General Hospital
December 2, 2005

 

Rick Springfield returns as Dr. Noah Drake after a 23 year absence.

Tony Jones tells Robin Scorpio "he's one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, maybe the world. His file is full of one success story after another.  He operates on high risk patients that most won't touch and he performs miracles.

Robins says: "so if anyone can save Jason, he can."

Tony: "I warn you, if you go with him, you're going to have your work cut out for you."

Robin goes to 154 Butler  looking for Dr. Noah Drake and finds him passed out at a table.  So she pours water on him.

Noah: "Geez, what the hell's your problem?"

Robin: "You're Noah Drake, the neurosurgeon, right?"

Noah: "What?!  That guy's dead.  He checked out a long time ago.  Why don't you let him rest in peace."

Robin has somewhat of a confused/startled look. (not impressed with what she has found - or maybe she's just wondering what that black stuff is on his hands <water soluble paint from the chair, we heard from Rick>).

And so ends the first day of Noah Drake's return to General Hospital

[approximately 26 seconds of Noah content]

According to US

This was such a small, sweet tease of a scene. After much anticipation the first glimpse we see of Dr. Drake "after all these years" is the top of his head. In a conversation I once had with someone, the topic centered around whether or not I could pick out the back of Rick's head across a crowded room. My answer was yes. I think not even knowing Rick was returning to GH this day - I would've known it was his head on the table. Never mind it was released early and clips of it were all over the internet. To actually see it air in it's appropriate spot was thrilling. It's almost as if it's the start of a new era.

I think Rick handled this first scene very well, considering the poor planning on the set designer's part. Didn't they know water was going to be dumped on him? What made people notice the black paint on Rick's hands more was the fact that you could see Rick noticing the black paint on his hands. The worse detail, in my opinion, was that the address Robin had listed for Noah was the bar. Unless it was a venue like Kelly's where there are apartments upstairs (which was never verified) they should have had a scene where someone outside of Noah's apartment told her a better place to find Noah was the bar. - Michelle P.

To be quite honest, I think I'm still in shock that Noah Drake is back. This is a day I really never thought I'd see. I think it took this first episode for me to get use to the idea. Twenty-three years is a long time. We've all changed, Noah has changed, Rick has changed, I have changed. It's really hard to wrap up 23 years of expectations in a 60 second clip. I think because of that and because we had already seen that clip on numerous interviews and websites, this day was a bit of a let down. Thankfully, there's still a lot of possibility ahead and I cannot wait to see what else is coming. When watching that first scene, I'm seeing Rick Springfield acting, and I'm not really feeling Noah Drake yet. Not sure if that's him or me, or if we just don't have enough to go by or what.  rlh

Robin and Tony are discussing their options. Tony says he is thinking of a doctor who is the "best neurosurgeon in the country, perhaps the world AND he performs miracles!" Then he tells Robin "But I warn you, if you go with him you'll have your work cut out for you". OK so this neurosurgeon is SO good yet Robin would never have heard about him? And does Tony know about the drinking issue? Or is his warning more about the ego? And, why had Tony waited until NOW to bring this idea up? 
Move to the bar scene Robin is sent to a bar address? I guess we are to assume there is an apartment above it (a la Kelly's) or does Noah really get his mail sent here? Anyway, Robin is directed to the "Doc" and the camera swivels to Noah face down on the table. So I assume if you were living under a rock and did not know Rick was coming back at this point you would still be in quite the suspense mode. 

I'm now going to assume Robin tried (unsuccessfully) to call Noah's name before she resorted to dumping an entire pitcher of liquid on Noah's head.  Because in reality, if she wanted his help I'm thinking this was not the best way to start the conversation. But after he is doused, Noah stumbles back and Robin then tries to confirm his identify. Noah, tells her "That guy's dead, he checked out a long time ago, why don't you let him rest in peace"  Robin grimaces, her face seems to say "Is this what Tony meant?" 
 *THE END* Weeks and weeks of build up for that and then it was so brief! I went in knowing it was a Friday so a cliff-hanger might be coming but I'd hoped for a little more Rick....err Noah! - Jen H.

Thank goodness Rick was there, even it was for the last 5 minutes of the show! Scared me for a sec, I thought maybe Noah really wasn't coming back to Port Charles ¦that it was all a dream. Rick always did say he'd never return to GH, but here he is as a drunk and a failure (and dressed in flannel!) At the 1st viewing of Rick's return to GH, I thought he looked pretty rough the way he was made up to look. It appears Noah has had a rough go since the 80's. I must still have the Dr. McSmoothie image burned in my brain, because Noah's appearance startled me! But now as I play back this performance, I actually like that "rough around the edges" look.
 
I love how Rick stumbles up  and back after Robin Scorpio throws water on him It was perfect. 
What a "sweet teaser!" 
I am thrilled to see him return to his Noah role. He shined in that role before, and he will again. - Kelley Pearson

I knew we wouldn’t see Noah until the very end of the show on his first day back. I have watched soaps for too many years not to be expecting that! I actually felt sorry for him, being doused with water like that in his first scene. He really played out that part wonderfully! - Amy L.