Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.
I am here at 5:11am on Wednesday writing part of my blog so it's fresh on the page after today's show. That, my Wubbers, is dedication :)
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| Playing Possum |
So...Jason's "dead"--and we watched the fall out rip through our screens. Only...guess what? The hollowness of it all just made me finally say: Not buying it. Not for a second. We all know when Burton wants back in, or needs money or there's a sweeps coming, he'll be back. (they even said in one of the soap mags "we are leaving the door open for a return'). You can't get much more transparent than NO BODY. I'm waiting for the scene where we see him ala Victor or Robin... chained to a damn bed somewhere.
Whatever.
The whole process cheapens the show for me. When Phil came back on AMC (even with a new face) That was a shocker. (and that was many, MANY moons ago!) When you have your 300th
character "die" on a show ...it's meaningless. Some characters like Brenda and the Jacks boys have come back so many times it's laughable. Then there was Robin.Ah, Robin. That's what broke it for me. Even with the rumors I thought NO WAY would they mess with us on that. We saw her DIE in a fire/explosion IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. Patrick's sorrow was so genuine. Mine was too..I missed our little Robin. Then what happens? Ah, the rumors of her being alive were true. Great. There she was, a bed, getting electroshock no less. Hey, just like Victor (who died on the floor in Tea's arms)-- when he turned up tied to crazy Allison's matress.
Great. Thanks. Whatever. Another NON-death. *sigh*
Lucky dying in the fire. Back with a new face--only to be back again with his old face. Dixie dying and a ghost but really part of a "Genesis" project. Mitch Lawrence, Marco Dane...Catherine Bell-- Todd times 20, few Cassadines more than a few times-- on and on and ON.
BTW, the face switching sheeze is out of control. A character dies, comes back with a new face, convinces us they are the "real" old character and usually are then to be found to be fake after the first actor decides to come back.
It's exhausting.
So, when Jason rolled into the water? Eh..so he'll be off the show for however long. Cry me a river.
But wait.. GUESS WHAT? His brother AJ is back from the dead with his old face. Hey, there's a twist!!! His DEAD brother isn't really dead after all! SHOCKER!!
Only it's not. Shocks are only shocks when they are not played out 4 million times. I would rather have had Jason go to jail or just leave because he's in danger than this false shit.
Soaps can be campy, we all know that. They turned the corner on that when Erica Kane's aborted fetus walked back into her life 20 odd years later. Hell, if the BJ death/transplant stuff was written today, she'd turn up because some organ-switching ring was in Port Charles.
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| Fake Duke |
Case in point: DUKE.
And, I CAN write that with my eyes closed.
So, GH for me was just hollow this week. I could appreciate the acting and the dialog but not the sentiment. I feel cheated. And that's the truth. (insert Litte Edith noise here!)
Maybe somewhere we'll get a soap like the beginnings of Ryan's Hope was: real life sorrow, sadness, happiness and joy. All rolled into a bigger story of a family. No "guest stars" that pop up after "falling to their deaths"... (Franco), no torture, rapes or double baby switching kidnapping DNA false-testing. No "They died but here they are with a new face..." Just a good story. British soaps have done it for years. I know it can be done. I'm waiting.
SCENE OF THE WEEK: Yes, there was one. Monica and Michael. Honest and way overdue.
NOT THE SCENE OF THE WEEK: Sonny trying to talk Trey into having ConKate committed. Just painful. You can tell by Alexis' face she thinks so too.
SUPER PROP SCENE: Monica's couch. Stained and ruined by Joe Jr's rancid death. Only..gee, it didn't even need cleaning!
Well, what say you? Did you enjoy the show? Was the drama "real" enough for you? Do you care that AJ is back? Personally, without Jason there to take it all in, it loses a LOT for me. What will we say if a bunch of others come back? Alan, Emily-- Victor (OLTL) Georgie... Jerry, Franco?
My eyes will be rolling OUT. of my HEAD.
BTW, someone actually texted me Friday asking who that was at the end of the show. AJ's been gone so long they don't know--especially THIS AJ! lol...He did look yummy though, didn't he? It will lose a lot with Jason gone...the retribution for the Michael years will be diminished greatly.
So, to sum it up: Any Death on a Daytime Soap doesn't mean anything to me, no matter how it's written. Duke is being weird, and since so many people never saw him back in the '80's, I'm wondering if that point is moot. AJ looks awesome. Spinelli and Diane made me tear up a bit. Trey is useless. More Sexis. More MonTra -- so glad LC is back in form. And finally, please get rid of the couch.
BE CAREFUL East Coasters, that includes my area--which looks like rain for the next 70 days plus one. Row, Row Row your boat!
I too am tired of the back from the dead trend and hope it ends with AJ. If they bring back either Courtney or Alexis' sister Kristina I am out of here. Enough!
ReplyDeleteI am afraid of what happens Monday -- what if SK is really Jason?? I want him to be AJ again but with the clothes, the hair, and the way he talked on Friday.. he sounds like Jason.
ReplyDeleteJason should have been sent to prison, so we know he's away, but can come back. And they should have had Anna bust him, to give her cred back.
ReplyDeleteAll I want is Victor to come back. He's still my Todd. I miss him. I need a TnT reunion to be satisfied with OLTL's ending.
ReplyDeleteThe death scene fell flat, I cried more when he left Sam and Danny. I'm not feeling this Duke is a bad guy thing, did love MonTra scenes. I was not big on Sean coming back as AJ or a recast jason, but seeing him...I don't remember him looking quite so hot. Still don't want him as a recast Jason...
ReplyDeleteNah, he's AJ
ReplyDeleteJason's death rang hollow, because there are holes you could drive a truck through. The door is so wide open for a return it is ridiculous. I will be shocked if Steve does not return one day, but the writers did not commit at all.
ReplyDeleteJason was THE cental character of the show for years. They should have immediately recast - new Jason the next day. ( like they did with Carly 3 times) I know huge backlash but fans get over it eventually. OR commit to do a story that really killed him. Have in die in Sonny's arms. We needed to watch him die ON screen for it to have any impact. NO ONE believes that Jason is dead. Including McBain who said that if there is no body, he is probably not dead. There is no closure.
I know the story will be that Jason is gone on and Jason will be treated like he is "dead" at leat for now and I know ANYONE can come back from the dead. Even those who die on screen in front of us. Robin and AJ prove that. BUT Let the writers deal with it if /when SBu wants to come back. They cheated us, the viewers, out of some great emotionsl scenes. They failed to make me believe that Jason is dead.
Why did not anyone think to bring AJ back while Jason was still there? That would have been awesome.
Diane and Todd were great. We need to see more of that.
If this week didn't prove to everyone that Trey CANNOT act I don't know what will.
Does anyone else think that, in the picture on today's blog, SK looked like Castle?
ReplyDeleteRe the face changing thing--there is no way to exactly duplicate a face, including coloring, hair, facial structure, teeth, etc., it is beyond ridiculous. Not to mention a body--any woman would know her own man's body, including the smell, etc,., there is NO WAY to fake this, although this conceit often is used in soaps, and sometimes in movies. . . .
I agree on one level--and I wasn't thrilled to see Kanan as AJ. The actor left while Michael was still a little red-headed boy. In fact, AJ left when Michael was a kid, one suspected of smothering his dad in the hospital. Evidently cooler heads at ABC prevailed on that story scenerio and Guza switched it.
ReplyDeleteGuza killed off so many good characters that I can't blame RC entirely for wanting to rectify some of that slaughter--but not sure of his picks. It used to be if we saw someone die on screen, that limited their chances of returning. I hated that Guza killed off Billy's AJ because I liked Billy so much in the role. I didn't know Duke at all back in the day, so I figure either this is an imposter or his brain was altered. I want Luke to win here and be the one to expose this ruthless imitation.
I think Robin's rise from the dead was a strain, and it doesn't work very well in the end because she (Kim) will not come back for good, which means Patrick will likely be leaving. That would be a shame. I think he'd be good for Liz, for instance. Handsome, an excellent actor.
It would have been good if Jason had been sent to prison for killing Joe jr. It would kind of stamp 'end' to years of gangsters getting away with crimes.
I do like the way RC does umbrella stories, multi-intersecting stories, relationships, action highs and reaction lulls. He has great skill as a soap writer and he inherited a decimated show. Frank V is also a wonder at keeping the show crisp and moving and the production handsome and coherent. And adding Todd and McBain were fine choices. Guza's returns from dead--Lucky, Stavros, Emily, Bernie, etc, were usually clumsy to say the least!
But I agree we are now on the edges of simply too many returns, with too many odd far-fetched explanations for the returns, etc.
Bravo! So thankful I'm not the only one feeling this way!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing anyone thought he'd replace SB- 21 years is TOO long to get away with doing that to fans.
ReplyDeleteWhile it hasn't been perfect, I think GH is better thab it has been in years, and the higher ratings are very encouraging. Of course the dead character epidemic is silly, I wold hate to lose longtime actors. Even though I knew it was coming I was thrilled to see SK. Never liked Billy Warlock's smirky portrayal of AJ. So good to see Diane back and thrilled that Robert, Skye, Ned and Alan Q. will be back.
ReplyDeleteLindaV
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ReplyDeleteRobert Scorpio's coming back? I thought he had a gig on another soap?
ReplyDeleteKaren! We didn't see Robin die! We just saw the explosion! We didn't see the body. Oh sure we saw an arm, but that could have been anybody's arm! :) So you aren't happy AJ is back? I agree with that doctor of Lulu's and Dante's! If she isn't fake, I'm going to drink drano too! :)
ReplyDeletedar said...If they bring back Courtney or Alexis's sister Kristina I am out of here. Enough!
ReplyDelete===========================
Oh no I hope Courtney doesn't EVER come back! UGH! You don't like Kristina? :)
Cosmo, Loose Lips on SoaptownUSA mentioned that Robert will be back 11-15. Yay!!!
ReplyDeleteLindaV
As long as SB STAYS gone I don't care how they did it. Jasam RUINED GH for many and brought ratings to an all time low. Why they were continually pimped is anyones guess. At the expense of EVERYONE else, a hooker who endangered kids and a killer were the stars and they wonder why this show is near death. Stay away Jason, and for the love of god, BACKBURN that sniveling excuse for a character Sam for a good long time.
ReplyDeleteI, too, wasn't moved by Jason's death. All I could think of was, "Holy cats, where did GH get the money for a water tank?"
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, I may have been a little tipsy while watching that episode. I'm playing a new GH drinking game where I take a shot every time Sonny says, "Ya unnerstand what I'm sayin'?".
Ah, so:
ReplyDeletehttp://abc.soapsindepth.com/2012/10/robert-scorpio-returns.html
November sweeps just got a whole lot more exciting. Why? Because on Thursday, November 15, Tristan Rogers returns to GENERAL HOSPITAL as former WSB agent Robert Scorpio... and the timing couldn't be more crucial!
When last we saw Robert, he'd taken off in hot pursuit of his supposed son, Ethan, as part of Luke's desperate plan to give his pal a reason to live in the wake of daughter Robin's death. The big question, however, is what exactly brings Scorpio back to town! Could it have something to do with Robin, who viewers know to be alive? Or perhaps it's connected to the mystery surrounding Duke's recent return? We know... but we ain't telling! At least not yet!
For all the details about Robert's return, pick up the next ABC issue of Soaps In Depth, on sale Monday, November 12. And keep your eyes open for our upcoming exclusive interview with Rogers on what brought him back to GH, how the genre has changed since he first joined the sudser and whether or not his other popular alter ego, Colin, will return to THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS!
I am torn, I want sbu back and then I don't. I know I should blame the destruction of the character Jason Morgan on the writers. I think the character JM has been ruined for certain agendas. It seems as if the GH fans are the ones that are thought of the least resulting in a mad exit of viewers. RC has done a lot of rehashing of old stories which are now too predictable. There have also been a lot of unresolved stories, too many quick stories that come and go. I love when J Jax came back, the addition of Dr. Ewen but they came and went so fast. Everyone who watches GH Is not a Jasam fan or a Sam fan so it is disappointing when they dominate the show and other characters are sacrificed for a favorable outcome involving this pairing. I see that the ratings were up this past week but I think a lot of that has to do with sbu leaving he does have a lot of fans. The handwriting is on the wall if or when sbu comes back his character will be reunited with the character Sam. I do not care what they say Jason’s firstborn was killed off for this pairing. I do not like a lot of politics with my soaps.
ReplyDeleteThe Jason character was ruined when he BECAME Jason Morgan. Just look back on the 4 Jason Quartermaines fantasy episode from earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteYou wd not believe it from the last 15 years of Zombie Killer Anger Boy, but SB could act.
Why waste him as 2nd banana to Sonny Corinthos- a criminal waste of writing potential in storylines and actor potential.