Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sunday Surgery: The Producers


"Springtime for Hitler"... 
Think about it.  GH is actually the George Costanza's "opposite" of The Producers. In that film, they were putting on a show that was almost guaranteed to be a hit but wanted a flop so it closed. On the show, they are putting on a hit but want it to be a hit so it stays...but we know it will probably close. That's the WACKY BUSINESS OF HOLLYWEIRD!  YEPPER!. GH is getting watchable again and I'm happy.  I have been for about 2 weeks. Things started shifting and morphing into something I didn't want to fall asleep during.  
So, dear Wubbers, Read On to see the magic that is unfolding at our little studio: 



This week we had yet another Metro Court Melt-Down. (they should start posting their security footage on YouTube for extra cash). THIS time however, a lot more of the cast was actually there and we had extras, waiters and food!! Maurice Benard is alive again, and after the last few years of repeat dialog I bet he's excited as hell. The HAIR at the party reflected my mood: bouncy and fun!! 
We fans deserve so much. We deserve a history and vets and good ol' SOAP STUFF!! WE do! Guza took all that from us. We had a shell of a soap with hardly any core families left. Having Anna walk in made me melt. I just know this time it may be done right and I'm giddy!  GIDDY I tell you!! Just humor me ok-- just humor the Wubqueen. She needs it.

So, the Robin story is becoming interesting. On OLTL I even liked the unpopular stories/deaths because the TELLING OF THE TALE was excellent. Not having her linger on the bed with  AIDS is ironic yet a great touch, imo.The possibility of an older specter haunting the Scorpios? Brilliant. The fact I get to have some great '80's vets in the mix? Delicious!!


SCENE of the WEEK: I had a toss up between this and Anna's homecoming. I have to say that Brandon B's performance as the drunken Johnny at the Gala was spot-on. What followed: Sonny's selfish "Claudia's Johnny's Mama" Speech was brilliant as well. 
LOOK AT THAT EXTRA waiter in the back!! LOL.  
NOT the SCENE OF THE WEEK: OMG..please the WHITE WOMAN OF WYNDEMERE---SIT down. You are so OVER!! The lights were ON at the mansion though..we could even see a picture in the back! I guess Luke is in the tunnels being dragged along by Hells. That's the OLD GH talking. I'm expecting Luke to turn up in a Muldavian prison, writing on the walls. 
Franco Baby Mystery!
The Jason-baby mystery is so intriguing because of the implication on history! Heather coming back-- and the past being used.  IF ONLY Alan was alive!! Next daddy mystery to be solved? Please make it Sam's!! (and if he turns out to be David Hayward? Swoooon!!)

My only complaint is that they could have had Anna go Sonny's Gala-- I know Robin was working in the lab but they could have moved it a bit and had her there as well.  Anna could hug everyone she knows at the gala.  Oh, wait..yeah-- Guza messed most of that up too!! We'll just have to wait and see if things pick up when Robin dies. Since the cast was gutted there may be not a lot of history repeating. (Insert Propeller Head's song here)

IF Shawn starts serving Ruby's Chili I'll know my old GH has arrived!! 
And look, I'm no Pollyanna on this. I know GH is doomed--I'm happy it's not doomed to go out with me hating it. I'm glad that maybe JUST MAYBE it will start to pick up the ratings and at the very least make ABC look like the idiots they are.  They already do with the Revo**Tions shitteous ratings compared to OLTL. At least we have a sliver of something going. A platform to stand on and not one that's defending a terrible show. Am I expecting Carlitini miracles? Yep. I am. Sue me. 

23 comments:

  1. I agree with everything but 1 point. The possibility of having to see the end of GH with Franco crap in it is disappointing. I was really hoping we would not hear another word of it once Jason shot him. Every time someone mentions Franco on GH my stomach turns. While new writers and producers might handle it differently now, it still is such a turn off for me. Franco, Franco, FRANCO - - SERENITY NOW!!!

    I am loving all the history. Looking forward to Anna, Robert, Noah, Heather coming back. Hoping Alan comes back from the dead and not as a ghost. Would love a Susan Moore resurrection as well. Not looking forward to Robin dying. Brandon B has been outstanding as has the entire cast of late. I love it!

    If this is truly the end of GH (been watching since 1976) then I am glad it will be done with class and with history and more like the soap I remember and characters I loved for so long. Of course, I'm still praying for The Re**lution to tank and that give GH at least a chance but I fear the decision is already made no matter what.

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  2. I think the scene of the week was Anna coming home and re-meeting Emma. Precious and oh so funny!
    Though John scenes were spot on, John is always spot on with his scenes. He is good in all scenes all time. So Anna brought something different.

    I would also like to add that clearly tptb hired on new hairstylists & make up. Good job. It shows in the episodes.

    The Robin story, I forsee we will need a box of kleenex next to us by the weeks end.
    How are they going to explain the death to little Emma? I LOVE Emma!

    Heather coming back with this bombshell of a secret about Franco/Jason is going to be good.
    It means, more history to unravel.
    As a long time viewer of GH, I have forgotten alot of the history.
    I look forward to being reminded.

    NOT 100% if Felicia is coming back. Rumor has it that fb someone is inpersonating her, and she didn't make the post. We will have to wait to see how that plays out.
    I do believe Frisco will be back.
    Where's Ned?

    Though the writing is most certainly leaning toward wrapping up the past, I am not throwing the towel in quite yet on this show. I believe the ratings are going to be so high that another network will want it.

    Oprah....I am boycotting you. I was never a fan to begin with. (Yes there is someone out there who doesn't worship O)

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  3. I actually have watched and not forwarded the show for the last two weeks. I watched every single day. I do not know when that happened last. SOme weeks I would tape the show and then read your column and just delete it before watching. There were several weeks that I did not even watch one day. THis is a nice change. I was actually missing the show yesterday as it was Saturday.

    I love that Anna is back and it is with a sniff that I wait for my Robert. I am 44 but this girl had quite the crush on him when I was a teenager. Other girls might have liked Blackie or Frisco but I liked my Robert.

    And yes I am with you Melissa, Brandon has been very good right now. Why did his character wait to get so yummy until after BB got engaged. lol. I would love to play Carly right now.

    I can say that I am not wanting to see a Vicky/Nicky Jess/Tess story done with Kate/Connie but the writing is on the wall and it is happening. At least Frank V will do an amazing job with it. I just do not think that it makes sense seeing that Kate/Connie has Connie's memories up to her mid 20's.
    Thank you again WUB master for the Blog..What time do you get up anyway.. Girl it is early

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  4. Ok, full disclosure, I MISSED THE ANNA homecoming!! I heard it was awesome but since I didn't actually see it-- I didn't want to lie and say I did. :)

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  5. Add me to the list of those who have started watching again. Haven't missed one in three weeks.

    "Sometimes they come back..."

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  7. I have FF'd thru ALL LIW scenes. Even FFing brings vial to my throat. ICK!

    I 'think' that brothers sharing the same dna that it would be hard to detect the true parentage of a child. My older Aunts told me years ago, that being twins, each other's children could be there own. So with twins I know the dna would be the same. Not sure of regular siblings. Oh oh.

    Sadly Robert will be back for only a short time. If I were to guess, and I am usually wrong, he will be back for Robin's funeral. Then he is gone again.

    Karen you are so ADORABLE! I love the down to earth you bring to this blog. Great honest disclosure about Anna's homecoming and you not watching!! lol

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  8. grrr....I signed into my google account after I wrote and then lost the whole post.

    KD, you really have to go online and watch the Anna homecoming. It was wonderful.

    I'm also another person who's sick to death of Franco. I also cringe when his name is mentioned. I don't know why so much emphasis had to be put on a character who showed up once a week or so to do something wierd. Did we even get more than a half dozen words out of him that were not on a DVD? I know he's a "big name" but using him like that certainly didn't add to the show, or pull people in to watch him. I'm praying he and Jason are not related and that Jason is a real Quartermaine.

    ( I'm also hoping maybe Franco stole Jake for his mom again and that we get that dear child back.)

    And CarrieAnn, I also had the biggest crush on Robert. lol

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  9. P.S. I think that twins only have the same dna if they're identical. Franco and Jason definitely weren't identical.

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  10. Yay! GH is watchable again!!

    Anna's back, Dante told Sonny where to stick it (even though it won't last), Johnny is sooooooo friggin' sexy and we had minimal exposure to the LIW. It was a good week. Disappointed that we didn't get to see more of Molly's party, though. T.J. is such a little douche!

    It's so nice to actually be able to talk about the show and be excited instead of just tearing it apart!

    As far as the hair and make-up- yes, it does appear that they got someone new, or that at least they're being told to style differently. As a hairstylist, though, I have to say that I didn't like it. With the exception of Liz's hair (which I loved) I thought it looked amateur-ish. I expect Kate too look sophisticated and stylish. To me, it looked like she was going to a high school dance. I loved it the other day when she had it down in soft waves, though. That's the best I've seen this Kate's hair look. JMO, though, as we're all entitled to one. :-) Oh, and Alexis's hair looked awesome, too.

    I am bracing myself for next week and the story with Robin. As the mother of a child about Emma's age, and having lost my mother this year, I'm totally going to have the Kleenex ready. I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it. I'm a sap and cry at everything anyway, so this may put me over the edge, LOL!!

    Oh, and Franco- just go away!! This whole GH stint has actually led me to dislike James Franco's other work, that's how awful I find it. We were watching Date Night a few nights ago, and I just kept picturing Franco and the monkey, HA!

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  11. I was referring more to Liz & Olivia's hair. In the past, they use to do hair Liz's adorable. Then it stopped.
    I didn't really pay attention to Kate, as I think she is so pretty her hair could be limp and I still wouldn't find fault with it.

    I HATE Franco. Though it juices up the sl, I wish they would forget Franco!! However, is it cuz Heather who is sending the tapes?

    YES this show is watchable again.
    Can't wait for LIW to go away with Maggie though.

    OK..done commenting as most of you don't like when I comment to much.
    I am just so excited about this show these days!!!

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  12. Oh oh....spelling boo boo. Don't want to be called out..so let me correct. (My fault for not previewing)

    In the past, they use to do hair Liz's adorable. Then it stopped.
    *******
    In the past, they use to do Liz's hair adorable. Then it stopped.

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  13. We know a big Cassadine story is on the horizon. And as Ravenbeauty teased "General Hospital meets true villainy once more with many favorite troublemakers returning to bring down the house in style. Look for reunions you never thought could happen, and the dead shall rise again..."

    What's coming? The return of Mikkos Cassadine. And, ultimately, other dead characters.

    My theory is that Helena has been playing a long, LONG game with the citizens of Port Charles. And all for the benefit of the return of her beloved Mikkos. He’s still frozen (perhaps still in the crystal chamber, though most probably elsewhere). It’s been Helena’s goal to bring him back. And she’s been using – and playing with the lives – of everyone in PC’s General Hospital to do it.

    She’s been grabbing the best and brightest for her deeds, kidnapping them and having them taken elsewhere to work on reviving her husband. But she’s burned bridges in P.C. and so many disappearances could lead attention to her, so she’s been arranging for their ‘demises’ so that they won’t be missed.

    Tony Jones, for example. He was instrumental in Stavros’ resurrection and recovery from his terminal injury. When it was time for him to be “taken” she arranged to fake his death, do whatever cunning DNA switcheroo she needed at GH to make it believable, and he’s been reluctantly working for her since.

    But as important as Tony was, there was one surgeon that was pivotal for her. Alan Quartermaine*. He would be crucial in Mikkos’ return. But she knows the Quartermaines of old and knows he won’t be easily swayed into helping. So she’s had a longer plan to get his forced cooperation by threatening what he loves the most: his children.

    Emily Quartermaine. Her “death?” Also faked. She was kidnapped and held captive to use as leverage against Alan. And being a medical intern, she would also have an added bonus with the research.

    A.J. Quartermaine. His “death” was also faked and he was captured.

    The biggest, most powerful shock though? Jason. Quartermaine. This is where Helena’s machinations are truly vile. She’s planned on kidnapping him long ago, but was too concerned she might tip her hand with his disappearance. So she came up with a more dastardly scheme. She’d planned an “accident” for him, that would land him in the hospital. An accident that would involve another person, surgically altered to look like Jason with forced amnesia of his own identity. An accident that would be simple in its design with no flaws: “Jason” would have brain damage with no memory of his past life. There’s be no need to educate or brainwash “Jason” (ala Victor Lord), he’d need no knowledge of what happened before. The accident with A.J. was a happy coincidence for her and she just swapped one Jason for the other at the time. While the Quartermaines were coming to grips with the tragedy that was happening, the real Jason was whisked away as a prisoner.**

    With those three precious parts of Alan’s life under Helena’s thumb, Alan would have no choice but to do whatever she said.

    And now, the research and work is nearly complete for Mikkos’ return. Robin Scorpio’s death is coming. Or is it? Will she become an unwilling part of the group to bring him back? And even moreso, is her death alone important or does Helena have designs on eventually kidnapping Patrick for his surgical prowess too and using Robin as leverage?


    * I know, there's been ghost sightings of him. But we saw Lila talking to floating martini glasses held by Ghost Edward before his return, too.

    ** This one is a bit more farfetched, I’ll admit. And it looks like it isn’t even a possibility with the upcoming Jason/Franco/possible relation storyline. But imagine the reprecussions. Two Jasons in P.C. One the “old” Jason that we knew, and one we’ve known for years – who suddenly learns he ISN’T who he thought he was. That could open a “John Black/DOOL” story for him if GH moves beyond cancellation.

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  14. Why can't the LIW just disappear already? She is the only character I truly want GONE, DEAD, SEE YA!!!!!

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  15. EthinaEternal said...
    Why can't the LIW just disappear already? She is the only character I truly want GONE, DEAD, SEE YA!!!!!
    *****
    Ditto

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  16. I was thinking of watching "General Hospital's" 5-show marathon on SOAPNet tonight from 6-10 PM but then I realized "The Wallking Dead" is back.

    Funny, that should be the title of "GH" these days. It hasn't been enjoyable since 1996 or so.

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  17. I don't care about Franco, Jason, Sam & they're future brat. I can't believe they're wasting Robin's exit story on the douche hitman.

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  18. You know what is ironic? Parade magazine just announced the return of the primetime soap. Soaps are back, it proclaims. When times are tough, people seem to want to watch stories about those better off and wealthy. Or just to lose themselves in rich against rich stories, such as Revenge, which is a big hit.

    So. Just as ABC has tried to kill soaps, soaps are popping up in the evening with a return of Dallas. Or, one could say, just when reality shows seem to have run their cheap, tedious course...ABC invents three more. Wow. Timing is everything.

    ABC sure shot themselves in the foot.

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  19. i for one am enjoying the Franco/Jason twist. I didn't realize it until I was talking to my dad on the phone yesterday. His ex asked him to ask me about that whole s/l, and i was actually excited to tell him about it. He even remarked over the fact that I didn't sound bored by giving him the synopsis, which I hadn't done in a long time.

    I really hope, the Revolution keeps up its downward spiral and that GH might still actually continue with Valentini and Carlivati at the helm.

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  20. Soaplover...With the success of the primetime soap REVENGE, abc is bringing 2 more evening soaps next year to primetime.

    Say what you want, however last Thursday it occured to me while watching GH. Someone is writing for adults now.
    Someone, is treating us with respect. NOT with only the return of characters, but with presenting our fav's with pretty hair, pretty make-up, newer more fashionable clothes.

    (I am NOT talking about LIW or Maggie) somehow, someway those 2 have to be killed off. SOOOON!

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  21. Michele Val Jean, who is now writing at B&B, took to her facebook page after GH’s victory stating, “Bittersweet WGA Award win for the (decimated) writing team of General Hospital. Congrats to all my former colleagues. It was a great ride and we got one last trophy to boot.” Meanwhile, according to a tweet from Variety’s, Dave McNary, scribe Karen Harris noted in the GH acceptance speech that ABC did not buy seats for their nominated writers!

    WOW. Even I have to admit defeat. It is over. :(

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  22. Yep, it's done-- the ONLY ONLY thing that possibly could save it is that the REV is shown to be the flop that it is in mainstream media and some miracle happens for them to keep GH. Even that's a pipe dream, I'm afraid.

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  23. Karen YOU know I refused to believe.

    After reading this piece, I would be an idiot to believe anything but the end.

    However, abc wants out. IMO they are done. Only hope is this show gets picked up elsewhere. Revolution has no impact either way. jmo

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