SoapNet gears up for the second season of "General Hospital: Night Shift," the cable spinoff of "General Hospital." The 13-week series is set to air in July. Last year's plots paid no attention to what was happening on the dayshift. A character could be dying on the network version, and at night he was competing in a dance contest. When GH spun off "Port Charles," it did the same thing. Vampires could be roaming the north wing of the hospital, and in the south wing no one knew about it. "General Hospital: Night Shift" was the fifth-most-watched cable show for women 18-35, but viewers of both shows hated the separate but unequal plots.

For the second season the show will focus on Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Patrick (Jason Thompson). The two major actors from GH's good old days will be integral to the nighttime episodes. Tristan Rogers (Scorpio) is back. When Rogers came back to GH in 2004, his character was practically a cartoon that was searching for the cause of a deadly disease. This time around Rogers will have a potentially deadly disease. Robin, who had little contact with her dad, Scorpio, since she was a child, interacts as an independent daughter and physician who tries to save her dad's life. Antonio Sabato Jr., who played Jagger in the '90s, is set to return. As the brother of Robin's first love, Stone, he will have an impact on Patrick and Robin's rocky romance. Stone died of AIDS. After he died, Robin learned she had contracted the disease from him.

"GH: Night Shift" will have the lush look of high definition. The first season is available on DVD.

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Two young and villainous ABC soap characters are being written out. Over at "All My Children," Richie (Billy J. Miller) is going to get a very dramatic goodbye. Miller did a great job as the nefarious Richie, but the character never caught on. He was a dying, twisted ex-jailbird who was the brother of the saintly Annie. These are three powerful stories, but AMC's new head writer decided the character did not fit in.

Over at "General Hospital," a character with long-time potential is set to meet a tragic end. Logan Hayes (Josh Duhon) came in as a troubled Iraq War veteran with a secret, which was never fully revealed. What was revealed was that Scotty (Kin Shriner) was his long lost dad. The resemblance between the two actors was uncanny. It was great to see Scott with a story line. It was brilliant to pair Logan with Luke's (Tony Geary) daughter, Lulu (Julie Berman). Talk about an in-law relationship from Hell — Luke and Scott are mortal enemies. Both love to get under each other's skin, and the ever improvising Geary and Shriner are great together. With all of that, Logan is still being written out. No official reason why. Duhon's remarks at his first fan meet-and-greet may not have helped his time at GH. He said that the character of Johnny (Brandon Barash) was superfluous. Oops. Johnny is a major GH player, and Logan is outta there.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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