Classic TV: General Hospital (1963)

There ain't that many soap operas left on daytime television these days. In fact, ABC has trimmed its soap roster down to one-----General Hospital, which marked its 50th anniversary earlier this year. The others, All My Children & One Life to Live, were revived online several months back, with Oprah Winfrey's cable network picking up the broadcast rights.

Now, I ain't much for soaps myself, but, like everyone else, I was tuned in once I got home from school or work during the 80's, when the series veered away from traditional soap story arcs and into escapist adventure. While that was going on, fitness guru Richard Simmons joined the show as a means of calling attention to his syndicated series, which aired in the morning locally. As a result, Simmons was name-checked in the lyrics to the Afternoon Delights' one-shot, "General Hospi-tale", released in the spring of 1981, right before I graduated from high school. Once I got my current job, I tuned out, once and for all.

Naturally, there has been quite a bit of cast turnover over the years, and more recently, James Franco ("Spider-Man") spent a few weeks on the show, proof that the franchise still has some pull at 50. Not many of the cast from the 80's are still around, particularly Anthony Geary, Jaclyn Zeman, & Genie Francis, who only turns up periodically for a specific storyline. Bob Hastings (ex-McHale's Navy) joined the show in the late 70's as then-police Capt. Bert Ramsey, who worked his way up to Commissioner before leaving. Bob's brother, Don, had starred for years on CBS' now-defunct As The World Turns, so soaps seemed to run in that family.

Now, let's take you back to the days of escapist adventure, back in 1980-1, with the Afternoon Delights. They never made an actual video for "General Hospi-tale", so enjoy this fan-created montage........



Edit, 5/12/17: The first ever episode, from 1963, is now available.




Rating: B-.