General Hospital: The Best and Worst of 2009

2009 hasn't been the best year for our favorite daytime delicacy. Storylines are lackluster, couples are subpar, new characters are brought on to mix things up and are soon forgotten and good actors are fired for bad reasons...hmm, why are those ratings so low?  

It wasn't all bad though, and even if it was, General Hospital is like the significant other in our lives who we choose to love and stick by, flaws and all, through good times and bad, really, really, bad...I digress, 2009 gave us a good year of Scrubs, some delicious new faces, and even if he's a little crazy, James Franco to look at for the last couple of months. So, without further ado, the nine and nine of 2009:

BEST

Newcomer: Dante Falconeri. Dante has a lot of charisma and a lot of secrets. He has great chemistry with resident heartbreaker, Lulu Spencer. What more can we ask for form a newbie?!

Villain: Andrea Floyd. Sneaky and manipulative, who would suspect the mayor's wife to be so ruthless? See Vile Villains for a few other foes worth mentioning.

Cameo: Mystery stranger played by Chad Brannon. What a lovely surprise to see Chad's face grace our screens again, if only Zander never died.

Recast: Michael Corinthos III played by Drew Garrett. Little Dylan Cash was a great Michael, but I think Drew has been an amazing fit as the rebellious and spoiled son of Carly and Sonny, not to mention, he's the spitting image of uncle Jason.

Comeback: Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer. It was ten years ago that Jonathan vacated the role he originated and now he's back! Still wishing the circumstances were different (see the worst of list below), but nonetheless, many fans are glad to see him mixing it up with Luke and the rest of PC. Now, if only the Becky and Jonathan chemistry would return...

Best Gal Pals: Diane and Alexis. No other girlfriends have as much fun or get into as much trouble as these two cougar attorneys.

Best Bromance: Sonny and Jason. As if it could be anyone else. I originally titled this category 'Best Buds' but that just doesn't seem strong enough a term for these inseparable mobsters who have been backing each other up since the mid-nineties.

Best Couple: Patrick and Robin AKA Scrubs. The only happy couple in PC...and baby makes three!

Best Storyline:  The Carnival. The Andrea Floyd story was slow moving at first, but everything tied together nicely at the carnival with her ironic demise. There were some cute moments and then some tense ones. Edward's carnival crash was a nice way to end the summer and segue into the fall.

Worst

Newcomer: Lisa Niles. No one wants to see the implosion of the happiest couple on the show. Leave Scrubs alone Lisa. Play with Matt. He needs some lovin'.

Villain: Rebecca Shaw. So, she was supposed to be this tough as nails, con-artist, anti-Emily and by the time she leaves the show she has a conscience and essentially is Emily...it was the SAME ACTRESS who played Emily. Why not just bring her back? The death of Emily was the biggest mistake ever. The creation of Rebecca Shaw was the second biggest mistake ever.

Cameo: Helena Cassadine played by Constance Towers. It's always nice to see Helena, but what a let down when she was here and gone so soon and without ever explaining why she was here in the first place. I hear the big Cassadine story is being put off until next Spring, let's hope there are explanations then and a killer story to match.

Shaft: Greg Vaughan as Lucky Spencer. I don't even want to get into this again. I get too heated. See unappreciated actors of the year.

Enemies (female): Claudia and Olivia. One of the few highlights of the year was watching these two go at it. So, this is a worst that could be a best.

Enemies (male): Sonny and Jax. Usually Jax and Sonny are at odds about the loves of their lives, but this year Jax is fixed on taking Sonny down for real.

Couple: Kristina and Kiefer. Do I really need to explain?

Break-Up: Nikolas and Rebecca. You know a break-up is bad when one party runs over the other with his car or when one party blackmails the other to date his brother or in Nik and Bec's case, both happen.

Storyline: The Bio-toxin saga. The story started OK, but then it got confusing and boring and now it seems that no one even remembers it, well except for maybe Leyla's grieving fiancée...