#15

General Hospital

General Hospital has been on ABC since April 1, 1963. That is 62 years, easily the longest running show in the Top 100.

My mother watched the soap opera General Hospital and I would watch it with her when I was young. I can say that, along with my love of comic books, General Hospital helped to embolden my creativity and my own storytelling skills.

Watching the Luke and Laura love story developing from an ugly rape, the mystery of the Ice Princess and the Cassadines, the arrival of super spy Robert Scorpio, Casey the Alien, the awesome ass kicker Anna Devane, probably my first crush in Holly Sutton (played by the gorgeous Emma Samms), the quarrelsome Quartermaines, Frisco and Felicia, mob kingpin Sonny Corinthos all brought out the best in me.

The show has featured countless actors that have become major stars in other projects that I love. Demi Moore, John Stamos, Rick Springfield, Ricky Martin, Mark Hamill, Jonathan Jackson, Antonio Sabato Jr., Vanessa Marcil, Tia Carrere, Jack Wagner. There were guest appearances from Elizabeth Taylor, Roseanne Barr, Richard Simmons, James Franco, among others.

My favorite characters over the years included:

• Luke Spencer
• Anna Devane
• Robert Scorpio
• Frisco Jones
• Laura Webber
• Lucy Coe
• Kevin Collins and his evil twin Ryan Chamberlain
• Holly Sutton
• Robin Scorpio
• Bobbie Spencer

The show had a ton of classic villains too including Mikkos Cassadine, Helena Cassadine, Cesar Faison, Heather Webber, Jerry Jacks, Franco, Stavros Cassadine, Caleb Morley, Ava Jerome, Grant Putnam, Frank Smith, and the spy organization DVX.

The show had both the crazy world of spies and mobsters, but also featured serious storylines involving AIDS, breast cancer, natural disasters, mental illness, depression, and substance abuse.

The show gave us one of the saddest storylines you could give: the death of a child. Little Barbara Jean Jones died in a bus accident, and her heart was transplanted into her cousin Maxie Jones, saving her life. The acting performances in this story were spectacularly powerful and painful.

The show would do a yearly talent show called the Nurses’ Ball where the cast members would put on musical and dance numbers. The Nurses’ Ball was always one of my most anticipated episode of the year.

General Hospital influenced me more than just about any show of my youth and it belongs on this list. I do not watch GH regularly any more, but I am aware of things that happen on the show, and my mom still watches it daily.