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Response to: General Hospital Ratings are Down: Is It Too Late?

As an avid watcher of General Hospital, I'd like to comment on your article.

While I do agree with obviously undisputable numbers that show GH declining in viewers, I feel the article completely glossed over the real reasons the show has suffered in creativity.

I do not believe couples or the change of couples are the source of GH's troubles. It lies heavily in the backstage management of the stories. It lies in the writers' inability to write cohesive stories instead of plot points. Couples change.

On a soap, it's the nature of the beast. However, if the stories do not flow, if they constantly jump from plot point to plot point, if they miss the beats, if they lack character integration, motivation and growth, the show will suffer. Add unbalanced airtime distribution and the lack of new story direction and we have GH.

I believe articles like this do a disservice to bringing attention to the real problems at GH. Blaming the rotation of couples absolves the individuals responsible for the lazy production they put together. There seems to be hesitances to truly critique the writers and producers and they are absolved from own their mediocrity.

What this soap needs is new blood in the writing department. Someone with fresh ideas, who wants to take the entire show in a new direction. Not just couples. We need an executive producer who can put their foot down when it comes to actor demands. We need script writers who care about continuity, history and the integrity of the characters. Until then, it won't matter which couple is onscreen. The core issues will still persist.

Tasha