Jason Quartermaine and immediate family. Imagine the prozac they took just to survive the sitting...

What you need to know: A pre-med student, Jason is the most altruistic member of the Quartermaine family. His only interest in ELQ (the family company) is to make sure the company doesn't ride roughshod over the community and environment in the greedy pursuit of a buck Jason is also fighting bigotry and ignorance, which he has encountered since he began a romance with Keesha, who is black. At the beginning of 1996, Jason was in a car accident (caused by his drunk brother, A.J.) which caused a head trauma and amnesia. Jason does not remember his past, his family, or the accident.

Why watch him: Sincerity oozes out of every pore, which is why the low-key Jason has carved a solid niche as an integral part of the high-powered, high-profile Quartermaine clan. After marking time too long, hampered by a second-string story, Burton has materialized as an actor much the way a sponge springs to life when it's immersed in water. Given the nature of his character, anything less than complete honesty in Burton's performance wouldn't be enough, despite the actor's physical appeal and affecting warmth.

Why he has star potential: It was easy to get lost in the shuffle playing a goody-two-shoes character in the Quartermaine family, snip-tongued piranhas who eat their young for recreation. Adding insult to injury, Jason couldn't get to first base with sweet Karen Wexler because she was being courted by Jagger Cates, the hunkiest guy in town. But once GH started giving Burton the chance to play out Jason's viewpoint -- and what sets him apart from the other members of that powerhouse family -- he began to give every bit as good as he gets.

Comments from co-workers: "No one on this show is a bigger fan of Steve Burton's from the first day he came on. I used to tell the producers, the writers and everybody else, `You're missing the boat with this kid. I know a fine actor when I see one, I know a serious actor when I see one, I know a prepared actor when I see one. This kid has it all, and the looks.' I think the sky's the limit for him, and I have never said that about anyone else in the 18 years I've been on General Hospital. This kid had talent from day one, and humility and no attitude. It couldn't happen to a more deserving young man, because he will treasure it and look after it. --Stuart Damon (Alan)

The hottest thing to happen to newcomer Jason was working at the teen hotline (he thought the name 9-1-1 TEEN would be cool), meeting Karen, meeting Jagger, and getting trapped on a deserted island, warm enough that clothing became optional. This storyline was so huge, it has a page of it's own! But the nicest thing to come from all of it was the Jason/Karen/Jagger triangle, which soon morphed into the Jason/Karen/Jagger/Brenda quadrangle, or should it be called the Jagger/Karen/Jason/Brenda/Jagger mess? The fall out from that had Jagger and Karen getting married and leaving Jason, Brenda, and Port Charles in a cloud of bike smoke (complements of Dr. Alan, who was great friends with Karen's mother... Never mind!)

Now, my thoughts were that the two hot ones should get together and let the conniving witches with all their problems cat fight at the school prom. Jagger's T-shirt, Jason's blazers. A match made in heaven. Sigh.

When we [SOD] heard what GENERAL HOSPITAL had planned, we couldn't help thinking, Just what we need, another amnesia story." Except in GH's case, it was just what the doctor ordered.

This story isn't campy or contrived. GH has taken an unusually sober approach to memory loss, and it's paying off. This is no one-note tale we're getting a terrifying look at what happens to a family when one of its members suddenly becomes a stranger.

It all started with the car accident. After a typical Quartermaine family feud, alcoholic A.J. (Sean Kanan) took off in Lois's new hot rod with younger brother Jason (Steve Burton) in the passenger seat trying to stop him. One hairpin turn later, Jason was thrown from the car and slammed against a rock, and his life was changed forever. Waking up in the hospital, he was surrounded by his loving familyand he had no idea who they were.

The Quartermaines not unaccustomed to tragedyhad a hard time coming to terms the loss of their best brightest. The new Jason was a confused, sulky shadow of the sensitive, upstanding young man and they once knew. His rectum to the Q mansion was no easy transition, either. He mouthed off to Edward and trashed his room. Monica, Alan and the rest of the clan were aghast Where did Jason go ? They had to face the frightening possibility that they might never see him again.

In a particularly awkwardand compellingencounter, Alan tried to engage his "son" in a heart-to-heart "It's hard to see your eyes looking back at me. They're cold and there's no sense of history," said a bewildered Alan. "When Jason disappeared . . . a part of me, the very best part of me, went with him." Unmoved, Jason replied, "That's very sad. What you said, how you feel, how you hurt. But it means absolutely nothing to me."

Pre-accident, Steve Burton always hit the right note, but Jason really never had much to do. In this story, he's been able to show both intensity and versatility as an actor. From his sleazy attempt at seducing former girlfriend Keesha to driving his motorcycle through the Q living room, we have no idea what he's going to do next. And that's the most refreshing part of this story: its unpredictability.

Jason's brain fade has also kicked off other stories: Jason and Robin's newfound friendship is moving Keesha closer to A.J.; Ned covering up for A.J. will have longterm ramifications with all the Qs and Lois; Alan and Monica had about one minute of renewed happiness before their treasured son made the fateful decision to help his troubled brother. Kudos to GH for developing a novel way to shake up their most entertaining family and giving an underused actor a way to shine.

The Zany Q-Clan