October 25, 2002
Dear ABC Daytime/General Hospital Execs:
(known collectively on the internet as "The Powers That
Be": This list includes (but is not limited to): Mr. Brian
Frons President of ABC Daytime Programming, Ms. Felicia
Minei Behr Senior VP of ABC Daytime Programming
Mr. Bob Igor, President of ABC Mr. Michael Eisner,
CEO Walt Disney Co, Robert Guza, Jr General Hospital
Co-headwriter, Charles Pratt, Jr. General Hospital
Co-headwriter, Jill Farren Phelps Executive Producer
of General Hospital, Ms. Elizabeth Korte General Hospital
Writer, Ms. Michele Val Jean General Hospital Writer,
Ms. Deborah Genovese General Hospital Coordinating
Producer, Ms. Mary O'Leary and Ms. Carol Scott General
Hospital Producers, Steve Burton "Jason Morgan"
on General Hospital, Rebecca Herbst "Elizabeth
Imogene Webber" on General Hospital, Maurice Benard
"Michael "Sonny" Corinthos on General Hospital,
Billy Warlock "AJ Quartermaine" on General
Hospital, Réal Andrews "Marcus Taggert"
on General Hospital, John York "Mac Scorpio"
on General Hospital, Nancy Lee Grahn "Alexis Davis"
on General Hospital)
Dear Soap Opera Publications Execs & Writers:
(Soap Opera Digest: Ms. Carolyn Hinsey Opinion Columnist;
Soap Opera Weekly: Ms. Linda Susman Editor, P.K. Waddle
Opinion Columnist; Soaps In Depth; Eye On Soaps.com:
Sage! Editorialist Extraordinaire; Soapcentral.com:
Angela 2 Scoops Opinion Columnist; NW Afternoon: Ms.
Cindi Rinehart; TV Guide: Mr. Michael Logan; Soap Opera News,
Daytime TV Magazine)
And To All Others Whom It May Concern:
My name is Christina Brunkhorst. I am a 29 year old, married,
former viewer from Miles City, Montana, USA. Please note
the keyword: former.
The question foremost on my mind is: What on earth has happened
to General Hospital?
The daytime drama I once watched religiously throughout the
Nineteen-Eighties and Nineties, has become a pale shell of its
former self... The laughingstock of daytime on a "good"
day.
Once the epitome of love, romance, action, adventure
all in the afternoon it is now a tragedy of wasted
talent... and time. Who can forget the grandeur of the "super-romances":
Luke & Laura, Anna & Robert, Frisco & Felicia, Lucky
(during Jonathan Jackson's reign) & Elizabeth, Elizabeth &
Jason, Brenda & Sonny, Brenda & Jax?
What happened to the respect the writers gave to the viewer's
intelligence? Writers who respected the very characters they created...
and the actors portraying them? Writers who respected the show,
the genre for what it is: A romance-adventure novel expressed
through the medium of television.
Whoever came up with the notion that viewers especially
longtime viewers do not pay attention to the storylines?
To the characters behavior patterns? As a contemporary romance
writer, I've learned several things during the course of my writing
career. One: That readers (and in this case, viewers) pay very
close attention to detail. Case-in-point: When a viewer recently
posted on an online message forum that the writers made a mistake
regarding how the character Jason Morgan takes his coffee. Fans
of the character Jason Morgan know that Mr. Morgan takes his coffee
black, yet oops! He was shown adding milk and sugar.
A small detail, but it's the small details that create the allure
of realism.
Viewers also have elephant memories: They never forget.
They know when a character steps outside of said character, and
it injects a falseness to the scene and to the show that repels.
Case-in-point: When Elizabeth Webber, rape survivor, had sex with
Zander Smith the man who at one time in their history,
drugged her with the clear intent of date-rapping her, drugged
her best friend, et cetera. It was insulting to say
the very least to the fans of Elizabeth Webber... And
to those who've experienced a rape, directly or indirectly. Having
Elizabeth sex it up with Zander was such a far break from reality,
that many viewers, myself included, simply decided not to watch
such garbage anymore.
And speaking of garbage... Where to begin... regarding the
absolutely offensive, utter destruction of probably General Hospital's
most famous of the "super-couples", Luke & Laura.
What was the purpose? What end did it serve? Luke & Laura
transcended the barriers of soap-stardom. People who weren't fans
of General Hospital knew who Luke & Laura were. People
who didn't even watch daytime soaps knew who Luke &
Laura were. Yet, since April of 1999, the once epitome of soap
couples began the long, torturous, steady decline... Into... who
the hell knows what. Whatever it is, it never should have happened.
Genie Francis & Tony Geary are extremely talented actors who
were royally shafted. And that translates into an extremely large
fanbase getting shafted. Which translates further into the lack
of said fanbase, who are too disgusted to watch General Hospital
any longer.
While were on the subject of disgusting... Now would be an
excellent time to bring up the shocking way the police are portrayed
on General Hospital. Myself, I've always routed for the bad-guy
in movies, shows... A good example of this is that I'm a Todd
Manning (Roger Howarth, One Life to Live) and Dorian Lord
(Robin Strasser, One Life to Live) fan. I also loved the
movie The Last Seduction. I'm a huge fan of wiseguy movies,
like Goodfellas, The Godfather 1 & 2, and so
on. However, the way police are portrayed on General Hospital
is disgusting, and especially shameful after the September
11 attacks, when police departments nationwide joined forces...
and became heros all over again.
In light of September 11,
a person would think that General Hospital would show some
respect for Our Nation's Finest. But oooh no. Instead,
the characters of Marcus Taggert and Mac Scorpio, played by fine
(both in talent and looks) actors Réal and John, are treated
like mindless buffoons, the laughingstock of Port Charles. And
while I like the idea of bad-guys winning, once again, General
Hospital fails to inject much needed realism. The cops forever
run like headless chickens, and the so-called mob of Port Charles
comes out forever aces. It's insulting to me the viewer... to
witness this waste of talent, and in such a disrespectful way.
I'm amazed that Réal and John haven't walked by now. Their
characters add a wonderful element to the show, and should be
given more to do than obsessive over the apparently only
criminal in Port Charles. 
They're gorgeous, for starters! Where in the hell are
their love lives? They're single, handsome, with steady
if scary jobs... and they're packin'. What's the holdup?
Most of the women I know would be burning rubber to get to the
PCPD on any pretense, just to introduce themselves to these
fabulous men. And please, lord, don't pair up Marcus with
Dara just because they're like the only two Black people on the
show! That's never appeared to be anything but just that
forced Black-on-Black pairing. It's offensive to this multi-racial,
former viewer. I loathe it when soaps do just that... And sadly,
they always do. One rare exception on General Hospital was the
historical pairing of Jason Quartermaine with Keesha Ward. It
didn't last, naturally, but it was encouraging.
Hmmm... I wonder... Alexis and Taggert... Hmmm....
Could prove interesting.
And hook Mac up with someone other than Felicia. That so-called
love is beyond boring. It's played out. Bring in some new characters
if you have to (just no more siblings, please!) gorgeous
male and female and turn General Hospital back into
a romance novel instead of this weak, pitiful, blatantly testosterone
attempt of The Godfather Part 4. Remember who the statistical
majority of your viewers are. I'll give you a hint: Think
estrogen.
If cops with brains are too difficult to write, quit being
insulting and switch the PCPD to the PCFD. Lord knows there's
enough fires and explosions in that town. Hmm.. Taggert and Mac
sliding down a big, steel pole. Now there's a visual! Just
don't forget to give Our Finest in Red some respect. Those men
and women save lives on a daily basis. Represent them properly.
And don't worry about such a switch coming across as being sudden
and abrupt. Those who watch General Hospital are used to such
jerky adaptations. It's all that's been seen in the last year.
No one will blink an eye.
As for Port Charles' mob and realism...
What in the hell happened to Jason Morgan? In light of recent
events on General Hospital too embarrassing to name:
He went from this... 
to this.
It looks like some people need to go home and review some Soprano
(and other wiseguy) tapes, because the Jason Morgan currently
on General Hospital wouldn't last a week in the "real world",
and neither would Sonny Corinthos. Seriously, all these so-called
private meetings that take place on The Docks, where any
number of eavesdroppers can lurk and listen... At first it was
amusing, like a running joke between GH fans. But it's not funny
anymore - it's pathetic. And Sonny is way too predictible.
He's always doing the same things, going to the same places. While
having a routine has its uses, being that constant is being an
easy target. Remember, in the first Godfather, it was what
got Don Corleone shot. His enemies knew that he consistently went
to the market at that time each day, with the same guard, etc.
A simple switch of the guard and blam!
Godfather was shot. This constant repeat of the same ol' same
ol' shows a serious lack of genuine creativity behind the General
Hospital square wheel.
And make sure those guys in the research department learn correct
"mafia" vocabulary. To my knowledge, I've never once
heard anyone in the PC "Organization" say "We gotta
go to the mattress." Whenever I hear the term "safehouse",
I picture Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, on Miami Vice,
taking a witness into protective custody... Like that episode
with Fiona way back in the day. (Note that I remembered it. If
I were so inclined, I could even include the details of that episode.
Remember: Fans have elephant memories. Just like the mob,
we never forget.)
Now I'm going to switch gears abruptly just
like it's done on General Hospital and talk about how
the fanbases are being ignored in favor of throwing crap on a
wall to see what slides down. Constant victims of this assault
are the fans of AJ Quartermaine (Billy Warlock). 
While
I watched General Hospital, I never gave much thought to AJ, though
I thought (and still do) that recasting Billy as AJ was a streak
of genius Billy is a marvelous actor, who, like so
many in the General Hospital cast, is never given any opportunity
to show what he can do my attention was on other people.
However, I've thoroughly enjoyed his recent performances as Courtney's
husband. I used to want Courtney to simply wanted to die a horrendous
death, or go away like the ill-fated "Angel". I couldn't
stand her... Until she became Mrs. AJ Quartermaine. When Courtney
became Mrs. AJ Quartermaine, Courtney became interesting. She
and AJ are enjoyable to watch, and it was enjoyable to watch them
fall in love "for real"... against the odds (Edward
Quartermaine). Ditch the alcoholic AJ already. There are other
ways to showcase a person's self-destructive side. In fact, ditch
the self-destructive side of AJ altogether for a long while. It's
an extremely refreshing change to see him behave like the grown
man he is.
However, due to the neverending mindless, lack of creativity
on behalf of General Hospital, that AJ's been pushed back into
that same old, lackluster, worn-out role, and Courtney is annoyingly
throwing herself at Jason "Meow" Morgan, I'm outraged
on behalf of Billy Warlock and AJ fans... And I'm back to wanting
Courtney to either die or disappear.
And with the
actors John and Réal, I'm amazed that Billy hasn't told
General Hospital to kiss his sweet ass and walk by now. The infinite
supply of patience these actors have with this show astounds me.
And speaking of Courtney throwing herself at Jason... What
moron decided to ignore a fanbase of at least 1,731 registered
members fans of Jason & Elizabeth with
over 50,000 hits/day and countless "lurkers" in favor
for this fiasco? Does General Hospital want to lose 1,731 viewers
in one shot? (And those are just the ones tallied via this webforum.)
Because it's this close to happening. Fans of Jason &
Elizabeth, who frequent The Canvas on the world-wide-web, are fed
up. No romance between Jason and Elizabeth means no incentive
for those 1,731 registered viewers to watch any more.
Those same 1,731 "Liason"
(Jason & Elizabeth) fans and countless other Elizabeth
fans have also been getting the shaft for the last
three years watching a very talented actor, Rebecca Herbst, suffer
continually without a decent storyline. Her character, Elizabeth
Webber, hasn't had a proper storyline since the rape... and that
was in the last century.
She is a strong, young woman in her early twenties who deserves
to be more than just a "man-prop". We have watched her
grow from a rebellious spitfire into a polished sophisticate...
while never losing that streak of fire. Except for when she was
reduced to being the back-from-the-dead Lucky Spencer's girlfriend,
and that entire absurd "brainwashing" storyline. The
only time the true Elizabeth was seen, was during her all to brief
and all too indecisive moments with Jason.
Elizabeth Webber needs to forge her own path on General Hospital.
Hers is a character that brings such potential for this daytime
drama: There's the potential for the usual "female"
roles: lover, friend, mother, as well as dynamic artist, and formidble
art gallery owner. Her talents have been ignored for too long,
and as one fellow Elizabeth Webber fan wrote:
"She's (Rebecca Herbst) been there a long time
and the only story that she really had, that had some substance
was the rape. Since then she's gotten the shaft. Liz deserves
more development. They've dropped everything, her art, her school,
her ambitions. All she does is wait tables at Kelly's. That is
unacceptable."
I couldn't have phrased it better myself. Elizabeth is a character
with potential coming off her in waves. She has proven her ability
to carry a dramatic storyline with her rape. She has proven her
ability to carry a romantic storyline with her youthful love with
Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson), and an adult love with Jason
Morgan (Steve Burton). She should be given the chance to prove
herself capable of being able to shoulder responsibility as well
(career as an artist, serious relationship with Jason, leading
to eventual marriage and children). It would also prove interesting
to see what could be if Elizabeth Webber turned out to be Sonny
Corinthos' half-sister instead of Courtney. It'd be much more
plausible, at any rate, and Rebecca Herbst is more than capable
of taking on that challenge. She and Maurice Benard already share
a sibling-like chemistry on the show, so in truth, it wouldn't
be much of a stretch for either of them. Quit pigeon-holing Elizabeth
(and the rest of the women on General Hospital for that matter!)
into an appalling "Stepford Wife". She's dynamic
let her shine.
The words of
another Elizabeth fan: "The total stringing along they
did to all 1731 members of the Canvas and the other thousands
of unregistered Liz & Jason fans. For three long years they
teased us incessantly with a beautiful, perfect romance, only
to tear it away from us as if stringing us along didn't matter.
As if our loyalty to their show and a couple of their creation
was of so little value to them that our wants, desires, opinions,
and viewing pleasure was of no consequence. As if our viewership
didn't matter. The fact that their own inane agendas take precedent
over that of those who have given up an hour of their own precious
time, each day,for years. Tuning in religiously, pining over and
wishing for Elizabbeth & Jason to finally have the love story
that they (and we) so richly deserved.
How are we supposed to remain loyal to show that has so little
consideration for it's fans?
Why is this acceptable?
How is this justifiable?"
My answer? It isn't acceptable. It is certainly not
justifiable. With the abrupt turn-about for Jason & Elizabeth,
it's obvious that some of you listened to someone who's finger
instead of being on the pulse of the fanbase
is jammed way up into her... own personal agenda. The majority
of fans like Jason with Elizabeth. The same majority like
Courtney with AJ. So what's the problem? Why isn't this
the case when I turn my television to General Hospital? What part
of this is not being understood? Are the words I'm using
too large and difficult to understand? I'll break it down:
Me Jason. You Elizabeth.
Me Courtney. You AJ.
I feel the need to stress again the issue of how women are
portrayed on General Hospital. I'm thinking that some people (mainly
Guza and Pratt and Phelps) are under the delusional impression
that women (the majority of their viewers) enjoy watching women
come across as being naîve, stupid, incapable of being or
doing anything other than some man's ornament. Because, newsflash
We don't.
All I've been seeing on General Hospital for over a year now,
is a clear case of vagina-envy. It's obvious that some people
(see forementioned) need to s
uck it up and
deal with the fact that women can not only bring home the bacon,
fry it up in a pan, they can eat it too. The last straw was when
Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) who'd been a sharp, savvy attorney
for years, was reduced to the ranks of the rest of the women General
Hospital... A quivering mass of female hormones dribbling over
a man. While Maurice and Nancy had excellent chemistry together,
it was ill to see Alexis powerful attorney,
strong, beautiful, independent woman reduced to goumada
status in the arms of the Omnipotent Sonny Corinthos. And now
the poor woman is being paired up with Ned for heaven's sake.
Why? Because she's pregnant? (And I love that she is pregnant!
I'll be beyond royally peeved if she somehow "loses"
the baby.) Give me a break! Have you people never heard
of single mothers? Check your demographics! Better yet,
host an official survey via the internet and see who your
viewers are! Why not pair Alexis up with Luke Spencer? Nancy and
Tony Geary have wonderful chemistry, and I've always enjoyed their
scenes together.
To quote another longtime viewer of General Hospital:
"...Lack of strong woman image. Now they have Alexis
debating about being married. What kind of person likes a cowaring
woman? Haven't we already lived through the days of Dan Quayle
and Murphy Brown? I hate how the roles of women are written. This
is not the image I want young viewers to get. A strong, responsible,
determined woman with dignity and truthfullness would be someone
the younger audience could relate to. "
Even if Canvas members wanted to watch someone other
than Jason & Elizabeth and they don't
there's no one to watch on General Hospital.
As much as I'm a Brenda Barrett fan, even Vanessa Marcil's return
to General Hospital isn't enough to keep me watching. Turning
the hour-long soap into the Sonny-Jason-Brenda-Carly hour is nothing
but a giant turnoff. It's boring. People watch soaps not only
to see what's happening with "their" favorite people/couples...
but to see generalized interaction and romance and whatnot throughout
the fictional town. The characters and events that parallel or
conincide with the characters and events we tune in to see...
it's what makes a daytime drama real... and interesting.
Inject some creativity back into General Hospital and quit
with the slap-dash that's just turning General Hospital into so
much nonsense. If it's a matter of writers being played-out, there
are several scattered throughout the world-wide-web who
would only be too happy to step in.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Christina
Brunkhorst
NEXT
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