Posted by RabbitEars

“Other People’s Children” Coming up in the second General Hospital: Night Shift episode of the new season, airing July 29 at 11pm ET on SoapNet, an adopted girl from China is rushed into the ER, and Robin races to find a donor match. But she gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a secret about the girl. Meanwhile, Claire is pursued by a drunk patient, but she’s more interested in his sober buddy, and Leo and Kyle stop fighting long enough to have a drink and be civilized for a moment. Later, Jagger storms out after a fight with Robin about Stone.

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Posted by RabbitEars

Although he has also found fame as a model, movie actor, and recent performer on Celebrity Circus, Antonio Sabato Jr. may be best remembered and beloved by daytime fans as Jagger Cates, his breakout role on General Hospital in the mid ’90s. Producers of General Hospital: Night Shift, premiering its second season July 22 on SoapNet, realizing Jagger’s enduring popularity, have brought him back as a “legacy” character.

I gave Sabato a call (sorry, ladies, I can’t divulge his cell number) to get his thoughts on the character, returning to the GH universe, what’s up on Night Shift (might Brenda also be returning?), and his fascination with Batman (his voice mail answers with a simple greeting: “You’ve reached the Batcave.”).

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A little more info on the July 22 (11pm ET) season 2 premiere of SoapNet’s General Hospital: Night Shift —

Things get off to a dramatic start right away in an episode called “Crash.” General Hospital turns to chaos (again) when a car crashes through the ER, injuring pregnant Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and killing one staff member (not saying who, of course!). Meanwhile, Jagger (Antonio Sabato Jr.) returns to Port Charles after 13 years, with a surprise for Robin (hasn’t she had enough already with the crash?). Sparks fly between Touissant (Billy Dee Williams) and Epiphany (Sonya Eddy) after he returns to the hospital following his tour with his musical group. While all of this is going on, new interns Kyle (Adam Grimes) and Claire (Carrie Southworth) bond over their fear of their strict superiors, Dr. Leo Julian (Ethan Rains) and Dr. Saira Batra (Azita Ghanizada).

© 2008 SoapNet All Rights Reserved. Credit: Joel Warren

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Posted By RabbitEars

Joining the second season of General Hospital: Night Shift, which debuts July 22 on SoapNet, are old General Hospital characters (referred to by SoapNet as “legacy characters”) Jagger Cates and Robert Scorpio, played by original actors Antonio Sabato Jr. and Tristan Rogers, respectively.

Rogers played the Aussie super agent on GH throughout the 1980s, and reprised the role briefly in a few episodes during a 2006 storyline. His appearance in Night Shift brings him into contact with the character played by Kimberly McCullough — Robin Scorpio, Robert’s daughter. Robert checks into the hospital with failing health, and he and Robin must learn to deal with each other as grown adults.

Sabato played super-stud Jagger Cates in the early ’90s. Jagger also has connections with Robin, who dated his brother Stone. Jagger is also dealing with growing emotionally as the father of his 5-year-old son (named Stone). Watch our blog in the next week for an interview with Antonio Sabato Jr. about Night Shift!

In other casting news, Billy Dee Williams, Jason Thompson and Sonya Eddy are returning. New to the cast are Adam Grimes as Dr. Kyle Julian, Carrie Southworth as Dr. Claire Simpson, Ethan Rains as Dr. Leo Julian (taking over for his real-life brother Dominic, who was unavailable for this season) and Azita Ghanizada as Dr. Saira Batra.

© 2008 Soapnet. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Craig Sjodin

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SoapNet has announced a second season of the popular series General Hospital: Night Shift, the network’s top-rated original scripted drama, which was a huge hit last summer. Production begins in June, with the series debuting in July and airing Tuesdays at 11pm ET. Season 2 is expected to feature favorite characters from the first season, along with some new faces, and the return of some legacy General Hospital characters. The series will be shot in high definition. New head writer Sri Rao comes on board, as does new executive producer Lisa De Cazotte.
More information on cast and premiere date as they are announced.

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Fans of either, or both, American Gladiators and Days of Our Lives should get a nice treat on March 14 (at 1pm in most markets; check local listings) when Gladiator “Titan” (Mike O’Hearn) guest stars on the venerable daytime drama.

In the episode, Chelsea Brady is getting wasted at a local watering hole, mourning the recent tragedies of the Brady family. Even her grandmother Kate can’t get her to stop! In steps the “strapping” bartender (O’Hearn), who offers Chelsea some coffee to sober up (which would only work in a soap opera), but she refuses him and storms out. When Shawn and Belle show up later, the bartender tells them to get in touch with Kate.

And that’s about it. Even though NBC bills this episode as “exciting,” it doesn’t sound like the bartender gets to throw anyone out of the bar at least, just quietly helps people out. Maybe he could at least punch out John Black to finally get that guy’s eyebrow to lower? Something? Oh, well.

Of course, maybe four-time Mr. Universe O’Hearn is trying to get some respect as an actor, although if his current resume — National Lampoon TV: The Movie, Barbarian, Keeper of Time, and the upcoming Tumblers and Captain Ultimate — doesn’t speak for itself, people just aren’t getting it.

Fans of Days, however, may recognize O’Hearn from a similar arena if they also enjoy the written equivalent of soaps — he is a cover model for Topaz romance novels.

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American Gladiators: © NBC Universal, Inc. Credit: Mitchell Haaseth

Book cover: Credit: Topaz Books

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A quick note for you All My Children fans: ABC has announced that Mario Van Peebles (our second favorite Mario, after Lopez) will be joining the daytime drama’s cast starting January 29. The award-winning director, writer and actor brings more talent and credentials than are often seen on a soap, and will play Samuel Woods, a U.S. District Attorney who is running for the Senate. Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) takes special notice of Woods, primarily as a guest on her talk show. But he will soon become a nightmare — albeit one with romantic possibilities.

Luckily for Van Peebles, he was brought aboard too late to be asked to sing along with the other ABC soap stars on the A Love Affair CD.

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Anthony Geary makes his recording debut!

If you’ve been waiting to hear those words, an ABC announcement this week has just made your dreams come true. Perhaps trying to follow in the fine tradition of Rick Springfield and Jack Wagner, several stars of General Hospital and the other ABC soaps, One Life to Live and All My Children, are part of a CD to be released January 29 called A Love Affair. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, it’s a collection of love songs.

Will any of these stars be the next Springfield or Wagner? Do we want them to be? Who knows — maybe there will be some surprises. After all, Days of Our Lives had stars Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson sing “Friends and Lovers,” which became a hit. And Michael Damien, of The Young and the Restless, had some success with a cover of “Rock On” (his biggest song, which appropriately appeared on an album called Where Do We Go From Here). Lauryn Hill acted on As the World Turns before hitting much bigger success as a member of The Fugees, and then a solo career. And pre-megastar Ricky Martin lived a life less loca as a regular on General Hospital. So maybe it’s not too late for 69-year-old David Canary to become a recording star.

The songs on A Love Affair are covers, not originals (why should soap opera-themed material pick now to get creative?), so there is nothing too surprising except what the cast members’ voices may bring to them. Here’s the track list if you’re looking for that special gift for that special someone. It’s available for $18.98 wherever fine records are sold, and also through digital music providers and at abctvstore.com:

• “They Say It’s Wonderful” (likely not a prophetic phrase about the album) — Susan Lucci (!), All My Children
• “Let It Be Me” — Kassie De Paiva, One Life to Live
• “I’ll Be There” — Tika Sumpter, One Life to Live
• “My Funny Valentine” — Bradford Anderson, General Hospital
• “Because You Loved Me” — Bobbie Eakes, All My Children
• “Never My Love” — Kathy Brier, One Life to Live
• “Every Time We Say Goodbye” — Anthony Geary, General Hospital
• “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” — Sonya Eddy, General Hospital
• “Quando, Quando, Quando” (duet) — Jason Tam and Brittany Underwood, One Life to Live
• “In My Life” — Rick Hearst, General Hospital
• “From This Moment On” — Kristen Anderson, One Life to Live
• “Always on My Mind” — David Canary, All My Children

Of course, if these songs turn out horrible, the singers can always claim that their evil twins suddenly arrived in town and stepped in for them.

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© 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Credit: Danny Feld

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Posted by TVita

This is it, folks – the last of my interviews from the set of General Hospital: Night Shift. (Sniffle) Who better to wrap things up than the much loved (or much hated, depending on who you ask), Steve Burton? During his more than 10 years as Jason Quartermaine/Jason Morgan, Burton has been a straight-A student, worked for a mob boss, entered a marriage of convenience, acquired a hacking sidekick and, most famously, lost his memory – twice. Just three days from the premiere of Night Shift, Burton tells us a little about his new gig as GH’s newest janitor.

What differences did you first notice between “General Hospital” and “Night Shift”?
The storylines are going to be faster; you don’t have to play the same story for two weeks or two months. It’s going to be like an episodic prime-time series, where stories do wrap up in the hour and then some stories can get strung along a little bit. I think there’s probably much more closure, which is nice, because that’s why we watch prime time. Then you have some new characters, and you have some characters they’re familiar with from General Hospital – I think it’s a great combination of everything.

It’s different in we’re shooting a lot more in a day, we’ve got new people so it’s a different energy, it’s a new show so there’s that air of, “Wow, this is kind of fun; it’s new, it’s for prime time, for SOAPnet,” so we’re doing something different from our show. We’re using a green screen, which is new for us. I think it’s going to be a bigger show, in the vastness of it, compared to General Hospital.

You told me that actors new to soaps “have to learn quick” – how’s that going?
The new people I think are getting used to it now. Last week was an “OK, this is how it is!” kind of thing. People will say, “Well, I –,” and the director will be like, “Moving on!” They just don’t care. Usually they can fix [it] in the edit, but it’s a different animal than other shows or movies. We’ve got to tell the story, get the shots [and] do the blocking in one or two takes and move on. People come here from TV and film and tell us, “You guys are nuts!”

Is that pace second-nature for you?
It’s just like a job now. The memorization part is a lot of time management for me, because I have kids. I just plan everything out as much as I can and try to do it.

Do you think “Night Shift” is going to attract new fans?
Obviously, [we’re] trying to get new viewers. I think they’re going to get GH fans. A lot of people, I can’t believe it, still don’t have SOAPnet! People are asking me all the time, “How do I get SOAPnet?” I’m like, “Call your cable company!” It’s going to be interesting. It’s new for SOAPnet, too; it’s a new adventure for them, and for us. It was going to happen sooner or later. Daytime’s in such trouble as it is.

Are you worried about soaps disappearing entirely?
No, not a bit. It means I don’t have to act or memorize anymore! I’ll be a janitor! Yeah, man – I’m blue collar!

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Posted by TVita

After two days of 4th of July celebrations, I might be nursing an unfortunate badminton injury (Playing badminton in flip flops, on a driveway? Not the greatest idea. Just a little tip, from TVita to you.), but I’m still here to share some more of my day on the General Hospital: Night Shift set!

Today, get to know more about new doc on the block Dominic Rains. From his “heady” thoughts on Justin Timberlake’s movies to the head-scratching “condiment question” and so much more, Dominic weighs in.

What’s on your TiVo?
I don’t have a TiVo! I hardly watch TV. I was very athletic as a kid, so I didn’t pay too much attention to reading and watching movies. I make that a point now, when I’m at home and not working or in the gym, I like to read as much as I can. I try to keep up with reading and current events — and watching movies. I like to get an old flick and a new flick. Recently, I got Midnight Cowboy and Alpha Dog. [Alpha Dog] had an effect on me, because i went to a high school where I had a lot of friends end up in prison. The characters remind me of people that went to my school; I knew a lot of people — girls and guys both — who got into a lot of trouble. They’re good-hearted people who just get swayed … but I’m getting a little heady!

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