Port Charles is a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York. The new show featured longtime General Hospital characters Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, Scott Baldwin and Karen Wexler, along with several new characters, most of whom were interns in a competitive medical school program. In the first episode, tenured nurse Audrey Hardy (General Hospital's longest-running character, portrayed by Rachel Ames) was injured and an intern had to operate on her with a power drill to save her life.
In the first few years, Port Charles got a reputation for focusing most of its energies on the medical school program, setting more of its main action at Port Charles's General Hospital than was seen on the parent show, General Hospital. As it evolved, it turned its focus to stories with gothic intrigue that included themes such as forbidden love, vampires, and life after death. It also abandoned the basic open-ended writing style used on all other daytime dramas in December 2000, instead creating thirteen-week story arcs (which were also referred to as "books"). This type of storytelling is a staple of latin telenovelas. It also allowed the cast, crew, and writing staff to only work six months out of the year.
Port Charles never attracted strong ratings. Since it taped for only six months out of the year, the remaining episodes were aired with the cast not allowed to return to tape resolutions to storylines. This left the final episode as a cliffhanger; Caleb told Olivia that Alison (Erin Hershey Presley) was pregnant with his baby because of the wish that she (Olivia) made on his ring and it was revealed that Imani was a werewolf.
After Port Charles, the characters of Scott Baldwin and Audrey Hardy returned to General Hospital, and many of the other actors from Port Charles moved on to play roles on other dramas, including a few who took on new roles in General Hospital, such as actors Kelly Monaco, Kiko Ellsworth, Eddie Matos, Kent King and Jay Pickett.
Story arcs[]
13 Week Arcs (“Books”)
- Port Charles: Fate (12/04/00 – 03/02/01)
- Port Charles: Time In A Bottle (03/05/01 – 06/01/01)
- Port Charles: Tainted Love (06/04/01 – 08/31/01)
- Port Charles: Tempted (09/03/01 – 11/30/01)
- Port Charles: Miracles Happen (12/03/01 – 12/31/01)
- Port Charles: Secrets (01/02/02 – 03/29/02)
- Port Charles: Superstition (04/01/02 – 06/28/02)
- Port Charles: Torn (07/01/02 – 09/27/02)
- Port Charles: Naked Eyes (09/30/02 – 12/27/02)
- Port Charles: Surrender (12/30/02 – 04/01/03)
- Port Charles: Desire (04/02/03 – 07/04/03)
- Port Charles: The Gift (07/07/03 – 10/03/03)
Cast of characters[]
Actor | Role | Status |
---|---|---|
Susan Brown | Gail Baldwin | 1997–1999, 2003 (recurring) |
Peter Hansen | Lee Baldwin | 1997–2003 (recurring) |
Lynn Herring | Lucy Coe | 1997–2003 (entire run) |
Jon Lindstrom | Kevin Collins | 1997–2003 (entire run) |
Kin Shriner | Scott Baldwin | 1997–2000, 2001 |
Rachel Ames | Audrey Hardy | 1997–2000 |
Jay Pickett | Frank Scanlon | 1997–2003 (entire run) |
Nolan North | Chris Ramsey | 1997–2003 (entire run) |
Nicholas Pryor | Victor Collins | 1997–2003 (recurring) |
Julie Pinson | Eve Lambert Collins Thornhart | 1997–2002 |
Lisa Ann Hadley | Julie Devlin | 1997–2000, 2001 |
Mitch Longley | Matt Harmon | 1997–2000 |
Jennifer Hammon Marie Wilson |
Karen Wexler (#2) Karen Wexler (#3) |
1997–1999 1999–2003 |
Patricia Crowley | Mary Scanlon Collins | 1997–2003 (recurring) |
Anastasia Horne | Lark Madison-Scanlon | 1997–1999 (recurring) |
Michael Dietz David Gail Alex Mendoza |
Joe Scanlon (#1) Joe Scanlon(#2) Joe Scanlon (#3) |
1997–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001, 2002 |
Debbi Morgan Marie-Alise Recasner |
Ellen Burgess (#1) Ellen Morgan Burgess (#2) |
1997–1998 1998–1999 |
Renee Griffin | Danielle Ashley | 1997–1998 |
Rib Hillis | Jake Marshak | 1997–1998 |
Carly Schroeder | Serena Baldwin | 1997–2003 |
Sarah Aldrich | Courtney Kanelos | 1998–2000 |
Colton James | Neil Kanelos | 1998–2000 |
Kelly Monaco | Olivia "Livvie" Locke Morley Tess Ramsey |
1999–2003 2002–2003 |
Kimberlin Brown | Rachel Locke | 1999–2000, 2001 |
Kiko Ellsworth | Jamal Woods | 2000–2003 |
Erin Hershey Presley | Alison Barrington | 2000–2003 |
Thorsten Kaye | Ian Thornhart | 2000–2003 |
Ion Overman | Gabriela Garza | 2000–2002 |
Brian Presley | Jack Ramsey | 2000–2003 |
Michael Easton | Caleb Morley Michael Morley Stephen Clay |
2001, 2002–2003 2001 2002–2003 |
Brian Gaskill | Rafe Kovich | 2001–2003 |
Jed Allan | Ed Grant | 2001–2003 (recurring) |
Eddie Matos | Ricky Garza | 2001–2003 |
Joy Bisco | Casey Leong Marissa Leong |
2002, 2003 2002–2003 |
Rebecca Staab | Elizabeth Barrington | 2002–2003 |
Dan Deublein | Victor Collins | 1999–2000 (recurring) |
Ian Buchanan | Joshua Temple | 2002–2003 |
Shannon Sturges | Kate Reynolds | 2002–2003 (recurring) |
George Alvarez Eddie Velez |
Alex Garcia (#1) Alex Garcia (#2) |
1997–1999 1999–2001 |
Matt Amshey | Michael Pomerantz | 1999-2000 (recurring) |
Vanessa Branch | Paige Barrington Smith Rebecca Barrington |
2002 1999–2001 |
Opal Anchel | Arianna Shapour | 2001 (recurring) |
Sally Spaide | Dr. Doreen Luccio | 2002-2003 (recurring) |
Laura Nevell | Brenda Madison | 2002-2003 (recurring) |
See also[]
- General Hospital: Night Shift - 2007/2008 General Hospital spin-off
External links[]
- Template:Imdb title
- Template:Tv.com show
- SOAPnet PC Page
- Port Charles @ soapcentral.com Page
- Port Charles - SoapZone
Template:Port Charles