The Worst of 'General Hospital' in 2011

What has happened to this once mighty soap? There was a time when "General Hospital" was the very definition of "Must-See TV," but as of late, it has become "Must-Skip." While there were a few things that kept us watching in 2011, there were far too many storylines and characters that just didn't cut it.

Worst Storyline: The Balkan
Talk about making it up as you go along. This ridiculous story had more plot holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. The stink detonated in 2010 and the stench continued to fester well into 2011. "General Hospital" found itself able to woo back the popular Vanessa Marcil Giovanazzo for a year-long stint, but sadly, the wretched tale the writers came up with only served to alienate viewers instead of bringing them back to Port Charles. Brenda was in perpetual danger and half the town had to concern itself with the madness. Then they had to throw in a contrived, red herring past with Sonny's long-lost son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna). And of course, the ludicrous twist that Brenda's confidante, Suzanne (Adrienne Barbeau) was the Balkan's wife, which begged the question, if the Balkan needed to get close to Brenda, why did he keep trying to kidnap her? His wife could have left him a key under the mat.

The writers threw everything but the kitchen sink at this story to try and keep the audience on the edge of its seat, but most of us just got up and changed the channel. As this storyline limped to its long-awaited finish, we were happy to say goodbye to it and the insufferable Brenda right along with it.

Worst Front-Burner Character: Brenda Barrett
Whiny, twitchy and screechy. No, these are not the names of some new dwarfs for Snow White, but rather just a few of the adjectives to describe the once-lovable Brenda. While most writers have trouble figuring out what to with high-level talent (a malady "The Young and The Restless" suffers from in spades), "General Hospital" wanted tiny little Brenda to carry the show. Not to knock Marcil Giavanazzo's considerable talent, but no amount of sugar could have turned the lemons she was given into lemonade. This once charming neurotic turned into a harpy who sent small birds running for cover at the sound of her voice. It wasn't enough that Brenda was in every other scene, but every scene she wasn't in, other characters were talking about her. Ad naseum. Brenda became an unbearable presence in Port Charles and it was with a sigh of relief that we watched her board that plane, hopefully to not darken our doorsteps for a long, long time.

Biggest Waste of Talent: Ethan Lovett
Granted, the way in which Ethan (Nathan Parsons) was "conceived" didn't do him any favors (he couldn't have been Robert Scorpio's son instead of Luke Spencer's?), but Parsons proved himself to be a popular addition to "General Hospital." While the writers wanted Brenda to do everything, they barely gave Ethan anything. A promising romance with the woefully underused, Maya (Annie Ilonzeh- no wonder "Charlie's Angels" looked so good) was discarded in one pitiful throwaway scene and Ethan was left to roam the streets of Port Charles being a mob lieutenant for Johnny Zacchara (Brandon Barash). Ethan became background scenery for other characters and spent most of his time dodging teenaged Kristina's (Lexi Ainsworth) advances and being a begrudging participant in Luke's (Anthony Geary) intervention. To add insult to injury, the writers decided the best they could do with Ethan was to have him rattle around the halls of Wyndemere while carrying on conversations with portraits of Laura (Genie Francis). Rumor has it Parsons isn't renewing his contract and given the sad state of story he had during his time in Port Charles, it's really not a surprise.

Biggest Tease: Who Will Jason Be?
For weeks, breathless promos on ABC posed the question "Who Will Jason Be?" "General Hospital" revisited one of its most famous storylines by piquing our interest with the possibility that Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) could cease to exist and Jason Quartermaine could be the one to emerge from the OR after yet another car accident/surgery. After a wonderful episode where Jason's loved ones prayed for him to come out of life-threatening surgery and fantasized about what life might have been like if he'd stayed Jason Quartermaine, he woke up alright - as Jason Morgan. Ultimately, this was an intriguing premise that went nowhere, as the story lapsed back into mob shenanigans and the reprehensible antics of the cartoonish Franco (James Franco).

Instead going the expected route (making him one or the other), a much more intriguing prospect could have had Jason wake up a hybrid of both Quartermaine and Morgan (Quartergan?). Watching Jason at war with his past, present and future could have been riveting television and even better, further brought the Quartermaines into the fold. Instead, we have Franco and Jason 3.0. What a waste.

Worst Exit: Jasper "Jax" Jacks
Jax (Ingo Rademacher) sure got a sorry sendoff. Both times. The first time had his popular character stooping to deplorable lows to get custody of his daughter from Carly, before being drugged by Sonny, blowing his court case and fleeing Port Charles with Brenda. The second time had him slinking back into town to kidnap his daughter before being felled by Sonny (again) in a horrific plot which sent Jax's plane down into murky waters. Turns out, he survived the crash, but took off for parts unknown shortly thereafter.

Denigrating Jax's character with a lurid bribery tale, not to mention allowing Sonny of all people to get the upper hand on him (yet again, Sonny is allowed to wreak havoc and get away with it) undercut his established smarts and savvy. Plus, there's no way Jax would cut out on his little girl. Jax is supposedly on his way back to Port Charles and let's hope the wrongs of both exits are set right.

Most Nonsensical Character: Skye Quartermaine
Skye's always been a bit of a puzzle, stretching back to her days as the alcoholic brat daughter of Adam Chandler (David Canary) on "All My Children." She was never very likable and was always portrayed as a sniveling, scheming crybaby. For whatever reason, Skye was chosen as an "anchor" character, wending her way through Llanview and eventually Port Charles, where lo and behold, she was the illegitimate child of Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon).

Skye pops up every now and again, most recently to screw with her aunt Tracy (Jane Elliott) and help Jax flee town. Frankly, it's hard to fathom what the allure of this particular character is. She doesn't bring much of anything to the canvas - she's not comic relief, she's not wielding an enormous amount of power, nobody in town is particularly afraid of her. She's not a beloved heroine. Here's hoping we don't have to see Skye for quite some time.

Bonus: Best Pinch Hitter: Jen Lilley
Granted, for the past few years, "General Hospital" has been squandering the gifts of the talented Kirsten Storms, who plays firecracker fashionista, Maxie Jones. Still when Storms was knocked out by a mysterious illness, "General Hospital" needed to tap an actress to fill her stilettos, stat. Jen Lilley was given the thankless task of stepping into this key role and she did so without missing a beat. Maxie is still a cute, albeit pushy blonde and Lilley has been able to generate some much needed heat with Matt (Jason Cook). While Storms has been missed, Lilley has done a fantastic job filling in.