General Hospital Welcomes Back Sebastian Roché
General Hospital has expanded its retinue of psychotic killers with the return of fan favorite, Sebastian Roché. The list of murderous GH past psychopaths, includes Elizabeth Taylor, Constance Towers and a bevy other ill-willed luminaries. Roché completes a hat trick of dishonor, taking the ride with Roger Howarth and Robin Mattson on the venomous crazy trail.
Roché, the Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries scene-stealer reprises his role as Jerry Jacks, a most-murderous megalomaniac. Jerry is best known around the fictional town of Port Charles as the man who took many of its citizens hostage and caused the death of a community pillar, Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon).
Jerry Jacks Returns to Spread Mayhem
Jerry Jacks (Roché) is revisiting Port Charles to spread his trademark mayhem. Back only two ‘TV days’, Jerry has claimed responsibility for faking the death of Dr. Robin Scorpio Drake (Kimberly McCullough), then kidnapping her and shipping her off to Switzerland after a dose of electroshock.
The lethal Jacks brother already poses a threat to a laundry list of victims: Nurse Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst), spy-turned-police-commissioner Anna Devane (Finola Hughes), mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), neurosurgeon Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson), accomplice Dr. Ewen Keenan, and many yet-unnamed Port Chuck denizens. The multilingual, multi-talented Roché joins the exquisite collection of crazed killers already on the General Hospital canvas.
Enter Todd Manning and Heather Webber
Swaggering recently onto the GH scene from One Life To Live is Todd Manning (Roger Howarth). Manning (whose personality is defined by the ‘ME’ logo of ‘Manning Enterprises’) is responsible for a number of deaths in his former hometown, Llanview, including that of his twin brother, Victor. The mention of the fratricide brings a twinkle to Todd’s eye that is reminiscent of a pirate discovering treasure. Todd never has murdered anyone who did not deserve it, at least deserved it by Todd’s standards. Emmy-winner Howarth always has exploited Todd’s wicked ways with relish, now more than ever since relocating to Port Charles.
Not to be outdone, the loony Heather Webber (Robin Mattson) has been an on-and-off-again staple on the GH scene since 1980. Heather is thought to have killed many PC residents, sold her son, Steven Lars (Scott Reeves), masterminded baby switches, tampered with DNA evidence and administered almost-fatal doses of LSD, most recently to Olivia Falconeri (Lisa LoCicero).
Heather’s most recent exploits find her obsession with Luke Spencer (multiple Emmy-winner, Anthony Geary) degenerating into another debacle. Luke survives being tied up in a burning cabin only to be shot by Heather, thus landing a bed at General Hospital.
General Hospital’s Fortunate Choices
Many daytime dramas have been canceled over the past several years, but General Hospital has made fortunate choices in the wake of these cancellations. Never short on action and stunts, the show has absorbed fabulous actors and writers from the other shows and GH is more thrill-packed than ever. Port Charles has more than its share of mob bosses, mob enforcers, psychotic killers and wicked stepmothers, sprinkled among its more prominent residents.
Many of the characters are morally ambiguous, which leads to the most delightful drama. There are even a few wink-wink-nudge-nudge throwaway lines that refer to General Hospital now-canceled spinoff, Port Charles. Actors Michael Easton and Kelly Monaco, late of Port Charles, now prominent in the GH cast once resided on the other side of town as other characters who happened to be vampires. Monaco, the first winner of Dancing With The Stars, is returning to the DWTS upcoming season.
A Great Way to Enjoy Well-Crafted Acting, Directing, and Writing
For those who traditionally do not watch daytime dramas, General Hospital is a great way to enjoy well-crafted acting, directing and writing. A far cry from ‘your grandmother’s soap’, General Hospital is gender-neutral programming. In a city ‘run with a heart’ by organized crime, the patients at General Hospital often are the victims of a mob hit. Part Godfather, part rom-com, part traditional serial, General Hospital is a .45-calibre delight, chocked full of mobsters, psychopaths and love in the afternoon.
Up next’¦ how ethical is YOUR mob boss?
About The Author: Melissa J L Smith Sciuto is an entertainment writer whose experience working at major Hollywood studios including Warner Bros., Lorimar-Telepictures, Sony Pictures Studios, NBC Universal and The Walt Disney Company. She uses her entire name as a byline as there are dozens of “Melissa Smiths” on the Internet. Her background is in marketing, studio and post production sound operations, and writing. She currently is writing a screenplay and a novel.
