I agree with you, J, that in order to be a leading lady on this show and command a contract, you must have a romantic partner. That doesn't mean that you have to be sexy in a trashy way, though. Leslie and Rick had lots of bed scenes together when she was about Genie's age, and they were done tastefully. In fact, there were several romantic couples during that time that were mature and romantic. They are not writing for her in that way because they don't want to. There is no other reason. Why don't they want to? Either she is too expensive to keep on contract and draw the audience they are seeking, or there is some other reason that makes them not want to work with her for more than a minimal amount. I have no clue about that. But there are things that make a person difficult to work with in the soap world. Genie has had trouble with EP's in the past. So, we can't assume that she is always an innocent victim who is persecuted by higher ups. It could be something as meaningless to us as someone who might hold up production in some way...nerves, hair and make-up, not knowing lines, taking sick days. Who the heck knows? But I think that there is some reason unknown to us as to why they would interrupt a story they had created, disturb a fanbase they need, and scare a cast of people who area watching all of this. Don't you?

--Previous Message--
:
: I know.
:
: I just wanted to make it cystal clear that
: my view is not "Genie gained weight and
: lost her contract".
:
: I think there's more to the story than that.
:
: On the sex appeal front, it bothers me.
: Laura is a GORGEOUS woman. I see no reason
: why she shouldn't be written as
: contemporary, sexy, interesting and get a
: couple romantic options.
:
: --Previous Message--
:
: here on this board. I really do....I really
: just meant "collectively."
:
: --Previous Message--
: a character of substance - GH didn't just
: assume that she could be transformed into
: some "hot" commodity. They knew
: what they were "getting"when they
: brought her back. Her new story was gaining
: steam and was working!
:
: They married her off to another respectable,
: stable character. (and he has charm, IMO).
:
: I don't think her sex appeal had much to do
: with it. The mayor's race involved Ned (and
: Julian's new business as the "meeting
: place") and Alexis was a more logical
: draw in FV's mind (possibly). It would work
: and he could save money to bring on these
: other characters.
:
: LuLu's story with Valetin and Spencer is
: over. Maxie's story is heating up. I really
: think it has more to do with the direction
: of that story. (as well, as Alexis pitted
: against Ned story)
:
: I'm not blaming NLG, btw. It was an
: observation.
:
: The Q factor is still important . What are
: the numbers? Anyone know? At one time, her's
: were higher than most on the show.
:
: Is GF really expensive. Is that a factor??
:
: Please don't turn this into another
: "Genie is too over weight or too
: old" ....
:
: On OLTL, Robin Strasser wasn't that
: appealing, and neither was Victoria Lord.
: They remained on the show and advertisers
: continued to buy time/ads.
:
: --Previous Message--
:
:
: I don't think anybody said Laura has lost
: her "appeal". She's obviously a
: VERY beautiful woman.
:
: But the show absolutely does not write her,
: from a purely sex appeal perspective, like
: they use to, and like they write other women
: in her age bracket.
:
: Alexis gets to have a torrid on/off romance
: with Julian, and her sex appeal is heavily
: emphasized.
:
: Anna had Duke, but also gets flirtations
: with several different, often younger, men.
: She's had, what, 5 romances/quasi-romances?
:
: Laura, under Frank, wasn't wanted by Luke
: anymore. She wasn't written to have had a
: love life in France. She had a mostly
: offscreen romance with Scotty, that had 0
: sex appeal. And she has a sweet, mature
: relationship with Kevin; they did have one
: bedroom scene, but for the most part they
: aren't "hot". They're nice in a
: Bobbie/Tony or Steve/Audrey kind of way.
:
: How the writers/producer see Laura makes a
: HUGE difference in Genie's viability with
: this show, with the pairings they're willing
: to try.
:
: She never gets to test the waters with the
: leading men. I can't even imagine them
: testing her with Sonny, Franco, Julian,
: Valentin or Finn. Which is amazing since
: Laura's great romance was with LUKE SPENCER,
: the original GH bad boy.
:
: We'd be naive to not consider that this
: limited, too mature view of Laura absolutely
: affects how viable Frank sees her on the
: canvas.
:
: Because without being seen as a real
: romantic lead? Well Laura isn't going to be
: any better off than Lucy, Monica, Felicia or
: Bobbie. All great characters who deserve so,
: so much more than they get. And all
: characters who, sadly, aren't seen as too
: romantically viable.
:
: Note that, under Ron, Lucy was, and that was
: the most we ever saw her.
:
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