Coming Soon to SOAPnet's "Night Shift": More Beloved Characters from the Glory Days of "General Hospital"
By Ed Martin TV / Video Download Archives
Tiffany Hill and Sean Donnelly are returning to Port Charles!
Esteemed soap opera authority Michael Logan reports in next week’s issue of TV Guide that the two-part season finale of SOAPnet’s General Hospital: Night Shift will feature guest appearances by Anthony Geary – currently in his fourth decade of playing GH anti-hero Luke Spencer – and two blasts from the past: Sharon Wyatt (as Tiffany) and John Reilly (as Sean).
Apparently Luke, Tiffany and Sean will all be on hand to rally around their beloved friend Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers), the former World Security Bureau agent and Port Charles police commissioner with whom they shared many legendary adventures in the distant past, as he continues his brave fight against his gravest challenge ever, Stage 4 colon cancer. Finola Hughes will also be on hand as Scorpio’s ex-wife, Anna Devane. (Luke, Robert and Tiffany were at the center of what may be the most famous GH storyline of all time: In 1981 these three, together with Laura Webber Baldwin, stopped a madman from freezing the city of Port Charles with a weather machine.)
Gearystill stars on GH, and Hughes and Rogers appear on a recurring basis, by Wyatt and Reilly haven’t been seen on that show in 15 years. (They hurriedly left town after Donnelly was gunned down and needed emergency surgery at a Boston hospital, and they never returned.) I might be nervous if these two were returning to the GH mother-ship, which now devotes most of its narrative to stories about temperamental mobsters and idiot women, because when beloved veteran characters return over there they are often compromised (think Heather Webber and Holly Sutton Scorpio) or destroyed. (Poor Rick Webber was killed off and manhandled like the corpse in Weekend at Bernie’s.) But I have total faith in Sri Rao, the head writer who this summer has excitingly transformed Night Shift, which was absolutely dreadful during its freshman season, into one of the best soap operas on television. I feel that I can look forward to the return of Tiffany and Sean with eager anticipation rather than fretful trepidation.
For what it’s worth, I like to think that a suggestion I made in my first column about Night Shift might have planted an idea that resulted in having Geary make a guest appearance. Further, in responding to a comment that appeared when that same column ran on the popular soap site MarlenaDeLacroix, I stated that Tiffany Hill would certainly pay a visit to Robert during her dear friend’s hour of need, adding that she would be a perfect fit on the show. And now, here she comes! (If I have any influence at NS, here’s another suggestion: Bring on Nurse Bobbie Spencer’s gay son Lucas, who is also Tiffany Hill’s nephew, as a potential love interest for intern Kyle Julian.)
My early enthusiasm for Night Shifthas only continued to grow in recent weeks. I have enjoyed every short and long term storyline during its sophomore season, and I remain highly impressed with its treatment of veteran GH characters Robert Scorpio and Jagger Cates. (Jagger is now an FBI agent whose young son has been diagnosed with autism.) It was nice to see Robert’s brother Mac, now the police commissioner of Port Charles, cross-over from GH to be by his older brother’s side, even if they have been largely estranged for much of their lives. (John J. York, the actor who plays Mac, is criminally underused on his own show.) Rao and his team are giving us expert soap opera storytelling, told by people who respect their franchise, its history and, most importantly, its fan base.
Ed Martin
Ed Martin is the chief television and content critic for MediaVillage. He has written about television and internet programming for several Myers publications since 2000, including The Myers Report, The Myers Programming Report, MediaBizBloggers a…
