General Hospital’s Biggest Problem? The Lack of Actual Hospital Stories

Summary:

• In over 6 decades that General Hospital has been on the air, the show has gone through many changes.
• While some of them were more than welcome, others felt forced and didn't sit well with viewers.
• One of the worst things that many fans notice about the show today is how weak its connection to the actual hospital element is.

With many daytime shows running for decades, it's not uncommon for household members of all ages to get together and watch them. Especially now that streaming services make it possible to try new episodes whenever everyone is ready to join in. Uniting several generations around the same characters is not something many stories can boast of.

However, many fans notice that as time goes by, some changes are introduced that people may not like. While overall the changes are natural, as the soap needs to move and evolve, others feel that they take away from the original purpose of the story. Unfortunately, General Hospital falls into this category.

What General Hospital Is About?

In the past, it would have been easier to answer the question about the show's origin, but now the show is all over the place. Originally, back in 1963, General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley as a soap opera about the happenings in an ordinary hospital in the unnamed city of Port Charles.

Port Charles, which seems to be more important to the story than the hospital itself, was given a name only 7 years later, in the 1970s. Until then, the show was fine, focusing mostly on stories about doctors, nurses and patients who came in.

The urge to expand the world is understandable, especially when it comes to decades-long soaps, but it feels like recently the show has completely lost the last of its roots to what it was intended to be. With the lack of medical storylines and pretty obvious mistakes in those hospital scenes that do make the cut, General Hospital begs for a major rebranding.

If it hadn't been taken for a spinoff that ended up being axed after only 6 years, Port Charles would make a much better title, considering how much time we spend with Sonny's mob, the owners and editors of Crimson Magazine, and within the confines of the Metro Court Hotel. All of those places are great fun, no one doubts that, but the hospital branding no longer fits.

With General Hospital coexisting with Grey's Anatomy under a single ABC umbrella, it almost feels like the drama could lose its title of best medical soap to the scripted primetime show. So if the writers want to keep the show going, they might want to consider some changes to the current arcs.

If you are interested in what is going on in Port Charles today, be sure to tune in to General Hospital Monday through Friday on ABC.