Search - General Hospital: Night Shift - The Complete First Season on DVD

Total waste of talent and money...

Wendy C. Rigney | Troy, NY USA | 12/10/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Last spring, Brian Frons, head of ABC Daytime, was touting an upcoming prime-time spinoff of General Hospital, called General Hospital: Night Shift. He and others were all smiles, saying as how the mob-obsessed head writer, Robert Guza, Jr., did not have the "time" to tell the story of Patrick and Robin on GH, that GH: NS would do so, focusing on their romantic relationship.

Too bad he and everyone else lied.

Instead, what the viewers got was complete character destruction and the assassination of the very couple used in the ads to draw the suckers...er, viewers...in. We had thirteen weeks of a show used to glorify the non-existent charisma of character Student Nurse Leyla Mir - a nurse whose only redeeming characteristic was looking as if she stepped out of an '80s beauty pageant - all while either killing pregnant women by neglect and managing to be rewarded for her screw ups, but I digress.

The viewers who were promised focus on the "Scrubs" (Patrick/Robin) relationship instead saw Patrick stripped of any tenderness, humor, and empathy - most especially apparent with the character of Robin - and turned into a jackass of monumental proportions. It is a testament of Jason Thompson's skill that Patrick and Robin are still root-for on GH, the main show, as had everyone seen this, I'm not so sure that would be the case. Thank God for his chemistry with Kimberly McCullough, which, naturally, made the lack of chemistry with Leyla that much more appalling. So, naturally, we had "Scrubs" break up and had the chemistry-free pairing of Patrick/Leyla dominate for about eight of the thirteen weeks. Never mind the pesky commercials promoting "Scrubs" up to the very end. Force feeding was the name of the game.

Speaking of Kimberly McCullough, she also deserves major kudos and combat pay of her own for managing to still make Robin sympathetic in the face of Bob Guza and Company trying to make her into a baby-obsessed shrew over a patient she knew for five minutes. No doubt this was done to try and make Patrick's choice to turn to the other woman sympathetic, but as much of everything else this regime tries, it failed. There is a reason Miss McCullough has two Daytime Emmys to her name, turning crap into gold.

And do not get me started on the waste of talent of Billy Dee Williams, whose character's sole mission was to mop floors while giving "sage" advice to the masses, including hitman-turned-janitor Jason Morgan.

The sole high points of the supporting cast include Kent King, Minae Noji, and Dominic Rains. If GH were still about the hospital, they would no doubt be welcome additions on a more regular basis, instead of token extras that they sadly are. (Thus showing contracts mean squat if you're not in the mob. Ask Kent King, one of the three who does have a contract. Surprised? Thought so.)

However, those few good supporting actors and the talent of Mr. Thompson (who truly got the raw end of the deal here) and Miss McCullough (that is where the one star comes in; if there was a way to put none, I would have!) was wasted on a project that gave new meaning to the term, "bait and switch". And it is a shame, as had the show delivered what it had promised - romance with Patrick/Robin and medical stories - of which there were few - this DVD may have had a chance of succeeding.

As it is, you're better off spending your money on a show that is actually entertaining and enjoyable and not some exercise in futility, frustration, disappointment, and pain."

A letdown

Cafetasia | 12/07/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This was a waste of time. I went into it believing it would be about something and was left disappointed. Bob Guza (head writer) and Brian Frons (pres of ABC) basically pulled a bait and switch on fans. They said it would be about the popular couple Patrick and Robin and that this show wouldn't carry over to the original soap, General Hospital. On NS, it didn't seem like Patrick and Robin (Scrubs) even liked each other. And a lot of the stories did carry over, so that in fact it wasn't an alternative universe that was promised.

Whether you were a previous GH watcher or a new watcher all together, this series will leave you confused with its inconsistencies, bad editing, and lame writing. To be fair there were some highlights, but they didn't outweigh the bad.

The Bad:
- The non-chemistry filled "relationship" between Patrick and nurse Leyla, played by an actress with the screen presence and acting ability of a paper bag.
- The lack of screen time of the vixen you can't help but love, Maxie Jones (played brilliantly by Kristin Storms)
- The writing and editing.
- The lack of relationship development between Patrick and Robin.
- The confusing ending. Not worth it.
- The character destruction of Patrick Drake.

The Highlights:
- Actresses like Minae Noji and Kent King who were given the chance to show what they were capable of.
- New finds like the charismatic and talented Dominic Rains.
- When they highlighted Billy Dee Williams in more than just mopping the floor.
- The acting from Kimberly McCullough. There is a reason this woman is a two time Emmy award winner. Despite the crappy writing and the obsessive baby desires of her character, you just felt for her and cried along with her when the world was crumbling before her.
- Other note worthy performances where Bradford Anderson and Steve Burton.

What promised to be a riveting series, turned out to be a complete let down. If you want to see a love story, because we are all suckers for a good love story, this is definitely not the show. You want good writing and decent storytelling. Also not the show. I would only buy this DVD if by some miracle it was a different series all together. Since it's not, save yourself the disappointment and money. Mr. Bob Guza thanks for nothing. You do not know the fans at all."

Complete waste of time and money

LovetoRead | 12/10/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Please save yourself the $20.99. This show is not even worth spending a penny on. A complete bait and switch pulled by Brian Frons and Robert Guza who told the fans this show would be about Robin and Patrick, a popular GH couple. This show was even promoted as a story about them through advertising.. false advertising. I am not even sure the writers themselves knew what they were trying to get at while writing this show. The only saving grace of this show was Kimberly McCullough's acting. Due to the lack of chemistry with the forced pairing of Patrick and Leyla, Jason Thompson's acting albeit good could not be taken seriously.

The show according to Brian Frons was supposed to be an alternate reality and not transfer over to GH. People who stayed away from watching this show due to the horrendous writing and the destruction of a popular couple ended up having to be subjected to it on GH and people who made the mistake of watching Night Shift had to suffer through the destruction of Patrick Drake, the shove-it-down-your-throat pairing of Patrick and Leyla not once but twice.

So, in conclusion please save yourself this money or donate it to the please get rid of Robert Guza fund."

Say No to the Night Shift

Noelle Natoli | NC | 12/10/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I went in so excited for this show, that was supposed to revolve around my favorite daytime couple, Patrick Drake and Robin Scropio, but was instantly dissappointed. It depicted them as totally different character and the story change half way through was a disasterious idea. The forced pairing of "nurse" Leyla and Patrick was nausiating and lacking in any chemistry. It was so horrible i stopped watching after acouple episodes."