Written by: Ashtyn at 6:33 pm
Filed under: Cable,DVD Box Sets,Television
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Kimberly McCullough, Steve Burton, Bradford Anderson, Jason Thompson, Amanda Baker, Nazanin Boniadi, Sonya Eddy
Rating: R
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 12, 2008
I grew up watching General Hospital. Though I cannot officially confirm this, I am guessing that it was on while I was in the womb. For a brief while, as a child, my mother would give up the set, so that I could watch cartoons, but as I got older, General Hospital was the show to watch, once again. As much as I hate to admit it, I grew to really like the show. There were parts that were not as cheesy as some of the other soap operas. The characters of Robin (Kimberly McCullough), Stone (Michael Sutton), Sonny (Maurice Bernard), and Jason (Steve Burton) were always some of my favorites.
When Night Shift came out on SoapNet I never watched it. Of course, when this came out on DVD, I knew I had to review it. My mother would have had a stroke had I passed up the opportunity. Besides, I had heard so much about it that it was crazy not to see it at this point, anyway. So, despite not having watched the show in years, I picked up this new version to see what it would hold for me. In the beginning I could not believe I was watching the things I saw, but by the end I was changing my mind. I hate to admit it, but the show was actually growing on me. I liked it. Who knew?
Release Information:
The filming for General Hospital Night Shift was done quickly to accommodate a summer vacation type of break from the regular filming of the standard soap. Using some of the shows most popular young people, Night Shift was meant to add more sex, drama, and action to the show. On this, they certainly did deliver. There is definitely more sex and there is a lot of action and drama, too.
This Complete First Season set comes with three discs, containing all 13 episodes and one special feature. Fans of the show will be thrilled to know that a second season is planned to shoot and air in 2008, though there has been no word on how the writer’s strike may affect that. For now, fans can purchase this set, which was released on February 12, 2008. You can pick this up at Amazon for $19.99.
The General Hospital Night Shift Plot
I figured that picking up this show and these characters would not be too hard for me thanks to my GH background. I haven’t watched regularly in years, but the nice thing about soaps is that it never really takes a lot of time to figure out what’s going on.
The point of Night Shift was to offer an even racier soap opera then the typical fare that plays between 1-3 daily on most channels. Regardless of whether you think the show is good or bad, the creators of Night Shift did offer a higher level of content with plenty of sex, blood, shootouts, injuries, and a murder plot to boot. It ends up being a lot of story for 13 episodes and that can be part of the problem.
In many instances, I felt that the storylines that needed or should have been paid attention to were moved aside and the less interesting or unimportant stories were sent to the front of the line. It has been acknowledged that there might have been some issues and the writers and creators plan to make significant changes for the second season, which is currently supposed to debut sometime in 2008.
The show opens with a sex scene in the GH doctor locker room. The scene involves Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Patrick (Jason Thompson). This sets the scene rather quickly. Soon the two stroll out of the shower and are greeted by a yelling nurse, Epiphany (Sonya Eddy), letting them know that an ambulance has arrived.
The EMTs are cracking up, as is the woman in the ambulance, all of them unaware that a laughing gas container has been punctured and is leaking. The exposion (all before the five minute mark) knocks down a pregnant AIDS patient, a soldier, knocks out the attending physician (Patrick), and causes a young man named Jason (Steve Burton) to rescue the woman in the ambulance by jumping in the flaming back end to get her out before it is too late. The woman, who we later discover is named Barrett, will have significance to GH watchers as opposed to those new to Night Shift that do not watch the daytime show. Naturally with a start like this you can expect one hell of a wild ride.
While the show starts off with a bang there are numerous issues here. For example, some of the characters just have no point or place. Naturally, they are given something to do, but they really don’t fit in with the scheme of the show. Dr. Lainey Winters (Kent Masters King) and Cody Paul (Graham Shiels) are two good examples. Paul is an Iraqi war vet that suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome. His entire purpose is to try and get drugs. He does this from Dr. Winters who only seems to look at patient charts or treat them.
Paul also seems to want to get in her pants, but that is of little consequence as it’s obvious he’s more interested in the drugs. Later we meet Lainey’s father and she adds crying to her list of acting duties, but when Paul is added into that scenario it just becomes ridiculous. They would have been better off fading them out and letting them meld into the woodwork.
This problem is also seen with Dr. Kelly Lee (Minae Noji). Lee is a nymphomaniac who will sleep with any doctor or orderly that has a penis. Oddly enough, she will only do them once and once she gets a reputation, it seems to make her angry that people want to sleep with her. While she does play OB/GYN, she has a more interesting role that involves getting naked in front of the entire waiting room to show that she’s not a ho. Go figure.
Then we have the completely wasted and under-appreciated options in characters like Dr. Leo Julian (Dominic Rains) and Touissant DuBois (Billy Dee Williams). Julian is not your typical doctor though he is one of the best. He’s more of a rock star in waiting. He is amusing, well played, and interesting. The problem is his screen time is minimal and only really comes into serious play when Maxie (Kirsten Storms) ends up needing help with her heart. This storyline, interestingly enough, all begins with a staph infection that is contracted while she is handcuffed to a medical supply shelf, in a closet at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Williams is subjected to be the voice of wisdom, while he stands in the corner with his mop, playing janitor. This means that despite being in many of the scenes he has little purpose at all.
The student nurses are all an interesting bunch. Leyla Mir (Nazanin Boniadi) has as much charisma as a stick. Jolene Crowell (Amanda Baker) appears a bit bi-polar thanks to a loving stalker and some skeletons in her closet, and Regina (Angel M. Wainwright) just wants to be a nurse more than anything.
The Robin and Patrick storyline really kills the show. Robin becomes an obsessed harpy, deciding that she wants to have a baby because another woman that is HIV positive is having one. She becomes obsessed with the idea of a baby and the woman having one, losing the respect of most of the people she knows, including Patrick. Of course, Patrick has issues and doesn’t seem all that suited for Robin anyway. He’s obviously no Stone. Patrick’s choice in women is comical because he and the woman he claims to love (Robin) have about as much chemistry as Styrofoam.
Without Spinelli the show would have been horribly miserable. Hopefully, season two comes back stronger and the mistakes that have been made do not go repeated.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Both audio and video work well on this three disc set. Where the video is concerned everything looked good. There were a few soft spots here and there, but overall you were looking at solid picture quality, good color effects, and a decent transfer. The aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is not the best transfer there ever was, but for something like this it tends to work well. For a primetime soap opera you aren’t going to expect anything in anamorphic widescreen. The basics work fine and they look good, that’s really all that matters.
The audio presentation was equally as good as the video. Once the initial volume was set, I did not have to fiddle with the volume for the next 13 episodes. The dialogue was crisp and came through loud and clear. Meanwhile, the explosions and sound effects offered drama and depth and the music sounded beautiful. It was a good audio transfer all around.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
The one available bonus feature is “On the Set at Night Shift“. In this feature you have a chance to go behind the scenes of Night Shift and check things out. You will see cast interviews, as well as discussions with the cast and crew about their thoughts on the show. While this is the only feature in the set, it is interesting and worth watching. The show has a tendency to be pretty dramatic and this can really give you some insight into the plans and motivations for the things that happen.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
I came into General Hospital Night Shift expecting to hate the entire thing. Come to find out it was not as bad as I thought that it would be. Fans of GH who love Robin and Patrick together may not like this or their volatile relationship. However, the good supporting actors and some of the storylines make this worth watching. A word to the wise though, fans of the series will definitely want to rent this before buying it (or checking it out on SoapNet) if they have not seen it. People new to both shows may end up liking this a lot better than regular GH fans.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Movie, Robin Scorpio, Steve Burton, Spinelli, TV on DVD, General Hospital, Night Shift, Soaps, Soap Opera, DVD Review
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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
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Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.
