THE GH SPINOFF THAT WASN'T NIGHT SHIFT

I watched two episodes of PORT CHARLES tonight that I DVRed off of SoapNet. I revisit this show from time to time, out of nostalgia for the astonishing TAINTED LOVE arc. It might have been the best daytime drama I'd EVER seen -- vampire Caleb (brilliantly played by the sexy Michael Easton) ran amok in Port Charles, causing more havoc than Barnabas Collins did in four years of DARK SHADOWS. Unfortunately, PC's telenovela style arcs meant that Caleb was gone in 13 weeks, and I stopped watching. The supernatural (and Caleb!) later returned to the show with a vengeance, but I could never get back into it for some reason. I love watching the SoapNet reruns for a hint of how nuts the show became -- werewolves, vampires, angels and a load of familiar faces who would go onto other soaps but never anything as adventurous as this. Unlike PASSIONS, PC played the supernatural seriously, like Anne Rice characters in a Stephen King setting, but that wasn't enough to save the show from ultimately being cancelled (ending on a wild cliffhanger!) Despite being a GENERAL HOSPITAL spinoff, no characters from PC ever made their way back to their origin show except Scotty Baldwin, who I think never interacted with any of the horror elements anyway. I think NIGHT SHIFT could take a page or two from its' wilder predecessor -- after all, what better place for a vampire than a night shift at a blood -filled hospital? ( And fans of the surprisingly defunct MOONLIGHT need a new place for romantic vampire shenanigans! Come on SoapNet! Grow a brain and grab that demographic!)