Paula's Soapbox

When I watched Friday's GH I was positive Carly destroyed Brenda's wedding dress. She's been acting a little crazy lately anyway and I was sure that Michael's problems finally pushed her over the edge when I heard her conversation with Sonny. I'm sure there was a big part of her that thought it was in Michael's best interest to tell Sonny what happened to him. However it was clear that her primary motivation for talking to Sonny before Michael had a chance to was to make sure he blamed Dante. When that didn't happen she turned her attention to Brenda, implying that she would hurt Sonny, which would in turn hurt Michael. Of course Brenda hurting Sonny is primarily contingent on Carly telling him about Brenda's baby at the wedding. Carly is so worried about how Sonny's reaction to hearing this news will affect Michael, yet she is the one who insists on delivering it and in the worst possible way. Obviously Carly has issues with Brenda and with seeing ...

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...

Like many of you I have thoroughly enjoyed Lisa's descent into madness. Of course now that Patrick has found Robin, and Lisa has essentially laid all her cards on the table, this storyline will have to come to some sort of conclusion. First of all, someone will likely get shot so hopefully Steve will make his way to the cabin where he can help out the injured party, assuming no one gets killed. If, in fact, someone does get shot I hope it is Lisa, but not for the reasons you might think. If Lisa gets shot, accidentally of course while she and Patrick are fighting over the gun, the bullet may hit her in the head. Since she is a soap character a bullet in the head will not necessarily be fatal, just ask DOOL's E.J. Dimera. If he can be shot in the head and make it through a whole night without medical attention, then Lisa should be fine with three doctors surrounding her immediately after it happens. Of course Lisa's subsequent surgery to remove the bullet will be a tri...

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...

Dr. Lisa Niles's inability to take "no" or "never again" for an answer may turn out to be the thing that finally makes this character and her storyline worth watching. I really hope General Hospital is planning on taking the psychotic ex-girlfriend route with her because it would finally give me a reason to care about this otherwise boring triangle. Not to mention the fact that it would teach Patrick a valuable lesson of why it is a bad idea to cheat on his wife. The crazy, unstable ex-girlfriend plot almost always makes for an entertaining soap storyline. In fact some of the most memorable performances from soaps have been given in the context of demented exes seeking revenge or vindication of some sort. I can still recall many of the scenes in which Cynthia Watros portrayed Josh Lewis's jilted wife Annie on Guiding Light. She made a near seamless transition from mild-mannered nurse to Josh and Reva's worst nightmare ov...