Oh yes...Nausea. Johnny had it -- and you could see it on his face and creeping up his belly. All we needed was Alexis' brown paper bag and he would have hurled!!
Get on some waterproof scrubs today because it was a WILD wild week in Port Charles! Another wedding down the drain and of course, a missing, switched baby reveal.
First of all, Liz came clean to Jason--unable to contain her angst over the whole betrayal. Her explanation was actually very inspired I thought. I got it. Becky Herbst played the hell out of it as well. Kudos girl, you nailed it! Cartini even brought up the whole Sam kidnapping mess--something I thought I'd never see. Even ol' Jason teared up. THEN she went to Sam's house!! The two hashed things out and it was a beautiful thing.
THE WEDDING was the REAL SHOW--and Crazy Connie brought it. Johnny certainly brought it. Everyone but Sonny who I thought, was strangely subdued given the fact the "love of his life" was really not even there and her alter married his mortal enemy.
MORE MONTRA please!! Too fun to watch--although Tracy should have brought up Monica's sleeping with her son NED, I was still giddy.
SEXIS time!! Yeah!! Alexis and Sonny just make me happy. I don't know why but they do. Alexis is being herself, not some schoolgirl around him (remember how she fell for his 'dimpled charm' ?) and he really values her friendship. MORE Please.
OTHER THINGS I LOVED: Ellie-Spinelli... Fun and I really like her. She was giddy at the wedding just for the drama!!
EH? John and Jason...this baby thing is just draggin' out so long I DON'T CARE.
 |
NOT THE SCENE OF THE WEEK: What a mess. Even the concept was a mess. Joe Jr. suddenly goes all nuts thinking by killing Xtina, TREY would get Sonny's empire? Ummm, that makes NO SENSE. LOL. Wouldn't Sonny still be alive? Or was he going to kill him too? What about Michael? Morgan? Dante? All those other undiscovered Sonny Sons and Daughters? I'm not even going to talk about the "acting". No point.
ACTOR OF THE WEEK: HANDS DOWN Brandon Barash. He was just perfection with every look and breath he took. You could feel his pain/confusion/doom right through the screen
Question: Why would a guy who plugged his own father NOT off this crazy bitch who's got a secret on him AND is so mentally unstable he has no idea what she's going to do next? It can't be ALL in the name of "reform". It's mind boggling. Especially now that Connie's got luggage at his house!!
giant thank you to Lisa W's screen caps!
The chick playing Kristina is a horrible actress...and no I'm not being a bully or picking on her personally. But an actress who is good can sell any storyline even if it's a pile of sticking horseshit. Unfortunately when an actress is chosen to play a role based on their looks and not their talent, this is the result.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the actress playing Xtina. Beautiful? A ten.! Acting ability. ZERO! Looks ain't everything Ron!
ReplyDeleteBB has been written into a corner. The actor has taken this shiz called his script and done wonders! Shame he has been given this CRAP!
Sexis are wonderful. TPTB should just have them get married and be done with it. They rock each and every scene and the chemistry just oozes off the screen.
CarJax please! Carly is Cuju on downers when she is with Jax.
Some great stuff this week, but seriously, can we get the old Xtina back?
Kristina did fine this week.
ReplyDeleteFor me it wasn't the wedding as much as it was Liz's confession to Jason. Rebbeca Herbst ROCKED!
Karen: here's an idea for you to ponder, and maybe even pose as a question, esp. to long time soap viewers - those of us who go back more than 20 years, the pre-Internet and video game era.
ReplyDeleteHow have video games and MTV and the fast, fast, fast push of other media- films, etc,, made long term soaps better or worse?
I ask because if you watch clips of Golden Age GH- 1980s- the stories take longer, minor characters become interesting- think Dr. Gerrold from Prometheus Disk, Burt Ramsey as Mr. Big, and there was a willingness for viewers to let real stories unfold0 think BJ death scenes. Even stories that bombed- Casey the alien- were treated with more care than many tales that get rushed and forced.
Also, viewers cut actors more slack, whereas now 1 or 2 scenes are enough for someone to turn off to an actor no matter what: on this board it's an obsession with NuKristina even though her worst scenes are no worse than her predecessor, Lexi A. On other boards there's hatred for Kelly Sullivan, although the actress is far richer than Megan Ward. Jen Lilley was harassed no end as Maxi, and now the reverse- there's a large % of folks who loathe KS as her re-replacement. Joe Jr and Trey are the best father-son duo on GH in two decades yet others loathe them as actors and characters. Now folks have decided, on this board and others, to loathe the nerdy Sabrina but love the nerdy Ellie.
As DebK notes, Lyndsey Morgan was actually pretty good this week- and far more realistic in portraying her trauma than most soap characters are, who just shrug off something, as if nothing. And the Sabrina hatred- yes, the Ugly Betty thing is old, but the actress has done her job well.
I can imagine the furor against Sean Kanan, 20 years ago, when he replaced Gerald Hopkins as AJ- and Hopkins was a terrific actor, much better than Kanan. Or, when Tamara Braun replaced Sarah Brown as Carly. Or when Ingle took over from the great David Lewis as Edward Q?
I've asked some others who watch soaps, and they think shorter attention spans are to blame, as well.
What is your take, Karen? Any other old time watchers can opine too? OldschoolGHfan? Soaplover?
gmjl said...
ReplyDeleteThe chick playing Kristina is a horrible actress...and no I'm not being a bully or picking on her personally. But an actress who is good can sell any storyline even if it's a pile of sticking horseshit. Unfortunately when an actress is chosen to play a role based on their looks and not their talent, this is the result.
October 7, 2012 10:05 AM
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Ok, so you're not being a bully. Is it fair to ask for an explanation other than her being horrible?
I've been in situations where people were shot or held captive or stabbed or hiding from a pursuer. Morgan's take, with the difficulty breathing, was realistic.
I've read many complaints that this or that is not realistic in GH, from SL's to actors to sets, yet when you get it, you complain.
Ok, let's suspend disbelief, but if the Ice Princess or Casey the alien SL's were used today something tells me you'd be wailing that it was not realistic.
Seriously, go look at Youtubes of Lexi A's first mos. as Krissy, and her seductions (failed) of Jason. The acting was painful to watch.
Are you just stuck on Lexi cuz she was the first non-toddler Krissy, or do you just resent this bikinilicious version of her?
I'm not saying she's a great actress, but, damn, if Kelly Monaco didn't look like Kelly Monaco- Playboy approved, she'd've been gone long ago. The best Davis girl actress is Molly's portrayer, if they'd get her out of this Anne of Green Gables phase, and the worst is Kelly M, by a mile. McBain is the only thing that makes her tolerable, as she has no had chemistry w a single actor since being paired w Ingo.
I can see resenting, to a degree, OLTL characters- except that the 2 main ones brought on- Todd and McBain, are better than any GH regulars- Dante, Sonny or Steve. And, talk of bad actors, is the fellow who plays Steve the worst actor or what? And he was better when he started.
I can see some reused storylines turning someone off- baby switch, another blown Sonny marriage- the DID nonsense- but it looks like with Burton leaving, and Sonny being marginalized, we may get vintage GH- Anna and Duke- Luke and AJ.
All I've seen, in terms of the Lynsey Morgan hatred is that she's young and beautiful and she replaced an actress we liked. It's a version of the Lilley-Storms nonsense. Lilley is a FAR better actress than Storms, but I deal with Storms being back. All this complaining about a 3rd or 4th level character (Kristina) who's had worse stories to deal with- the abusive BF of a Mob Princess- yes, that's realistic! Kiefer wd have been disappeared in a minute.
The problem with Nu Krissy is she isn't Lexi.
ReplyDeleteThe way Nu Krissy was shaking physically was so real. Has her performance always been this good? NO. But she has improved alot and deserves recognition for it.
People are still stuck on NuKate being so horrible. It is only because old Kate was replaced. KS does her acting role in such a way that nobody could have matched up to her.
People move on in their lives. Even our favorite characters. Why can't we be happy for them, and recogize what we see is good as well?
I consider all negative feelings about actors bashing.
As a avid Liz hater, I never held back. But not once did I critcize her acting. And this past week, she was brilliant.
Don't be so harsh on these actors.
Like us, they are human.
Here is why the person playing Kristina is horrid...Her reading of her lines is flat and monotone without much emotion.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can answer me this question? Why do you feel this need to question the opinions of others? We all have opinions and like I posted earlier opinions are like assholes - we all have one.
Actors are like singers, dancers, painters, writers - all are expressions of art. All artists, by showing their work to the public, automatically open themselves to criticism. Karen praises what she enjoys and vents about what she doesn't like, and so do most folks in the comment section.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that Lyndsey Morgan has supporters here. I agree that she's shown a measure of improvement since last May. But I think she was in way over her head this week. The shaking might have been an original touch, but it could have been an idea from Frank or that day's director, or a stage direction from the writers, and all it did for me was to underscore that she just isn't a skilled, believable actress, at least not yet.
As for Kate, I wasn't a Megan Ward fan, and I cringed at KS's work for the first couple of months after the DID story started. But I think she is much better now. KS isn't going over the top as much now, and she seems to have settled into Connie. She was really good with Brandon on Friday.
Fans have always criticized actors. It is just on a wider scale now. I remember how much my mother and her friends used to laugh at the actor who played Jimmy Lee Holt, and say how terrible he was, but thank God for his blue jeans.
First of all about the faster pace of the shows I see it as a two-way: On the one hand the depth is sometimes taken away but on the other it is more exciting than it was to watch now than then. I really think that. Although I loved Luke and Laura and ran home to see GH, I believe in my mind I probably condensed things. GH was only 30 min and then 45 (when I really started watching) so there's that as well. We didn't expect giant things to happen every day either.
ReplyDeleteThere have been plenty of bad actors over the years and I'm one that likes a more natural actor. Kelly Ripa was one, JPL on OLTL, the guy that played Leo... Kassie DP--TSJ, Sarah Brown, Jackie Zeman, TG and Scott Clifton to me were 'characters' the minute they hit the screen. I can honestly tell that the new Kristina had little if any formal training and certainly no theater work. If you look at say, someone like Erika Slezak and John Ingle you know they were classically trained.
For me, the actors playing Trey and Kristina completely took away from the scene they were doing. I could SEE THEM TRYING to act. I'm going to call people on that when I see it! I am certainly ok that people think they are good or improving. No problem there.
Becky Herbst did rock and I loved that scene. Becky always brings it!
I have to say KS was a hard sell for me. She does do crazy comedy well though. I think it's her eyes lol
ReplyDeleteI have been enjoying most of the storylines, but am distracted by the knowledge that Jason is on his way out. When I see Carly with Todd (and I love them together), I think, "Oh poor Carly, Todd is going to have to be your new best friend. Carly you are going to grieve so much over Jason. And, Carly this new best friend is already lying to you."
ReplyDeleteThen all through the Sam and Liz scenes with Jason, all I think about is how will they react to his death. Sam will have her baby..But, Liz, I wonder if Liz will go nuts for real. We already have Cra Cra Kate/Connie. We do not need a Loo Loo Liz to boot.
And Monica is losing her son Jason. THe poor woman! It makes me hope for her character that Sean K is going to be AJ..And if he is I will try to forget how we all watched him in death.(Part of me thinks he will be a new character though. Do any of you remember that when Sean K left the role he said that part of the reason was that he Sean is a recovering alcoholic and that playing AJ also an alcoholic was not healthy for him..Perhaps so much time has past that Sean K does not think that life imitating art would affect him now.
Can there be redemption for Johnny? How do we forgive him for killing Hope and Cole and his grandfather? MAybe they could have Johnny get into an accident and have brain damage and forget doing all that. THen we could pretend that it never happened...
Carrie Ann
Did anybody see Leslie Charlesons tweets.I liked the shows this week. But Thursday and Friday was a little boring.
ReplyDeletegmjl said...
ReplyDeleteHere is why the person playing Kristina is horrid...Her reading of her lines is flat and monotone without much emotion.
Perhaps you can answer me this question? Why do you feel this need to question the opinions of others? We all have opinions and like I posted earlier opinions are like assholes - we all have one.
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To stick w the the rectal theme- some opinions are firm, beautiful, brown, well pinched loaves and others are messy diarrhea.
If something is based purely on emotion it's simply not a thing that can be related yo another person but an objective intellectual point can be transferred.
As for monotone, it's hard to take that opinion seriously for a simple reason: prob the biggest criticism of Morgan's acting is that she is all over the place. Another poster evcen said she was tryign to much, a 180 degree opinion. I mean, it's not that difficult to tell monotony from scenery chewing, so which is it?
Hence, I think DebK is right when the crit devolves down to her just not being Lexi A., and a resentment toward her being cast for boobaliciousness and seeing this as unfair to Lexi.
Again, it's a mirror image of the Lilley-Storms pro and con.
And, I'm not a Krissy/Morgan supporter. She's been ok-solid. She's not Jonathan Jackson; but she's certainly not horrid. And Trey is actually even better, and working across from Steinmetz makes him all the more effective.
Question: has there EVER been a scene with Sonny and ANY of the Michaels that conveys a tenth the realism and love that the Scullys show? I don't think so. Steinmetz is simply so good an actor he makes others better. Maurice Benard, love him or not, does not have that ability. Partly the bad writing for Sonny, and partly his own phoning it in the last 5 or so years.
But, lemme ask, do you think Kelly Monaco is a BETTER actress than Morgan? Seriously? Like Burton, she has two acting modes: happy (average_ and under duress (constipated look). Yet, I hear none of the same complaints about her. Is this cuz she's the original Sam? If Morgan were a recast Sam would the same complaints apply- since it'd be one sexpot replacing another?
As for the pace of the shows, Karen- have you rewatched some of th eclassic 80s' Youtube SL's? The pacing, the little scenes that display emotion or personal touches b/t characters. It's all gone now. Yes, there are good BIG scenes, but none of the overlooked gems.
Lindsay Morgan is a terrible "actress" and should definitely find another line of work or least try to learn something from acting lessons if possible. Her scenes were hideous and embarrassing in my opinion. Not something GH needs right now for sure.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, my opinion of LM's lack of acting skills has nothing to do with the "she's not Lexi" thing. I was not a fan of Lexi's "Kristina" at all especially as the character aged and Lexi did not (appearance wise).
Cosmo...
ReplyDeleteI think you are right for the most part. Remember that in the 80's many of us didn't have cable yet and when we came home from school (or work) the choice was pretty much either cartoons or soaps. Cartoons got old after while, hence my flipping it over to GH and geting getting fascinated with the whole Ice Princess story and sticking it it ever since.
Back then, they could afford to let storylines go for a good run as well as scenes and pacing play out because there simply weren't too many other choices out there for us to change it over to.
The issue is now though that there are so many other cable options as well as internet distractions, that everything moves at a frenetic pace on the soap to try to grab your attention. On the good side, we're not stuck with lame storylines like Casey the Alien months and months on end. On the bad side, there's not as much time to let scenes and actors breathe and for the viewer to really get invested in them.
OldSchoolGHfan
Ah my favorite type of discussion, we all have our own ideas and we want them heard. I thought the show was great all week - it kept me watching and the hour passed quickly. Except the baby story is starting to drag on and yes I do think we've become used to tighter, faster storylines. The stories from the 80's and early 90's moved at a snail's pace. Even then we knew some of them moved too slow.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the actors, I'm not a Liz fan but BH rocked it this week. She had me truly despising her to full on respect. And I for one am glad KS is back. JL grew on me but I'm a true KS fan. NuKate is fantastic, I don't believe old Kate could have pulled off this role. As far as Xtina I do think she is getting better and her performance this week was her best so far. Still sometimes she is almost painful to watch.
The Skully father son relationship is so believable that of course they are pushing Joe Jr to the point of no return. Just like BB - let's take a terrific character and make him do totally unbelievable things. I don't know if they'll be able to ever write him out of this corner. I don't want him to leave, he is a fantastic actor and his chemistry with Todd is fantastic.
Does anyone else wonder if Sean Kanan is coming back to be NuJason not back from the dead AJ?
Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMatchboxGinny said...
ReplyDeleteLindsay Morgan is a terrible "actress" and should definitely find another line of work or least try to learn something from acting lessons if possible. Her scenes were hideous and embarrassing in my opinion. Not something GH needs right now for sure.
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Ok, fine. But what is terrible, hideous and embarrassing?
Her work as a hostage was believable and realistic. How would any other actress have done more in those scenes? Look at the scenes where Sam and Lulu were held by Ronny. They were ridiculous, as neither girl was scared in the least.
Is cardboard acting better than realistic?
Another point for the old time GH watchers.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a number of people here and on other boards claim how they hate Joe Jr. for being a rapist, even though Todd Manning also committed rape.
Well, we all know Luke is a rapist. Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_wQJfwH_uA&feature=relmfu
Recall this is over 30 years old, so they fade to the disco balls and no sound, but the implication is clear that Laura was raped.
Yet he has been redeemed: by Laura, the writers, and the fans.
Also, and more controversially, Sonny Corinthos- despite his White Knight bravado- is a rapist. When he first came on it was established that he had drugged and had sex with underaged girls he made strip. The only on camera time they showed his process was in the rape of Karen Wexler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDLa_IMjsu8
Like the Luke rape of Laura, they are not explicit, but one has to know that Karen was underaged at the time: 17, and had been drugged and groggy before this scene, and it's implied she's given alcohol as well. This scene is a PG version of the seduction of Jodie Foster in taxi Driver by Harvey Keitel's pimp. Also, recall, Sonny had a pattern of this established by people like Stone and underlings- that he liked his girls, liked them young.
So, to have Sonny wail over the supposed rape of Connie- which there is no evidence for, in light of old time viewers knowing Sonny was a SERIAL rapist, as well as, legally, a pedophile, and this explains alot of why older viewers really dislike Sonny.
In the turn of Sonny from bad to good, too, he became strong and powerful. In this scene, note how Jagger kicks Sonny's ass- as did Sean Kanan's AJ in other scenes. Now, Sonny the midget manhandles men twice his size.
Karen, I just wanted to post these videos for those who have problems with the Joe Jr character. Unfortunately, spoilers elsewhere, and the way the story is headed seems to mean Joe Jr will be gone soon.
But, even if he did rape Connie years ago, he's certainly redeemable if Luke and Sonny- a violent rapist and a serial date rapist and pedophile are.
Also, Sonny's rapes of Karen and the other strippers have become anachronistic in Sonny's storyline since, if his mother really was abused by Deke and Trevor Lansing, and if Connie really was raped, then why in the hell would the young Sonny exploit women like he did when he first hit Port Chuck in 1993?
ReplyDeleteThe only logical conclusion is that he is an amoral psychopath. It took almost 15 years before the show's writers actually showed Sonny ordering mass murder (and never has his killing of Dante's childhood hero- Lt. Poletti been explained).
So, if a mass murdering, serial rapist and Mob Boss (and, let's face it- he is a drug pusher, as well, for what else could he be hiding in his coffee beans?) can be redeemed, so to speak, so can Joe Jr., or even Jerry Jacks.
What I, and, I suspect, many other older viewers don't like, is the fact that the writers don't acknowledge that Sonny is likely the worst and most amoral character on the show: he kills like Ryan Chamberlain, Grant Putnam, or Kevin O'Connor, he is involved with organized evil plots like Cesar Faison or Helena Cassadine, and he's a sexual predtaor; yet all those other characters are shown as evil, Sonny is not. same applies for Jason Morgan, but in lesser degrees, since he's mentally deficient, and is, in a lesser sense, another of Sonny's victim's- like Stone was.
Cosmo - we are all entitled to our opinions. It's great that you think Lindsey Morgan is improving as Kristina; however, I disagree.
ReplyDeleteWhy keep harping on this? If you don't like other people's opinions that differ from yours why bother?
Are you going to wear us down in an effort to agree with you? I have 4 words for you: Not. Going. To. Happen.
Good night and good luck!
Tammy: like the others who have this irrational hatred, I just ask that there be a basis, otherwise it's meaningless to keep huffing and puffing like Steven Lars.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I posted the Luke and Sonny rape links, because I know many GH newbies don't understand why the old watchers cannot stand Sonny- the character, not MB the actor.
There is a legit reason, whereas the NuKrissy or Lilley-Storms hate is irrational.
This is getting tiresome...how much more time are you going to spend telling us lowly peasants we're wrong and you're right?
ReplyDeleteCosmo -- give it up! Everyone has their own opinions!
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that Lindsey Morgan is not that good. According to you it's irrational to have this opinion.
So I guess your opinion of NuKrissy being okay is irrational too?
Please explain the difference.
Thank you!
Oh and by the way, there's no hatred of Lindsey Morgan or her portrayal of NuKrissy. I just don't think she's doing a good job. That sounds like hate? I think it sounds like someone who has an opinion of her acting ability (or unability as it were in this case).
ReplyDeletegmjl said...
ReplyDeleteThis is getting tiresome...how much more time are you going to spend telling us lowly peasants we're wrong and you're right?
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Uh, how many times are you going to post the same sorts of question? I earlier asked a simple one, to explain why you think Morgan is so bad. You offered nothing, just like Tammy who wrote:
So I guess your opinion of NuKrissy being okay is irrational too?
Please explain the difference.
=======================
You'll note, if you read several of my comments, that Morgan played a captive victim realistically, w the crying and shaking, vs., say, when sam and Lulu were held by Ronny and acted as if they were at a ballgame. I then asked how realistic acting was being damned, when so many others have called for more realism in the show?
Then gmjl wrote that Nukrissy was monotone, even though most others said she was overacting, to which I wrote:
As for monotone, it's hard to take that opinion seriously for a simple reason: prob the biggest criticism of Morgan's acting is that she is all over the place. Another poster evcen said she was tryign to much, a 180 degree opinion. I mean, it's not that difficult to tell monotony from scenery chewing, so which is it?
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I also asked for something rather reasonable, to back up an opinion, like I just did, since Morgan clearly was not monotone, if she was shaking and crying and, according to most others, overacting? This disconnect shows that the dislike of Morgan is irrational, just as the dislike of Jen Lilley almost drove that actress to insanity when she replaced Storms, and had a breakdown on Youtube.
Note, that unlike either of you, when asked direct questions, I reply courteously and directly. Note how I explained why some of the older watchers have found the irrational hatred of the Joe Jr character silly since Luke and Sonny are both rapists, as well: I even provided video links.
Again I ask, do you really think Morgan is a worse actress than Kelly Monaco? Monaco has 2 acting modes: dull and monotone, and sad and constipated.
And how would Lexi A. have played Kristina better while tied up than Morgan?
If you have no real response, fine. Don't state anything. But if you do, it is perfectly reasonable to ask WHY? And if you ignore such a query, it's likely others will just roll their eyes at the mewling.
the best performance of the week for me was Laura Wright and Brandon Barash! the emotion in one room then when Carly says "ne thing am sure of Johnny is that we're through"
ReplyDeleteOMG Brandon's eyes just got watery and when Johnny ran after Carly, that was so sad and intriguiing. Bravo!!
KSu was great as Connie but WTF wasup with Maurice? He was so held back in those scenes. and whoever told him to play loving sonny should have directed him well. that's not gentle IMO LOL
Oh and the girl who plays Kristina makes me wantex-Brooklyn to replace her. this girl is just HORRIBLE!!!!
ReplyDelete