General Hospital Preview for Week of July 1, 2013

Once again we have rolled round to another Independence Day, and once again our beloved pals in Port Charles are finding themselves at cusps of circumstance and change in their lives.  Bring out your sparklers, get ready to light up the firecrackers, and Listen to Angela for this week’s General Hospital Preview…

Long Road Out of Eden  

The better angels of her nature on a coffee break, Carly leaps into the fray with Ava and Franco over the status of Morgan’s habitat enclosure.  Naturally Carly, being who she is, believes Morgan would be better off in the flora and fauna of Momland rather than the Kiki Cave. Franco, equally determined, reminds Carly that he knows some wee details about her recent escapades which could still affect her own habitat.  But Franco knows more than he’s letting on and being a gamesman, keeps a few plays in reserve.  

Sonny sees no reason why Olivia shouldn’t recuperate in the comfort of his own home, displaying fine alpha male sensibilities, as well as hilariously clueless Y-chromosomal obliviousness. Olivia’s injured, sore, and exhausted, but even she sees the possible fly in the ointment and suggests to Sonny that perhaps Connie might have issues with this new cohabitation. Sonny nods once, peremptorily, and goes out to feed and water the bodyguards. 

Go Your Own Way

Realizing that Alexis will only entertain thoughts of cohabitation with him if he ends his storied career as Enforcer/Counselor to criminal figureheads, Shawn decides to write a lovely resignation letter and present it to Sonny…perhaps with flowers and lovely Chianti.  But words from another inspire him to stay true to what he wants; Milo has had an epiphany (no, not that one), and decides to move on to a new opportunity offered to him. 

Tracy pleads, cajoles, threatens and berates, but she can’t convince Luke to stay, and she can’t go with him. Lulu reveals to Laura that her father has been acting strangely lately, and the two trundle over to corner him.  Finding only Tracy, Laura takes opportunity by the hand and corners her instead.  This is the kind of conversation for which margaritas and popcorn were made. 

Let’s Have a Kiki 

Emma has a meltdown over the new, lifelike doll Mac and Felicia have given her, as she is still confused and unsure of the impending arrival of a new sibling. Sabrina climbs out on the ledge and pulls her back in. Then, in an inexplicable show of trust and ingenuous faith, Emma shows her new doll to Britt. Five thumbs on both hands, Britt finds the doll has interesting anatomical features which, in turn, cause her to accidentally set things afire.  Well, nobody ever accused her of doing things by halves. 

The Fourth of July Fireworks blossom and explode over the waters of Port Charles, while some booms resonate below. Liz is angry with Nik for withholding secrets from her (maybe he and AJ should really hang out), and she decides to watch the celebrations with Aiden and AJ in the park –while Nik and Spencer watch from Spoon Island and come across an unexpected guest.  Michael discovers his brother’s girlfriend in –erm—knots, and this does not help matters of resolve between the two. 

Other tidbits:  Felix dresses TJ down, Milo finds support from Max, and Deception gains momentum. 

INDEPENDENCE DAY:  General Hospital (original airdate 3/27/13)-- After taking drastic measures with injured Nikolas in his hospital bed, Luke prepares to search for Lulu on the missing Haunted Star with Dante and Anna’s help. Laura arrives in time to join Luke on the adventure.  Meanwhile, Carly debuts the Metrocourt Ballroom to Lucy and Sabrina and Felix find themselves in a tiff as they prepare for the Nurses Ball.  Alexis and Shawn get a sweet surprise from Sam, Molly and TJ.

Looking ahead to week of July 8: Silas gives Sam heartbreaking news, and Sam confronts Alexis for answers. Sabrina and Patrick want the same from Britt, while Maxie sees someone from her past. Michael finds himself in deep, Kiki is wary of Franco’s efforts, and Ava reveals a new detail in her history...

Kelly Sullivan to Exit GH

Kelly Sullivan

*Sigh* Well, it's never fun to hear that someone is leaving, but the circumstances and reasons are between Ms. Sullivan and the producers.

Unconfirmed reports indicate Sullivan is leaving the show after contract negotiations were ended.  Clearly both sides felt that her exit was the best thing for all concerned at this time, and this is the nature of the business. So those so-called 'fans' getting their knickers in a twist and slagging the show for its 'stupid' decision? Neither you or I are privy to the reasons precipitating that decision, so I for one decline to judge based on information I don't even have.

And who knows? It doesn't preclude Kate--or Connie--from visiting Port Charles sometime in the future.

Sullivan is an extremely gifted actress, and I have no fear for her whatsoever; anything she chooses to do will be wonderful, and I can't wait to see what's next for her. And General Hospital will not live or die by one character exiting the canvas. It is doing extremely well and shows no signs of abating its steady growth trend in ratings and viewership. Both will not only survive, but thrive. 

You can read the details at Daytime Confidential by clicking  HERE. 

*UPDATE* Kelly Sullivan confirmed the news on her Facebook page with the following statement:

Thank you all so much for your support and loyalty. You are my life long family and I cannot express how much I appreciate each of you. You have really made my experience here on GH a wonderful adventure.

I wanted to fill you all in on the details and try to answer some of your questions.

I am not returning to GH after August.

This is not a contract issue, I have been written off the show.

I do not have any information on potential Daytime opportunities.

Lastly, I have no ill feelings towards any of the staff or crew connected to the show or the network. I will miss everyone dearly.

Love, Kelly

Ms. Sullivan's Facebook Page: Click Here

General Hospital Preview for Week of June 24, 2013 

Well, here we go, y’all – Summer has begun, and the sizzle and pop commences with the delivery of a bullet, the squeak of sexual tension, and the boom of worlds colliding.  It’s going to be messier than ice cream on the Fourth of July, and twice as sticky. Grab a spoon.

Dig

Everyone wonders who shot Olivia (including, presumably, Olivia), who is beginning to recover nicely and decides to have an up-front confab with her beloved cousin about certain common elements in both their lives.  Sonny, beleaguered with the exasperating knowledge that Carly may not actually have been at fault for the shooting, and thus depriving him the satisfaction of watching her squirm, offers his home to Olivia while she recuperates. Yeah. That’s gonna be fodder for either hilarious comedy or sizzling sexual tension. Or maybe a combination of both. 

The Spencer Ex-Wives Club, consisting of Laura and Tracy, are both fretting over the health, well-being, and slightly manic behavior of their erstwhile mate.  Luke is bound and determined, it seems, to deflect  and decamp from the reality of his situation, engendering  exasperation in the hearts and minds of viewers and ex-spouses alike. But even Luke can’t shadowbox forever.  In the end, it is Tracy who, once again, salvages the situation and buffs the edges, particularly when Luke makes promises he may not be able to keep.

Girl on Fire

Pressure is mounting on Maxie’s small shoulders as she goes for her first ultrasound with Lulu and Dante...and once she knows the baby’s sex, she begins to find it isn’t so easy to detach as she thought it would be.  When Spinelli catches her in a vulnerable moment, it may be too hard for her to hide her heart – and she may not want to.

Kiki Jerome, meanwhile, is dealing with a different sort of pressure; she and Michael are—understandably—freaking out over their still-growing feelings for each other and trying desperately to squelch them.  Meanwhile, Kiki has extra bananas in her cornflakes with the Unholy Alliance joined by Ava and Franco – who embark on a partnership designed to achieve their respective goals.  It’s sort of like Sauron and Saruman, but with better hair and clothes.

Here Comes the Flood

Other shenanigans:  Scotty feels queasy when his current and ex-wives join an alliance all their own, while Liz reels from news of AJ and Carly’s carnal carnival night.  Nik does some fast talking, but does it help, or hurt?  AJ, meanwhile, has a revelation of his own coming for which he is likely woefully unprepared.

Felix opens his mouth, and finds to his horror that things keep falling out of it, while sister Taylor spills milk on Molly’s floor as TJ prays for daylight. Preparations for Felicia and Mac’s wedding kick into high gear as they ask Anna and Duke to stand up for them – no word on a wedding date yet, but in this town, you know that Kevlar is a good wardrobe choice.

Looking ahead to next week -  Couples on the edge:  Carly and Sonny, Alexis and Shawn, and Luke and Tracy all have sit-downs of pith and moment, and the town sees  both real and metaphorical fireworks as some relationships founder, while others are forged.

Note:  On Thursday, July 4, an Encore episode (TBA) of General Hospital will be broadcast.

  ‘General Hospital’ Paley Center Recap: ‘Celebrating 50 Years and Looking Forward’

L-R Back Row:  Jackie Zeman, Finola Hughes, Kimberly McCullough, Jason Thompson, Kirsten Storms, John J. York

L-R Front Row:  Laura Wright, Maurice Benard, Genie Francis, Frank Valentini, Ron Carlivati, Anthony Geary, Jane Elliot

TV Source Magazine: Click Here 

 

 

Latest Preview at TVSource Magazine for the week of April 15! The shenanigans are shenanigin'. TVSource Magazine: General Hospital - The Kids are Alright

General Hospital Preview for April 8 is up! Fasten your seatbelts. Who ends up kissing? Who ends up singing? Who ends up naked?!

General Hospital April 8 Edition: The Nurses Ball  

I was pleased to write a column for TVSource Magazine about the 50th Anniversary Episode of General Hospital. You can read it by clicking the link below. Happy reading!

 Every Man's Waiting: General Hospital's 50th Anniversary

Live Free or Die...Or, you know...whatever.

Dear Senator Shaheen:

I've been out of NH for a few years, but I sincerely doubt that since I was there, the state has turned into a mass of heaving indecision and paralyzing doubt.

When you go on Hardball, you better be ready to answer questions with substance and content, not try to symbolically grab Chris Matthews' hand and sing Kumbaya.  You repeated yourself on every question with some crap about "standards" and 'working together' -- admirable aspirations, to be sure, but not an answer to any of his questions, and evidently the only answer you knew how to give.

You may not have noticed (play back the tape), but by the time you gave that answer to him for the third time, he was fed up with you. Who could blame him? You displayed absolutely no courage, no conviction, and no opinion. Which, by the way, you presumably have, and presumably is why you were elected. If this is not the case, then why the hell does NH need you?

Grow up. You represented New Hampshire horribly and looked like an empty-headed buffoon. If you can't show up ready to offer useful discourse, then shut the f*ck up and stay in your office until election day.

Sincerely,

A disgusted former constituent

Jeanne Shaheen's Official Website

Everyone Can Have an "A" Bomb

Washington Post: President Obama's Gun Control Proposals (Click Here)

I find nothing in here that says, "Take them thar guns away!" In fact, I don't see one unreasonable item on this list at all. There are stricter criteria for buying Sudafed, for crying out loud.

My father killed himself with a gun. And while yes, had he not had access to a gun, he probably could have employed another method with which to end himself. However, it is equally possible that had there been a criteria for gun ownership based on psychological profile, my father's guns might have been removed from the home for his own safety, and maybe--MAYBE--he might have had enough time for someone to get to him and talk to him, or for something to change. Maybe. Maybe not. My point is, the outcomes could very well have been different. And my father had no business being around a gun at that point in his life.

I come from a hunting family; there were guns around all the time. I LIKE guns; I enjoy shooting them and I am a firm supporter of the Second Amendment. But that doesn't mean I support any Tom, Dick, and Harry owning an AR/AK, Howitzer, tank, or F-16. I certainly don't think that everyone should own a gun; some people are just not responsible or reliable enough to guarantee the general safety and well-being of the rest of the planet.

That's what this is about. It's not about disarming you, you idiots. It's about making sure that those of us who want to own a gun are fit to do so, and that we have a tracking system that records gun owners. Why not? We do it with drivers.

New blog entries and discussions coming soon, y'all! I'm so sorry for the radio silence of nine months, but real life kinda got in the way.  I'll try to beat it back more often...:)

Unsinkable

Part of the revolutionary design of Titanic was her sixteen watertight compartments, which were aligned front to back along the ship's length. Any two of the compartments could withstand flooding or four of the first five forward (bow) compartments could flood, and the ship would stay afloat. But, as you probably remember Thomas Andrews saying in the film -- not five, which is, unbelievably, exactly what happened; the iceberg opened the first FIVE compartments to the sea.

Another problem was that the bulkheads between compartments 5 and 6 only extended as high as E deck -- in other words, there was enough space at the top for water to spill over. As the bow was pulled down by the weight of incoming water, it flowed over into each successive watertight compartment -- like water in an ice cube tray.

Shipbuilders heading home from the Harland & Wolff yards at the end of a long day. You can see Titanic in the background.

Titanic's outfitting berth at Thompson's dry dock. Queen's Island, Belfast, Ireland.

The Last Day

9:00 am April 14, 1912 - The RMS Caronia reports ice at Latitude: 42° N and Longitude: 50° W.

Whitney

Mother, Daughter, Sister, Actress, Singer
August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012

Dragonlady

Anne McCaffrey died yesterday at her home in Ireland.  She was a wonderful, wonderful person and a spellbinding storyteller. I read The White Dragon for the first time when I was ten years old, and have been an avid fan of Anne and Pern ever since.  I used to stop in at her online chatroom, The Kitchen Table, years ago to visit and talk with fellow fans and writers, and often Anne herself would pop by.  She was funny and earthy, engaging, and had a robust sense of humor.  It really did feel as if we were all sitting gathered round a kitchen table in the Irish countryside, fire crackling nearby and teakettle whistling, while we talked the hours away. 

I will miss her.  But I have my beloved Dragonriders of Pern collection so I can visit whenever I find myself missing her most.

Sliante, Anne. Beannaithe.

Cover Art: All The Weyrs of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey

In Her Shoes

Marilyn's Custom-Made Ferragamo shoes.

When I was working in L.A. in publicity, I lived on a compound in Pasadena that was originally built by a set designer back in the '30's.  My landlords--who were lovely people--were also Hollywood vets from the 50's-60's era who had worked with the major studios, including Desilu and Fox.  Between their own personal collections of memorabilia and things they had found in this amazing property they owned, they had a mind-blowing treasure trove of Hollywood History.

Anyway, one night we were sitting out on the veranda having a glass of wine (this was when I was still drinking), and landlady said, "I have something to show you." and she forthwith went into the house, returning a few minutes later with a small bag wrapped in plastic.

She knew of my interest in old Hollywood, and smiled at me knowingly as she placed this bundle in front of me on the table, indicating that I should unwrap it.  I opened it carefully, knowing it was likely a rare set or costume piece. Inside were a pair of size nine, red sequined heels - about 3 inches.

"Try them on," she urged, and I didn't argue. I popped my own shoes off and began strapping on the heels. A chorus girl's? A Follies dancer?

I stood up and tottered carefully around our cobbled patio, surprised to find that the shoes fit me perfectly. My landlady smiled. "Those were Marilyn's," She said.

I stood, struck dumb, staring at her insensibly. "What?" I managed to stutter.

She nodded. "Yep. Those were her shoes from 'Some Like it Hot'."

I suddenly didn't dare move. I was wearing Hollywood gold on my feet and they were the same size as MARILYN MONROE'S?!?

"Take a look at the soles," my landlady suggested. So I walked--carefully--back to my seat and lifted my foot up to see the bottom.The soles had been scored several times with a razor blade--a trick dancers used back in the day to give them traction on slick floors.

My landlady was beaming at the utterly awestruck, gobsmacked look on my face. "I thought you would enjoy seeing them."

See them? I was literally standing in Marilyn's shoes. That's something not a lot of people will ever be able to say.

It was one of the most amazing moments in my L.A. career. I'll never forget it.

Irish

Some Like It Hot. She was pretty cool.