General Hospital Watching General Hospital

[Ray&Donna]

Wonder of wonders, they managed to get Kin Shriner and Lynn Herring in a scene without the hotel room furniture being chewed down to sawdust.

Yeah, I was wondering about Nathan's father again myself. Perhaps we should be grateful they've dropped the story--at this rate, they'd probably make him Sonny's spawn from the time Obrecht raped him.

 

[Cliff Barnes]

The lee Baldwin tribute looks very nice, kudos to them for doing it in a pretty classy way.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I recall a scene (back when Ron Carlivati was still the Head Writer) where Monica mentioned that she was going over to Lee and Gail's house to play cards, as if this was a standing date they had. Off-hand comments like that dropped into scenes are nice "fan service" and even though I wasn't watching back when Lee and Gail were on the show, I feel as if they are part of the series when the writers drop in such references.

From the Liesl/Madeline conversations we saw a while back, we're pretty sure Nathan's dad was not Victor Cassadine, though this is the story Liesl tells everyone. So why don't they play up this "Cassadine cousin" thing, having him in scenes with fellow Cassadines like Alexis, Sam, and Spencer? Even stranger, you'd think Valentin would have addressed the idea that his brother-in-law Nathan was also his nephew (since Victor and Valentin were half-brothers). If GH really wanted to throw a monkey-wrench into the works, we could discover that the reason Liesl was so desperate to keep Nathan's paternity a secret was because his father is in fact Mikkos Cassadine. Given what Helena did to women who had affairs with Mikkos, it's little wonder Liesl kept it under wraps. Of course, Liesl would have had to do the deed with ol' Mikkos shortly before he died, since the timeline is totally wrong...but since when has that stopped them? Nathan would have just as much claim to the Cassadine fortune as Valentin, and we've seen Valentin kill people who were in his way (Nikolas). Would he kill Nina's precious little brother, 'Jay'?

 

[Ray&Donna]

We saw a flashback of Scott and his father on Thursday, so I couldn't help but expect more on Friday. Alas, we only got reminisces between characters. I find myself wondering if Serena is just here for a few days or a new regular character.

From the Liesl/Madeline conversations we saw a while back, we're pretty sure Nathan's dad was not Victor Cassadine, though this is the story Liesl tells everyone. So why don't they play up this "Cassadine cousin" thing, having him in scenes with fellow Cassadines like Alexis, Sam, and Spencer? Even stranger, you'd think Valentin would have addressed the idea that his brother-in-law Nathan was also his nephew (since Victor and Valentin were half-brothers). If GH really wanted to throw a monkey-wrench into the works, we could discover that the reason Liesl was so desperate to keep Nathan's paternity a secret was because his father is in fact Mikkos Cassadine. Given what Helena did to women who had affairs with Mikkos, it's little wonder Liesl kept it under wraps. Of course, Liesl would have had to do the deed with ol' Mikkos shortly before he died, since the timeline is totally wrong...but since when has that stopped them? Nathan would have just as much claim to the Cassadine fortune as Valentin, and we've seen Valentin kill people who were in his way (Nikolas). Would he kill Nina's precious little brother, 'Jay'?

You have to be careful with those things, unless you're GH. Nathan and Charlotte would both wind up being older than Valentin


The buildup yesterday to Ava's new face was absurd. They tried to make it come off all Gothic and mysterious, and in the end she looked fine. Thank God Maura West can sell almost anything, even listening to CarSon lambast her once again as the spawn of Satan (people in glass houses...)

 

[Daniel Avery]

I read in a synopsis that little Spencer actually visited her in the hospital, recounting how upset he was when he got burned and pulled that whole "Phantom of the Opera" melodrama. It was a nice nod to continuity, and before all this BTS contract stuff got Nikolas killed (and Tyler C quit), Ava was well on her way to becoming the new woman in Spencer's daddy's life.

 

[Ray&Donna]

Yes, Maura West had excellent chemistry with both Tyler and Nick Stabile in those brief scenes prior to Nicholas being "killed". While some may think less Spencer is more, I thought his scenes with Ava were really touching and genuine, despite the fact that he was basically thanking her for fingering Valentin in his lawsuit against his uncle. But then Ava and a ficus tree would be more entertaining at this point than listening to CarSon wax nostalgic about their twisted love story for the millionth time...

 

[Maryann]

I have missed episodes can someone tell me what is going on with Sam and why is she seeing visions of Sonny?

 

[Daniel Avery]

My viewing is spotty as well, but from what I saw on Thursday....

Sam has some infection (they used the medical term, so it might actually be real) that's affecting her brain, causing hallucinations (and damn good ones, too) and now convulsions/seizures. She's in the hospital, and Dr. Finn diagnosed her in much the same way he diagnosed Tracy when she had that rare brain infection. Unlike Tracy's (which came from something she ate in Mexico), Sam's infection was said to have likely come from a pet/animal. The main issue Dr. Finn is worried about, though, is that the infection can be passed from mother to baby; if Sam caught this infection while pregnant, baby Scout might have it too. I guess if the infant tries to kill Sonny by hitting him over the head with a baby bottle, we'll have our answer.

I'm guessing that while the writing staff was doing research to back up the writing of Tracy's brain infection, they stumbled across this other condition and decided to inflict it on Sam just to give her something fun to do.

 

[Maryann]

My viewing is spotty as well, but from what I saw on Thursday....

Sam has some infection (they used the medical term, so it might actually be real) that's affecting her brain, causing hallucinations (and damn good ones, too) and now convulsions/seizures. She's in the hospital, and Dr. Finn diagnosed her in much the same way he diagnosed Tracy when she had that rare brain infection. Unlike Tracy's (which came from something she ate in Mexico), Sam's infection was said to have likely come from a pet/animal. The main issue Dr. Finn is worried about, though, is that the infection can be passed from mother to baby; if Sam caught this infection while pregnant, baby Scout might have it too. I guess if the infant tries to kill Sonny by hitting him over the head with a baby bottle, we'll have our answer.

I'm guessing that while the writing staff was doing research to back up the writing of Tracy's brain infection, they stumbled across this other condition and decided to inflict it on Sam just to give her something fun to do.

Thanks for the info and what you said about Scout trying to kill Sonny . By the way did Sam just finished watching "To Kill A Mocking Bird" why she chose that name.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Danny apparently thought it was a cute name to give the baby when it was still growing in Sam's belly. When Sam actually gave birth (through her pants...in the woods...don't ask) she and Jason compromised in a way by naming the baby Emily Scout (Emily, of course, being Jason's late sister). Monica was of course pleased with the Emily part; as for Scout....well, soap characters have had crazier names.

 

[Ray&Donna]

I think they decided on Friday that Sam's toxoplasmosis has now morphed into encephalitis, and that she acquired it during childbirth after Olivia kicked her off the bridge. This, of course, is Julian's fault. If they decided to transfer a fatal infection to Kristina, I wouldn't be the least bit upset. What an annoying shrew.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I would prefer a scenario where she kills Julian "to protect her family", which would allow us to be rid of both of them. The only drawback is that once again Sonny would be thumping his chest and moaning about how much his faaaaamily means to him---despite treating Kristina like the red-headed step-child almost since her birth.

 

[Ray&Donna]

Sonny trapped in a hole after being shot is one of those interminably-long stories that would have been welcome in the golden age of soaps, but now just feels incredibly self-indulgent. But thank goodness Stone convinced him to attempt to climb out of said hole.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Someone on another soap site proclaimed Stone to be "The Patron Saint of Abandoned Wells and Sinkholes", since that seems to be where he keeps popping up.

 

[Ray&Donna]

Someone on another soap site proclaimed Stone to be "The Patron Saint of Abandoned Wells and Sinkholes", since that seems to be where he keeps popping up.

That bungee jump back in the day must've included a broken cord

 

[Ray&Donna]

I read on another site a valid point: ABC is no longer paying salaries for Tony Geary, Jane Elliot, or Tyler Christopher. Is Steve Burton really so expensive that they have to get rid of Rebecca Budig and (presumably) Will DeVry to pay for him? No matter what salary he may command, I would argue that he certainly isn't worth it, Daytime Emmy for Y&R be damned.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I get the impression that Frank Valentini picks and chooses who to negotiate with. The "we have no money" line is true enough, but there have been at least two prominent actors (Roger Howarth and Becky Herbst) who ended up winning their contract battles this year. Saying RB and (hopefully) WDV were fired specifically to make way for Steve Burton might be an over-simplification. He might be using Burton's return as an excuse to fire a few folks and get the books balanced, because (you will recall) he had no qualms whatsoever about refusing Burton's demands in 2012 and sending him packing. JFP had given Burton a sweetheart deal that Valentini refused to honor when he took over because it was so outlandish. It's likely ABC pushing FV to hire him back, since it's ABC pushing Sonny/Carly down our throats again. Burton would be crazy to make demands like he did in 2012 since his tenure at Y&R didn't exactly set the world on fire. The Emmy thing is no non-starter, since they let Tyler Christopher go even after he'd won the Lead Actor Emmy FOR GH that same month, and in the previous year, the same thing occurred with Jason Thompson.

 

[Ray&Donna]

Unfortunately they mentioned the P-word yesterday (Parker), so the show is getting ready to head down that rabbit hole again. It worked so well the last time.

One interesting thing to note about the absence of Franco is that it has been made very clear during Howarth's contract talks or whatever that the character isn't needed. Liz mentioned that he was in New York negotiating to get his artwork returned and I like, "Okay, whatever" and otherwise I've barely noticed him being off-canvas.

 

[Daniel Avery]

If Liz/Franco had not become popular with a vocal segment of fans, I don't think Howarth would have had any leverage in his contract talks at all.

 

[Maryann]

Although do not watch consistently or care much about GH anymore I preferred Nina and Franco opposed to Liz and Franco.