Except for cable's breaking-news helicopter coverage of car chases,
daytime soap operas are about as ephemeral as TV gets.
No disrespect, of course; in an earlier life, more than one employer
questioned my "late lunch" policy. What I mean by "ephemeral" is that
soaps such as "General Hospital" air for hours and hours each weekday,
the TV equivalent of a running faucet. But they usually air only once.
While most series have a significant afterlife in repeats and on DVD, the
soaps go directly down the electronic drain, their torrid moments forever
robbed of eternity.
But the presence of veteran characters on soap operas helps counteract
the genre's very short half-life. Bringing back figures such as Emma
Samms's Holly Scorpio this week on "General Hospital" keeps a soap from
resembling a revolving door for the young, restless, bold, and beautiful
actors hired to attract the WB demographic. Now known as "legacy
characters," the long-timers and returning stars have become the rocks in
a river of changing faces.
This week, a few vintage characters can be seen on "GH". Samms came
back on Monday, bringing with her a strong sense of Port Charles history.
And Samms's Holly (last on in 1993) joins two other recently returned
classic "GH" characters, Rick Springfield's Noah Drake (last seen in
1983) and Tristan Rogers's Robert Scorpio, whose 1992 death turned out to
be a widely exaggerated rumor. This is reunion season for characters from
back in the heyday -- the 1980s "GH" heyday of Luke and Laura.
Of course, visiting alumni is a good sweeps-month trick. So was Luke
and Laura's wedding in November of 1981, some 25 years ago. But creatively
speaking, the return of the likes of Scorpio and Drake also lends a sense
of durability and dignity to "General Hospital", just as Victoria Lord
has anchored "One Life to Live" for many years. Just think of the decades
folded into her full name: "Victoria Lord Gordon Riley Burke Riley
Buchanan Buchanan Carpenter Davidson". Reuniting Scorpio with Luke, his
former adventure buddy, lifts them above the many forgettable story lines
they've played out together; we remember their famous bond, even if we
zone out on their superfluous doings over the years.
The primary plot that reunites the gang this time involves an outbreak
of a type of encephalitis, and the good (and not so good) citizens of Port
Charles are suddenly feverish and delivering up delirious monologues. Yes,
there's lots of moaning, much simplistic hysteria about "the antidote,"
and a few transparent plays for Daytime Emmy attention. There are goodbye
kisses during which, in true soap opera fashion, we can hear every breath
and rumpling of cloth.
But that doesn't matter. It's just fun to see characters convene once
again, as they continue to define the show across its lifespan. If growing
rumors of the impending return of Finola Hughes's Anna Devane come true,
"GH" will have quite a memorable déjà vu thing happening in the near
future.
Naturally, the returnees look good. Soap opera actors, especially the
women, tend to age remarkably well, perhaps with some surgical help. Samms
isn't the chipmunk she once was, but she's lovely enough. While Leslie
Charleson (still onboard as Monica Quartemaine) wears an odd, early Barbra
Streisand coif, her face is still remarkable and angular. Jacklyn Zeman
remains bright as Bobbie. Rogers has thickened and grayed, but he still
has that interestingly crooked face. And while Springfield is a little
haggard, he bears vestiges of his pretty-boy past.
But still, it's a pleasure to spy signs of maturity behind their
makeup. After all, as legacy characters, they are the show's
heirlooms.
