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[Metallix87]

About The Show

This show, despite it's title, very rarely actually has anything to do with the hospital in question. The show is actually about a fictional New York city called Port Charles, and the bizarre events that occur within it. This includes terrorist attacks, violent mob wars, the dead rising from the grave, questionable vampire attacks, alien encounters, and much more. I'm hoping this thread will raise awareness of the show, how it's not just "for girls" (as I've been told frequently IRL), and also how it's actually pretty awesome. Let's dive right in!

Main Characters

Maurice Benard as Sonny Corinthos
Sonny is alleged to be one of the most powerful mob bosses on the Eastern coast of the US. He is constantly wrapped up in various stories revolving around his attempts to either keep hold of his territory, defend his family, or maintain his sanity. He suffers from severe claustrophobia as a result of severe abuse as a child from his stepfather, Deke, and this plays a prominent part in his character's development. Supposedly, he has managed to keep drugs out of his territory, as ridiculous as this may sound, though there's always competition trying to take over his turf by dealing in illegal drugs.

Laura Wright as Carly Benson
Sonny's ex-wife, Carly is a master manipulator and willing enabler of her latest choice in boyfriend / spouse, regardless of whatever evil deed they may be up to. Often, she finds herself lost without the advice of her best friend, Jason (who is currently believed to be deceased), and this results in her making one bad decision after another. Her latest? She's engaged to Franco, the artist and serial killer who has allegedly been reformed over the last year and who was indirectly responsible for Carly's eldest son, Michael, being brutally raped in prison. Carly still has strong feelings for Sonny, as well as her other ex-husband, Jax (who is currently living in Australia).

Roger Howarth as "Franco"
Arguably one of the more bizarre characters on the show, "Franco" (as he's known by most people) was formerly an artist turned serial killer who would murder people and then position their bodies in odd positions and either paint or photograph them. He is guilty of many crimes on the show, including kidnapping a baby, murdering several individuals, blowing up buildings, and most importantly, inadvertently getting Carly and Sonny's eldest son, Michael, brutally raped in prison through a complex series of events. In 2013, it was revealed that a gigantic brain tumor was causing Franco's evil deeds, and surgery has apparently turned him into a good person. He has, unfortunately, lost his artistic skill in the process, but he's gained Carly as an ally and a lover. Recently, the revelation that Carly has been unfaithful has left him mentally unstable, and it's possible the evil within is ready to emerge once more.

Kelly Monaco as Sam Morgan
Sam is a private investigator, and also the widow of Jason Morgan. She has a young son named Danny, who is basically a catalyst for the lengthening of a mob war in a roundabout way (which I'll explain when I get to Julian, one of the villains). Sam originally came to Port Charles as a con artist and treasure hunter, but has stayed on as a result of her love for Jason. She is the most action-oriented female lead on the show at present, and has been mixed up in a lot of strange stories since Jason's alleged demise, including being the target of Caleb Morley, the king of the vampires. At present, she is falling for her close friend, Dr. Patrick Drake, though she's unaware that her husband Jason is alive and back in town.

Jason Thompson as Dr. Patrick Drake
One of the few purely hospital-oriented main characters remaining on the show, Patrick was previously a womanizer before being tamed by his wife, Dr. Robin Scorpio-Drake. He and Robin have recently had a "falling out", as Robin has crafted elaborate excuses to stay away from him and their daughter, Emma. The truth is, various terrorists have had Robin in captivity, and she's been forced to lie to her family or risk their lives. Patrick, not knowing any of this, has filed for divorce, and is currently experiencing feelings for longtime friend Sam. Sam and Patrick's current story revolves around investigating the person inadvertently responsible for the death of Patrick's newborn son, Gabriel.

Kelly Thiebaud as Dr. Britta "Britt" Westbourne
Britt is the daughter of international terrorists Cesar Faison and Dr. Liesl Obrecht. She originally came to Port Charles to seduce Patrick, but has since fallen in love with dashing Greek-Russian prince Nikolas Cassadine. Unfortunately, an evil deed of hers ended up ruining that relationship. Britt had previously stolen the embryo of Nik's sister, Lulu, and implanted it within her in the hopes of forcing Patrick to be with her. When the truth was revealed, Britt lost everything and almost ended up behind bars. Now, Britt has been trying to repair her image and also win back Nik, but she's certainly still willing to resort to nefarious means to get what she wants.

Dominic Zamprogna as Dante Falconeri
Dante is the biological son of Sonny and his girlfriend, Olivia Falconeri. Sonny was unaware of Dante's existence until fairly recently. Dante was working undercover in Sonny's organization in the hopes of bringing down Sonny for the murder of his late wife, Claudia Zacchara. Sonny ended up shooting Dante in the chest upon learning of his betrayal, only to then learn that he was his son. Since then, the two have had a difficult relationship, constantly complicated by Dante's work as a police detective and Sonny's illegal dealings as well as selfish behavior. Dante is married to Lulu Spencer, the daughter of notorious con man Luke Spencer.

Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer
Luke is the longest-running character still on the show as a main character. He originally appeared in town in the late 70s as a gangster and rapist, but has since been whitewashed into a prominent anti-hero. He is always involved in shady dealings, but usually emerges in a heroic light, especially when these dealings revolve around one of the many villains the show has to offer. He has three children: Lucky, Ethan, and Lulu. Lucky has been in Ireland for years trying to "find himself", and Ethan is constantly exploring the world on various adventures. Lulu is a major bore, and seems to only exist to cause drama for everyone in her life. Luke's primary love interest through the years has been Laura, and they comprise arguably the most famous soap-opera super couple of all time. Currently, Luke has spent almost an entire year heavily drugged and locked up in Miscavige Institute for the Criminally Insane, as a malevolent doppelganger walks the streets of Port Charles in his place.

Emme Rylan as Lulu Spencer
The daughter of Luke and Laura, and wife of Dante. All you really need to know about her, at present, is that she has severe baby fever (despite having an infant son at home already) and is constantly getting into trouble and needs to be rescued.

Finola Hughes as Anna Devane
A spy turned police commissioner, Anna is in charge of the Port Charles Police Department. She's left her adventuring days behind her, but is still dedicated to protecting the innocent. She is also the mother of Robin, Patrick's wife. She is currently trying to bring down the Jerome organization, a gang that is flooding the streets of Port Charles with drugs, and whom she blames for the loss of a child decades ago.

Jane Elliot as Tracy Quartermaine
Tracy is a member of the super wealthy Quartermaine family, which has resided in Port Charles for many decades. Tracy is known to be a supreme manipulator, rivaling even Carly, and is willing to say anything or do anything to get what she wants. What does she want most? Money and power. Her greatest weakness? The alleged love of her life, Luke Spencer. Unfortunately, there's an impostor in Luke's place right now, and he's using this weakness to his advantage by pitting Tracy against her family in a bid for ELQ, the family's company.

Chad Duell as Michael Corinthos III
Arguably the most important character on the show, Michael is the biological son of Carly and the late AJ Quartermaine, as well as the adoptive son of Sonny. Everything seems to revolve around Michael in one way or another. Early on, he desired nothing more than to run the mob after Sonny retired, but Sonny has since pushed him into the direction of an honest living in business, and Michael has found himself as the current CEO of ELQ. Unfortunately, Michael's biological father, AJ, was murdered earlier this year, just as he and Michael were finally getting a chance to know one another. Michael wants revenge, but unbeknownst to him, the man who killed AJ is none other than Sonny! Michael is currently in a relationship with his younger brother Morgan's ex-wife, Kiki Jerome, though she seems to be drifting back towards Morgan.

Main Villains

Constance Towers as Helena Cassadine
The show's main antagonist, Helena is the matriarch of the evil Cassadine family. Her late husband had attempted to freeze the planet in order to rule it, but was killed as a result, and Helena has never forgiven those responsible (Luke, Laura, and Robert Scorpio) since. She's not always on, but usually appears every year, up to some new evil scheme. These schemes include resurrecting her deceased kin, kidnapping, murdering, and general acts of terrorism and villainy. She was killed in 2013, only to very recently be resurrected from death by a miracle formula, and she's now once again up to her usual evil antics, having kidnapped Robin, the daughter of Anna and wife of Patrick.

Sebastian Roche as Jerry Jacks
The ultimate hired gun and terrorist, Jerry is the brother of Carly's ex-husband, Jax. Jerry is willing to lend his services to anyone who will pay his price, regardless of how exorbitant it may be. Jerry often comes to Port Charles to terrorize it's denizens in one way or another, but he usually meets an allegedly unfortunate fate, only to reappear later completely unscathed. His most famous evil deed is poisoning the water supply of the entire town and holding the antidote ransom. Current whereabouts are unknown, as he was last seen near-death from polonium poisoning after having fallen off a skyscraper roof. He is still alive, though, as we saw him leave town, despite being in bad shape. It's only a matter of time before he resurfaces again.

Maura West and William deVry as Ava Jerome and Julian Jerome
These two are the latest adversaries to try to take over Sonny's territory. This sibling pairing, despite their differences, are willing to work together to achieve a common goal. Ava is the far more lethal one of the two. Julian is also Sam's biological father. This has resulted in her baby, Danny, being the only reason he's alive, as Julian is a bone marrow donor and Sonny won't kill him in case Danny ever needs to be saved again. They both work for the fake Luke, who is flooding the streets of Port Charles with drugs, Julian has a history with Anna and her boyfriend, Duke, as he and his family caused them to lose their baby in the 80s.

Other Important Characters

Vanessa Marcil as Brenda Barrett
The love of Sonny's life. The two seem to be unable to find lasting happiness together, despite their strong feelings for one another. Per Carly, all women in Sonny's life as trying to match the unreachable view that Sonny has for her. Currently, she's living with her son, Alec, in Europe.

Ingo Rademacher as Jasper "Jax" Jacks
Ex-husband of Carly, as well as Sonny's arch-nemesis. Jax is always trying to "rescue" women from Sonny's world, and constantly portrays himself as a white knight. After a bitter divorce from Carly that resulted in loss of custody of his daughter, Josslyn, Jax moved to Australia to escape the madness of Port Charles.

Billy Miller as Jason Morgan
Jason Morgan was born Jason Quartermaine, but an accident as a teenager resulted in him losing his memory and emerging as a new man. He became Sonny and Carly's best friend, and a mob enforcer. Two years ago, Jason was shot and killed by Cesar Faison, and his body was tossed into the ocean. Now, he has been brought back from the dead by the same formula that resurrected Helena and her family, and he's in Port Charles, though a horrible accident has wounded him severely, and magically given him a new face that no one will be able to recognize.

Tyler Christopher as Nikolas Cassadine
Nik is one of the few "good" members of the Cassadine family, though he's still prone to act out in dark, evil ways from time to time. He very recently returned to town and is residing in Wyndemere, a massive castle off the coast of the city. He is the son of Laura and her captor, Stavros Cassadine, the son of Helena.

Where to Watch

So, if your interest has at least been piqued, you may be asking where can you watch this show. Well, good news everyone! The show airs every weekday on ABC at 3PM EST. Also, each day's episode is up on Hulu at 8PM EST. Hurray!

In all seriousness, I hope this thread allows us to discuss a show that I've been watching for many years, and which I consider to be one of my guilty pleasures. I may add more information on other characters in later posts, as well.

 

[studyguy]

I like medical drama shows, I ended up watching a whole bunch of Korean medical dramas a while back. They were alright I guess. This sounds a bit too much for me tbh.


Man... I just want more House M.D.

 

[Metallix87]

I like medical drama shows, I ended up watching a whole bunch of Korean medical dramas a while back. They were alright I guess. This sounds a bit too much for me tbh.


Man... I just want more House M.D.

If you're looking for medical drama, surprisingly this is the wrong show for you. There are very rarely any hospital-based stories anymore. Maybe once a year, a major character suffers some injury and has to be operated on, but that's it.