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Daily Beast Report : General Hospital Fights Back & Behind-the-Scenes of Robin's Exit Story!

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

As daytime fans have watched this week as their beloved Dr. Robin Scorpio Drake has somehow burned to a crisp in her own laboratory and perished (although we have not seen any semblance of a body) due to the departure of legacy series star, Kimberly McCullough, this is also the first week of episodes that both components of the new GH regime, executive producer, Frank Valentini and new head writer, Ron Carlivati episodes are airing.  And with it, a lot promise, hope, and a heavy weight falls on the guys shoulders to resuscitate General Hospital and take it off life support and turn it into the powerhouse soap it has been in the past.

So with a new perspective and outlook, The Daily Beast’s, Maria Elena Fernandez takes a look at the steps Cartini is taking two lure viewers back to the series, and answers some of the questions fans have been questioning over the last few weeks …  namely how the death of Robin was handled, why bring OLTL’s  Starr Manning to the canvas, and much more.  The piece interviews, Frank Valentini, Laura Wright (Carly), Emma Samms (Holly) as well as Kimberly McCullough (Robin).   Here are some excerpts below!

Daily Beast: “Looking for ways to spice up life in Port Charles, Valentini and Carlivati hatched a plan that would bring back some of the show’s shining stars to help deal with a story thread set in motion before they took over the show—the death of fan favorite Robin Scorpio.  The transition may have been handled awkwardly—episodes overseen by the Valentini and Carlivati regime began airing Tuesday—but Robin’s death was hastened because it serves as a catalyst for the return of other characters who helped General Hospital hit the cultural mainstream in the 1980s. Emma Samms reprises her role as con artist Holly Sutton-Scorpio beginning Tuesday, and a broken-hearted Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) returns to Port Charles on Wednesday to deal with his daughter’s death. Rick Springfield’s Noah Drake also will set foot in Port Charles in March, followed by Robin Mattson, who plays villain Heather Webber, in April.”

Kimberly McCullough on Robin’s  ending: “I was of the hope that we would do something where the character was fulfilled.  I was intent that I wanted Robin to die but, because of the way it all went down, I wasn’t comfortable with that anymore.  I didn’t feel it was earned.  There wasn’t a good lead-up to it.  The history of soaps is that you have a meaty story before you leave.”

Frank Valentini talked about how Robin’s death was import to facilitate bringing back the fan favorites to the series: “Because of where we were in the story when I took over, I think it was really important to have those characters come back. They’re all such talented actors, and they have such wonderful connections to the present actors and that’s really fun for the audience.”

Emma Samms on how Valentini changed her mind about coming back to resurrect Holly after she was disappointed on how her character was written the last time she returned to the show:  “Deep down Holly’s a con woman, she comes from a family of con artists, but the thing about her is that she always had compassion. And I think it completely disappeared the last time around. So I made sure I would not be an unrecognizable Holly. Frank is a very hands-on producer, right there on the floor with us.  He obviously knows the characters and cares about the history.  If anybody can save the show, I think he can.  He’s really pushing in the right direction to make it doable and make it financially feasible.  It would be such a shame if it came to an end.”

Laura Wright on working with the new GH creative team:  “I’ve been working with them and it’s been so exciting to have them on set. They come with their history established and they come knowing how to do things.  The way that Frank and Ron have weaved their characters in with ours is perfect and everybody has a high stake in it.  I grew up working at my dad’s gas station and watching Loving and General Hospital on a little black-and-white TV in a little booth, and Frank has brought back the Friday cliff-hanger. It’s all just very exciting again.”

So what do you think about the plans for General Hospital?  Are you looking forward to the big returns?  Starr and the One Lifers crossing over to Port Chuck?  And, what do you think about the way Robin’s exit story had thus far played out on air?  Let us know!

 

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YES!!!! We want GH to stay way beyond it’s 50th year! Great article and can’t wait! Wish the death of Robin could have been handled better though. Thanks Michael!

i really feel the robin is not dead some how they did not kill her off because of who she was could they bring back fason i think i spelled his name wrong and he has her got her out some how just wishful thinking and about the show i think it will be great haveing the mannings in ,,star and todd and blair not the brother i think it will add a lot of new stuff to the show crossing my fingers from canada

Im with you,Hope we find out where robin is soon,Im looking forward to the mannings to,cant wait till john mcbain gets to port charles and he starts throwing all the bad guys in jail and our loved characters that have been hidden away ,come out and save general hospital.

BULL!!!! Anyone can write a story. Where is the producing & editing coming in?
This week was a JOKE. If this is an example of what is to come, GH is over.
This week was full of mishaps which I have already written in past posts. I hope my posts makes it to the right people. Let them know what a mess they made of this week. They could have done it right, and stil not show a body. Too many errors this week.

Michael..rumor has it, that Katie C wants to be a lead in from GH. Does this mean she knows her show doesn’t hold a candle? Nobody wants to see yet another talk show?
How much power does Katie C??

Katie Couric is just saying that so soap fans don’t blame her when GH is cancelled! She could care less about soaps! What a joke! The perfect daytime lineup is dead & ain’t coming back & it sucks! She’s doing exactly what Doprah did, use the soaps to get bigger ratings!

Katie will need all the help she can get. She knows it. And with keeping GH on before her show, it would help her with ratings.

Doprah?? I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

you have a point there but if they put her on after abc/disneys precious revolution ,she wont last very long.or maybe they can start handing out 30 dollars to come in and see katie couric talk about whatever she has to say that Im not interested in,how many talk shows do we need?arent they all talked out?what the hell can she bring to the table that all the rest of the blabber mouth talk show hosts havent covered?I like ellen alot and Im not watching her show,they should put her on another sitcom ,as long as its not on abc/disney.

Like I have said all along, general hospital is in good hands now,I knew they had nothing to do with the death of robin (we all know shes not dead) ron does not write like that ,the story of robin was sloppy and to fast with no feelings, to bad kimberly couldnt have stayed longer and get a better ending,ron had to step in when the other writers pretty much trashed that story,and so many others stories,he has to untangle all the characters and fix everything that was done, the quartermaines are one of the twisted families that have to be saved.,to bad alan ,emily and aj couldnt be fixed,and we all wake up to a bad nightmare thats been going on for years,to many years.the mob stories brought the ratings down .so no more bad talk about general hospital at least give ron and frank a chance to save our soap and it wont happen over night ,the damage has to be fixed and ron and frank are the ones to do it.they have my support.

Ron didn’t just walk in one day and take over. I hold him just as responsible for the way Robin’s death was handled this week. I only hope going forward he gets better. Alot is riding on the next month.

honestly,I enjoyed todays episode .It was good to see star.hopefully everyone including johnnys crazy father survived the crash.theres no way I can judge rons writing this early .Its only been a few days .from what I read seems the cast is happy the way things are going on set so lets see what happens I have to at least give it 2 months,he has to straighten out the mess he was left and you have to admit general hospital is in bad shape,the ratings have to go up.I have to think positive I want general hospital to survive.I will admit robin is being put on the back burner ,but I think there is more to come of her story.stay tuned.

Hey Barb: Just gettting in from the Eve, rough day my friend. Wanted to give you a halla..! I posted a few places. Let chat tomorrow. Get on around 11am if you can. Goodnite, I’m beat!

“Robin’s death was hastened because it serves as a catalyst for the return of other characters.” I agree with Fernandez’s conclusion that the transition was handled awkwardly. McCullough obviously wasn’t satisfied with the circumstances surrounding Robin’s death anymore than the rest of us. It’s a shame the death of such a significant and loved character wasn’t handled better. What was the justification to hurry the return of other characters? Ratings? Impending cancellation? Whatever the reason or if it was just poor execution, it’s done. GH has been in the dumps for some time. Hopefully, it will improve, even if this wasn’t the best start.

First of all let’s all remember this show has been for the last decade or more about three characters, Sonny, Jason & Luke and women are just play things. Drop the male egos look for a strong moral female character like Vicki was on OLTL and you just might save it but all I have seen is once again it is all about Sonny or Jason or Luke when he is not out of the country the actor, retire him and back burner the other two. And no one in the mob points a gun for an hour and runs their mouth in the real world he would have been pushing up daisies. It is embarassing to watch like a school play. But in all fairness the other remaining soaps stink too.

It was an illogical and disjointed story which was appallingly devoid of sentiment. Sloppy and amateurish in all respects. The writing team should be ashamed.

A True Fact, that’s a matter of opinion, however True!

yeap,I got it.

the big question ,which writing team ,robins story could have been better but she and patrick were never the center of attention with the old writers ,the mob stories took over and sunk general hospital and made it what it is today.as far as the leading up to her death I agree it was sloppy, cold, and to fast,I have to see more of what is next surrounding her death(which I have to say again ,I dont believe she is dead),something happened in that room that has not been shown to us yet,so I have to think that robins story is not over.stay tuned ,Im sure there is more to come.maybe as debi says she was kidnapped or Like I said she was hurt getting out of that room and forgot everything and is heading out of town,either way I m am glad that her character was not killed ,robin is and was one of my favorites in port charles,hate to see her go.one more thing ,there is no way any writer can come in and have a dam good story in a week ,general hospital needs to be fixed because it has been broken for a very long time.

Hey we are on together. I just posted that! U musta got my message to get on at 11am. LOL

By the way I will throw this in Kimberly if you think you got a stinker of an exit story call Genie Francis she can probably tell you all about how well GH treats their female actors!!!!

thats funny ,but I dont think that robins story is over yet.and you are right one minute laura was at the nut house the next minute she is gone ,it was a waste ,wish they would bring her back.and I also would have like to see kimberly stay longer ,maybe her ending would have been better,if its really over for robin.

I couldn’t agree more Lou! A terrible way to off a beloved character with a weak contrivance that was totally out of left field. So the writers needed to hasten the death of Robin as a catalyst to bring on the actors from the past and this is the best that they can come up with? This doesn’t bode well for the future of GH.

I taped Monday’s but didn’t watch until Wed nite. I read about and then watched the other episodes online (youtube). I thought I had really missed something Tuesday/Wed, but after watching the rest of this week’s episodes on line, I see I didn’t miss anything. I thought the acting was not great for Robin’s demise… almost like they were just winging it without a script.

I did laugh at today’s show when Sonny was tearful with MIchael after learning about Robin, and Michael grabbed him and the arm that just about got blown off the days before… and Sonny didn’t wince or go ‘ow-ey’ … nothing. laughed so hard at that. First he’s laying in the garage like he’s dying (from getting shot in the arm), next he forgets that it hurts when someone grabs him in the very same spot! bwahahaha

It would be nice if they could add to Robin’s poor ending… like a good old fashioned heaven scene, where all the people we remember that can not come back to the show, would met Robin: And who will greet her at the pearly gates? Steve Hardy*, Nurse Jesse*, Nurse Amy Vining*, Lila Quartermaine*, her “grandmother” Filomena Soltini*, one of her 3 godfathers – Dr. Buzz Stryker*, her nanny Olin*; Ruby Anderson* (bobby’s aunt), Tania Jones, little Barbara Jean and Tony Jones; Alan Quartermaine, her step father Duke Lavery (as his original self-Ian Buchanon, not Jonathan Paget version) , Georgie… and of course, waiting for her behind all the others… Stone Cates.
(* these actors are all dead for real, I believe, so maybe we could see old clips of them with little Robin)

Can you believe how young Amy Vinning died? What did the actress die from again? I read about if BUT I’m so beat right now, I can’t remember. Was it cancer?

Kidney failure.

this is sad ,I read her story a long time ago,her kidneys failed ,she was sick for a long time.think I heard about it in one of the soap magazines.

Watching on youtube does NOT help the ratings. Watch it on your TiVO or DVR or at the very least, watch it at the ABC site.

oooh snap! well, la de da. I don’t have TiVo, I don’t a DVR, I don’t have cable anymore and I don’t have high speed internet at home! I watched the youtube GH channel on my lunch break at work and I like that better than the abc website because it doesn’t take as much power on our internet at work AND because there are no commercial interruptions, and it allows for some skipping ahead which I like cuz there are still a lot of characters and storylines I don’t give two hoots about and just want to skip.

I got a new VHS/DVD recorder in January to keep the last of OLTL, and just been waiting for GH / Robin’s story and for the new story lines to get good, and I had it set to film Monday, Thursday & Friday’s shows… but I have to remember to turn the digital tuner before I leave in the morning, and I only remembered Monday morning, unfortunately.

So I read the recaps and caught the episodes on youtube on my lunch break… hopefully I’ll remember to keep the d.t. on next week, cuz I hate burning a DVD with a couple hours of nothing!

I hope having my digital tuner on all day just so my gadget can tape GH for an hour, doesn’t contribute to ABC’s daytime ratings… especially for the chew & revultion ratings… I don’t know if Neilsen ratings capture digital tuners or not.

I agree with Kimberly… the story leading up to her character’s death just wasn’t interesting enough and the death scene not dramatic enough, and acting afterwards, was just not great.

GH has been, in the past, really great and sometimes really poor — the new creative team has a lot of work to do. I hope they succeed in turning things around.

Today I stuck in an old VHS tape and it was chocked full of old GH & OLTL scenes from Nov. 1995… OLTL’s Blair & Todd’s golden balloon wedding and Todd getting shot in Ireland, a short bit from Archie Bunker starring Phil Carey (Asa Buchanan), a commercial with the guy that played Asa’s butler, Nigel, but most of the tape was devoted to Stone’s last few days, his death and memorial. The acting was great, music was great, the story was great, and there were so many great actors & beloved characters gathered that have been gone from Port Chuck for so long, and it was so sad… when I got to the end of the tape, I felt I had viewed a better ending to Robin’s legacy on GH. Like it was her funeral and farewell for her.

It was nice to see the old characters – Felicia, little Maxie, Mac, Robert & Anna’s “ghosts” were there, Steve & Audrey Hardy, Brenda, Ned, Lois, Tony & Bobby Jones, Alan Quartermaine, John from the Aids awareness group (he died too, for real), Lucy Coe, Kevin Chamberlain, Lucy’s duck Siegmond, and of course Stone. I can’t remember if Nurse Amy was at the memorial, but Shell’s image was on the GH opening.

oh yeah, that old tape also had young Emily and young Lucky… remember when her mom died and she didn’t like living with the Quartermaines and she ran away and Lucky went with her… that was on the old tape too. Emily & Lucky were back in town for Stone’s memorial. It was fun to see those two actors back at a young age too. I really liked Lucky back then… not so much the last time he was on.

I agreed with all about Robin i dont think she pass i hoping that they bring her back for her daugter. that she took off of somthing. she is a great act she work great from the time she was a baby and now they do that. not cool they should of left her live a good life with her daugter and pat and kill somone else not somone with a child and doing good for the er. but i hope they bring her back some how. that what i think…

I think Gh ratings have dropped for several resons…too many “couples” break up- there needs to be some stability in relationships…we want more mystery – not sleaze at every turn. “the programmers at ABC first gave us “the view” (Barbara*the Church Lady in a bad wig”)(Joy “with a voice like fingernailson sandpaper)(Whoopi! * the foulest mouth on daytime) (elizabeth *so far to the rightthat her faceisin permanent profile)(and Sheri?*is that her name??Ididn’t her before the show andstill don’t knowher after)…DO THESE WOMEN EVENUNDERSTAND the concept of “listening” while another person speeaks…they are each so hungrey for ait time that the audience rarely gets to HEAR acoherant thought from guests or stars.
Then the powers that be gave us THE CHEW,,,really? the chew?
I don’t know the name of the new programis it THE SPEW?…I see by its promo’s that the cast knows everything about evry thing..and we are all so stuoid we can;t figure out that good diet, no junk food and healthy excersizewill trim us down a dress size..
GH is suffering ratings because the lead-ins are SO BAD!

I disagree. General Hospital is suffering because it is centering too much on Sonny, Carly and Jason.

General Hospital has aired at 3:00pm on ABC for nearly 50 years. If people really were interested in watching it, they would easily skip the lead-ins and tune in to ABC at 3:00pm.

heathers right ,all the cast was put on a back burner ,while sonny carly and jasons stories came first ,Ive gone to so many places reading other posts and 99%of the use to be fans of g h said they grew tired of the mob stories ,also Im reading that alot of one life to live fans are heading over to gh to see the mannings and john mcbain .anything that can help bring up the ratings for general hospital the better.

I don’t know what WHAT to say to ADD to ya’ll critic’s. (and you know I usually have some angle to add on) but GH and the soap industry at ” large ” better WATCH out, bc…… WE are no adverage soap viewer’s, that’s ALL I got to say. LOL. There are some sophisticated soap opera critic’s watching here. LOL We are in this for more than Entertainment….! Goodnite, I’m beat!

I wish GH all the best with the new EP and head writers. They have a lot of talent and I want them to succeed. They seem to realy care about what the audience and fans really want and thats making me tune back into the show. Unlike Days of our Lives, the people behind the scenes have ruined that show for me and I have not tuned in since mid 2010. I cant wait to see Robert Scorpio and hope he stays on for a very long time. I love Laura Wright and her comments are spot on. GH have the best actpors around and they all deserve recognition for all their work and efforts.

and with ron and frank in charge ,it will only get better.

It’s nice to hear someone say they wish General Hospital ALL….the best!

I think we have to support the soaps that are left,I can only watch dool the others come on at a time I cant watch,dool is ok,I still miss all my children ,Im still having a very hard time remembering names,I watched amc and oltl since the beginning so I knew all my characters ,it wasnt easy getting involved in another soap,but I tried and I still dont know 75% of the cast.

Thanks. Your very sweet. I want them to succeed and its a great soap. They have great actors whom are so nice off-screen. It is the only ABC soap that is left and I think it deserves a chance to stay on the air.

I think GH has been ROCKING this past week, and I will not judge Robin’s exit yet. The fat lady has still to sing.

agree ,the robin story is not over yet.

Look at the post below where we replied to Angela, 9:17am (you) and 9:29am (me). We were on at the same time, but it was in the 11:00 hour, our time. I think the post stamps are West Coast Time.
I sent you a post late last night to get on at 11:00am today, Saturday. I guess you got it. LOL

I agree with you Louise, I enjoyed this week’s GH very much. For the first time in a very lonnnnng time, I could not wait to catch up with this week’s episodes on Tivo). Robin’s “possibly temporary” demise was rather quick, yet I am sure there will be more to that story as well, and Robin will only be soap opera “dead”, for as long as Kimberly McCullough wishes to be gone, but I have no doubt that storyline is not over. Like a few others have said above, Frank and Ron had to jump in and put out fires that were lit a long time ago, once they weed out the pre-existing silly storylines, I have faith that we will see much better stories ahead, and hopefully the return of ABC Daytime’s hey day of “Love in the Afternoon”. You can already see a hint of FV and RC changing the storyline from mob driven, to the more personal side of those characters (i.e. Sonny/Dante starting to really form a bond, Jason wanting Monica and Edward in his child’s life, and of course we will soon see the parental side of JaSam as well, not to mention the friendship bond between Jason and Spinelli, which I find quite sweet). I have watched GH since Jessie Brewer first walked onto the nurse’s station set all those years ago, so I am a longtime GH fan, as well as OLTL and AMC, and I look forward to what Frank and Ron will bring to the table. I also am happy to see Starr on the scene, and cannot wait for John McBain to arrive. I think it is a clever move to bring some of those from Llanview to Port Charles, as I do not think it will change the integrity of our beloved GH characters, but will only add even more dimension to the show, and could certainly help nurture it. I also think that if GH can be saved (fingers crossed), they will entertain giving Blair and Todd permanent roles. Time will tell, and I wish Frank, Ron, all of the wonderful actors/actresses, and the rest of those behind the scenes best of luck!!!!!

Please no permanent roles for Blair and Todd, drop in, drop out and maybe other character’s from OLTL can do the same.

See my post 6 places below of why I say this.

Hi 1loveabcsoaps – I understand and respect your sentiment, and I see what you are saying, and while it can happen, if they are careful, I do not necessarily think the integrity of the show or the characters have to change. I think a character can remain true to that character, regardless of the show they are on – if that is the path tptb want to take. For example, I, in no way, see John McBain’s persona changing, as he is wonderful exactly as he is (imo). I am sure he will most likely still wear black, have that charming, yet dry sense of humor, and have that tough guy exterior with a heart of gold. The only difference will be the bad guys he is going after, but I do not think that will change the person he is, nor do I think his arrival in Port Charles will change the way Port Charles works. Whether or not he is romatically hooked back up with Natalie remains to be seen, but even if he is with someone else down the road, I am sure he will tackle romance on GH, the same way he did on OLTL (or at least I hope he does 🙂 ) I too, loved all three ABC soaps, and my favorite also depended on the storyline at a given time. It is sad to now only have one ABC soap left, but, at least we still have that one, and I have no doubt that devout fans like yourself, me and most all of those that read and comment on this great site will stick with GH until the end, which hopefully will not be for quite some time.

I feel the same as you,we have to continue to support the writers ,general hospital can only get better now.and hopefully stay on for another 49 years ,its the oldest soap on and the ratings are sinking even lower this week,Im hearing it has to do with the lead in from that awful show the revolution,I will never understand the ratings and how they are counted because so many of us watch and it doesnt matter.I am looking forward to the mannings and john mcbains move to port charles new families move to soaps all the time,and this will not be the first crossover for the abc soaps there have been several of them,so the writers have my interest and I really thought this past week was good ,I think there is more to the robin story ,I liked seeing star,and I hope that general hospital goes back to the days when it was a dam good soap opera.

Hi Elhu: U said ” I think a character can remain true to that character, regardless of the show they are on – if that is the path tptb want to take. For example, I, in no way, see John McBain’s persona changing, as he is wonderful exactly as he is (imo). I am sure he will most likely still wear black, have that charming, yet dry sense of humor, and have that tough guy exterior with a heart of gold. ”

I said: “Each soap on abc had a different flavor/persona about it. History has beenmade and is over with AMC and OLTL, but GH is vital and still living, and I don’t want the flavor/persona of GH to be become the flavor/persona of OLTL. The writer’s can better GH, but if OLTL characters are going to GH, they must become “apart of ” (get into the mix) of whatever GH’s flavor OR persona is (good or bad) otherwise it won’t be the persona of GH. ”

See the difference. I’m not talking about the character’s changing. I stated it 3 times, in 3 different ways. Flavor, Persona, Uniqueness of that “particular ” show, being GH. If character’s are going ove to GH from OLTL, the first thing that could change is the SHOW itself, ( if they aren’t careful) not the character’s immediately.

” If the character’s of OLTL is going play in GH, then they must adapt to GH rules, adapt to the flavor, persona, and uniqueness of that show, which makes it General Hospital and NOT One Life to Live. ”

See, that. I am not speaking about character’s changing.

Whatever the case may be, I have faith that GH will work, with Frank and Ron at the helm, however they choose to move forward! I guess time will tell.

Hi Barbara t, how funny that you mentioned you will never understand the ratings and how they are counted, because I just had that same EXACT conversation with someone this morning. I am just as baffled. I am not to knowledgeable of how the ratings system works, but I thought unless you were a Nielson family, you were not counted. Yet they tell us to be sure and tune in and if you tivo or DVR (which is what I do), be sure to watch within 48 hours – so what is really going on???? I have never known or seen anyone who was part of the Nielson Program, but however it truly may work, I will continue to faithfully tune in and hope that GH will beat the odds and succeed. Have a great week everyone and don’t forget to tune into GH!!!!

I read at GHH at KImberly McCullough is STILL taping, so there is still more to come regarding the Robin exit.

thats good to hear , havent been there today.I know there is more to come.

Great news. She is a good actress and I wish her all the best as a director

been watching this soap since the beginning & other soaps as well – when they say the body was burned beyond reconition only means robin is not dead & the door is left open for her return sometime in the future……………

I agree and that will make it good..

Some of you can be so unfair. When Garin Wolf took over in July everyone had such high hopes and all he did was mess things up worse than they all ready were. Frank & Ron have a HUGE mess to clean up so you have to give them a chance. OLTL was expertly written and always came in under budget which is why abc sent them over to GH. I wasn’t so happy that they killed off Kimberly McCullough’s Robin but that is what SHE wanted. Now she doesn’t like the way it was done? Oh well. They have explained they hastened Robin’s death to facilitate all the return of other characters. I am sure not everyone thought this past week was as awesome as I did and that’s okay everyone is entitled to their own opinion. BUT…….. I say if you truly love GH (as I have since 1970) you will stop complaining and support your show. Stay faithful people if you want GH to stick around.

amen,angela,amen.but I dont think robin is dead,robins story isnt over just yet,theres more to come.

Spot on Angela. I just read the complaints about GH, and as I posted above, the industry better watch out, BC soap fans have become bonified critics. I made one observation about GH and its been this week only. I did not care for the exit of Robin, not how she exited, and the lack of BELIEVABILTIY in how it all went down with Patrick in a hospital; they left TOO much to be desired. With that said, I am 100% with you. The complaints I read on here about GH are sufficating. And the expectation to want to make GH into OLTL can be annoying to read. As I posted this week, I can’t say which one of the 3 abc soaps are my favorites BECAUSE my ” favorite ” always depended on the current storyline(s), so over the year’s they have ALL been my favorite from one time to another. OLTL happen to have been the BEST soap on abc before it went off the air. BUT that doesn’t mean I want the face of GH to be lined with OLTL character’s either. I don’t want it, BUT I’m willing and will support it IF it means helping GH with the ratings. Each soap on abc had a different flavor/persona about it. History has been made and is over with AMC and OLTL, but GH is vital and still living, and I don’t want the flavor/persona of GH to be become the flavor/persona of OLTL. The writer’s can better GH, but if OLTL characters are going to GH, they must become “apart of ” (get into the mix) of whatever GH’s flavor OR persona is (good or bad) otherwise it won’t be the persona of GH. OLTL had it’s moment in time, and General Hospital STILL has their’s, and folk should stop expecting what’s been done to be undone by tossing GH aside for OLTL. That would be like someone telling you to toss YOUR unique personality aside, and begin acting like someone else. That would be like you having a house guest, and they telling you to change the rules in your house for them. Oh no! If the character’s of OLTL is going play in GH, then they must adapt to GH rules, adapt to the flavor, persona, and uniqueness of that show, which makes it General Hospital and NOT One Life to Live.

PS. That’s why my name is 1loveabcsoaps, which is consistant with everything I just spoke about.

Just doesn’t make sense cause her lines in the lab made it very clear we knew she was gonna die!!! She was telling Patrick her last words..

thats cool,I always look at the time stamp and seen we are 2 hours away ,from michael.we also did it below at gl chris,ouch ,that hurts,and you write yup.yup,and yup.

I agree with your comment Ilove, “and the lack of BELIEVABILTIY in how it all went down with Patrick in a hospital; they left TOO much to be desired….” I wish before they got to that scene and the scenes dealing with that “tragedy” the following days of filming, that they had given all the actors lessons on how to be shocked, horrified upon hearing of someone’s death and how to Believably act like your grieving… only saw Anna do that after she told Mac.

They needed to review the Nov 95 tape I just watched today… the days leading up to Stone’s death, his final momemts, his memorial. The actors were believable then, Anna with Robin (appearing in Robin’s mind only) and everyone crying and grieving… soooo much better than this time around! That tape is so very sad to watch. What I watched of GH this week was sad, but in a ‘wow. they don’t make me feel bad, they’re not acting sad enough for me to really feel bad’ kind of way.

Spot on comment. Frank and Ron are a great team and they will do great. I have faith in them since OLTL was awesome. They should be given a chance. They hopefully will beat Days of Our lives in the ratings because that soap is god-awful and is not better than GH in any way.

Well to al of you GH fans I say welcome to my world. For years I watched GL go down the drain and eventually be cancelled. Then ATWT and OLTL I watched because all my others were gone. Now To what do my wondering ears do I hear? but the demise og GH is soon is soon to be near. It’s not about lead ins or even ratings me loves. It is about costs. Put quite simply even if GH got a 100 share in the ratings, the costs to produce a soap does not compare to siliness like The Chew or The Revolution where not only do they not have to pay the actors, but less crew, less sets . Now take this advice and take it good. Stop griping about your writers your EP, your stories all that is not going to matter in the end. Enjoy your soap while it lasts because take it from me, when it is gone, it is gone. And that void at 3 pm will never be filled.

ouch,that hurts.

Yup, Yup, and Yup!

Very True!!!

Loving GH again!

me to.

I am absolutely disgusted that they killed robin off! I cried my eyes out… This was not even expected- who is next? Carly? Michael? Sonny? I don’t get it kill off the people who have not had such a long standing in this show. I just honestly hope they do not change too much and kill off too many characters because I did no like amc or oltl so… I love gh and it always leaves you at the edge of your seat but realistically we need to move forward and not backward!!! Luckys gone.. Nicolas is gone.. No more robin and even poor jake.. Kill Anthony!! No one even likes him…

I like anthony,maybe Im the only one here that does ,I think he has a way with words,and I love all his flower arrangements ,dont give up on robin ,if you are reading all the posts here ,most of us think robin is alive,somewhere,so the robin story continues.also i heard that alot of the newbes will be gone ,so keep the faith all is not lost at general hospital.

Robin’s last air-date was Feb 21st, unless they pre-taped some scenes to show after that date. I just read it, she had stopped tapping.

hopefully there is more to come,remember our big one life to live ending,brilliant.

Robin is NOT dead give the new writer & producer a chance. At least there is a chance now for our soap with these guys.They will bring humor & love stories back Stay tuned

The actress said she wanted Robin dead and that is what they did… so we don’t see a burned up body, where do you think the explosion, deep inside a bulding, flung her body to and how would you propose that she’ll recover and reappear?

that would have to be a Dallas speciality — it was just a bad dream!

just got back from we love soaps and the ratings are in, general hospital goes down even lower,its that stupid revolution that is killing gh ,that show sucks, no body is going to watch it,for the love of pete,they are paying people to go in and watch the stupid thing,general hospital is getting good again and because of abc/disney decision to kill the afternoon soaps there ratings are going down ,which we want to see happen ,but poor general hospital is in the crossfire ,and that can hurt our last abc soap.1loveabcsoaps,I heard if you are watching gh on the net you are not counted.so here we go again ,on the net ,not counted ,watch it on soapnet,not counted,if you over 49 your conceded dead,Im mean not counted ,this sucks ,can general hospital get canceled because more then half of us are ,not counted?

Yeah, I read that what you are talking about not being counted, Heather told you. Sometimes I come home and just read the post, over a glass of wine, and I must admit when folk on here get into ” critic mood “, or there is a ” full moon” or whatever happens on here, it gets CRAZY and I crack up, and read myself to sleep. (Laughter is good for the soul). But yes Heather told you correct, I studied Communications in college, radio, tv, and film so I knew that.

I think i remember saying that, back in the day ,several years ago a group of people from western ny rented a bus and went to new york city to see the I love new york ad being taped,alot of people wanted to meet shirley mclain,i read here that she is going to be in a soap in england ,to make a long story short ,she refused to go out and meet her fans , she was there filming but refused to take a few steps over to meet these people all the rest of the stars signed autographs and talked she would not do it ,well the fans came back home ,our local abc news went with them ,it was covered on our local news ,and what was said about her and how she behaved towards her fans ,well she lost alot of them that day.what a bitch.go to the shirley mclain going to be in the soap opera abby something< I forgot what number michael has it on now ,He had it on about a month ago.shirley maclain goes to abby,I posted there.did you ever read any of her books ? i forced myself to read one ,she is nuts.so the soaps across the pond can keep her.

Barbara I was being sarcastic I have heard all the rumors that we are going to discover Robin is not dead kinda like Trevor St. John on OLTL with all the oldies coming back and them tying up loose ends makes me feel the handwriting is on the wall, Michael Knight gave an interview where he basically said ABC wants out of the business of soaps. Because of the huge costs etc. I am tired of everything revolving around Sonny & Jason just feel we have been there done that. We shall see!

I’m not obligated to support GH or lie if I think the show is substandard. The Boards are for fans to opine not shill for ABC.

Robin was on since she was 4 i was sad to see her go i wish maxi would have went she is a baby and she killed robin patrick think he did that not right

Since she was 6. Wikipedia says 7. But I heard her say 6.

I heard 6 .

I think people need to stop being so negative general hospital have gotten better already I’m a man and I watch faithfully I think our good lord Jesus Christ will let mr lee president of abc see gh is worth saving pray instead of being negative.

and I will amen to that.whos mr .lee?

ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee

I will be taping the show because I work during the days of the week that soaps are on and well see. Its funny how Kimberly & Kirsten grew up on both shows that will now colide.

I have a serious idea. Michael: I hope RC/FV read these message boards or that you talk to them. I think Roxie should either volunteer at General Hospital or get her nursing degree and work at the nurses station with Epiphany and Elizabeth. How much fun would that be!

Audrey would kick her out of the program…. she’s better at dye jobs than saving someone’s life…. but she’d be funny as a volunteer.

thats what i keep saying that roxie should work at the spencers diner she would be good at giving out a cup of coffee a piece of pie and some good advice,she can run the place ,no problem for her no one is running the place now and every soap needs a diner.I dont think she would work well at the hospital ,except for what christy said she can do a mean hair dye,I miss her to.

I’m so bummed about the way they wrote out the character of Robin. A character such as her deserved a long story, a story that as the actress said was meaty and fulfilling. But instead what we saw was an awkward ending to a legacy character that deserved far better than she received.

Overall, I will continue to watch in the short term to see how the aftermath plays out, however I can not deny my disappointment in how the story was managed. On the flip side given the task they were handed the actors were phenomenal and deserve nothing short of some serious accolades for their performances.

I have been watching this soap since I was 8 years old. Not once have I ever been so disappointed in the writers of GH then I have this week. I thought they would kill Robin off when she had a low count but now I see they were just foaming at the mouth. It broke my heart to see Robin be treated with so much disrespect. To die in her own lab was rediculous. If they want GH to be back on top and to save the show then they need to bring back Robin Scorpio.

keep an open mind ,our robin is not dead ,they want us to think she is for right now ,but Im guessing something went wrong in the lab and there is more to the story then a explosion,I dont want robin dead either ,but there is no sense in killing off a loved character like her.I trust ron and frank to clear things up.they had a mess to straighten up .they need a while to put our friends in port charles back up front where they belong .the mob stories ate up all the other characters hopefully now that will change.

Rgt now I’m hoping for a great funeral/send off for Robin. I’m guessing they’re waiting til Jason is stablized & then all friends and family will b there. Hope that’s what they do and not keep treating her as a afterthought!

Also, getting the impression that RC (new writer) is trying to anchor GH w/sentimental favs of GH and bring in a few power hitters from OLTL. He’s familar w/the OLTL actors and their talent and is trying to utilize them to help anchor the show. Let’s face it we don’t need newbies like the “woman in white”. I was shaking my head on that 1. Every time i saw her she was wearing white. How ridiculous!!! Couldn’t act either, just interacted w/Ethan, waste. Ethan was good and had potential w/Kristina and the old writers messed that up too! Well, I’m just hoping for blue skies for GH. Been a ABC soap fan for 20 + yrs and hopefully counting!!! Mostly watchin OLTL & GH, some AMC, but mostly OLTL. RC’s writing has been good, he likes to keep fans interested and along for the ride. Hoping he continues to pull it out of a hat.

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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