A Critic’s Review Of General Hospital: A Dialogue Dilemma

The author’s opinions are his and his alone. They’re suitably scathing, fairly humorous, and normally bang on target.

When it comes to General Hospital, every fan has their own opinion – and Soap Hub is no different. For five days, we sat and watched the good, the bad, and everything in between, and now we offer you a handy review, and a cheeky critique, of the GH week that was.

General Hospital: A Critic’s Week In Review

I had hoped—nay, prayed—that the banal chat Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) and Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) were exchanging on those oh-so-rocky Jacksonville, Florida cliffs would be the lowest point in clumsy, cringe-inducing, and/or unintentionally funny dialogue. I was mistaken.

There were so many to select from that I’m not sure which line or scene had people laughing or guffawing the loudest:

It might have been Carolyn Webber (Denise Crosby) telling Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) that she and Jeff Webber (William Moses) were “of course thrilled” to see her after their daughter had forced the truth out of them regarding Jeff’s affair with Reiko Finn and her part in her eventual death. Jeff loudly and angrily agreed to tell Liz the truth “because you REFUSE to let this go” perhaps a little while earlier. Or perhaps it was Little Lizzie’s sudden insult that Reiko was “A HOMEWRECKING WHORE!”

The moment Carly reiterated to Drew that she and Sam “are really good friends” was perhaps the turning point. No, it was unmistakably when Cody Bell (Josh Kelly) was compared to a flimflam man by Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner). I freakin’ love Scotty, side note. And yeah, to me he will always be Scotty.

No, it very definitely was when Drew had to be told that the hypothetical trader in his case had engaged in textbook insider trading. Perhaps Drew’s blatant misunderstanding of standard business procedures should exclude him from serving as CEO of anything, not just ELQ. However, Drew as portrayed by Billy Miller was neither this blind nor was he spanked by Carly.

Also, even though my head knows that Holly Sutton (Emma Samms) was making the points to steady Robert Scorpio’s (Tristan Rogers) hand so she wouldn’t have to betray his plans to Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy), it hurt my heart to hear her claim, “Moving around court officials, looking for loopholes? It’s not you.”

Oh, and since when is Holly an, “old friend,” of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard)? Shouldn’t he still be a might sore over her ransoming the antidote to that mutant strain of encephalitis that claimed his sister’s life, or, akin to Bruno, do we not talk about Holly’s mercenary past?

Further GH Musings

* Am I the only one decrying GH’s decision to tear Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) and Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) asunder?

Aside from Kirsten Storms, is it just me, or does Roger Howarth shine beside every actress he meets? Fire, Britt Westbourne and Austin Gatlin-Holt (Kelly Thiebaud)! Outstanding platonic chemistry between Austin and Gladys Corbin (Bonnie Burroughs). [I wouldn’t be against these two becoming a true friendship.] Maxie Jones and Austin? total failure

“Robin’s bridge” was once a revered location. Now that General Hospital thinks it OK to have various sequences take place there, I’m not amused.

But it’s possible to argue that she had a key role in bridging the gap between Jeff and his biological father, Steve Hardy, it still seems odd to me that a picture of Audrey Hardy (Rachel Ames) is displayed on the mantlepiece of the Webber home while Steve’s is conspicuously absent. Has Chris and Dan/Dan and Chris neglected their duty to study the General Hospital canon once more? * I’m grateful that Genie Francis is back on my television once more. By the way, I had forgotten how hilarious Laura Collins and Kevin Collins are when they’re up to no good. Less of everything else GH has going on and more of that.

Didn’t Esme Prince (Avery Kristen Pohl) receive much too much attention to be absent from even one episode?