Kiefer Bauer

'' General Hospital'' is the longest-running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city was named Port Charles, New York. The series premiered on April 1, 1963. This is a list of notable characters who significantly impacted storylines and began their run, or significantly returned, from the years 2000 to 2009.

Sage Alcazar

Sage Alcazar is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera '' General Hospital''. She was portrayed by Eileen Boylan in 2003, and then by Katie Stuart in 2004.

Sage Alcazar arrives in Port Charles with one thing on her mind: revenge. A gun-toting Sage stalks Alexis Davis for days, waiting for the right moment to wreak havoc on her life, because Sage believes Alexis had murdered her father Luis in cold-blood. However, that right moment never comes for the obviously tormented teen. In order to receive attention, Sage jumps off the dock and into the river. Dillon Quartermaine jumps in after to rescue her, soon realizing it was just a stunt for attention. Dillon takes Sage back to the Quartermaine mansion, where Dillon's girlfriend, Georgie Jones, sees Sage hiding under Dillon's bed and gets upset.

Sage continues to pursue Dillon, and convinces her uncle Lorenzo to make Dillon her bodyguard. Soon after, Dillon is forced to take Sage out of the country to keep her safe. While away, Sage gets Dillon drunk and he passes out. When Georgie calls, Sage pretends she had bedded Dillon, but Dillon is able to convince Georgie it isn't true.

Dillon's mother Tracy returns to town, and tries to keep Dillon and Georgie from seeing each other. She promises Georgie she will make Dillon stop working for Alcazar if Georgie stops seeing him. Georgie agrees and breaks up with him for his safety. Heartbroken, Dillon falls into bed with Sage. A gleeful Tracy sets up Georgie to discover Dillon with Sage. Dillon tries to explain, but Georgie refuses to listen. Sage tells Dillon she had been a virgin and that their night together meant something to her. She is crushed when he says he wished it had never happened. She continues to pursue a relationship with Dillon, but he continually rebuffs her attempts to get close to him again.

Tracy's granddaughter Brook Lynn arrives in town having run away from home. Her mother Lois shows up to find her and her father Ned convinces them to stay and run their old record label L&B again. Lois hears Sage sing and has her sign a recording contract.

Sage doesn't get along with Brook Lynn very well and continually defends her uncle and his new relationship with Lois. But when a contest is announced to find the next big girl band, Sage groups with Brook, Georgie, and Dillon (dressed in drag) to try out for the competition. Sage is crushed to hear the group was only supposed to launch a future solo career for Brook.

When Brook holds a séance to communicate with her deceased great-grandmother Lila Quartermaine, Sage seizes her opportunity to scare everyone. With the help of her friend Trent, she makes it appear Lila's spirit is moving things around. Then she pretends she has been stabbed, and when the others find out, they yell at her. She yells back and taunts Georgie that Dillon still wants her. Georgie finally has enough and locks Sage in the basement freezer. When they go downstairs to get her out, they find Sage dead instead. Georgie blames herself for locking Sage in the freezer, and Tracy overhears her "confession." She calls the cops and eventually the real killer is found to be Mary Bishop, who meant to kill Emily Quartermaine and killed Sage by mistake.

Afraid Lorenzo would come after Georgie for locking Sage in the freezer, Dillon tries to fall on his sword for her. But, Lorenzo tells Dillon he was grateful for him being Sage's friend and for getting to know her. He gives Dillon a letter Sage had written for him but never sent. Dillon reads the letter to their friends, who realize they should have given Sage more of a chance.

Cooper Barrett

Cooper "Coop" Barrett is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. Jason Gerhardt originated the role on February 1, 2007 on a recurring basis. Gerhardt originally auditioned for the role of Logan Hayes, and invited to audition for Coop after making an impression on the casting directors. Gerhardt was eventually put on contract status. There was often speculation the character would have a relation to fan favorite Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil), but it is eventually stated on-screen there is no relation. Gerhardt appeared on the ''General Hospital'' spin-off '' General Hospital: Night Shift'' as Cooper in 2007. He was let go from the series in 2008 and the character was killed off.

Cooper arrives in Port Charles in February 2007 as "Three," one of the seven assailants that take the Metro Court Hotel hostage. He bonds with Maxie Jones ( Kirsten Storms) while they are trapped in the hotel vault during the crisis. After the hotel explodes, Maxie sneaks Coop out and hides his involvement. She helps him get a job working security until Sonny Corinthos ( Maurice Benard) finds out he was one of the hostage takers. Sonny coerces Coop into becoming a cop at the PCPD to feed him information. Cooper and Maxie begin dating, but face tough times when Maxie cheats on him with Logan Hayes. Cooper is suspected to be the Text Message Killer, and when he is found dead in January 2008, it is initially believed to have been a suicidal hanging. It is later revealed Cooper was murdered by the real killer, Diego Alcazar.

Alison Barrington

Alison Barrington is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, ''Port Charles'', a spin-off of '' General Hospital''. She was portrayed by Erin Hershey Presley from March 14, 2000 until the ''Port Charles'' finale on October 3, 2003. In January 2013, it was revealed that Presley would be reprising her role as Alison on ''General Hospital''. She is the granddaughter of Amanda Barrington and cousin of Mike Webber, and one half of the super couple, Rafe Kovich and Alison Barrington.

Casting

In March 2000, ''Port Charles'' hired actress Erin Hershey in the recurring role of Alison Barrington, the granddaughter of legendary ''General Hospital'' character Amanda Barrington (Anne Jeffreys). Hershey made a guest appearance on the parent series during the 2000 Nurses' Ball. Hershey married her ''Port Charles'' costar Brian Presley, who portrays Jack, in 2002. She stayed with the series until its cancellation on October 3, 2003.

In January 2013, it was announced that Presley was reprise the role on ''General Hospital''. Her return coincided with the return of Jon Lindstrom, who portrayed Dr. Kevin Collins on both ''General Hospital'' and ''Port Charles'', as part of a revisit to the vampire storyline. Shortly after her return, the character is killed off, leading to a murder mystery storyline on the series. Presley appeared as Alison from January 30–31, 2013. Presley returned as a ghost for two episodes from February 27–28, 2013.

Storylines

In January 2013, Alison returns to Port Charles, with her son Rafe, in tow. It is implied that Alison and Rafe have been on the run for many years, presumably from Caleb Morley. After leaving Rafe with a silver arrow to defend himself from harm, Alison makes her way to the Police Department, looking for information on Lucy Coe. Once there, she mistakes John McBain for Caleb, and Samantha Morgan for her old friend, Livvie Locke. Alison later contacts John to meet her at the Pier, but by the time he arrives, Alison has been stabbed to death by the very same arrow she had given to Rafe, who is detained as the primary suspect. Alison appears to Lucy and Rafe as a ghost when they are trying to confront Caleb, who is really Stephen Clay. She helps Lucy find a way out of the Spoon Island tunnels, and tells Rafe to not give up hope.

Reception

The pairing between Alison and Rafe Kovich proved to be extremely popular with critics and fans, leading to them becoming the first super couple on ''Port Charles''. Janet Di Lauro of ''Soap Opera Digest'' wrote of the couple, " The minute actors Brian Gaskill and Erin Hershey Presley crossed paths on screen, the show's scribes knew they'd struck gold. "He looked at her and we said, 'Oh man, this is it!' recalls arbaraEsensten. 'Whenever we put them in a scene together, between those big, watery eyes of hers and the way he smiles at her ... I wish we could bottle it."' ''Soap Opera Digest'' also named Hershey "Performer of the Week" in their February 19, 2002 issue for her performance in portraying Alison as torn between Jamal and Rafe. ''Soap Opera Weeklys Joe Diliberto also praised Hershey for her work during "the crumbling of Alison's relationship with Jamal" and the beginning of her romance with Rafe.Soap Opera Weekly