Am I permitted to begin another post with a complaint about how much General Hospital frustrates me? Well, it’s the end of the year and I see no need to deviate from the theme now.
Today’s frustration is on the positive side. You know, the “they clearly remember how to do this soap thing well, so why don’t they do it all the time?” kind.
The Christmas episode, Robin and Patrick’s wedding, even Sonny and Carly’s visit to Michael, were all so nicely done. I don’t expect to see anything like it for at least another six months.
First, Christmas. The Santa visit was neither here nor there, but what really counted was the families. They remembered that the Quartermaines, the Scorpios and the Spencers – though where was Bobbie? - are the real families here, and having them spend Christmas together was sweet. Using Maxie and Spinelli flitting between them, delivering “presents” from the past was a nice little link. Even Max, Diane and Bernie was a great little diversion from mob life.
True, it’s disappointing that there was no Christmas at the hospital, but let’s face it, who would read the Christmas story? Hell, who would even be able to dress up as an elf? Having decimated all of that over the last couple of years, I’d rather they focus on the families like they did, than throw something together half-heartedly at the 10th floor nurse’s station.
Before getting on to the wedding, I do have to say that as much as I really don’t care about the mob stuff – I fast-forwarded through most of it aside from Ric and Claudia hooking up (yay), and catching word that the Russians are now just leaving town (of course they are, will we get the Yakuza as the next “threat”?) – it was really nice to see Carly and Sonny visiting Michael in the hospital. Both because he shouldn’t just be forgotten, and whatever else I really do feel Carly as a mother most of the time, but also that it was Dylan Cash and not a wig on a stick. It made the whole thing so much more real and meaningful. That and how big both he and the actor who plays Morgan are getting.
Then we have Robin and Patrick’s wedding. Sure, not everyone who should have been there was there, but I’ll give them a pass on that because at least for the first wedding a few weeks back pretty much everyone was, and again no one was there this time that shouldn’t have been.
That aside, what this felt like to me was the paying of proper respect to Robin. Robin is a unique character on soaps. A character we have seen grow up on screen with the same actress since she was seven years old. (I don’t think that exists elsewhere – though there are a couple of shows I don’t watch, of course – with, to my knowledge, only OLTL’s Starr being on the same path.)
A character who may have sometimes been written into that same shrewish corner GH has liked to write smart women into for many years now, but one who, overall, has been treated with a great deal of respect. She’s had three substantial relationships, and has never been put on that typical soap wedding-go-round. This is her first marriage, it counts, and it was so pleasing to see it treated as such.
The vows were sweet without being saccharine, the Scorpio family scenes were perfect, the flashbacks were charming and appropriate, the dress was beautiful, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I especially loved the wide-eyed “oh my, it’s real” looks from Robin and Patrick when they were pronounced married. I couldn’t have wanted much more.
It’s kind of nice (and surprising) to leave the year on a positive. So, Happy New Year everyone. May 2009 be a much better soap year.
And now I'm off to another wedding, my brother's, which will probably contain fewer flashbacks, but hopefully be as sweet.
