Members marlenadlc Posted July 25, 2008 Members Share Posted July 25, 2008 Veteran soap critic Marlena De Lacroix isn't very hopeful after viewing the the first episode of General Hospital Night Shift 2! From clunky writing to cliche casting Marlena isn't very optimistic about headwriter Sri Rao's first full-blown soap opera. Jagger's chest: been there, seen that a long time ago. Robin and Patrick's arguing: how entertaining is that? Foul language, semi-nudity, that's not what is going to make a soap good. Read more of Marlena's thoughts at http://marlenadelacroix.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Posted July 25, 2008 Members Share Posted July 25, 2008 I disagree with the entire column. No the first episode of the second season of NS wasn't perfect, but it was damn sure better than ANYTHING GH has produced all year. Robin and Patrick's relationship is that of contention. They argue, they make up. Their argument on the first episode of NS was based in reality. Patrick was looking out for the best interest of Robin after being injured during the accident. He's worried about her and the baby. Robin of course being the person she is didn't agree with that. The difference between their NS fight and their GH fights is the writing. This wasn't some stupid fight, it was serious, and the motivation behind it was out of genuine concern. As far as Robin being up without a scratch, Robin did not get up after the accident. She was hospitalized, which is why Patrick didn't want her going back to work. He didn't fire her, he relieved her of her duties (IE sent her home). I thought it was cute that Robin snuck back into work and tried to use her ID card only to find it had been disabled. Patrick knew Robin would try that and he countered her. I think Marlena looked at NS with a skewed perspective. There was no build up to this season. Hell, Kimberly and Jason didn't even appear on Tuesday's episode of GH. There was no talk of them working the Night Shift, there was no story on GH that suggested they were bringing in new interns to the show. Oh wait, that's right, because they devote all their time to that fecking whore Carly and her nonsense; moody broody crazy JoLubook and the mob BS. NS has more diversity than GH does, and yet they can't get credit for that? It's not as if they have a show set in the suburb PA that's a suburb near Philly and yet there's only WASPs, a Hispanic family and 3 black people in town. Yeah, that's diversity. Kudos to NS for trying something different, continuing with the trend of ethnic diversity and not going for the obvious. Robin waking up with Patrick and being in her bra is normal. An intern changing clothes in normal. Rather see that than disgusting limo sex with a whore and a misogynistic sex, or similar characters using violence or tragedies as an aphrodisiac. Maybe if Robin & Patrick were analyzed as being in their element, and walking the line of having their professional and personal lives cross over, the criticism would have been different, but it wasn't. IMO there was a bias going into watching the first episode, and that ruined it for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JackPeyton Posted July 25, 2008 Members Share Posted July 25, 2008 ^So much word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoapQueen89 Posted July 25, 2008 Members Share Posted July 25, 2008 ^^ICAM Ryan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 25, 2008 Members Share Posted July 25, 2008 Bang! Bang! There - I got you! The fact that's it's better than GH means nothing. Pretty much everything can be better than GH at the moment. Night Shift had a whole lot of cringe-worthy (oh, how much I hate that adjective) moments. Being different from GH does not equal quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JackPeyton Posted July 25, 2008 Members Share Posted July 25, 2008 Sylph, i think one of the main things we agree on is greatness by comparison is not true greatness. Anything can be great compared to something much worse than it. (Hello OLTL!). But i personally think Night Shift is really good on its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoapQueen89 Posted July 26, 2008 Members Share Posted July 26, 2008 Like I posted a comment at the site - There was ZERO Sonny, Carly, and Jason - no MOB whatsoever on Season 2 so far and that's always a PLUS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cat Posted July 26, 2008 Members Share Posted July 26, 2008 Co-sign with Ryan. I haven't watched GH in over two months, and when I sat down to watch NS, I experienced that old reflex whenever I watch GH -- of stealing myself, mentally preparing myself to stomach the mob pimping and couples I despise in order to get a few glimpses of actors I do like. 5 seconds into NS, that reflex (Frons's Train-The-Audience Reflex © ) had completely relaxed. I didn't have to force myself! Yes, some of the production techniques are not JFP's trademark dark, teflon-smooth aesthetic. Yes, some of the newbie acting is dodgy, to say the least. But for the first time since Kimberley McCullough returned, Robin was watchable and relatable to me. And, by extension, Scrubs was watchable -- and surprisingly sexy. Epiphany? Also watchable -- with glimpses of warmth and humor I don't always get from her on the mothership. And Jagger topless? Just because it happened 15 years ago doesn't mean I have to say no to seeing it again. The story-telling was simple (in a good way), some of the dialogue was humorous and funny, there were very few PSAs or finger-wagging at the audience, a couple of the newbies, including Kyle and Leo's "brotherly" hatred, look very interesting. Sure, it's got a long way to go. I want to see the Qs and a Nurse's Ball and Robert & Anna before I decide whether this is "the real GH" (which it patently is not). But something about the soapiness I saw -- and the warmth with which Sri Rao and her writing team treats all the characters -- struck me as more of the GH I have been missing than anything its Daytime counterpart has produced in the last decade. JMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted July 26, 2008 Members Share Posted July 26, 2008 I'm watching it now. I think it is good for what it is. Nice humorous and sexy moments. A good mix of old (returning vets) and new (some fairly intriguing newbies...both Kyle and that Medieval Faire woman make me laugh). It works for me because I really stopped with GH before Stone and Jagger ever came on...so I have a minor knowledge of some of these characters, but it is basically a new show. An in that context, for summer programming, it is fresh, light and relatable. I honestly think this kind of thing is the future of soaps--even the future of OUR current soaps. So, I say bring on the experiment. When you plant a seed, you have to give it some time to flourish. Why rip it apart on the first day it starts to sprout? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XxTaraXx Posted July 26, 2008 Members Share Posted July 26, 2008 I'm just gonna fall in line with the rest of ya and co-sign Ryan's post. "Did anyone else make it through the entire hour?" Um, yes, Marlena. A lot of us. Robin did have scratches. I guess Marlena was too busy psyching herself up to hate the show to notice. I couldn't disagree more with the "coddling" of the driver of the car. Patrick was completely out of line when he tore into her. It was not his place as a doctor. So it certainly wasn't "coddling." As far as the question of "where were the cops?" Well...I haven't seen cops on GA much while they're dealing with the background stories of why someone did something criminal. Its a hospital show. They focus on the medical aspect. Not much of a stretch. Its an hour long show. They deal with their subject matter. Medicine. Marlena may complain about the "chicks in bras before the opening credits," but really it was for the fans. If you read all the PR out there about NS2 (even NS1) its about how much freedom they have in primetime that they don't have in daytime. Showing Robin and Patrick that close is for the fans. And btw, I thank them for that as a vidder. And gmab with the Epiphany and integrity comment. Puh-lease. Homegirl runs around the halls of GH bitching at people. AND THAT'S IT. That's integrity? On NS, that's the only medium that she isn't a walking talking prop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KMan101 Posted July 27, 2008 Members Share Posted July 27, 2008 Ryan, I love ya man but the beginning of Nightshift was HORRID. I was appalled watching it. It had some saving graces and towards the end FINALLY got better. It was the cheesiest dialgoue I have ever seen. The way Dr. Ford died? Ludicrous. I laughed seeing him collapse. It was all just so rushed and ridiculous. Yeah, primetime is rushed and quick, but dang ... it sucked. The second half, thank GOD, got better. We got to know Batra better. Robin and Patrick were way more enjoyable on NS than GH. Jagger was meh to me. I think Sabato is overrated as an actor and he's even worse when given crappy dialogue. I wasn't a big fan of the new Leo Julian at all. The character is far too unlikable for me to see any saving grace in him. Only two I liked were Claire and Kyle. Obviously a rip on George and Izzy from GREYs but I loved them. Really enjoyed them. I would say I'd love them on GH but GH would never use them and pretty much destroy them. There was too little Epiphany and Touissant for my tastes. Hopefully Tristan Rogers and Robert Scorpio can spark things up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted July 27, 2008 Members Share Posted July 27, 2008 I love this post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Posted July 27, 2008 Members Share Posted July 27, 2008 Lol, I have to agree. It was really bad, especially when you watch it a second time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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