'General Hospital' celebrates 45 years on air as soap operas try to reinvent themselves

LOS ANGELES -- It's been 45 years since "General Hospital" began dispensing heavy doses of drama to TV viewers.

Since 1963, ABC's longest-running daytime series has documented the trials and tribulations of Port Charles' citizens, carving an unprecedented television niche with intrigue and illness -- long before "ER," "House" and "Grey's Anatomy" graduated from medical school.

"You don't get to 45 years just because you're lucky," executive producer Jill Farren Phelps said as the cast and crew celebrated GH's April 1 birthday with punch and cake on the show's hospital set at ABC's Prospect Studios.

Those days, however, are over.

The number of viewers now averages under 3 million, less than a third of the 11.8 million who typically tuned in during the year of Luke and Laura's wedding. In an effort to stay relevant, the daytime soap opera has begun using computer-generated imagery.

Kelly Monaco's character, Sam McCall, was recently seen dangling on the edge of an unfinished bridge hundreds of fake feet above a fake raging river after being kidnapped by the Text Message Killer, a mysterious murderer who had been stalking Port Charles residents for months.

"I think we're walking a fine line," Phelps said. "I'm very proud of all of the stuff 'General Hospital' is doing, especially the CGI. It's very cutting edge. We're trying to give a new look to this medium but without putting off our audience and making them wonder, 'What have you done to my show?"'

Like other soaps, "General Hospital" has also turned elsewhere for eyeballs. The popular HIV-positive character Dr. Robin Scorpio, played by Kimberly McCullough, keeps a blog and co-starred in "Night Shift," a 13-episode SOAPnet spinoff that debuted last year.

"I'm always looking to see how to get more people to watch our soaps," ABC daytime president Brian Frons said. "As part of that, later this year, 'General Hospital' will finally premiere in France. For us, it's not just about viewers on the broadcast network, it's about viewers around the world."

Canceled soaps, such as NBC's "Another World" and "Passions," haven't been replaced with new shows. The same thing could be said for the genre's ever-eroding viewership.

So what's the prognosis?

"Maybe it'll be animated in 45 years," Frons said.