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General Hospital's Gain

Martha Byrne may have only been on General Hospital for a few seconds on Wednesday, but I can already tell this new role as the mayor's wife fits her like a glove. She is certainly much better off joining the cast of GH than being on As the World Turns. Regardless of who was to blame for Byrne's departure from ATWT, I think she left the show just in time, even if this role on GH is short-lived.


ATWT used to be one of my favorite soap operas and I rarely missed an episode. I grew up watching Byrne as Lily and for me no one can replace her, but in recent years the show's writing has become somewhat sloppy and rather bizarre. It is not the same soap opera it once was and does not adhere to the same standards. The turning point for ATWT came when the writers started letting the drama drive the storylines, the same problem that is currently occurring on Y&R, although to a much lesser degree. When ATWT started doing this the show went downhill very quickly. The storylines did not even have the same feel as past storylines, making the show and its characters virtually unrecognizable. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason to most of the storylines. They were just there to uphold the dramatic situations that were being presented. This type of writing has a tendency to alienate longtime viewers as it did me because I no longer watch the show. So in my opinion the fact that Martha Byrne is now on another soap opera playing an entirely different role is a good thing because her character on ATWT has not been the same for a very long time. This makes it less difficult to miss seeing her play Lily and makes accepting her new role that much easier.

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