There's a lot to be happy about if you're a fan of General Hospital. There's been some very good news from the soap. Things like James Franco's guest role and the return of the original Lucky, Jonathan Jackson. And Steve Burton has committed to playing Jason for a while longer.

And now comes some news that's downright reassuring. Laura Wright has re-signed a four year deal with GH. She Twittered the news to her fans. Four years!

To me, this means that not only can we count on the character of Carly being around for a long time to come -- and played by the same actress who has the most tenure in the part -- but also that GH will likely be around for four more years. Oh, sure, there's nothing guaranteed, but I'm an optimist and I choose to see this as a positive sign.

After playing Cassie Winslow on Guiding Light, I wasn't sure that Laura Wright would fit in as Carly on GH. The part had already been really carved in stone by two excellent actresses -- Sarah Brown and Tamara Braun. Those two were more similar in style than Laura, so it was a bit of a leap by GH Executive Producer Jill Farren Phelps to choose the blonde, pretty Wright who'd been known for playing the ingenue. Carly was and still is more of a troublemaker.

Phelps knew what she was doing. Wright was superb and made the role her own. And to Laura's credit, she played Carly as a more mature woman, not as crazy impulsive and self-destructive as younger Carly.

The character as Laura plays her now is still unpredictable and compelling, but not nearly the hellion she was when she appeared in Port Charles in 1996.