In honor of General Hospital's 45th year on the air, AOL came up with a terrific photo trivia quiz which was like a trip down memory lane for longtime fans like me. Seeing all those familiar faces made me realize that through the years there have been some wonderful actors who've called Port Charles home. Here's ten that were memorable and, in my opinion, let an indelible mark on General Hospital.
Amber Tamblyn (1995-2001) When the producers and writers of GH realized the quality of an actress they had with Amber Tamblyn, they took this 12 year old girl and made her an important part of the Quartermaines, a core family. She appeared as Emily Bowen, the daughter of Page, a woman Monica befriended while they were undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. When Page died, Monica and Alan adopted Emily and she became part of the family, and eventually the conscience of the squabbling, occasionally unscrupulous clan (along with Lila). Amber grew up on GH, going through growth spurts and the emotions of the awkward years. She never failed to convey a reality and truth in her acting. She was a shooting star, passing through GH on the way to bigger things, like Joan of Arcadia.
Gallery: Ten actor who made General Hospital shine
Has it really been 45 years since General Hospital started broadcasting? Four decades + five years of medical machinations, legendary love stories, action and intrigue. Yes, yes, it's true, on April 1, ABC's General Hospital will celebrate 45 years on the air. Current executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps, will cut the cake and members of the cast will blow out the candles, but we're the ones that probably should be smiling. Memories of the great years gone by are inevitable with any show that's run as long as GH. But there's something special about this ABC soap.
After 13 years, numerous cast changes, various relationships, and a number of staff deaths, we come to what will probably be the final season of NBC's medical drama ER. This show has come a long way since Doctors Greene, Lewis, Benton, Carter, and Ross (and Nurse Hathaway) entered our Thursday nights. Some of the journey has been rocky (Season 7 was one of the rockiest, in my honest opinion). But, for the most part the trip has been a very good one.
Perhaps you've heard about John Stamos' misadventures during a pair of interviews in Australia (Brigitte mentioned them in her vlog today). Just to summarize: during both interviews -- one for a TV interview program and another that was broadcast on a newspaper's website -- Stamos looked tired and disheveled, slurred his speech a bit, and went off on silly tangents during the TV interview, like talking about how different celebrities died. He also responded to the accusations leveled against him after the tired and "zoned-out" interview he gave to The Daily Telegraph. Both videos are after the jump.
Stamos' publicity team chalked up his behavior to jet lag, and the ER star has already apologized. There is some inside dope that, based on these appearances, Aussie TV execs canceled other appearances he was scheduled to make, but that's not confirmed. And there is also speculation that Stamos was a bit more than tired, but who knows? That flight to Australia really is an ass-kicker.
(S13E21) Oh, Rich, I hope Disney World was worth missing the wedding of the week, as you called it last week. Hello, folks, I am pitching in for Rich this week. I noted one of the comments from a story (this post has spoilers, do don't click the link unless you like spoilers!) Isabelle Carreau did a few weeks ago about the show: Another Jen said that the show really ended for her when Mark Greene died. I was in a hotel a couple of weeks ago and caught a TNT rerun of the episode where Greene died and cried through it all over again. I swear, I have cried more over that TV character dying than some over the deaths of some of the people I've actually met who have died. (Kidding. That was a joke.)
The show didn't end for me when Greene died-- but I haven't been as enamored with it since Luka and Abby were being stalked by Curtis Ames (the fabulous Forest Whitaker).
(S13E15 / S13E16) Since I was away last Thursday and ER wasn't covered I decided to review both this and the previous week's shows. And, as there's much to cover let's get started right away.
If you were to sum up last week's episode I would have to say it was all about living life and taking chances. There were two main stories: one about a comedian whose chance at stardom is shot down by cancer, and another about Greg Pratt's survival as a doctor while appearing before the medical board. The comedian's plight really got to me, more than the usual patient that comes into the Emergency Room. Here was a guy who struggled to get to Chicago, home to some of the best comedy clubs in the nation, only to get side-tracked by a life-ending illness. I thought about myself when I watched that. Here I am, husband, father of four, TV Squad poster extraordinaire, currently embarking on an Improv career that will one day, hopefully, get me out of my little cubicle world. Like that patient my world could be turned upside-down just like that (insert snapping finger noise here).
What surprised me the most about this story line was the reactions of the doctors that treated him. Abby, who has been known to stay the course when making a diagnosis, was trying everything to get her patient to the comedy club. Archie Morris, who you would think would be propping the guy up on a stretcher to get him to the gig, was extremely conservative to the point that he was actually at odds with Abby's decision. I was a bit shocked at Morris' reaction . . . our little red-headed boy is growing up right before our eyes.
(S13E14) Lots of cliffhangers to resolve this week. Let's get right to it!
Luka, Abby and Curtis Ames-- Remember Forrest Whitaker in Good Morning, Vietnam? Gosh, he was so sweet and innocent as Private Garlick. Just think back to that, because Curtis Ames is in no way sweet in his final appearance on ER (and I'm not going to tell you why it's his last episode). In fact, I would have to say he is down right crazed, even more so than Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh, the role Whittaker plays on The Shield.
My first Festivus wish list for the upcoming year. Well, I did type up a Festivus wish list last year, but the only people who heard it were my wife and kids, who had no idea what I was talking about. In fact, I could swear my wife mumbled something like 'You need professional help' under her breath while I was expressing my wish that Barney the dinosaur be run over by a semi-truck. I ignored the statement, of course. I mean, I've been going to therapy for years. Five days a week. Twice a day. Plus, there are the drugs that curb my rage everytime I see that Mac-PC commercial. Sure, the drugs make me see visions of Rush Limbaugh in a thong, but they even my emotions out. For some reason, Rush in a thong seems to sooth me. It's either that or the sleeping pills, not too sure.
Anyway, I'm overwhelmed with emotion, yet highly medicated, as I type this up. So, if you see tear marks on this post please forgive me. Then again, if you see tear marks on this post you may want to talk to my therapist.
When people who have met John Stamos say that he's a nice, charming, down-to-earth guy, they're not kidding. He's so damned charming that twice during my phone conversation with him last week, I told him that since he already had my number, he should call me to talk about TV off-the record. (Hey, the guy said to me both times that he enjoyed the conversation. And we talked about New Jersey -- he did a movie in Freehold once. So I caved.)
It's that likability that has carried his career for the last twenty-five years, from General Hospital to Full House to ER. It's also what he hopes will draw people to Wedding Wars, an A&E original movie that will air Monday at 9 PM. In the comedy, he plays Shel, a gay party planner who sparks a national pro-gay-marriage movement when he goes on strike while planning the wedding of his brother Ben (Eric Dana).,The strike happens after he finds out Ben wrote an anti-gay marriage speech for his boss, the governor of Maine.
I spoke to Stamos about the movie for The New York Post, but while I had him on the phone, I couldn't resist asking him about ER, his Uncle Jesse mullet, and his friendship with Howard Stern. The interview is after the jump.
(S13E11) McCreamy. Yes, in a, um, subtle jab to another popular medical drama on an opposing network, Neela is introduced to a doctor who has a certain addiction to, well, spanking his monkey (that's the medical term, of course). The interns in the surgical department have nicknamed him McCreamy. He tries to shake Neela's hand after she finds out about his secret, but she makes a hasty getaway.
Okay, that wasn't the main plot of this week's episode, but I wanted to mention it first just so I wouldn't forget it. No, this week was the annual Christmas episode. And, like past seasons, this episode featured hope, good cheer, and some misty eye moments. That, and it was pretty much Abby and Luka free. We only saw them three times this episode. We also learned that Curtis Ames had filed a restraining order against Luka after the good doctor threatened to kill the stroke victim in last week's airing. Luka, Luka, Luka, won't you ever learn?
In honor of General Hospital's 45th year on the air, AOL came up with a terrific photo trivia quiz which was like a trip down memory lane for longtime fans like me. Seeing all those familiar faces made me realize that through the years there have been some wonderful actors who've called Port Charles home. Here's ten that were memorable and, in my opinion, let an indelible mark on General Hospital. 
Has it really been 45 years since 
Perhaps you've heard about 
(S13E21) Oh, Rich, I hope Disney World was worth missing the wedding of the week, as you called it last week. Hello, folks, I am pitching in for Rich this week. I noted one of the comments from a story (this post has spoilers, do don't click the link unless you like spoilers!) 
(S13E15 / S13E16) Since I was away last Thursday and ER wasn't covered I decided to review both this and the previous week's shows. And, as there's much to cover let's get started right away.
My first Festivus wish list for the upcoming year. Well, I did type up a Festivus wish list last year, but the only people who heard it were my wife and kids, who had no idea what I was talking about. In fact, I could swear my wife mumbled something like 'You need professional help' under her breath while I was expressing my wish that Barney the dinosaur be run over by a semi-truck. I ignored the statement, of course. I mean, I've been going to therapy for years. Five days a week. Twice a day. Plus, there are the drugs that curb my rage everytime I see that Mac-PC commercial. Sure, the drugs make me see visions of Rush Limbaugh in a thong, but they even my emotions out. For some reason, Rush in a thong seems to sooth me. It's either that or the sleeping pills, not too sure.
When people who have met John Stamos say that he's a nice, charming, down-to-earth guy, they're not kidding. He's so damned charming that twice during my phone conversation with him last week, I told him that since he already had my number, he should call me to talk about TV off-the record. (Hey, the guy said to me both times that he enjoyed the conversation. And we talked about New Jersey -- he did a movie in Freehold once. So I caved.)
(S13E11) McCreamy. Yes, in a, um, subtle jab to another popular medical drama on an opposing network, Neela is introduced to a doctor who has a certain addiction to, well, spanking his monkey (that's the medical term, of course). The interns in the surgical department have nicknamed him McCreamy. He tries to shake Neela's hand after she finds out about his secret, but she makes a hasty getaway.
The Upfronts: FOX
Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview
The Upfronts: CBS
