Sunday, March 2, 2008

Just Saying - February Sweeps

So apparently when I said it would be a couple days, I clearly meant a couple of weeks. You know how it is when your evil twin who slept with your best friend’s father and was brutally murdered by the mayor’s crazy grandmother returns from the dead ……you have a lot of catching up to do.

I too have a lot to catching up to do as far as General Hospital is concerned so let’s get to it.

First of all, I was having a hard time remembering this was a sweeps month considering there was no giant catastrophe involving the entire cast as there have been during recent Februaries (MetroCourt hostage crisis, epidemic, Port Charles Hotel fire, etc). However, it was like all other sweep months in one respect - it kicked off with another flippin' pointless death.

Coop was found dead from an apparent suicide by hanging. Everyone, but Maxie, was convinced that he was guilty of being the text message killer and the drive to clear her boyfriend’s name led to an unlikely partnership between her and Spinelli. I’ve really been enjoying their scenes, probably because they are two young talented actors and because Kirsten Storms is a chemistry machine. I’ve really liked all of her pairings, from Matt Marraccini, to Jason Cook all the way back to her Disney channel days with Gregory Smith.

Yeah, I took it there.

Something that irks me, however, is the-powers-that-be are hitting some nerves with their storytelling. For example, Maxie’s already kissed Spinelli and poor Georgie spent months with him and got nowhere near first base. Granted, this kiss was a diversion, but I’m still angry that the writers gave Georgie yet another unrequited love when I’m convinced they already knew she was on her way out. Secondly, while the black and white flashbacks are cute, they’re awfully reminiscent of Dillon’s movie daydreams with Georgie.I adored those two and trying to redo that magic with this new soon-to-be couple (I'm assuming), doesn’t sit well with me. I think it’s still a little soon.

Anywhos, the spunky Jones girl was correct and unfortunately for Sam, the text message killer was still on the loose, clearly one more way karma was waiting to bite her in the butt. It all started when Liz told Lucky all of the nasty things the ex(?) con woman pulled in the name of revenge against Jason and Liz. This led to Lucky terminating his newfound relationship and while I was glad to see the Spencer boy stand up for himself, I hated to see him play the fool again.

I guess it had to be done to set up a story that I, for one, did not foresee.

Sam once again received threatening texts and when she called Lucky for help, he accused her of lying. Apparently for adults, the story of “Peter and the Wolf” features a serial killer instead of a furry animal. The TMK attacked Sam and their scuffle lands them on the outskirts of town during a rainstorm because you know, execs will find any reason to get Kelly Monaco soaking wet.

I know Sam’s supposed to be crafty and whatnot, but after her numerous assaults, don’t you think she would have learned to wear more sensible shoes? The "everyday hero" escaped the killer only to be hit by a car (talk about bad luck) and the driver could be Monica, Liz or Carly. I honestly never saw this coming and I was so excited to be surprised by something; however, I just wished the TMK storyline had been resolved before we kicked off the who-hit-Sam mystery.

While Sam was in the hospital recovering, Spinelli and Maxie decided Logan was the real killer and Lulu found a lot of incriminating evidence to support their theory. Logan tried to explain, but when Johnny showed up, he freaked and grabbed Lulu who ended up knocking him in the head with a wrench. Now soldier boy is in a coma and oh, and by the way, not the killer. I actually like the coma angle because it’s very soapy and nearly killing someone ties her back to her mother.

TMK is still on the loose and while the police start looking for him, he’s busy waiting for Sam at her apartment. Ladies and gentleman, the surprise of the month - the text message killer is Diego Alcazar!!!??!!!
I. Was. Floored.

There were no words for that little twist. Actually, there were words. I think it was something like “What the hell?” ...... repeated many times.

I actually liked this move for a couple of reasons. One, it’s totally soapy. Two, GH has been really bad about killing people with no signs of bringing them back. This gives me hope that they have not forgotten this little trick and in the future, some of these ridiculous deaths will be undone. For example, Lorenzo. I’ve always thought his return was possible because the audience never saw the death. Now that they revived Diego, a death we clearly saw, I know it’s totally doable. Third, I feel justified that Diego didn’t die because I always thought it was lame that he went out with one shot.

It was interesting the way he explained his motives and stuff, but Georgie’s death didn’t sit well with me. Diego said Georgie took Maxie’s place and he “almost” felt bad about her demise. Okay, that makes no sense.

Yes, I do know what soap I’m watching, but I expected a better explanation.

Diego couldn’t have mistaken Georgie for her sister because she was out in the open and clearly doesn’t look like Maxie. Secondly, Georgie stood up for Diego a lot and he decided to repay her by killing her? Um, no.

Diego’s scheme escalated when he took Sam and Elizabeth (wrong place, wrong time) on a ride that resulted in the car crashing and hanging over a bridge. Lucky showed up and before he can help, Diego shot him.

For the love of God, can Lucky ever NOT get shot and maybe be the hero for once?

Of course not, because here comes Jason to save the day.

P.S. - lame CGI. Go back to the-horrible-spinoff-that-shall-not-be-named and stay there.

Speaking of TMK victims, Emily continued hanging around Nikolas this month and she has become less perky about her posthumous state. During a seizure, Nikolas was able to see who really killed Emily, but to complete the memory, he had to go to Wyndermere where he and Emily relived their horrific engagement evening. It was really sad and I’m not sure dragging this out and having these two have to part again made for an entertaining storyline. I really do hope that these two get a better send off.

Even though Nikolas has the answer to who killed Emily, he still has his tumor because he’s a Cassadine and they can never be happy. Dr. Devlin put himself on this case and is pushing the prince to agree to an experimental treatment as long as he doesn’t tell anyone.

Oh this is going to end well.

I really don’t like this guy. He keeps yacking at Robin about being afraid to try an experimental drug which, by the way, is ridiculous.

Let’s review:

Robin and Patrick are always drug therapy vs. surgery. Robin has used experimental therapies in the past (i.e. Jason) so why are they suddenly making her all anti-experimental drugs? Is there a maximum on the number of GH doctors allowed to use experimental drugs? Either way, this dude is so shady and I was super excited to see him freak at the sight of Jerry.

No one screams shady quite like Jerry Jax and I’m glad to see my skepticism of the new doc is justified. Seriously, do they hire just anybody at this hospital? Have they ever heard of a background check?


Now that we’ve covered the death, why don’t we switch over to the life?

Robin found out she was pregnant and spilled the beans to Patrick and I have already discussed how much I hated her lie. Well, obviously no one cares about my feelings because the lie continued. Someone who did comment on the pregnancy was Nadine and for the first time I was thankful for Aunt Raylene. The new nurse’s ramblings gave Scrubs fans the morning after scene they were deprived of after the baby’s conception and I think it was a nice flashback.

Something that really bothered me about the pregnancy (in addition to everything else) was that none of Robin’s family got any kind of recognition scene. Maxie came to the hospital asking for help a couple of times and never acknowledged the baby. I thought maybe they didn’t know, until Mac mentioned the baby matter-of-factly. I’m really disappointed we didn’t get any happy “Uncle Mac, I’m pregnant” scenes. It was during the one Robin/Mac scene that’s allotted for each sweeps period, Patrick overheard Robin mention the baby’s father and things started to fall into place for him.

February was a good month Patrick’s character because I started to remember why I used to like him. The biggest thing was him was standing up to Carly. I have been dying for that moment and here’s what happened:

Jax: Oh. So who -- who do we congratulate, then?
Patrick: Robin went to a sperm bank, actually.
Carly: Couldn't find a real one?
Jax: You know --
Patrick: It was very brave and independent of her......

Sure, it wasn’t as aggressive as I would have liked, but considering I thought that day would never come, I’ll take it. Taking a slight tangent ......... I have to say I am so irritated that these women have to share their pregnancies at the same time as one another. You know this is going to end badly. At best, this feud is now going to continue through their children, at worst, someone is going to think a baby swap/stealing storyline will be ingenious.

FYI, it’s not, so don’t even try it. That means you, Mr. Head Writer.

Anyway, let’s try and refocus on the pretty.

That’s better.

So Patrick continued speaking highly of Robin to her and to others, did nice things for patients and gave her presents. I thought it was all sweet, but then I later realized that some of the gestures were probably him trying to get her to admit the truth about the baby. I’m not thrilled about the passive aggressive manner, but the truth is now out there and I am beyond relieved that there was no third party involved with this reveal. It was Patrick and Robin, one on one and I am so thankful that this lie did not last for months. Considering how bad this story was messed up, I’m surprised, but happy to see something go semi-right.

Another shock for me was seeing Luke reappear so soon and he’s probably rethinking the intelligence of that plan right about now since the Q’s are at war with one another. Tracy slapped Monica with a malpractice suit and Monica kicked Tracy out of HER house (the one Alan gave to her). Tracy has taken off the gloves and decided she doesn’t want Luke back and I’ve enjoyed watching her regain her spunk. Her fierceness matches her new fierce haircut. Luke doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit and he makeup to Tracy by discovering that Monica’s been becoming/is an alcoholic. It’s entirely possible she hit Sam in her drunken state and while I’m glad to see her get a storyline, I hate that it puts her in such a negative light. It could be worse I guess. She could be a track-suit wearing apparition slash manifestation of Tracy’s conscience.

Over on the docks in mobland, Claudia Z hit Port Charles. In case you missed it, the character’s being played by Carly's original portrayer, Sarah Brown. I thought her trips down memory lane were cute.........

......and I was prepared to like her for the simple fact that she bullies "Trevors," but now I'm not so sure. There was no buildup to her and Sonny jumping in the sack (wasted opportunity I say) and I hate that their now turning her into another woman scorned. I’m concerned she’s quickly going to turn into (or back into ?) another Carly and I’m pretty sure I can only stand one of her.

As I mentioned, Carly is pregnant, which I think is horrible idea since she can't handle the children she already has. Michael is taking after his father and decided to buy a gun to protect his family. The mini mobster accidentally shot Kate and then skipped town to avoid punishment. In my opinion, it would have been more dramatic if he shot Carly and endangered the baby, but whatevs. It still caused sufficient drama with Sonny who has gone off on a tirade against the Zaccharas who are actually innocent.

Ric would typically be in the middle of all of this, but he went on a journey to find himself and I thought that meant he would get a break from all the mob craziness, but I was wrong.

That’s what I get for thinking I guess.

While away, Ric met a woman named Marianna (recast twice in one month) who he is falling for, but it turns out she’s working for Trevor. Can this guy ever get a break? I really want him to get past all this brother/father angst so why can’t we give Ric some mental illness and let him have a clean slate ? The malfunction in Ric‘s brain could be operated on by Patrick, preferable shirtless, and that could be your whole episode. Toss in a little gratuitous shirtless Lucky and you could call it a day. Now that's my idea of an ideal sweeps month.

I'm just saying.

Thanks to Clarissa and Kim for caps.

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