Paula's Soapbox

For those of you who were undoubtedly worried about my sanity after reading my first blog post about Rafe 2.0, worry no more, because after this week's episodes I am officially disenchanted with him. Just as I predicted DOOL has gone too far with the evil twin thing, although much sooner than I expected. Rafe 2.0 was pretty good at providing some comic relief the first few days he was on, but this storyline keeps getting progressively worse and Rafe 2.0 keeps getting more evil. In short...I hate him. I never liked the fact that Stefano and EJ were threatening to take Ally away from Sami, but I thought, or perhaps hoped these were just empty threats designed to make Rafe cooperate. I never really expected them to risk raising suspicion by following through. Granted EJ had a change of heart, but he didn't put forth much of an effort to ensure Ally's safety. I'm sure Stefano would never be able to reach her in Hong Kong if he wanted to. At this point I'm not ...

If ever there was a storyline or a character over utilized it would be the saga of Lisa Niles. I am both mentally and physically exhausted by the constant back and forth between Lisa & Robin, Lisa & Patrick, Robin & Patrick, and Robin & everyone else. Now new doctor Terrell has been thrown into the mix as another man powerless against Lisa's charms. It is difficult enough at this point to watch Lisa create a path of destruction all by herself, but now that she has help I'm not sure I have the energy to watch any more of her schemes. Lisa had the potential to be an intriguing soap villain; and for a while it seemed like she may have had the potential to be a redeemable villain (see Miss Diagnosis ). However her crazy behavior as well as the motivation behind this behavior is too much to grasp, particularly for someone who supposedly passed her psych evaluation at Shady Brook. Moreover it doesn't make sense that she could talk someone like Terrell into helping...

I hate to say this about one of the best soaps on tv, but I think Days has "jumped the shark" in the EJ/Sami/Sydney/Johnny/Rafe/Nicole/Brady saga. I know that Sami and EJ have this inherent need to constantly one-up each other but their latest competition has gotten a bit ridiculous. I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse than Sami shooting EJ in the head and him taking her kids away; but that just proves you should never assume things can't get any worse. I meant to comment a few weeks ago on EJ's ludicrous idea that Sami somehow caused Johnny to get cancer. It was one thing for him to blurt that out while he was so upset, but he actually tried to make a case for it, saying that Sami caused Johnny's cancer by stressing him out when he moved in with him. First of all no one person can just give somebody cancer. Moreover Johnny had the cancer before he moved into the Dimera mansion it just wasn't detected. The pictures that Gaby took at Rafe and Sa...

I've been hoping that something would happen on Days to put a stop to the Sami/EJ/Sydney/Nicole baby swap roller coaster extravaganza because quite frankly, haven't we all had enough? There has to be something else that can be done with these characters that doesn't all stem from Nicole switching Sami's baby out. Nicole tried to make EJ think Sydney was their child. EJ found out what she did and kicked her out of the house. EJ then made Sami think Sydney was dead because she tried to keep her from him. Then he fell back in love with Sami, then she found out what he did so she shot him in the head. Then EJ found out that Sami shot him so he took her kids away from her and is milking the pain for all it's worth. Did I leave anything out? Here is what I was hoping would happen to resolve this mess: (1) It's almost Christmas so let EJ realize he is hurting his kids and that they are better off with Sami. EJ will seem more redeemable this way and Sami's heart ...

I doubt if I'm alone in saying that there is a lot wrong with General Hospital these days. While it continues to be one of my favorite soaps there are many changes I would make immediately if I had the power. Below is a list of the top ten suggestions I have for the way the show could improve. 1. The Claire/Sonny storyline needs to be dropped. It isn't working. Their conversations are boring and the context of their relationship is, well...icky. 2. Amp up Lisa's craziness. Despite my earlier distaste for a Robin/Patrick/Lisa triangle, the obsessed ex-girlfriend angle is working. It's interesting and very soapy. 3. Ronnie needs to be established as either a cop with a chip on his shoulder or someone who works for Franco. So far I haven't been able to tell whether Ronnie falls more on the side of good or bad because this character hasn't been clearly defined. 4. Brenda's life away from Port Charles and the people that surround it need to become an int...

Over the past few months I have been waiting in vain for something to happen on General Hospital that would captivate my attention or at least give me the impression that something was about to happen to hold my interest. As it turns out that was an exercise in futility because everything I have seen these past few months has convinced me that the show is in a slump, not a "please-be-patient-while-the-storylines-are-building" slump, but a real honest-to-goodness slump, the kind that makes every episode seem exactly the same. I can't even really find anything constructive to say about the show anymore because it feels like the storylines never change. They all involve the same players doing exactly the same thing. Even the dialogue is being recycled from one day to the next. I can't remember a time before Sonny said something that didn't involve some variation of the lines "Johnny's gonna die", "I would never hit a woman", "I wouldn...

Ever since Kristina witnessed Sonny's verbal attack on Claudia at the Metro Court, I have wondered how, if at all, this incident would impact her thoughts on abuse. With Kristina now learning so much more about the complexities of abuse it seems only natural that she would find similarities in the way Sonny is with women and the way Kiefer was with her. Granted, Sonny is not likely to ever hit a woman. He is careful not to cross that line after seeing the way his mother was beaten while he was growing up. His upbringing obviously left him with the impression that abuse only exists in the physical form. Perhaps the physical pain he and his mother endured was so bad that any other forms of abuse went unnoticed. Kiefer didn't start hitting Kristina right away, and I doubt if Deke hit Sonny's mother right away either. Like most abusive situations, there was undoubtedly some mental and emotional abuse that occurred throughout, only Sonny was either too young or ill-equipped to r...

With all the things that General Hospital has gotten wrong lately, they seem to have an uncanny ability of making successful matches out of the most unlikely couples. Before Georgie died, and Maxie was at her most selfish, no one would have ever thought about a Spinelli and Maxie romance, let alone a non-wedding, but somehow it worked and the audience loved it. And even though this lovable pair has seen less screen time lately and are likely headed for turmoil, I suspect they will follow the same necessary pattern of break-ups and reconciliations that most soap supercouples do. When Olivia Falconeri landed in Port Charles, I never would have predicted she would be involved with Johnny Zacchara. Olivia was not one to keep her opinions to herself, especially when it pertained to the mob lifestyle, so a relationship with a Zacchara seemed like a long shot at best. Moreover, Johnny is roughly the same age as Dante, so a pairing between him and Olivia wasn't even on anyone's radar ...

Unless you are a soap fan who doesn't read internet spoilers, or you missed Saturday night's podcast you have undoubtedly heard the rumor about what really happened to Michael in prison. That rumor of course being that he was the victim of prison rape, which seems to be exactly what GH has been implying the past few days. And I just want to go on record right now as saying that if the reason for the Michael recast was so the show could put somebody with a more innocent look into these prison scenes it was a bad decision. It is not that Chad Duell isn't doing a good job as Michael because he is. It just never ceases to amaze me how soaps are constantly sacrificing good actors for bad storylines. And this prison storyline is bad on more levels than I can even wrap my mind around. First of all Michael probably would have been okay in prison until Jason got there if Sonny had checked his ego at the prison door and not antagonized Anthony Zacchara with threats about Johnny. Sonn...

As many of you know I recently had a bout with the flu, so forgive me if my latest assessment of General Hospital is less than accurate, or coherent. However, I have been getting this strange feeling of deja vu the past few weeks because when I watch this show now it seems like I may as well be watching episodes from a few years ago. Jax and Carly are involved in a power struggle within their marriage, which involves Sonny. Michael is the center of everyone's focus and concern. Spinelli and Maxie have been involved in yet another caper. Liz is struggling with the fact that she cheated on Lucky. Johnny is public enemy number one. And Tracy is once again obsessed with Lulu's love life. I know that soaps like to recycle their storylines, but I am not sure why this soap feels the need to go back over all their old storylines using the same cast of characters. Of course this might be tolerable if the dialogue was intriguing enough to break up the monotony, but I am not sure how many...

Ever since Johnny found out that Olivia has been keeping her son's identity a secret he has been offering ominous warnings of the danger that may result from this secret. Based on these warnings I am inclined to believe that someone, likely Johnny, will die because Olivia cannot bring herself to tell the truth. And while I hope that this assessment is incorrect, a variety of factors indicate otherwise. First of all, now that Claudia is dead, Johnny is the only Zacchara in Port Charles, with the exception of Anthony who remains in prison. And Johnny's death would effectively remove the Zacchara family from the canvas of the show, should the writers be so inclined to make this happen. One can also not ignore the fact that with Olivia's gravitation toward Sonny, and Lulu's infatuation with Dante, there really does not seem to be a place for Johnny at the moment. Granted he could have a storyline that didn't involve either of his love interests, but I have seen no evide...

I knew that it was only a matter of time before Lulu crossed the line and revealed Dante's secret. For weeks she has talked about his undercover assignment in the most inappropriate places as if she were hoping the wrong person would find out about it. And today someone finally overheard her. She told Dante that she had warned Johnny against trusting him, a statement that quickly provoked an argument. It was during this argument that Lulu blurted out everything Dante has worked so hard to keep hidden, including the fact that he is Olivia's son. Johnny, who had secretly overheard this argument, went to Olivia's where he confronted her about what he had heard. I have to say as annoyed as I am by Lulu, in fact I am dangerously close to hoping that Dante finds someone else, Olivia hasn't exactly been a walk in the park either. And today I was reminded of how ridiculous it has been for her to be so worried about Dante's safety when she has the power to ensure it. Months ...

In watching General Hospital sometimes it is easy to forget the kind of life that Sonny and Jason lead, and how that life permeates the existence of the children in their inner circle. However, if the amount of violence that surrounds them was ever in question, Wednesday's episode left little room for doubt. To say that I have mixed emotions about this episode is an understatement. And this comes as quite a shock considering that I knew beforehand what was going to happen. I was just unaware of many of the specifics and the overall tone that the show would adopt. Claudia's death and the moments leading up to it were quite simply tragic. There really isn't a more accurate description than this. It was, without a doubt, a tragedy no matter how you look at it. Claudia helped deliver Carly's baby even though she could have just as easily made her way out of the country, avoiding retribution from Sonny or Jason. And in these moments it was easy to recognize the good in Claud...

Carly and her baby may have survived the car crash, but the danger is far from over as Claudia continues to pose a threat. Of course that threat may have been greatly reduced if the PCPD bothered to search for the two women, or at least let somebody else search. I never realized that Mac had the ability or the resources to put the entire town on lockdown. He had Jason cuffed to a table in the interrogation room/makeshift jail cell to keep him from killing Claudia, like Sonny doesn't have other employees or the ability to kill Claudia himself. Moreover, as Alexis pointed out, Mac arrested Jason on the presumption that he was about to commit a crime. If that were legal, Mac should have most of Port Charles behind bars! And as if Mac didn't have enough things to control, he assumed the role of Jax's babysitter by not letting him fly his helicopter in the rain. Since when do the local police get involved in controlling the airways? At least Carly had Spinelli, Dante, Lulu, Sam,...

Thursday's General Hospital began in true, classic soap form, beginning with an old-fashioned cat fight between Olivia and Claudia. The so-called "cat fight" used to be a soap staple, but for some reason is rarely ever seen these days. If there was ever a need to bring one back, Claudia and Olivia's ongoing feud certainly called for one. Unfortunately before Olivia could get too many hits in, the police busted through the hotel room and promptly arrested her for assault, or attempted murder, depending on whether they believed Claudia's claims. Nevertheless, Mac quickly let Olivia go, while Claudia finished getting ready for her birthday party, unaware that it might be her last. Meanwhile, Jason replayed the CD implicating Claudia in Michael's shooting, so that Sonny could hear it again. Afterwards Sonny became eerily calm, so much so that it was difficult to tell whether he was in denial or plotting revenge. Jason assumed that he was in denial, or worse, that ...

It would appear that time is running out for Claudia, as the truth about her involvement in Michael's shooting finally comes to the surface. Unfortunately the one person who may be able to save her has been kidnapped by rival mobster, Joey Limbo, on orders from Anthony Zacchara. Anthony instructed Joey to lock Johnny away in a safe location so that Joey could go after Sonny and Jason without Johnny getting caught in the crossfire. Johnny almost managed to escape, but was quickly forced back into captivity, effectively preventing him from warning Claudia that her life was in danger. Meanwhile, an oblivious Claudia was preoccupied with the birthday party Sonny decided to throw her. Of course she managed to make a little time to threaten Olivia, convinced that she knew were Johnny was. Claudia even made plans to tell Sonny about Dante at the party, but something tells me that she may not get that chance. On the other hand, Sonny didn't appear to have much of a reaction to hearing ...

On Monday's General Hospital Olivia finally tried to tell Sonny the truth about Dante. And of course Sonny thought she was just trying to complain about Claudia, which prompted Michael to interrupt and come to Claudia's defense. I have to say that this was the first day that one of Michael's outbursts actually annoyed me. He has already been having memories of Claudia admitting to being responsible for his shooting and I cannot believe that he would be so easily manipulated by her that he would completely disregard all of that. Perhaps Alexis and Olivia have been right all of these years in keeping their kids away from Sonny because it seems like his naiveté has transferred to Michael. Meanwhile, Claudia was in her hotel room trying to force Dante into sleeping with her by threatening Olivia. Surprisingly enough Dante turned her down and walked out of the room, making another sound argument for nurture over nature. Later on Olivia was summoned by Anthony so he could determi...

On Friday's General Hospital, Helena started playing more mind games, proving that she is not as frail as she let on in Greece. She informed Elizabeth that she knew about her affair with Nikolas and implied that she would tell Lucky. She even dropped hints of the affair to Luke, who all but ignored them. This did not stop Elizabeth from panicking and contacting Nikolas to tell him that Helena knew about them. Meanwhile, Helena summoned Lucky and implied that she had information that would be valuable to him. Obviously Helena is not going to spill any secrets just yet. She likes to manipulate people too much and enjoys watching them panic. In that respect she is like a female Jerry Jax, using secretive information in order to get what she wants out of people. What is so funny is that everyone seems to know how evil she is, yet Nikolas and Elizabeth seemed shocked that she knew about their affair. Is it so far beyond the realm of possibilities to think that Helena had spy equipment s...

On Friday's General Hospital Claudia continued to try to seduce Dante. When he resisted her advances she told him that she knew his true identity and that if he didn't want Sonny to know he had to do everything she said, whenever she said. Fortunately for Dante, Ronnie decided to act like a cop for perhaps the first time in his career and sent some officers in the hotel room to arrest him. Later on, Ronnie told Dante that he was off the case. Of course Dante protested, even insisting that he would resign from the force if he had to and collect evidence against Sonny as a citizen. As hard as I try I cannot imagine a world where a private citizen could collect evidence against the head of a mob organization and expect to have that evidence be admissible in court. A while after Dante's "arrest", Claudia walked into the Metro Court lobby, still buttoning up her shirt. Unfortunately for her, Sonny was in the lobby talking to Carly and saw this display. Of course these ...

On Thursday's General Hospital Sam took Kristina to the clinic to get birth control pills. I won't even attempt to count how many things are wrong with that sentence. However, I do want to point out how disconcerting it was to hear Kristina drop hint after hint that Kiefer was pressuring her into having sex and Sam only telling her that she should wait until she is ready. Kristina already had the birth control in hand so obviously she is planning on doing this whether she is ready or not. Sam should have made a point to tell Kristina that if Kiefer was the right one for her he would not be pressuring her into doing something she was not ready to do. Moreover Sam should not be the one having this conversation with Kristina in the first place, Alexis should. Of course it is kind of difficult to be a mom to your own kids when you are busy trying to play mom to someone else's. While Sam and Kristina were at the clinic, Alexis found Michael on the waterfront and took the opportu...