Template talk:General Hospital

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[edit] Who should be on this template?

I realize that the template currently says "Current contract cast", but perhaps we should change this to "Current cast"? In my opinion, anyone who's got an active recurring presence on the show, within the last month or so, should be in this template, because those are the names that our readers are going to be the most interested in. --El on ka 04:20, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

The potential problem with that is trying to figure out at which point someone is not eligible for inclusion. Some recurring players are seldom seen, but GH has an even larger list of active recurring players than they do contract players. Rachel Ames is seldom seen, but she's definitely part of the current recurring cast. (I think it's a great idea, I just don't know how it could be organised without creating multiple edits.) D'Amico 05:35, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

I guess I'm confused about how to tell the difference. Are Cooper Barrett and Logan Hayes "contract" or "recurring"? They seem to be appearing about as much as Spinelli. And Dr. Lainey Winters and Mac Scorpio are very much backburner characters right now. Perhaps we want to make a separate page like "List of current recurring characters," and then include that list in the template? Ultimately, my read of "current contract cast," means "anyone who's currently under contract." Even if it's a short-term contract. --El on ka 07:08, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

The contract players are the ones that are specifically signed to a certain contract that guarantees them certain wages and the like. Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) is not on contract. Kent Masters King (Lainey) and John J. York (Mac), although seldom seen, are on contract. Jason Gerhardt (Cooper) and Josh Duhon (Logan) are both on contract. D'Amico 12:12, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Who is and is not on contract

Genie Francis is definitely not on contract, yet someone keeps including Laura on the current character list with Luke. Understandably, Luke and Laura are considered one entity by GH fans, but she's no longer part of the show. If she's going to be included, then Robert Scorpio and Anna Devane may as well be and they are only on recurring status. MysticBlue 06:37, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

There's a similar problem with Bradford Anderson. The character of Spinelli is recurring, yet he keeps being re-added as well. No contract players have been added since Josh Duhon (Logan Hayes). D'Amico 12:12, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Can you provide a source for that? I think part of the problem, is that it's not clear who is or isn't "on contract" and what the term "contract" means. I mean, anyone appearing on the show, doubtless has some sort of contract. But "contract players" seems to imply some sort of longer term arrangement.

One possible way of handling this, is to only include names on the template, for those individuals who actually appear in the show's opening credits. For anyone else, we could make a "List of current recurring characters," and provide a link to that list on the template. --El on ka 19:36, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

The best source for contract characters is the show itself. Like many other daytime dramas (heck, like eight of the other nine), contract players are separated from the cast when credits are aired. According to the March 30, 2007, episode of GH, the following people are on contract (and GH lists them in the order of how long they've been on contract: Leslie Charleson (Monica Quartermaine), Stuart Damon (Alan Quartermaine), Jacklyn Zeman (Bobbie Spencer), Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer), John J. York (Mac Scorpio), Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos), Ingo Rademacher (Jasper Jacks), Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth Webber Spencer), Robin Christopher (Skye Quartermaine), Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), Greg Vaughan (Lucky Spencer), Natalia Livingston (Emily Quartermaine), Tyler Christopher (Nikolas Cassadine), Scott Clifton (Dillon Quartermaine), Ted King (Lorenzo Alcazar), Kelly Monaco (Sam McCall), Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine), Lindze Letherman (Georgie Jones), Dylan Cash (Michael Corinthos), Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones), Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio), Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos), Julie Berman (Lulu Spencer), Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake), Kent King (Lainey Winters), John Ingle (Edward Quartermaine), Jason Gerhardt (Cooper Barrett) and Josh Duhon (Logan Hayes). Recurring players do not have an actual contract with the show, because there is no guarantee of payment or appearance. It's also often hard to determine who is on recurring, because not all guest stars are officially considered recurring, and that's something that is often not specified. In the case of someone like Bradford Anderson, it was stated in numerous publications that the role was slated to last about thirteen weeks and to be recurring. Then there are actresses like Rachel Ames, who are seen maybe once a month (if even), yet she is officially on recurring status. Contract actors get paid whether or not they appear; recurring players do not. D'Amico 05:17, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Recurring cast members

Since there's such a difficult to discern distinction about the difference between "contract cast" and "recurring cast", I recommend that we add a section to this template for "Current recurring castmembers". That would help decrease the amount of edit warring that's going on here. I don't think that the anons are acting in bad faith, but that they're simply confused as to why a chracter who's popular, being written up in the soap magazines, and is showing up on daily episodes, isn't being listed in the template. --El on ka 19:21, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

While it's not possible to make an accurate list of current recurring players, we could get a start on it. Current recurring players could include (among others) ...

There will always be more, since recurring players on soap operas may not appear for months or even years. And sometimes, frequent guest stars aren't recurring. Contract status is easy -- every single week the network notes who's on contract. Recurring status, unfortunately, is much harder. D'Amico 06:50, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

I believe Emma Samms (Holly) was only meant to appear for brief guest appearances, so can that actually be considered "recurring status?" MysticBlue 09:12, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

I think that we would probably have to have some loose standards as to when to add or remove a name from the template. My own standards would be:

Recent appearances have been on recurring status, rather than contract
Character is notable enough to already have a page on Wikipedia
Character has appeared on General Hospital within the last year

By those standards, Holly would definitely qualify. How's that sound? --El on ka 18:12, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

The biggest downside is that there will still be constant edits, many of them legitimate. Sandra Ferguson is very seldom on as Felicia, and I'm not even sure if she's been seen in the last year (can't recall off-hand). But she is recurring. I like the current template, with the addition to the list of characters ... but you're right, there'll be a ton of edits. ;) D'Amico 05:14, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

That sounds logical to me re: recurring status. As for Sandra Ferguson, I don't believe she's been on in well over a year. Did she even appear during last year's encephalitis storyline? MysticBlue 08:04, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

According to IMDB[1][2], she hasn't been played since 2005. I'd say to not include her as "active recurring." --El on ka 08:08, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

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Template talk:General Hospital

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Who should be on this template?

[edit] Who is and is not on contract

[edit] Recurring cast members

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