Sunday, August 7, 2016

Sunday Surgery: Blowing Smoke



Craft Services Are Great on GH! 

I'm just let-down with this show. The summer "adventure" was so disjointed and so so low budget, I honestly think high school interns did it. Not only that, our cast is so huge now, entire chunks of major stories are swinging in the wind. How can we get invested in any of them if people have weeks off canvas? 

*sigh* Yes, there were bright spots and thank goodness for some of the actors and dialog writers that bring it every damn day. Ingo was back and it was like a breath of fresh air, even if he and CarSon were doing the same dance. 


I'm juicing this week (ugh) so grab whatever you got and have a seat. I'll try to catch you up if you haven't been watching. 



Our long-suffering Cassadine Island journey is finally over. Boy was that painful. From beginning to end, I was underwhelmed at every turn. It started out so promising with Ava and Nikolas taking selfies on a plane. Ended in a clunk, with the castaways flagging down a boat with a signal fire. 



So many fails in this. First of all, the whole "Weeping Nyad" story was the reason we sat through the England farce, correct? She was famboozling some collector who was going to kill her if she didn't turn it over. So--she fled to Greece with "Dead" NuFace Nikolas.
Have we heard ANYTHING about that stupid statue since? Nope. Now, that's not to say I want to hear about it (we could GAF) but--what a waste of damn time to sit through that whole story. It wasn't exciting or fun-it was just a means to an end to get people on Cassadine Island. Something that should have been done when Helena first died and her will was read!! 



The plane "Crash". Oh the plane crash. What in the HELL was that all about? Jason's face yelling... a few days later they 'crashed' with everyone walking around like that had taken a pleasant hot air balloon ride over the ocean. No hair wet--Sam still in her damn 8" boots. Not a scratch on anyone. Nothing. NOT. A THING.
Did you even TRY with this? Nope. It was embarrassing. Not only that, one of the principal players (and the only wounded one) was shoved behind a rock and 'slept' the entire time!! Good Lord. If you can't hire someone for the entire run, then leave him out. I'm sorry but I'm so sick of people coming on and then just disappearing--during the damn story!! DURING IT!! 



St. Jaysus landed the plane, which exploded (off camera) and at first everyone was so scared they couldn't deal. WHERE"S JASON!! Did he parachute out? Nope... he got out before the fire and didn't even have a singed hair.  Wow. So exciting. He basically walked out of the brush right where everyone was standing. 



THANK YOU that Genie was in this castaway/island mess. She gave good cries. 




Sam faints. 3 times now. See, we don't have enough stories going on and on hold, we need another one. Great. My only pleasure in this is that Livvy and Caleb will share some scenes. *sigh* Oh, and I'm betting boots that she needs some bone marrow from ol' Jules too. After Sam told him off in glorious fashion, spoilers say Alexis needs a favor from him. Whatever. They so ruined Julian's character it just won't matter. 




Valentin. Oh, I'm trying hard to like him-hate him ala Faison. He just doesn't fit the physical thing I see in a Cassa-Baddie. BTW, he made it back to Port Charles before the Castaways. What did he do? Well, slept with Nina at the Metro (they had met for 20 min before they started in) and...went to try to kidnap Spencer.



Spencer is at camp and "Theo Hart" convinces him he's his Uncle and to go with him. Enter? Uncle Sonny!! He thwarted the plan--but guess who helps? Aw, St. Jaysus, shows up just in time to deck Valentine. Sonny and Jaysus share a secret wink/smile. Jordan comes in and arrests Valentin. Geesh, so far he's a pussy of a baddie if you ask me! 
PS. Sonny also told Spencer his dad was "really dead-dead" this time. 



Claudette finally sees Griffin. Griffin is all "I'm taking  a break from being a priest" ...by being a doctor? LOL...okay then! Nathan clearly still loves her and rushes to ask Maxie to marry him right away.  I think Claudette is in love with both Nate and Griff and is one of those girls that keep both at hand...just in case!! 



Kirsten Storms is back!! Here's hoping she gets lots of hugs on set! 



This serial killer 'story' is another embarrassment. COME ON-- what is this? People died that not ONE person cared about. Ok, Dr. Crabby Pants was an interesting addition but I'm not upset over him. Random chick dies that didn't even speak and Franco is fingered as the culprit.  Lame. 



Liz and Franco were on a creepy date to his Art Studio. Instead of just telling Liz where they were going, it had to be all  dark and secret. Their convo about her wanting to be an artist was a good use of history. I liked his painting of her. I just love RH so, for me they were good scenes. I'm not sold on Friz, mainly because of the history but I'm going with it. Great use of Lante's old set, btw...Franco's place was chock full of cool props. Even a smile mug! 



Yes, loved Scotty pulling Franco's hair-- :) These two should just go touring pubs in Western NY and I'd watch! 

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Jax is back! I really thought Joss did a great job with her all excited tween self when she was waiting to see him!!! Jax doesn't want Carly to find out where the kidney came from. He's always on the phone too, leading us to believe he brokered the deal. Oh, and Curtis supposedly found out the real donor and Nina knows now too. Cary calls to stop them from telling her however, because Jax threatened to take her to court for custody. 



Sam and Alexis finally talk. I'm not even sure Alexis knew Nik 'died' the first time. The scene was way too short.  BUT!!!  We got a great Jaxis scene that I loved. So good to have IR and NLG together again. Sam did go and tell Julian he's dead to her. (see above medical story). She got all mad, and like Ava basically left him twisting in the wind. Oh, and she fainted too.




 And in case you wondered, Lucy is now a real estate agent!



Keeping in the "Summer Lovin'" vibe...Darby told Dilly she has an STI --some genitalia stuff (she used that word) and he'd better get tested. She's on ant-biotics. He says: What about Morgan? Seems Port Charles doesn't listen to every condom ad they share with us. Geesh. 



SCENE OF THE WEEK:  Well, I was in love with the Jaxis scene. It drew on history and actually surprised me! When Alexis looked up and said: Jax! I was like, YES!! Oh wow-- forgot about their connection. NLG was so good --she plays the beats just perfectly. 



PROP OF THE WEEK: Franco's lovely painting of Elizabeth 

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FACE OF THE WEEK: Carly watching Hammy kiss Roxy!  Oh, Jax also met Roxy and stroked her a bit!


So, on the upside everyone is off that stupid island and home--on the downside, not a heck of a lot has moved. Jax is home (good), the murder mystery is stupid (bad)--and on and on. That new coffee place is sure getting a lot of airtime!  Tracy, Sabrina, Michael, "Joe", Hayden,   Olivia, NED and on an on all seem to be on hold.  I'm just really disappointed in the summer stories. 

OTHER NEWS: Loved the Tonga guy on the Olympic opening ceremony! Did you know the blazers for the USA team were made here in Rochester NY at Hickey Freeman?! Yep. 
I just started season 2 of Bloodline and HOLY SHEEZE...I'm on Episode one an am freaking OUT. That series started out slow and then.wham!! 
Watched Donnie Darko at 3am this morning (don't ask)-- what a movie! So great. 



Hope your Sunday goes well.  Thx again to @SourceJenn and @FyeahGH on twitter for the awesome photos! 

22 comments:

  1. "Our long-suffering Cassadine Island journey is finally over."

    Long suffering? It was only 1 day!!!! Hahahaha! Well one day soap time, but it was really quick. Blink and you miss it. Thanks to the teeny tiny fire, they are rescued!!!

    "THANK YOU that Genie was in this castaway/island mess. She gave good cries."

    Yeah that was a bright spot! THANK YOU GENIE!

    "Great use of Lante's old set, btw."

    Huh? They used Lante's old house set for the art studio? I didn't notice that! :)

    "Franco's place was chock full of cool props. Even a smile mug!"

    LOVE the smile mug!!

    "Yes, loved Scotty pulling Franco's hair-- :) These two should just go touring pubs in Western NY and I'd watch!"

    I'd watch too!!!!

    "Did you know the blazers for the USA team were made here in Rochester NY at Hickey Freeman?! Yep"

    I had no idea!!! Cool!

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    1. I recognized the brick from Nathan and Maxies apt which before was Maxie and Lulu's, but didn't think it was Lantes. I just figured his studio was in their building.

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  2. I thought Franco's studio was Sabrina's apt set. Thats what the brick looked like to me. Yes so bored with the stories that i spend most of my time wondering what old sets are being used as the new sets LOL

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    1. Oh yeh Sabrina and Felix too, I'm always thinking these people live in the same building. LOL!

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  3. And GH is still adding new characters. These writers have to go.

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  4. Thank god for the actors that bring it and the soap bloggers that analyze it and are more entertaining than the show! Great recap... I agree with every word!

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  5. Excellent SS! Either FV or the head writers really need to go. Or both. I agree the dialogue is well written and the actors are great, but what a mess. The high points for me were Jax and Alexis, Scotty, Laura, and I do like Lucy as a realtor. I like the dynamics of Julian and Ava. Other than that, someone with basic intelligence needs to oversee this show and make it more cohesive, compelling and somewhat realistic, especially after that plane crash.
    LindaV

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  6. The writing is awful - the timing/pacing is atrocious. Where's the soapy goodness? GH used to go action the best and great romantic pairings. They are lucky to have legacy characters that could still be utilized (with great actors/actresses that are both attractive and talented: Laura, Lucy, Scotty, Kevin, Robert!, Felicia, Mac, and many more). There is the incredible Q family that looked briefly like they were going to build back up and use but who knows what they're doing.

    I liked Sam with Patrick - when she's with Jason, she's insufferable (sanctimonious and boring). And Sonny. SIGH. This used to be an interesting character (with a good actor) but what they've done is quite frankly lazy. Everything with him screams: Deus ex machina (an insipid plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the intervention of a god like character). I also can't get over his murdering AJ - not a good decision and the aftermath was swept under the rug.

    I got back in the soaps years ago - because of this blog. When OLTL and All my Children were starting to end, your praise of storylines got me interested again so I started to watch (and I'm glad) and then started to watch GH as well. And it was good for a while but I think the budgetary concerns have strangled the creative decisions and it kind of reeks of desperation. Throwing new characters on the scene - often for no good reason; introducing - and then dropping - storylines; and the incredibly bad pacing (which is the WORST) is making it unwatchable. I'm almost out but hope you stay with it and let us know if it gets good again.

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  7. WARNING: OFF-TOPIC

    Karen, I know that unwanted advice can be annoying . . . but, you said you are doing a juice fast, which I know is very hard. I found out this year on Rachel Ray that "souping is the new juicing," when she featured a writer of a souping book. Soup is better than juice--it is warm, more nourishing and filling, and you even can chew some of the soups. One of my patients, who is diabetic and has been working on weight/emotional issues for YEARS, finally was successful when she used this book. (I know that I am a psychotherapist, but, for me, physical and mental health are inseparable). The author's name is Rachel something, if you want the info, I can give it to you.

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  8. I read they cut the Cassadine Island storyline short. Everyone liked Sam going off on her father until she brought up Jason it then fell flat. I don't care about any of the storylines either. It sucks that they cut the Dillon and Valerie scenes short because I was looking forward their scenes.

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  9. "cooks7570 said... I read they cut the Cassadine Island storyline short."

    Really? Why?!

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  10. AH! I told you to stick with Bloodline. It gets even BETTER. Bloodline has a weird tempo. It gets so crazy, that you are on the edge of your seat. Then, it slows down, takes a few beats, and WHAMO! Out of nowhere.... You'll see what I mean;)

    As for GH, I tried watching a couple of epis this week. Gilligan's Island was more realistic that those "beached castaway" scenes I saw:/

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  11. I LOVED Stranger Things, my husband and I finally finished it last night. We really want another show that we can watch together--is Bloodline a similar type of show, is it really good?

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  12. Didn't say why it was cut short. I read that Liz and Franco were going to go too.

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  13. cooks7570 said... I read that Liz and Franco were going to go too.

    You mean they will be over? :( Why?

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  14. sonya said...

    You mean they will be over? :( Why?

    because you're the only one who likes it. ROFL

    Franco needs to go back to Nina.

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  15. "Di said...because you're the only one who likes it. ROFL"

    ROFL!

    "Franco needs to go back to Nina."

    Love Nico...:( But they want different things.. :( It was so heartbreaking watching them argue. I felt like I was there in the same room with them. :(

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  16. I love Liz. I'm just glad she has a story. I'm kind of surprised that it took this long to get Liz and Franco together because when Franco returned and had that party on the boat, he commented on how hot and beautiful Liz was.

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  17. Ant Joan...I have souped before!! :) I'm juicing 1x a day for one meal, so I still get fruit/veggies in.

    Also, Bloodline is very different from Stranger things, it's a very intricate family drama with twists/turns and A LOT of character building. But it's amazing--Sissy Spacek is in it and Kyle Chandler. I'm so glad I stuck with it.

    I also love British murder mysteries-- The Fall and Happy Town are good. (Brutal and messy)
    Stranger Things was really a fun new type thing!

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  18. Great SS this week Karen, I pretty much agree universally!

    The writing and editing right now is just SOOO awful, to the point where things really are starting to not make sense. It was either Wed or Thursday's ep (to the point where my brain can't keep things straight anymore) that started with Sonny walking into the PCPD and then saw Jason in cuffs. I thought for the first few mins HAD to be a repeat, it just didn't track AT ALL with me. :P I ended up having to FF several minutes to where VC showed up, before I knew for sure it was a new episode. :(

    Having Jax back was without a doubt the BEST thing that happened this week. His scenes with Alexis nearly had me crying tears of joy! He needs to be put back on contract NOW.

    Donnie Darko is a great movie, btw! Just avoid the sequel. It's just horrible, and a huge letdown after the original!

    K.

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  19. Yeah, I thought Liz and Franco would go to CI to discover the little girl. And Daphne looked like someone they intended to do something with. Not that I am heartbroken if that "adventure" is over.
    LindaV

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  20. I loved the Jax and Alexis scenes. They have such a believable friendship. I didn't like Sonny the Savior, but I think MB is really good when he acts with children or with Lexi Ainsworth, and even though it wasn't Laura telling Spencer about Nikolas, I thought it was really touching when Sonny was comforting Spencer at the end. MB seems to get a big kick out of Nicholas Bechtel.

    So far Valentin just doesn't seem like the scariest of scary Cassidines. It was more like 20 seconds than 20 minutes before he and Nina jumped into bed. I don't know why Nina is being put into a Cassidine story. My personal reaction is the character doesn't really fit on GH, and the show seems to be putting her into several stories anyway.

    I think the new actress who played young Pat in the anniversary special might be Josslyn's donor, and maybe she's somehow related on the Spencer (family) side, just a guess. A lot of people thought there was going to be a child on Cassidine Island that might have been the donor but the show seemed to have ended that story in a hurry, so maybe there's been some rewriting.

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