Paula's Soapbox

I must admit that I feel kind of validated because two of my GH predictions have proven correct this week and that almost never happens. As you might recall I have suspected that Suzanne was somehow connected to the Balkan ever since she and Brenda were in Rome. As a result it was relatively easy to make the assumption that she was the one who cut up Brenda's wedding dress. So since these predictions turned out to be correct I thought I would press my luck and try for a few more. For about the past month or so Carly has been planning to destroy Brenda and Dante with the information she has about "their" baby. I have never actually thought that Brenda and Dante conceived a child together. I think Carly was quick to jump to that conclusion because she wants it to be true. I also do not believe that Brenda's child is dead. I think Suzanne and Theo are keeping him somewhere for one of two reasons. First, either the baby was Alexander's or they believe it was Alexander...

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 ...

Once upon a time there was a young man of barely eighteen, who was imprisoned after slaying his stepmother to protect his mother and baby sister. This young man was called Michael and his newfound captivity held more danger than all the ports in Port Charles.   Shortly after his imprisonment began, Michael became the victim of a sinister plot in which he was forced to submit to the sexual advances of a fellow inmate. Michael's spirit was broken and it seemed like he might never recover from the harsh realities of prison even after he was freed. Then one day fair maiden Samantha offered Michael a helping hand. It seemed she had come across a lovely lady called Candy who routinely abandoned her clothes in the presence of men for monetary compensation. As luck would have it this lady was willing to offer herself to Michael as a way of helping him overcome his fears of intimacy; but alas young Michael was too inexperienced, too broken to appreciate Candy's kind ...

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...

With Michael being sentenced to five years in prison, Carly is certainly entitled to be angry. It is even understandable that she would want to lash out at anyone within striking distance and seek revenge on the person responsible for putting him there. In fact given everything that Michael has been through it would be hard to fault Carly for trying to get some sort of justice for him. After all he didn't receive an ounce of it in court, yet I am still having trouble empathizing with Carly enough to support her behavior. As I said in the last post, there were many people responsible for Michael's predicament. And yes, Dante and Lulu definitely played a part in it, but Carly seems to be focusing an unreasonable amount of anger on these two considering how much blame there is to go around. And I still think it is strange that no one is angry with Lucky for bringing Michael in in the first place. He pointed a gun at Jason to keep him from taking Michael out of the country and no...

Even though I don't agree with the way Dante went about telling everyone that Michael killed Claudia, I can sort of understand his reasons for doing it. After all no one has ever really taught Michael the concept of taking responsibility for his actions. Moreover, the guilt over killing Claudia has been making Michael act out in such self-destructive ways that a life in the mob seemed inevitable. And if Carly and Sonny were really honest with themselves they would realize that Michael has been wanting to confess for months, not just to protect Sonny, but because of all the guilt. On the other hand I can understand Carly, Sonny, and Jason's impulse to cover up what happened to Claudia because Michael had already lost a year of his life and was still dealing with the repercussions of that when he killed her. And if they had gone to the police at that time it is reasonable to assume that because Michael is Sonny's son someone would have taken the opportunity to make an example...

There seems to be an unsettling trend present on General Hospital at the moment, not that it hasn't always existed in some form or another but lately it has gotten out of control. I am referring to the show's tendency to transform all villains into victims and vice versa. When Sonny shot Dante, the lovable cop with honor and values, I knew that he would not remain a villain for long. This is, after all, a soap opera. I just don't understand why GH seems to be tarnishing the essence of the Dante character in order to make Sonny seem more sympathetic by comparison. Dante's questionable acts do not cancel out Sonny's bad behavior. It's quite simple, two wrongs do not make a right. I also don't understand why GH keeps coming up with ways to get viewers to notice the similarities between Sonny and Dante. Dante doesn't have to embody all of Sonny's traits for him to be recognizable as his son. It is possible that Sonny could have produced an offspring that...

Wednesday's General Hospital was like a breath of fresh air to me. Kristina's conversation with Sonny served as a reminder that she is the one true victim in this storyline. It also allowed viewers to see that her attempts to forget what happened to her is clouding her judgement. And it was nice to see that she is still making an effort at keeping Ethan out of trouble because it makes her seem less villainous . As long as GH keeps showing more moments like these I might eventually be able to buy into the fact that she blamed Ethan thinking she could protect him, while appeasing Kiefer in order to protect herself. Perhaps the portion of this episode that pleased me the most was Carly figuring out that Kiefer is to blame for Kristina's attack. Obviously she will have to prove that now, which will give GH an opportunity to throw her into scenes with Bradley Cole, (hello Guiding Light fans) but it was such a relief to hear someone finally suspect Kiefer. I was beginning to thin...

General Hospital's compelling, informative story about the reality of relationship abuse among teens took a different direction this week. This storyline should have focused on one single victim of abuse, Kristina. That is the only way to present a story of this nature if the motive is to educate and raise awareness. Instead there are too many other victims involved in Kristina's situation for it to be much more than background for the other aspects of this storyline. First of all too much focus is being placed on how this situation affects Sonny and Sam, not to mention Ethan. Obviously there needs to be some mention of Sonny and Sam's past abuse otherwise that would be ignoring history, but their painful memories should not be the primary focus unless the overall goal is to garner sympathy for Sonny. I certainly hope this is not the case. I am pleased that there have been references to the fact that it is normal for victims of abuse to protect their abuser because I am not...

In previous posts I have given a lot of praise to General Hospital for their decision to tell a story about a teenager involved in an abusive relationship because I believe that teenagers and parents alike need to know that this happens and what can be done to prevent it. I also believe that when a show decides to take on this subject matter they need to be careful about the unintentional messages they are sending in their efforts to tell a story. For the most part General Hospital has been able to tell a story of an abused teenager both accurately and sensitively, showing both the mental and physical elements that make up abusive relationships. And I continue to applaud the show for ending every episode that features Kristina being abused by her boyfriend with helpful information for the viewers. However, this storyline took an irresponsible detour on Friday and I am not referring to Kiefer's escalated act of abuse. Although that was difficult to watch it was realistic, and a cert...

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...

As I watched Monday's General Hospital it occurred to me that there may be a potential pairing that perhaps the writers have not considered yet, Sonny and Liz. Think about it, they both seem to be completely out of touch with reality, which may be enough to convince them that they could actually have a functional relationship. In fact they may very well be the most delusional people in all of Port Charles. Liz thinking that her connection with Lucky might be enough for him to forgive her, and Sonny thinking his connection with Dante might be enough to earn his forgiveness. Still not convinced that these two are a perfect match? I have formulated a list of their compatibilities just in case. 1.) They are both incapable of taking responsibility for their actions because there always seem to be extenuating circumstances for their mistakes. 2.) They always manage to hurt their children without even trying. 3.) They are both impulsive and never think of the consequences of their actions...

As one of many General Hospital viewers I know that Sonny is a central part of the show, just as I know that at some point I am going to find him likable again and perhaps even feel sorry for him. However I think that the show has been trying a little too hard to make this happen earlier than it should. I was particularly frustrated with the dialogue on Wednesday's episode, especially the sentiments expressed by Carly and Luke. "Sonny, like Dante, is complicated and sometimes he does the wrong things for the right reasons." ~Carly Carly could not have picked a more inappropriate time to seek sympathy and understanding for Sonny than in the hospital the day after he shot Dante. I could overlook the conversation she had with Olivia in which she made excuses for Sonny's lifestyle because, quite frankly, that is what a lot of viewers do on a daily basis, myself included. Carly crossed a line though when she told Lulu, in Dante's hospital room, "that Sonny, like ...

Like many General Hospital fans, I watch the show everyday in a blissful state of denial, never acknowledging the fact that Sonny and Jason are criminals. I find it easy to denounce Mac when he is urging Maxie to stay away from Spinelli, and I cheer for Diane whenever she keeps someone from the Corinthos organization from going to prison. However, as I watched the events of the week unfold, knowing that they were inevitably going to lead to Dante's shooting, my rose-colored glasses came off and I quickly snapped back to reality. I found myself repulsed watching Jason standing in the church during Josslyn's christening, knowing that he had just signed Dante's death certificate without giving it a second thought. I was even repulsed by Spinelli, whose detective work set everything into motion. Moreover, I was sickened by his cavalier attitude regarding Dante's imminent demise, and the fact that he never showed an ounce of remorse or regret until Maxie told him that Lulu h...