Tuesday TV Touchbase Too: General Hospital

Starting July 2nd, Andrea and I added General Hospital to our TV viewing schedule.   

There's some stuff 'n' junk going on at an art gallery in Port Charles.  The WSB (GH's version of the CIA or Interpol or some damn thing) is up to some sketchy shit involving the theft of something called "the device". 

Oh boy! When I first watched GH in college back in the 1980's, the first plot I got caught up in was about a device.  In that case, it was a FREEZE RAY! 

Is this "the device" a FREEZE RAY?  Sadly, no.  It is a COLD Fusion thingy so there's that. 

So a WSB head named Collum has turned rogue and is stealing the cold fusion thingy.  A couple of WSB agents still on the good guys side, Cassius and Josslyn, get caught up in a gun fight with Collum and his minions on the loading bay at the back of the art gallery.  

Long story made short:

• All the gunmen working for Collum: shot! 
• Cassius: shot! 
• Josslyn: shot! 

Collum shows up to gloat over a wounded Cassius but Josslyn, despite being shot in the gut, aims a rifle at Collum and...

• Collum: shot! 

Then things get interesting! 

A sleek black helicopter lands in the parking lot.  Surrounded by heavily armed guards, a man with slick black hair and a dark blue suit emerges and....

Hey! Isn't that John Oliver from HBO's Last Week Tonight? 

Yes, it is and the reason why Andrea and I are watching General Hospital.  

One of the gunmen ain't dead yet.  

The mysterious man in blue pulls out a revolver and casually shoots him in the head. 

He leans over the badly wounded Josslyn to reassure her, “Everything's gonna be OK. I'm here to help.”

I'm not sure we should feel reassured. 

Hey, if the video link is still up, you can watch this for yourself.

So what the hell is John Oliver doing on General Hospital?

A few months ago on Last Week Tonight, Oliver laid down a challenge to all the daytime soap operas to cast him in a role.

He didn't want to play himself, he wanted a solidly soap opera type character, someone preferably with a weird name and a duplicitous, shadowy background, 

General Hospital answered the challenge and cast John Oliver as "Z", the mysterious head of the WSB.  

Z is looking to clean up the mess left by Collum's betrayal and is prepared to reshape the truth to save the WSB's reputation. If he can get Josslyn's cooperation.   

I was impressed with John Oliver's performance and so was one of his co-stars,  Laura Wright, who plays Carly Spencer and acted in scenes with Oliver

“We had no idea what to expect. A lot of times, people like to come on and make fun of what we do, and I'm not a big fan of that. Our job is as important as anyone else's, and we don't consider it a different type of acting or anything like that. So, I was so impressed with the writing that honored what he does well while also staying true to what we do, and how he showed up and delivered. It was incredible.”

Wright added about Oliver's performance,   “If he was nervous, you couldn't tell. He was perfect with his lines. We were in the middle of a very intense storyline that has been building for months, so it's really funny that he stepped right in and didn't miss a beat. You would think he's been on the show!”

I agree with Laura Wright that John Oliver was such a seamless fit in the world of General Hospital.  He really felt like he belonged there.  

John Oliver expressed appreciation for his experience. “General Hospital was everything I hoped it would be. It's a true honor to be a small stain on the history of this illustrious show."

Here's another video link of Oliver talking about his time on the show.  

General Hospital was not the only soap opera that came calling.  Days of Our Lives also cast John Oliver in what appears to be a more broadly comic role.  

Andrea and I got a big kick out of John Oliver's turn on General Hospital which ended yesterday.  

And we're done with General Hospital.  

I think.  (I am TRYING not to care about all the subplots we encountered in our 3 day visit to GH.)

That is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase AND the Tuesday TV Touchbase Too!

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.