By Ed Martin Watching General Hospital these last two weeks, as the energetic efforts of One Life to Live veterans Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati to save the show from almost certain doom begin to play out, it occurs to me that my time as a fan of this once-formidable serial has come full circle. I began watching GH in 1978, shortly … [Read more...]
“General Hospital” Madness: Why Kill Jake? And What Have They Done to Luke?
March 30, 2011 by 11 Comments
By Ed Martin Anyone who is still wondering why broadcast soap operas are disappearing before our eyes need only review recent episodes of ABC's General Hospital. Don't blame shrinking audiences. (Viewers aren't really going away. They're just harder to count.) Don't blame competition from other media. (Overall media consumption is on the The … [Read more...]
Daytime Emmys Downplay Soaps, Celebrate Las Vegas
June 29, 2010 by 3 Comments
By Ed Martin One could find worse ways to spend a lazy summer evening than watching a live awards show from Las Vegas featuring many current top acts from shows along the strip. But when I sat down to watch CBS' presentation of the 37th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday I was looking for a celebration of daytime programming -- and I didn't … [Read more...]
As the World Turns Outrage: Another National Treasure Bites the Dust
December 10, 2009 by 5 Comments
By Ed Martin The ‘00s may be the new Golden Age of primetime drama, but for fans of daytime serials they have truly been the Dark Ages, right up until the very end. With only 24 days left until the turn of the decade, and just three months after the last episode of Guiding Light, a historic franchise that spanned 15 years on radio I wonder if … [Read more...]
General Hospital: Making Michael a Monster
November 9, 2009 by 20 Comments
By Ed Martin Everything about General Hospital that I have come to loathe during the last ten years was on proud, pungent display last week, to such a degree of extreme outrageousness I could not look away. I must admit that there was an infectious lunatic energy to it all, which could account for my deep fascination with what I was watching. … [Read more...]
JJ and the Rehabilitation of General Hospital
November 1, 2009 by 13 Comments
By Marilyn Henry There already have been big discussions on the internet about Jonathan Jackson returning to his role as Lucky on General Hospital. Newer viewers who don’t know his work are jolted; other long-time viewers are thrilled. I don’t know whose bad In the last few weeks, the show seems to have turned a corner. Good grief, did … [Read more...]
Daytime Emmys 2009: The Beginning of the End?
August 31, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Ed Martin Watching the 36th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on The CW during the dog days of August confirmed what I already knew: These are dark days indeed for the daypart overall and for soap operas in particular. It's not that the telecast was all bad: I actually prefer smaller venues for the Daytime Emmy celebration (the Orpheum Theater … [Read more...]
Satire: Ex-Soap Stars, This Is For You … And the Fans Who Miss You
June 30, 2009 by 3 Comments
By Matthew Weaver It's so hard to be a cheerleader for a team that doesn't even want to win any more. In the football team that has become daytime television, the quarterback is spitting on the legacy of the greatest love stories ever told, the wide receiver has been recast with a Melrose Place actress and suddenly turned into a lawyer out of … [Read more...]
