General Hospital Watching General Hospital

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Is this true about Kelly Monaco?
This is a major change if true

General Hospital Reportedly Killing Off Kelly Monaco’s Sam

Kelly Monaco is reportedly leaving General Hospital as Sam… and not by her choice. Here's how the character is said to be being written off.

soaps.sheknows.com

 

[Emelee]

Is this true about Kelly Monaco?
This is a major change if true

General Hospital Reportedly Killing Off Kelly Monaco’s Sam

Kelly Monaco is reportedly leaving General Hospital as Sam… and not by her choice. Here's how the character is said to be being written off.

soaps.sheknows.com

It's true.

 

[Monzo]

Since no other actor needs temporary recast as often as Kelly Monaco, I'm assuming she has something important and hopefully not too bad going on in her life, so I can understand her getting fed up with the show. I liked Kelly Monaco on Dancing with the Stars, but I never liked Sam on General Hospital. If they want to keep Sam as a character, they should just hire Lindsay Hartley as permanently recast because she has more energy than Kelly Monaco anyway.

 

[Emelee]

Since no other actor needs temporary recast as often as Kelly Monaco, I'm assuming she has something important and hopefully not too bad going on in her life, so I can understand her getting fed up with the show. I liked Kelly Monaco on Dancing with the Stars, but I never liked Sam on General Hospital. If they want to keep Sam as a character, they should just hire Lindsay Hartley as permanently recast because she has more energy than Kelly Monaco anyway.

I read that this was not Kelly's decision. That it was GH's decision. And that there are no plans for a recast because GH is killing Sam. This is not confirmed, but it sounds plausible.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

I'm reluctant to say anything on this because the reporting is so spotty. The people I typically rely on for "the final word" (confirmation) have yet to confirm anything. There are "Has Kelly Monaco been let go?" stories but only TVLine (which admittedly is usually right) is writing as if she's already finished filming and her fate is set in stone. I guess it won't feel real until there are some kind of comments from the show itself, or from the actress.

Edited to add: I guess Variety is a solid source, and they're reporting it as fact.

So....back in the mid-1990s, evil soap killer/EP Jill Farren Phelps was cutting Another World to ribbons. She needed to come up with $$$ to re-hire Robert Kelker-Kelly, so she instituted a serial killer storyline to write out several actors to free up their salaries. It was said she needed to fire one actor with a "mid/high-level salary, the list including Anna Stuart (Donna), Judi Evans (Paulina) or Alice Barrett (Frankie). All kinds of anvils were dropping in the story indicating Anna Stuart's Donna, a popular, long-term favorite was about to be killed off. The fans expressed their discontent well enough that the story ended up being rewritten on the fly. Suddenly the killer was no longer after her....and instead Frankie ended up being killed off in an infamously violent episode that got the Head Writer and the evil EP fired.

Why do I bring this up? Because up until about a week ago Maura West's Ava looked to be living on borrowed time just as AW's Donna did. Lots and lots of plot points were added that made it appear she was about to be killed off because EP Frank Valentini was looking to free up some money to afford Jonathan Jackson, Emma Samms, Rick Hearst, etc. I think Maura West and Kelly Monaco likely make about the same salaries, given their long-term background in soaps and pre-GH stardom. If the EP was swayed into keeping West's Ava in the mix, then someone in that same salary range would need to go in her place...thus Monaco is now on the chopping block. History might not repeat itself, but it does tend to rhyme.

 

[Emelee]

I'm reluctant to say anything on this because the reporting is so spotty. The people I typically rely on for "the final word" (confirmation) have yet to confirm anything. There are "Has Kelly Monaco been let go?" stories but only TVLine (which admittedly is usually right) is writing as if she's already finished filming and her fate is set in stone. I guess it won't feel real until there are some kind of comments from the show itself, or from the actress.

Edited to add: I guess Variety is a solid source, and they're reporting it as fact.

So....back in the mid-1990s, evil soap killer/EP Jill Farren Phelps was cutting Another World to ribbons. She needed to come up with $$$ to re-hire Robert Kelker-Kelly, so she instituted a serial killer storyline to write out several actors to free up their salaries. It was said she needed to fire one actor with a "mid/high-level salary, the list including Anna Stuart (Donna), Judi Evans (Paulina) or Alice Barrett (Frankie). All kinds of anvils were dropping in the story indicating Anna Stuart's Donna, a popular, long-term favorite was about to be killed off. The fans expressed their discontent well enough that the story ended up being rewritten on the fly. Suddenly the killer was no longer after her....and instead Frankie ended up being killed off in an infamously violent episode that got the Head Writer and the evil EP fired.

Why do I bring this up? Because up until about a week ago Maura West's Ava looked to be living on borrowed time just as AW's Donna did. Lots and lots of plot points were added that made it appear she was about to be killed off because EP Frank Valentini was looking to free up some money to afford Jonathan Jackson, Emma Samms, Rick Hearst, etc. I think Maura West and Kelly Monaco likely make about the same salaries, given their long-term background in soaps and pre-GH stardom. If the EP was swayed into keeping West's Ava in the mix, then someone in that same salary range would need to go in her place...thus Monaco is now on the chopping block. History might not repeat itself, but it does tend to rhyme.

GH has already let go of Roger Howarth, Gregory Harrison, Michael Easton and now Kelly Monaco.

Rick Hearst is short term. Emma Samms is short term. Jonathan Jackson got a longer, but still limited contract. So the people let go can easily pay for these, plus more. A new Lulu is coming, and maybe Dex's mom. And a new mystery character.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

....and the ratings are down, so maybe they are expecting to have a cut to their license fee/budget from ABC/Disney in the fourth quarter.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I'm reluctant to say anything on this because the reporting is so spotty. The people I typically rely on for "the final word" (confirmation) have yet to confirm anything. There are "Has Kelly Monaco been let go?" stories but only TVLine (which admittedly is usually right) is writing as if she's already finished filming and her fate is set in stone. I guess it won't feel real until there are some kind of comments from the show itself, or from the actress.

Edited to add: I guess Variety is a solid source, and they're reporting it as fact.

So....back in the mid-1990s, evil soap killer/EP Jill Farren Phelps was cutting Another World to ribbons. She needed to come up with $$$ to re-hire Robert Kelker-Kelly, so she instituted a serial killer storyline to write out several actors to free up their salaries. It was said she needed to fire one actor with a "mid/high-level salary, the list including Anna Stuart (Donna), Judi Evans (Paulina) or Alice Barrett (Frankie). All kinds of anvils were dropping in the story indicating Anna Stuart's Donna, a popular, long-term favorite was about to be killed off. The fans expressed their discontent well enough that the story ended up being rewritten on the fly. Suddenly the killer was no longer after her....and instead Frankie ended up being killed off in an infamously violent episode that got the Head Writer and the evil EP fired.

Why do I bring this up? Because up until about a week ago Maura West's Ava looked to be living on borrowed time just as AW's Donna did. Lots and lots of plot points were added that made it appear she was about to be killed off because EP Frank Valentini was looking to free up some money to afford Jonathan Jackson, Emma Samms, Rick Hearst, etc. I think Maura West and Kelly Monaco likely make about the same salaries, given their long-term background in soaps and pre-GH stardom. If the EP was swayed into keeping West's Ava in the mix, then someone in that same salary range would need to go in her place...thus Monaco is now on the chopping block. History might not repeat itself, but it does tend to rhyme.

I would rather have seen NLG leave, because of her intolerant politics.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

What if...

Sonny did indeed shoot Cates, but it is what Cates wanted all along? Knowing that Sonny won't really turn himself in, Cates lures him out to the boat house believing that if he shows up alone (no back-up agents) then Sonny will try to kill Cates....only Cates is wearing a bulletproof vest and some fake blood pellets to make it look convincing. When Sonny calls for someone (Jason?) to get rid of the corpse, Jason arrives to find....no body. Then Cates will send in other agents to arrest Sonny for the "murder" and Jason for being an accessory. But not all goes according to plan. As Cates returns to town to make phone calls, get into dry clothes, etc. someone else kills him for real before he can call about his "murder". The rain will wash away some evidence helping to identify where he was killed and by whom. Maybe there will be some question as to whether he died by a gunshot or some other manner (Alexis tends to kill people with her car ).

I don't think the show could have Sonny murder someone else in cold blood and have him ever come back from it, so my guess is that this scene we just saw isn't the whole story. We have several other threats to the obsessed FBI agent in the past few episodes, and of course we will likely have one more suspect (a certain enraged, mob-adjacent blond who will likely escape her trip to the Pine Barrens) added to the mix soon enough.

 

[Emelee]

Adam J Harrington (Cates) exits GH.

Kristen Vaganos (Molly) is upped from recurring to contract.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

Oh well, so much for them doing something "outside the box".

The show is a rerun on Monday due to Labor Day. The rerun is the recent episode where Kristina ended up going out the window and into the pool...someone at ABC needs to explain to the producers that's not the "labor" we celebrate on Labor Day.

 

[Emelee]

someone at ABC needs to explain to the producers that's not the "labor" we celebrate on Labor Day.

It's fun that labor can mean different things. If I was preggers, Labor Day would be the perfect day to give birth!

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I am glad that Lucky is back, but without Anthony Geary and Tyler Christopher, it doesn't feel the same.
I have never been a Holly fan, so the return of Emma Samms does nothing for me.
I don't like the Ric character,which is probably the showrunner's intention,
the point of the character but Ric Hearst (a good actor) return could lead to better storylines, and I hope this opportunity is not wasted.
I would rather NLG leave (can't stand her politics, and her role in having Ingo Rademacher and Steve Burton leave)
than Sam.
I hope that they do recast Lulu.
The donor - what about Ethan or Martin?
I predict it will be Cyrus.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

If they can find a way to get Jeff Kober to stick around for the fallout, they would be very smart to make him the liver donor. But Kober is in high demand for non-GH projects so the show likely would not write him a meaningful plotline unless he could clear his calendar. I'm guessing they don't mention the other possible candidates (like Ethan, Martin, Valerie, Lesley, etc.) because there is little chance of having those characters brought back.

Rick Hearst was originally intended to come to town only to comfort Molly and have a few sparring matches with Alexis, then leave again. Kin Shriner went and hurt his leg in some way and Scotty had to be quickly written out of the Heather story (acting as her lawyer) and the Ava/Cates story (as their co-conspirator). So they're writing Ric Lansing in as Heather's lawyer, expanding Rick's stay with the show.

The Kelly Monaco thing just makes my mind wobble. She'd been a bit unreliable in recent years. If she was happy with her material, it showed--she positively sparkled with Billy Miller's Drew and Jason Thompson's Patrick, and I think she was enjoying her recent evolution into a "Mama Bear" for her kids with Dante as her co-parent. But it was very, very obvious when she did not want to play certain stories, like anything involving Sam and Jason. She would act drowsy, not make eye contact with the other actors, and just generally give the impression she didn't want to be there. She also goes through wardrobe "periods" where she'd wear black and brown all the time, but during the stories where she was happier you saw her in bright colors and florals.

The "anti-chemistry" between her and Steve Burton is palpable, and though the show has done everything they can to keep them out of one another's scenes, I can only wonder if their issues played a role in her seeming dismissal. It might have been purely a function of budget and the SB stuff might not have played a role at all, but I guess only time will tell. Given her good chemistry with Jason Thompson, Y&R would be smart to hire her as a new love interest for Thompson's character (Billy Abbott).

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I hope that Rc/Liz is the coupling.
I don't want to see Lucky/Liz anymore.
It would be too repetitive. Give Lucky a fresh start with someone

 

[Emelee]

Loved yesterday's episode. From the comedy with Tracy raging against baby Ace to the covering up for Sonny by Michael and Carly, to Ava & Jason forced to collaborate to soapy cheating with Drew & Willow to Alexis thinking Kristina has gone mad after finding the gun to Ric & Liz reconnecting.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

All that was missing was Tracy making pointed comments about how Ace was already manifesting his DNA, being "the spawn of Cassadines and spree killers".

I'm still not feeling Liz/Ric, and she's wise to keep him at arm's length. I doubt she will for very long, though, since they don't really seem to have anything else for her to do. It will once again be this bizarre, confusing situation where we cannot use initials when discussing the latest Liz pairing. Rebecca Herbst (RH) was most recently paired with Roger Howarth (RH) and now she's probably being paired with Rick Hearst (RH). Makes it harder to write about 'loving RH in that scene' when it could mean either actor. Is this a running joke akin to the Nora Hanen Gannon Buchanan situation on OLTL?

Two years ago when the Q's were also having this same annual Q family picnic/dinner, Ava was 'hooked' in that very spot where Sonny shot Jagger. More recently we had Olivia have to fish an unconscious Ned ("Eddie") out of that lake, and Cody had to do the same for James. You'd think Monica would have installed security cameras out there by now, if not just for insurance purposes.

Also, after Kristina rolled around in the mud/dirt at the cemetery, you'd think she'd have had some on the side of her face when she got up to leave...but no, just as clean as a whistle.

 

[xab]

I loathe Sonny.
No guts.
No b*lls.
No nothing.
This poor excuse for a mob boss is turning again to Mama Carly for an alibi to help cover his mess.

Once again.

You did it, dude. Just behave like a man now, you soapy campy whiny godfather.

No offense to Maurice Benard, of course.

Writers suck.

As usual.

I wish Jagger (a once truly nice character destroyed for nothing) shot Sonny for good.

End of the endless "Corinthos Show".

Back to "General Hospital" roots.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

I think the issue is that the current leadership (at the ABC level) think this IS returning GH to its roots, because they think the peak GH was when it was Sonny/Carly/Jason on an endless loop of mob violence as the supposed "heroes" of the town and vanquishing (or at least marginalizing) all who aren't on board with their activities. In the past six/eight weeks we've had Sonny back on his meds and back to killing people; Jason back in his Borg mode as Sonny's lapdog/flunkie, and Carly is slowly creeping back into his orbit as well. Anna's back to being a Sonny groupie, spending most of today blaming the victim (Cates) for his own murder. Michael was obsessed with putting Sonny in jail six months ago for a flimsy reason (being mad at Sonny for dumping Carly) but is now A-OK with Sonny murdering an FBI agent, even helping conceal the crime.

It makes me wonder if their decision to dump Kelly Monaco was bolstered by her expressing an unwillingness to be re-paired with Steve Burton, since I would figure this "return to the mob" scheme would also include another attempt at reviving the "JaSam" relationship. I get the idea Monaco would rather shave her head and walk over burning coals, so her departure would make sense in this context.

 

[xab]

Absolutely right. Characters have lost coherence. So have the storylines.

Who is writing this show ? ChatGPT ?