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50 Classic Episodes Spanning 50 Years! SOAPnet Honors General Hospital With Super Marathon!

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

General Hospital fans lets all get our popcorn, our favorite beverage of choice, and our hankies, and plop down on the couch to watch the most amazing soap opera marathon of them all!  That’s when SOAPnet offers up it’s extra special 50 hours of General Hospital marathon with episodes from every single decade of the long running ABC series starting with the first one back in 1963!

The fun kicks-off on Friday, March 29th at 10 p.m. ET/PT and runs through Monday, April 1 at 12:00am ET/PT (Sunday night/Monday morning).

The marathon will cover favorite characters, couples and storylines with such themes as romance (Luke & Laura’s wedding, Frisco & Felicia’s wedding, Luke & Laura’s dance at Wyndham’s, Lucky & Liz’s first kiss), heartbreak (Stone dies, Sonny leaves Brenda at the altar, BJ dies/Maxie’s heart transplant), action-adventure (Ice Princess, the Hostage Crisis, the Hotel Fire,) and shocking bombshells (Elizabeth finds Carly in the panic room, AJ discovers he’s Michael’s father, Jason’s car accident) plus many more surprises and appearances by fan favorites (Elizabeth Taylor as Helena Cassadine, John Stamos as Blackie, Ricky Martin as Miguel, Rick Springfield as Noah). It is an extraordinary marathon, 50 years in the making.

So GH fans get ready! What episode are you most looking forward to seeing again? Or, what episode are you hoping is included in the marathon!  Let us know as we count down to the big event!

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This is the one and only time I am unhappy that I do not have my satellite subscription only, but I will survive … somehow. 🙂

I only wish my local affiliates (ABC7) were as excited about GH’s 50th as everyone else. Since THE VIEW was interrupted by the news of the new Pope selection, they decided it was much more important to SCREW OVER the GH fans and put THE VIEW on instead.

That’s not accurate Christine. I’m assuming you’re on the West Coast. The episode was pre-empted on the east coast yesterday and was played in its entirety today. Since it was pre-empted in the east, it got pre-empted on the west. You’re not missing anything. They’ll just adjust the filming schedule. This is how they deal with pre-emptions nowadays. Much better than how they did it in the old days – just skipped over the episode.

Thanks, AJ, I am watching it now! I figured it out when it opened with Connie and Sonny (that it was where the last one left off). 🙂

But I am not sure ABC7, yes, west coast, has not reverted to “the old days” because a few weeks ago they had to take GH off the air because they were busy airing two funerals that day. I stated then that I thought having funerals, especially for a slain officer, to be kind of disgusting as it is a private thing. But they look for any excuse to not air GH these days.

oh and just one more fact. They used to at least air them over night in the early hours, but they can’t be bothered to do that anymore. And CBS was no better. They chose to air Dr. Oz instead of Y&R and B&B.

Christine,
ABC affiliates throughout the country will preempt for news or even worse here on the east coast weather. Here in Boston 3 times this winter they aired winter storm coverage instead of General Hospital. On one of those occasions they aired it in the wee hours of the morning but on other occasions the only option was online. It isn’t just ABC affiliates though all network affiliates are guilty of this. The networks need to crack down on these affiliates doing this but won’t. What always upsets me is they do this to daytime programming but rarely do it to prime time programming

David, I’m sorry to hear it happens to you too, but glad that I am not the only one. 🙁

I wish someone would crack down too. I don’t watch primetime anymore because the stupid networks always cancel the shows these days. I watch scripted shows on cable, but through DVD or Amazon or Netflix these days kind of like pay-per-view without all the hassle of Directv.

I kind of gave up going online to watch the episodes when I miss them because they make me watch like five cell phone commercials between 5 or 10-minute scenes. Sadly I have learned to live without them when that happens as I am sure I will learn to live without soaps when they are all online. I just don’t find it convenient for me, but maybe my feelings will change when my little ones get older.

Really wish my cable provider still carried Soapnet now. I love watching a lot of the classic episodes.

Is there a schedule of episodes and original air dates? I am keen to see some installments from the 1970s and 1980s. LOVED that when OLTL had a marathon on SOAPNET once upon a time.

I was wondering the same thing. There probably will be a schedule and hopefully it will get posted. Otherwise keep checking SoapNet to see what’s up 😉

I’m pissed that in Massachusetts we don’t have soapnet. Now I’m wishing that I was still in Florida.

I would love to see the first episode. I’ve seen pieces of it. I would love to see stone again.

i read today that they will be airing the very first episode…………

I’m sure most if not all of those episodes are still on youtube… and I’ve got more than 50 hours on VHS from late 80’s on…

Glad i still got soapnet but its ashame many soap pre 1975 episodes are no longer available. There were many great stuff from that time period we’ll never see again unless someone somehow has copies. I do like watching the little that survives pre 1975 that is shown on utube.

I agree. Somewhere, somehow, they should make those available!

I so hope we get to see Emily , Lucky and Sly and also Emily falling in love with Zander.

I would love to see some very early episodes featuring Steve (John Beradino) and Jessie (Emily McLaughlin), Audrey (Rachel Ames) and Phil Brewer (originally Roy Thinnes). They were the core characters when the show started.

Really great news – but I imagine, for those who can, there will be a lot of recording going on. I could not possibly stay up for 50 straight hours. And it’s really too bad for the folks who don’t get SoapNet. As much as ABC and Disney love money, maybe this is something someone should have thought about putting out on DVD. The way it is described up above, it doesn’t seem like the episodes will run sequentially which is too bad since I am especially interested in reliving the early years: 60s-80s.

only vhs and dvd’s I know of are weddings…. altho I ran across a VHS video my mom had n her things… All My Children, behind the scenes….

They’d make a lot of money if they’d put out old soaps on DVD… All ABC soaps for that matter! They’ve got tons of Dark Shadow DVDs, why not AMC, OLTL, GH, Ryan’s Hope, Loving, The City, PC, Nightshift, etc, and The Edge of Night… used to watch that one too.

reply to myself… I see Nightshift is available on DVD…. altho I see it got horrible reviews, but Amazon has it at a special price when you also get “the life of Damien Spinelli’ and ‘Love in Maine’ books. THey also have ‘Luke & Laura: Lovers on the Run’ video.

actually I’d prefer watching the Genie Francis, Marcy Walker and Leigh J. McCloskey “thriller” again… “Terror in the Night”. Or how about “Young Doctors in Love” that was fun too.

ABC should put all those episodes on ON Demand where we’d have a better chance to view all of them unless they couldnt do it with so many episodes at once .

I think a lot of these distributors are just sitting on goldmines. They don’t realize how there are those of us who would pay for these old shows.

I am sure it is just a matter of a [long] time. I see they continue to do seasons of old primetime soaps like FALCON CREST and wasn’t there a DVD for B&B recently or maybe it was another soap?

Too bad GH or ABC or Soapnet couldn’t put the episodes on a special 50th Anniversary YouTube site or on ABC.com or Hulu! I would love to watch all of them!

Michael… any chance you could ask someone if there is a chance they could put those episodes on line for those of us who do not have cable?

I think that would qualify as Copyright Infringement. 🙁

I thought more about this and feel that GH and ABC missed a huge opportunity! I am not a marketing person. One thing we hear over and over is the record breaking number of viewers who watched the Luke and Laura wedding episode. We also are bombarded every week with ratings for the soaps. GH missed an opportunity with the 50th Anniversary by not playing this differently especially with the new convergence of on-line soaps and PP and all.

They could have advertised more… when Genie came back 50 days before the anniversay they could have had one of these past 50 shows air each day at a minimum on ABC.com with a past cast member or current cast member introducing and speaking about memories or the episode. They could have let the episode also air on Hulu and HuluPlus. They could have started a GH 50th Anniversay YouTube site too and posted each days episode there. Include Soapnet each day too on cable and on-line. Of course finding a way to capture views on-line like YouTube does. Then have the 50 episodes plus the week or day of the current aniversary on DVD. This would insure numbers, views and increase the base to capture new viewers to insure that a build-up to the current annversary show could deliver ratings/views that would beat the Luke and Laura numbers and gain more invested viewers for years 51 and beyond… while also dabbling in multi-media (ex. regular ABC, cable and on-line, international, possibly individual pay per view per epi on Amazon, IMDB and DVD sales). It could have been even bigger and better. Capitalize on all of the actors and acctresses that made their start or just came to play over the 50 years! I truly believe with views on-line you could beat the number of people who have ever watched any soap!

And therein lies the REAL story of how ABC feels about the long-time future of GH on their network. That is why they do not do more to promote it.

My g’ma is sad lol she doesn’t pay for higher subscription cable and SoapNet is only available in the high cable/the expensive line-up not in the standard cable .
I always found that odd that Disney put SoapNet in the most expensive line up ..

They really do need to come up with an a la carte system. They keep telling us the times have changed, but yet they fail to give us what we want.

My soapnet is now Disney JR. Is there another way to watch these old episodes?

Michael Fairman-Surely you can get the scoop as to whether Denise Alexander is coming back for the 50th? And btw, thank you for this site. It is the best!

Yes, Micael, I hope you can relay the fact that you’ve probably had more comments about her return or lack of return than anything else (or at least as many) about the 50th to RC and FV and perhaps get some answers about that! I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and hoping she is a super surprise but the clock is ticking…..

I think ABC should finally get smart and sell DVDs of the 50 episodes, or the nurses ball. I would buy them.

Really wish they wouldn’t start these episodes so late in the evening and start them midday maybe?? so I can catch them all.. for those that still don’t DVR 🙂

I agree. I wish they would at least air five episodes a day for ten days leading up to GHs 50th. That would be easier for a lot of us to see all of them and could be a ratings winner for soapnet. There is no way i could watch all 50 in a row without me missing something and id hate that. And im dumb when it comes to recording anything on my dvr. Wish theyd make it possible to watch it ON DEMAND where they could leave all those episodes for at least a month so we’d have a better chance to watch all of them.

I so agree with you! Wouldn’t that be nice if they were ON DEMAND? I don’t even have DVR. lol.. hell, can’t even figure out how to use my VCR anymore.. sad, I know.. would be nice to catch all the episodes. Guess I’ll try my best to catch as many as I can!

Oh you two really need a Tivo. That one piece of equipment has been a god-send, especially the ones that tape two channels at once. But I agree, they really need to offer it On Demand.

Very disappointed that here in Massachusetts we no longer get Soapnet so we do not get to see any of these episodes. Wish ABC would stream the marathon online or something since so few have Soapnet.

Some say ABC itself will be airing the first episode but would love to be able to see the 50 hour marathon Glad for the few that do have Soapnet still hope you enjoy it

Now would also be a good time for Soapnet to use that nightly (or rather, overnightly) 2-hour block of “Classic GH” to show episodes from earlier than 2009.

For example, the article lists the L&L “dance at Wyndham’s” episode. Soapnet’s shown it at least twice before (including last year), but they could use the overnight slots to perhaps run a week of shows following the Wyndham’s episode. I know I’ve never seen what happened next. Or they could show all of the Ice Princess episodes besides just the one that will be in the marathon.

Soapnet has the opportunity to show 10 old shows a week, and while 2009 had some good moments, I wish they’d take better advantage of the GH archive, esp. with this being the 50th anniversary year.

However, I still have Soapnet a year after some cable companies removed it. (My Comcast kept SN where it is and opened up a new channel number for Disney Jr.) So I can’t complain too much. Any chance to see even a few older shows now is still more than I would have expected this time last year when it seemed like SN was going away.

I live outside Boston, verizon still has soapnet.. Fifty episodes?? If they are not before Sonny and the mob ate the show. I don’t care. I do watch soap-net,Disney Jr is on a different channel. This is one of the reasons I kept Verizon when it expired.
I don’t want to watch the show with the mob,I shut the show off then because of it.
Guess you can’t please everybody all the time.?

Go buy the People Magazine Celebrates General Hospital Fifthy Years! A lot of good memories.. The cast of GH 1966!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And MORE!!!! I bought at Target today for $11.99…..It’s worth It !!!! Inside cover they have Port Charles map out . There’s the ELQ
building & more!!!!!!! Shawn & Tiffany!!!! Sonny & Brenda!!!!!! Jessie & Phil Brewer ….

I saw it! Unfortunately I don’t have $12 to give up at this time….I was grateful to be able to get the OLTL Tribute. I was born in 1963, and began watching GH in 1968 with my Grandma. If there’s any one family in Port Charles that takes the cake it’s the Quartermaines….that entire family is absolutely a trip! They are what the Buchanans are to Llanview, and what the Chandlers are to Pine Valley!

One of my very favorite episodes was in the early days when Laura found out that Nurse Amy Vining was her sister. I loved Rick & Lesley Webber. Also, I absolutely adored the time when Sean Donnely and Tiffany were together in the WSB…they had some amazing adventures. The other heartwarming episode was when Robert Scorpio found out he was a dad and we got to meet little Robin at just 7 years old…she was just so precious!

Its to bad that General Hospital Marathon is on SoapNet. I don’t get Soapnet and would love to watch it. Does anyone know of anyway to tape the 50 hour Marathon? Will it be for sale or would they be putting it on another channel where more people could watch it? I would love to see it, I been a GH fan since the early 70’s and when i first heard that they were going to show some scenes i got excited, then i heard it was on Soapnet which we don’t get, now i am feeling disappointed….

I want to buy a dvd of the 50 year marathon of General Hospital? Is one going to be available?

General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

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