General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL 56th Anniversary Episode: Gail’s Final Wish Brings Remembrances & Touching Moments
Simple two-person scenes that most soap opera fans long for were the order of the day in a special love letter to longtime viewers tied with a nice bow, as well as saying goodbye to the beloved Susan Brown (Dr. Gail Baldwin). The actress passed away at the end of August of last year.
Using the history of many iconic characters relationships that are still on the canvas decades later, General Hospital celebrated its 56th anniversary with the airing of this special standalone episode on Tuesday.
In story, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) has gathered everyone that Gail has requested to be present at the hospital to honor her final wishes. So, Scott (Kin Shriner), Franco (Roger Howarth), Laura (Genie Francis), Lesley (Denise Alexander), Bobbie (Jackie Zeman), Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) Monica (Leslie Charleson), Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), Lucy (Lynn Herring), Maxie (Kirsten Storms), Mac (John J. York), Felicia (Kristina Wagner), Sonny (Maurice Benard), Carly (Laura Wright) and Julian (William deVry) all wind up together at a nurses’ station.
Alexis explains the task at hand at Gail’s request that has each of them receiving a piece of the original blueprint of the hospital. Next, each person is to go to that location and find an envelope with their name on it and then return to the nurses’ station. And from there, the story unfolds, putting former enemies, painful memories, and heartfelt enduring relationships to the forefront.
Courtesy/ABC
First, we find Lesley Webber and her longtime nemesis Monica Quartermaine going at in the locker room looking for their envelopes, which featured Lesley calling Monica “a slut” for ole’ time sake! Next, Bobbie and Felicia find their envelopes by the wall of photos which brings back B.J.’s death and Maxie’s heart transplant that saved her life.
We then find Lucy going through some of her Nurses’ Ball gowns and Monica happens by. Lucy finds a pocket square of Dr. Alan Quartermaine, and then tells Monica how badly she feels that she treated so bad, and that Alan would want his true love, Monica, to have the pocket square.
This episode though, truly belonged to Kin Shriner, who brought the anguish of a grown-up son now having lost both his parents. =When Scott sees Laura, she is trying to help him figure out his piece of the blueprint. He shares that he remembers Gail dragging him back to Port Charles kicking and screaming, but how if it was not for her, Laura would have never been in his life. When Laura finds the envelope meant for him, he shares that he hopes it contains advice about how to continue on without Lee (the late Peter Hansen) and Gail.
Courtesy/ABC
Then, in a hankie-inducing moment, Franco apologizes to his dad for working undercover with Jordan and not telling him. Scott understands, as it reminds him of how he treated his parents in much the same way. An emotional Scott tells Franco he loves him and he will never turn his back on him. Because of Franco, Scott now understands what his own parents went through and the two men hug, sort of.
CourtesyABC
At the hospital chapel, Sonny and Laura talk about how she knew that the mobster was a good guy right from the start, and the two touch upon their mental health issues. Maxie thanks Mac for being there as her father, while Mac says he never thought he would be a stay-at-home dad, but wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything.
Epiphany and Liz have a nice moment about the nursing profession and being there for each other, Carly tells Bobbie she’s pregnant, Julian and Alexis share a close moment. And later, Scott and Bobbie discuss their past which ends in a friendly hug. Also, Sonny comes down the hospital stairs and looks up and see the Stone Cates Memorial plaque in remembrance of the fight against HIV/AIDS and a nod to that landmark storyline on GH.
Kevin and Lucy cross paths, and he clarifies he loves Laura. Lucy says even still she will stand by him. When they go to the hospital chapel to find the envelope for Kevin, Laura is there waiting. Lucy bows out. Kevin says he will always love Laura.
Once everyone returns to the nurse’s station with their envelopes, it’s time they open it at the same time. But what was in it? Confetti! When Alexis reads more of Gail’s letter, she tell everyone that they all need to carry if forward, and do some amazing things. and Gail thanks them for coming and being her friend.
Courtesy/ABC
Just then, Scott leaves the group and walks to the GH memorial wall and unveils a photo of Gail. What followed was a montage of many of the moments discussed earlier in the two-person scenes, which was a clever way to let the characters and the dialogue speak for themselves, and go to the clips at the end of the episode.
How nice it was to see moments with Kin Shriner, Genie Francis, Jackie Zeman, Denise Alexander, Leslie Charleson and many more!
What did you think of GH’s 56th anniversary episode? What did you think of the performance of Kin Shriner? Genie Francis. etc? Share your thoughts and review via the comment section below. But first, watch the final emotional moments and montage of the 56th anniversary episode below, as the song “Good Times” an original composition by Becky Shaheen and Gavin Linnahan, written for this standalone episode, accompanies the action.
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Gail went through all that trouble, writing up her fjnal wishes, in her will, keeping everyone in suspense for weeks, only to throw a bunch of glitter at several people she hadn’t seen in years? Dumb. But Kin Shriner and Genie Francis were awesome. Love those two. They are the reasons why I started watching GH in 1978.
Nor had she met her grandson, Dumbo, er, I mean Franco, who was dancing around trying to catch the confetti.
@Harry….She might as well have “glitter-bombed” that clueless crowd who didn’t even realize they’d been had until the very end. And all to provide Franco’s highly-contrived confetti moment which remains to be surpassed only by his skillfull rendition of munching on “air popcorn!” Remember that dramatic gem????
I agree Joe. For obvious reasons, this was Scottie’s episode, and Kin proved it by his performance. Like everyone else in the late seventies, I was glued to my TV everyday after school, during the Luke and Laura years. Due to work, and losing interest, I gave up in the mid-eighties. I started watching the anniversary shows at the 50th, just to see ( not to sound morbid ), the the vets that are left, and to see if the ones who are gone are mentioned. When Scottie uncovered Gail’s picture, I was hoping the camera would do a quick… Read more »
Overall, it was a touching episode. Great to see the interactions.
No need for Julian to be there, however. They could have had Alexis flashbacks if they included the more logical Ned.
And did we really need Laura to prop up Sonny? Would rather have had her in a scene with Bobbie.
Otherwise, the stroll down memory lane was nice for us long time viewers.
Touching at times, yet still woefully inadequate! Where to begin, where to begin??? Well, I will take your cue, Steve, and go with the most obvious flaw in this whole episode. As you pointed out, there was absolutely no need for Julian’s clearly out-of-place presence! It was just another transparent excuse concocted to promote a “Julexis” re-coupling, which quite frankly, always brings a dirty, raunchy vibe to any scenario! Hardly the appropriate emotion to be included in a purported salute to a classy, highly-respected, dearly-departed member of the GH staff! Sorry, but are we really expected to buy into the… Read more »
The Sonny propping continued on Thursday with Epiphany singing his praises. This is the same man who is in many ways responsible for her son’s death! Ugh!
What’s next? Scotty and Sonny playing cards? Monica and Sonny doing a duet at the Nurses Ball?
Yep, Shay and Steve, Epiphany treats Sonny like he’s a hero and she treats a truly good guy, DR Kevin Collins, like he’s the Devil incarnate.
Epiphany irritates me with her misplaced angry, moral indignation.
@Steve…A more appropriate storyline would have seen Monica and Epiphany forming a support group for all the mothers who’ve lost children at the hands of Sonny Corinthos and his minions!
I enjoyed the show for the most part, but couldn’t they have included at least one clip of Gail. Was it necessary for Sonny, Franco, and Julian to be there?
Right? It was supposedly all about Gail and yet it wasn’t. SMH.
I agree Davy. Although I liked this episode better than last year’s anniversary, I wish it included clips of Gail.
No, no and NO! And your’re so right, Davy! How could it be that the “woman of the hour,” Dr. Gail Adamson-Baldwin didn’t rate even one video appearance? Whilst her photograph on the wall of GH honor was a fitting reminder of this beautiful character and the equally-lovely actress who portrayed her, it was extremely curious that she was not represented more prominently in this episode. Unless I missed it, there wasn’t even an “In loving memory” tag dedicated to this very special lady….how strange!
The “In Memory of Susan Brown” was shown at the end of an episode months ago.
Thank you for the information, Joe. I thought that was most likely the case, but given this special episode was one which no doubt attracted a wider audience than this soap does on a regular daily basis—i.e., a lot of former GH fans tuned in to see their old favorites—-I expected a bit more than the perfunctory unveiling of a photograph of Gail/Miss Brown. I especially would have appreciated video footage of her ever-elegant character interacting with the featured legacy players taking part in this 56th anniversary salute, as that would have very nicely tied this episode together with a… Read more »
I loved it but yes, the scenes between Monica and Lesley were the best.
They were also the saddest….watching those two laboring down the hallway like little old ladies made for difficult viewing. On the other hand, it was too comical to have them still rehashing old grievances…especially when Lesley couldn’t resist calling Monica a “slut” for the umpteenth time for good measure! Given the conduct of more modern GH-ers, Dr. Quartermaine was a real piker in sexual licentiousness!!! (Just compared to that floozy Lucy Coe alone! And what about Bobbie???)
thought I was one of the best anniversary shows yet !
Thought it was the best anniversary show they have done
It always baffles me. If they CAN write classic soap opera that is moving, and emotional, and true to history…why don’t they???? They trot out the vets once or twice a year for these special episodes…when that’s who they should be writing for and focusing on all along! The scenes are richer and Fuller with the vets. Don’t get me wrong…I think the Ryan killer story was for the most part very layered and well written. I get why Ava had to be front and centre! But this story should have been full of Lucy and Scott and Mac and… Read more »
Well said, Colin. I so agree with you! It was so good seeing the old faces that I grew up watching every afternoon when I got home from school. It’s proven over and over, the shows that discard their veteran actors and bring on a bunch of newbies, always create fan backlash. When will the producers learn???
The writing wasn’t brilliant, but the delivery by those stellar actors sure was! I was expecting clips earlier in the show and so was a little disappointed at first. But the acting! Those pros really delivered and made me feel like I had seen what they were talking about from all those years ago; years before I started watching. That’s talent!
Congratulations to all who participated in that episode for such compelling work!
Here’s to 56+ more years, GH!
@Rodd….Having video clips interspersed throughout the show when the actual characters were referencing their past storylines would have provided a far more effective and enjoyable method of presenting this episode. This would have offered a more “you were there” experience for viewers like yourself who weren’t initially around when these scenes originally aired! Whilst I was fortunate enough to have watched a great many of those scenes firsthand, I still would have preferred the appropriate clips accompanying that dialogue down memory lane. It would have made it much more special.
Should had shown some Gail flashbacks in scenes with Monica, Scott ect so new viewers could be introduced to and know what a wonderful character Gail was from the shows golden years…show felt good seeing many iconic characters interact with each other tho i did not understand why Lesley is still angry at Monica when both seemed civil and friendly to each other during a visit a few years ago…of course it had to have Sonny and Carly who i guess dont get enough screen time(roll eyes) and a few others we didnt need but i let it pass-it is… Read more »
Heeey Jimh ..
I, like many others, have never heard of Gail.
The entire episode was a huge HUH?
It was made for the ol’ timers, only.
All others, like me, that came to Y&R well after that era hadn’t a clue about what in the heck was going on. It was nonsense to us.
I have not a clue as to who was whom and the whole of it was a complete HUH??
They could had done more with the ep to help give a clue to what a wonderful era that was for all you youngins-lol
HEy su, all the more reason it should have had clarity.
Well put, Jimh! I could have done without Sonny and Carly, too, not to mention, Alexis and Julian, Franco, Stella and Curtis! This episode should have included only the nearest and dearest to Dr. Gail during her years on GH! (And copious clips of the lovely lady doc in action with those she chose to assemble in her honor.) But it was lovely to see Epiphany back where she belongs, and the timeless Liz included in the episode. (That girl simply does not age…amazing!) And the ever-luminous Laura whose smile still lights up the room! (I would have loved to… Read more »
As usual..well said comments from you…agree 100%
Thank you, Jimh! Very nice to hear from you! Hope you are well…
Don’t forget Franco is Scotty’s son. And Franco works at the hospital.
Yeah…. a serial killer who works as an “art therapist” for children. Who the Hell made that hiring decision??
Sounds like a decision which would have emanated from your own Human Resources Department, Satan! However, I do believe it was Dr. O.’s call…certainly not one of her best, although I do miss her running GH. There was never a dull moment when “Mutter” was in charge!.
How can we forget, cooks 7570? They never let us overlook that sorry fact, although Heather’s maternal half of Franco’s DNA-equation seem to have been conveniently swept under the rug as of late…Her role as “Mommy Dearest” has been diminished to nil….about time Franco visits his mom in her high-security cuckoo’s nest, since there’s no way on God’s green earth that we wouldn’t have heard a peep from her for such a long expanse….something surely must be up with this legendary GH schemer??? (I should have thought that our canny super snoop Heather would have had the goods on Ryan… Read more »
Bit of a disappointment honestly. After months of build up about “what was in Gail’s will” we get envelopes full of confetti? Flashbacks would have been better in context, not mashed together at the end with some dumb song playing over them. And Frodd didn’t need to be there at all. Yeah I know we’re supposed to pretend he’s a “Baldwin” now, but he never even met Gail. Or Lee. Or any other member of their family apart from Scotty. And for Frodd to be in the flashback montage at all…. It’s a General Hospital anniversary show, for Hell’s sake.… Read more »
The confetti was anti climatic for sure.
Why Franco, why Julian (JULLIAN? REALLY?), Stella, and other characters having nothing to do with Gail and her legacy character? Laura and her mother Lesley? PURE GOLD! The rest?
A perfunctory episode-appearing done out of duty rather than compassionate commitment.
What a waste to have Laura reminding viewers what a swell fella Sonny is when we could have had a scene between her and Bobbi recalling how they started out as enemies fighting for Scotty.
I thought it was a beautiful memory brought together with understanding
As I mentioned in the other thread about this episode, I found this anniversary episode excellent, with one major exception: As pointed out by others, the need to prop up the character of Sonny was an incongruous, unconscionable, incomprehensible plot point that stood out like a sore thumb. Saddling the much beloved Laura with the herculean task of affirming the goodness of polarizing Sonny was a gratuitous waste of time in this milestone, otherwise special, episode. Sadly, I see this trend of propping up the character of Sonny at all costs to continue until GH wraps up its historic run.… Read more »
(SMile!)
In keeping with the theme of Laura validating and propping up Sonny by stating that she has always known he was a good person, here is some dialogue from future episodes: Monica: “You know, Sonny, you’ve been more of a son to me than A.J. ever was. He was nothing but trouble. When you killed A.J., you were actually relieving me of my long suffering. So, thank you, Sonny. And I apologize that it took me so long to realize that.” Scotty: “Sonny, I’ve been meaning to thank you for helping my little girl Karen when she was so young.… Read more »
Join the discussion…Hey James this was hysterical! Thanks !!
Thanks so much, Melissa!
Excellent suggestions, James! You should be writing for GH, although I’m not sure your tongue-in-cheek suggestions would be well-received by those who seem to think that Sonny the Great walks on water! Having said that, all I can is add “Encore, encore!!!” (I had a few ideas of my own regarding other characters to add to the “Sonny Songs of Praise” scenario…How about an entire episode featuring the ghosts of all those dead people he wronged??? It would be sort of a reverse take on “It’s A Wonderful Life!”)
Thanks so much, Shay! I know I only scratched the surface. As we know, there are many more characters Sonny has “wronged!” I wholeheartedly support and like your idea for an “entire episode featuring the ghosts of all those dead people he wronged.” Maybe it could morph into a whole week. “This week on General Hospital…”
Looks like something I’ll look up and watch, although I am happy to fast forward through anything that involves Laura saying anything nice about Sonny – part of my Laura love stems from the fact that she’s told him off more than once over the years and has maintained that. If she’s lost that, it diminishes the character for me. He’s not a good guy. Never was/never will be. Geez, they just had a storyline a few months ago that was all about him having killed a guy when he started out in the mob. These writers can’t even remember… Read more »
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