UPDATE: General Hospital: March 6, 2013

I have an update on the recast of Lulu Spencer Falconeri on General Hospital. While I was convinced that Jen Lilley was going to replace Julie Marie Berman, GH went out and got Emme Rylan to play the littlest Spencer.

You may ask yourself, "Who is Emme Rylan"? And I did ask myself that, out loud. She is actually Marcy Rylan with a new first name, that has not been explained.

I didn't even know she was on the market because last I heard and saw, she had returned to Young & the Restless as Abby Newman. Even if I had known, I would have still tapped Jen Lilley.

Win some lose some.

And GH is losing another of its stars as Brandon Barash is exiting the role of Johnny Zaccara. I can't say I am that surprised considering Johnny was carted off to Pentonville a few weeks ago. Yes, GH's prison of choice is named Pentonville.

Oddly enough Johnny & Lulu used to be an item.

And much to my surprise, GH did NOT kill off Steven Lars Webber. They are actually sending his character to Mephis or Nashville (not sure which) to answer a murder charge, to which he claims he is not going to fight.

I fully expected Steven do die during or shortly after his vows to Olivia. Instead they were interrupted with the Tennessee town of choice PoPo.

They never did anything with that character. I thought they had a lot of opportunity and I don't know if it was Scott Reeves or the writing of the character, but he was a dud.

And finally...

Fan favorites Brenda & Jax are returning for the big 50th Anniversary Bash. Look for Ingo Rademacher & Vanessa Marcil to return sometime in the next few weeks.

Still waiting for John Stamos to commit to a return as Blackie Parrish. Fingers crossed.

General Hospital: A Statement on the Current State of the Show

For a good part of my life, I have been in tune if not always tuned in to General Hospital. It is one of the lasting soap operas and the only one that ABC still airs.

The show is approaching its 50^th Anniversary and in preparation of that, has been bringing back a lot of characters and a lot of stories. It is very refreshing and endearing to me when a show pays homage to its history. When it revisits a storyline from long ago without totally ruining it with change. I am looking at you All My Children and the Erica Kane abortion storyline that you ruined by having the fetus transplanted into another woman. Shame on you for that. Shame, on, you!

The parade of beloved character returns began with Duke Lavery & Caesar Faison in a battle for Anna’s love.

Perhaps the most entertaining has been Lucy Coe and the Nurse’s Ball/Port Charles tie in. I have absolutely loved that they worked in the Port Charles/Caleb/Livvie/Vampire/Lucy the Slayer connections. I am impressed with the explanation they have given for “Caleb the Vampire”. It is refreshing if you watched Port Charles when Michael Easton played Caleb and Kelly Monaco played Livvie, as Easton now plays John McBain, and Monaco plays Sam McCall. Very well played by the writers.

It was also lovely that they brought in Jon Lindstrom as Kevin, Lucy’s estranged husband, who doubled as her “Doc”, shrink.

Frisco Jones, might be the most surprising return. I can’t remember when Jack Wagner was last seen as Frisco and I certainly did not expect him to return. I must say that his character has been a little on the creepy side with relation to his daughter Maxie. Almost a little lecherous if you will. I am sure it is not on purpose & I am not the first to notice it.

After Genie Francis was ushered off of The Young & The Restless, it seemed certain that she would reprise Laura Spencer on GH and to the relief of many she did. She was last seen recovering from a catatonic state and heading off to treatment with former husband Scotty Baldwin. It was really no surprise when he returned as his portrayer Kin Shriner has been an all time favorite. It was also no surprise that they are engaged to be married. Of course with Luke recently kind of blown off by Anna, there is sure to be a bit of a battle for Laura’s love.

Tied in to Luke & Laura is the revisiting of the Ice Princess storyline as their daughter Lulu was gifted a replica of said Princess.

Speaking of Lulu, her portrayer Julie Marie Berman has left the show and the role is going to be recast. Upon hearing this, my first thought was, “I wonder if they will bring Jen Lilly in to fill that role.” Lilly was a fan favorite when she subbed for Kirsten Storms as Maxie Jones. Remember, if they land Lilly for this role, I speculated it here first.

Earlier this year they brought Sean Kanan back as AJ Quartermaine, just after the departure of Steve Burton as Jason Quartermaine. I have to say that I absolutely love the change in the character and really believe that AJ has changed his ways. I am happy that they are letting his biological son Michael develop a relationship with him and not having him being poisoned by Sonny & Carly, not for them not trying of course.

Also coming back soon is Rick Springfield as Noah Drake and he is bringing his son Liam along as an undercover cop. I am thinking that the 50^th Anniversary is going to culminate with the Nurse’s Ball, a past favorite arc that has been missing for several years. I am expecting Springfield to perform, perhaps Jessie’s Girl, as part of the event.

Rumors were swirling that they were also trying to bring back John Stamos as Blackie Parrish, adopted brother of Laura Webber-Spencer, who has been imprisoned on a manslaughter conviction. I read where Stamos is very open to returning, but the tone has to be right. He is not interested in just playing drums to back up Springfield’s Noah. The tone of the article made me think that he would be open to a longer stint with some meat to it. I would totally be open to that as well.

Jackie Zeeman is also set to return as Bobbie Spencer, Luke’s sister, Noah’s ex, and Carly’s biological mom.

Also rumored to be possibly returning is Antonio Sabatto Jr. as Jagger Cates, brother of Michael “Stone” Cates, who succumbed to AIDS, which was the center cause for the Nurse’s Ball.

The new era of show runners seem to be very much committed to reexamining the past and mixing it with the present and future.

I for one am very grateful for the direction the show has taken. It seems that they are trying to break free of the “mob mentality” if you will. In the mid 90’s soap operas started to turn to a younger cast, a teen cast to draw in the younger viewers who were home more during the day, especially in the summer. I hated that change. I have been a viewer of soaps since I was under the care of my Granny while my parents worked, and later when my Dad was home during the mining shut down. I remember watching One Life To Live and then taking our nap. When my mom was a stay at home mom for a time, she turned me on to Days of Our Lives and Another World. My sister was responsible for me tuning into As The World Turns.

When I began watching soap operas, they didn’t have the need to cater to a younger crowd. We were already there and we didn’t mind that the story lines were all adult. It worked perfectly. There was no need for shirtless men every other scene like there is today. The story lines were better, not as preposterous. So yes, I am all for a show revisiting characters and stories that made them great. I am not a fan of glossing over the past or changing it to suit the here and now.

I should also note, that while I no longer watch Days of Our Lives, I don’t believe there will ever be a need to revisit the Marlena Devil Possessed storyline.

Do you watch the soap operas? What is left of them anyways? Are you a GH fan and loving or hating the storylines? Hit the comments and let me know. I am very interested to hear your thoughts.

Questions of the Week: November 4, 2012

This week held just a few questions. Thanks to Sandy it was kind of a slow week for primetime.

·         Do you just love that shows are showing the “after birth residual baby bump”? Amandemily had one on Revenge last week. Of course this week she will probably be back to some skanky Daisy Dukes.

·         Could General Hospital possibly tell the AJ/Michael story another time? First Michael told Starr, then Michael & Carly talked about it, then Carly told Todd and then AJ and Michael told each other. Seriously, we get it.

·         What kind of insurance does Nicole have on Days Of Our Lives? She spent something like two weeks in the hospital for a fall down some stairs.

·         Did The Vampire Diaries invest in a movie blood company? There has been copious amounts of blood this season and 98% of it has been coming out of Elena’s mouth! She just might be the sloppiest vampire diner ever!

·         Was anyone else glued to SuperStorm Sandy coverage like I was on Monday night? I just could not stop watching it.

·         Also did anyone just love how Shepard Smith was more concerned about his high-rise apartment than about the thousands of people who were displaced? And by love, I mean sickened.

·         Does anyone else think that CSI New York is dying a slow, painful death? I can’t seem to pay attention to even five minutes of that show.

·         Who else absolutely loved Drexel on Revolution? I can’t be the only one!

·         Speaking of Revolution, if Danny is Monroe’s guest, why was he shackled on the ride to Philadelphia? That is not how we treat guests in the western part of the States.

·         Has this been the most disappointing opening week to November Sweeps yet?

·         NBC, why are you punishing us by putting Revolution on a nearly three month hiatus come January?

What are your burning questions? What are you looking forward to in the week ahead? Hit the comments section and let me know.