming in Feb. Tracy and AZ, and the fact that Johnny's real life daddy is tied to her as well? Awesome. Brandon Barash is acting his heart out. Even though the Claudia Mama Story has holes all over, I even thought that Anthony's explanation of things was plausible. Tracy and Luke laying on the bed eating her 'wedding breakfast' was refreshing and way better than them bickering on the empty Haunted Star.  *sigh* I loved that scene. 

Please leave your BAT behind when you go!
Wyndemere continues to be a thorn in the side, especially when they brought Helena back to hide and not say one dang word. COME ON... but!! Cassandra waved that stuffed bat around and all was forgiven. (I'm an easy sell) Who came up with that idea? You'd think I was writing. Tee hee. A stuffed bat is just so perfect in so many ways. Just get Stefan back and I'll be a happy camper!

Scrubs are back on track and Robin's on a drug protocol that is working for the moment. We know something big is coming and we also know her parents show up. That's squee worthy!! I hear Holly comes in (maybe because Ethan dies or goes missing)-- and that is also a GIANT scream because I know this time RC won't limit her to interacting with one/two other people. 

Lulu's drinking was really done stupidly --I mean, in the Metro Court surfing the net in the morning? Ummm, ok. BUT! I love that they are not making her a sloppy drunk. Spencers are FUNCTIONAL alcoholics. They exist and I really do like how they play them that way. Maxie coming over with Lulu all ratty was a fun touch too. Speaking of Maxie, I still hate the Matt drama but the new toned-down Spinelli is a treat. When he was watching M&M and waving his spoon around he was adorable. 

I missed the day Edward was on and I still have to watch. People said it was good though. 

Kate? Ugh.. at least I did have Bob the Badger to watch in some of her scenes. Do I even care who her "mystery phone-person" is? No. 
Maurice seems happier  and watching the dimples flash again was magic!!  JaSam continued their mope but there's light at the end of that tunnel. They are using Alexis more and she talked to a new person (Shawn) which was well written and woven into the fact that TJ and Molly were study-buddies. Her menopause story could be done better (enough with the 'flopsweat' jokes) but I can't complain.
BEST FACE EVER! 
SCENE of the WEEK: Had to be Sonny telling Johnny about his paternity. Just the right amount of drama and tension, sprinkled with Sonny's glee. Brandon Barash was awesome. Runner up to this scene was Johnny confronting Anthony. Bruce W actually looked like he was acting instead of being Mr. Sarcastic. The whole thing was done well, and let's face it--it was done in a HUGELY timely manner given GH's history of 8 month storyarcs.

NOT THE SCENE OF THE WEEK:  Anything with Michael in it. Sorry but he's on my last damn nerve....PLUS he's whiny!!

Johnny, Angry Johnny...

So, do you agree that GH was better this week or am I crazy? All I can say is I'm enjoying watching again. Not the whole show but a decent part of it. Hey the new guys haven't even started yet. This could get good!! Must See GH? WOWza.

57 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you I only had to FF thru Kate. I just can't watch her, she's like nails on a blackboard. Johnny hit it out of the park this week.

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  2. Hey let's try positive on this blog today!! lol

    Huge improvement this week for this show. Laughed, cried, did very little FFing.
    The show brought out their finest actors. Luke, Tracey, Papa, John, Sonny, Robin & Patrick. Jax. I am loving NUKate.

    LIW, Maggie, Delores were all cut to one day this week. SMART. Slowly wean them out.
    Even Michael promises to change!
    Could it be for Starr?? lol

    SCENE of the week: I agree with Karen. PRICELESS Sonny's acting and expression.

    I am hoping for even better next week.
    What an exciting time for GH!

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  3. Oh, it was definitely better! I actually sat through a couple entire episodes. Loving Johnny, and Carly together. She'll be a much happier person when she's gettin' some.

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  4. Spot on again!!! I loved GH this week. Brandon was a-MAZ-ing!!! Phenomenal. I FF through almost anything with Kate. I was disappointed with how the Jax return played out and his farewell scene being with Kate (may have been the week before) and Michael.......ugh.....what to do with that character??? The whining has to stop. The actor must not have much memorizing to do as everyone of his scenes has the same dialogue in it, "It's my fault Abby is dead. I sent her away to protect her." Blah blah blah. He is a fantastic actor and I hope they give him more than this SL to work with. I'm starting to FF through him too. BTW, I don't know if it has already been said, but I think the man attacking the strippers is Ronnie.

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  5. It is certainly improving.

    I still can not stand Sonny, all the more after the way he taunted Johnny. Sonny is REALLY stupid. Did he not realize he was starting a war? Did he not think there would be no pay back? OR, does he just not care about anything other then himself and getting one up on someone? It is obviously the later.

    I find myself really torn over the character of Luke. some of his scenes are fun but for the most part the character is dispicable and that became all the more evident this week.

    I am not at all looking forward to the OLTL imports. However I am very excited over Robert, Anna and Holly's return. If Robin does get really ill I hope we see Sean and Tiff return even if only for a few days. Perhaps Noah Drake as well.

    Rumours of Laura returning does little to excite me as I know it would be short term and other storylines/characters would get less airtime as Laura would be made the short term focus of the entore Port charles universe. I'd much rather see Bobby or Jax back on our screens.

    I also agree that Spinelli is becoming a little more tolerable. There just seems to be no one to pair him with other then Maxie and I much prefer her with Matt or even Johnny. Perhaps Lucas can be brought back and help Spinelli realize something about himself?

    I've seen rumours that someone is coming back from the dead. Jake, Alan, Georgie, AJ, Tony or Stephan I could deal with. But PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep Emily, Claudia and Siobhan dead and gone.

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  6. I only watched the Elizabeth/Robin/Patrick scenes this wk but did go back and watch the BB/MB scenes, among others --BB was really good-finally. Unfortunately BB is becoming the cougar go to guy--he needs someone closer to his own age--on the show. Now Carly and Lulu can compare sexing up JZ notes, or even her BF Olivia-ewww.
    I personally can't stand MB but that's just me--I find him boring.
    I like Tracey--not Luke but again can't tolerate the Spencers, drinking or otherwise. AZ is funny with Tracey.
    I think CD looks like a sad sack and his acting reflects that boring crap-ITA about him.

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  7. Let's stay positive on the board, as long as you agree with Deb K ; )

    Nukate isn't doing it for me either, but my FF button works just fine. Same with Numaxie. That voice alone makes me squint. The actress is adorable and in the beginning I was shocked at how close she was to portraying Kirsten's Maxie. But then with no emotion with Robin, or Matt, or Spin, and all emotion in every word she spoke made me cringe.

    Please Michael, shut up or recast him. I know Chad is a great actor, but like Karen said, the whining is all I can take.

    Loved scrubs this week, loved Alexis as always. Wouln't mind seeing her more with Sonny, those two are wonderful (as friends only however). Looking forward to the diane/alexis bar scenes this week.

    Karen thank you for still blogging! Hope your job is going great.

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  8. It was definitely better. I watched just about everything this week.I only FF'd through Kate. And less of whiney Michael was a blessing. I think when some of the surplus cast go it will get even better still.( I hope Ronnie is one of the ones who goes too.) And if someone comes back from the dead I'd like it to be Jake.

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  9. I agree that it is improving...there were actually scenes that I enjoyed! I was watching most of it on live TV so I couldn't FF but that was okay because, of the episodes I watched there were only a few times (nuKate & Sonny, Ethan & the idiot-in-white, for example) that I HAD to hit the mute button.

    I like that there seems to be a wider group of characters interacting.

    Johnny was wonderful. It's always nice to see more of Brandon.

    I still have no interest in many of the storylines (Sonny/nuKate, Lulu/Dante, Delores,Maggie/Steve/Olivia, Jason/Sam, TJ/Shawn, etc).

    I wish Jake would come back from the dead.

    Oh and I have to mention that, for the first time in what seems like forever, there was actually one Michael scene where he was watchable!!!

    Nell

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  10. Karen, you are spot on. I actually watched GH daily instead of letting it pile up for a week on the DVR and then FF through most scenes. Watching Johnny was heart-wrentching. All the actors seem happier and putting in wonderful performances. Now, if only Michael, Ronnie, Sam, Cassandra, Ewin and The Lisa wanna-be get blown up in one of the explosions, then life would be perfect.

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  11. According to SID, Hells is back this coming Friday (Feb 3). Let's hope she says something this time. ANYTHING! She has to be over her laryngitis by now. LOL

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  12. Good summary of everything that worked well this week. I DVR'd the whole week for a change, and watched them all Friday night. I even liked a couple of Michael scenes, the one where he told Jason he'd been blaming God in particular.

    Deb K - I really understand your love of GH. I don't want to see GH canceled, and I hope there is some last minute reprieve, maybe onto another network. But realistically, I just find it unlikely. Guiding Light, As The World Turns, All My Children, and One Life To Live all had fans just as passionate, and ultimately those shows ended, all in the last three years. Networks are looking to help their bottom line, and soaps are simply more expensive than talk shows or reality shows. It sucks.

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  13. I'm tuning back in when RC starts so I'm interested in hearing what Anthony's explanation of Claudia being Johnny's mother and him Johnny's grandfather could be.

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  15. Skeebob...Look at what happened this year. AMC/OLTL were cancelled. Then..they were going to PP. That never happened. GH is trying to do good by bringing some of OLTL over. Good/bad its better than nothing. I believe, that nothing has been cancelled yet, and this is a stradegy to raise the viewership of GH. Will it work? Time will tell. I do know the show is finally getting better. I also know that if GH can bring in more viewers than The Chew or The Revolotion, GH will find a home.

    Its not over until the FAT LADY sings! lol

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  18. Looking forward to the returns of Holly, Robert and Anna. I hope they fix Ethan's paternity and make him a Scorpio.

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  19. DebK--I actually agree with you for once. it was a great week. Folks lets be positive...

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  22. I'll be positive....positively GIDDY when CasSUCKra leaves.

    Good night and good luck.

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  23. Thanks for the pic of the LOON In White -- now I can practice my darts with the perfect target!!!

    Go to Hell(s) CasSUCKra.

    Still positive -- positive that I HATE this stupid ass character.

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  24. I have to admit that I do get frustrated when this blog gets hijacked by people making silly back and forth comments. If someone says something you don't like then just ignore it. Negative energy begets negative energy. I'd like to see more discussion of what happens on the show and less bickering. I'm pretty sure we're all over 25, so let's not act like we're kids.

    On that note: I hope they keep Ewan. We need another hot guy and he is super cute, but his storyline seems to be moving along so slowly. He should've hooked up with Liz last week in a perfect world. It would be nice to see her with someone new. I was a huge Liason fan, but it seems like so much has happened if she & Jason got back together it just wouldn't be the same.

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  25. I have to agree. While last week I took to twitter to vent my frustation with scenes, editing, the same boring schtick...this week I dont think I bashed GH on twitter at all!

    The scenes between Anthony and Johnny were must see and done very, very well. The wedding was fabulous and entertaining. The SHOW was entertaining! Characters had purpose instead of walking around, talking out of their ass.

    Hopefully this week's scenes are a harbinger of better things to come!

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  26. I agree that signing anon all the time is a copout, but so is signing in as someone different Mytwocents aka Deb K. But onto positive things!

    Johnny! Love him. Only wish Olivia was more in his world instead of Carly. Laura Wright is talented but I'm bored.

    I disagree that Liason was just friends. They may not have had the same connection as Jasam due to their lifestyle choices, but I enjoyed them & they did so much more than have sex. But as I stated in another post I love J&J's Lucky with Liz more. I just hope they don't whore Liz out to Ewen and/or Matt first before bringing JJ back for the wrap up of their love story.

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  27. The best part of the show was BB.He IS the best actor on the whole show.The worst part of the show was the fact that Carly/LW was in scenes with Johnny/BB.She DOES NOT BELONG IN THIS s/l or with Johnny at all.Those scenes whould have been with Lulu/JMB and NOBODY else.They would have been better if she were there instead because she NOT Carly knows Johnny's history. I read at DD that JMB/Lulu was suppose to be in this s/l NOT LW/Carly but RC came in and changed it and put LW/Carly in it and gave Lulu/JMB the AWFUL drinking s/l only because he hates the Z's and does not want Lulu in Johnny's orbit.

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  28. I agree that BB has done steller work this week. JT (Patrick), KMc (Robin), NLG (Alexis), RH (Liz) and JE (Tracy) are amazing as well. I hope the new writers decrease the screen time of Sonny / Luke / Jason / Sam / Michael to let these other actors shine the way they have shown they can.
    I know Carly gets a lot of screen time as well but I love the soapyness of her character and think LW is incredibly talented. I like her interacting with Johnny. I would also like to see her share a storyline with Alexis or the Q's (maybe AJ's return!!!).

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  30. Frisco, Sonny said that, after telling what he did to Johnny, he fully expects Johnny will kill Anthony, thereby destroying himself and their organization. I guess Sonny is supposed to be TOO STUPID to realize that his actions will cause yet another "mob war."

    ITA, Karen, this week was somewhat better, I actually found myself sorry when the show came to an end some days, and actually feel suspense about some things, such as "Who is Nukate taking to," (I know few people here care, but, to me, if she actually is betraying Sonny, that would be HUGE), also, who is the LIW, is she working for Helena? (Yes, I HATE the LIW character, and can't wait for her to go, but it would be interesting if she is some kind of Helena experiment. . . .)

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  34. TheGirlWithTheStarTattooJanuary 29, 2012 at 5:57 PM

    When will Matt dump Maxie?? Pretty please!

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  35. can everyone just stop it? Come on. PLEASE..those of you sniping at each other are just looking redonkidink. Thank you.

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  36. Oh, definitely, Karen--GH is nearly watchable again! I noticed it all week, too.
    Brandon was SO good. I could even tolerate Sonny if he were on less, had scenes with more people and didn't always come out on top (did I mention having less airtime--that is top priority to the show's improvement.) I even like Carly in this mode of surprised caring about Johnny. Laura Wright is good and if they keep her less of the conniver and more human and caring, she could finally deserve leading lady status.
    I still do not like one minute of the Wyndimere story. I hope Holly is coming back to straighten out the Luke mess by confessing that Luke is NOT Ethan's father. That really must be corrected. I was reading an old Geary interview the other day in which he said that one saving grace of his anti-hero character was that he is a one-woman man and he felt that appealed to ladies in the audience. (I think he was being asked what he thought made female fans so crazy for Luke at the time.) He was right--it was very appealing.
    As for Tracy and AZ, not such a bad combination for a bit of fun, but now the Johnny thing is inserted, it surely will get darker.
    I liked Alexis with Shawn. (I've long liked Shawn--just felt he was not being used very well.)
    Now I want Jax back, please. I don't mind Kate because the actress is good, but how could I possibly like someone stupid enough to chose Sonny? Makes no sense for a smart woman. He isn't even good company--undereducated (I suspect he skipped high school alot), crude, violent, self absorbed to a egomaniacal degree--where's the appeal there? AND he's an out and out criminal. When he talks about work, it's downright gruesome!

    The pace has picked up, the scenes better conceived, but weren't these episodes already in the can? It feels like Frank is already on the job, shaping and splicing. I really look forward to when RC actually begins writing!

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  37. I wanted to leave a comment but clearly today is not the day without having your comments picked apart by another. Reminds me of why I stay off soap boards.

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  39. I asked nicely to stop it now I delete. thanks.

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  41. It's pretty damn sad when I'm considering turning OFF the comments. This won't turn into one of those boards where all people do is argue. It's stupid and I'm not having it.
    STOP. thank you

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  42. Perhaps it would help if you were more judicious in your monitoring and not allow one or two posters to take over the comments.

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  43. Anonymous said...
    Perhaps it would help if you were more judicious in your monitoring and not allow one or two posters to take over the comments.

    Sounds to me like someone is jealous. You old enough to be blogging?

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  44. Oh Deb...or is it Sonya? Hard to tell since you both share the same brain.

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  45. I agree this was the best week in a really long time. My fav scene was Luke and Tracy, they are just magic to me and finding out they are close friends in real life made the scene even better. Anything with John was very intense and exciting. Heck I loved everything except NuKate and I was borderline offended by the menopause jokes that poor NLG was forced to do. I really hope that changes quick because while one hot flash joke is funny reducing a great character like Alexis into a babbling menopausal fool is not. At least to me. She deserves better material.

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  46. Anonymous said...
    Oh Deb...or is it Sonya? Hard to tell since you both share the same brain.
    ******
    WTF??? LMAO

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  47. I agree , Karen, that a decent part of GH was good this week. I thought Brandon Barash was the best this week. I look ahead with anticipation to see what Carlivati's material in february is like.

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  48. Well looks like my google account is acting right for once so I can sign in! I have to agree that this week was really good very few FF moments.

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  49. Steve Burton may be one leaving says the rumors. I wonder if he will leave Port Charles or presumed dead like robin.

    I guess signing in has been changed, hopefully things will be better in terms of posts.

    lisa

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  50. Well, it sounds like everything on here was like my family dinner tonight. YIKES.

    Anyway, I am so glad that I am not the only one offended by the menopause jokes. It would be nice if the writers took it seriously. My mom and both of my aunts are menopausal and none of them behave the way Alexis is. It is really sad, and it feels like the writers don't know what to do with Alexis so they gave her this storyline.

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  51. Hi Karen! It's lisa. I commented in another post about a Bradford Anderson interview on welovesoaps.com. It's a very revealing interview saying some days the actors feel they can change things and other days they feel they can't. He says theat GH was rated lower than The Chew for all of January, the actors were told. He feels that it costs less to produce the Chew so the possibility remains that GH could be cancelled. He says the actors hear rumors and are told different things.He says Valentini is on the set giving notes daily and actors are in and out faster to avoid paying overtime to reduce the budget.
    So much unrest backstage! Why are people watching The Chew? Part 2 of the interview is yet to come.

    Lisa ( I used to sign in using my name, lisa, but now with my google it's love2chat402000 ).

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  52. Karen, don't blame you one bit and the change is welcome. Maybe now things can be civilized. I love your blog, but have stayed away a lot recently due to all the constant bickering...mosbp2003

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  53. I don't mind menopause jokes if they are funny-- LOL. these are just weird. Have Roseanne come on!!
    Yep, people have to sign in now and do that stupid Capta thing, which I hate but I hope it cuts down on bickering.

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  54. Bickering is clearly happening out of jealousy. Not sure what there is to be jealous about on a blog, but some people are resentful of other's friendships or posts to each other.
    I don't get it. But at my age, I guess I forgot what its like to be in highschool! And all the DRAMA!!

    Lets move forward. I guess if you don't like someone, IGNORE there posts. 'Jabs' are only going to 'light the anger'.
    Nothing nice to say to someone, don't say it. Behave like an adult.

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  55. About the menopause.....I don't mind it only because I LOVE Alexis and as long as she is on, I will take her anyway they throw her at us!!

    This show is getting soo good!

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