General Hospital fans first found out there was even such a thing as the World Security Bureau back in December 1980, when a dashing secret agent by the name of Robert Scorpio swept across our screens, promising to save the world.
General Hospital: World Security Bureau
Robert (Tristan Rogers) had a cool sidekick named O’Reilly (Billie Hayes). He was joined by Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis). They’d just brought down the Port Charles mob the year before, so we knew all three were the good guys and on the side of the angels. So what went wrong, 40 some years later?
Give Me a GH Hint
Sure, we had clues that not everything was perfect in the land of the WSB. Anna (Finola Hughes) had been exposed as a double agent. Sean (John Reilley) was in cahoots with her to steal Felicia’s (Kristina Wagner) family treasure. Connie (not the Bensonhurst one, an earlier flame of Robert’s, played by Jeanna Michaels) couldn’t figure out that Grant (Brian Patrick Clarke) was a DVX spy and almost allowed him to blow up the world with the Prometheus Disc. So they weren’t perfect. But when did they become utterly corrupt?
General Hospital: Step One
We have to assume their downward slide began when they let Frico (Jack Wagner) run the place. A former rock and roller turned agent who pretty much abandoned his wife and daughters. He’s not exactly an upstanding guy. We can imagine him letting standards slide. A lot.
Robert Scorpio: Last Man Standing
Remember Robert? Luke? Laura? Who were they battling that summer of 1981 to restore truth, justice, and the American way? They were battling the Cassadines. So how in the world did Victor (Charles Shaughnessy) ever manage to make himself head of the WSB? That’s when everything really went downhill. Pikeman seems like a minor blot compared to Victor.
GH: The Real World
But maybe the real problem isn’t the WSB. Maybe it was always rotten to the core. The only difference was that, back in the 1980s, we could still pretend that the government had our best interests at heart. Now that we know that they don’t, there’s no point in anyone pretending otherwise…including the WSB.
