Not a soap fan? Then you have probably been conditioned to view the genre as the product of melodramatic plots made even sillier by scene chewing acting. If you watched daytime in its lean years (or lean decades), you wouldn’t be too far from wrong. I say that as a soap fan who still hangs her head in shame while recalling some of daytime’s very worst efforts.
If you are unfortunate enough to have never watched a soap but somehow managed to catch yesterday’s General Hospital (#GeneralHospital #GH), what you witnessed was daytime breaking the “soap ceiling”. The Luke’s Childhood reveal isn’t a “daytime plot”. It’s prime time, big screen, the theater, or all of the above. It was so well crafted and so beautifully executed that the writers have set an impossibly high standard for any genre that wants to use this same storyline to a similar effect. It also sets an incredibly high standard for the show, beyond this storyline. Where can you go after this reveal? I don’t know but if this storyline is the evidence for where daytime is headed, in general, and GH in particular, I am a happy viewer
Rarely have soap writers been as successful as Ron Carlivati and crew in reminding us that soaps are about drama, not melodrama. They are about human emotions and experiences, not special effects and outlandish plots. When soaps are at their best, they make you forget that you are suspending disbelief and instead leave you feeling as if you are surreptitiously watching people you know. You have become the nosy neighbor, peeking through your neighbors windows and learning far more than you ever believed was possible. You have learned more than you want to know, and still less than you should. It is the latter feeling that keeps you coming back.
General Hospital’s writers took all of daytime – past, present and future, along for a master class, yesterday. Tony Geary, as Luke Spencer, breathed life into a powerfully written script that made fictional Luke’s pain as real as any emotion the viewer has felt. In one beautifully crafted episode which was supported by more than a year of plot twists and turns, we understood more about Luke Spencer than we’ve been able to understand in decades of viewing him in action. Fans only thought they knew Luke Spencer. The Shakespearean act of Luke accidentally killing his mother, and intentionally killing his father on the same night, laid bare his soul:
Was it the boy who accidentally killed his helpless mother who:
— seemed unable to love his children in the way they needed to be loved? Luke has always taken a back seat to their daily care and was, at best, emotionally distant from his children. Yet, he was also the first one on the scene when they were in danger. He loved his children, but always seemed fearful of being too close to them. He was more friend than father. Was he afraid that a deeply emotional engagement would flip the switch and turn him into his father? Tim warned Luke that he would one day see his father’s face staring back at him in the mirror. He warned Luke that they were the same person. The horror!
— could not embrace Carly, long after Bobbie had forgiven her? Is it that Carly reminded him too much of the mother he loved? Was Carly’s behavior an affront to Lena’s memory, or had he wished that Lena was strong, like Carly, and able to fight back against a tyrant like Tim? Did Carly’s behavior make him wonder if his mother would be there with him, had she not been so afraid of her worthless husband?
— faulted Laura for her “weakness” in the presence of the Cassadines? Better than anyone else, Luke knew what it meant for a woman to be rendered powerless by a monster far less evil than the Cassadine clan. Was he angry at Laura for fearing him (as Lena feared Tim) and not being able / willing to tell him the truth about Nikolas? Did it remind him that he was, at least once in their shared history, the monster Tim said he would become?
Was it the boy who intentionally killed his abusive father that led Luke to:
— begin his relationship with Laura in a way that was nothing short of abusive and violent, resulting in him raping her?
— become an anti-hero who could never truly commit to standing on one side of the law because the circumstances of his parents’ deaths made it clear that he was neither hero nor villain? Luke has always had one foot on the right side of the law with the other far beyond the boundary.
— tolerate the likes of Sonny and other dark souls because he, at an unconscious level, knew his soul was darkened by this secret, as well?
— avoid romantic relationships all together? How could Luke truly commit to any woman without the specter of the family’s abuse tainting every moment of happiness? His relationship with Tracy has been the most serious relationship he has experienced since Laura. Is it the thought of being in a committed relationship too much for him? Was his happiness with Tracy the catalyst in triggering the D.I.D?
I am looking forward the writers addressing the impact of Luke’s secrets on how has lived his life. This one episode, decades in the making, more than a year in revealing, and 60 minutes in playing out, as moved me in a way I have rarely been moved by any soap. Today, this soap fan is hanging her head high!
Clearly, becoming a Quartermaine has made Michael SMARTER! He has seen through Lord Larry in record time, dumped his duplicitous parents, and stopped accepting excuses from everyone who keeps claiming they want to love and protect him – while plotting to keep him in the dark about the “fundamental truth of his life”. Sonny killed his father and was aided and abetted by his mother. Taking a life is such an inhuman act, even on soaps. To have it treated as a minor altercation was mind blowing, so I’m glad that the writers have finally stopped treating the violence on the show as commonplace and trivial. Watching Michael turn his back on his parents was a thing of beauty (and I say this as someone who LONG ago supported Sonny and Carly protecting Michael from AJ). Sonny and Carly were never innocents, and AJ was never all bad, but there was a point at which they were able to be parents and deserved to love Michael without the constant threat of losing him… then came the kidnappings, and presumed deaths, and the violence that was so outrageous it lead to Michael falling into a coma after a bullet meant for Sonny landed in his brain. That was followed up by Michael’s enforcer dreams, Michael taking a life, a prison sentence, and sexual violation. It became impossible for me to see how they could ever be considered anything other than an unmitigated disaster in that kid’s life.
If we were having this conversation out loud, you might be tempted to tell me that: Franco was responsible for Michael’s rape (or more like Franco’s associate). Faith Rosco kidnapped Michael. Claudia was responsible for Michael’s coma and for the fact that he ended up taking her life. Yeah, got all of that… and yet all of it is tied to the fact that these were people gunning for his father, aimed at hurting his father and mother, and Michael became “collateral damage” along the way. At no point was Sonny ever allowed by the writers to show growth and put his family before lifestyle… yes, he tried to break free and couldn’t because of the power vacuum it created and the additional risk to his children… got it… the writers could have had Sonny leave his family and watch over them from a distance. They didn’t. In Sonny Corinthos they created a character who is loathsome, selfish, vain, and hateful despite his dimples (shame on Lucy and Felicia). By the time he got around to daily threatening to kill a pregnant Ava once her child was born, he was done, in my book.
It felt good to watch AJ ‘s son walk away from the dark, unsalvageable, things his parents became. Carly faulted Franco for Michael’s rape… and then fell in love with him… and then threw the rape of her son in his face when he exposed her as a cheat and liar. Was Michael’s pain never in her mind before that? Every time that man touched her did she not feel sick thinking of what happened to her son? Was Michael’s rape a weapon she was waiting to use any time they had a disagreement? Franco becomes angry that she didn’t do the dishes so she tells him she’s still mad he was responsible for her son’s rape? I’m guessing it would have also been a useful argument in getting him to mow the lawn, take down the Christmas tree, do laundry, etc.
Michael’s emotional upset at watching her get close to Franco was never the tipping point? Carly’s “love” for Franco, and willingness to marry him, was more about protecting Sonny than making sure Michael did not have to re-live one of the worst times in his short life – and there have been so many awful times for that child. She even allowed her son to be the best man at their failed wedding. What kind of mother does that? She continues to say that Franco blew her family apart, not Sonny’s depraved act of killing AJ. It was Franco, not the fact that she lied and put herself between her son and the truth for Sonny’s sake. Nope. It’s all Franco. Useless. Carly’s lack of insight into the damage she’s caused to others is frightening. It was entertaining when she was young. It’s migraine inducing as she ages. Ages is supposed to bring wisdom. Instead, it only seems to bring gag inducing helpings of stupidity and cruelty for Carly. She becomes more selfish in time, not less.
In a soap-to-soap mashup? I would expect a “worst mother/daughter/sister” of the year face off between GH’s Carly, BnB’s Brooke Logan, and DAYS’ Sami Brady. I think the title would be a fight to the finish between Brooke and Carly, or at least a tie.
Oddly enough, only Sonny seems to be experiencing any true remorse. Carly is still raging at the world and trying to force her son to love her and respect her again (a right I think she’s given up by protecting Sonny when even she should have been disgusted with him). Sonny is willing to suffer the consequences of his betrayal of AJ’s son, the child he made a promise to love and protect, long ago, finally realizing that he allowed his hatred for AJ, disguised as love for Connie, mattered more than every day he ever spent raising and nurturing Michael. At least the writers have allowed Sonny to show some insight into his behavior. I don’t think they will ever allow Carly to grow up and learn that her actions have consequences. I no longer care if they do. I will simply cherish the moments of seeing handcuffs slapped on Carly and having her spend some time behind bars. While I see zero hope for Carly, I do see hope for Sonny (if the constantly swirling rumors of Maurice Benard’s leaving aren’t true). I don’t want Sonny in Michael’s life again, but I would love for the writers to take this opportunity to reinvent Sonny. Let him be someone completely different from the man he has been all these years. Benard is such a gifted actor with so many more stories he could help tell, I hope that happens, for the sake of the show and its fans.
What I love most?
There is one more Quartermaine in the world of Port Chuckles, and after losing Alan, Lila, Edward, and Tracy, I am happy to see Michael back in the fold. What’s that? Tracy hasn’t passed away? She may as well be gone, given her repeated betrayal of her family and her willingness to put them all at risk for the sake of “love” for a man she clearly doesn’t know well enough to realize that something is wrong and that the man she married couldn’t stand her touch. Even Liz and Sam are picking up the “NuJase is OldJase” vibes. Eh, I’ll save all of that for another blog, another time. Maybe I’ll be able to soon blog about the return of Jason Quartermaine, one day soon!
It’s no secret that I think General Hospital is blowing the rest of daytime out of the water! I said so here –> Why You Should Be Watching General Hospital. I received a very interesting counterpoint from writer, Ilona Saari. (More about Ilona at the end of this post). I thought the response was so interesting that I’d like to share it with you. It’s a different kind of GH love letter:
I only wish I thought the show was as good as you do. But I’m glad to see it from you prospective. Granted, it is far superior to the Pratt/Guza Penthouse 4 years, but when Guza took back the reigns, it began to get better w/ humor (Diane was created), wonderful returns of old characters (Robin) and wonderful pairings (Scrubs) – his problem as a writer was that he would come up w/ great story ideas and beginnings, then develop ADD and not be able to follow thru… Wolf, the strike scab, was just a plain disaster… Then Ron and Frank came, and at first they did wonders and I loved the integration of the OLTL characters.
But, alas, that didn’t last as OLTL-ABC and Frank/Ron became embattled in copyright garbage and egos. The show suffered as Ron hadn’t a clue had to deal w/ it all storywise, so it was dealt w/ badly. The lst return of the Nurse’s Ball was an unmitigated disaster w/ a cheezy set that looked like the ball was being held in a church basement to the embarrassment of Richard Simmons.
Then when the OLTL mess was over, Ron decides to bring back Roger as Franco. God Lord, that was an insane creative choice. This wonderful actor could have been anyone… a new Q, a Cassadine, a Webber or Spencer even a white Ward… but nooooo. The brain tumor explanation was just plain lazy writing. And Carly would never, ever be w/ Franco after what happened to Michael.
Letting Jax go, the last white knight really (except for Patrick) was a huge mistake – Carly and Jax could have grown into the Rachel/Mac of AW of GH… They were a mature, sexy, dynamic couple, imo. Carly was softened, but not made soft, by her love for Jax.
Bringing Nik back, however, was a smart move and his love affair w/ Britt (and her redemption) has been the best thing about GH since the show fell back into disrepair during last year’s Nurse’s Ball.
The Cassadine/Obrecht/Faison/Duke/Anna stuff was was too cartoonish and has fallen totally flat for me as a writer – Masks, masks everywhere. I’m sorry – once was enough – then again w/ Anna and Obrecht? Oy. And now what – again w/ fLuke – I hope not. But this fLuke storyline is just cringe-worthy tho I’m sure TG is having a ball. If he’s really Bill Eckart or Damian Smith, as rumor has it, neither would be jonzing after Kiki or be so creepy a sexual predator… If it’s Damian – did he have his face made like Luke if he survived the fire? Is it yet another mask? I don’t care. I FF thru all TG’s scene and have never done so before – ever. I just want Ron to stop writing Tracy as an old, lonely woman who will believe anything to keep Luke – and just end this miserable story. Tracy and Luke are dynamite together — this story is just an embarrassment to all involved. But at least I got to see Ned. I wish Frank would bite the bullet and bring back Ned. I don’t want the Qs to vanish — they are our look into John Cheever country, always have been, and I love that family – but all recent head writers of the show seem to want to demolish them… and now Ron is building up a new “core” mob family w/ the Jeromes.
I won’t even go into Obrecht and how I also find her existence at the head of the hospital one of the laziest pieces of writing Ron has done.
I do love Julian and Ava, tho — again for many, many reasons and I love that Julian is Sam and Lucas’ father – fun. I hated the courtship w/ Alexis tho where she was flirty like a teenage virgin. What a waste of Alexis. Tho now that they’re together, I like their chemistry. I just hope the writing becomes more interesting on how these two will work.
I am also thrilled that Ric’s back, tho his relationship w/ Liz never cut it with me. His courtship and marriage to Alexis til Guza ruined Ric did. Their bantering and love was GH’s version of Tracy/Hepburn and I loved them together. That said, I do not want a Nik/Liz rerun – I want Nik and Britt to find their way back to each other — they are very hot together.
I did think Jordan was undercover from the beginning, but I do like her addition to the show as long as Ron is not setting her up to replace Anna because he wants to get rid of Finola.
Levi is another embarrassment. Obrecht and Donna Mills being sisters,, etc., etc. Say what??? Trying to make another instant family w/ Nathan and Britt and Obrecht at the expense of who?
The show is bloated w/ characters and no one was more mistreated than Sean Kanan — Ron so botched his return and decided to throw AJ under the bus much the way Guza did after AJ had become such a fascinating “Sidney Carton” character well on his way to redemption. The killing of AJ was a disappointment and only serves to give MB more angst moments and a shot at an Emmy. But then to let the story just dangle somewhere in space for weeks, again – sloppy, lazy writing.
Ron does that a lot. He starts a story and then you’re left for weeks til it becomes part of the canvas again. He doesn’t seem to know how to write the three story arc traditional in soaps in a weekly fashion, so if a viewer doesn’t like one story, s/he gets a bit of the ones s/he does like on a weekly basis.
Sabrina and Patrick are a mess as a storyline… and her character has been shoved down our throat for too long – she’s a dolt and a bore and she’s dragged the character of Patrick down w/ her. And Carrrrrrlos. Don’t get me started.
Thank God Maxie’s back! Our own Carole Lombard — is Nathan her Clark? He might be. he has the look. And I love the way he looks at her.
Duke, OTOH, is a yawn. Anna has no chemistry w/ him anymore. Robert should have been the one to stay at GH, not Duke. And Robert in this disaster of a fLuke story, might have saved it.
Well, if you’ve read this far – I will end on an ‘up’ note. I still love GH — and do think the show’s better now than a few years ago — and I think it’s getting better again from all the mistakes Ron made last year… and I agree about the diversity — It’s been seamless and I love that. It’s about time.
Ilona Saari is a former speechwriter, deputy press secretary, and is the author of the political thriller Freeze Frame, available on Amazon. FYI, you Foodies out there, our author also writes her own blog featuring the most amazing recipes and travel adventures you’ll find anywhere! Read more at “My Dinners with Richard“. It’s more than worth your time – I believe you’ll thank me for it!
While Ilona and I may not agree 100%, I love having such a well seasoned, meaty, opinion to give me something to think about. I’d like to thank my talented friend for keeping my feet on the ground, because I do love GH enough to put my blinders on and keep lowing it “as is”. Complacency kills in any creative field.
Shhhh… don’t tell her, but I still think that this show is the best in daytime.
Sabrina… I just can’t. I want to be empathetic, and yet I just keep hoping there aren’t too many Sabrina/Patrick scenes to fast foward.
Elizabeth and Ric? Sweet, Subtle, feels so real. I love them. Given the way Ric left the show with each exit, it’s sometimes difficult to remember how sweet and kind he’s capable of being. Ric is Mr. Right Now, Mr. Right Tomorrow, and Mr. Right Whenever-Wherever – as far as I’m concerned. I’ve always loved Rick Hearst best when he was playing a romantic lead (GH’s Ric Lansing, GL’s Alan Michael Spaulding, BnB’s Whipple Jones).
Lulu/Dante./Rocco- Big Ben? Ditto. Sweet, Subtle, Real. Given his pedigree, I love that Dante is so protective of Ben that he doesn’t want to talk about the worst of the worst aspects of his job. He has to spell out D-E-A-D because he doesn’t want Rocco to hear the word. Keep that baby away from your father and bar ware, Dom.
F’luke and his disregard for forensic evidence is astounding. He never wears gloves. He never does anything in hiding. Unless he planned on killing Bobbie and the cutie pants officer guarding Lucas’ door, what was the point of attempting to kill Lucas while being the last person in the room? Add that the fact that his hand and finger prints are all over Lucas’ breathing tube – as his prints are all over the gun that was used to shoot Lucas and kill the hitman. F’luke’s crime spree is getting stranger and and stranger, and I hope that’s intentional – serving as an indicator that he’s on a rampage and will soon be caught.
Ava.. F’LOVE… I effin’ love Ava and the writing for her! She utters the words, “Mr. Corinthos is sending someone for me” to her server at about the time Carly is going to play audio evidence of her guilt in Connie/Kate’s murder? Methinks she’ll see Sonny, in person.
Carly has never had a respect for the law, decency, morality or ethics, but it shocks me that she would steal AJ’s phone (yeah, it still shocks me) and give Sonny the info, rather turn the recording over to the police. Sonny is going to end up in prison one way or another. He’s either going for killing AJ or for killing Ava. Carly doesn’t always know what crimes Sonny has committed, but she’s been in his life long enough to know that he’s almost never innocent. Her involvement in pointing Sonny in Ava’s direction is reckless, no matter what.
Ava is a beast… she’s reading “Crimson Magazine”? She is a beast (and I’m not quite sure how I mean that. It’s both good and bad.) She must really like dancing on Connie’s grave! This is Maura West as ATWT’s Carly Tenney, defiling the sacred Snyder pond by flicking a cigarette into it. What is it about MW’s bad girl characters, who seem to like sticking it to the people she hurts. No cardboard cut out of Connie for target practice? Ava is showing some restraint.
I get it… my beloved Scotty Baldwin is the AJ Quartermaine of the Baldwin family. He’s a perennial screw up, but even he should have held his ground and been willing to call Julian’s bluff rather than had him set free. Scotty is capable of being a bad ass, when he wants (that is, when the writers let him). I wish this was one of those times. How much has Julian changed when he’s willing to pull a gut punch like this one? I realize that he was desperate to get to Lucas and saved him from Fluke, but had he told the truth, he could have done more for his family. His behavior makes me question Alexis’ judgement even more – both as a mother and as a woman. For all of her warnings to Molly about being smart, making good choices, putting her future first, Alexis does none of these things when she’s in love with her latest mob kingpin boyfriend. What can Molly learn from her? It also doesn’t make sense that Shawn was irredeemable for not being able to leave Sonny’s organization and yet Julian is far worse.
More Sabrina/Patrick/Emma/baby Drake? Still can’t.
Ava trying to convince anyone, most especially her own daughter, of her innocence is hilarious! Kiki chastising Ava for sleeping with her boyfriend’s father is even funnier! Adding Ilene Kristen as Ava’s mother to this pair? That is a stroke of genius.
HA, that Carly finally notes that A.J. is not AJ Quartermaine but Ava Jerome. Sonny realizes that AJ was pleading for his life and that he’s killed an innocent man. How will the writers redeem him? Can Sonny be redeemed after this? My guess is that we will find out that Sonny didn’t deliver the final blow. It’s another Fluke murder (again taking place in the hospital) or someone else has taken A.J.’s life when he should have been on the mend. The problem is that A.J. would never have been in the hospital to be murdered if it weren’t for Sonny. The additional step they’ll have to take is to convince the audience that A.J. was slated for death no matter where he was found. Will it work, or is it possible that the writers have gone too far, this time? A.J. has rarely been a chaacter i liked or loved (I couldn’t stomach Billy Warlock’s portrayal of the character) BUT he was a legacy character and I wish he’d survived this ugly attack.
Even when Sonny is dead wrong, Carly tells him to stop blaming himself. Is this goober serious? She’s angrier at Ava for upsetting Sonny than she is at Sonny for killing an innocent AJ? Michael should stop sending Mother’s Day cards. No phone calls, no Mother’s Day luncheons. Carly is more of a partner to Sonny, even separated, than she has ever been a mother to any of her children.
Geez, it seems like such a small issue – Lulu wanting to carry her own child, but it is potentially, so big. Lulu is willing to risk losing the only shot (for now) she and Dante have at having another child, because she wants to carry the child herself, knowing the risk for miscarriage. Is it simply natural to want to carry a child at any cost or is it selfish? It’s a question for this couple to answer, but I have to wonder, given Dante’s lean toward surrogacy, if this is an issue that will come between them, later.
Fluke, threatening babies. PLEASE let that bastard be caught soon. Sure, go after Ava, but the threats against children make me want to see this guy get his! The writers were brilliant to have Fluke play on Julian’s insecurities (most notably, the fear that Anna hates “Jules” and wants to bring him down so badly that he shouldn’t count on her for help. There’s no way Anna would allow Fluke, or anyone else, to kill Julian while he’s in her care, but he doesn’t know that.
Elizabeth and Ric are my shelter from the storm of crazy that is GH. Just watching them joke and plan for a dinner feels like a romantic getaway. I know there will have to be some sort of conflict, soon, such as Liz wanting Nik back the minute he’s together with Britt again, happy and probably planning a family. For now, I’ll take what I can get.
Ok, the only interesting thing about Sabrina and Patrick is that Drake becomes her son’s middle name? Is that a subtle tell that he is Patrick’s son? Is baby Gabriel going to make it? Gabriel Drake Drake? I dunno.
Ava thinks that she and Sonny are on decent terms. I can’t wait to see her run into Sonny’s arms, thinking he’s there to rescue her. Carly asking Sonny what he’s going to do is as maze dull as anyone could be. She gave her “snitches get stitches” speech to Sonny when explaining why she would never go to the police. What was the point of her asking Sonny what he was going to do. Of COURSE he is going to kill Ava. Is there any doubt about that? Isn’t that why he killed AJ? His belief that AJ killed Connie? Carly and Sonny have played this game for too long!
Like many of you, my feed was disrupted by the President’s comments and ending the war in Afghanistan – so we end, here, and move on to other important news. I will see you again, soon.
…if you’re not already a fan! If you think this blog reads like a love letter to #GH, you’re damned right it is! This show is not just good, it is the best it has been in a very long time! Why should you watch? I could give you as many reasons as there are cast members, but here are my big four:
1 – Balance, balance, and more balance.
When I last walked away from General Hospital as a consistent viewer, lead and supporting characters were one of three types: Mobsters, Mob Molls, or Mob affiliated. Having more than 35 years invested in this soap, I can remember when the show was about family drama and intrigue, romance and mystery. I see so much more of that now than before the mob takeover. Ric Lansing is back and he’s sworn off his former mob ties. At least for now, the story is that he has come back to reconnect with the only woman who ever truly loved him and who wasn’t looking for a life on the edge. Hell, he WAS the edge the last time he and Elizabeth were together. In scenes that I love like sunshine, we also see him back and reconnecting with his daughter Molly, whose only father figure has been her uncle and Ric’s brother, Sonny Corinthos. Keep in mind that Sonny was also her mother’s former lover, the father of one of her sisters, and the former lover of another sister. The mob was so well integrated into the show that even family members were sleeping with and having children with the same mob boss (yeah, yeah, Sam didn’t know that Alexis was her mother, at the time). Bigger twist? Sam’s child with Sonny is delivered stillborn and provides the stem cells that Kristina, his daughter with Alexis, needs to survive.
You need a truckload of Advil and at least 12 of your 14 vacation days to pull apart the twisted family tree GH writers created in order to sell the mob storyline.
The mob had become so important that even Justus Ward, whose family was made up of prominent social activists in the Port Chuckles community, became another mob mouthpiece. He eventually lost his life and was stuffed in the trunk of a car, as a result of his affiliation with Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan (Jason being a cousin to Justus). It lacked dignity and was shockingly bad given the history of the Ward family. The Ward family was part of the extended Quartermaine family but respected in their own right before the Q connection. Prior to the writers’ belief that “mob magic” was so potent that fans would root for almost all characters to fall under the spell of Sonny and the various mob kingpins, I had hope that Justus, as the remaining onscreen Ward family member, would be spared.
The ultimate betrayal of fan trust came, for me, when Jasper “Jax” Jacks was deconstructed, transitioning from an educated ruthless billionaire corporate raider, to a man on the run from both Sonny’s empire of aggression and from the law for daring to protect his and Carly’s duaghter, Josslyn. From what you ask? From living her life in the path of a stray bullet that was almost as likely to take her life, as the bullet that put big brother Michael Corinthos in a coma – stealing his childhood and most of his adolescence. Michael spent years, after waking up, dealing with recovering from that stray bullet. The bullet and resulting coma pushed his childhood kidnapping out of contention as the worst thing to ever happen to him. Damn that Jasper Jacks for not realizing that kidnapping and bullets to the head can be character builders for children, not just childhood trauma!
Now? That sort of storytelling appears to be long gone! Even the introduction of Parry Shen’s “Brad” is not a celebration of mob life. Brad Cooper is the son, and grandson, of 80’s Asian Quarter mob kingpins. Brad enters as a (mostly) upstanding citizen, barely shadier than the rest of Port Chuckles’ residents. For now he has sworn off his mob family history and is a GH physician. It was touch and go at the beginning of his introduction, but he is currently in the same hot mess so many of our PC citizens find themselves in. Instead of mob molls and mob affiliated characters, we’re back to honest business leaders, police officers who aren’t on the take, as well as (and this will surprise you) drama at General Hospital that is about the hospital, nurses, and the doctors! Shocking, I know.
Even more shocking? I find myself liking Sonny, more, now that the GH universe is no longer centered around canonizing GH’s resident mob boss. There are many stories to be told in Port Charles and the writers are making sure they tell as many of them as they can.
F’Love
2. Diversity is a real thing on GH and not just something the cool kids are trying.
From the Asian Quarter, to Tom and Simone Hardy, to the introduction of the Ward family followed by Miguel/Lily/Sonny, GH has struggled with integrating diverse characters into the show in a way that is neither stereotypical nor exaggerated. The Ward family marks, for me, GH’s first real, and nearly successful, attempt at getting it right, including the Jason/Keisha/AJ triangle:
Now? Diversity on GH is not about check boxes and clunky integration. Diversity just IS on this show, it’s organic. Characters aren’t remarkable/ good/ evil/frontburner, because they can be used to show that daytime is finally catching up with the rest of the world. Diverse characters and their families on GH aren’t getting airtime for the publicity they bring a show. They are seamlessly integrated into the show and their time spent on air is character driven, not storyline driven! Their lives are about the characters themselves and not about the reaction of others around them.
Brad/Felix/Lucas. Like any triangle, there are winners and losers. Both Felix and Lucas have been betrayed by Brad, so watching them grow closer feels right. The writers have handled this one perfectly. I want Felix and Lucas to become a real couple, but like any couple brought together out of betrayal and hurt feelings, I have to wonder if either (or both) will end up waking up one morning wanting Brad back. While that would crush my love for Felix and Lucas – which I will survive, I know that I can accept it because it is no different than what takes place with any other triangle. I am thrilled that their storyline isn’t about helping any of the three overcome bigotry-inflicted shame, and that it’s not about being closeted and fearful. There is a time and place for that type of storytelling, but there is also room for the stories of others -those whose sexuality is not about morbid fascination from the outside. Brad/Felix/Lucas are telling a story about conflict, love, anger and forgiveness. I am impressed.
Jordan/Shawn. I’ll admit it. I’m on record stating that the glow Jordan gives is not a halo but hellfire. I thought that Shawn would have been smart to run in the opposite direction whenever he saw Jordan coming. I was wrong. I was SO VERY wrong. What I love most about Jordan and Shawn, is that their storyline is almost 30 years in the making. Do they remind you of anyone else? For me Jordan/Shawn/TJ are the 2000s version of Anna/Robert/Robin. It’s not an exact retelling, but it’s close enough. I have been longing for a return to the WSB and it’s glory days and GH is giving it to me by the bucket full… it’s just a little more understated. Jordan/Anna comes to town with a shady past and possibly sketchier future. Instead Jordan/Anna is DEA/WSB and the other big issue she has on her plate, one that fills her time when she’s not bringing down bad guys, is dealing with a child (TJ/Robin) whose life has been shrouded by a huge secret.
The focus isn’t on what they bring to the table as “people of color”, it’s what they bring to the table as people. Each individual is layered and nuanced and the minute you think you know any of the members of this family, a new layer is peeled away. At her introduction, the audience asked: Was Jordan back to seduce Shawn and force him to take her in as he’d taken in TJ? Was she back to reclaim her beloved son? Was she using her son to cover her shady connection to the Jeromes? Just when we couldn’t figure out her game, she’s revealed as a DEA agent, in town to clean up PC and find the real drug kingpin. STOP NOW!
If this storyline and this show gets any better, I’ll be looping it all day long and ignoring all other entertainment. Jordan’s story now makes me question Shawn, in particular, and now I wonder what the rest of his story is. Jordan, the DEA agent, would surely never have entrusted the care of her beloved son to a man who was a killer. What does she know about Shawn that either he is hiding or that doesn’t know about himself because someone else is hiding the truth from him?
I can’t wait to find out.
3. Women as diversity? Yes. Women who are strong? Hell yes!
Tracy Q., Carly, and Alexis are, for the moment, in a downward shame spiral, in my opinion. I can accept that more easily, at this time, because they are the exception, no longer the rule. The women of GH have become strong, smart, and capable of standing on their own. Are they perfect? No, but they’re so far ahead of where the women of this show were just a few short years ago.
They’ve transitioned from being either dedicated mob molls (Carly, Robin, Kate/Connie, Olivia) or paid mob mouthpieces (Alexis, Diane). In some cases, they were both (again, Alexis and Diane).
No matter which side of morality/decency/the law we find them, I am thrilled to see Anna, Jordan, Ava, Lucy, Felicia, Britt, Obrecht, Lulu, and others being treated as women with hearts AND brains! There will be a time, I’m sure, when the currently weak GH women, and, yeah – I’m looking at YOU Tracy Quartermaine, will step up to the plate and become strong again, but the balance of women in distress with women taking charge is refreshing.
There have been times when women on GH have felt more like window dressing than people. This is not one of those times.
4. There are almost no weak links on this show, currently.
I’m just not crazy about Sabrina and Patrick. I can’t see a situation that would cause me to root for them as a couple. They simply fall flat for me. Even still, I don’t see them as a “weak link”. I can see what the show’s fans like about them. I just don’t feel it. Sabrina and Carlos, I get. Sabrina with Patrick feels more ike “Flowers in the Attic’ or “Petals in the Wind” than a romantic couple ,for me.
I truly despise Carly and Franco. I cannot understand the writers’ thinking in trying to reform Franco and in making him a frontburner character. Somehow, it feels to me as if Franco should still be a character in the shadows or, more importantly, not a viable character at all. I will accept the very few things I dislike about this show and continue to enjoy those things I love most. GH is currently the only show on the air that I can say that about – a show whose positives far outweigh its negatives.
If you haven’t been watching GH, you’re missing a lot! It’s that good.
GH’s Nurses Ball was so good that I probably won’t have anything critical to say about the show for at least two or three… episodes. Maybe two. Maybe. Look, I’m not making any promises. Here are my highlights:
Magic Milo and his Magic Wands were hot to the point that I just didn’t care about the Yoplait product placement. What I do care about is that I may have damaged my DVR by constantly rewinding one tiny little section of the NB episode It’s wrong, I know… no one should be objectified. That said, all I want for Christmas is a trunk filled with quarters to bounce off of the backsides of Magic Milo and his Magic Wands line up. BAM!
I thought that Brad was the center of the triangle, but there is something incredibly sweet (and sexy) about Felix and Lucas together. That’s how I know they won’t end up as a couple. Both have to be lightening rods for Brad. Whichever love has him will have to stay up nights wondering if he’s out creeping with the other. There is something so likable about Lucas and Felix (who move between bromance and romance with ease) that I hope the faux relationship turns into a real one, soon.
Auto-tuned Brad? I don’t give a crap, I’ll take him! So cute. The whole time I waited to see who he was singing to. (Admittedly, I wanted it to be Felix). Parry Shen is an ass kicker, and so much fun! Britt as Brad’s cheering section? Love that too! Everybody needs a “ride-or-die” and Britt is that for Brad and vice versa.
Mac and his dummy? Hilarious! I DIED when Epiphany stomped that poor dummy and Mac held on to it as if it was taking its last breath. Milo shaking Epiphany’s (dirty old lady’s) hand for killing off Mac’s “childhood friend” brought me back. I don’t know, but I think the dummy stomp should have been good for at least one lap dance. Is anyone else thinking about the fact that Mac was a rogue’s rogue when he was first introduced? I can’t get over him as a middle class dad with bad jokes and a big heart. Best daytime transition ever!
Spencer with Britt gave me warm fuzzies. I want Nikolas and Britt together as the show’s reigning supercouple. They were able to admit to one another that neither could easily move on with someone new (both are still heartbroken). So am I… put them back together GH writers! Nik will have to learn to love someone whose history is checkered, but far less worse than his Cassadine legacy. What I wouldn’t give the writers to have Helena go after Britt only to have her face off with Obrecht.
The Haunted Starlets? Meh, not my favorite, but still a job well done.
“Luke” learning that he “married the bitch” for nothing because he and Tracy have both been removed from ELQ? Perfection! I only wish Ned was appointed CEO rather than Michael.
Eddie Gomez singing “Criminal Love”… Is there a GH couple over the age of 16 for whom that song is not relevant? Sonny’s reaction to the song is the equivalent of ice cream on a burning hot day! That hit the spot. Are we to think that Sonny believed the song was written just for him and his mob moll of the month?
I haven’t been fond of the Spencer/Emma/Cameron storyline. It’s too cutesy and too much. That “Spencer” is responsible for bringing Ronn Moss and “Player” to the ball? HA! I love that bratty kid. Ronn Moss is damned AGELESS! I’m hoping someone decides to cast him in a permanent role. Moss brought his rock god chiseled cheeks, his rock god hair, his rock god body. Seriously, GH, cast him TODAY. Leslie is a good friend of “Player”… oh there’s a story there!
Lucy and Scott? I have been rooting for them since she was married to Alan Q. and cheating with him. I rooted for them even after she lost their child and told Scotty how much she hated him, breaking open his soul. I relived that scene, today, watching her treat Scotty as if he, alone, was the cause of the end of her marriage to Kevin. I will always love Lucy and Scott, even though I know that the two of them being together is an affront to the love and devotion Kevin has (almost) always given Lucy.
To the writer who penned Kevin’s dialogue, you OWNED me for all of the 10 minutes or so that conversation took place. BEAUTIFUL! “You had one job, Lucy, and that was to be faithful and loyal – and you failed, miserably!” Da-YUM! I felt like I was the one cheating on Kevin. Shhhhh… I think I might have apologized to him for not loving him enough, I dunno.
I’m devastated for Kevin. Watching him find out that his wife has been cheating on him for four months was brutal. That hasn’t dampened my hope that I will finally get to see Lucy and Scott together. Like I said, I have always wanted them to reunite.
Ditto on Ric and Elizabeth. I have always wanted the two of them back together as well.
Molly and TJ are as cute as buttons. I need more backstory on Julian/Jordan and Ava. There is so much more going on there. I hope TJ is not at the center of the secrets they’re holding.
Obrecht singing for Nathan and Britt? Almost touching, but then I become afraid when Obrecht gets mushy and soft. Do we believe that she loves them? Do we believe that she wants her children to love her for the sake of having their love or is there a crazy catch?
For whatever reason, I have never warmed to Sabrina. I want to connect with the character since I tend to root for the show’s heroines no matter how much I enjoy the villains. It just never happened with her. Patrick and Sabrina bore me silly. The pregnancy/baby storyline has annoyed me to all hell.
Last blog I commented that the Nurses’ Ball has often been about forgiveness, being rehabilitated, seeking acceptance and the writers didn’t disappoint. The Nurses’ Ball 2o14 is over, but I’ll be thinking about it for a while longer.
Someone, soapgod love ’em, FINALLY remembered what the Nurses’ Ball was meant to be. Manifest? On the surface it was the chance for the citizens of Port Chuckles to come together and let their hair down. They would sing, dance, project an air of happiness and togetherness, if only for one night. Was every NB about hand holding and singing love songs with mortal enemies? No, not a one of them! There was always tension balanced against wanted and unwanted surprises. Relationships were made and relationships were broken. There were the moments that lulled you into believing nothing bad could ever happen, just before you were hit between the eyes. Murder! Arrests! Affairs revealed!
The Ball has always been about more than Host Lucy Coe’s fantastic wardrobe changes. There was the latent content as well, the storyline below the surface, a storyline we did not know we were applauding. The Nurses’ Ball is also about hope, rehabilitation, renewal, and acceptance. Who could forget the first Nurse’s Ball following Stone’s death, with Robin’s public revelation that she is HIV positive? Keep in mind that Stone and Robin performed at the first ball just a couple of years prior!
Robin heard from AJ Quartermaine and others about the horrors of HIV, the terrible fears they had being in the same room as a person with the disease. She watched as Stone dealt with love and acceptance countered by fear and rejection, and without him, her time had come. Every Nurses’ Ball seemed to have at least one citizen of Port Chuckles using the ball to make a direct, or indirect, plea for acceptance.
I saw all of the above, and more, at this year ball.
Manifest
The musical numbers were all perfect. Fun, light, fantastic! Rebecca Herst? So amazing. I was shocked that her character “Liz” was thrown in with the young adult crowd, and then I looked at her, closely. No one would know that she was older than anyone in that group, and that she’d participated in the earlier Nurses? Ball. I’m not much of an Elizabeth fan, I haven’t been since the end of LL2 (Liz and Lucky) but Rebecca Herbst? She gets better with time! (Oh, and way to go making me miss Real Andrews, whose Det. Taggart would have been a perfect complement to Det. West.)
I was glad to see Liz and Ric at the ball. I have always enjoyed Elizabeth with Ric more than any other of her not-Lucky loves. There is something more real and less seedy about them than anyone else she’s ever been with and if she could just get beyond him holding Carly hostage in a panic room in their home, with the intent on stealing her child to give to Liz and then killing Carly, well.. .they could be very happy together. Right? Sadly, in daytime, that’s not even the WORST sentence you could write about a soap character. Still, Ric Lansing a damned bit better than a fair number of his GH colleagues, including brother Sonny.
Detective Sexypants? I refuse to be convinced that Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) is anything other than computer generated. He must be! How else can you explain how ridiculously good looking he is – no real person should be that gorgeous – ever! That RP happens to also be an engaging actor makes you wonder who, in casting, is not being paid enough after finding this guy. If Paevey doesn’t hit your “yum button”, no matter who you are, I think you should check your pulse. You may not have one.
My only complaint is that I’m a little upset with the writers for making me feel sorry for Brad (assuming it was their intent). Felix always deserved better than the treatment he received from his manchild boyfriend, but to have Felix and Lucas get close like that with Brad on the outside? Wow. I loved it, and still felt bad for the guy. There are no bad guys, ultimately, in this “brad centered triangle”. It has to end eventually and I will feel awful for the person who eventually has to bow out. Well done, writers! You’ve created the perfect triangle – one moving me to root for all involved, at least for now.
Latent
Maxie’s relationship with (what’s his name?) seems to be all about punishing herself for not being the person she thinks she should be, instead of accepting herself as she is. I can’t wait for Maxie to forgive herself and move forward. That guy is driving me nuts. It feels as if Maxie is living her own version of what hell must be like. He’s not a bad guy, just not the guy for Maxie.
Luke’s selection? “I am What I am” from La Cage Aux Folles. Pitch perfect selection, since we all know that this is not Luke Spencer! Tony Geary is so masterful that his eye movements in those scenes are Emmy worthy. Here is the question, GH fans: who DO we enjoy more? Real Luke or Faux Luke? Our Anti-hero has walked that dark line for so long that having him cross over didn’t change much, did it? I think Luke’s storyline is as much a Rorschach test for the audience as it is a reflection of Luke’s past – one filled with doing and being damaged to the point that no one misses the real Luke when he’s gone. There will never be another Tony Geary, folks. I can’t see this storyline working in anyone else’s hands.
We got to see that Obrecht really is the tree from which Britt’s apple fell. Obrecht may have a hard outer shell, but her repeated attempts to be accepted by the citizens of Port Chuckles suggests that she still wants more. She wants legitimacy if she can earn or steal it, but will live with having the town fearing and loathing her if it’s all she has. She is begging for Nathan’s affections, now. I have to wonder what will happen (to him) once she’s tired of begging and decides that he is not worth the trouble of trying to get him to love and accept her.
Thank you, GH, for a show so fantastic that I was inspired to blog, again.
Next stop? A review of Ronn Moss’ GH debut. I can only imagine he’s involved in exposing Faux Luke! Tune in, GH / Ronn Moss fans.
Nurses’ Ball highlights can be see by clicking HERE… including the MAGIC MILO group… and believe me, you don’t want to miss them.
Done, Finito, KAPUT! I’m done trying to find a reason to like the BnB’s Steffy Forrester, DONE! I usually love bad girls/bad boys in daytime; although I almost always root against them. I enjoy watching them unleash fresh hell on others, and later themselves as their plans backfire. It’s the best of both worlds. Truly great bad girl/guy characters feed your light and dark sides. Most daytime writers have a tried and true formula and “get” what makes bad girl/boy characters so much fun. They’re equal parts exhilaration and exasperation and just when you think you can’t love-to- hate them any more than you already do, the writers pull a twist. The character you thought you knew, the character whose all-knowing smirks drove you to the brink of distraction suddenly has a vulnerable side. You find yourself almostliking them! When daytime writers want you to fall for a character, they know what it takes to make you fall hard:
AMC’s writers pulled the ’empathy card’ on Janet-from-another-planet Green when they revealed that she wasn’t simply pathologically jealous of her beautiful sister, Natalie Marlowe, but that she’d been the target of unrelenting taunting and teasing, merciless emotional abuse, all without remorse by a mother who felt justified in the emotional torture of her daughter. Natalie was her blessing, Janet was her curse. Wilma Marlowe couldn’t wait to remind Janet, every day of her life, that she was the daughter she would have done without and when given the choice, that choice would always be the beloved Natalie. Janet’s hope was to, just once, be chosen first. The desire to be someone’s first choice – even Trevor Dillon’s, drove much of Janet’s continued march toward madness.
ATWT’s writers pulled the ’empathy card’ with Emily Stewart, who spent years dealing with her mother Susan’s substance abuse and emotional distancing. Emily’s victimization at her mother’s hands turned into a worldview in which she was always the victim of the those around her – even as she drew first blood. By soapgod, she was going to make the world PAY! ATWT pulled the double whammy with heartless schemer, Angel Lange, who was the victim of longterm sexual abuse at the hands of her wealthy powerful father. Angel’s scheming was directed at helping her secure her freedom from a powerful father who seemed unstoppable. To that end she forced Holden Snyder into marriage, schemed to keep him, and with her brother, stole millions from their father’s company.
GH’s Stefan Cassadine’s ’empathy card’ came in the form of dysfunctional parenting as well. He and brother Stavros were presented as the “Heir and a Spare”. While his parents groomed his brother for greatness (and you can read that as great darkness), he was expected to bask in the shaded glory of the pathological Stavros, accept the cast off crumbs of his parents’ affections. It was a wonder that they allowed him to keep the Cassadine name. Stavros was dangerous, but even Stavros was a kitten compared to their parents.
Stefan never stood a chance growing up. If it’s possible to assign behavior to soap characters, you could imagine that had Stefan’s parents paid more attention to him in his youth, there would be no need to discuss adult Stefan. He’d have never nade it to adulthood.
Long before Stefan, there was Bobbie Spencer, who curiously enough became Stefan’s wife. In her youth, Bobbie hadn’t met a man she didn’t want to control, nor a woman she didn’t want to destroy to have him. We later learned that Nurse Bobbie’s early trauma occurred when she was led into prostitution as a young teen by her Aunt Ruby, not long after her parents died. She was just another of the working girls in Aunt Ruby’s house. Bobbie’s “protector” was her older brother, Luke, who protected her by making sure she was ‘safe’ on her ‘dates’ with older men. Bobbie was reminded of her sex worker past, frequently, even as she transitioned from good-girl-gone-bad to bad-girl-turned-real-woman. The most lasting reminder of Bobbie’s difficult time was the arrival of the daughter she conceived while working for Aunt Ruby. Unfortuntately for Bobbie, daughter Carly came with an eye on vengence.
OLTL’s Todd Manning, in his youth, was anger on a stick and a threat to the safety of women everywhere. The writers should have taken advantage of the fact that in a field of characters with unusual names (Storm, Ridge, Thorne, Destiny) naming this guy “Trouble” instead of Todd would have been more honest. If there was a thing that Todd didn’t hate, it was only because it hadn’t been invented yet. It’s hard to feel sorry for a unrepentent rapist and the writers knew it. Without the need to try to ‘redeem’ him, the writers allowed the audience catch a glimpse of what was left of the humanity of the character. The idea seemed to be to provide the audience some hope that whatever was left of his humanity was enought to stop him from victimizing others and to begin dealing with his own pain. Todd’s pain resulted from frequent beatings by an uncaring father who despised him. Todd’s father, Peter Manning, was his maternal uncle and adoptive father. He was forced to raise the child as his own. We later found out that Todd was also sexually abused in his youth.
BnB’s Stephanie Douglas Forrester (who moved from my love-to-hate column to fully despise) was the product of a vicious wealthy father who presented the image of a perfect family to his business colleagues and friends (including fellow industry titan, YnR’s Katherine Chancellor). What his friends and and colleagues didn’t know is that Mr. Douglas beat his daughter “Stevie” with reckless abandon behind closed doors. Stephanie’s cruel childhood treatment was reportedly the cause of the cruelty she expressed in adulthood. It is something that others around her struggle with until this day — clearly Stepahnie doesn’t struggle with her inhumanity toward others. She revels in it.
You get the common thread, yes? Years of emotional, physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. Whether it happens because of a cowardly parent or a craven lover, there is typically a foundation for the abusive, shallow behavior we witness in our fave bad girls and boys. Use that as a backdrop to try to understand the BnB’s Steffy Forrester. She’s the heir to a massive fortune, her mother came BACK from the dead and re-established the family Steffy always wanted. Her mother also gave her 25% of the family company – trusting her to “take care” of her older brother. Steffywas raised by a father she adores. She’s never had to go to college and yet was handed cushy executive level positions in the company after spending only a few months in the mailroom. AND she had a stepmother who raised her and loved her while her mother was believed to have been in the grave (the same stepmother she still adored just a few years, ago, and with whom she’s had no significant conflict). She’s traveled the world and has reportedly been loved and in love.
To hear this wanker of a character whine day in and day out about how sad she is, how much she needs a man (any man dating or married to a Logan woman), how hard her life is, how she’s been abandoned, maltreated, unloved… it’s all just too much. Rather than creating feelings that run from exhilaration to exasperation, my feelings for Steffy run from damned bored to seriously annoyed. Her rapid shifting from begging her daddy (Ridge) to staywith the family and continue to raise her, to begging her ‘big daddy’ (Bill Spencer) to stay with her for the night and make love to her is pathetic, but mostly jarring. Is she a needy child or a sexually provocative woman? She can’t be both, or use both “needs” as the foundation for her aggression toward the Logan family. Her need to destroy the Logan family because her father loves Brooke, is petty. It’s surreal at best when you consider how much she loved Brooke as a stepmother, until her nological mother’s return. It’s absurd when you consider the fact that Brooke is the mother of her youngest brother.
Steffy doesn’t work as a bad girl because there is no “empathy card” to be played for this character. The character is made up of all hard angles. It’s even hard to believe that she’s invested in the people she claims to be invested in. She’s now twice turned on her mother for love of two different men (Rick Forrester and Bill Spencer). She’s never bothered to share the stock in the family company with her brother. She doesn’t care if her YOUNGEST brother (still in late childhood) grows up without a father – as long as their father is in the home she no longer lives in as an adult. She’s been working to destroy her brother’s family since he was a toddler. She fell to her knees over twin sister Phoebe’s death, but almost immediately fell into bed with the man her family blamed for her sister’s death. She defended him even after he used her and used her sister’s death to taunt her father… the same father she can’t live without.
The fact that anyone (onscreen) finds her intriguing leaves one feeling dumbfounded. Steffy Marone-Forrester is a character filled with contradictions, and none of them good.
She is not likable.
She is not rootworthy.
She is not interesting.
My time is quickly becoming wasted by this character. My sincere hope is that the writers are planning to give the character depth or to send her packing. I will accept either, but what I can’t accept is Steffy in her current incarnation. At some point the writers will become bored with this character as she is. I’m looking forward to THAT day.
Yes, yes, and since the nudity involves Paul Bettany – seriously, .. you should thank me! As for GH “blame” more than “thank” is the word I’m looking for when thinking about what sort of credit should be given. What follows is what I LIKE about GH right now and what I hate, though hate me be too strong of a word since it motivated me to find a nude Paul Bettany clip!
What I love!
I love that the writers can make me love (some) couples when I thought that my feelings for them were forever dead. You know where this is going! Lucky and Liz. She has long been, for me, one of the sleaziest most unbearable women in daytime. With respect to her lovelife, she’s the female Sonny Corinthos. If there’s a man she’s been involved with that she HASN’T carried a child for, surely he must be sterile. For a nurse, her knowledge and use of family planning devices carries as stellar a record as Port Chuckle’s cognitively limited Dapper Don. That Liz and Sonny don’t have a child together amazes me. Somehow the writers let that one slip by – unless my memory is so shoddy I just don’t remember a Lonny Love Child.
Everything about Liz makes me cringe, and yet when Liz and Lucky are together, the magic happens!
It’s not just having JJ back in the role of Lucky because honestly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of that move. Greg Vaughn’s soulful eyes and hunkalicious abs still haunt me, folks, and I miss him in the role. I wish both “Luckys” could have survived, in whatever weird storyline plot the writers could come up with – I’m easy like that. As for Lucky and Liz? Somehow, the writers have figured out how to use the LL2 family with precision accuracy. Even with Vaughn in the role, the LL2 writing, as centered around the family, is thoughtful, loving, sweet and tender. They’re the kind of moments the writers use to give us more of in the glory days of GH. It was the loving and tender moments that balanced against the occasional dark scenes when darkness on GH meant a huge and adventurous battle between the villains out to destroy Port Charles and the heroic men and women who fought back.
Now? The frequent darkness (violent and vile) is balanced against he occasional loving family scene. When I see them, they breathe new life into the show for me, even if for a limited time. I can thank the writers for that. More of THAT, please.
What I still hate!
Real men, like Jax, have to be taken down a peg when they cross paths with the Apple Dumpling Gang (Carly, Sonny, Jason). Women in Sonny’s life have to proclaim him a hero, no matter how low or how sleazy he gets. The only time they stand up to him is when the actress in the role is leaving the show. The idea that Carly gets to put on blinders to sacrifice another man’s child to stay close to Sonny makes me terribly ill. In Caroline Benson – Carly Corinthos’ world:
being kidnapped by your father’s enemies builds character.
Being photographed “dead” by a loon who fakes your death only toughens you up – besides, isn’t that photo now sitting on her mantle? Good.Times.
getting shot in the head and spending most of your formative years in a coma, shot while someone was aiming for dad? Well that just gives you one kick ass essay for your college apps (Let little Mr. Kappa Kappa Legacy top that one!).
if your son ends up in prsion because his idiot father makes self defense look like murder in a cover up? WELL! The hell he suffers there is just his initiation into how hard life can be at times. Welcome to the majors, future crime boss!
DAMN Jax for worring about his little girl ending up with a bullet in her brain – or worse.
DAMN Brenda for not being a woman tough enough to stick out a few hard times, just because she’s already been kidnapped while under Sonny’s protection and her son was threatened. Weenie.
DAMN the world for thinking that little Corinthos children who plan to kidnap a child to “save” her from the graceful love of her father are somehow wrong and pathological! Future criminals don’t become desensitized to right and wrong all on their own!
Thank goodness for Sonny and Caroline-Carly, making childhood a little less safe, one tragic event at a time. Someone should remind Carly of these moments:
Yeah. Good.Times.
To which I can say that I will not miss Bob Guza when he’s gone. Not.One.Bit.
All rights to this image are retained by the original owner
I look at the accompanying photo and I don’t even wonder: “Is Jennifer Horton going for the [naughty librarian] look?”
Hells to the NO, I don’t!
I look at this picture and think, “Is crack being freely distributed in the hair and make up room?”, “Did Melissa Reeves steal the hairdresser’s chance for a walk on role by returning?”… payback really is a bitch! Did hair and make up singlehandedly decide to save DAYS from completely boring fans to tears with this one hairstyle?”… If the writing isn’t able to keep fans interested, maybe figuring out this hot mess will. Honestly hair and makeup, it’s not your job to save this show – FREE MISSY REEVES! The hanging pieces on the side, in addition to the bun and hairclip are all just adding insult to injury.
Speaking of NAUGHTY librarians, I still miss Lucy Coe. She could rock that Jennifer Horton outfit and make you wish you were wearing it too!
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
I’m not watching, so I’ll take fans word for it that Brooke and Thomas eat “mystery berries” and start hallucinating. From there it seems that Thomas puts the move on Brooke and they may end up sleeping together. Who the hell do the writers think they’re writing for, TAYLOR? Taylor slept with Rick, fooled around with his father, had sex with his brother, slept with his grandfather and may have been the ‘lover’ of his uncle (it’s the description the writers used when for Storm when he returned). Either way? This show is screwed.
The BnB is my pick for the next soap to hit the cancellation rack. It offers nothing new, just different circumstances used to tell the SAME story… each telling more grotesque than the last time it was told.
Not a soap fan? Then you have probably been conditioned to view the genre as the product of melodramatic plots made even sillier by scene chewing acting. If you watched daytime in its lean years (or lean decades), you wouldn’t be too far from wrong. I say that as a soap fan who still hangs her head in shame while recalling some of daytime’s very worst efforts.
Was it the boy who intentionally killed his abusive father that led Luke to:
elicia). By the time he got around to daily threatening to kill a pregnant Ava once her child was born, he was done, in my book.
Coffee At Cafe Russe 