Paula's Soapbox

So obviously I haven't posted a blog about GH in a while, for a number of reasons, but mostly because I was afraid my head might explode if I started ranting about everything that is wrong with this show right now. I could go on and on about the horrible Robin exit storyline and how this character has all but been destroyed by it, but I won't. I could scream and yell and pitch a fit about how useless almost every new character on this show is and how we're overdue for a serial killer, natural disaster, or mob war to wipe out some of the dead weight, but I won't. No, I'm not going to get into all of that right now, but I do want to talk about the incredible ickiness of Molly and TJ's almost escapade. As if seeing TJ with a backpack full of essentials for his big night wasn't creepy enough, then there's the image of Molly, in a nightie. Let's forget for a moment that they look like they're about 12, which they were four years ago, but what was with...

If you follow my blog regularly, or have followed it in the past, you know I'm not much on couple shipping, as people are calling it these days. I don't get caught up in the drama of the fan wars and I don't dare take sides. I've had something on my mind for a while now though, and I can't stay silent any longer. It's about the sad state of GH's pairings.  Love triangles are a soap staple, but I cannot for the life of me understand why the writers of this particular show think a triangle between Britt, Patrick, and Sabrina is at all interesting, much less something that needs to be played out front and center. If there were anything remotely complex about Britt and Sabrina, that would be one thing. It would also help if everyone didn't know Robin was alive, because really why would we root for anyone other than Patrick's wife and Emma's mother? I will say this though, I was happy to see Sabrina finally put Britt in her place today. Sure ...

Perhaps no one has complained about the Scullys more than me. I believe I said on more than a few occasions that I rued the day they arrived in Port Charles and I meant it. I still think Joe was one of the worst written soap villains ever. He was virtually irredeemable and that's saying a lot for a soap opera character. Needless to say I wholeheartedly welcomed his exit. Trey, however, was a different story. I wasn't particularly fond of this character in the beginning...okay I hated Trey too. He grated on my nerves almost as much as Joe did; but when I found out he was Kate's son, suddenly he had storyline potential. Moreover he had the potential to be likable. I had hoped with Joe out of the way, it would make room for a moving mother/son relationship between Kate and Trey. Obviously that never happened. Kate found out Trey was her son and promptly switched back to being Connie. I've put up with Connie all these months in much the same way I did Trey for a long time. ...

I think we all knew after last Friday's episode that Duke was really Cesar Faison, even those of us who weren't watching GH the last time he wreaked havoc in Port Charles. It made perfect sense that a supervillain would be holding Robin captive. How else would one explain her surviving that explosion? Only a supervillain could pull that off; and only a supervillain could make the idea of someone passing themselves off as someone else by wearing a latex mask seem plausible. I'm a little irritated that Anna didn't pick up on the fact that she was kissing someone with a rubber face, but I'm willing to let go of that for now because this reveal answered a lot of lingering questions about why "Duke" would be holding Robin captive. I had all but resigned myself to the fact that the writers must have been making things up as they went along, with little or no regard for the show's history. I am pleased that was not the case and that GH's history is actual...

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...

On Wednesday's General Hospital, Sonny and Claudia arrived in Puerto Rico as part of a "power move" to maintain lucrative business arrangements in spite of Anthony's takeover attempt during the carnival. Meanwhile Jason and Sam were back in Port Charles, still looking for evidence that could tie Claudia to Michael's shooting. They seem to be getting closer to finding that evidence too, as they search through Ian Devlin's patient files with Patrick and Robin. I just do not understand why it has taken everyone so long to realize that there could be clues to Michael's shooting at the hospital. Considering that Devlin was a doctor, I can think of no place more appropriate or more secure for hiding incriminating evidence. Elsewhere in Port Charles, Michael was continuing to struggle with confusion over his memories. And as he was confiding in Carly about the possibility of more than one person being involved in his shooting, Jax walked in and interrupted. Unfor...

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 ...

Friday's General Hospital showed a much quieter Port Charles than the one viewers have seen all week, providing a momentary break from the chaos. As for the citizens of Port Charles, they are oblivious to the fact that the carnival disaster was only the beginning of their problems, as was apparent throughout this episode. Fortunately for Edward, Robin informed Mac that he was not to blame for driving his car through the midway, injuring and killing dozens of people. What is so sad about all of this is that Edward is still left with the guilt even though he was as much of a victim as everyone else at the carnival. It is touching to see the way Rebecca is looking out for him now though. The only downside to this is the fact that I feel like we are seeing Emily again, not Rebecca. It is not that I was not a fan of Emily, but if the show wanted to bring back the Emily character they should have just brought her back instead of introducing viewers to Rebecca. That being said, it did pro...

After watching Thursday's General Hospital it is clear that the lives of those in Port Charles will never be the same. This show is taking so many twists and turns right now that literally anything can happen. And Thursday's episode provided the perfect example of this as one by one everyone's secrets were exposed. At the carnival, Claudia continued to look for Kristina, who had apparently lost consciousness when the ride fell apart. At one point she managed to regain consciousness in time to see someone in heels walking away from her, unaware that it was Claudia. Then Michael showed up to try to find her himself while Claudia went to the hospital to let everyone know that she still had not been found. Moments later Michael arrived with Kristina, whose only injury was a mild sprain. After she was examined she told Michael that she thought someone else had found her before he did, but they walked away. This piece of information may ultimately mean the difference between life...

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...

Things began to unravel on Thursday's General Hospital as Lucky decided to tell Nikolas the truth about Rebecca, Robin continued her investigation of Andrea Floyd, Kiefer revealed his true colors to Morgan, and Johnny witnessed a conversation between Olivia and Dante. After having a conversation with Elizabeth, Lucky decided that he needed to tell Nikolas that Rebecca came to Port Charles in pursuit of Emily's fortune. Lucky's timing in revealing this information could not have been worse for Nikolas and Rebecca because Nikolas had just made the decision to introduce Spencer to Rebecca then take them on a trip to his native Greece. Speaking of Nikolas introducing Spencer to Rebecca, I thought the way he did that was a little odd. Anyone who has been watching GH since the Emily character was on there knows that Spencer and Emily were close so one would assume that he would need to be prepared before introducing him to her doppelganger. This idea obviously escaped Nikolas bec...