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This is just a general history of the characters and some of what they've been through lately.  For more detailed history, go read our older transcripts, short recaps and updates - they go back to 1997! Read our GH Character Descriptions, too, for specific character information and some history...For a great outline on the show, please go to this site. For a really great history of the earlier years, with lots of photos, I suggest you buy General Hospital : The Complete Scrapbook.

By Suzanne

Port Charles is a small city with a harbor or bay, with docks, where the citizens often hang out or meet up, even though the docks are not thought to be very safe. Many criminals have shoot-outs there and have their illegal shipments going in and out of it. Nearby is General Hospital, where many of show's characters work or end up at after being shot, blown up, stabbed, drowned, etc. There is a also a major airport, a newspaper, and a large hotel The Metro Court, as well as restaurants and bars. The Metro Court has a major fine dining establishment. The bar that was formerly called Jake's is now called The Floating Rib, which also used to be the name of one of the show's restaurants near the hospital. A popular diner in town is Kelly's Diner that used to be owned by Rose Kelly but is now owned by the Spencers.  Sonny owns a coffee place also serves food and is a front for his mob business. The police are found at the PCPD if they are not at Kelly's.

The show was still primarily a hospital show up until the 90's. In the 80's, they started bringing in mobsters, spies, cops, and other types of characters and having more action. Eventually, the action centered more around mobster Sonny and his hit man Jason, and all of their family and friends. The hospital became more of a place for the victims of the violence to go to than anything else. Eventually, after years of fans complaining, they brought in more focus to the hospital again, and brought in more doctor characters. Not enough, though, has been done in that regard, in my opinion.

FAMILIES ON THE SHOW:

Spencers, Cassadines, and Webbers

Luke and Laura Spencer used to be a major couple on the show, but their marriage broke up, and she was catatonic for a while, and then she got better but left town. Luke has a habit of leaving town suddenly, disappearing for weeks or more, and then suddenly re-appearing.  He was also married to Tracy Quartermaine and still loves her. They have a rocky love-hate relationship. Currently in 2012 she is married to Anthony Zacchara and Luke is sharing a hotel room with Anna Devane, an old friend.  It's not clear as to whether they are sleeping together or not, but my guess would be no.

Luke often has some illegal enterprises going on, but nothing too bad that will get him in trouble. He is good friends with Sonny, a mobster.  Luke is still haunted by the fact that he accidentally ran over his grandson, Jake. He drinks and smokes a lot, even though he has heart problems.

Luke's sons, Ethan and Lucky, moved out of town. His daughter Lulu still lives in town and is married to cop Dante, the love of her life. Luke doesn't much care for cops, but he basically likes Dante. Lulu also works at the police station but is not a cop. Ethan, Luke's son with former love Holly, is a con artist and thief, a lot like his parents. Lucky is very moral and upstanding, except when he was hooked on drugs. He is a former cop.

Luke's former daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, is a nurse at the hospital. She and Lucky had a long romance and were on-again, off-again, and she was also involved with his brother, Nikolas. Elizabeth has two children, Cameron and Aiden. Her boy Jake was killed accidentally (see above). Elizabeth has been dating Matt and Ewen lately. She also had a past with Jason, who was Jake's real father. 

Elizabeth's half-brother is Dr. Steve Webber, who is chief of staff at the hospital. He murdered a patient while he was a doctor in Memphis (the man was a murderer and on life support, and a child needed his organs), and he was arrested but let go. His ex-girlfriend, Maggie, was found almost-dead after a suicide attempt, where she confessed to the crime. His mother, Heather, has been in an out of mental institutions for years but is not sane. She has killed or tried to kill many people. She framed and poisoned recently Maggie to clear Steve of murder charges. She has long had a thing for Luke, who knows she's nuts.

Alexis Davis is the daughter of long-dead Mikkos Cassadine.  Many of the Cassadines are crazy or evil. Helena Cassadine hates Alexis and has tried to kill her. She was married to Stavros and not happy that he had an affair with Alexis' mother, so she slit her throat while young Alexis watched.  Helena is often trying to get her hand on the family money, controlled by her nephew Nikolas.  Nikolas left town in 2011 but was on the show for a very long time. His father was Stavros, Mikkos' son, but he was raised by his uncle Stefan. Laura was his mother, so he is half-brother to Lucky and Lulu. He lived on Spoon Island, which had their mansion Wyndemere. Nikolas was very close to Laura, Alexis, Lulu and Lucky. He was often tormented by Helena.

Alexis has three daughters: Sam, Kristina, and Molly. Sam was born to her when she was in college (we don't know the father), and they only reunited a few years ago. Kristina is her daughter by Sonny, with whom she worked and had a one-night stand.  She is off at college but coming home soon.  Molly is her teenager - very smart and kind of gawky and nerdy but full of energy. Alexis is a very good attorney and was briefly mayor of Port Charles.

Sam is married to mobster enforcer Jason Morgan. They have a child on the way but are currently having some marital problems. Things have never been easy for them, but they have a good relationship and a lot of love. Sam used to be a con artist and sometimes dived for salvage. She used to lie quite a lot but matured and grew as a character. She is a private eye and partnered with Spinelli in their own agency.

Luke's sister is Bobbie Spencer. She and Luke grew up in poverty and had a rough time. Bobbie was a hooker for a while, while their Aunt Ruby was the madam. Ruby used to run Kelly's Diner before she died. Bobbie is head nurse at General Hospital but is not seen too much lately.

Bobbie has two children, Lucas and Carly. Lucas is her adopted gay diabetic son that we never see.  Carly was given up for adoption but later came to town, looking for revenge on Bobbie because she was angry at her for giving her up. They are very close now.

Carly is a main character on the show. She was married to Sonny, the mobster, many times, and also Jax, a corporate raider (a good guy for the most part), among others.  She owns the Metro Court Hotel and has three children: Michael (with AJ, although Sonny is considered his father), Morgan (with Sonny, away at school) and Josslyn, (with Jax; a baby). Carly is often in jeopardy or having some kind of crisis.

The Quartermaines

The Q's are a wealthy family full of business people and doctors.; they quarrel a lot.  The patriarch is Edward, a blustery fellow who used to run the family business ELQ but is now largely retired. 

A lot of the Quartermaines were killed off in the past decade or so, which is very sad.  The only ones left are Edward, Tracy, Monica, and Jason.

Tracy is Edward's daughter.  She is a selfish bitch and very few people like her, but they put up with her.  She is always fighting with someone. After many years of trying to get control of ELQ, she is in charge, except when Edward decides to get control again.  She has two sons that are not on the show any more, Ned and Dillon. Ned runs a music business and Dillon makes films. Tracy has been in love with Luke, her ex-husband, for many years, but she is currently married to Anthony, a mobster who has blackmailed her into marrying him so that he can launder money through ELQ.

Monica was married to Edward's son, Alan, who died of a heart attack. She owns the Quartermaine mansion and is a heart surgeon at the hospital. We don't see her very much any more. Her sons were AJ and Jason, and her adopted daughter was Emily. Emily and AJ are dead. Jason was actually Alan's son that she raised. His real mother was Susan Moore, who gave him up.

Jason was the good son with a promising medical future until he got into a bad car accident with his brother A.J., who was driving drunk.  Jason had major brain damage and has been a different guy ever since.  Jason, who had permanent amnesia as well, moved out of the house because he couldn't stand his family any more  He doesn't smile much, doesn't like liars, and isn't very trusting, but he is very loyal to his few close friends.  He got involved with mobster Sonny Corinthos and they have been friends, almost like brothers or father-son,  for a very long time.  He calls himself Jason Morgan now (Morgan was his grandmother Lila's maiden name).  Jason is currently married to Sam, who is carrying his evil twin brother Franco's child. They recently found out that Franco was another child by Susan Moore. Jason killed Franco last year after he raped Sam. 

Alice is the family's maid, but she also protects the family and keeps strangers out of the house, kind of like a home security system or watch dog. She is very large and tough, and they treats her like she is a part of their family. She also has long had a crush on Luke.

Although Michael is AJ's son and technically a Quartermaine, he was raised by Sonny and Jason. He sometimes visits his other family and even worked at ELQ briefly.

The Corinthos and Falconeri Families

Sonny is a mobster but has long been seen on the show as a nice guy despite that (they have toughened him up a little more over the years). He was raised in a poor section of New York and his father left him and his mom early. When Sonny was young, his step dad Deke beat Sonny (and his mom) and left him a closet a lot, so he has some issues with violence. His father Mike abandoned them, so he had issues about that, too.. He also has issues with authority in general, and with police in particular. Sonny fought back early on and joined the mob and now he controls a large part of the eastern seaboard, or at least it seems that way, and part of Puerto Rico as well. Even though he is a mobster, he never is involved in drugs or prostitution, and he never does violence himself (to make him more sympathetic, I suppose). Sonny has had many relationships with women.  Sonny has had bouts of manic depression and has come close to suicide a few times when he has lost loved ones. He has lost many loved ones. He has been married a few times. His ex-wife Carly and he are still very close and involved in each other's lives, and they share children. Brenda was the love of his life, but they never worked out due to the trust issues and his mobster lifestyle. They were a great Supercouple in the 90's and a triangle with Jax.

There are many people in town either fear or respect Sonny. He has tried to make some good will by doing things like giving money to the Pediatric AIDS foundation. He owns some ELQ stock, too.  Although he has been arrested many times, Sonny has never been convicted. He has claustrophobia, so his family and friends try to keep him out of jail.

Sonny's best friend is Jason, and he treats him a bit like his younger brother or son.  Michael was raised as Sonny's son, even though he was really AJ's son with Carly.  Sonny has another son, Morgan, also by Carly, but Carly has kept Morgan away from Sonny because of the violence. He is currently at  military school.  Michael was shot one day by a hit man while visiting Sonny's work, so everyone blamed Sonny for that. He was in a coma for over a year and had many emotional problems when he got out.

Michael has long been fascinated with Sonny's world and wanted to join it, but everyone wanted to keep him out of it, so he finally has understood that and is going to college. Michael spent some time in prison for killing Claudia (in defense of his mom and sister), and he was raped there, so he had to deal with as well. Then he had a really nice girlfriend, Abby, who helped him through it, but then she was murdered as well. Michael has been good friends with Starr, who is new to town. Michael is a good guy but helps cover for his father and Jason.

Sonny's third son, Dante, is a cop. He did not grow up with Sonny. His mother, Olivia, was a teen when she had him, and she kept their relationship a secret until Dante came to town as an undercover cop to take Sonny down, and Sonny ended up shooting him.  Dante often has to arrest Sonny, but they get along pretty well, especially since Sonny jumped in front of a bullet for him and saved his life.  Dante is a really good, honest guy.

Sonny also has a daughter, Kristina. They have had a rocky relationship through the years.

Sonny's teenaged girlfriend, Kate, is now a high-powered fashion magazine editor. She and Sonny have been together a few times over the years. She is currently having mental problems and has a split personality named Connie (her real name). She is cousin to Olivia, Dante's mother. Olivia is dating Dr. Steve Webber and works at the Metro Court. She is very tough and outspoken.

Bernie is the accountant for the Corinthos business and owns Sam and Spinelli's detective agency. Max and Milo are two bodyguards who work for Sonny and Jason. They sometimes do other work for them as well, such as shooting people or helping to dispose of bodies. However, they are often used as comic relief on the show.

The Zaccharas

They are another mobster family business in Port Charles. Anthony is a crazy old guy who has killed many people and is very vicious. However, his character can also be fun and quirky, making us laugh.  He is currently married to Tracy.

Anthony's son is Johnny, who doesn't really want to be a mobster but keeps being pulled back into the family business. He took it over while Anthony was in the loony bin for a while.

Johnny had a sister, Claudia, when he first came on the show, but then she died. She was kind of crazy, too.  Then recently he found out that Claudia was really his mother, so Anthony is actually his grandfather.

Johnny has been with many women on the show. His mobster life makes it difficult for him to maintain a long relationship. His first girlfriend on the show was Lulu, and then later Olivia, and then recently Carly.

The Zaccharas are often fighting with Sonny and Jason, but they have an uneasy truce for the most part. When the truce breaks, one or the other tries to blow up the other or kidnap them, shoot at them, etc.  Sonny and Johnny really hate each other for past transgressions. Johnny feels that he is superior to Sonny because he was born into the mob and didn't choose it, whereas Sonny enjoys the money and power. Sonny just thinks Johnny is a punk kid who is trying to be as good as Sonny but can't. They both look down on Anthony, who is not only crazy but hurts women and children with no remorse.

The Scorpios and Drakes

Mac Scorpio is the town's police chief.  He is a very good person.  He used to be married to Felicia, a sometimes-private eye.  They had two daughters, Georgie and Maxie.  Georgie was murdered a few years ago. Maxie had a heart transplant when she was a little girl. She talks very fast and can sound very kooky but is actually very smart. She loves fashion and works with Kate at her magazine, Crimson.

Maxie loves both Matt and Spinelli, and they both love her. She has trouble committing to one person and staying in a stable relationship. She also had a past with Lucky Spencer.

Georgie and Maxie's real father is Frisco Jones, who is a secret agent and never comes home. Felicia often left the family, too, to pursue adventure and spend time with Frisco. She recently returned to support Maxie during her sentencing.

Although she used to be quite a trouble maker, Maxie grown up a lot. She feels things very strongly and has been really hit hard by the deaths of Georgie and Robin, among others.  She pleaded guilty to the murder of two people who died last year, including evil Dr. Lisa Niles, and at first it looked like she just did it punish herself because of Robin's death. However, now we know that she saw Matt kill one of them, so she is trying to protect him as well. He was very drunk and doesn't remember pushing Lisa overboard. Spinelli also now knows and is trying to get Maxie out of jail while still keeping her secret about Matt. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Patrick Drake and his brother Matt are both very skilled heart surgeons. They compete against each other but are friends and, although they didn't grow up together, they have grown closer. Their father, Noah, another surgeon, was on staff at GH in the 1980's and involved with Bobbie. He left the show then but has been seen a few times since. Both Patrick and Matt can be very arrogant but are both very good people and committed to saving lives. Matt also does research.

Patrick was married to Robin Scorpio, and they had a little girl, Emma. Robin seemingly died in an explosion in February, 2012, but viewers saw that someone faked her death and held her captive.  Patrick and the rest are grieving Robin, who was a very good person as well as being both a dedicated doctor and great mother.

Robin's parents were Robert Scorpio and Anna Devane. Both are heroes that worked for the spy agency the WSB for many years. They were also both police chief at some time or another.  They had left Robin when she was a little girl when the boat they were on exploded, and everyone thought they were dead. Mac, and Felicia to some extent, raised Robin. Robert is still out chasing adventures, much like Frisco. Anna is currently in town and helping John McBain, and living with Luke, as she grieves for her daughter.

Robin got HIV from her ex-drug-using boyfriend Stone in the 90's. He died of AIDS, but she kept healthy and became a great doctor and researcher. She was probably the most moral and good person on the show. She never hurt anyone or did anything illegal as far as I can remember, and she stuck with the rules. She did have a long relationship with Jason, and she was good friends with Sonny, who was also a mentor to Stone.

The Mannings

Some of the Mannings from "One Life to Live" have recently joined the show. Starr Manning and her boyfriend Cole, and their daughter Hope, were traveling when their plane was forced to land, so they rented a car and were driving through Port Charles when they got into an accident.  Anthony Zacchara forced them off the road (his tires were shot out by Kate's alter ego, Connie).  Michael came by and rescued Starr but couldn't save Cole or Hope when their car went off the cliff, and they died.

Starr, who is very young, is still mourning her boyfriend and daughter. She has been friends with Michael, but she thinks Sonny is the one who shot out the tires, so she hates him and tried to shoot him. Starr is currently in jail awaiting trial for that.

Starr is the daughter of Blair Cramer, who only briefly appeared on GH. She lives back in Llanview, Pennsylvania.  Blair is from the "Cramer Women", a family of rich and powerful women who stick together. Starr and Cole had a rocky relationship but loved their daughter and planned to get married.

Starr also has two brothers, Sam and Jack, back in Llanview. Sam is very young and is also her cousin because his father was her Uncle Victor.  Jack is her full brother, since his parents are Todd and Blair, too. Starr is a very good, kind, and sweet person.

Starr's father is Todd Manning. He has a long criminal past. He often tries to do the right thing, but he also hurts a lot of people. His character is very similar to Sonny in a lot of ways. He was abused as a boy by his adopted father. He became a rapist in college. He went to jail for that and got therapy. He reformed quite a bit after that, but he was never a saint or a "good guy". He has long been very troubled and difficult to deal with. He comes from a rich family, so he likes the money and power, and using it to get what he wants.  He was kidnapped in 2003. His evil and crazy mother, Irene, tortured him and held him prisoner for 8 years.  His brother Victor, who had been brainwashed by Irene into thinking he was Todd, took his place in Llanview. Todd came back to town in 2011 with his brains mixed up and full of anger. He ended up killing Irene (whom he thought had killed his entire family with a bomb), and he shot Victor, whom he also blamed.  He kidnapped Blair's boyfriend Tomas and tried to blame it on him, and tried to reunite with Blair. He went on trial for Victor's murder but got off by reason of insanity.

Todd has a quirky sense of humor and can be very funny, but most people don't like him because he had be very rude and obnoxious. He does have a sensitive, romantic side, though.  He and his daughter Starr used to be very close; he calls her "shorty" or "Short One". She is mad at him for his killing Victor but still loves him. He also has a son, Jack.

Todd's other ex-wife is lawyer Téa Delgado, who also just came to GH to defend Starr. Téa is pregnant with Victor's baby and is very angry at Todd for killing him. However, Victor is not really dead. He has been kidnapped by crazy Allison. Only time will tell whether these characters ever find that out!

Cop John McBain is the other OLTL character that has joined the show. He is not a Manning but knows them all very well. He was very close to Cole's mother, so he was kind of like a dad to him for a while. John was often at odds with Victor, and then with Todd, both of whom break the law a lot.

John has a past with both Anna and Sonny. Anna has used her contacts with the federal government to get John help in bringing down Sonny. John is a former FBI agent who used to work against Sonny. His sister died, and he blames Sonny for that. Since he came to town, he has been somewhat obsessed with getting the goods on Sonny.  John is very similar in character to Jason in that he is a quiet kind of guy who often rescues women and shoots the bad guys. Since he's been on GH, he is less quiet and more fun.  He is a real hero and is always on the side of the law.

John has been talking a lot to Sam, Jason's wife, which has upset Jason. John and Sam seem to have a connection and often wonder if they knew each other in a past life (both actors who portray them were lovers on the spinoff show "Port Charles" as different characters).  John saved her and her baby's life recently when she was held hostage.

John was apparently friends with Anna when he was in the FBI; they worked some cases together.

Others

Damian Spinelli is a private eye. She used to be a computer geek that could do just about anything, but then he was shot and got some brain damage. He did a lot of work for Jason and Sonny. Jason is like a hero or big brother to him; they are great friends. Spinelli can be very funny and get on people's nerves. He talks funny and has nicknames for everyone. He and Sam are partners in the detective agency. He loves Maxie and is currently working to free her from prison.  Lately, he has gotten some of his computer prowess back.

Coleman is a really sleazy guy who runs the bar formerly called "Jakes" that a lot of people hang out in (especially Carly and Jason when they want to play pool).  He used to run a strip club and has been involved in blackmail, kidnapping, and many other things. He can be very funny and also listens to everyone's problems.

Shawn Butler is an ex-marine with PTSD who works for Jason sometimes as a bodyguard. He helps run Kelly's and has feelings for Carly, whom he protected for a while. He also helps take care of TJ, a teenager who often gets in trouble. He was good friends with TJ's father but accidentally killed him in Iraq.

Garrett Prescott Floyd runs the local paper. He used to be mayor but had to resign after a big scandal where his wife killed his girlfriend.

Dr. Kelly Lee is the obstetrician at GH. She has helped many women on the show, especially when they are pregnant. She was good friends and former roommates with Robin Scorpio. She used to have a problem with sexual addiction.

Dr. Ewen Keenan is a psychiatrist. He hasn't been on the show for very long but has already treated many people. Lately he has been helping Kate, but her alter ego Connie hit him on the head, so he has been recovering in the hospital.

Officer Delores Pedilla is a cop on the police force. She was attacked, and her sister was murdered. She helps Dante solve cases. Her husband was suspected of attacking strippers, but he was found innocent.

Epiphany is another nurse at the hospital. She tries to keep everyone in line and everything running smoothly. She tries to be gruff is really a sweet person.

Previous history

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Page updated 5/12/12