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| first_aired = [[April 1]] [[1963]]
| first_aired = [[April 1]] [[1963]]
| last_aired = present
| last_aired = present
| run_time = 60 minutes<br>(30 minutes from 1963 - 1976; <br>45 minutes from 1976-1977)
| run_time = 60 minutes (20 minutes commercial advertising)<br>(30 minutes from 1963 - 1976,; <br>45 minutes from 1976-1977)
| alternate_titles = GH
| alternate_titles = GH
| num_episodes = 11,371 (as of [[August 20]], [[2007]])
| num_episodes = 11,371 (as of [[August 20]], [[2007]])

Revision as of 00:23, 12 December 2007

For other uses, see General Hospital (disambiguation).
General Hospital
File:General-hospital-siren.jpg
General Hospital Intertitle
Created byFrank and Doris Hursley
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes11,371 (as of August 20, 2007)
Production
Executive producerJill Farren Phelps
Original release
NetworkABC , SOAPnet
ReleaseApril 1 1963 –
present

General Hospital (commonly abbreviated GH) is the longest-running ABC Daytime American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network. It is also the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West and Sunset-Gower Studios).

Set in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, General Hospital debuted on April 1 1963, the same day that rival network NBC launched its own medical daytime drama, The Doctors. The show originally aired for a half-hour until the network expanded it to the unusual length of 45 minutes in 1976, and then to a full hour in 1978. The serial was created by soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, a husband-and-wife team.

General Hospital is credited for starting several trends in the soap opera genre in the 1980s, most notably that of the fast-paced action-adventure plotlines that were remarkably different from the more traditional domestic and social issues that had been the sole focus of most soap operas during the previous decades. In 2003, when GH was celebrating its 40th anniversary, TV Guide named it "The Greatest Soap Opera Of All Time." In addition, GH was also named as one of TIME Magazine's "Top 100 Television Shows of All Time."

Show history

Main article: History of General Hospital

Launched in 1963, the show's storylines revolve around the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, and the staff at its General Hospital. Initially focusing on the romances of the hospital staff, storylines branched out to cover relationships of various families such as the Hardys, the Webbers, the Spencers, the wealthy Quartermaines, and the noble Cassadines. General Hospital popularized the concept of the soap opera supercouple, with Luke and Laura. Their wedding was the most watched event in daytime serial history. Other storylines have followed an action-adventure format, with con artists and mafia bosses, spies and corporate intrigue, and travel to faroff lands, but nearly all stories have some connection to either an injury or illness at the Hospital, or one of the doctors or nurses who work there.



Cast

See also: List of General Hospital cast members
See also: List of General Hospital characters

General Hospital has made a name for itself for bringing back fan favorites, sometimes decades after their original appearance. Over the years, such performers as Jane Elliot, David Lewis, Kin Shriner, Genie Francis, Anthony Geary, Jack Wagner, Maurice Benard, Tyler Christopher, Tristan Rogers, Finola Hughes, Kimberly McCullough, Rick Springfield, and Steve Burton have returned to the show. Several current storylines involve characters that are the fictional children of older characters, and the actors who played the original characters are sometimes brought back to play the parents or grandparents.

As one example, Kimberly McCullough was the child actress who in the 1980s played Robin Scorpio, the daughter of jet-setting spies Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) and Anna Devane (Finola Hughes). In October 2005, McCullough returned to her role, this time as a grown-up Robin who had finished medical school and was now working at General Hospital. Her storyline was interwoven with that of Dr. Noah Drake, who was played by rock star Rick Springfield for four episodes, after an absence since 1983. The return proved popular, and he is now on recurring status. Noah's return also allowed for a new character, his son Dr. Patrick Drake (played by Jason Thompson), who has a striking resemblance to Springfield.

Another major return occurred on January 27 2006, when the presumed dead Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) returned to Port Charles. His beloved wife Holly Sutton Scorpio (played by Emma Samms) also returned in February 2006.

John Ingle, who played Edward Quartermaine, left his role at Days of our Lives to return to General Hospital. After a contract dispute, he was briefly replaced by Jed Allan in 2004, but Allan was not as popular with the fans, and Ingle returned to the role in April 2006.

One of the biggest announcements was in June 2006, when it was learned that Genie Francis would return to the role of Laura Spencer. Francis returned to the show for six weeks, for the 25th celebration of Luke and Laura's wedding. She started on October 26, with Laura being brought out of a catatonic state with an experimental medicine. On November 16, Luke and Laura remarried, and a few weeks later Francis again departed. The storyline explained this by saying that Laura's medicine was only temporary, as she would return to Shadybrook back into a catatonic state on November 22, though she still remains a presence in the show. Laura charged her daughter, Lulu Spencer (Julie Marie Berman), with trying to prove Laura's innocence of killing Rick Webber.

It was then later revealed that Scott Baldwin (who has returned to the show) was actually the one guilty of killing Rick Webber. However, Lulu has yet to announce it in fear of destroying her father when he realizes that he caused Laura's catatonia when he told her that she killed Rick Webber.


Budget

As of January 2007, the show has a 1.35 million dollar per week budget.

Title sequence

Since the series' debut in 1963, General Hospital has had only four opening title sequences.

During 1963-1967, the ABC announcer says "GENERAL HOSPITAL...brought to you by [product name]", when the show moved to color in 1967 till circa early 1970s, the announcer would say "GENERAL HOSPITAL in color". During the end of each scene just seconds before commercial break, the announcer would say "We'll return to GENERAL HOSPITAL in just a moment", that announcement phased out in circa early 1970s. During 1973 to 1976, the announcer would simply say "General Hospital". From late 1963-circa 1970s, announcer Ed Chandler would say "This is Ed Chandler inviting you to tune in tomorrow (Monday) and every weekday for GENERAL HOSPITAL", but it was changed during circa 1973 when he says "This is Ed Chandler inviting you to tune in every day, Monday through Friday for GENERAL HOSPITAL." This spiel was used until July 1976. Currently the only show announcements are the daily sponsor tags by ABC staff announcers ("General Hospital, brought to you by...") and the mid-program station break.

File:Black White GH.jpg
April 1, 1963 - Circa 1973 		Original Black and white

In the early years of 1963, General Hospital used a scene of doctors and nurses in the hospital, then it freezes and turns into a negative image, then the title appears in the Craw Clarendon Condensed font (which remained the same until 1993). Around late 1963 to 1973 after the prologue, the background faded to black, with "GENERAL HOSPITAL" in the Craw Clarendon Condensed font, but when the show moved to color in August 1967, the background changed to blue, it was used the same for the closing sequence. It was used until circa 1973.

File:Gh1984.jpg
Circa 1973 - March 31, 1993 		The Speeding Ambulance

The exterior shot of the hospital in the opening and ending credits is the General Hospital of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, located just east of Downtown Los Angeles. This shot was used from circa 1973 to 1993, and remained relatively unchanged between those years. The sequence's theme song was led prominently by George Wright's piano theme from circa 1973 until July 23 1976, with the ambulance entering the hospital, then the show's title zooms towards us. Then, on July 26 1976, the theme music was changed to Autumn Breeze by Jack Urbont, with the horns throughout the opening sequence (the 1973 opening sequence remains the same, and the lettering of the show's title was smaller). It is the second most long-running soap opera theme/visuals in history, tied with All My Children's original visuals (1970-1990), and just behind Days of our Lives 1972-1993 package (which both pre-dated and outlived this sequence). The sequence was used until the last episode of General Hospital with the Autumn Breeze theme aired on March 31, 1993.

File:Generalhospital1994.jpg
April 1, 1993 - August 29, 2004 		Faces of the Heart

Wendy Riche made her most visible change as she decided to retire the long-running 1976 opening in favor of something new. The new opening, Faces Of The Heart by Dave Koz, debuted at the beginning of the first episode on April 1, 1993 that marked General Hospital's thirtieth anniversary. The theme begins with a heartbeat rhythm played on a bass guitar as we dissolve to a shot of an ambulance. That, in turn, dissolves into a tinted, letterboxed view of the exterior of the LA County-USC Medical Center. This is followed by a series of video headshots of all the contract cast members, either solo or in pairs, against a black background. After every few clips, there is an action clip from the show. At the end of the sequence, we go back to the letterboxed, tinted hospital exterior and the title of the show in Goudy Bold type. For the 32th Anniversary week in April 1995, the theme was remixed with a longer version with a reprise at the end, also the cast montage had a major update, which several cast members received new footage and new Puerto Rico actions scenes were added. received On April 1, 2003, the show's 40th anniversary, the characters’ first names were added to the opening.

For awhile, the end credits remained in the same Craw Clarendon Condensed type used in past years. Now, however, the long crawl was done over stills from that day's episode. The "beauty shot" stills continued in the fall of 1993 when the end credit font was changed to match the typeface of the new General Hospital logo. From March 1996 to September 1999, each end credit segment was done in smaller lettering on a separate card for each still. The separate card setup is still used in the end titles shown on SoapNet rebroadcasts, but the credits are done over a shot of the hospital.

File:General-hospital-siren.jpg
August 30, 2004 - Present 		Siren

During the May 2004 sweeps, ABC Daytime began a significant re-branding process. New graphics and new promotional bumpers were created, and the visuals in the new promos were incorporated into new openings that were unveiled on all three ABC soaps in subsequent weeks. On August 30 2004, GH unveiled a new opening that incorporated many of the character visuals used in a new set of ABC Daytime promos and bumpers that debuted in May 2004. The nods to the show’s past seem quite minimal in this new opening as we get only an extremely brief glimpse of an ambulance and an almost equally brief upward pan of the hospital exterior. This new opening sequence ends with a shot of the male cast members clad in tuxedos and posing against a white background, with Anthony Geary walking out of the shot-followed by the name of the show appearing in white letters straight across the screen against a black background and framed by letterboxing.

Executive Producers and Head Writers

Executive Producers

Head Writers

Awards

Daytime Emmys

Winners: Drama Series & Acting Categories

•Drama Series: 1981 (Gloria Monty), 1984, 1995 (Wendy Riche), 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005 (Jill Farren Phelps), 2006

•Lead Actor: Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer) 1982, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006; Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) 2003

•Lead Actress: Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) 1991

•Supporting Actor: Peter Hansen (Lee Baldwin) 1979; David Lewis (Edward Quartermaine) 1982; Gerald Anthony (Marco Dane) 1993; Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) 1998; Stuart Damon (Alan Quartermaine) 1999; Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing) 2004, 2007

•Supporting Actress: Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine) 1981; Rena Sofer (Lois Cerullo) 1995; Sarah Brown (Carly Benson) 2000; Vanessa Marcil (Brenda Barrett) 2003; Natalia Livingston (Emily Quartermaine) 2005; Genie Francis (Laura Webber) 2007

•Younger Actor: Jonathan Jackson (Lucky Spencer) 1995, 1998, 1999; Jacob Young (Lucky Spencer) 2002; Chad Brannon (Zander Smith) 2004

•Younger Actress: Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio) 1989, 1996; Sarah Brown (Carly Benson) 1997, 1998

Other Categories

  • 2007 "Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Drama Series"
  • 2006 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 2006 "Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Drama Series"
  • 2006 "Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Drama Series"
  • 2005 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 2004 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 2004 "Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Drama Series"
  • 2003 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
  • 2004 "Lifetime Achievement Award" Anna Lee
  • 2004 "Lifetime Achievement Award" Rachel Ames
  • 2003 "Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing for a Drama Series"
  • 2002 "Outstanding Original Song"
  • 2000 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Drama Series"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama Series"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Original Song" TIED with As the World Turns
  • 1998 "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama Series"
  • 1996 "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama Series"
  • 1995 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
  • 1995 "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama Series"
  • 1982 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 1981 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"

Notes

  • Ties with As the World Turns & All My Children for the most Daytime Emmys won in a single year with a total of eight, which they won in 1999.
  • Holds the record for the most "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy award wins with a total of nine.
  • Ties with All My Children & The Young and the Restless for the most "Outstanding Lead Actor" Emmy award wins with a total of six.
  • Holds the record for the most "Outstanding Supporting Actor" Emmy award wins with a total of seven.

Directors Guild of America

  • 1996, 1998, 2002, and 2004 "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials"

Writers Guild of America

  • 1995, 1996, and 1998 "Daytime Serials"

Ratings/scheduling history

When ABC premiered General Hospital in April 1963, the network placed it in the 1 p.m./12 Noon Central timeslot against local newscasts on NBC and CBS affiliates. But on the day before New Year's Eve that year, General Hospital assumed a place on the daytime schedule that, except for eighteen months between July 1976 and January 1978 when it ran as one half of a 90-minute bloc with One Life to Live between 2:30/1:30 and 4/3, it has maintained to this day, 3/2 Central.

During the 1960s, General Hospital earned decent ratings against the likes of To Tell the Truth and The Secret Storm on CBS, but there was a decline as the 1970s came, especially when NBC's Another World became highly popular; for two years, it also faced CBS' The Price is Right, already a major hit. After continued mediocrity in the Nielsen ratings, ABC was prepared to cancel General Hospital, but decided to give it a second chance when it expanded the show to a full hour, from an experimental 45 minutes. However, the expansion came with an ultimatum to the producers that they had six months to improve the show's ratings. Gloria Monty was hired as executive producer, and on her first day, she spent an extra $100,000 re-taping four episodes. A miracle occurred and thanks to Monty, the show became the most watched daytime drama by 1979, marking a rare instance of a daytime serial's comeback from near-extinction. During the wedding of Luke and Laura Spencer on November 16 1981, about 30 million people tuned in to watch them exchange vows and be cursed by Elizabeth Taylor's Helena Cassadine (now played by Constance Towers).

From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital remained number one in the ratings, competing against two low-rated soaps on NBC -- Texas and Santa Barbara -- and the long-running Guiding Light (GL) over on CBS (although, it should be noted, that for a brief period in the summer of 1984, Guiding Light experienced a renaissance and became the #1 soap, dethroning General Hospital from the top ratings spot, thanks to well-regarded storylines written by then-GL head writer Pam Long). For the most part, however, General Hospital continued to triumph, even after the departure of popular actors Anthony Geary and Genie Francis in the mid-1980s. Although The Young and the Restless took General Hospital's place as the highest-rated serial in 1989, General Hospital continued to maintain excellent ratings.

Daytime History: Highest Rated Week (November 16-20, 1981) (Household Ratings- Nielsen Media Research)

Position/Serial Household Rating (Time Slot) Network Millions of Viewers
1/General Hospital 16.0 (3-4pm) ABC 30
2/All My Children 10.2 (1-2pm) ABC 13.9
3/One Life To Live 10.2 (2-3pm) ABC 13.7
4/Guiding Light 7.9 (3-4pm) CBS 8.3

1995 Daytime Serial Ratings

Position/Serial Avg. Millions of Viewers (Per Episode)
1/The Young And The Restless 7.155
3/General Hospital 5.343

1979-1980 Season (HH Ratings) (Sept 79-Sept 80)

1981-1982 Season (HH Ratings)

1982-1983 Season

  • 1. General Hospital 9.8
  • 6. Guiding Light 7.4

1983-1984 Season

  • 1. General Hospital 10.0
  • 5. Guiding Light 8.1

1984-1985 Season

  • 1. General Hospital 9.1
  • 4. Guiding Light 7.5

1985-1986 Season

  • 1. General Hospital 9.2
  • 6. Guiding Light 6.8

1986-1987 Season

  • 1. General Hospital 8.3
  • 7. Guiding Light 6.3

1987-1988 Season

1988-1989 Season

  • 1. The Young And The Restless 8.1
  • 2. General Hospital 7.5
  • 7. Guiding Light 6.2

1989-1990 Season

Latest Ratings

Week of October 22-26, 2007

(Compared To Last Week/Compared To Last Year) (2003)

1. Y&R 5,799,000 (+202,000/+47,000) (+150,000) 2. B&B 3,987,000 (-24,000/-401,000) (+162,000) 3. ATWT 3,188,000 (+80,000/-198,000) (-237,000) 4. GH 2,982,000 (+4,000/-522,000) (-963,000) 5. DOOL 2,760,000 (+160,000/-457,000) (-1,115,000) 6. OLTL 2,713,000 (-75,000/-297,000) (-779,000) 7. GL 2,672,000 (+55,000/-312,000) (-392,000) 8. AMC 2,536,000 (-142,000/-344,000) (-1,008,000)

Boys 12-17 (Last Week/Last Year) (2003)

1. Y&R 26,000 (-5,000/+4,000) (+17,000) 2. DOOL 12,000 (-3,000/SAME) 3. GH 11,000 (-4,000/-16,000) 4. AMC 5,000 (+2,000/-1,000) 4. B&B 4,000 (-5,000/-2,000) 6. GL 3,000 (+1,000/-5,000) 7. ATWT 2,000 (-3,000/-4,000) 7. OLTL 1,000 (SAME/-6,000) (-4,000)

Cultural impact

The popularity of General Hospital has caused it be parodied or referred to in other mainstream programs. For example, in the early 1960s, some episodes of GH were featured as "shorts" during the fourth season of the parody show Mystery Science Theater 3000. GH was also parodied/homaged in the song General Hospi-Tale by The Afternoon Delights, and in the film Tootsie, which took place among the cast and crew of a fictional soap opera program. In the FOX medical drama House, one of the characters, Dr. House, enjoys General Hospital and watches it constantly. In the season three episode, Half-Wit, House hides his blood test results under the name, "Luke N. Laura", referencing GH's legendary supercouple.

Spinoffs

The success of the longrunning soap opera has spawned one daytime spinoff in the U.S, one in the U. K., and an upcoming primetime version.

General Hospital: U. K. series

General Hospital (UK TV series) (1972-1979), which did not feature any characters from the American show, but was modeled after its format. It started as a half-hour program broadcast in the afternoons, which was unusual for UK serials that normally aired in the prime time. In 1975 it was expanded to an hour-long format and moved to Friday evenings.

Port Charles

Port Charles (1997-2003) was a daytime drama that initially featured interns in a competitive medical school program, and was known for having more action actually in the hospital than General Hospital itself. As the show evolved, it tended more towards gothic intrigue, including supernatural elements such as vampires and life after death. It also switched formats from an open-ended daytime serial, to 13-week story arcs known as "books", similar to Spanish telenovelas.

General Hospital: Night Shift

General Hospital: Night Shift (2007) is the second American primetime spinoff of a daytime drama (the first being Our Private World, a spinoff of As The World Turns). It began airing in July 2007 on SOAPnet, a cable channel, and will run for thirteen episodes. According to a SOAPnet spokesperson, Night Shift "will delve deeper into the relationships, friendships and medical cases seen at the hospital." The storyline will have some of the same characters as the daytime version, "but with no storyline overlap." The episodes will also be self-contained, rather than serial form.

Notes and references

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to General Hospital.
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