That was a problem for Tony too. In fact, I think it really changed how the audience connected with Luke. They would write him out in one sentence in a way that was not meaningful to his stories, and then he would disappear for 3 months. 12 appearances is a minimal commitment for sure. For Genie, it might be an opportunity to keep her hand in the show and still have the freedom to do other things. When soap stars have contracts, it really precludes them from doing films or other projects because they have to be available even if they hate their stories or are back-burnered.
--Previous Message--
: I don’t think it’s just the term recurring.
: According to reports, Frank said he only
: wanted her for 12 episodes a year! Seems
: like the other recurring vets are on way
: more
: than that. Kevin must have been on at least
: 1/2 a dozen times already this year! 12
: episodes means talking to Lulu or Kevin a
: few times a year with no story at all.
: We complained that she wasn’t on much last
: year.
: According to a post of J’s last July..
:
: **that prompted me to look up her episode
: counts
: for 2016 vs this year.
:
: Color me shocked. Genie has been on 56 shows
: in
: 2017. That's almost an average of 2 shows
: per week.
:
: To compare, Genie was in 70 shows for the
: entirety
: of 2016. **
:
: I don’t know what her total wound up being
: last
: year, but 12 episodes is barely being there
: at all.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Great interview. Great person. She says
: what
: we have been discussing here. People age
: out of the current demand for a younger
: audience. That's what the advertisers
: think. As long as that feeling persists,
: the veteran characters are not going to be
: in demand. I think Genie should consider
: recurring. Unless, she really wants to do a
: career turnaround and try theater or an
: occasional TV film, her best bet might be to
: be recurring and fit in other things into
: her off-time. It really might be good news
: in disguise for her. After all, if you are
: not contracted, they don't own you. She
: could go on and off GH almost at will.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I think she's a straight shooter and tells
: it
: like it is. Here's an excerpt where she
: talks about why we don't see what we want.
: I believe her.
:
:
:
:
: https://www.tvinsider.com/173624/general-hospital-jane-elliot-tracy-quartermaine-abc/
:
: Q: GH never made you and your character the
: center of the show—the rich, powerful,
: dynamic hub from which all spokes
: emanate—the way Guiding Light did with
: Beverlee McKinsey or The Bold and the
: Beautiful did with Susan Flannery.
:
: JE: Or One Life to Live with Erika Slezak.
: As far as I'm concerned, they should have
: made Tracy the head of the mob. She should
: have gone one-on-one with Sonny.
:
: Q: Instead, she’s mostly been a supporting
: player, providing the energy and color and
: chaos when it was desperately needed but she
: was never the power base.
:
: JE: That might have done that with Tracy in
: my earlier years but it would never happen
: today. Not that long ago I had a
: conversation with an ABC executive about why
: they were playing all the young people on
: the show and not playing the veterans. There
: is a constant cry from the audience:
: "Play the vets!" Me, Leslie
: Charleson, Kin Shriner, Jackie Zeman, Lynn
: Herring, Genie Francis, you know the list.
: And what I was told by this network exec is
: that the young actors are played heavily
: because that's what the advertisers want.
: They believe they will attract a younger
: audience that way, because young viewers are
: the ones who haven't yet decided whether to
: buy Kleenex or Puffs and they can be swayed
: by advertising. Older viewers are not so
: susceptible. They don’t change their minds
: and make new, different choices.
:
: Q: Says the 70-year-old woman who just shook
: up her life in a massive way.
:
: JE: Hey, I’m not saying that I believe this
: to be true! But it’s how the business
: operates. Yes, by playing Tracy and the
: other older characters, you might get your
: lapsed audience back, but it's not the
: audience they want. So this is not about the
: fault of the producers or the writers or the
: network. It's all driven by the advertisers
: and the need to attract young shoppers. This
: wasn't always the case. Soaps used to be
: about storytelling and characters of all
: ages and types. We’re not doing that now. We
: go from event to event to event. The stories
: are activity driven, rather than driven by
: emotion. And, unfortunately, it’s easier to
: write an event than an emotional story, one
: that has depth and breadth and passion and
: heart. My hat’s off to anybody who is doing
: it in this soap business of today, because
: it’s all dictated by schedule and finance
: rather than what’s best for the stories. You
: are told which actors you can use, based on
: who hasn’t worked beyond their guarantees.
: You are told which sets you must use. You
: can’t fault the writers for the restrictions
: and constraints they work under.
:
:
:
