Category Archives: General Hospital

General Hospital New Year Check-In…Just “eh”

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So I haven’t written about General Hospital in quite a while. To be honest, it’s because other than being psyched that Robin is back, I’m pretty ambivalent about what’s going on. There are pairings I like and stories with potential but I’m feeling kind of lukewarm when I want to be boiling over.

First, what’s right? Well, Anna, Duke, and Robin – Thank you God! Robin, Patrick and Emma – Double thanks! Everything else? Just makes me say, “eh.”

I love Michael Easton, but Silas Clay with Sam Morgan = paint drying. I loooove Roger Howarth but I’d be lying if I said I’m really into Franco. I absolutely freak over Maura West and actually love the character of Ava, but come on…as hot as Morgan is it’s beneath her. Where’s her leading man?

All of that pales in comparison to my devastation at the disappearance of Elizabeth Webber. Where is she?

I understand that when new writers come in they bring their own ideas and characters. I went with Britt and Sabrina and it was fairly entertaining for a time. The thing is – they aren’t the reason I watch. I don’t want to watch Britt’s love story with Nikolas or Sabrina dealing with Patrick’s rejection and what to do with his baby. I DO want to watch Nikolas and Patrick. And if I’m watching Nikolas and Patrick I feel like I should see Liz more than Britt, Sabrina, or even SAM. What’s up with all this Sam is everyone’s best friend now?

I like Silas, Ava, Derek/Julien, and Sonny. It’s a decent story. I like the way Morgan, Molly, TJ and Rafe have been drawn in as well, but I want more than a mob story.

Here’s hoping that as we move into 2014 we get a seriously juicy secret between Ava and Silas. Here’s hoping that newbie Nathan West instigates a love quadrangle with Maxie, Dante, and Lulu and doesn’t just relegate Dante to the background as Lulu moves on. Here’s hoping that they actually have a plan for Elizabeth. That she sees some romance with Nikolas, or Dante, or Nathan, anyone but AJ who just seems like a dead-end for her.

The fact that I wrote this whole reflection without AJ even coming to mind shows how this rotation of stories makes me forget about characters off-screen. Does GH have too many characters? I know, I know – ratings are at their highest in years – and despite the tone of this review I understand why. Carlivati and Valentini know soaps. They get them in a way that no one has since the 1980’s…so. I guess I’ll just shut up, keep watching, and stay lukewarm while I hope for some couples with real chemistry.

General Hospital’s on Fire!

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What can I say? It looks like all the waiting is finally paying off. It took a while for Carlivati and Valenti to move the pieces around following the unfortunate shift of three integral characters into new (Franco is kind of new now – admit it) personalities, but they did it and it was well worth the wait. Kiki has come between brothers and fathers and sons, Franco has reinvigorated the Quartermaines and given Carly a possible love story. Silas has loosened up a bit and seems to be a possibility for Sam but, hold the presses (the ones that Derek Wells just bought), he’s smoking hot with Ava.

That’s story number two in this rise from chaos. After bringing in newbies we could’ve cared less about, in the past few months we’ve seen the return of Nikolas, and the introduction of Ava and Julian Jerome – new characters that connect to the past. They tie in with Duke and Anna! They tie in with Alexis! They tie into Sonny and the murder mystery around Connie’s death (although who doesn’t think the AJ has to be Ava Jerome).

The only thing that still needs work is Elizabeth! I don’t want to be ungrateful – she’s on more than she’s been on in years, but the AJ story doesn’t have any chemistry. I can’t help but hope they’re growing Britt and Nik so they can give Elizabeth something to break up. So we can see Nik trying to stay good and be loyal to Britt while throwing longing glances at Elizabeth.

Still, it would be easier to connect Elizabeth and Nikolas in to the stories with Maxie, Spinelli, Patrick, Sabrina, and Felix….especially when Robin returns!

One more compliment for the day (Friday, Sept. 19th). Maurice Bernard kicked ass in his portrayal of a manic episode today at the party. Using the mania as the excuse for revealing that Morgan knew about Michael not being related to Kiki was genius. And saving it for the last moment before the weekend made me howl out loud for the first time in a long time. General Hospital is must watch stuff right now.

***But please, still hoping for a more balanced airing of stories – haven’t seen quite a few characters in days and it messes with momentum.

General Hospital July 15-19: Franco’s Brain Tumor and Daddy Reveals (Sam and Kiki!)

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Three reveals happened on General Hospital this past week (July 15 – 19) that should prove to drive story for the forseeable future and I think I’m happy about them all. Let’s talk Franco first.

I was unsure of bringing Franco back and I still think there would have been better ways to use Roger Howarth, but I’ve come around to being open to the cool possibilities that his presence enables. When Franco woke up after that seizure, people were freaking out about him saying he was Jason. Too many jumped to the literal interpretation that he “was” Jason, which I agree would have been horrible! But as Jason’s twin brother, the idea that he would also have a brain tumor that could cause such a huge personality shift (like Jason Q to M) is brilliant and the perfect way to legitimately change the character’s place in Port Charles society. When Patrick saves Franco by removing the tumor, what kind of man will we get? Taking some of the “crazy” out of Franco doesn’t mean he’s going to be suddenly moral, just not psychotic any longer!

Then there was the bombshell that I was surprised Carlivati dropped so soon. Kiki belongs to Silas! That leads me to believe this particular story must have a much farther reach than just Ava, Kiki, and Silas in the long run. I have already gone on record about the brilliant chemistry between Maura West with Michael Easton. I’m thrilled by the fact that they have a past and now share a daughter. I love that she’s kept it from him all these years and I keep going back to the things she said about why she never told Kiki about her dad before. We all thought her dad was Franco and it was easy to interpret those statements that she was protecting her daughter as protecting her from a psycho…but if her dad is Silas – what do they mean now?

I love that Silas being her dad makes her unrelated to Michael and that Ava has managed to manipulate Morgan in to keeping her secret out of self-preservation. It would have been too obvious to go the bone marrow test way…this is better.

Finally there was the scene with Alexis and Sam where Alexis came clean and said she had no idea what’s Sam’s dad name was. That to me was believable. Why wouldn’t a woman like Alexis tell her daughter who her father was if she knew. Molly and Rafe on the Ouija board coming up with the letter J was a little hokey, but it gives us a clue that matches rumors and spoilers that her dad’s a Jerome.

On a separate note: There were some Liz/AJ/Nik/Britt scenes this week! Thank you RC and FV. I love that Liz is getting jealous but not admitting it to herself yet. I love that Nik has legitimate chemistry with Britt and shared scenes with Alexis, Sam and Molly. I love that I have seen Elizabeth on my screen this week and that she’s in the previews. Having her talk with Patrick about Franco’s brain tumor made total sense. The fact that it looks like she’ll be the one to save Danny by confronting Franco on the bridge and pretending he’s Jason? So excited! Can’t wait. More Rebecca Herbst no matter what please!

Silas Clay and Ava Jerome? Kiki Jerome? Thoughts on GH!

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I had to take some time off from watching GH because I was getting bored with the rotation of stories. Of course, when I did, my blog got tons of hits on my Silas, Kiki, Franco post from way back and it made me wonder what was going on? All these searches for, “Is Kiki Silas’ daughter?” kept showing up and I had to know what I was missing.  So, I went to the dvr and watched 4 days in a row and I’m glad I did.

I’m still kind of sad that watching four days in a row live made me want to stop watching in the first place, but the stuff I saw was magical.

Ava and Silas! Woohoo – I never in a million years would have thought to put Maura West with Michael Easton, but it’s brilliant.  They are both superstars on their own with huge fan bases.  They are both gorgeous and talented.  And they are both exactly what I need to keep watching.  I admit to being a Maura West/Michael Easton fan for years.  Maura as Carly Tenney Snyder was my all time fave soap character, and I fell in love with Michael when he played Tanner on Days of Our Lives years and years ago.  

When Ava saw Silas, Maura let just a little of Carly’s weakness for Jack show on her face…I was hooked.  And when Silas saw Ava, Michael played it with the knowledge that here – here might be the thing that’s really made Silas the asshole he is to others. 

Aside from loving the possibilities with the two of them, I love the chatter it’s got going about Kiki and who her father might be.  We know her father can’t be Franco – first cousins as lovers just won’t work and it’s obvious Kiki and Michael are going to end up together, so  how can they not be related? How also can they keep it looking like they are?

This also brings us to the “Who’s Sam’s daddy?” story.  From what I’ve read it looks like Peter Reckell will be joining GH as a Jerome.  If he’s Danny’s grandfather then Kiki could still match Danny through the Jerome side of the family but look like she’s Franco’s daughter! 

There are so many cool ways this story could go and I want to watch it…

Other thoughts:

I also want to watch the Nikolas/Laura/Lucy Deception business.  Keep Nikolas on my screen and use Britt to make Elizabeth jealous.  Put AJ with Carly and keep the feud going inside the Quartermaine family.

But please, please, please ditch the Sabrina story and find a place to put Patrick where he fits in with other actors who we care about. I’m tired of them and it looks like it’s going nowhere…

I think that’s still my main point – as much as I’m loving some stuff – I can’t figure out what to hope for or where anything’s heading.  There are too many starts and not enough follow through.  We’ve got enough characters…play with what you have and stop bringing in new people.

As much as I hated to lose Kelly Sullivan, there’s a story line that needed to be wrapped up! Sonny and Olivia make sense because you can connect them to drama through Dante and Lulu. The Kate story takes time away from other family story lines. Same thing with Patrick and Sabrina. 

And for goodness sake – get on with making Ellie related to Tracy already.  They’ve been laying groundwork for months. Either she is or she isn’t, and if she isn’t, she’s taking up time from other stories.

If you stuck around through that stream of consciousness rant – Thanks! I’ll try to be more structured next time!

General Hospital: Glimmers of Hope?

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Glimmers of hope…I will admit that many of the things I was down on in my last post about General Hospital may have been by-products of the transitioning of stories from May sweeps and the conclusion of the Nurses Ball, not to mention the cast changes and additions. Now that we’re almost done with June and a few weeks past the comeback of the OLTL 3, I’m definitely seeing glimmers of hope. I just want the rotation of characters and storylines to continue so we don’t forget about characters we love and get bored.

First glimmer of hope: Elizabeth! I am partial to Elizabeth. Even when she got almost no airtime and was used to prop Lucky, she was a main reason I tuned in. The past two days GH has gone back to the AJ/Nik story and the cell phone recording of AJ and Tracy talking about when AJ slept with Carly. Finally! (Seriously – how long ago did that happen? The wait was too too long…) We saw Elizabeth confront AJ and Carly at the Metro Court while also being given the gift of Nik/Alexis scenes.

I think Tyler Christopher being on contract means great stuff ahead for Liz and if it means more Alexis, too? Speaking of Alexis, I’m in heaven with her having story with Nik, Shawn, Molly AND Sam! So many good ways to see her on screen. I love the possibilities with Sam and Silas, and Molly and Rafe have the makings of a longer storyline. What more could we ask for?

Well, I could ask for people like Lucy and Laura to be on more regularly. I don’t want to see them take over the show (please don’t let them take over!) but it’s weird to all of a sudden see them having a conversation about a make-up company called Deception with Scotty. I mean, it makes sense and the possible story itself fits my glimmer of hope theme, but when are they gonna pick it up again? I worry I won’t hear anymore about it for another week or two?? Or three??? Or maybe four????

My last glimmer of hope regards the Franco story. Wow, Roger Howarth has won me over and I love his interaction with Maura West’s Ava and the rest of the Quartermaine clan. I love how it ties in with Michael/Morgan/Kiki as well. There’s got to be more to this than meets the eye. Kiki and Michael can’t be related. Please find a way to really bring in Duke and Anna, and AJ and Tracy.

Now here’s a big question. Is there too much going on? Maybe. At least right now. If some of these stories connect then it could get better, but I haven’t even written about Sonny/Olivia/Connie, or Sabrina/Patrick/Britt/Felix/ his sister and TJ…oh and throw in Spinelli and Elli, and Duke and Anna? I say sorry, but ditch Sabrina and put Patrick with the Silas/Sam romance. Keep the Britch and make her part of the Duke/Anna story being that she’s Faison’s daughter, and…I don’t know what to do to keep Felix, but I want to.

I believe Ron C. has a plan and it’s all connected and I believe Frank V. CAN and WILL make good things happen. They’re good and the show is so much better than the past few years. BUT there are just so many stories up in the air right now and it’s hard to follow. The glimmer of hope is that I’m interested in them all (except Sabrina – who I DO like as an actress).

General Hospital: June 2013 – A Report Card…just ehhh

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So overall I think GH is earning a solid B. I’m not bored, and there are some really good things in process, but I’m not captivated either and that’s the bigger problem.

One of the things that’s been really bothering me lately is the rotation of storylines. How we get chunks of characters and stories and then don’t see them again for weeks. I’m assuming this has to do with scheduling actors and keeping down costs so I’m trying to ignore it, but it’s like I forget people exist.

I want to see Liz and Nik at least once a week. I need to see Anna more than I do. The scene with Anna and Duke babysitting Emma was one of the best scenes all month. Maybe that’s why they don’t show them…they make everything else look bad because they’re so good.

Anyway – here we go:

The return of the OLTL 3: B+
I think they’ve pulled this off. I like Kiki and the potential story between Morgan and Michael. Kristen Alderson is great with Maura West and Roger Howarth.

Roger Howarth as Franco is going to work…mostly because they’re totally changing Franco (or is it really Franco?) but whatever, it’s good and he’s good. The recent scenes with Carly after the shooting were brilliant. I can see a way for them to work together now.

Michael Easton? Where has he been? They haven’t given me enough of him. He’s my favorite of the three and I’m dying here! I like Silas. Please, please, just have him be a hard ass, unsentimental, jerk doctor that Sam can soften and not that psycho brother of his returned from the dead.

Quartermaine Mania: B
The relish stuff was fun for a while. I like the constantly changing loyalties based on who has the pivotal shares and Tracy/AJ competition is always fun. Bring Duke back into things please! Having Franco and Kiki move into the house was great. Can we get some Ava/AJ action? Their chemistry is fabulous and this AJ/Carly/Franco/Ava quadrangle could earn an A+ eventually!

Sonny/Dante/Lulu/Olivia/Kate: C
This is all just mind-numbingly dull for me. Connie vs. Kate for Sonny’s heart? Both characters are like watching paint dry. They don’t compare to his chemistry with Brenda. I love Emme Rylan as Lulu but there’s no real story happening. Even the stuff with their baby is boring and predictable. Maxie’s lying to them – yep – we know. Nothing’s happening. She got her memory back…great. Now what? I’m hoping we’re just transitioning storylines here and something bigger and better is coming for all of them.

Alexis/Shawn/Molly?Rafe/TJ/new Dubois chic (it’s bad if I watch everyday and can’t remember her name): Finally something real for Alexis and Shawn to play besides attraction. Him shooting Olivia is a great way to move their story along. I like the idea of the quadrangle with the youngsters but other than the fact that I love Molly from watching her grow up, and that Rafe and TJ are great actors, there’s nothing making me root for any of them. They’s so 2D.

Patrick/Sabrina/Britt/Felix: B
Ick. The Patrick Sabrina love scenes were cheesy and awkward. I liked her at first but she just takes away time from characters I really care about. Put Patrick with Sam and create a love triangle between them and Silas…let Elizabeth be wary of it. Anything – but I’m really tired of this whole thing. Except for Felix. Keep him and tell me more about how his sister’s blackmailing him because his parent’s don’t know he’s gay. That’s a good story.

Liz/Nikolas/AJ:B
I’d love to give this an A. This could engage me in the show, but I never see them so…whatever. Nik’s new hairstyle is awesome, but they’ve isolated them both from the larger storylines at hand. Even Nik having the dirt on AJ doesn’t seem to matter as much when we forget they exist.

Luke/Laura/Anna/Duke/Scotty/Lucy/Doc:D-
Where are they????????

As I’ve written this, I’ve decided I am much more upset about this show than I realized. I’m not connecting with these characters because I’m not seeing them, and when I am seeing them, what they’re going through isn’t resonating with me. I’m sad now. I need to stop writing.

General Hospital: Can this Franco thing work?

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Can this Franco thing work? Maybe. After watching two days knowing for sure that Roger Howarth is playing Franco, I’m still torn but optimistic. My first reaction of being mildly disappointed that they didn’t come up with a more creative solution has been tempered by the many attempts to explain on social media how Franco’s character can push the stories of so many of my other favorite characters further. I’m seeing a small but definitely present opening to being able to connect with Roger Howarth and still think Franco’s wacked out, and I’m trying to stay really positive because I believe there’s a plan. (And if that plan let’s me keep RH and maybe gives me some scenes between him and Laura Wright then I’ll be OK.)

Franco’s presence can give Sam someone to hate more than Dr. Silas, can make Michael question his future relationship with Kiki (Is she his cousin? Is Franco really Jason’s twin and Alan’s son?), and gives Sonny a new person in Port Charles to hate. He also gives AJ the chance at another brother. How will AJ respond to the fact that Franco asked for Michael to be protected, while Sonny and Carly were the reason he was in prison? Is it the enemy of my enemy is my friend scenario? And if Franco is connected to Ava Jerome and AJ and Ava cross paths (still hoping for romance there…), can we see a quadrangle with AJ, Carly, Franco, Ava? There are really lots of possibilities.

The thing I was most worried about was that there wasn’t anything about Franco that made you connect with him in the past. Sure, he was supposed to be rejected by Jason but mostly viewers just found him reprehensible. Yesterday and today, there were flashes (very small) where I actually thought, well maybe he’ll be OK. You see, there’s no way not to at least like Roger Howarth a little bit, so if he’s playing a character with nothing you can connect to, it makes you feel all wigged out on the inside. If it’s all been illusion stuff to hurt Jason then maybe…And there was a moment between him and Michael where I thought it looked like Michael wanted to find a way to forgive him – I could have been imagining it, but RH played that remorse really well.

It’s still just a wait and see game. We won’t be able to judge until we see the stories Ron and Frank have in mind and I’m cool with that. As I said before, I’m not going to quit watching – the fact that my soap is still on the air is an everyday gift. The fact that I can still watch talent like Roger’s on my television is enough. But, I am hoping for it to turn into more than enough…Come on GH – step it up and really make this good!

General Hospital Thoughts on Silas Clay, Kiki Jerome and ???

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So, if you’re a General Hospital fan you’ve no doubt been giving some thought to this crazy situation with the three characters brought over from One Life to Live. I don’t want to re-hash the reasons behind the decision to give the actors completely new characters…it was a legality issue and I support them keeping the talent any way they can. And if anyone can pull off bringing three actors back as three completely new characters it would be the team of Ron Carlivati and Frank Valenti. What I do want to weigh in on is the new characters themselves.

Let’s start with Michael Easton (because I confess to having been in love with ME since his “Days” stint as Tanner.) RC and FV were in a tricky situation. ME had already played the double role as the crazed Stephen Clay (vampire Caleb from Port Charles days). They couldn’t bring a potential romantic lead back as a crazed serial killer, so they went with the brother of said killer Dr. Silas Clay. So far so good. He’s an intelligent character with a reason to be in town (getting custody of his nephew Rafe), and he has already clashed in that “Oh yeah they’re gonna do it one day” way with Sam! Woo hoo! Unless they mess it up by making his identity questionable and hinting he could actually be Stephen, I’d consider ME a successful transition.

Then there’s Kristen Alderson. I have to admit to never really liking Starr. Even on OLTL, and I may have unfairly blamed the actress. I like this character Kiki – although the name is annoying. Her acting is as different as her hair color, and making her the lost Quartermaine heir is genius connection! One caveat – something’s gotta be up with that. There’s obviously a potential triangle brewing with Morgan, Kiki, and Michael, and she’s got great chemistry with both. BUT wouldn’t she be Michael’s cousin if she is really Franco’s daughter? Ick!

And Franco leads us to Roger Howarth, by far one of the best actors on daytime. I’ve loved him as Paul Ryan (ATWT), Todd Manning (OLTL,GH) and now as…well, I don’t know who. However, all signs point to Franco, another evil serial killer character. This is the only situation where I find myself praying that Ron and Frank have something up their sleeves. I want and need to like Roger and I can’t see how you ever redeem the character of Franco. As the show ended today (5/28), the characters assembled at the Haunted Star obviously recognized him and not in a good way. The previews showed Sam yelling, “Is my husband alive?” So, obviously not Jason. I’m still hoping against hope he could be Jerry, because for some strange reason I think he could be redeemed somehow, but Franco? Ick! Again.

It would have been brilliant to bring him back as Jason Quartermaine as opposed to Morgan…erase all memories from the past years since the wreck – put him in the hospital with Dr. Silas Clay, Patrick, and Elizabeth…but alas, it doesn’t seem to have gone that way this time. I still hope they go there one day with a recast.

So, two out of three isn’t bad – and I’m still hopeful that RH will be anyone but Franco. If he’s not I won’t give up. I think Ron can pull something off and I’m committed to GH no matter what. If I made it through Marlena’s possession story on Days of Our Lives I can get through anything – and so can most soap fans. We just love our stories!

General Hospital Recap April 8-12: Returns make for classic soap drama!

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General Hospital is rockin’ 50 and this past week’s episodes were prime examples of why viewers are once again tuning into Port Charles.  Executive Producer Frank Valenti and Head Writer Ron Carlivati have done what no other show has had the nerve to do, return to their roots. What amazes me is that even as a new viewer (roughly three years now), I am absolutely loving the returns of veteran actors I never knew existed their first go on GH.  Too often shows bring people back and let them wallow with nothing to do because they’re afraid of ruining the past or the character, but not Frank and Ron.   

Monday’s episode started out with the resolution of Friday’s cliffhanger where Frisco Jones proposed to Felicia at the Nurses Ball (The absolute biggest and best return of all)! Even I, as a newbie fan, know that Frisco goes with Felicia, but Felicia chose Mac! And the story worked! We didn’t have to get Frisco and Felicia to get good drama.  Frisco then turned around and left his daughter Maxie to fend for herself after she was just starting to trust him again.  Great set up for Maxie to keep growing emotionally.  She’s always been a bit one note – Ron is growing her up! 

Other great returns this week? Stavros Cassadine! Never knew Robert Kelker-Kelly was even on GH, but when he showed up in the dining room and said “Hello Laura” I about keeled over from excitement.  Carlivati gave me just enough well placed background info through the conversations of other characters to keep up. (And as someone who reads spoilers and all I can about the show, this was one surprise they kept from everyone! Still hoping they’re keeping Blackie on ice, too!) 

Another fantastic moment, although not a return, was the reveal of Emme Rylan as Lulu Spencer Falconeri. Can’t wait for her to work with Dante.  Their chemistry will be off the charts.  I like him better with her already.  What really worked for this reveal was having Nikolas (can we say, “woohoo – find a way to keep him around”) explain how everything came about to Elizabeth and Alexis.  It made absolute sense that slighly crazy Stavros would have a thing for Lulu.  They even found a way to explain Helena switching Aiden’s paternity test (to give Stavros something to live for – an heir). 

The return of Brenda with Jax and the whole breaking off of the Jax/Brenda engagement helped last week’s shows succeed.  Food fight anyone? But who could have guessed the cat fighting that would ensue when Carly found Brenda in bed with Michael? These ladies clawing each other’s eyes out is the epitome of great soap drama! It made me uncomfortable, angry, excited, and kept me glued to my TV. My one complaint about Brenda and Michael is that it’s obvious nothing really happened between them and I really wish it had. It would have added so many more dimensions  and options to the Sonny/Carly/Jax/Brenda/Michael/AJ relationships. 

Speaking of AJ (another great returnee), how classic was his reaction to Michael sleeping with Brenda.  He could hardly contain his joy.  In fact, his joy was almost equal to Monica’s joy regarding his blossoming relationship with Liz.  Before Nikolas’ return, I was totally on board with a Liz/AJ (Quiz) pairing, and I still think they’re pretty adorable, but if you watched Friday’s episode where AJ saw Liz hugging Nikolas, it’s hard to deny the “Niz” chemistry. Wow.

 That’s about all I have to say about the week of April 8 – 12, 2013 in Port Charles.  What’s so awesome is that I know I’m leaving so much good stuff out! Tell me what you thought made this week amazing and whose returns are getting you psyched to keep watching!

What the Big Three Could Learn From HLN and the 39th Annual Daytime Emmys!

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When HLN decided to air the 39th annual Daytime Emmys I was psyched.  While awards shows in general can get a little dull, I have always tuned in for the chance to see my daytime drama stars get their due for some of the hardest jobs in the biz.  Soap stars, writers, and directors work longer and harder than most putting out a show that doesn’t have a “season” but runs all year-long and has passionate fans that won’t shut up if someone’s “out of character”.  As our world has changed over the past 50 years (almost the amount of time General Hospital has been in existence) the soap audience has changed as well.  We aren’t stay at home moms or elderly women who have nothing else to do.  Often times we’re busy successful women (and men!) who have to DVR our favorites and make time to connect with our “stories”. The saddest part of this evolution is that it isn’t recognized by the powers that be in programming and many of our beloved soaps have been cancelled due to poor ratings.

The great thing about HLN and their treatment of the Emmys was that they took the time to figure out what the viewers wanted and gave it to them.  They cut the fluff pieces and gave out the awards.  They did big awards in the beginning, middle, and end.  They gave us a red carpet with people who asked questions that proved they either did their research or watched the shows themselves.  But probably the coolest thing they did was interact with their audience through Twitter before, during, and after the show.

Using Twitter, they gave soap fans the opportunity to share their thoughts and love of soaps for days before the show, stoking the excitement and increasing their odds of viewers.  During the show HLN had someone reading viewer tweets and responding to them in real-time like they were watching the show with us.  The #DaytimeEmmys actually trended worldwide for most of the show!  After they took the time to thank fans and invite them to view the show again, although the tweet asking if we could get it trending again on a rerun was a little naïve.

HLN didn’t pull in the number of viewers that the big networks want for the shows they overproduce and spend way too much money on, but they got the biggest audience they’ve had for a regularly scheduled non-news program ever! ABC, NBC, CBS – pay attention! The viewers don’t watch in the traditional way in big enough numbers to bring in the ratings soaps used to.  The number of people watching soaps according to your unrealistic Nielsen numbers is about the best they can expect in a changing world.

TV is a different animal these days.  Just because I might sit and watch General Hospital for five hours in a row on Saturday morning doesn’t mean I shouldn’t count in your ratings.  Soaps need to embrace their viewers on a level that works with their lives today! Use Facebook and Twitter. Promote the show in primetime. Count the online viewers as ratings! We may not be watching live daily but we’re watching everything you’re throwing at us. Look at your stories, assumptions and pace. The storylines that got you ratings in the 80’s will still get you ratings with the right twists and updates (see Dallas – TNT as a perfect example!). Soaps are a treasure that the big three networks will regret letting slip through their hands when they realize that nothing is going to bring in the ratings from pre-cable/satellite/internet days.  If only they would take a page from HLN and promote what they have and connect with their viewers!

The End of Soaps?

Entertainment Musings, General Hospital, , , ,

I grew up on Days of Our Lives.  My stay at home mother took her break every day at 1pm and I would “rest” while she watched her “soap”. Some of my earliest TV memories are of the Salem Strangler, and one of my first diary entries detailed my jubilation that Bo and Hope made love. (Not that I really knew anything about what actually happened under the sheets in those days.)  Soap Operas were traditions passed down from mother to daughter.  The characters became like family.  I recall feigning illness to come home from school on the days of weddings or big plot developments.  My mother had to have known, but never commented.

Just last week, we were met with the sad news that two more soaps would be leaving the air.  The cancellation of One Life to Live and All My Children came on the coattails of Guiding Light and As the World Turns.  It seems soaps just aren’t profitable these days and are more easily replaced by cheaper talk and game shows.  That’s a shame.  We are losing something special, something that connects us as women,  families, and community.

I think lower ratings for soaps have less to do with people not being interested and more to do with how they’re counting viewers.  Most of the people I know who have the luxury of being home during the workday still watch soaps. They still give the stay at home moms that hour of sanity to detach and dream.  But they also give that comfortable hour of relaxation and familiarity to those of us who DVR, tape, or watch them again on Soapnet (almost none of which are being counted in the rating system as it stands).

When Guiding Light and As the World Turns were cancelled last year I grieved for the loss of characters and stories that had been a part of my heart for years and were like family to me.  As soon as As the world Turns was off the air, I took up watching General Hospital.  I could have turned on any number of mindless afternoon options, but I needed and wanted the stories and connections that only soaps offer. I have since found new friends at work who love to spend time chatting about what’s happening in Port Charles.

People think that new viewers aren’t coming to the table, but just last week my 12 year-old niece crawled into the chair with me and started asking me questions about Michael and Abby, Liz and Jason, and Sonny and Brenda.  She was drawn in despite her homework and her computer.  She was drawn into the stories,  the couples, the romance.  She was drawn to sharing the experience of a soap with me the way I was with my mom when I was little.

I don’t think these recent cancellations are the end of soaps, just maybe soaps as we know them.  Formats do have to grow and change with the times and the audience.  Many of the actors from As the World Turns and other cancelled shows have ventured into online soaps and other new media. Maybe soaps won’t stay in the afternoons or maybe they’ll only be shown on the web, but one thing that won’t change is the fact that there will always be an audience that craves the connection, continuity, and community that good soap operas offer. I just hope the people in charge of the networks aren’t too cheap to see that.