Reflections on Cameron:
A Blown Opportunity
By Sue Ellen
2/28/04

We first met the irascible and tortured Dr. Cameron Lewis in a blinding snow storm. Alexis had been left to die in the snow giving birth when Cameron happened along. He got Alexis to the hospital and stayed with her through her labor. I had high hopes when learning that Cameron was played by Lane Davies. Having been an avid fan of Santa Barbara, I was well aware of the chemistry between Davies and Nancy Lee Grahn, Alexis Davis. I looked forward to the recreation of that magic.

As Cameron stood by Alexis even when she faked an alternant personality to avoid going to jail, it looked like we were going to see those sparks ignite. The close friendship and understanding between the neurotic and intensely controlling Alexis and this no wholes barred, sometimes too blunt doctor of Psychiatry was wonderful. It seemed like a good foundation for a romance was building as the two began to form a friendship. He even backed her up as best he could while Alexis was pretending to be Dobson, The Quartermaine replacement butler. Yet even as he was supporting her, Cameron tried so hard to get her to see what a risk she was taking. I thought this was wonderful. One of the really priceless moments with these two included Cameron comforting a very distraught Dobson and allowing everyone, including his own son, to think he was gay. Then, of course, when he had custody of Christina, he let her move in with him. Here’s where the writers began to blow it. This would have been the perfect chance to have them come more face to face with their attraction. It would have been interesting to watch this develop but the writers did nothing?

We also discovered very soon after Cameron hit town, that Cameron was Zander’s long lost father. We learned the story of the hunting accident that took the life of Zander’s brother Pete, the one Zander alluded to when he and Elizabeth were locked in the crypt. We learned how a bereft and emotionally unsupported Zander left home right after the funeral. How his father blamed him for Pete’s death. We learned that after that, Cameron pretty much lost everything and drifted, with a guilt ridden soul to Port Charles, where he started a shelter for men and practiced Psychiatry. We saw how seeing Cameron sent Zander in to using drugs and other regressive behavior. When the two finally came face to face, Cameron full of critism for Zander not living up to his potential, and Zander angry with a father who turned his back on him because his favorite son was killed in a tragic accident, the stage was set for a wonderful search for forgiveness and resolution. It seemed like Cameron was going to try and finally do right by his younger son. Aside for arranging for Zander’s entry in to therapy for drug use, the writer’s did little or nothing with this. They basically avoided each other.

There were so May opportunities they could have worked with the father son relationship once they were in the same town. For example, where was Cameron when Zander was dealing with Emily pushing him away while she was ill? Where was he when Zander married Emily in the hospital and later when the marriage fell apart? After going to the effort of establishing Cameron’s regret on how badly he handled fatherhood, especially with Zander, they had him so wrapped up in a woman that he hadn’t a clue of the emotional hell Zander was in. He never offered Zander support or got in Emily’s face for trifling with his boy’s emotions. Then, when Zander tangled with Faith, Cameron did nothing to help him find a more constructive way to solve his problems. Only in the end, When Zander was on the run, did Cameron truly step up to the fatherhood bat once more. He bullied Alexis as much as any concerned parent to make Zander a priority. He was impatient with the system, wanting instant resolution and expecting her to be focused 100% on Getting Zander safely turned over to police custody. When a tearful Maxie informed him of Zander’s death, he heads in to the hotel, a man who has truly lost everything and wants only release. He says he’s going to do something useful, but it’s clear he is looking to end his life. His speech to Luke to be a better father than he was, to not let himself be a stranger to his child was wonderful. Then what he says about how his pain is finally gone now that he is dying, that was so sad and beautiful. It was ironic that he died, saving another man’s son, in essence, giving Luke another chance to spend more time with his son and understand him and his choices better.

The one thing they did wonderfully with was Cameron’s relationship with Luke. He is first brought in to get Luke off on an insanity plea. Alexis is sent to him to acquire his help in this effort, by a guilt ridden Scotty, wanting to do what Laura would have wanted. They never explored that relationship either. They seemed to be friends, and yet after that Cameron was accusing Scotty of incompetence and manipulation at every turn. Scotty had his doubts about even someone as unconventional as Cameron being able to handle Luke. Yet Cameron is able to do just that. No matter how self destructive Luke got, Cameron wouldn’t leave him. No matter how many times Luke tried to dodge his questions with insults, Cameron wouldn’t quit. When Summer was playing with Luke’s mind, although he didn’t believe him, when Luke tried to introduce them and to prove she was real, Cameron went along. Most telling, when Luke climbed on to the ledge of the roof of General Hospital, prepared to die rather than be considered a crazy, convinced he’s lost everything he ever loved, Cameron came out there with him and stayed until Summer appeared. He then helped Luke get released from the hospital. That scene on the ledge, I think, really marked a turning point in the relationship between the two.  Though Luke still continued to call him Dr. Quack, it now seemed to be meant as an endearment, much the way he calls Mac Bubba. I found it poignant that when Luke was going after Cameron, he reminds him, and “We all have our ledges.” And judging by his eulogy, in the end, I believe Luke respected the man and was grateful to him

The scenes with two actors of the caliber of Tony Geary and Lane Davies were a real treat. I especially loved the dramatic moments between the men. Davies also played a good straight man to Geary’s sarcastic wit. I’ll really miss the give and take between the two. I think it’s a shame that he was killed off. But it’s an even bigger shame that the writers so often dropped the ball with such an interesting character and such a gifted actor. This is one of those times I wish that it could have been a mistake. That he didn’t die. I think he had more to bring to the story than Scotty Baldwin.  But he did really make the most of the story that he was given.

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