Sweeps Frustrates Me, Again

03Nov07

Arg, this is what drives me nuts about GH (and soaps generally though Days has vastly improved on this front in recent months) at sweeps time. It’s not that they bring out the big stunts and pretty dresses, it’s that they also remember the soap fundamentals. None of that is frustrating in and of itself, it’s that they don’t remember it for so much of the rest of the year that drives me nuts. Sweeps proves they know how to write and then they ignore all of it the rest of the year.

Look at Thursday’s episode. Leave aside the mob stuff, though even that was related, and look at what it was really about. Family. Little scenes between family be they antagonistic – Luke, Lulu, Scott and Logan, or Trevor and Ric – or sympathetic, or new and not yet explored, or old and neglected.

I like that they’re starting to play up a relationship between Nikolas and Sam. I hope it’s the start of much more Cassadinery to come, beyond this sweeps event.

Away from the sinister and on to the wonderful, I so enjoy it when they emphasise the relationship between Robin, Maxie and Georgie. It happens so rarely that in between I forget that they are basically sisters and then wonder why they’re sharing such friendly scenes together. It’s a travesty that I could forget for even a moment that the children of Robert and Anna and Mac and Felicia and Frisco have a relationship. And then it all comes back to me and I’m happy and annoyed that it doesn’t happen more often.

And I know she’s always good, but special props to Kimberly McCullough for that perfect little tearing up during her chat with the girls. Very real among all the over the top that is, by necessity, sweeps.

I thought they did a good job across the board on Thursday, bringing in the ongoing stories – Nikolas’s condition, the animosity between Sam and Liz, etc – and weaving in the sweeps stories (amazing how much more attractive Johnny is when he’s not acting the whack job) and the build up to getting stranded and the lights going out.

As for Friday, there were three parts to it: the good, the predictable and the downright hilarious. I’ll let you guess which is which:

1. the bulk of the show appropriately creepy and building nicely with lots of cast integration (and aided, perhaps, by me watching it while a thunder storm was going on here too);

2. Carly being an insane stubborn harpy; and

3. bwahahahahahaha!

Caps courtesy Clarissa.

Filed under: General Hospital   |  Closed