General Hospital News & Gossip
News for the week of 08-Jun-2009
Tony Geary (Luke) managed to champion his current storyline with soap newcomer Nathan Parsons (Ethan), while including the rest of his on-screen children, Greg Vaughan (Lucky) and Julie Marie Berman (Lulu). He sees Luke in all three of his children, from the rage and the idealism in Lucky, to the optimism and adventure-seeking in Lulu, to the treachery and con charm of Ethan. Of course, the fan controversy isn’t about how good and solid these actors are to Geary, but how Geary has fully embraced Ethan as the son he never had and always longed for, a chip off the old block, as well as the way Ethan was conceived, in a one-night stand with Holly while fully married to Laura. Geary took this story on and ran with it, as a challenge amidst the controversy, and as in keeping with Luke’s anti-hero character. Geary has always maintained that Luke is nobody’s hero and is incredibly, deeply flawed and dark. He reminded fans of Luke’s whorehouse roots and stressed that this storyline naturally stems from those origins. It’s given him a renewal in portrayal: “We're getting to see a lot of Luke's facets that have been overlooked and laid dormant ... [his being] a drinker and a na'er do well. Lucky has rejected him, he's living off his wife, he's had three heart attacks and and then suddenly this boy comes into his life. This light. And he [Ethan] is sort of everything he [Luke] was and always wanted to be. Ethan is like Luke at the beginning of his life, and here's Luke closer to the end. And this boy loves him, and Luke loves him back.” The love for Ethan came easily to Geary, who shares an equal fondness for and similarity in make-up to Ethan’s portrayer, Parsons. This mutual regard translated onto the screen. “I'm loving working with Nathan. A lot of the feelings [for Ethan] as Luke are from mine for Nathan. We are a lot alike – so much that it's a little creepy. We are really close friends – it's fed the on-screen relationship. I like that this story makes Luke a character with a dynasty and a legacy.” –SoapNet.com, “Anthony Geary Speaks!” by Jesse Murray, June 5, 2009
Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) tries his hand at the Fox-TV game show, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, later on this month – specific date to be announced on his official website. He’ll play for a charity of his choice.
Christopher cannot make the annual summer GH Fan Club Luncheon this July however. But his annual 68 Cent Crew Theatre fundraising event, July 17, will continue as scheduled, in the Fan Club’s new venue, Van Nuys, CA’s Airtel Plaza Hotel.
In answer to selected fan questions, actor Christopher praised the fine acting chops of co-stars Julie Marie Berman (Lulu) and living legend Genie Francis (ex-Laura), while speaking with Soap Opera Network’s Errol Lewis for a June 3rd InSession update. Here’s what he said about Berman’s adaptability in action: “You're only as good as your partner in a scene. And with Julie you get nothing less than a display of fine acting. I tend to put little ad-libs in occasionally and she picks right up on them, the result is a scene that is natural and organic.” Christopher also confirmed that he and wife Brienne Pedigo is having a baby boy, due on October 1st.
Nathan Parsons (Ethan) isn’t a fool. He figured out fairly quickly that longevity on GH meant joining the mob with Sonny and Jason. Since he’s (currently) a chip off the old Luke block, Parsons said it would make sense for Ethan to veer into illegal mob territory anyway.
TV Guide Canada soap columnist Nelson Branco kept trying to steer former ATWT actress Martha Byrne (Mayor’s wife, Andrea) to the soap that did her wrong (presumably, they played hardball during contract re-negotiation time and she walked), and she kept deftly steering the conversation back on the glass half-full of her current GH circumstance. Rather, maybe I should say, serendipitous happenstance. Byrne had hired talent manager Michael Bruno and then GH head writer Bob Guza asked Byrne’s former ATWT colleague Lisa Kaseff if the actress would be into a new role. Byrne and Kaseff – who is a part of GH’s production staff now – were FBing when the subject came up. Byrne’s character of the mayor’s hardline wife Andrea – patterned after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – was only supposed to show up for a short-term. But then TPTB wanted to capitalize on their acting find in Byrne and prolonged the ecstasy with a meaty story. As of yet, Byrne—who is a B&B scriptwriter—hasn’t a clue as to Andrea’s longevity on GH. Byrne’s East-Coast-based family encouraged her to pursue the West-Coast-based GH role. “It’s nice to be on my own for a few days after spending a year at home with the kids — though being a mother and wife is by far my most important role and biggest priority in my life,” the GH fan and actress explained. “When I was mulling the offer over, my husband told me, ‘You have to do this. You deserve it.’ Our kids are well-adjusted. Luckily, my entire family lives in the same town, so our children have a built-in support system when I’m not home. I’m not even 40 yet, so I want to keep working. There was no other answer to this opportunity other than a big yes.” Byrne appears as the mayor’s wife on June 18th. Check out what Byrne has to say about ATWT lately, in Branco’s June 4th interview, “American Wife.”
Natalia Livingston (Rebecca; ex-Emily) paints an unflattering picture of Ethan conning Rebecca while in between flights at an airport. Sounds an awful lot like Ethan heard her story – of getting the raw end of the twin deal, with Emily going to a rich family, and her getting stuck as trailer trash – and came up with a scam to pay back the Quartermaines and the Cassadines. Livingston said that Rebecca might be rough around the edges because of her rough upbringing, but that she is decent and it’s really Ethan who’s behind the get-rich schemes. He’s trying give her a leg up, because he digs her and feels for her, Livingston added. As for the big reveal of Rebecca’s and Ethan’s true agenda, to be unveiled this week, Livingston had little foreknowledge of most of it. The overall picture, sure, but the details, not so much. She even gave me a heart attack when telling a Soap Opera Weekly reporter, jokingly, that maybe Rebecca could get another twin living out there.
Rick Hearst (Ric), 44, is at a point in his life when he’s searching for the meaning of life and his place in this world. He’s turned to “The Purpose Driven Life” by pastor Rick Warren recently.
Tristan Rogers (ex-Robert Scorpio) isn’t entirely convinced that Ethan is Luke and Holly’s love child. He said he was told that Ethan would be Robert and Holly’s love child. Somewhere along the way, the story changed. Referring to the current change of storyline as “interesting,” and its “vagueness … amusing,” Rogers admitted to some confusion in the back and forthing going on with Holly and Luke. “Holly says one thing then another. Luke wants to be the father but he’s rather challenged when it comes to parenting skills. I mean, it’s a hard sell when it comes to being an engaging story. … Ethan could have been anyone’s kid. Still could be. Using L&L or R&H or R&A or F&F always looks good on paper and it makes for good media. … I expect more of this ‘bait and hook’ approach in the future. I still feel there’s a twist in there somewhere that has yet to surface.”
Many SoapZone message board posters may disagree vehemently, but Sarah Joy Brown (Carly) sees the addition of Nathan Parsons (Ethan) as a real boost to GH. She is reportedly dying to be in scenes, in stories with this guy.
Gossip for the week of 08-Jun-2009
The latest from Daytime Dish (formerly Soap Dish): From late June to July, a love scene between two major characters will shock one and all… Is Chris a new bodyguard for Kristina, hired by Sonny or Dante in disguise?... Dante knows Sam from before, and their association riles Jason up. Sam pulled Dante out of a jam while on an FBI job many years back… Dante pretends to be of the mob, but he’s working for the FBI… Tracy assumes Luke took off after Holly when it’s really Helena keeping him prisoner overseas. Based on this erroneous assumption, Tracy gets a divorce… Ethan and Rebecca sex it up and hungrily eye Wyndemere’s Spoon Island for a possible diamond mine. Sorry, Nik… Ethan and Rebecca both suffer from a conscience, but Helena gets involved, forcing them to continue the scam with her in the middle of it… Michael goes from Carly’s to the Quartermaines’.
Everybody’s waiting on Steve Burton (Jason) to re-sign or not. He allegedly has until June 12th to do so. Once he does so, head writer Bob Guza has three months to build up the big and new story. Until then, it’s boring, repetitious crap day in and day out.
Ted King (ex-Lorenzo/Luis) may take up where Rick Hearst (Ric) left off in villainy. My heartfelt plea to the actor is to run, not walk, away from the GH offer if it does in fact exist. Guza & Co. will only use you to glorify Maurice Benard’s Sonny, then thanklessly toss you aside like so much garbage, as they’ve done to countless others before and since you.
While in the minority, I must agree with Tony Geary (Luke) about the stellar scenes last week when Holly tried to make amends with a hurt and incredulous Ethan and Luke. He told SoapNet recently in a phone interview that he found those scenes incredibly compelling. As did I. The emotion of a mother forced to give her baby up for a better life made a relatable impact.
If that wasn’t enough, Jane Elliot (Tracy) walks in, argues with Luke, and the look in her eyes when he yells that if she doesn’t know by now why he’s still married to her… it made mine water up. That was the best part of GH in the past month. It’s called character acting, people, try it sometime.
The awakening of Michael Corinthos, however, has me questioning the expertise of GH’s producers, writers and PTB. He and his uncontrollable anger issues are taking over the show. Portrayer Drew Garrett is definitely winsome and doing his best to evoke layered, complex emotions as a coma patient grappling with the side effects of being laid out for a year. However, his story just isn’t interesting me at all. It gets very tiring to see the same three or four people saying the same thing about Claudia and the botched hit, as well as anger boy raging 24/7. To say nothing of reducing these former characters into plot-driven stunts.
General Hospital News & Gossip, Copyright © 2008 Carol Banks Weber. Published by SoapZone.com / Jeff Jungblut. No part of this page may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and may not be representative of SoapZone.com or its advertisers. Don't steal scoops.
