So apparently Rebecca Herbst has been let go? This distresses me, kittens.
Elizabeth and I have had our differences lately. Agreeing to marry one man (twice!) while in love with/having grody sex with another man. Pointlessly lying about paternity. That whole ‘literally crazy for Nikolas’ boner’ thing. Forcing me to put up with the existence of Shirley. Forcing me to see Nikolas shirtless.
She’s had a bad couple of years, is what I’m saying.
But she’s still my girl, you know? I’ve loved her since we were both in high school. She and Jason helped keep me sane through my senior thesis in college. And lately, the sight of her magic hair and big, Disney princess eyes has been one of my only happy places on this show:
(True story: sometimes when the show’s really pissing me off, I just put the mute on and let Becky Herbst’s prettiness soothe all the irritation away.)
Word is, Elizabeth’s exit will be “storyline dictated” — which means, of course, that it will be dictated straight out of Guza’s ass, and we can no doubt expect it to be as gratuitous, nonsensical, and wasteful as possible. Frankly, if she escapes without being brutally ‘fridged to provide either Steve Burton or Jonathan Jackson with an Emmy reel, I will be absolutely shocked.
But rather than speculate on all the horrible ways they could get rid of one of the show’s last remaining young, female legacy characters, let’s take a look at the most pressing questions of the hour. Namely, without Liz, who will…
… be the new impossibly pretty crier?
… make the best bitchfaces?
… have the craziest crazy eyes?
… be the most adorable drunk?
… mesmerize all the town babies?
… have the most perfectly shiny hair?
I feel so bereft already. Hold me!
(All kidding aside, I’m actually pretty upset by this news. I really hope they let her leave with some more dignity than the character’s gotten from these hacks in the last few years. And obviously, the very fact that I can still type the word ‘dignity’ in a sentence about General Hospital shows that I’m possibly sleep deprived and/or losing my mind. It’s a sad day, y’all.)
Despair in the Afternoon 
I called this giving Jonathan Jackson his Emmy reel footage from the second I heard about it. That’s the “storyline dictated” reason. And nothing anyone can say will convince me otherwise.
If this had been Becky’s choice, then fine…but to fire her the same week we saw TWO casting notices go out for what is likely to be total newbie chicks is just tacky.
So help me if those boys stay and Sam and Oiyrish get to raise them. Becasue no. I’ll need Cam’s epic powers of Bitch Please on that nonsense right there.
Oh, lord. If Jake gets taken away from Lucky to be raised motherless (or by Sam, whatevs) into a life of armored cars and crime… I will seriously, seriously rant about it on the internet. Like, a lot.
I think it’s a mix of White washing for Jason and Lucky. It sucks how GH treats certain actors better than others. Sorry , but jason and lucky being front and center do not help ratings and the way they dissed Becky Herbst is not going to be good for the overused character Jason, lucky and Sam. it is obvious they did it so certain characters stories can be told without liason, or ll2 lurking. I think the show will get bad karma for this move lol I wish liason never happened because then Rebecca Herbst would still have her job. She always got the poop end so other characters could look somewhat decent.
The only motive for this I can imagine is that it’s an attempt to drum up ratings through controversy. Which is shortsighted and stupid, of course, but then, so is most of GH.
BH is an excellent team player — she’s reliable when they actually bother to give her a story, and she’s also great in a supporting role when Liz is on the backburner. She’s a got a huge and loyal fanbase who are content to watch for and support her even in her off years, story wise. And she’s a legacy character with connections all over the canvas. Killing her off is just a huge waste.
I have to say that I am completely furious at TPTB and GH, getting rid of a character that is not only a legacy but a longtime loyal employee is a completely ridiculous move. What are they thinking? Rebecca Herbst has been on GH for over a decade…does loyalty count for nothing to them?
I have been watching GH since I was 15 years old (more than 15 years) and I feel that this is just another slap in the face to fans. I had the honor of seeing Rebecca’s debut on GH as Elizabeth Webber and following her through all the years as Elizabeth has become one of my favorite characters to watch even when TPTB cut her airtime and gave her uninspired story lines she still shined. It was bad enough when they under utilized her and continually pushed her to the back burner to prop newbie characters, pet pairings and absurd plots but now they’re firing her…it’s absurd!
I guess I should no longer be shocked by the things that TPTB pull considering that GH has been circling the toilet for the last few years but I am. I have waiting and eagerly awaiting the day that they would finally give Elizabeth the kind of story that she deserves, even suffering through some of the crappy story lines that they’ve been pushing at the forefront at GH but no more. I’m done. I refuse to support a show that doesn’t seem to care about its longtime fans or loyal employees. I [b]won’t[/b] be watching GH again.
It was sad enough when a show that had at one time in my life been my daytime escape, a can’t miss addiction was turned into something that I needed to escape from. I still checked in for my the sake of my favorite characters hoping that GH would once again become my daytime escape, hoping beyond hope that TPTB at GH would figure out that writing compelling stories and using all of the wonderful actor and actresses to once again create the kind of stories that drew me in and made me a GH fan in the first place is the only way to save their sinking ship. But after having to be subjected to this farce that they’re calling GH for the past couple of years and now losing another Legacy character, especially one that they could have done so much with if they looked past their ‘favorites’ and spent some time listening to the fans is just too much for this [b]FORMER GH fan[/b].
I wish Rececca Herbst nothing but great things in the future and I hope to be watching her very soon on a show that will cherish and utilize her fantastic abilities.
Almost everything about what GH has become is sad for me these days. Well, sad and funny. But you laugh or you cry, right?
I commend you for making your escape from the show.
(I’ll be shocked if some other soap doesn’t snatch BH up pretty quickly. She’s a capable soap vet with a huge and loyal following, which I’m certain hasn’t escaped other show’s attentions. I certainly hope she lands somewhere where her talents aren’t wasted as badly as she was at GH in the last few years.)
I am devastated by this news. Elizabeth Webber has become the only reason I ever want to watch GH. She is one of the few characters left on this show that has any ties to anything any GH fan cares about. She is connected to everyone and has tons of storyline potential. Also Rebecca Herbst is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses that has ever been on daytime. This will be a real blow to GH, and I believe in turn to the entire genre. I wish her and her family the best of luck and will follow her anywhere her career may take her.
I` m really shocked because Liz and Robin are the only legacy female characters I like watching on the show and you are so right that the show has became sooo sad .TPTB Love writing horrible sad bad storylines for there actresss.The one thing I will miss the most is her friendship with Robin and the other ladies of grils night out and her going off on Carly and Sam .Another female legacy character bites the dust. I will miss Becky as Liz and I wish Becky all the best .
Oddly enough, my first reaction when I read the news was, “Wait, THE Rebecca Herbst? Like, Elizabeth? BUT SHE’S SO PRETTY!”
Hey, it’s not like this show can afford to give up any sliver of entertainment, you know? DON’T MESS WITH THE PRETTY, SHOW.
You know the other day I was randomly thinking about GH..and my thoughts went like this…
After all the Hoopla over Jason “giving up” Jake for his own safety, how are they now going to plausibly explain this new found “miracle” pregnancy of Sam’s? Hmmm, I bet they are going to spin it like it was all Liz’s fault that Jason wasn’t allowed in Jake’s life?
Well, that question is ANSWERED now isn’t it! Son of a BISCUIT!!! I don’t cuss, thats about as strong as its gonna get, so don’t laugh, but still that means I’m pretty darn furious!
“Storyline dictates” means that to justify Sam’s miraculous pregnancy and Jason’s sudden happiness about it and there new instant family – Liz has to die and all memories of the Liason reunion from 2008 must be wiped out…asap..urggghhhhhhhhh….SON OF A BISCUIT!!!!!!
Getting rid of Becky Herbst is ridiculous, and people I’m seriously dreading the exit. It’s gonna be a gory one. But mostly I’m scared! I’m really scared of what is going to become of Cameron, Jake, and Aiden.
And yes this clearly explains Liz’s willingness to hand JAKE over to SAM (??!!) after the bus crash last week, for Jason to suddenly and quite openly spend time with him in the hospital corridor.
If we are still hiding his paternity, why let a hitman (and your known ex lover) and the woman whom you openly loathe (who was screwing your ex-husband for awhile) keep your son for any amount of time whilst you run an errand WHEN a whole slew of your friends and co-workers were at the nurse’s station directly behind you? I’m saying it was just too random.
I know, I know, searching for reason in the realm of GH storylines is a waste, but still…
This news kind of hurts.
There is going to be a Stardish radio broadcast at 9 PM EST about the firing. Here is the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stardish/2011/01/21/save-elizabeth-webber-rebecca-herbst-fired-are-they-crazy
Yep…they really are taking away all the “pretty” of GH and just leaving the sleazy. It’s heartbreaking. And since I enjoy all things “pretty” I will not be watching any longer.
I want to give a big ol’ bearhug to this post. That is all.
This post wants to bearhug you too.