Dear General Hospital show runners,
In honor of Valentine's Day, I must take a moment to write a short love note. Your plots are gooier than a box of chocolates. Your character returns are more welcome than all the roses in the world. But if you ever show me a half-naked young boy again, with a blooming romantic subtext, you will be sleeping in my DVR for the next few weeks.
Oh, who am I kidding? I can't quit you.
True love means overlooking one's little flaws, so I'll forgive you this time. But despite that old proverb, love is not blind. So keep the kid covered.
XOXO, Jennifer Biller
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's talk about the fact that Ron Carlivati and Frank Valentini are making all my GH dreams come true. All my favorites from the past four decades are returning. This week, Frisco and Laura were back. (Please give me a minute while I scream like a fan girl.) Okay, all good.
My old favorite, Scotty Baldwin -- (sorry, he'll never be "Scott" to me) -- is on his way home, too. Not to mention, a bevy of other alums for the 50th anniversary. (I won't spoil it for you, in case you haven't heard all the casting news.) The show runners are even attempting to get Blackie Parrish back in the mix, a dream wish that I jokingly voiced in this column not long ago. You can check my Twitter account for John Stamos' comments about a return.
Fingers crossed, Scoopers.
Fellow fans, my GH cup runneth over. And it's all because this new creative regime not only understands the mindset of decades-loyal soap fans, but they appreciate soap history and are using it brilliantly. In all my years of watching daytime television, I have never seen one show do so much to try to win back old viewers and reward those of us who hung on during the dark times. Bottom line, this is a "fan-tastic" time to be a General Hospital fan.
Frisco's return
What a treat for long-time GH fans. I don't remember Frisco being this aloof, but I suppose years in war-torn countries, dodging bullets, changes a man. Am I the only one who thinks Frisco's demeanor is a little odd? His voice is restrained, almost monotone, and he seems cold, and not in a temperature kind of way.
It's presumably been years since he saw Felicia, so you'd think he could muster up a little exuberance about this reunion. Instead, he looked like he was getting ready to face a firing squad. Maybe that's it. Frisco's guilt for abandoning his family has finally gotten to him, and he's come home to take his medicine.
I love that it was Mac who gave him a large dose. Mac didn't hold back, as his years of anger toward Frisco, for abandoning Maxie and Georgie, came rolling off his tongue. I was cheering Mac on as he said everything fans have been thinking. Frisco was a lousy father. I added my own two snaps at the end, after Mac's speech was done.
Then, I could barely believe my ears as Frisco declared his love for Felicia and his intentions to get her back. Seriously, the guy has been home for five minutes, and we are already getting this kind of juicy goodness? Thank you! These writers don't mess around. (I just wish they had been on board for Brenda Barrett's last debacle of a return. If they had, I'm pretty sure Brenda wouldn't have spent weeks in Paris, chatting up Suzanne, without seeing anyone from Port Charles.)
Part of me wants to smack Frisco for even daring to try to mess up Mac and Felicia's new romance. Mac raised Frisco's children! At the very least, Frisco owes Mac the decency to not make a move on his woman. Sadly, the other part of me had to agree with Frisco when he told Felicia that she had settled for Mac because Frisco wasn't around. Yes, it was arrogant, but I believe there's plenty of truth in it. Felicia never loved Mac the way she did Frisco. (Watch some old show clips if you don't believe me. At one point, Felicia pretty much ditched Mac for a fling with Luke.)
I remember the glory days of Felicia and Frisco and why they were dubbed with the title of "supercouple." They had off-the-charts chemistry. I'm anxious to see if it's still there. And while I hate the fact that if Felicia chooses Frisco it's going to destroy Mac, I want Mac to find a true love of his own. I've never believed it was Felicia. Who knows, maybe they'll prove me wrong.
Lulu sure is team Mac. I couldn't help but chuckle when she told Mac to stop fretting, that Frisco was a flame that would burn out and that Mac was a rock. She's obviously seen his abs.
One thing about Frisco's return that seemed odd was his reunion with Maxie. Did I miss something? (We sometimes have local breaking news cutting into GH here, so I guess it's possible.) I saw her say "Dad" and see Frisco, but I don't recall anything after that, other than Maxie ignoring his phone call a few days later. Did I miss those scenes, Scoopers, or did we not get the Frisco/Maxie scenes yet? If so, that was a strange way to cut a scene.
Laura's return
Genie Francis is back. Can I get a "Woo-hoo"? Laura Spencer, who we haven't seen in years, strolled by the docks just as her ex-husband was kissing Anna Devane. Cue the longing, hurtful looks. It doesn't get any soapier than that, and we didn't have to wait weeks to see such a dramatic moment unfold.
Nope, it was Laura's first scene.
I can't wait until Luke spots his angel. Get the popcorn, Scoopers, it's going to be good. I also can't wait for whomever was on the other end of Laura's phone call to pop up. I'm assuming it's Scotty Baldwin. I also can't wait to see what those "plans" are they are going ahead with. Could it be a wedding? Someone get the Goobers. I can't wait to watch this drama unfold.
On a shallow note, I didn't recognize Laura at first, with her darker hair color. I miss her bright blonde that she was sporting in Genoa City not long ago.
In other musings:
Let's chip in for some Kleenex for Anna. Lately, it seems like all she does is cry. Justifiably so, considering her daughter died, her relationship with Luke ended, and Duke's face melted off in front of her.
If my overflowing inbox is any indication, most of you want to put a stake through the heart of this vampire storyline. Most of you seem to hate it with a capital "HATE." I don't want to see vampires, either, and so far, we haven't. Hey, just because "Caleb" killed someone and was licking the blood from the weapon, doesn't make him a vampire. It makes him a psycho, and that's nothing new to Port Charles. We've had plenty of those.
It seems to me that's the direction this tale is headed. I could buy a serial killer, who looks like John McBain, thinks he's a vampire, is obsessed with Sam, and hurt Lucy. That storyline could work. Although I don't know how to explain Caleb's ability to vanish quickly and Lucy's vampire-slayer antics.
That's a puzzler, for sure.
Pickle-Lila is going to save ELQ. What a wonderful nod to history. I love watching A.J., Michael, and Tracy racing to find Lila's recipe. Let the games begin.
I had to chuckle that Duke knew that today's consumers want farm-to-table products. The man spent years in a Turkish prison, yet he somehow has had time to study market research? At least he admitted that his computer skills were lacking. So he gets points for realism there. Either way, I love that Duke is working with A.J. and Michael. I hope they make a formidable team.
I was seething that Johnny got 20 years in prison for his crimes. Then again, for years, we've all been whining that it was time for the bad guys to be punished in Port Charles. My problem here is that I never truly bought Johnny as "bad" until he killed his father in cold blood. I know he didn't mean to hurt Starr's family.
I've been worried that Johnny would be exiting, but now that Kristina is doing community service at the prison, I'm a little less worried. (Yes, I know it's ridiculous that they would have left a young woman in a room with a convicted murderer, but play along, okay?) I remember when Kristina was pretending to date Johnny to make Sonny crazy, and it was priceless. Although I haven't been a fan of this Kristina, I've always been intrigued by a Johnny/Kristina pairing. I'm willing to take this ride. Johnny has been ping-ponged in so many storylines lately, why not this one?
News broke this week that Todd will get to stay in Port Charles, after a brief visit back to One Life to Live. I'm sorry for the OLTL fans. I don't know how central he was to that show, having never watched it, but I imagine his absence will be tough to fill. Selfishly, I'm giddy that Todd gets to stay in Port Charles. He makes me laugh every day.
Speaking of laughing, I thought it was hilarious when Tracy turned on the TV, only to have Luke tell her not to bother, that OLTL wasn't on anymore. Priceless.
Oh, Maxie, my love-hate relationship with you continues. How could you make Sabrina think she killed a cop? That is a move straight out of your old playbook, when you were helping feed Lucky's drug addiction. I can only hope you'll come to your senses soon and fix this mess.
I tried to warn the folks of Port Charles in my last column, but apparently they didn't listen. Pier 52 is a danger zone. The cop's death this week makes the fourth homicide, possibly fifth if Heather is presumed dead, in months.
I think my head is exploding. I actually enjoyed Sonny and Connie's scenes this week. Is Sonny going to fall back in love with Connie? Wow, I feel like I need a road map to decipher the twists and turns in this tale.
Best Lines of the Week:
(Anna arrests Todd for kidnapping, pulls out a sheet of paper, and starts reading him his Miranda Rights.)
Todd: "Really? You'd think you would have memorized that by now."
Anna: "You, too."
(Diane won't legally represent Connie unless she starts paying her legal bill.)
Diane: "There's no Miller defense, with no recompense."
(Escapee Todd, who apparently is a fan of "Jaws," runs into escapee Heather and realizes they are both trying to escape, by sea, out of the country.)
Todd: "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
(Todd weighs his options A, B, and C, on whether to stay in town, leave with Heather, or escape alone on a boat, before deciding on the boat option.)
Todd: "Well, what's a pirate's favorite letter of the alphabet? "R"? You'd think. But it's the "C" they love.
The vampire storyline sure got you talking. I had more email this week than I have had in months. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. Keep it coming!
