Did You See That?

Um, did you guys see General Hospital today? There were so many random occurrences that I thought I would never see. I'm still in shock and looking for confirmation that they did in fact happen.


First, Patrick Drake actually said he was "glad" he was the father of Robin's baby.


Excuse me?


Mr. I-Never-Want-Children-Because-Bros-Come-Before-Hoes-Grunt-Grunt-Scratch-Scratch?


Even stranger than that, I think I saw him and Robin getting along and get this, smiling at one another. It's been so long since I've seen these two be anything even close to civil to one another that I forgot what it looked like.


Oh now I remember.

It's adorable.


Because the-powers-that-be knew they couldn't completely win back my Patrick love with that one move, they took it a step further. They let him call Carly an "ignorant bitch"!!!!!!


Be still my heart!


Okay, so technically it was Claudia, but she's being played by Carly's original portrayer Sarah Brown, the same actress responsible for Cottage Hell so I'll take it.


It would've been nice (though admittedly unprofessional) if he had said this to the patient's face. However, he did defend Robin's HIV status to Carly, I mean Claudia. This is the second time in a month Patrick has semi stood up to Carly over Robin.



Yes dear, I too was shocked.


I know, I know Patrick technically yelled at Claudia, but once a Carly, always a Carly so I'll take it.


I'm not quite ready to write "I heart Patrick Drake" on my T-shirt yet, but close.


Since we can never seem to escape Carly, we'll continue with the Carly theme.


For the first time in a long time, I was happy to see Carly on my screen because she didn't utter a single word through the entire show. Carly's soul (?) silently hung out at Jake's with Jason while her body was rescued by Ric.



Yes, that's right. Ric Lansing. I know the execs like to write him as the bad guy, but someone out in L.A. has apparently wised up and decided that him fighting for redemption would be a far more interesting story.


Bless you, sir. Bless you.


Last, but certainly not least we were treated to Sonny getting his ass royally kicked by Johnny.




I'm not advocating the gratuitous violence on this show in the slightest; however, after the crap Sonny has put Johnny through for something he didn't even do, I thought it was the least he deserved. I am very well aware this will spark the next great mob war, but it's so rare that we Sonny get his that I'll ignore that fact for now and watch the Sonny ass-kicking on a loop. Should anyone be so inclined, I think it's a hilarious Youtube video waiting to happen.

Caps provided by Laurie.

Just Saying - two weeks edition

General Hospital fans watched a literal cliffhanger when Diego’s car was left hanging over the edge of a bridge. After Jason pulled Elizabeth from the wreckage, he fell backward, knocking himself unconscious and severely damaging his hands. I’m still not sure how he accomplished that last one but whatevs.

Meanwhile, Sam was left to plummet to her death……

......or was she?

The Everyday Hero managed to grab hold of the railing (even though it was a totally impossible feat) and hang on until Lucky came to her aid. That’s right, a wounded Lucky Spencer managed to crawl over to the edge and pull his ex to safety……

…with one arm……

..….all while looking gorgeous.

Who’s the hero now beeyotch?

P.S. - Michael Conforti, I totally heart you for letting Lucky be the hero for once. God knows now that the strike’s over, it’ll be another decade before I see that again.

While the quartet awaited help on the bridge, Diego escaped, but Maxie and Spinelli were hot on his trail, that is, until they hit a minor snag. Maxie managed to get herself stuck in a sewer grate, which while amusing, was totally unbelievable. Why you ask. Simple. Kirsten Storms is tiny and there’s no way she was unable to shimmy through those bars.

Kirsten, I say this with love: Please eat a muffin. Or two.

Being as thin as that fake metal pole is not in, I don’t care what the crazy fashionistas are saying.

When the young sleuths escaped, they tracked Diego to a warehouse on the wharf. Spinelli had an unfortunate encounter with chloroform, so Maxie led the way and ran straight into Diego. She managed to escape from the psycho who resumed his earlier scuffle with Nikolas. Alcazar’s son slipped and accidentally hung himself, which I thought was a just ending.

Nikolas and Maxie lost a lot from this whole mess so it was fitting that they were there in the end and I’m glad neither were responsible for killing the text message killer.

Back at the hospital, Jason received news that had mobsters everywhere rejoicing: he could lose the use of his deadly hands. Elizabeth kept close watch on him, which of course Carly didn’t like. A cat fight ensued and Epiphany broke it up. Now I have a love/hate relationship with this women, but in moments like these, she becomes my best friend:

Epiphany: I need you on 10.
Carly: We're not done yet.
Epiphany: I said I needed Nurse Webber. You will get out of her way and let her do her job.
Carly: You don't need to be pushy.
Epiphany: I said I needed Nurse Webber on the 10th floor. You will get out of her way or, heart attack or not, I will turn you upside down and mop this floor with your hair.

Anyone who stands up to Carly is alright in my book.

Sam also landed herself back in the hospital and Lucky serendipitously found some new leads on her hit-and-run. He watched Monica and Tracy’s very public blow up in the middle of the hospital and now knows she was driving the night of the accident. He also overheard Jason and Liz discussing the possibility that she hit Sam. Poor Lucky confronted them and now he’s trying to keep it covered up. Sam overhead Lucky and Elizabeth’s discussion which was the cherry on the top of her day. Not only could she not be released from the hospital, but her cousin collapsed from a brain tumor and she lost her job at Everyday Heroes. Oh and let’s not forget she’s also under the suspiciously watchful eye of Dr. Devlin, who by the way, is in cahoots with Jerry Jax.

I knew that guy was creepy!

This sucks though because one of Patrick’s friends is now tied to the mob and Dr. Drake’s lack of mob connections was one of his best characteristics. That’s clearly going out the window now because he was even defending Jason against Cruz (he‘s still alive??!!).

Kind of makes you miss Pete Martinez doesn’t it?

Adolescent, bachelor behavior I could deal with. Psycho who lives for illicit dealings, not so much.
I still don’t have Devlin completely figured out, but I don’t have to. He’s clearly bad news. He’s paying way too much attention to the Cassadines and maybe we’ll see why later. I would love to get Monica off the hook so my theory is Devlin hit Sam and feels guilty about it now. I’m not sure about his connection to Nikolas though.

The Dark Prince didn’t take Devlin’s secret drug and refused surgery so he eventually collapsed. He was rushed to surgery where he flatlined and tried to follow Emily to the other side. They met in their engagement party attire (they’re getting a lot of mileage out of that dress). Emily attempted to convince Nikolas that he needed to fight for his son, who apparently has been a victim of SORAS.

However, I’m not completely positive because I can't remember the last time we saw Spencer on screen, so maybe it really has been that long.

Emily said goodbye to her prince, but you know, after the gazillionth time, it’s starting to lose it’s affect. Would it be too much to get some kind of disclaimer telling me if this is the last, last time they’ll see each other or the last, last, last time?

After waking up, Nikolas threw a hissy fit in the OR and the surgery was canned. Mr. Cassadine manages to get enough strength to walk around the hospital and meet Devlin in a dark basement where he scores some illegal pills that will “prolong” his condition.

::Sigh::

If we do another pain pill addiction storyline with Lucky’s brother, I will probably scream. Secondly, has it occurred to anyone that maybe, just maybe the unknown drug Jerry injected into Nikolas at this same time last year, was the cause of this tumor and perhaps tossing more unknown drugs into his system may not be the best idea?

No?

Well, I’m just throwing it out there for you.

A casualty in Nikolas’ outrage was Robin. She was kicked in the stomach which sent Patrick into panic mode. It’s been interesting watching him cope with the idea of fatherhood during this last week. A highlight for me was his chat with Elizabeth.

That relationship has always been one-sided because Elizabeth was always dumping her problems on Patrick so this pep talk was a long time coming. By the end of the week, Patrick and Robin admitted to still loving each other, but as far as Robin was concerned, nothing had changed. That’s progress I guess.

Another child in danger was Michael who was still hiding out at Peg’s and his parents were still concerned about his whereabouts. Maxie and Spinelli tried to help Jason find Michael and I was just as impressed with Ms. Jones’ detective skills as the slacker hacker was. I think it would actually be kind of cool if Maxie went into this P.I. thing. It’d be a nice little tribute to her parents, don’t you think?

I want to compliment the two GH writers for balancing out the scenes between this couple. You get the incredibly sweet moments like the two of them visiting Georgie’s grave on her birthday mixed in with the silliness of Spinelli losing his clothes. Who knew that’s what was under those baggy clothes? Color me impressed.

When Michael still didn’t turn up, Sonny continued pressuring the Zaccharas to return his son and he actually took his frustrations out on Jason. Sorry, but for someone who’s supposed to think so highly of Jason, Sonny treated him like crap by accusing him of getting injured on purpose. I try to not completely despise any character, but good Lord it’s hard to like that guy when he’s constantly acting like a spoiled child who didn’t get what they wanted. Dude needs to learn to be appreciative. For example, be thankful that Kate forgave you for sleeping with Claudia.

Speaking of the newest mobster in town, Claudia attempted to make deals right and left this week to try and get her brother back. This included going to Ric and bargaining for his waterfront properties. Ric rejected her offer because he’s trying to turn over a new leaf, etc. etc., and I really hope it sticks. I’m sure now that the strike’s over, he’s going to return to being the villain, but I applaud the interim staff for attempting to clean up the mess that is Ric and Alexis’ relationship. Ric handed his position as DA back over to Alexis and she was surprised to say the least. I choose to ignore the unrealistic nature of passing a job back and forth like a baton because I want these two to make up. I’ll take anything that can be counted as baby steps towards reconciling a situation that was really screwed up.

Like I said, I’m sure this optimistic outlook will be short lived because Ric found Mariana down on the docks with a dead Randy. Meanwhile, at the same time in the same place, we had Michael confessing to Carly, Claudia exchanging shipping lanes with Sonny in return for Johnny and Trevor putting a hit on Claudia. Of course all these people were in the same location of course, the execs had an excuse to blow something up again.

This time the bomb wasn’t exactly the work of another mobster. Spinelli accidentally activated the explosive devices Diego planted and we’ll have to wait for Monday to see who survives the wreckage.

I realized this post was slightly more positive than usual, but no worries. With the writers’ strike over I’m sure I’ll be back to my overly critical self in no time. With the old team at the helm, the show will likely return to the shipwreck we all know and love to hate.

I’m just saying.

Screen caps courtesy of Clarissa.

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.

The Comeback

Hey all. Miss me? Now that the strike's officially over, I can once again pick up my pen, I mean my keyboard, and share my daytime rants with the world.

Truthfully, I absolutely support the writers, but my absence was not my version of the strike beard. It was actually due to this insane wave of busyness that decided February would be a nice time to crash my life.

Anywhoozle, look for my thoughts on General Hospital's sweeps in the upcoming days and thanks to all of you how have continued to hang around my humble little corner of the Web.

Cynic out!

Baby Blues Part III

The way this storyline is going, this is probably going to become a weekly post.

Let me start off by saying that Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson rock my socks off. In the short time that Robin and Patrick were given today to digest the concept that Robin is pregnant, those actors said so much. The emotions were completely palatable. I found their scenes quite griping, I think because in recent soap breakups, the regret seems onesided (see JaSam/LnL2 debacle).

I was alright with the fact that Robin blurted out the news to Patrick because it's believable and it was so nice to see Patrick being loving and less of an ass. I was actually enjoying myself....
.....and then the peanut gallery walked in.

I get the added drama of an audience, but Kelly and the Stan fill in would have been sufficient. The writers think it's cute shoving all these Night Shit (that's what I said) characters down my throat and I have news for them, it's not. If I was considering watching that crap spin-off, this would totally turn me off to that idea. Patrick and Robin are two legacy characters that I care about with a once-in-a-lifetime story to tell, so why is that they (especially Robin) are getting shafted on airtime?

Even more than the lack of airtime, I hate, hate HATE that the writers decided Robin should lie. What would have been great was if Robin hadn't said anything and just let everybody assume that Patrick's explanation was the truth. Robin could have just been quiet or hell, she could have gotten called away (where's that darn pager when you need it?) before the audience arrived and Patrick could have given his wrong version of the story. Kelly could have filled Robin in later and she could have run with it without actually telling a lie.

I continue to be amazed at how dispointing this story has become.

Is it too late for a do-over?

Bang-up Makeovers

Whenever a soap actor gets a haircut, it seems like half the cast gets a new 'do. The recent trend among the women is bangs and I thought it was time for a shallow post.

Wow! Now that was a surprise. I was not expecting such a dramatic change, but I like it. Jane Elliot is totally rockin' that cut.

Also shocking was Megan Ward's new bangs.

They're not hideous, but I think they detract more than they enhance her already gorgeous hair.

Although these bangs aren't new, they did have a less than flattering experience last week.

I would look scared too Becky Herbst.

That's better.

The same hair stylist worked his/her magic on Kimberly McCullough's bangs...
... and then he/she was fired for doing something nice for the character of Robin and substandard beautician stepped in.

Really, guys? Please stop abusing Kimberly McCullough for being naturally adorable.

Caps provided by Clarissa.

Just Saying

I actually found there was more balance in the writing this week. Can’t be sure if it’s because sweeps are about to kick in or if it’s an effect of the strike, but there was definitely balance, at least that’s what I think it was. I haven’t seen it in so long, I think I may have forgotten what it looks like ……..
Anyways, I wasn’t engaged in any of the stories because I felt like they went nowhere. So, because of my boredom and hectic schedule, I bring you this week’s column, on speed:

STORYLINE: Text Message Killer

Alexis - Hooray she’s DA again (temporarily), but did she really have to get choked/threatened by the killer? I repeat STOP TARGETING ALEXIS!

Felicia/Mac - I was glad to see Mac finally get to have his say about Felicia bailing. Not so glad to see that Kristina Wagner still has that nervous face tic because it's really distracting.

Maxie/Coop - Okay, first off, totally knew Coop wasn‘t the killer. Secondly, give me a freakin’ break!!! That was such a waste of a perfectly good character. Oh and not only did Maxie have to once again find her boyfriend dead, but you brought back the dreaded beanie/hat/rag thingy?
That’s just cruel.

STORYLINE: Jake’s Paternity

Lucky/Sam- Lucky agreed to give him and Sam a try and took care of Elizabeth's kids while she was in the hospital. The whole “I’ll catch you” thing was totally cheesy, but he looked so adorable doing it that I will overlook it. In case you missed it, Greg Vaughan is my weakness.

Carly/Jax - Couldn’t they have sent Jax on his Hawaii trip prior to getting the recast? Carly is still getting on my nerves with the hypocrisy, but I’ll leave it at that because she made fun of Jason’s wardrobe:

Jason: You want to give me something for my birthday? Leave Elizabeth alone.
Carly: A new leather jacket would be more practical.
Jax: Yeah, and not to mention more lasting.

Jason earned some points for saying a few smart things this week as well:

Jason: Holding a gun does not make you a man.

Please, can you put that on little memos and pass it throughout the halls of the General Hospital set. Better yet, go to the prop room and carve it into all the guns. That way the message is sure to be seen.

Oh yes, and his Carly rant was golden:

Jason: I know you care, okay? I know you care -- it's not good how you show it! You come down on people with both feet because they're not doing what you want or what you think is best! You stand there, you judge, you get to judge again, nobody gets to say anything about what you do! What is this -- you're bored with Jax being gone again?
Carly: I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. I just love you. I love you so much, and I want you to have everything. I want all of us to have everything. I want you, me, and Sonny to have it all, and something always gets in the way.
Jason: You're right, Carly. Sometimes that something is -- is you.

After hearing those words, I think I might possibly not completely and totally hate Jason Morgan.


STORYLINE: Mob War (take 6,386)

James/Jerry/Moreau/Name that the majority of our polled audience selected this week - If this new baddie is new, then why does it really matter if we don’t see his face?

Ric - I couldn’t believe he actually got scenes, but then I saw they were mostly flashbacks. Between his memories and Elizabeth’s dreams, you can totally tell there’s a writer’s strike going on.

Johnny/Lulu- The Johnny and Lulu romance continues to irk me because no one can seem to leave Lulu with a guy long enough for me to care. Slightly off topic, I thought the broody piano playing was kind of cute, but then I realized I don’t think he was really playing and I was simply amused.

Skate - After Kate presumably turned down Sonny’s proposal, he threw a tantrum by buying half of Bensonhurst and tearing it up. And we wonder why Michael’s such a brat. By the way, the whole kids buys a gun angle is creeping me out and I think he should be the next one voted off the island.

STORYLINE: The Hospital

Nikolas/Emily - Nikolas declared he doesn’t want an operation because he's afraid he‘ll lose Emily and Nadine keeps popping up for support, I guess. Honestly, I think they’re pushing the newbie too hard. Suddenly she’s all sad and toting around this locket like she's done it forever? I get that in soaps people work in pairs, but shouldn’t you wait until Emily’s gone? I mean, I know she’s gone, but she’s not gone gone. Can’t they wait until her astral projection or hallucination form or whatever she is today has left?

Monica - Are we actually going somewhere with the drinking bit? If so, color me shocked that she's getting a story and annoyed that what they're giving her puts her in a negative light.

Patrick/Robin - These two have always fought, but for months now it’s been petty and annoying and I now cringe every time they walk on the set. Great job ruining the last entertaining couple on this show. Oh and did Robin really just share her secret with Elizabeth of all people? And she’s going to lie to Patrick? Oh yes. This story is so original and so like Robin.

Dr. Devlin (aka the new doctor):

Really? That’s what you have for me? Couldn’t we have gotten someone cuter? And what's with the attitude? Is Dr. Patrick Drake part II really necessary? Pretty sure I’ve seen what you’ve done to the original and if that’s where this ride is headed, I think I’ll take a pass.

I’m just saying.

Thanks to Clarissa for the caps.