Valentini's Hail Mary Pass or "The Conclusion of Kassie-gate"

I meant to post this earlier in the week but got sidetracked by the evolution of what I now see as “The Todd Manning Hour”.  However, I think it’s good that I waited as it lends new insight into what I think may be occurring. I’ll call it the re-emergence of Blair Cramer…or is it Manning? And what I see as a possible end to “Kassiegate”, a term I see bandied about and love as I think anything that makes people remember what a shit Nixon was is a good thing.

Okay so let’s get on to the issue this week.  The mystery is solved. The question no longer need be asked on a semi-daily basis.  No more must we chant “Where’s Blair?” in TPTB’s face as we know they’ve heard us and are answering.  Where’s Blair, you ask, well, she’s on her way to Port Charles and to many of us, she can’t get there fast enough!

As you all know, this little ranting fest of mine began when OLTL was cancelled for the suckfest formerly known as The Revolution. That had disaster written all over it.  And, lookie there, not only did it fail, but it failed miserably. What a shock…only not.  Next we had the brilliant move of bringing on the Manning clan to GH.  That seemed like a good idea.  But, that, too, was marred by the ridiculous decision to leave the female center at home in the now allegedly dead Llanview.  That was not smart. Chaos erupted, campaigns began, and, really, animosity then grew at all levels.  GH fans were mad that anyone was invading.  OLTL fans were mad that their happy endings were trashed. It was, well, a bad move all around.  

My former hero, one Frank Valentini, was called every name under the sun from Fucktard to Shithead, and his little buddy was derided, as well.  It wasn’t fun to be Laura Wright, I’d say, as her character was being ‘touted’ by some members of the ‘press’ as Todd’s new love interest.  That ain’t good.  Being a cockblock for a supercouple made Ted King’s character a lightening rod and he is still being mocked today.  No offense to the actor but the character is, well, not popular.  How’s that for a more mature attitude?  I can be a grown up, when I feel like it!

So, what happened? In the midst of the anger and the screaming and the boycotts and the all-around hysteria, a little Tweet appeared from Mr. Valentini.  “Blair will be back for a visit this summer”. That’s all. Simple. No fanfare. No hoopla. Just a little comment.  Confirmation from the actress followed and that was that. HMMM.  That’s what I said.  HHMMM. Now, as you all know, I knew she’d be back and her timing is right as I predicted.  But I’ll be honest, even I thought I might be full of shit.

If you all listen to DePaiva, she does telegraph information.  KDP made it clear that she was on for a short stint back then. Then she backed off. She thanked everyone for the time and moved on.  There was disappointment but the real trouble started when someone knew she was not being asked back and Howarth was on contract.  That’s what started this whole issue.

There were charges of ageism and sexism by some. Who was that mean blogger with the name of the movie character? I don’t recall.  I didn’t say it was definitely happening, just raised the possibility.  And, you know, there is a correlation. Howarth is a middle aged man.  KDP is a middle aged woman.  KA is a kid.  There is the argument to be made. And, yes, deal with it, Dude, you’re like a minute younger than me and we’re both middle aged.

Here’s what I think happened. I think when OLTL was brutally murdered in its prime, Valentini went into mourning. He emerged when the PP deal was presented and then, he, too, was horrified when it ended before it began.  He took the GH deal as he needed a job but also because it presented an opportunity. It would give him a platform. It gave him a temporary budget and a stage to plan his comeback. 

I’ve said this all along.  He had the moment he needed to keep his principals onboard and plan for a future.  He locked down who he thought was necessary- Easton, Alderson,  Howarth and DePaiva- and tried to keep the troops on reserve. However, working last minute as he was and without a strong PR team, he dropped the ball. He didn’t approach this as he needed and his not so pure motives were noticed. He had to mitigate the damage a bit as he broke a cardinal rule- never let them know you’re screwing them.  And, in reference to the GH cast, creative team, and fans, he was screwing them.

So, what did he do as the GH fans justifiably went through the roof?  He downplayed it.  The Easton and Alderson thing was out. Nothing could be done there.  The issue now was what to do with the other two.  He had to sign Howarth as he’s a slippery bastard but, as Carlivati called him, “The Big Fish”.  He’s their lead, so they had to pay him to keep him around.  So, they did.  But, what does that leave available to mitigate the damage?  You got it.  Teamplayer DePaiva gets sacrificed.  Cheerleader DePaiva gets kicked to the curb.  BIG FAN FAVORITE DePaiva gets iced.  Bad move, Baby, bad move.

I mean I see the logic. She’s the homegirl. She’ll wait until they need her.  She’s probably saved and invested and has other sources of income.  Right?  She’ll be available after the crap dies down.  She’s their rock.  HHHMMMMMMMMMMMM.  That didn’t happen. Or did it?

Her fans went through the roof.  Interestingly enough, I think she made NEW fans from this as she was now the “injured party”.  Everyone else was the bad guy- Valentini, Carlivati, Howarth, Alderson, all of them. I think I saw someone even blame my friend Barack for it! Let’s say, the deal went South- fast.  There was a terrible smear in a “mag” and it was then followed by a  HUGE retraction and denials and it was, to say the least, a disaster. It really earned the name.  “Kassiegate” was bringing down Valentini’s plan, as Watergate brought down Nixon.  I’m not comparing the two, but the analogy makes me giggle, so I’m saying it.  

So, what happens?  Valentini has to be working on two ends.  He needs to keep up the rouse for the GH faithful. Meanwhile, he’s firing the writing staff, the music people, the directors, and filling in with his staff from OLTL.  He’s talking about “integrating” the new characters into the cast on hand. Meanwhile, he's only using the cast he inherits if they can be worked into the stories with his people from OLTL.  Slowly, OLTL's characters get more time, story, and attention than the GH characters do- unless he's planning their exit stories. He’s trying to make it appear as if they can be one, big, happy family.  He just needs to be sure that he has his options open.  He needs to be working both sides of the fence. 

Yet his “hybrid” notion is failing.  OLTL fans are furious.  Alderson’s a bust.  Easton’s okay but his fanbase on his own is not as big as it seemed.  The numbers are going down, or up only incrementally, and he needs something. He brings on Lozano as Tea to see if that short term fix might work. It doesn’t and the GH fans hate her as much as Alderson. It incenses the TNB fans even more and who knows what trouble they bring.  KDP’s fans get more angry and it’s an all-around disaster.  And then the worst happens- the Todd fans he depended on turn out to be Todd and Blair fans. They even turn on their Big Fish and start bringing up his rather “sordid” past.  Todd and his sexual history isn’t something a show in distress needs being bandied about. Okay, that was me. But "Todd Manning: Sex Machine" was a HUGE hit!!

Then, a miracle occurs. As he awaits a cancellation notice, The Revolution’s numbers can’t sustain it’s cheapass bottom line.  It’s over and ABC gives a temporary reprieve to the execution order GH waited for. Is this another chance? Is this what our hero hoped and prayed for?  Can, he, Frank Valentini, alone, save the soap opera genre? What can he do?

Of course.  It’s time for Hail Mary Pass. What does he do?  He throws caution to the wind, the GH cast, crew, and fans under the bus, and goes for it.  He takes this moment to bring back his show.  Screw ‘em if they don’t like it. If he’s going down, he’s going down big.  And fuck that noise- he’s bringing them back- all of them.  And the sets and that’s that.  He just isn’t telling anyone, yet. 

So, things begin leaking slowly, little bloggers start mentioning them, rumors are a-flyin’, pink slips lists are making their way around the net, but it’s generally quiet for a while. And then we have a Tweet. A little Tweet.  And all Hell breaks loose. 

It’s beginning. A visit. A little visit. That’s all. Nothing much.  Yeah, okay. I’ll play along. Nothing much.  But take that with what I see on screen and what I hear under the words of the actress, I think I know. There's no "few episodes" from KDP's mouth. There's no "could be more".  None of that.  There's the opposite.  "Long summer" and various other buzz words coming out of her mouth.  And, I have to say, in all of this mess, I trust her the most.  She's a no bullshit broad. If she says it, it's true.


And it matches up with what I see on screen. It's the DBL all over again with Toddy Boy having to face his hideous nature from a new, post-prison perspective. He's having to look at what he did after he lost them all not once, but twice. He'll have to look at the pain on the face of a stranger and know he did that to the woman he loved. The stage is being set for Wifey to appear, with Jack not far behind, I'd bet, and Todd will have to face the music again.  And this time, "it's serious".

But, wait a minute.  I thought I was watching GH?  That doesn't sound as if it's a story in Port Charles.  What happened?  I don't know and guess what, I don't care!  We'll play pretend as I said months ago.  Let’s all play.  I won't say that you're hijacking the show and you don’t say you're doing it.  We can all be happy!  Well, except the GH people.  Sucks for them.

But, as I’ve said all along, build it and they will come. We're all here, Frank, with those nice 2.1s, 2.2s, and maybe, just maybe, you can save "soaps", as DePaiva said.  Funny. I didn't hear her mention GH.  As I said, she's the truth-teller.  And I'm with her.  Let's save "soaps" but if GH has to go to do it, works for me!

You can't save everyone.  Someone's got to be left behind when the lifeboats are full.  I don't think there's room for Sonny or Jason.  They'll be fine.  Mobsters always land on their feet. Hopefully, it's somewhere off my screen.