"General Hospital" Celebrates 50 Years

Photo Credit: ABC

After slowing phasing out countless beloved veteran characters over the past decade, General Hospital has now embraced its history and is populating the cast with legacy characters for its 50th anniversary celebration, which just so happens to be today, April 1st. No foolin'.

During the late 1970s, the 1980s and the late 1990s, General Hospital was one of the finest dramas in all of daytime and broke ratings records with its pairing of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis), while also featuring many exciting adventurous storylines with Robert (Tristan Rogers), Frisco (Jack Wagner), Sean (John Reily) and Duke (Ian Buchanan). Even after the immensely popular Luke and Laura left town, the series continued to thrive with the help of popular core families, including the Quartermaines, Webbers, Hardys, Baldwins and the Scorpios. Keeping the veterans front and center, including Bobbie (Jackie Zeman), Monica (Leslie Charleson), Alan (Stuart Damon), Robert, Steve (John Dernadino), Audrey (Rachel Ames), Scott (Kin Shriner), Felicia (Kristina Wagner), Anna (Finola Hughes) and Lucy (Lynn Herring), was a key to the success of the series. 

However, things began to change in the late 1980s, after the exit of famed producer Gloria Monty who helmed the series for nearly a decade, and General Hospital lost its way for a while until the mid 1990s, when an influx of new and memorable characters were introduced, including Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn), Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst), Jax (Ingo Rademacher), Nikolas (Tyler Christopher), Carly (Sarah Brown) and Stefan (Stephen Nichols). Those new characters, along with many legacy veterans, enabled General Hospital to become the best daytime drama, in my opinion, for several years running. In addition, the storylines focusing on the romance between Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Stone (Michael Sutton), Stone dealing with HIV, and BJ's death were some of the best ever presented on the series. 

During the early 2000s, the tone of the show became increasingly dark and the storytelling focused on mobsters and endless and unnecessary gun play. During this same time, the legacy characters began to disappear or were phased out, including Audrey, Amy (the late Shell Kepler), Lucy, Bobbie, Laura, the Baldwin family, Felicia, Alan, Lila (the late Anna Lee), and Tony (Brad Maule). In addition, the hospital setting, which came to define the series, was not used well or often enough and even popular events, such as the Nurses Ball, were scuttled. I cannot think of a better way to alienate long time viewers. 

Last year, a new regime led by executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati have helped to turn the series around once again. A key component of their efforts has been a renewed focus on veteran characters and respect for the history of the long running series that faced cancellation just a couple of years ago. Indeed, many legacy characters, including Anna, Laura, Duke, Lucy, Heather (Robin Mattson), Frisco, Scott and Bobbie, have reappeared in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series, which has won eleven Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Drama Series, more than any other show. Expect additional veterans to return over the next few months. 

General Hospital has also seen a recent increase in viewers since it has changed time periods, brought back so many beloved characters and now appears to be getting away from the constant dark cloud that has hovered over the series for well over a decade. I have not watched General Hospital regularly since the late 1990s, but I really appreciate the effort that is being put forth to honor the history of the series and I am tempted to once again watch on a daily basis.

Happy 50th Anniversary to General Hospital! Thanks for so many great memories.