Too many characters... Here's the rest...
I personally love when one of the shows heros is shot or hurt and his love interest helps him through, and I think stories like this are bolstered by the Mob of PC. If things start to get a little boring, they can alway shoot someone to bring some sense of urgency to the story. I do understand that not everyone likes that sort of thing. GH is the only daytime drama I can stand precisely because it's not as female-centric/Lifetimey/romantic as the others I've seen.
Ok, no offense to fans of the Quartermains, but they are so old! And all of the Quartermain children have either died (AJ, Emily), left town for some reason or another (Tracy's kids, Sky and baby Lila), or just plain don't consider themselves Quartermains (Jason, Michael). I really think the writers are phasing this family out of existence. I bet the backbone familys of the future GH are Corrinthos, Cassadine, Drake and Spencer. I wouldn't normally include Drake as a key family, but since the show is called General Hospital, I guess the have to keep a family of doctors in the mix. However, I do think it will be a while before that family is a major player...we'll see.
Before I submit this, just let me say that I LOVE that people are so passionate about the direction GH takes. I have real loyalty to the show and I'm glad to see that other people care enough to have an opinion. I definitely respect all the opinions I've read on this topic.
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