General Hospital Shake Up – Here’s Our Wish List for GH’s New Head Writers

Over at ABC’s General Hospital, Ron Carlivati is fired and out the door (woot woot) and Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman are teaming up as the new co-head writers. We are very excited about the possibilities this opens up for all our favorite Port Charles characters. Here’s a look at our wish list for the new head writing team at General Hospital.

Vicki Dummer, head of ABC’s daytime line up released the statement: “Shelly and Jean’s combined talents and experiences promise to continue the show’s legacy of compelling storytelling that will resonate with our impassioned viewers. We’re delighted with what they have in store for the show as they continue honoring the rich, diverse environs of Port Charles.”

Of course, neither Passanante or Altman are new to GH. Altman had been co-head writer before Carlivati took over and Passanante worked under Carlivati until The Young and the Restless lured her away. But now with Carlivati and his craziness gone, maybe these savvy soap-experienced women can knuckle down and shake things up over at Port Charles.

Here’s what we’re hoping for under the new GH writing regime:

#1 Pick up the pace

One of the most frustrating things about watching General Hospital these days is the snail-like pace of key story lines such as Jake Doe/Jason Morgan amnesia, Luke/Fluke, Rosalie’s secret and others that drag on from months to years. Plus Luke has been saying goodbye to Port Charles for endless weeks. They need to model more on the pace of nighttime TV – no we’re not asking for the pace of Kiefer Sutherland’s 24, but maybe a Port Charles day shouldn’t last an interminable week…

#2 Quit insulting our intelligence

Carlivati’s writing has been largely very insulting to GH watchers. We do not need to be spoon-fed information. We do not need constant flashbacks to scenes we saw just a day or two before. We are fans – we are tracking storylines probably more closely than writers and producers. Please stop wasting screen time with this crap. Deliver fresh material on a regular basis without showing us any of what we’ve seen before. That’s easy enough, right? We will love you for it.

#3 More screen time for favorite characters

If Passanante and Altman can do the first two above, it will naturally lead to more of this. If the 35 minutes a day we get is not crammed with rehash and sloth-like stories, we will get to see more of our favorites on screen. As it is now, we will sometimes go weeks without seeing a primary character – thinks about the recent absence of Julian Jerome and Alexis Davis – they were gone for weeks. Seems like they could coordinate shooting to film more content in a shorter span so our faves get air time.

#4 Quit with the crazy

Okay, the crazy itself is okay. Obrecht, Franco and Nina Clay are a lot of fun, but you don’t want to get to campy. But the real crazy is little Jake Spencer back from the dead and Frank Smith kidnapping people from his Hoveround scooter even though he’d be a centenarian by now. Comas are okay, unknown relatives are okay, paternity questions are tolerable. But improbably resurrections are not. Why not invent some compelling plot lines without going completely off the rails?

#5 Rethink everything

Let’s face it, GH is down in the ratings and continues to be plagued by low ratings. This should be no surprise with the same old things being done over and over. Sonny and Carly are gearing up to get married yet again. Why not put Carly with the sexy Kyle Sloane and introduce Sonny to cousin Valerie? Put Ava in charge of the mob with Morgan running it by her side. Let Jake know who he is but then split him up with both Liz and Sam and let them fight over him! So much can be done – just do it!

Fingers crossed that Passanante and Altman will embrace the chance to flourish without Carlivati’s heavy hand at the helm and will save General Hospital from certain cancellation. We look forward to seeing what they will do and hope they right the ship immediately.

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