Dr. Matthew Harmon of Port Charles

Synopsis - July 1998

Matt vows to Ellen that he will prove that Chris took the pictures and posted them around the hospital. He goes to a photo developing shop near Ellen's apartment and finds out that Chris indeed was the one who was responsible. Matt advises the hospital board, and a hearing is scheduled. Chris denies to the board that he had anything to do with the pictures, but Matt and Ellen produce a witness, the photo shop owner, who testifies that it was Chris who brought in the film and ordered multiple copies of the photos. The hospital board votes to take away the Quartermaine Residency from Chris, and awards it to Dr. Eve Lambert. Chris vows to get even with Matt.

Soon afterwards, an autopsy shows that Jake Marshak was murdered, and the serial killer strikes again. Dr. Cassandra May, the head of pediatrics, is poisoned. The interns realize that any one of them might be the next victim. Matt assures everyone that if he can defeat his brother who was out to kill him, he can also defeat the serial killer. Kevin Collins cautions them to be especially watchful, and they review the methods by which they die in Kevin's book, General Homicide. Matt's character in the book dies by electrocution.

The storyline shifts during the month of July to other characters on the show, and we see very little of Matt and Ellen until the end of the month. Chris Ramsey continues to use his peers to further his own agenda. His latest scheme involves using Frank Scanlon as a lab rat to prove to the pharmaceutical company that the experimental drug, DL-56, is effective. You will remember that Chris stole Jake's research on the drug and sold it to the company. Chris hopes to bypass long months of testing by offering Frank as a test subject, since Frank is addicted to the drug.

Towards the end of the month, Matt overhears Chris and Frank discussing their arrangement. He threatens to report them to the hospital board for breach of ethics. Frank tries to placate Matt by offering up only part of the story, but Matt is not convinced.

We next see Chris and Frank at the Recovery Room discussing the latest development with Matt. An electrician leaves Matt's apartment behind the Recovery Room, and Chris and Frank overhear him saying that Matt's air conditioner has been repaired and he left the key under the doormat.

We next see a person with gloved hands entering Matt's apartment through the outside door. We assume that it is the serial killer. The killer makes his way to Matt's bathroom, when he rigs the light switch cord directly to the electrical source. Later, Matt prepares to shower. He transfers to his shower and turns the water on as the lights go out. Matt reaches over to pull the light cord. We see a blinding flash of light as Matt receives an electrical shock that throws him from his shower chair onto the floor. The scene ends with a shot of Matt lying unconscious on his bathroom floor. Has the serial killer struck again?

The shower scenes were played to perfection by Mitch Longley, and it provided us a glimpse of adaptations that Matt uses to help him live independently. From the beginning scene, where we see Matt wheel into the bathroom, clad only in a towel draped across his lap, to the ending, where we see Matt falling out of the shower, the illusion of nudity was accomplished with skill and sensitivity. We were able to see his adapted shower, with grab bar, hand-held shower head, and shower bench. Matt's transfer from his chair to the shower bench was accomplished with his usual effortless grace. The fall from the shower was both awesome and realistic. Only Mitch Longley could have accomplished these scenes so successfully.