General Hospital News & Gossip

News for the week of 04-Apr-2005

by Carol Banks Weber

April previews, c/o assistant writer Elizabeth Korte: It’s because of Sam in large part that Jason gets to Michael; Michael may not be the same spoiled little brat on the warpath to preserve Carly and Sonny; well, he may be on the warpath against them; A.J.’s return proves bittersweet for those who know him; Rachel leaves quite a mess for Courtney to get out of; despite early indicators, Emily will turn out not to be with Connor’s child, but she’ll still be haunted by what he did to her, enough to possibly affect her marriage with Nikolas forever; not even Nikolas being sprung early will change her fear that it’s over with them; Emily’s loss… Lucky and Elizabeth’s gain, their renewed love is a pleasant, unexpected turn of events; Alexis believes she no longer has an ally in Ric when it comes to fighting Sonny for sole custody of Kristina, but what she does could be drastic.

Soaps have always run things a little differently. Ever since NATAS ruled last year to keep the media from viewing Daytime Emmy-nominated reels, several members of the press – notably GoldDerby.com’s Tom O’Neil – have been on a royal tear to reverse the ruling ASAP, or destroy the May awards ceremony trying. The problem: It took a few voting members of the Daytime Emmy organization to effectively shut down the open-book process, as previously enjoyed by the soap media. These members took offense to the very same media finding fault with the submissions, critiquing quality and determining Emmy-winning worthiness, in the public forum of published commentaries. As a result, nobody from the soap media can even peek at any of the submitted reels of the acting nominees. The chairman of the awards committee, David Ashbrock denied that last year’s ruling is as big of a deal as O’Neil has made it out to be. Besides, Ashbrock added, a meeting will convene weeks before the actual ceremony to determine the ruling’s viability, and it could very well be overturned. O’Neil countered that a few weeks is not long enough for the media to make evaluations. O’Neil’s GoldDerby.com – a popular website featuring media experts predicting awards winners in the entertainment industry – is not the only member of the media forced to back off on detailed scrutiny in its reports. Soap Opera Weekly no longer provides Emmy predictions, as of last year, due to lack of info, i.e., ignorance of the actual performances turned in for judging. While some Daytime Emmy voters anonymously requested the open-book process shut down, others are pissed off at the censorship which could threaten the longevity of the awards ceremony itself (viewership has decreased considerably since the 22 million mark in 1993)… they’ve promised to sneak O’Neil a few glimpses of their submissions, as well as dish the dirt on possible winners and probabilities. If they do, they could threaten their own eligibility as future voters, because of the affidavit they all signed for confidentiality. O’Neil doesn’t give a damn, he said he might use their info to blab to CBS about FCC regulation tainting, thus effectively tainting this year’s Emmy ceremony. USA Today

ABC Daytime promoted Sue Johnson from director of talent development and East Coast Programming to vice president of talent development and East Coast programming. In her new job capacity, she’ll be a network programming executive and creative liaison for AMC and OLTL, and in charge of writer/production development programs for AMC, OLTL and GH (whatever the hell that means). Johnson began her career with ABC Daytime in 1993 when she was appointed executive assistant to ABC Daytime’s president. She then moved upwards as programming coordinator, then director of talent development. The New York University Tisch School of the Arts film and television graduate founded the ABC Talent Development Scholarship Grant program, and continues to serve as a mentor/judge.

Here is the recast Carly schedule: Tamara Braun’s version stomps off the air on April 15, her celestial twin, Jennifer Bransford (ex-Georgie, OLTL), will take over the very next episode, April 18 (after already having begun work on set March 24), without skipping a beat. Casting director Mark Teschner had prepared for the inevitability of the Carly recast for a few months now. He worked hard to find the right one, sorting through about 500 actresses before settling on Bransford, who’d tried out unsuccessfully for two previous GH roles, Reese and Rachel. Ironically, Teschner and his people hesitated in hiring her then because of her close resemblance to Braun…a resemblance that would later work in her favor when recasting Carly. “We were ready for this. We knew Tamara might move on and that there was no way to write out the character,” Teschner said. “Jennifer really embodied the character in a fresh way and against incredible competition.” The new, third Carly – Bransford – endeared herself to many diehard, heartbroken Tams fans by diplomatically and graciously acknowledging how tough the adjustment will be, while still expressing happiness for landing such a highly coveted job. “The audience just loves Carly and Tamara. It'll take time,” she added. –TV Guide, Michael Logan

Last exit interview of Tamara Braun (outgoing Carly II), I swear. In Rosemary A. Rossi’s [ABC Soaps in Depth, “Why I’m Leaving,” April 12, 2005], Braun further extrapolates on the whys of her leaving the soap that made her a brand-name daytime star. It’s a frequent issue that’s been the impetus for other former GHers like Amber Tamblyn (ex-Emily), Jonathan Jackson (ex-Lucky) and even Tyler Christopher (ex-Nikolas, before he returned), Braun needed any possible contractual outs to stick, allowing her breaks to rest, recoup and pursue outside projects in the primetime/movie realm. If she had landed a project, even with a contractual out, she still may not have been able to leave to complete the project as needed, because of her ongoing, frontburner storyline and because of the soap genre’s near-daily production schedule with little to no room for a hiatus of any kind. “I’ve known people who have gotten other things and weren’t able to do it because the show couldn’t work it out. There was no other way for me to stretch as an actor in a different part while still being on the show. Even if my contract has outs, it doesn’t mean that the production will accommodate another project.” Being Carly, so connected to the star of GH, Maurice Benard’s Sonny, and so central to the show’s success, hardly allowed her time off in the four years of her employ, maybe three days here and there. If soaps instituted a six-month hiatus yearly, maybe… In Braun’s dream world, once out there in the mainstream entertainment industry, she’d help make the kind of films that enrich people and herself as an artist and a human being.

Every now and then, an actor will refer to a performance consultant or acting coach tied to a soap opera, crediting him/her for fine tuning performances and improving the game. Let’s get something straight though, the acting coach isn’t there necessarily to teach a cast addition how to act, that much should be self-evident. On GH, John Homa makes sure he’s available to help if and when a cast addition needs his input, and he translates director-speak when asked. When he approached Tamara Braun, who’d just begun her arduous transformation as Carly and felt the formidable task down to her bones, he did so by reassuring her that she could act, that he wasn’t there to turn her into an actor. Braun did and does rely on him, to simplify an often-complex process, and, in one instance, to release the waterworks. She said she only had to gaze into Homa’s eyes to find the wherewithal to loosen her control and let her tears loose. Homa is more than qualified, having mentored the movie star likes of Kirsten Dunst in Interview With A Vampire, for one example, before then-executive producer Wendy Riche called on his services for her show. Her intent at the time was to “elevate so we wouldn’t have what people refer to as ‘soap-opera acting,’ which I really think is just bad acting. I’m not here to direct the show.” AMC’s acting coach Darnell Williams (ex-Jesse) steps in when actors such as Michael B. Jordan (Reggie) need encouragement and reminders, not just on calming down for a scene or getting in the right mindset, but on how to better learn lines. “And you know, I gotta listen – the man got nominated three times for an Emmy, won twice.” Larkin Malloy (ex-Travis, AMC) used to have to deal with a handful of actors who took offense to the mere concept of the performance consultant. They figured they were actors who didn’t need the training, said Malloy – who now coaches young newcomers and older vets struggling with voluminous dialogue, adding that that’s no longer the case; actors today are eager to learn how to be more real, open, accessible and comfortable in front of the cameras. –Soap Opera Digest, “Stage Coach” by Elaine G. Flores, April 5, 2005

1 Day With…’s host and co-producer Wally Kurth (Ned) originally saw himself casually chatting with the guest soap star in each episode, sharing a story or two of his own that nobody’s ever heard or read about in any soap magazine or Internet bio. Instead, what ended up happening: a segment producer studies a soap magazine like ABC Soaps in Depth, pre-interviews the guest soap star, then presents Kurth with notes. Kurth studies the notes and tries not to work too hard or too formally in the actual on-air interview process. He joked that most of his original stories never make it. Scoring a one-on-one interview, dinner for two, with the legendary but reclusive Tony Geary (Luke) proved to be a coup of a lifetime for Kurth. He proudly delved into often touchy subject matter with Geary, despite fearing the outcome, and felt that much of the on-air interview touched on subject matter no other medium has since. [CBW: Unfortunately, in today’s intrusive soap-celeb climate, where every two-bit poster fancies herself as the next gonzo journalist, I’m afraid nothing Kurth could touch on could be construed as new news. It’s the unique, spontaneous interaction between fellow actors viewers look for in 1 Day With…, not 20/20 newsflashes.]

Since being demoted to recurring, Wally Kurth (Ned) hasn’t rested on his past laurels. He has his SoapNet special series, 1 Day With… in which he hosts and co-produces. He has his music, performing with a band as Kurth & Taylor for fans and charities. And he has been hitting the audition circuit for primetime, movie work. He also thinks he might take a break from soap work for a while, after 17 years. The recurring status did not come as any shock to the actor, since TPTB haven’t used Ned substantively for quite a while, and it made no sense financially on their part to keep paying for a character they hardly ever used. Still, Kurth saw a lot more potential for Ned than the writers did apparently, “He didn’t carry a gun, and he wasn’t in the Mob. … I had a character that could do a lot more interesting, fun, edgy stuff. But it never happened.” –ABC Soaps in Depth, April 12, 2005

Sigh. I love this woman. Kari Wuhrer (Reese) posted in her fan forum again, March 21. She hints that the scene she recently wrapped involved Reese’s stay at the hospital without any lines. She also reiterated that she’s had to work her ass off at this acting job, appreciating the fan support she’s received; it’s what sustains her. She mentions her baby boy Enzo (like one of Sonny’s new bodyguards Enzo?), how the rock star’s finally sleeping through the night… If only more soapsters could communicate like this kickass star.

Kari Wuhrer’s (Reese) father used to be a cop and to this day, he still goes out hunting. Watching him conduct himself with dignity, control and badass growing up as a child, while also learning the basics of guns herself from him, Wuhrer is now able to convincingly pull off the role of a gun-toting, badass FBI agent. She revealed that her badass father and his badass pals (as well as her entire family) are addicted to GH because she’s on it, heh, heh. Every now and then, she’ll do something on-screen just for them, a kind of secretive high-five. [CBW: Great. Now I’m gonna go crazy studying every move, trying to figure out if those diamond earrings, or the left arm scratching the right side of her back is some signal.]

Now that Alicia Leigh Willis (Courtney) has settled into her fairly-new house close to the beach, every room’s neat and tidy, except the closet downstairs. Somehow it has been relegated as the depository for everything, building and building into this monster.

Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), husband Michael Saucedo (ex-Juan) and their two children, baby Ella and big boy Ethan, were on hand on SoapTalk’s March 26th show to update co-hosts Lisa Rinna (ex-Billie, DOOL) and Ty Treadway (ex-Colin/Troy, OLTL) on their life. Herbst and Saucedo mostly talked about how their family has expanded and how wonderfully busy it’s been with two kids around. Herbst compared the differences between her firstborn and secondborn, Ethan is and always was more independent, when tired, he wanted to be left alone to go to sleep… whereas Ella loves being close with her mommy all day, something Herbst said she takes advantage of. The happily married couple also shared a few *baby tips with Treadway especially (since, at the time of filming, he was about to expect the birth of his own daughter with wife Monica; they’ve since welcomed the little girl into their lives). The usual tips, plus a few worth mentioning: Don’t just use a diaper rash ointment when there’s diaper rash, but use it every time you change the diaper to prevent diaper rash… A cute little bear motif to this soft cushiony child seatbelt covers keeps the regular seatbelt from digging into the little baby’s neck and chest… Read Goodnight, Moon, a bedtime story classic (I can vouch for this one)… Oh, and if you want husbands like Saucedo to do the diapers, go to work – Herbst said he didn’t diaper Ella until after six weeks, when she returned to GH, not considered work to her but a brief respite from mommy duties.

*Herbst and Saucedo thanked the vast Liz fan bases for their baby shower gifts, so vast, so comprehensive that they didn’t have to stock up on their own. Uh, can I score a fan base too, and can my loyal fan base of well-behaved but awfully quiet readers shower me with Damian Lewis-related gifts? Please???

Also on the March 26th show: Corbin Bernsen (John Durant), who didn’t have as much time to discuss his latest, movie project Carpool Guy, fitter body, Maurice Benard’s (Sonny) high caliber of a soap actor. But what he did manage to squeak in in such a short time: has a story idea in mind, maybe a sitcom, of a middle-aged man still living with his mom, he keeps fit(ter) because he realized it’s smart to take care of his body, he’s amazed by the fast-paced production schedule of soaps, by the soap actors who manage to churn out brilliance day in and day out often, as co-host Treadway suggested, with what amounts to rough drafts of the storyline in progress, not since L.A. Law has he been having as much fun as he is on GH, looks forward to working with such outstanding actors as Benard, Benard probably comes up with his entire characterization through working out the dialogue alone.

Kirsten Storms (ex-Belle, DOOL) said all the right things to the soap press about the honor of joining GH as the recast Maxie, and how she arrived there. Despite some fans’ assumption, Storms didn’t storm into the DOOL’s office demanding her job back. She didn’t even ask. She’d made a promise to NBC daytime honcho Sheraton Kalouria back in the fall that if she were ever inclined to try soaps again, she’d let the people at DOOL know first, as a courtesy. So that’s what she did, only to have DOOL executive producer Ken Corday decline in using her as the original Belle. Storms’ manager steered her to a GH possibility, after discussing the matter with ABC Daytime president B.S. Frons, and that’s when she took the meeting reps denied ever took place. She expressed her enthusiasm and awe as a GH fan (after her Clubhouse run ended, she had extra time to catch up on soaps, and got hooked on GH) to executive producer Jill Farren Phelps. Her status as an avowed GH fan… she said she might faint if she saw Maurice Benard (Sonny) pass by and she told Soap Opera Digest’s “Roundup” editors way earlier that her favorite was Steve Burton (Jason)… impressed and won over the writing and producing team. Storms had no idea she was up for the recast role of Maxie however, until the end of the meeting. At that point, she worried about the fallout, because she’d met the original Maxie, Robyn Richards and liked her so much; she knows how much this recast will impact fans. “I love the show, so hopefully that’ll win me a few of those viewers.” The only person in the GH cast that Storms knows is Greg Vaughan (Lucky), but she hopes to remedy that soon. –Soap Opera Digest, April 12, 2005

Storms observed that she is now in the same position that her DOOL successor Martha Madison was in. When Madison tried out for the role of Belle, after Storms left it to pursue primetime work, she tried out as a devoted, star-struck DOOL fan. Same for Storms, but as a GH fan.

Greg Vaughan’s (Lucky) hair, continued… The actor felt it was time to cut his hair anyway, not just clean it up as executive producer Jill Farren Phelps requested. He’d worn it long, wavy and chaotic (you should’ve seen him in the mornings) for nine whole months. After awhile, the hair took over and the emoting felt diluted. It’s hard to see Lucky emote if the hair got in the way, he said. Not that he didn’t dig it, he did, it set him apart as an edgy Lucky who’s been through some heavy shit and helped put Vaughan in that edgy mood. Now, he’s “back to being the all-American pretty boy [laughs].” –ABC Soaps in Depth, April 12, 2005

Doing her first bonafide love scene recently wasn’t so bad for Georgie’s Lindze Letherman, 16. But for her co-star, Scott Clifton (Dillon), 19(?), whoo boy, that poor kid had to, at the last minute, whip off his shirt and stand there with his bare chest exposed while the makeup crew glossed, powdered and buffed him up. Letherman only had to sit pretty under the bed’s covers, her top on, and laugh at his embarrassment… her being underage, she didn’t have to disrobe like he did.

Ignacio Serricchio (Diego) can’t be bothered with the latest fashions. He shops at cost-effective department store chain outlets, like Marshalls and Mervyn’s (who doesn’t?), preferring plain and simple jeans, Ts and sneakers to fancy designer labels. Although, since signing on with GH, he’s appreciated the necessity of dressing for the occasion. His tip for trying out clothes for size, do it while dancing to music on the radio; if the clothes are comfortable while you’re jamming, buy ‘em.

I have a friend who lives in MA who rock climbs in the spring and summer and snowboards in the fall and winter, without fail. Robb recommends both sports for the exercise, fun and fellowship. A lot of the GH actors know what Robb is talking about, because they engage in both sports as often as they can. Snowboarding recently caught on with Lindze Letherman (Georgie), who is only now catching on to the addictiveness of the hot but hard young sport. Others, Rick Hearst (Ric), Tyler Christopher (Nikolas; ex-Connor), Derk Cheetwood (Max) and Greg Vaughan (Lucky), went crazy snowboarding up at California’s Mammoth Mountain this past winter, affording the aficionados a chance to really bond outside of work.

Ingo Rademacher (Jax) gets to show off his speed demon in the 29th annual Celebrity Grand Prix, April 9, noon – in conjunction with the Long Beach, CA Grand Prix weekend. He’ll speed on alongside other celebrities like Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle), Justin Berfield (Malcolm in the Middle), Meat Loaf, Patrick Dempsey (Sweet Home Alabama), Mark Steines (Entertainment Tonight), Karl Malone, Paige Hemmis (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), Amanda Beard (U.S. Olympic swimmer), Misty May (U.S. Olympic volleyballer) and Aaron Peirsol (U.S. Olympic swimmer). The following day, professional racecar drivers will compete. Info: (888) 82-SPEED.

The usually reserved Kelly Monaco (Sam), known for skipping public appearances c/o her show, GH, will instead host her first fan event in conjunction with the GH Fan Club Weekend, on July 16, 6:30 p.m., Sportsmen’s Lodge, Studio City, CA. She’ll have a Q&A, autograph session, door prizes and other surprises. Mail a money order for $55 to Little One Productions, P.O. Box 3555, Hollywood, CA 90078, with two SASEs, if you wanna join the festivities.

One usually doesn’t think about soap stars as regular folks who go shopping for groceries, pay taxes and commute to and from work. But they do, and they often do in surprising ways. For the latter, several male soap stars like to travel well, in comfort and as stylin’ as possible. Maurice Benard (Sonny) drives a 2005 silver Jaguar XK8, sometimes a little too fast for the LAPD’s comfort, and he usually only drives it for work. Unlike many L.A. residents, he happily sits in rush hour traffic, tuning out to his hip happening R&B tunes on the car stereo. Steve Burton (Jason) is almost as fancy, with his 2004 black (?) Cadillac Escalade EXT and his personalized Elvis license plate, a find from a road trip in between personal appearances. He tunes out to Elvis hits on his CD player in the car. AMC’s Cameron Mathison (Ryan) kicks some serious driving ass with his baby blue and white-striped 1965 Mustang Fastback. But the car was his wife Vanessa’s idea, she spotted it for Mathison during their courtship, and it’s in her name. “…the car is kind of a symbol of our relationship.” Former OLTL actor, David Fumero (ex-Cristian) doesn’t drive a car, but a hog, a 2002 Harley Davidson Fatboy, sweet. He picked up the bike in Pennsylvania, and it’s seen quite a variety of landscapes, from New York through the hills and canyons of California. –ABC Soaps in Depth, April 12, 2005

Ignacio Serricchio (Diego) has said that he enjoys dancing, he dances while trying on new clothes to see how they fit. Natalia Livingston (Emily) and Tamara Braun (Carly) can attest to his enjoyment and skills as a dancer, perhaps as GH’s best. Livingston credited Serricchio’s Latin blood for the dance ability, but for herself, also Latin, eh, not so much. She used to study ballet for a dozen years before, which frowns on any movement of the hips – essential to Latin dancing. Braun experienced the Serricchio’s fancy footwork firsthand at a cocktail party when he invited her in an impromptu dance. Ingo Rademacher (Jax) thought Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda) and Tava Smiley (ex-Chloe) could dance real well. Over at OLTL, names like Kamar de los Reyes (Antonio), Trevor St. John (Todd), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline), even Michael Easton (John) and Robert S. Woods (Bo) were bandied about as light on their feet by Bree Williamson (Jessica), Dan Gauthier (Kevin) and Goldsberry. AMC’s James Scott (Ethan) fancied Alicia Minshew (Kendall) as both a great dancer and singer, even if she doesn’t show it all the time.

The last time soap fans saw Kent Masters-King (ex-Imani, ex-PC), she’d just transformed into a werewolf before Jamal’s very eyes. Then, the half-hour GH spin-off, PC, was summarily canceled in the spring before it had a chance to air any sort of closure. Regardless, Masters-King got lucky. GH casting director Mark Teschner – who’d scouted talent for PC too – remembered her for a new role, that of a court-appointed psychologist Dr. Winters, ordered to determine parental fitness between Sonny or Alexis. Because of Teschner, Masters-King didn’t even have to audition. Once on the set, she recognized quite a number of PC crew members, some of whom have taken to joking with her about transforming into a werewolf again.

Kale Browne (ex-Sam, OLTL) lends more than his voice to GH on May 5. He’ll finally show himself in person in the form of a priest.

Constance Towers (Helena) – who’s about due for a long-awaited May return – thought the discomfort felt overnight was perhaps something as minor as sleeping too long on her arm, resulting in a pinched nerve. Her son, a heart surgeon, prescribed some baby aspirin, and she checked herself out at the hospital. There, eventually, she found out that she had an ulcer in her left carotid artery and needed surgery to get rid of the plaque on the main artery in her neck, the one that carries blood to her head. The actress mused that if she hadn’t acted swiftly, she might not have survived to tell the tale, and that perhaps the ulcer had been lingering for quite a while. The surgery left a scar on her neck. Towers joked with a nurse about the scar she would receive before surgery, “It’s going to look like I ran into O.J. Simpson. The nurse leaned in and said to me, ‘No, it’ll look like you ran into Helena Cassadine!’” –ABC Soaps in Depth, April 12, 2005

Everyone should do an off-Broadway play in between soap gigs. For Billy Warlock (A.J. for a few more weeks, then Frankie on DOOL), doing The Normal Heart helped reset his priorities, focus his energies and right his path as an actor. For a long time, as GH’s resident Iago, and an emasculated one at that, Warlock lost his way, taking storyline misses and character assassinations personally, letting his ego get in the way of doing consistently outstanding work. “I always came in and gave them 110 percent. But I always found myself sliding into the ‘Please, like me’ mode, trying to find the wounded guy. It’s like I was saying to the audience, ‘Please, understand that A.J.’s not a bad guy. He’s just misunderstood.’” It got to the point where Warlock dreaded going in to work, as well as receiving a script that had his character doing something truly heinous… ‘cause that would mean his job was over, TPTB wouldn’t want (read: like) him anymore. After a refresher course on applying his considerable skills as an actor on a 24/7 basis in that acclaimed off-Broadway stage hit, after walking away from GH, Warlock has seemed to find himself and his strengths again. He carries no illusions about his return as the perennial bad guy A.J. This time, he knows what his job is, to propel plot forward, cause conflicts, and he’s more than prepared to do his job to the best of his ability, without any expectations, worries or fears of being perceived as unlikable. But then, he’s leaving the soap for another one, DOOL, where he won a Daytime Emmy once, and he’s learned he can pull off an ensemble production the caliber of Masterpiece Theatre. “What I learned doing the play wasn’t so much the craft of acting – it was more like I learned what makes Billy tick as an actor. I lost that being here at GH. But now my passion is back! That’s why I’m so excited about my future. I’m a hired gun to come in and tell a story… and I’m here to make the audience proud.” –ABC Soaps in Depth, April 12, 2005

God bless Billy Warlock (A.J.). He’s returned to GH for a brief time with gusto and a can-do attitude, anything for the show, for the cast, for the authenticity of the storyline in progress. He doesn’t care if viewers can’t stand A.J. for this one last straw – kidnapping Michael and brainwashing the kid against Sonny and Carly – he knows by now that he’s a damn good actor paid to do his job and go home, period. In the interim, he’s also managed to heap praise on fellow co-stars, the epitome of class act. About Alicia Leigh Willis (Courtney), he called her a sponge, always open as an actress, always ready to go with the flow in the presence of those she works with. About rumors of Sean Kanan’s possible return as A.J., I think he’s gone on record recently as saying he’s all for it, ‘cause Kanan rocks.

“But most people really aren't interested in the next step for daytime soap opera. I think I'm the only person out there who looks upon the genre as the glass being half full and not half empty. I see a whole new beginning for the genre, whereas most people have passed over it. I think once this new concept of putting a soap together that I've developed gets out there, it's going to change [people's cynical opinions] completely.” With that, Tristan Rogers (ex-Robert Scorpio) made his case for another shot at soaps – but on his own terms as the producer of a new kind of stylized soap, the kind Gloria Monty’s used to be before subsequent regimes kept trying in vain to “reinvent the wheel.” Rogers discussed his project’s (and perhaps daytime drama’s) vision with Soap Opera Digest Online’s Robert Schork recently. The vision’s legs came from Rogers’ own experience as an actor on GH for a dozen years during the show’s heyday; during this time, the actor observed and noted then-producer Monty’s improvements – she would take a straggling soap about to be canceled and catapult it to the top of the heap, crossing over success into the mainstream – as inspiration for his own soap opera one day. Taking the stylized, modernized star power system, Monty’s baby, as well as interactive stories that were the opposite of soaps’ traditional norm of self-encapsulated mini-universes where never the characters shall cross over, Rogers worked on his idea for a soap set in the music and tabloid journalism settings, incorporating innovations in storytelling and production values. Since departing GH, Rogers also observed a steady decline in soap ratings, due in part, according to him, on the revolving regimes trying to do their own thing, instead of stick with Monty’s successful formula. Luke and Laura were a great big part of Monty’s success, but there was more to it that that, he asserted. “They were the tip of the iceberg. It was about a whole series of things that came together. Basically, Luke and Laura personified what the work behind the scenes had been, and how they just got up there and broadcast all the hard work that had been done. But the show had a number of unique characteristics: It had a unique story management and structure, which to this day has not been emulated by anybody else. And GENERAL HOSPITAL was the only soap that employed a star structure, we had a star system on that show. Gloria set about doing that; it wasn't accidental, it was by design. All the other soaps, back then and today, employ a cell system of story structure, where each story for the most part tends to be a self-contained little island. GENERAL HOSPITAL stories weren't like that. When I became the police commissioner, I was involved in everybody's story. I minded everybody's business. I also had my own specific story that I was involved with.”

Gossip for the week of 04-Apr-2005

by Carol Banks Weber

Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps alienated a few more GH fans with her confident comments on Tamara Braun’s exit and Jennifer Bransford’s (ex-Georgie, OLTL) entrance as the recast Carlys… along the lines of, it’s sad and shit about Tams, but, hey, she can and will be replaced, and eventually, fans will fall for the next version, especially since the great, all-knowing, all-powerful Maurice Benard (Sonny) has seen fit to make this second recast work at all costs.

GH celebrated its 42nd anniversary with cake and more Mo worship, don’t ‘cha know. JFP made the odd analogy of the anniversary coinciding with Benard’s birthday (both the show and the actor are 42), and from then on, the events will be remembered, together. In the April 5th SOD, in the “Click!” pages, there’s a picture of Mo with JFP and her prized on-screen brood, Diego, little Michael, Courtney, Reese, Faith. Missing, the other EP’s pet, Jason.

Last week, I reported that Alicia Leigh Willis (Courtney) might be thinking about flying the coop, following best friend Tamara Braun (Carly) out the door, and some SZ posters on the GH board acted like I invented the rumor, instead of, like, y’know, doing my job paraphrasing news and gossip ALREADY OUT THERE. So k-duh, obviously these smart-assed posters have already heard this shit before. I’ve never claimed to originate 99.9 percent of the stuff on this page (although, find me one poster who remembers the 1 percent I did procure on my own, and I’ll pay him big bucks for paying attention).

A sure sign of TPTB’s confidence in a newbie, add another newbie to expand and expound on characterization. Reese will soon benefit from a familiar face from her past.

Ashley Bashioum (ex-Mackenzie, Y&R) had a meeting with GH’s PTB about something, maybe she’s a new character, maybe she’s a recast. She’s not Carly, tho’.

If you believe Cindi Rinehart (Northwest Afternoon talk show’s “Queen of Soaps”), John Durant will turn to villainous means to nab Jason and Sonny, by framing Diego for drugs and forcing Maria to finger Jason in the Sandoval shootings to save Diego. This prompted worries for Durant’s longevity. Since portrayer Corbin Bernsen is only on recurring, possibly for just six more months, a hit on the character isn’t out of the question.

I had to laugh my ass off at the supposed GH rep who vehemently denied there ever being a meeting between executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and Kirsten Storms (ex-Belle, DOOL) (to discuss replacing Robyn Richards as Maxie). SOD had reported in an earlier issue of said rep’s denial – while the online soap community already knew Storms as Maxie was a done deal – and then later, in the April 12th issue, just out in newsstands everywhere, Storms herself confirmed the meeting had taken place.

Kelly Monaco (Sam) actually said to the soap press that she doesn’t want to dress immodestly any more, that she’s done revealing too much skin, and if she could walk around in a snow parka (or something like that that covers up everything like some Pilgrim), she would. Of course, this prompted throngs of Sam haters to chortle, “Since when?!” and “Damage control!” Folks, it’s rough out there, BRRR!

It’s become sport on the boards to take a snippet from any news and gossip about Maurice Benard (Sonny), then blow it out of proportion, tabloid style. Once again, many of the regular posters have taken sides over what amounts to a simple joke between two Hispanic colleagues, Ignacio Serricchio (Diego) and Mo. On Serricchio’s first day, Mo approached all friendly-like, and mentioned he was also Spanish. Serricchio naturally started speaking Spanish (you have no idea how many Korean strangers start doing the same thing with me, in Korean, after finding out I’m one of them), only to have Mo stop him with an admission that he can’t stand speaking Spanish, even though he can. Being a class clown, Serricchio then would tease Mo with Spanish at every opportunity, as an in-joke between them. For an important kidnapping-related scene, Mo asked Serricchio to start speaking Spanish to him, because he needed to get in a pissed-off mood. “He was totally joking, but I love it. So, I continue to talk to him in Spanish even though he hates it! [Soap Opera Digest, April 12, 2005]” Serricchio said. A joke, people!

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