Monday, December 15, 2014

General Hospital WUB AWARDS 2014

Welcome to the Best and Worst of GH from the WUB AWARDS! 2014 was very up and down for me. Luckily, it's ending itself on a roller coaster, which always makes a soap fun! I'm calling 2014 "The Year of Tears and Fears". 

WUB AWARDS 2014



ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Finola Hughes 

RUNNER UP:  Kelly Thiebaud

ACTOR OF THE YEAR:   Roger Howarth 



PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:  Kathleen Gati 




BEST STORY LINE: The Evolution of Michael Quartermaine 


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You Baffle me, young Sir! 
LONGEST STORY LINE: FLUKE 

BIGGEST SNOOZE STORYLINE:  Bobbie/Scotty/Lucy 


BIGGEST 'WTF' LEFT FIELD STORY LINE: Rafe  The Drug Addict 





HOTTEST COUPLE:   Julian/Alexis 

LEAST HOTTEST COUPLE:   Kiki/Michael



BEST WUB MOMENT:   Nina screams in Donna Mill's face --REPENT!! 

WORST WUB MOMENT:  Crypt Sex 

BEST NEW CHARACTER (TIE) :  Jordan/ Rosalie 

WORST NEW CHARACTER:   Levi 

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Yeah I'm home...but I'm not 'home, home" 
BIGGEST BLOWN COMEBACK:  Lucas 


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First I'll "die", then I'll be in protection, then I'll disappear! 

SECOND BIGGEST:  Ric  


I COULD HAVE LIVED WITHOUT:   Yet another mask on Faison 

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OJ or..Vodka? 
MOST ABUSED CHARACTER:  AJ 

MOST OVERUSED PLOT DEVICE:  Heather Webber and her knife/gun/ kidnapping of Carly 2x/BLTs 

THE THING THAT MADE YOU GO HUH?   Faison Under The Floor 

MOST LONGEST LASTING THING EVER:  Halloween Eve 


I Love you, Man 
FAVE WUB SCENE:   Scotty and Franco in bed, in matching robes. Just the perfect metaphor for how I like my soaps. 





PROP OF THE YEAR:  Since Mr. Marbles gave his life up, I'm choosing him as Prop o' the Year. RIP Little Buddy. 


Accessory to Watch: Anna's Badge--at hip level. 



FACE OF THE YEAR:   Ava rolls right over StNuFaceJake. Can't get much better than this. 


WUB HIGHLIGHTS 

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THIS..making her Ava's Mama? Brilliant 

~ Josslyn's on going Corn adventure. I happen to really like it, and love the sass the little actress brings. Her face at the wedding when Franco let loose was perfection.  Ditto for Spencer. Wow..that kid has timing for days.
 ~The Nurses' Ball is always welcome, and the production team deserves great kudos for that. 
~Alice's heart story. Even though it really stalled towards the end, it gave some great material to Bergen Williams. 
~Brownstone is remodeled! Now, get some people living in there besides Morgan and Kiki! 
~Franco and Nina. Well, put two great actors together and what do you get? gold.
~Rosalie --great actress, great character
~Jordan--ditto
~Return of Helena in all her glory. Controlling things. In Furs. More please

WUB REVIEW 


2014 review: Tears and Fears.
GH was awesome to behold for most of the year. 
Yes, it had it's lulls and weird dropped stories but for the most part? I was highly entertained. 
Hard to do for a 40+ year sarcastic soap watcher. 

 We had Luke disappear in January when he got knocked out by Heather. Take over: FLUKE.  He's evolved too. From the guy we saw with Julian in the horse stall to some Euro-Dude talking with Helena on the pier. We all know that TG had to be gone far longer than anyone expected but even given that, it's been a painful overly-long story. Tracy was sacrificed at the altar and turned into some stupid idiot that can't think straight! Make it stop. Thank you. The fact that Faison had on another damn mask for even an nano-second was enough to almost make me walk away. Almost. 

I hated the fact that AJ got shot, but have to admit I loved the whole thing that came out of it all. Connie's death sort of started it but I do think that may have been a misstep, given that Ava has softened and it just makes no sense. Chad Duell really really impressed me this year--and I don't say that lightly. His transformation to a Quartermaine was glorious. I gave him an honorable mention for acting because I really didn't have any idea the kid had it in him. I knew Bryan (Morgan) did --every scene with Sonny was great. But Chad blew out all the stops. 

Jordan came to town and although this is another plodding, skipping around story, I do like her character. She's a bad-ass that gives Anna someone to hang out with other than Dante. The TJ/Shawn stuff? EH-- whatever. It seems like an "insert here" at this point. 



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I woke up: MAY 1st. 
The long arc of Dr. O, Donna Mills Clinic Robin...er..whatever whatever took awhile too. We did get Nina out of the deal which can be a blessing and a curse.  Love Michelle Stafford and the cray she brings--but at times that story ate the entire canvas. Silas got mucho bored this year too. I mean, seriously. Rafe reappeared out of the blue, a total druggie that ended up dying, Just like that.  The build up wasn't there and that's probably one thing GH lacks. Consistent build up. They have great "events" but the reasoning behind it is often left to the imagination. 

Robin ah, Robin the mind-numbing thing with her leaving. I didn't like the way it was written, especially her not involving her mother (or her mother suspecting a thing). Sabrina baby sideline-- Patrick's grief. Of course, great performances from Jason Thompson.  The clinic. Frozen people-pods. Billy Miller rising out as Lazarus Jason-Jake. Yes, I have to admit I like him. 


Babies. DNA tests-- switches. Ben..Rocco. Embryo's missing--yada yada. Kidnapping. Baby Gabe death :throwsuphands: If Olivia is going to be PG on screen we'd better wish and hope for that kid to be born in a bubble.

The Franco dance went on..Carly and he hooked up and she decided to "love him"---well, kinda. Until you know, Sonny flashed his dimples. Then the story was all of a sudden the "CarSon" love of the ages. I think one of the reasons I am so happy Sonny is in jail is because I might not have to listen to them for a couple of weeks. Maurice is doing a fine job with his angst and I love that Brandon Barash is back. The whole " Beige is the New Black" might be fun for awhile. Of course, since most of the town has been in the pokey --we might just get General Jail. We are most certainly getting More Mobular as well. Johnny wants to take over the 3 families. Sigh. Been there, done that a million times. 


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Maxie came back but dragged the son of a REALLY old character with her. That story came in fits and bursts. By the end we all wanted him to cut his hair and just die already. This did help cement the Maxie/Nate love story so, that was a good outcome. 



All in all GH was a powerhouse of acting, twisted storytelling that left me thrilled, bored and baffled.  I give GH a B for the first quarter, a C for the summer,  and an A for this last half.  I have high hopes for February sweeps!! 

Thanks for all your comments this year and taking the time to read my crazy blog. Without you guys, there is NO WUB!! What I'd like to see most in 2015? Genie come back, she and Luke go off into the sunset in  classic, wonderful style. I think it's time.  


A JOYOUS YULETIDE TO ALL! 

17 comments:

  1. Nice, Karen. Thanks for all the effort you put in to these posts. I wub it!

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  2. You made me laugh out loud about Levi, "By the end we all wanted him to cut his hair and just die already." And he did! Thank goodness. I can't wait to see what happens in 2015 and what you and all of your readers have to say about it. Thanks for your blog. It's the first site I check out every day and it's always fun.

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  3. Well said Karen, as usual you hit the nail on the head.. Thank you for being there for us who, also have been watching for years! Thank you again for keeping us all entertained and informed! I wish you a glorious holiday season.. Looking forward to 2015!

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  4. Brilliant! Thanks, I had a rough day and that was so much fun to read.

    Accessory of the year runner up - a bullet in the shoulder/shoulder area. Liz, Mac, Max & Nathan all had one, did you?

    Another wtf? Do you recall Shirley Jones being publicized for a role, and then she appeared in maybe 3 scenes in one episode? She was a witness to a crime or something.

    Most fun ending to an episode... Franco winking at Carly after everything came out. I rewound twice!

    I've enjoyed following the Who is Fluke? online spec much more than the actual storyline.

    Thanks again for a great year of Wubs! You rock!

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  5. I have been a fan of GH since 1980. For personal reasons, I was unable to watch a block of the shows from March through June, but could read Karen's WUBS rehash (and thank you Sonya!!!). What a year!!

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  6. Thank you, Karen, for the fun awards! And thank you for the blog every day. I am another reader who did not watch the show for a while, and kept up with it solely through this blog. Thank you for that, and for all you do!
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, and your family.

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  7. Totally agree with 99.9% of what you said...only difference is I can't stand Nina AT ALL. Loved the fact that FINALLY Michael has wised up and is now a Quartemaine and if that ever changes I'm finally out. Finola, Kelly and Kathleen rocked it all year. Will miss Kelly! Spencer is gold.

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  8. Kathleen Gati had to be top actress. Even in schmalts she kills it.

    The Mikey evolution was good, but Duell simply can;t hold Bryan Craig's jock as an actor. Add in the horrid Kiki scenes- yeesh.

    And Geary has no accent as Fluke. He is enunciating words more delib than Luke. This is a subliminal acting trick to differentiate the characters and show Fluke thinks before he acts whereas Luke is still impulsive. They sound exactly alike or else it wd be a dead giveaway,

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  9. Karen, I enjoy your blog every day. Thank you for doing it!

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  10. This was great! Thanks Karen! About Levi, I did want him to cut his hair, but I didn't want him to die. I liked him when he got rid of the fake persona. :)

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  11. Fabulous Karen! Pretty much on the money for me! Thank you for your blog, I always enjoy reading!!

    For the year, I give GH a solid C+ due to the inconsistent writing, lack of actual storytelling and constant shelving of characters...AND Ron's blatant disrespect of TIME; time of day, day of week, time zones. Drives me crazy!!

    Happy Holidays everyone :)

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  12. I'd give 2014 a D, if only for the Fluke tale and Sonny's fall. Otherwise, an F. 2012 was a B, but 2013 was a D. This is not a good trend.

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  13. You totally do rock, Karen, for being a devoted and even-handed blogger. Thank you. I am so on board with your wish for 2015: bring Genie back for one, last sweeping & epic tale with Tony. Somehow, recover the magic of Luke & Laura... is it possible? Can this current writing/production team pull it off? It couldn't be done in a rushed way. Like you said, buildup is everything when it comes to soaps. Also, is the relationship between Geary and Francis too strained? I remember years ago Geary said in an interview that Genie was his acting soulmate. Is that still possible? And Genie... she seems to feel negatively about Laura written as victim. I see it differently, though. The character is a protagonist, a heroine. Thus, there's got to be an antagonist to give her story. Forget how politically inappropriate their epic romance began. That's water under the bridge. If the actors could just play it with the same intensity they did years ago, and Cartini could revisit the style of writing from the glory years of L&L, it would work, I believe. If done right, it could garner national attention again.
    Again, I think Genie could stay on after the conclusion of L&L as General Hospital's version of Vikki Lord. Here's hopin'!

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  14. Wonderful wrap up Karen. Thanks for the WUB. I almost gave up on GH this year with the drawn out Fluke mess. I'm ready for L&L to ride away as well. For 2015 would like to see more of the "good guys" - Dante, Nik, Patrick, and Michael's continued evolution. Pair Olivia with Nik (or Michael!) Get Alexis and her girls a house. Do something with Silas or make him go away- maybe try him and Liz. Somehow I hope Ava is redeemed cause I love her character now and Maura is amazing.
    Thanks for all you do with the blog - it's kept me connected for sure.

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  15. Since your blog is often more entertaining than the show I think without you I'd stop watching. One scary thought: because as someone (Delcodave?) pointed out villains never die I fear that someday Levi will rise like the Phoenix.
    It seems as though most of the cast is somehow tied to the whole mob/Puke story so I suspect that Rosalie will be related somehow to one of the many villains in that mess. Not that shocking a secret really but the big reveals are mostly disappointing

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  16. I have one prediction for 2015. (Hey Karen, how about a blog with nothing but prediction from you and the wubbers? Both serious and silly?)

    In recent years, GH has virtually been shut out at the Emmy awards for acting categories. Everything is won by the same people from B&B and Y&R. This year, I think they are going to dominate the acting awards and will be a force to reckon with.

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  17. Great recap Karen! I agree with most everything except best actor since RH seems to only play himself. Really good actors like Jason Thompson and Rick Hearst had nothing to work with. I also can't stand MS and her overacting. Finola has been fabulous and I hope she finally gets an Emmy. KG is a gem and I almost believe she is German with her flawless accent. Whoever writes for her is doing a great job. I am very happy to see Sonny pay for his crimes. I'm glad AJ was killed off because SK is doing a wonderfully on B & B. His character was treated like garbage on GH. I don't see many nominations for GH this year other than for acting.
    LindaV

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