Wednesday, February 11, 2015

GH: A Cast...of Thousands




I've done this once before but last night I found myself counting up the GH cast and shaking my head. Players like Leslie C (Monica) get airtime maybe once every quarter and when we get the newbies, they are on 24/7 (Michelle S-Nina).



Here are JUST the ladies we have on GH; in no particular order:

Finola Hughes --Anna
Nancy Lee Grahn--Alexis
Maura West--Ava
Laura Wright--Carly
Jane Elliot--Tracy
Michelle Stafford--Nina
Kelly Monico--Sam
Lisa LoCicero --Olivia
Emme Rylan--Lulu
Rebecca Herbst--Liz
Vinessa Antoine --Jordan
Kirsten Storms--Maxie
Constance Towers--Helena
Kathleen Gati --Dr. Obrect
Donna Mills--Donna Mills
Linda Tovar--Rosalie
Newbie Kiki'--forget the name, sorry
Teresa Castillo--Sabrina
Lynn Herring--Lucy
Jackie Zeman-Bobbie
Robin Mattson -Heather
Leslie Charleson -Monica
Kristina Wagner -Felicia
Sonya Eddy (?)--Epiphany
Carolyn Hennessy (?)--Diane
Haley Pullos (I think she's still on the show but who knows?)--Molly
Ivy? Is she staying? 

**PS Yes, I KNOW these are't all contract players. I get that. That's not my point, btw.




Now  Rebecca is coming . Look, I love her as an actress. Liked Greenlee on AMC. If it's true she's a whole new character (and not say, Sarah Webber) what the??? Seriously? What happens with that amount of characters on the canvas is that we have the revolving stories that have giant holes and people disappearing for eons.  Like Monica not being around for the Jake story (I'm sure they'll insert her for a day or two at the reveal) or Bobbie, flitting in and out of the Fluke business. Where the heck has Lucy been? She sure did have a big thing with Luke back in the day--they were BFFs!  I'd rather have someone like Delia come on for a real role. Or give more airtime to people already on canvas. 
I know a lot of people are upset that Genie still isn't on the show. Something's going on there; meaning..either she REALLY doesn't want to come back or they REALLY don't want her. She's still a big fan fave and come on--totally relevant to this story but..nope. Note that Finola has been gone during this too.  
We never got to see anymore with Milo and Epiphany. I hear we'll get more mayor stuff but by that time?  Don't care. I think Nikolas is wooing Brooklyn off camera. 

Which brings me to Rosalie. Great actress. Seemed to be great new character with a secret. Good GOD--but it's taking an age! She hasn't been on in weeks! People like her, then? Um? What? WHAT? Why don't you finish stuff in a TIMELY MANNER? Or at least keep her semi in the loop? I'm sure she'll pop up again as Michael's assistant..there will be a build up to her secret then.
Flop. 

Jordan? Another awesome character but never enough airtime. The whole "TJ" story was dropped, then reclaimed, now seemingly dropped again. *sigh* 
Anyone else miss Carolyn Hennessy? She does a great color character. Gone.

Frustrating. They also announced Rebecca's role as "killer"... I'm hoping that's a play on words and she's a serial killer?  The cast is way way too big. And it's not like they run these like Tela Novas ..there are so many loose ends it's maddening.  Maybe it's my age showing but soaps like Ryan's Hope had a tight cast and was character developed. Loved it.

Hey, I didn't even list the male roles on the show. You know there are a ton of them too. I think at last count I had 54 'active' characters on GH.  Now it's probably in the 60s 




Enough!!  I realize getting powerhouses is good for a soap but you either have to make some difficult cuts or swell the stories to a size that doesn't make sense. And don't tell me seeing people "Sometimes" is better than not at all. The problem is they don't have the others on enough--they are in blocks/chunks ..then gone. Not like say, Jesse was on almost all the time but in a background role. 

What do you think? And did I forget any people on my list? I kept going back and adding ones I forgot. I even forgot Finola, Emme and Lisa for a minute there. LOL..that happens. So many to keep track of! Seriously, not an easy task!! 




12 comments:

  1. I understand when soaps save money by phasing out veterans and hiring newer actors at lower rates. But I really don't get what Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati are doing with such a large cast when they aren't phasing anyone out. As you say, it has ruined continuity in the storylines. Today we'll see Rick Lansing. When was the last time he was on screen? New Year's Eve with Liz?

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  2. Add Alice to the list. And what about Robin?

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  3. I totally agree with you. There are so many characters on the canvas and the veterans don't get enough airtime and the stories are so dragged out, you start to lose interest!

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  4. "And don't tell me seeing people 'Sometimes' is better than not at all."

    I 100% agree with you. But I think this regime thinks that it IS better to have "something for everyone." The problem is they can't do it well. You can't please everyone all the time, and throwing in multitudes of characters waters everything down. I wish they'd focus on QUALITY in storytelling rather than QUANTITY. They have some great performers and I want to see them on a regular basis, not a cameo appearance. There's no way the legacy characters we never see cost more than the heavy hitters who are on every day. I find it hard to care when I don't see a character for months on end and then they suddenly reappear. All momentum is gone and the audience might lose interest. I'd love to hear RC & FV's reason for having so many characters. I don't know if anyone has ever asked them why they have so many and if they think the show might suffer for it.

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  5. I always liked Rebecca, but GH needs new characters like a hole in the head. I heard that writers get paid extra for every new character they develop. I wonder if that is true.

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  6. I'm hoping this is short term - absolutely ridiculous to add to the cast. Are they trying to draw viewers by big names rather than quality of the show? I want to see Finola, Becky and Ric front and center. They are popular so that is no excuse.
    LindaV

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  7. "Not like say, Jesse was on almost all the time but in a background role."

    Wait who? Oh wait you are talking about AMC Jesse aren't you? :)

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  8. Do you think the writers ever read any of these comments? Because if they did would they not realize that they have actually ruined GH, and like a lot of us who have watched FOREVER only keep watching hoping agains hope they will smarten up and start writing the show better. I worry that it is going to go the way of AMC and One Life to Live if something is not done soon. Love this site. Read it everyday :)

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  9. It also doesn't help that a majority of characters come back from the dead. There was no need to bring back Franco, AJ, Robin, Jakeson, Rick, Helena and the rest of the Cassidine human popsicles. I don't know why I bother to still care (I haven't watched the show in years) but I still want to know if anything of interest happens. Luckily, I get the scoop here so I don't have to waste my time tuning into the show. Thanks Karen!

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  10. I am disappointed Rosalie hasn't been on lately. She has great potential Ric & Scotty are due to be on Wednesday.I hear Anna will be back w/a big story. I think the cast has been more balanced lately.

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  11. As always, I agree with Karen 100%. When have I NOT agreed with her? Anyway, there is something that I do wonder about the MIA actors and actresses.

    Has it ever been said in interviews or blogs or any correspondence that maybe some of our fan faves from yesteryear might not want to be on everyday and have opted to just make an appearance every now and then?

    For sake of argument, I am going to mention Leslie Charleson. (This is ALL made up just to give example and prove a point). I once read eons ago that she owned horses and spends a lot of time with them. Maybe she went to producers and said "I really enjoy my time with my family, my hobbies, taking care of my horses, travel, etc. I still want very much to be on the show, but don't really need to be on as much as I did in the 80s. Feel free to just call on me when you need me"

    Ok, that was made up. Please dont start a petition.

    But you see what I mean? I loved the scene with Denise Alexander and Leslie a few yrs back at the nurses station when Denise was wearing her doctors coat and Monica caught her. These 2 actresses have more history on the show than anyone else. It was flawless. It was just enough and didnt need to be on every week.

    I remember when they mentioned that Audrey, Monica, Leslie and Gail were playing bridge. How great would it have been to have the 4 actresses come and do an episode where all 4 reminesce (sp?) during their bridge game about the men they have loved and then Tracy came in and we had flashbacks of her, both on GH and the City. Dont need this every week, but "guest spots" would be awesome.

    What I am saying is that we dont know the personal lives of these actresses and actors. Maybe some of them enjoy being part-time and are happy with the way things are. It's us that are complaining (rightfully so) and not them.

    And, to also add my 2cents, I think a certain leading actor has gotten Genie blackballed from the show and that is why she isnt on. Just saying.

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  12. ^I read a few years ago that Leslie Charleson can't ride horses anymore due arthritis.

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