Paula's Soapbox

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 ...

Well, it was another successful karaoke night at Jake's on Wednesday's General Hospital. And it provided a much needed break from all the intensity that Franco has brought to the show the past few weeks. I am pleased to see that GH seems to be making this a regular event. I do not really mind the darker moments on this soap because quite frankly that is where most of the interesting storylines come from, but it is nice to have balance and the karaoke episodes do a good job of maintaining that balance without making the show boring. I especially like the way these episodes tend to highlight and accentuate some of the back-burner storylines and romances, like Max and Diane's reunion or Alexis's budding romance with Mac. And let's not forget about Spinelli's unforgettable rendition of "I Want to Know What Love Is" when he was attempting to woo his fair Maximista with courtly love. After all it was Spinelli's courtly love phase that seemed to kick-star...

I think that Spinelli may have given Jason the nickname Stone Cold a little too hastily because clearly that title belongs to Michael. I knew that killing Claudia would have a profound impact on Michael, I just never expected it to affect him in the way that it has. In a few short days he has gone from being a nice kid with a tendency to act impulsively, to a somewhat scarier version of Sonny. In fact Jason should follow his instincts and tell the police the truth if he wants Michael to have even the slightest chance at a normal life. And he should probably do that sooner rather than later, considering that Michael has already given Max and Milo their first assignment. Granted, someone needs to warn Kiefer to stay away from Kristina, but he doesn't seem like the type of guy who scares easily. If he was, he wouldn't be making a career out of tormenting the mob boss's kids. Aside from that, I was surprised at how quickly Max and Milo agreed to harass a teenager, particularly ...

Chaos ensued in the aftermath of Edward's heart attack and Anthony's failed takeover attempt, leaving a trail of destruction behind. On Tuesday's General Hospital, Edward suffered from what appeared to be a heart attack after consuming a martini laced with poison, sending his car careening down the carnival midway. And on Wednesday's episode viewers watched as Edward's car continued to plow through the attractions, causing countless deaths and injuries along the way. One of these deaths was Andrea Floyd, who was killed in a moment that can only be described as poetic justice, as Edward's car pinned her against the Ferris wheel, bringing it to a complete stop. Unfortunately Edward's car had plenty of time to do damage elsewhere before coming to this stop. Max was one of the first people hit while trying to save the ADA, undoubtedly being exposed to the impact of the car at full speed. Meanwhile Jake had wandered off to look at a booth of stuffed animals, the ...

The much anticipated carnival finally got underway on Friday's General Hospital and a good time was had by all, despite the proverbial dark cloud overhead. Spinelli continued to face his fears by showing up at the carnival dressed as a clown, hoping to bring happiness to those around him. And considering that he somehow managed to bring a smile to Sonny's face I would say his fear is all but conquered. Aside from clowns, the carnival also featured what they referred to as a dunk-a-hunk, more commonly known as a dunking booth. Some of the best scenes of Friday's episode took place inside the tent of the dunk-a-hunk, where Patrick, Dante, Johnny, and Ethan took turns inside the booth. As it turned out Molly was the only one able to dunk any of them after several failed attempts by Robin, Lulu, Matt, the ADA, and Max. Speaking of Max, I noticed a little spark between him and the ADA, who of course is Diane's presumably unfashionable arch nemesis. This leads me to wonder if...