General Hospital (UK TV series) productions to fill in the extended schedules. Among the first of these shows, which were aimed at giving advertisers access to housewives, were the long-running rural soap "Emmerdale Farm" (YTV) and the twice-weekly medical drama "General Hospital". Set in a fictional Midlands town, the series followed the romantic and professional lives of its doctors and nurses. While the location and the characters names had been changed, in most other respects "General Hospital" was almost identical to its predecessor, "Emergency – Ward 10", a deliberate attempt to recreate its success. In 1975, after 270 twice-weekly episodes, "General Hospital" was given a
General Hospital former cable channel SoapNet, with a marathon on Saturday and classic episodes at 4 A.M. EST and 5 A.M. (3.AM, 4 A.M. CST). ABC stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, and in Alaska and Hawaii follow a Central time zone schedule for daytime programming; thus, "General Hospital" is scheduled by the network to air at 1:00 pm in these areas. "For historical ratings information, see List of U.S. daytime soap opera ratings" The popularity of "General Hospital" has gained it many parodies and references in other mainstream programs. For example: "General Hospital" has many famous fans, including: The