Port Charles Chuckles

That Sound You Hear is Me Squealing Like a Teenager

I had a crappy day at work - it was cold and wet, the clients were cranky, and the patients were snarly.  All I wanted to do when I got home was curl up on the sofa and veg. 

Lucky for me, I checked my e-mail before doing so, where I found and message from alert reader Liz W. saying that Chad Brannon was returning to General Hospital for one episode in mid to late December.

I am so majorly stoked about this news, that I am not even going to focus on the negative implication that if he's going to be part of the Rebecca storyline, then Rebecca will still be around in mid to late December. 

No, instead I am going to focus on the fact that I adore Chad Brannon, and that Guza can't possibly do him any worse than he did last time he was in town, so it's all good from here on out.

In honor of Chad's impending cameo, let's take a stroll down Zander memory lane - - -

Zander tells Emily that he loves her  **sob**

Zander and Emily spend their last night together before The Qs send her away  **double sob**

Zander and Liz are trapped in a cave  I'll visualize anything he wants me too

Zander helps Carly prep for her driving test  That accent is fab, humor on GH, what's that?

Zander tells Sonny he threw Carly out (after her car goes over a cliff and they think she's dead) 

Man, the boy was cute and he had range.

Darn it, now I've squandered my whole night watching YouTube. 

Reminding myself of how good parts of General Hospital used to be serves no purpose but to depress me further.

It's back to the sofa for me, at least until December.

If I Were in Charge, I Might Allocate My Resources Differently

So, the internet is all a-flutter today with the news that Scott Reeves is joining the cast of General Hospital on a recurring basis.

Given that casting is one of the few things that General Hospital actually does well, I understand the executives' impulse to focus all of their resources into that one area.  However, if the storylines suck, it doesn't matter how great the cast is.  If there were decent writing, there would be something for the talented actors to play, which would lead to an increase in overall quality and presumably better ratings.  Seriously, spend your money hiring a competent head writer (or three) - - stunt-casting only boosts viewership temporarily.

I don't want to be completely negative, though - - dare I hope that casting a chief-of-staff means a renewed focus on hospital storylines??

Not likely I suppose, but perhaps this could be a positive move none-the-less.

I missed the character of Steven Lars the last time he was in Port Charles (I was on a mental health hiatus resulting from the character assassination of Zander Smith at the time), but I am definitely in favor of casting another doctor, as long as this one isn't a drug-dealing-child-maimer.  Plus, strengthening of the Webber clan is long overdue.

And Scott Reeves is a good choice as far as I'm concerned - he pulls Young & Restless and Days of Our Lives fans toward ABC soaps, so that's a positive (for us, not the fans obviously). 

Plus, he's dreamy.  I actually met him when his band played at my local bar - - he looks great in a cowboy hat!

There are arguments in both directions here, I am genuinely undecided about this one.

poll by twiigs.com

I Wonder if He's Worried About Being Type-Cast?

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I was highly anticipating the premiere of Eastwick on ABC.  Having now seen two entire episodes, I am still on the fence as to whether or not it will merit my continued interest, but at least it hasn't already been deleted from my DVR like The Forgotten (apologies to my teenage crush Christian Slater).

In addition to the original Kristina from General Hospital, (Alexis' sister formerly played by Jaime Ray Newman), Eastwick has another face familiar to Port Charles - - Christian Alexander. 

In the pilot episode, the lead character played by Rebecca Romijn no-longer-Stamos barely manages to save her teenage daughter from being raped by some highschool jackass.  At the time, I thought said-jackass looked familiar, but it wasn't until this week's episode when his character spoke snottily to Rebecca R-n-l-S that I realized who he is - - none other than Port Charles' very own Kiefer Bauer (I just knew I recognized that smug entitlement).

I think the actor is talented, and it's nice to see him getting work.  There's no denying that General Hospital continues to cast well, in spite of their many, many other flaws, but the character of Kiefer is nonsensical.  His motivation is unclear, his behavior is erratic, and how stupid do you have to be to pull this physical abuse crap on the local cappo's only daughter???  Very stupid. 

I expect to see Christian Alexander doing big things one day, but for now he is totally being pigeon-holed as the douchey senior who won't take "no" for an answer. 

The part on Eastwick was short-lived (literally), and I'd like to say that I hope his luck is better on General Hospital, but who am I kidding? 

I really want Kiefer to end up hanging from the rafters too.