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American soap opera, General Hospital, is still one of the favorite daily soaps for most viewers. The show premiered on April Fool’s Day in 1963.
It revolves around the lives of doctors, residents, medical staff, and patients of General Hospital, located in Port Charles in New York. The show depicts intense dramatic twists, including family drama, betrayals, and even action.
Although the show is well loved, there might be some minute details that might change the way you view this beloved daily soap.
In this article, we have shared a list of 8 surprising facts from General Hospital that might surprise even the biggest fans of the show.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.
8) Listed in the Guinness World Record
Have you heard about General Hospital being one of the longest-running soap operas? Not only that, the show is also listed in the Guinness World Record for the same.
The show is second in the longest-running list, trailing only after Guiding Light. In 2020, GH changed its key art where they wrote the caption "TV's longest-running drama", showing their accomplishments with over 15,000 episodes.
However, technically, the British soap-opera Coronation Street is the longest-running daily soap. But GH still holds the title for an American daily soap in production.
7) Recognised as one of the best shows
One might ask, what makes GH one of the best daily soaps? The show has a plethora of talent, including Calroline Craig, John Beradino, Portia Robinson, and Cyrus Renault. Other than that, the dramatic storylines with intense drama and sometimes high-octane action sequences keep the fans intrigued.
Thanks to the various storylines, General Hospital has broken numerous records since it premiered more than half a century ago. GH stood the test of time, and when other popular daily soaps were being unplugged from their networks, GH got the chance to impress more new viewers. The show went on to release more than 15,000 episodes and celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Furthermore, in 2007, it was included in the list of 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time by Time Magazine, an important accomplishment for a daily soap.
6) When did Anna Devane's scar vanish?
Anna Devane's character was first introduced in 1985 and was played by Gloria Monty. She was the ex-wife of Robert Scorpio. When she arrived in Charles Port, she had a scar on her face. Anna revealed to them that the scar was her scralet letter, which made her marked to keep other men away from her.
Later, the claw-marked scar was found to be fake by Robert and Holly Sutton. After Holly and Sutton investigated further, everything about Anna from being a double agent to Robert's ex-wife and also the mother of his daughter is revealed, including the fake scar.
5) Run-time changes
Did you know the General Hospital that you enjoy watching for an hour every day didn't always air for one long hour? The beloved soap opera went through several run-time changes in its more than six-decade run.
When the show was launched in 1963, it only ran for 30 minutes as the creators were not sure if the viewers would like it. However, when it was observed that the show was being loved and appreciated by fans, the drama went through many new changes.
Other than cast and crew changes, another major change was the run-time, which was changed to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976.
Later, on January 16, 1978, the fan-favorite began airing full-fledged hour-long episodes of General Episodes, which was appreciated by fans since all the daily soaps had begun to air one-hour episodes.
4) Location revelation
You might also be interested to know that the name of the location of GH was revealed thirteen years after it premiered.
When the daily soap launched in 1963, the location of the hospital was not shared initially. At that time, it was only shared that the show was set on the seventh floor of a general hospital in a small eastern city. But after a massive change in the cast and also in the writers' room, the hospital finally got the location name.
When new writers Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock arrived in the GH, the first task they did was name the location, which had been unnamed for thirteen long years. Therefore, with an increased runtime of 45 minutes, the daily soap also got the name of its location, Charles Port, New York.
3) Most awarded daily soap
For General Hospital, it's the love of their fans that has still got them going on. Moreover, this love and appreciation have also made them win numerous accolades.
General Hospital has aired more than 15000 episodes till now, which is a record on its own. However, other than being one of the longest-running soap operas, GH also holds several other important records that validate it being one of the fan favorite daily soaps.
For instance, the soap opera holds a record of winning the Outstanding Drama Series category in the Daytime Emmy Awards with a total of 14 wins. Moreover, GH veteran John Beradino was one of the early voices that opined on having Daytime shows and talents recognised and appreciated before Daytime Emmy Awards existed.
2) Name change
Did you know that your beloved soap opera General Hospital was not always called the same? Surprisingly, it had a different name before it became GH.
The daily soap was initially named Emergency Hospital. The creators had also shot a Pilot episode of the show, which was supposed to premiere in 1962 but went unaired.
The show never came into existence, and later in 1963, the Hursley released General Hospital, fulfilling their dream of making a show based on a hospital.
1) Introduction of the first supercouple
Supercouple is a beloved and popular term used by fans of daily soap. However, not many might know how the term came into existence.
The term was first coined for the popular General Hospital couple, Luke Spencer and Laura Webber. Laura and Luke were one of the early daily soap couples that fans poured their love on.
The 1981 episode that showed Luke and Laura’s wedding garnered almost 30 million views. The episode still holds a record for views of a daily soap episode.
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