History of General Hospital (2000-2007)
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This is about the history of the long-running American daytime serial General Hospital from 2000 to 2007.
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[edit] New millennium (2000-2006)
At the beginning of the new millennium, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) would gain a new love interest in the form of Carly Benson (Sarah Brown) after previous efforts to pair him up after the departure of his longtime love interest Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) who supposedly died in 1998, failed. The popularity of the Sonny and Carly coupling remained even after Carly's original portrayer, Sarah Brown left the show in 2001 and was replaced by Tamara Braun. Eventually though, the enormous amount of airtime that the duo (along with those in their immediate circle) received only served to polarize the audience. In particular, criticism was leveled at the amount of airtime that was devoted to the various mob storylines that these characters were involved in.
In 2001, a bus accident disrupted The Nurses Ball 2001, an annual event for AIDS research. The event has yet to return to GH.
GH aired its 10,000th episode on April 17, 2002, with an episode that revolved around the show's only longest running cast member, Audrey Hardy (Rachel Ames), celebrating her 10,000th shift as a nurse at the hospital. The episode was notable for showcasing much of GH's long history in a series of clips and montages, but shortly afterwards, the show would soon be accused of forgetting its history and veteran characters.
Trouble had been brewing for quite some time (due to the increasing amount of focus on Sonny and the mob), but it really became apparent after the abrupt departure of Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) in 2002 under controversial circumstances, the re-writing of history that angered many viewers to facilitate Ms. Francis's exit. However, ratings remained stable after Francis' departure and even climbed because Vanessa Marcil returned as Brenda Barrett in a five-month stint which lasted into the early months of 2003.
In 2002, after more than 35 years, Rachel Ames, who played Audrey Hardy, was taken off contract and removed from the opening credits, angering many longtime viewers. Around the same time, Brad Maule (Tony Jones) and Shell Kepler (Amy Vining) were also taken off contract. In 2004 Anna Lee was moved to recurring status after 25 years as Lila Quartermaine (Lee died soon after and some fans held the show responsible). At the same time, John Ingle, who had played Lila's husband, was fired from the show after landing the role of Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives, and he was replaced by Jed Allan. Kin Shriner was also let go, despite the fact that he had been with the show on and off since 1977. Other characters, such as Bobbie Spencer (Jacklyn Zeman) and Felicia Jones (Kristina Wagner) became little more than extras, in spite of their years of popularity with fans.
In 2004, two important but sensationalized storylines took place that many fans had divided opinions on. The first being the Port Charles Hotel Fire, which saw the majority of the cast trapped in a burning inferno during February sweeps. The second involved a masked serial killer terrorizing the Quartermaine mansion for five episodes. The serial killer storyline took place while the Olympic Games were screening on rival channel NBC and was widely seen as an attempt to lure NBC soap fans who were not interested in the Olympics to watch General Hospital, particularly as the serial killer storyline on General Hospital lampooned the recent serial killer storyline that had taken place on rival NBC soap Days of Our Lives.
2005 would end up being a year of change for General Hospital. After Tamara Braun left the series, the role of Carly was recast with former One Life to Live star, Jennifer Bransford. This move was not met well by fans. In May 2005, Kristina Wagner opted to leave the role of Felicia Jones because of scheduling conflicts with producers. She was replaced with former Another World star Sandra Ferguson. Maxie Jones was also recast with former Days of our Lives star Kirsten Storms taking over for Robyn Richards. These changes, as well as a succession of violent storylines that included Emily's rape by Connor and young Michael Corinthos apparently murdering his own father sent the ratings falling, so more changes were made. Just as she was becoming more popular with viewers, Jennifer Bransford was let go and replaced by former Guiding Light actress Laura Wright.
November sweeps saw a train wreck storyline and Reese Marshall (Kari Wuhrer) was the only major character to die in this storyline. Wuhrer, a relative newcomer to the show, having only joined in February 2005, was let go due to lacking storyline between stars Maurice Benard and Rick Hearst. Wuhrer later decided to sue for discrimination, claiming that her pregnancy was the cause of her dismissal. On a brighter note, the popular Kimberly McCullough returned as Robin Scorpio, and a guest appearance by former star Rick Springfield as Dr Noah Drake, quickly turned into a recurring role. The show later attempted its first gay storyline as Lucas Jones, played by Ben Hogestyn began to come out to his friends and family.
[edit] 2007
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