The Day's Most Tasteless Dialogue

I'm not going to lie; I only pay partial attention to General Hospital these days.  This show is just so stupid and pointless that I have to multi-task and get other things done while I'm watching it, or I feel like I've both wasted time and depleted brain cells.  (The brainiac other things I do while watching it include folding laundry, shopping for handbags on eBay, browsing Sephora, and trying to get to the 28th level of an online game involving bubbles.) 

But occasionally, something will catch my attention.  Usually it's something like Greg Vaughn being shirtless, or Jason Thompson hotly doing...anything, or Carly admitting that she hasn't been a great mother.  But today, I had a moment that I can only equate to when a cartoon character sees something so unbelieveable that it necessitates a head-shaking, eye-bulging, sound-effect-accompanying reaction of astonishment.  Those half-dozen or so of you who are still watching this show regularly probably know what's coming.  Take it away, Elizabeth "God, I Used to Love You and Your Hair Was So Very Pretty, But Now I Mostly Just Want to Kick You in the Shins While Forcibly Dyeing Those Highlights Back to Brown" Webber-Spencer!

Liz:  There's this college professor, Randy Pausch.  I'm sure you've heard of him?  Well he was dying, and he got all these people together in room to give what he called The Last Lecture.  And he talked about achieving your dreams, and brick walls.  And that they are there for a reason:  To let you prove how badly you want something.  I do not want you to tell me that this is going to be easy, or that there are going to be brick walls.  I just need you to tell me how you feel.

As I'm sure most of you know, Randy Pausch spoke movingly about deciding for yourself and your loved ones what is truly important in life, and choosing what wisdom you would impart on those around you if you know it will be the last thing you pass along.  He died recently after a painful battle with cancer, leaving behind a wife and three young children, plus countless fans of his work.  And the writers of this show think it's okay to reference that inspirational story to have a character -- a supposedly similarly dedicated mother to two young sons -- justify WANTING TO GET IT ON WITH A HITMAN.

I hate this show.

Comments

[Sarah]

I am a great admirer of Randy Pausch, and this makes me sad, sick, angry, annoyed, etc.

But the MOST tasteless part? Hyperion published Professor Pausch's book. Disney owns Hyperion...and ABC...and GH. So Disney is basically whoring out GH to sell a very inspirational tome. I hate this show.

[Eva]

I haven't read "The Last Lecture" but have heard of it...I'd have to be living under a rock not to have heard of it. But in any case, I was SO horrified with that particular line of dialogue.

Actually I was horrified by the whole scenario. It's the umpteenth time in the last few weeks where Liz has gone to Jason to tell him the same DAMN thing and though I was used to be moderately in favor of Jason and Liz getting together it's gotten to the point where I find the whole thing so boring, I hate the stupid sad music of love that can never be that plays when they're together, I hate the fact that their reasons for being apart are as stupid as their reasons for being together, I hate their stupid secret that half the town either knows or suspects, and I just hate them together now.

SO to have this obviously RIDICULOUS AND MANUFACTURED dialogue occur between them, only highlighted the point that they are incredibly boring and blah now, and that they really need to find someone new for Liz to be with, someone she can be strong and willful and passionate with, and someone new for Jason to be with that will (and though I am not in favor of the mob really and think that his being a hitman is reprehensible) make the whole I've taken over the mob storyline of his a bit more interesting. Lately my favorite Jason scenes have involved him, Maxie and Spinelli--ABSURD, right? Well, that's what watching this EFFING SHOW has got me.

I often wonder why I still continue to DVR it. Anyway, thanks for commenting on this. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was horrified.

Just horrifying. Damn this show will do anything to whore itself for the sake of the non fab 3...Sheesh.

[junie]

This was the absolute last straw for me. I kept saying this for months but for some reason or another I kept going. I refuse to watch again until a new headwriter is named. This was it. Comparing a real, make every moment count scenario to justify sex with a hitman is the lowest, most base garbage Guza has pulled. I was trying to hold on for Robin and Patrick's wedding/baby but I will Youtube. I AM DONE.

[rosiepat]

I have almost reached the point of giving up on the show. Every once in a while they have something interesting in the show. Currently, I am only watching the show about once a week even though I tape it daily.

However, after reading the comments on this topic, I realize that the writers have even given up on writing. They just insert dialogue that they have written previously in to the new shows. To prove my point, here are some examples:

*One of the previous comments stated that Elizabeth is currently repeating her feelings to Jason pretty regularly.

*Up until recently, Robin and Patrick have been having the same conversation regarding marriage and the baby almost daily.

*Now, though she isn't drunk, Sam is once again spending "time" with someone her mother is romantically involved in. She is rationalizing it as a way to find info about the fake drugs and yes Lucky is aware of what she is doing. But doesn't she remember the last time she did this. The character of Jerry is a pretty strong and nasty individual. He doesn't seem like the type that can be scammed and I don't think he will be a happy camper if Sam rejects his advances.(Sorry, I didn't see all of today's show and just read the recap. Jerry is starting to get violent.) He had no qualms about blowing up the clinic that was opened by his "girlfriend's" nephew Nicholas to get rid of Matt.

*And finally how many times in the past year have Sonny and Kate broken up and they got back together...?

Sorry for the long post. This show is just so frustrating!

[Sarah]

Repulsive isn't strong enough of a word to describe today's dialogue. IMO it was a slimy evil greedy move and EVERYONE involved in writing, approving, acting, directing, and filming those lines should be deeply ashamed. Did nobody involved at GH/ABC think maybe this was a bad comparison???? Did nobody speak up and say "hey... this is a tawdry move to use the life and work of a truly profound wise and good man recently deceased after a long brutal battle w/ cancer to pimp a secret fuckfest between a hitman and a single mother????"

SHAME
I'm ashamed I saw it.

I was also deeply disgusted by Claudia's testimony to try and protect her brother/obsession. She cried and screamed rape all in lies. It infuriates me when women use rape as a tool or a weapon to get what they want. It belittles the true heinousness of the crime and makes women less likely to report REAL rape. The misogyny running rampant at GH is criminal. If I had to work there under this regime I would have to quit or protest daily about the treatment and portrayal of females.

Throw in that GH blew up a free clinic on the anniversary of 9/11 and GH has a lot to be proud of lately.

SHAME

[joanne]

Ha! they must have thrown in the Last Lecture reference to see if you were paying attention, because I missed it. (Thank you, FF button!!!) I think Carly finding them in bed was the only good part of the same ol' nonsense we're subjected to...

Can someone tell me what's so great about Jason that you'd want to give up your children's (and your own) safety for him? There hasn't been anything rootable about him since... hmmm... having trouble remembering.

[lisbeth]

Day's most tasteless dialogue? I've voting for the month, year. Decade. Forget time, how about genre?

[Dede]

Just when I think this show can't sink any lower it does. This goes beyond bad writing and bad acting this was poor taste and they all should be ashamed.

[Mel]

Seriously, how does Guza continue to be employed? What kind of goods does he have and on whom? B/c, other than that, there is no justifiable explanation for why he's still in a position to murder a show that, once up a long, long, long....LOOOOOOOOOONG time ago, was really very good.

[natty3]

this show is in the toilet. sometimes i feel grimey after watching it. that is how disgusting guza is. i had to watch a single mother of 2 beg and plead with a mobster to feck her using a deceased man who lectured about dreams. i had to watch lucky watch his girlfriend get reaady for a date with a pscopath. watched said psycho start to choke her. watched greasy corinthos bully a woman into marrying him even though he shagged his ex in a car a couple months ago. where are my drake boys i need them to salvage the rest of this sorry show this week. cant wait to see the noah,pat,matt reveal!

[Sarah]

natty3, you have really hit the nail on the head

gh has become so filthy and contaminated that after watching an episode a "Silkwood" shower is necessary

GUZA=NUCLEAR TOXIC WASTE

And about the great Professor's "Last Lecture" and I paraphrase... he said the most important things in life were being a good decent person who does the right and responsible things, and right behind that and almost as important was to live, really live and have as much fun as possible. NONE OF THAT IS EVEN REMOTELY RELATED TO JASON, OR JASON AND LIZ. And to drive that point home the professor stated at the end of his lecture that it's great how his work and especially this lecture helped others, but he only created this last lecture for three people....his children.

[Beth]

*stunned silence*

Uhm... I... Are you kidding...

Wow. Just...wow.

I mean, Liz and Jason sucked for me from the get-go, but this is low even for GH. Rebecca Herbst must have been mortified to have to repeat that bit of filth. Randy Pausch's words turned into The Secret to Get the Sleazy Mob Hitman into Bed. This show officially sucks all that is good and pure out of this world.

Let's see: Tasteless, offensive, nauseating dialogue in the midst of real-life inspiration, warped to the highest degree to justify the glory of criminals.

Sounds like GH, to me.

That went beyond the pale. Just when I think GH cannot sink lower, it surprises even my haded self.

Disgusting.

*haded = *jaded. Damn the GH-induced rage, making me do typos.

[Mary]

I did not see one thing wrong with what was said yesturday. It was a tribute to a man stated very well by Becky Herbst. I think the reference will bring attention to the mans last words and publically acknowledge the man.I applaud GH writers for putting it into the scene and Becky Herst for saying it.

As far as being filth as one or two posters said, obviouly there hate has overshadowed the words themselves. I think a lot of people who watch this show should stop watching because obviosly they can't seperate real life from fiction, don't they realize it is a mob centric soap. Therefore anything that is said or done can be judged as filth. I don't watch soaps for there reality, my daily life is reality enough, but it is just a show it is not real it is make believe with make believe characters, but you have to be able to distinguish between real and make believe to enjoy it.

I am not saying GH has been well written lately, but most of Mondays show was well written, and I applaud the writers for the words of Paush in the scene, it brought in a lot of viewer perspective good and bad. I did not know anything about this man before yesturday show but I do now,thanks to GH and Becky Herbst and yesturdays scenes.

I understand your point about the show being fiction, Mary, but the writers are drawing comparisons from a real person who suffered a long battle with cancer but still managed to give hope to millions of people with his journey. Liz bedding Jason using this comparison is lower than low. Maybe this show is fiction, but I and many former viewers have become repulsed by a show that told compelling stories and maintained adventure without glorifying violent hitmen and then spouting how said hitman should endager his child and love in order to "live life to the fullest." I think many viewers can understand the show is fiction even if they choose not to watch it, but this show was once well written and is now in the hands of an unworthy hack.

[Beth R.]

The really sad part is we, the viewing audience, are supposed to be CYRING right along with Liz and beggig Jason to do just what she said...and when he doesn't...we are supposed to think him noble and self sacrificing.....and I don't know something else that belongs in saint biographies i'm sure. And we also aren't supposed to recognize that this is like a repeat of just about EVERY relationship Jason has had (didn't he and Sam have a conversation somewhat similar to this one?) and the fact this duo is so forced there is absolutely no way for the writers to write them without this...well the talentless writers we are cursed with. I have read in MULTIPLE magazine that I am supposed to be all gaga over that crap. And I bet there will be at least one letter published about how unfair it is and how great those scenes were.

Of course I also realize that this is probably just so that when the "secret" gets blown finally to an "evil" mobster and Jake inevitably gets shot in the head for dropping a rattle or something it won't be Jason's fault..it will be dumbass Pod Liz here who's taking to stalking and discussing this once again in public.

What's it going to take for someone at abc to wake up and smell the coffee. At this rate GH won't be around much longer. I only watch GH when scrubs are on b/c right now they have the only decent storyline. I'm sick of hearing Jason telling everyone his life is too dangerous etc... And now we have Sam going after her mom's boyfriend again. Didn't we already go down this route with Ric and Sam. How do we get Night Shift to replace GH because that's the only show worth watching right now.

[Becca]

Wait a minute. General Hospital is fiction?! Liz is not a real person?! Why am I ALWAYS the LAST to know the really important stuff?!

Ahem.

My criticism is obviously of the writers (isn't it always?) and not of the character of Elizabeth or the actress who plays her. I thought that was obvious, but then now I'm finding out that this show is about the mob, so I am just utterly out of the loop.

I will disclose here that despite everything, I still think Steve Burton and Becky Herbst have chemistry to spare and Jason and Liz are hot together. I didn't want that admission to cloud my righteous indignation, but there you go. Why can't they do a storyline with Jason at least attempting to leave the mob?

I hate this show.

[Michaela]

Mary, I think it's great that any soap opera would want to give greater public attention to Randy Pausch, the amazing way he led his life and the motto he left us all with. But to say that it's okay for a woman who is basically saying "It DOESN'T matter what you do with your life -- like, oh, I don't know, KILL PEOPLE AS PART OF YOUR BUSINESS MODEL --as long as we live our lives together to the fullest."

That goes completely AGAINST what Randy Pausch stood for -- what you DO in life matters, what you do to/with/for HUMANITY matters. Not just for the people you love or like or are in business with. For all people. Which kind of goes against the idea of what a hitman/mobster does, you know?

If GH wanted to pay tribute to Randy Pausch, how about they picked some fictional (shock! gasp! except not really) characters for whom his message would be actually appropriate? How about Robin, the HIV-positive woman carrying a baby who has spent years of her life researching cures for disease and injury and who has a hard time taking that ultimate leap of risk to her heart because of all that she's lost? Or Lucky, a police detective who has definitely made more than a few mistakes but is trying to do the right things in his life and is even stepping outside of his job to try protect innocent victims from counterfeit drugs? Or Maxie, a budding fashionista who's made even MORE mistakes -- gleefully at times -- but is genuinely trying to turn her life around now and be a better friend, surrogate sister, daughter, etc. (her current and hopefully temporary residence in Borgville Mob Central not withstanding)?

GH had a whole of characters who would have been appropriate bearers of Randy Pausch's message. Instead it was used as a "reason" for a woman to ignore what her lover does (kill people for money) so that she can be with him. THAT'S what is offending people, Mary...we can distinguish between fiction and real life. We can also distinguish between the usual crap and truly offensive shit. That's what we're doing.

[Kat]

If they had to insert a Randy Pausch reference, how about in a story with Jason LEAVING HIS LIFE OF EFFING CRIME FOR THE SAKE OF HIS SON!!!

Only Guza, ONLY Guza, could take a beautiful, inspirational real life story and use it to try and prop up his disgusting mob world. Ugh. Just.....ugh.

[OMG]

That is officially a new low.

Someone should be fired for that one. And made to apologize to the fans and to Jai Pausch.

Effin' show.

[Rain StormRaider]

Hi,

So I've been reading this blog for about a year and I've loved every moment. But despite the horrible-ness that is GH.....I gotta say Rebecca Herbst looked GORGEOUS delivering that tasteless dialogue....

I LOVE Rebecca Herbst....she's my most fave actress on day-time like ever....but when ever Elizabeth is in a scene with that J-person or thinking about the Borg-minator or even talking about Stone-Lame.....I cringe....because she is just TOO GOOD for his horrific-ness.....never has a better character been so WASTED on a worthless prop whose only purpose is to be endlessly pimped by Guza-the-Luza.....

At this point....Elizabeth is tainted for me....but like the dying hope I have for this FRAKKING show....I'm really wishing for Jagger to get on the Day-shift and sweep Elizabeth off her feet.... :)

[Tabby]

I was holding out for scrubs baby and possible wedding, and gave up after a week of disappointing Genie Francis lines. They've inserted my favorite legacy character in for a visit that has amounted to basically nothing.

Then I saw while flipping channels that Jerry put a bomb beneath a cart, the SAME week of 9/11.

I'm entirely grossed out by Sam and Jerry Jax. Entirely grossed out by Liz chasing down Jason like "Carly does".

Still tired of the debasement of women.
And now to hear they used Randy Pausch in a storyline that depicts a woman justifying a means to sleep with a criminal? OMG. NO. That's not just tactless, that's....sleaze.

At this point I dropped GH, and only watch scrubs on youtube, and NS2.

Even scrubs is back on that merry go round with their old cat and mouse games. Sigh.

I say they just wipe out GH and put NS in it's place, and clean up Port Charles.

[CHIgirl]

Becca - today isn't April 1st. What's up with the joke? Because you cannot be serious. REALLY - you cannot be serious Mr. Village Idiot and Ms. IMA Moron used the scene you described on GH.

These two inmates that are apparently running the asylum over at GH remind me of the idiot I work with that SWEARS Jesus was a Christian.

[Jennifer]

I'm so glad I stopped watching this shit. I don't even YouTube Scrubs or Maxie anymore (the only characters I care about). I'm just done with this ENTIRE fucking show.

[Desertrose]

OMG..tell me they didn't blowup a clinic the week of 9-11...PLEASE! Unfreakin' real. (Do they try to be as horrible as humanly possible?? Are they really demons or something....or are they just that dumb?)

Wait, I am supposed to believe that that Liz has "twue wove" for Jason because...umm... he treats her so well,right? She has to grasp at some beautiful inspirational message to excuse her freaking insane obsession for a man who refuses to acknowledge his own son and his "twue wove" for her? Okey dokey.....

Seriously, this show is written by sick and twisted posers who have way too much power.

I am so glad I kicked the GH habit....now this year's Night Shift is another story....am really really appreciating the writing of Sri Rao. Really. This is what GH used to be...once upon a time and long long ago.....
*sigh*

[txrus]

Did anyone see the announcement that Sean & Tiffany are supposed to be coming back for the season finale of NS2? (I hope this doesn't mean Robert is going to die, btw!!) Just picture Guza scratching his head saying, 'Who?'

Idiot.

[amiejayne]

What. The. HELL!!!

I can happily say I missed seeing this one in person, because every time Liz starts talking about how she and Jason deserve to be happy while ignoring the fact that even sneaking around with him puts her and the boys in harms way, I vomit a bit in my mouth and hit the fastforward button.

But even just reading it, the revulsion I feel for Guza and company cannot be expressed. Exactly how does someone so brave and heroic expressing his final legacy to his sons have anything to do with Liz justifying putting her sons in danger so she can have sex with the man she loves, who KILLS people for a living?!?!? This show has become an abomination.

And while I'm on the topic, did you all catch the referenc Alexis and Jerry made yesterday to him sneaking out of her house after they screwed? I have been appalled and disgusted by the Jerxis pairing from the beginning, but now she is bringing him into her house with her daughters? After she decide that having a relationship with Sonny was too dangerous for Kristina? What in the fuck are all these idiot writers smoking?

And I add a ditto to the WTF expressed by another poster about them blowing up the clinic the week of the 9/11 anniversary. Only, in true GH fasion, it's even more tasteless because it's been perpetrated by the aforementioned sociopath whom Alexis lets sleep in the house with her children so that he can cover his other crimes.

And Kate forgave Sonny? Are you shittin' me? Bravo, Diane, for pointing out that one of the biggest differences between you and Kate is that you actually have a backbone! But, note to the writers: pointinng out that you know how pathetic you have made this once-awesome character does not make us hate you any less.

You know how I know this show has reached an alltime low? Because Sam trying to get with her mother's sociopathic lover, Jerry, was one of the least offensive things I saw this week on GH. How in the bloody hell have Guza and Phelps not been fired yet?