In One Fell Swoop, General Hospital Answered a Prayer, Introduced a Glorious New Couple in the Making and Told Every Other Soap, ‘See? *This* Is How You Do It!’
We have two words to say to ABC’s soap: “thank” and “you.”
As you well know, here at Soaps.com, we often take our beloved shows to task. When they forget their history. When they skip beats. When they drag stories on (Peter) well past the point (Peter) at which we’ve lost interest (Peter). But today we’re giving credit where it’s due, to General Hospital.
A Night to Remember
The January 11 scenes in which Britt and Austin awkwardly availed themselves of Port Charles’ singles scene were not only a delight, they were a wish granted. How many times have we said, “Why don’t characters ever do things that real people would? Life isn’t all mind control and amnesia!”
More: Kelly Thiebaud makes the best of a bad situation
And there they were, two characters doing exactly what real solo acts would, and faring about as well as you or we would — even though, as Britt noted, they’re “two accomplished, bold-faced names comfortable in high pressure environments.”
Above: When Britt admitted that she wasn’t a fan of Grease, all we could think was, “Yesss! She, too, knows that Grease 2 is actually the superior movie!”
Credit: ABC screenshot
We’ll Drink (Cosmos) to That!
Why did it work? First of all, it was relatable. Has anyone not ever stared down the daunting prospect of dating? (If you haven’t, lucky, lucky you!)
Second, the scenes — from a script by Lisa Seidman and Elizabeth Korte — were funny as hell. Particularly sharp was Britt’s explanation for why Austin couldn’t drink a beer (lest he look like a knuckle-dragger) or a martini (too threatening), he had to have a cosmo, because it “says that you’re comfortable with your sexuality and you can have fun but not too much fun.”
Third, Kelly Thiebaud and Roger Howarth made an incredible tag team. Though their characters were only out as friends, we saw enough potential in the co-stars’ playful repartee to make the doctors a couple for the ages. (Sorry, Maxie.)
Gauntlet Thrown, Every Other Soap
The scenes were so good that if we could, we’d make them mandatory viewing for all the other soaps. We know some of you will disagree — somebody has to disagree with everything! — but this is what we want a whole lot more of. Intense drama, high stakes, life-or-death situations… yes, yes, keep all of those. But in between, give us these slices of life that transform characters from mere plot points into people — believable, fully fleshed out people about whom we care deeply.
More: Look who’s returning to General Hospital
What do you think? Did you have as much of a blast on Britt and Austin’s night out as we did? You can rewatch one of our favorite bits above. Then, on your way to the comments, stop off at the below photo gallery, which reveals the real reasons 16 soap superstars left their shows.
Video: YouTube/RB2M94
