Deep Soap: Gimmicks and Novelties

By Sara A. Bibel
Fancast.com

Stunted Growth

I’ll cop to it. I am a sucker for General Hospital’s stunts. Every time, I swear I won’t get sucked in. I tell myself that it’s just a gimmick, that the longterm results are likely to be Alan Quartermaine as a wisecracking, track suit wearing ghost. But I’m not made of stone. The show’s “leave everything on the field,” approach leads to some great drama. The Metro Court hostage crisis was riveting. Even the monkey flu and the train crash became must-see for me. So of course I settled in for the first two hours of the current GH Event That Will Change Everything. It seems that this time the show is using the same 24 style gimmick as the Metrocourt and the Spoon Island masquerade ball. The idea that this is portrayed as an innovation always amuses me. Soaps already take multiple episodes to get through a single day. If anything, 24 is ripping off of daytime. All GH is doing is specifying how much time elapses each episode. The only backwards elements are the brief snippets of the upcoming big “incident” that are shown at the start of each episode. So far we have learned that Patrick’s going to attempt to stop surgery on a man, that Jason’s going to be with an unconscious Maxie, Nikolas will see a woman who looks just like Emily while he’s talking on the phone, Kate will search for someone. Then the operating room will catch on fire. *Spoiler alert* it’s all about a biotoxin. *spoiler alert* The fun comes from seeing how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. We’ve already learned that Elizabeth gives Robin the flowers.

So far, the best parts of the episodes have been the character driven set-up scenes. Robin’s post partum depression is the most realistic story on the show. It makes sense that, as a doctor, she knows it’s a possibility. Yet, she’s too much of a perfectionist to admit she needs help. The Maxie-Spinelli relationship has been pure gold since they had their huge post-sex argument. Their tentative dance around their feelings is fascinating to watch. I ache for the two of them to get it together, but the characters haven’t reached that point in their journey yet. Maxie’s refusal to admit to herself or anyone else that she’s fallen for a geek drives her to hurt Spinelli’s feelings. But Spinelli’s neediness and desperation makes it difficult for her to take him seriously as a man. I hoped GH was going to add another twist, and reveal that Winnifred was actually a tough, sexy FBI agent undercover as a computer nerd, in the Lucy Coe tradition. Since they didn’t go that route, every time she pop up on screen I can’t help thinking that Delia is still pissed that Brian Krakow backed out of taking her to the World Happiness Dance.

Then there are the stories that make up the majority of the show. I realize that Jason making a deal with the Feds to rat out Sonny is supposed to be a big deal, After all these years, I no longer care about the mob or their friendship. Unfortunately, I’m sure they are going to be the focus of “the incident.” To liven things up, I wish GH had picked a different gimmick. Perhaps everyone could speak in iambic pentameter. Or they could have given us a musical. Maybe mime mobsters would be fun. But I bet that in a week and a half, when everything hits the fan, I’ll be hooked again.

The L Word
On the heels of the Nuke sextravaganza, Guiding Light is embarking upon a lesbian relationship between Olivia and Natalia. Initially I was skeptical that pairing two women who have been established as heterosexuals would be plausible. But the actresses turn out of have great chemistry. The set up of two women sharing a house and gradually falling for each other is classic soap. It would also work for a man and a woman.

After taking the heat for downplaying Nuke’s sex scene, GL released a preview of the kiss on-line this weekend. MLK Day is usually one of the highest rated days for soaps, so it’s clear that the show wants people to watch this couple. The scene is sweet, sexy and surprisingly funny as Olivia tries to get Natalia to understand that some people think they are a couple. Nat is so slow on the uptake that by the end Olivia practically says, “it starts with an l, ends with an esbian.” Since both characters think of themselves as straight, I’m fine with them taking a while to figure out how to label themselves. In 2009 conservative P&G seems to be establishing themselves as the home of gaytime television. I guess this really is the year of change.