Brenda Babes
Although the Brenda Babes did not form until
the fall of 2002, the journey actually began on July 2002 when it was announced
that the charismatic and stunningly beautiful Ms. Vanessa Marcil would be
reprising her role as Brenda Barrett on General Hospital. GH, at the time, was a
shell of its former self, suffering from abysmal ratings and faltering in key
viewer demographics. Brenda Barrett, as portrayed by the talented Ms. Marcil,
represented for many a once glorious time in a now dying genre, when romance,
adventure, friendship and great storytelling provided daytime viewers with an
escape from the day-to-day rhythm of their lives. It was Ms. Marcil’s unique
ability to layer the character of Brenda with such warmth, passion for life, and
vulnerability that made Brenda accessible to the audience. Young women and men
who were fans of Ms. Marcil in the early to mid- 1990s now tuned in to GH in
anticipation of the return of Port Charles’ favorite daughter. Fans began
searching out GH websites in the hopes of getting some idea of Brenda’s upcoming
storyline, and what the recent history of GH was. Unfortunately, GH online
communities were hostile environments that appeared to mirror the darkness and
negativity of the show itself. Nowhere was this negative tone more palpable than
at the center of the GH internet universe, Soapzone (formerly portcharles
online). This online community was made up of dramatically polarized fanbases,
in a hostile competition for supremacy. If this was representative of GH fans,
it was little wonder that the show itself, once a beacon in the ABC daytime
lineup, had fallen on such hard times. When many of us decided to join the fray,
the show appeared to be held hostage by the coordinated campaigning of certain
fanbases and the reappearance of “Brenda Barrett” meant, “everything would
change”.
There was initial panic by certain established internet fan groups that were
comfortable with the status quo even if it played to a decreasing audience. This
panic eventually turned into subtle bashing of the character and the actress
that became more aggressive as Ms. Marcil airdate approached. Once Brenda
Barrett stepped back onto the GH canvas and the ratings and demographics soared
to record highs, this bashing became intense in an attempt to create a
perception of negative viewer response to Ms. Marcil, even though the reality of
the ratings surge proved otherwise. Not to be dissuaded by this open hostility
on Soapzone, many of Ms. Marcil’s fans emerged from “lurkdom”, to counteract
this warped negative perception creatively fostered by certain fanbases. As a
result of the smaller community of pro-VM/Brenda voices moving to the forefront
of Soapzone, pro-VM/Brenda threads (Consolidated Posts, hereinafter "CPs") began
to appear to celebrate VM/Brenda’s return and to provide a safe haven for her
fans to discuss Brenda’s storyline free from insults and harassment. These CPs
were the genesis of the “Brenda Babes”…
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