Chris B

The next episode I have to watch from season three is Silver Shadows. I must say I'm finding it a bit hard getting through it. There are too many self-contained episodes and not all of them are strong. Especially Three Sisters in the haunted house. It's also unbelievable how useless Kenny and Ginger are, although her relationship with Joe and rivalry with Ciji improved things for her. Oh yes, that is a great film and I definitely see the inspiration. Especially for Richard, Laura, Gary and Val.

Today my DVDs of Pacific Palisades, Savannah and Emerald Point NAS just arrived. Now I'm just waiting for CPW and Model's Inc. I'll let you know what I think of them once I start watching.

The Monroes was GREAT and deserved to live longer. I haven't seen many of the short-lived ones so it's hard to say. Falcon Crest is pure popcorn TV, but enjoyable. Dynasty is EXCELLENT for three seasons, pure trash the rest. Not even good trash. The Colbys was a better executed clone of Dynasty with a stronger lead. Knots Landing is god-like. Dallas is much better than I recalled. Their season long plotting was exquisite and the show was unique. Melrose Place is a very funny show thats better than I remembered.

I'm starting to see why The Culliton's were replaced so soon. BTW, Eric I think you wanted to know more specifically when they left. I saw in one of those articles you posted (I think it was you) that they were canned after three months. I'm towards the end of July and I have episodes through October, so I'll let you know when Lynn Latham arrives. But these early days are full of potential that's going nowhere. Two major problems 1. You have Debbi Morgan playing this great new bitchy character and give her nothing to do? Just ridiculous. She needs to be interacting with Lucy, Kevin, etc. who are her age and could relate to her. 1. Why the hell is there a frontburner story with the end of Karen and Jaggar's marriage if he's not even on the show? They should've began the show with those two divorced. I'm so sick of hearing where Jaggar is and how busy he is to appear on screen. I also think it's disrespectful to fans of the couple to break them up in such a harsh way. I've never seen Jaggar, but he seems like an ass based on this. I'm also not crazy about Wayne Northrop's character, but then again I never have liked him. Overall the show is well produced, I just want it to start moving. They've developed interesting characters and potential couplings, now get with it. I hope they give Matt a story soon.

She was such a good looking girl and more talented than the annoying lame ass Hannah, Sarah and Nancy. I was so sad when he wrote her off. Right now I'm trying to get through Xmas week and hope that Hannah hurries and leaves. God. This whole show is unwatchable. I want to skip all these episodes, but it's not like I have anything to look forward to. Emmerdale, on the other hand, is such a page turner I wish I could watch every episode in one sitting just so I can see what happens. I want to see into the future with that show! I can't say the same for any of my soaps, UK or US. And watching completely spoiler free is just shocking.

I do wonder what hand David Jacobs had in his soaps. On Knots and Dallas, I know he wrote scripts and in interviews has credited himself with major story points like killing off Ciji Dunne. Maybe he was like the lead headwriter or more of an executive producer with a hands on approach with the writing? I know he was heavily involved in Knots. When John Romano destroyed the show (not totally his fault), it was Jacobs who (after creating a midseason cliffhanger) shut down production, brought in Ann Marcus and got the show back on track. It was a remarkable turnaround that you don't often see midseason on a primetime series.

I actually don't remember her soap stints on Paper Dolls or Falcon Crest, lol. I guess that says it all.

Whenever my Emerald Point NAS set arrives I'll upload clips to YouTube so you guys cam see it. I've read that the show had strong ratings for the premiere, but they dropped as the weeks went on. I guess it makes sense now that I see it was pre-empted three times. That would kill almost any new show. The problem I had was that there were so many characters and so many of them were dull. I especially hated Mimi Rogers and Nancy Olson on this show. Nicolette Sheridan, Terry Ferrell, Dack Rambo and Brenda Vaccaro (some names may be messed up) rocked that show. That is harsh, but I did feel something was off in the one episode of Flamingo Road I've seen. I need to buy this show it really interests me. Plus it has two seasons which is better than most short lived primetime soaps. I do have one general comment...so much of this thread seems devoted to the short-lived primetime soaps. As a result, I've already purchased Emerald Point NAS, Pacific Palisades and Savannah. I'll soon be ordering Titans, Models Inc, CPW, The Street and Malibu Road 2000. Now my question...can we discuss the longer running ones too? I could just run wild when it comes to Dallas and Knots Landing! And how I feel Dynasty was brilliant, modern cable quality for three seasons and complete trash the others.

There was a collector years ago with Berrengers, but he went off line before I could get it. I did manage to ind Emerald Point NAS, another rarity, but I've been waiting ages for that to arrive. Both shows sound interesting. LML was also a writer on Berrengers and after that show I believe she went to Knots. Similar to their deal at CBS, Lynn and Bernie were allowed to pick from Falcon Crest, Dallas and Knots Landing. I think they chose Knots because they would've had more creative power. I'd have to dig that interview up to find out.

I was curious about the writers of The Monroes and I found out a little bit. Chip Johannessen and David Alan Johnson were both producers and writers for the series. I'm guessing one or both were the creator. Nancy Miller was a writer. Chip wrote for 90210 from 92-94, then produced the 94-95 season. He's a producer at 24 this season and has been writing episodes for the show since 2001. Also a producer on Dark Angel and Moonlight. David Alan wrote and produced robbish like The Pretender and Sue Thomas FB Eye. Nancy Miller is the EP of Saving Grace and Any Day Now for both series entire runs. She also was EP of CSI: Miami for one season. Their credits weren't as soapy as I expected. Wonder what let them all to their primetime soap detour.

If you look at a lot of failed shows, being on the wrong network or bad timing or scheduling can definitely hurt a show. Look at Dark Shadows, it started off hot, but kept being pre-empted and moved around due to the Gulf War so it lost momentum and was canceled. Pasadena on FOX was Desperate Housewives, but darker, better acted and better written. I think that's a show that came a couple years too soon and was on the wrong network. Speaking of, has anyone mentioned Pasadena in this thread?? It was pretty brilliant. As much as I hate Dana Delany on DH, she killed it on this show. Balthazar Getty was also much better here than on Brothers and Sisters. Another great, amazingly brilliant short lived soap is The Monroes. I don't know who wrote or produced it or what network it was on, but it was brilliant. William Devane and Susan Sullivan, two of TVs greats, just killed it as the matriarch and patriarch of this uber rich political family. I don't know how or why this show failed or how it was recieved. All I know it that it was brilliant. Hate that it didn't even last 13 episodes.

That's a good choice if you wanted to axe an entire family, but I am surprised they'd get rid of Josh. He's young and still had so much to give. I thought he was working well in the halls. It'll be interesting to see what happens there. Since those characters don't have many family connections they could all go. I'd predict now that the Valentine's are all gone. Amy is gone and so is Ste. I wonder if Tony and Dom will survive. I don't think Loretta will.

I missed this article on the previous page! Very interesting, thanks for posting Paul Raven. I love that the producer slapped Lana Turner back. I bet she deserved it. Now I want to see this show even more. Sounds very lavish and expensive and since they want to downplay the soapy aspects it's probably as camp as a row of tents. Interesting that the producer came from Peyton Place. Explains why there was another primetime soap yet it didn't become a trend. Since I'm assuming this one is an hour I wonder if it has more in common with the 80s primetime soaps.

I just screened the flash forward episode and it was terrible. I can't believe they've locked themselves in until May with such an uninspired episode. I feel like more should've happened, it was underwhelming. I do think I could've enjoyed something like the church bombing by Niall and then going back and seeing him insinuate his way into the McQueen's lives. The stakes here just don't seem big. Calvin got shot. So what?

I'll have to check your YouTube page. I do recall seeing two episodes of the show. One with Donna Mills and a kidnapped baby and one where Leslie Charleston is in a car accident. I also recall seeing Beverlee McKinsey and John Karlen, not sure if it were a third episode or in one of the previous two I saw. Another short lived show that seems good is The Young Marrieds. I have maybe two episodes of it and it seemed ahead of it's time. I really need to watch your Secret Storm episode. I've only seen that show from the 50s and it seems so interesting. Marla Adams character sounds legendary. I have to ask a quick question about the Valley of the Dolls remake. Was it more like a daytime soap or primetime one? And was there really nudity? Was it any good? I'm surprised the original series didn't do more for Barbara Parkins career. She is truly a goddess. I'm so glad you've been posting on this board. It's nice to have another lover of classic soaps here. Since WoST died it's been hard to talk with people about classic soaps. I wish there were still a portal to just focus on classic soaps.

I wonder this about these soaps too. Why not just Manufacture On Demand? They do it for lots of little primetime shows, why not at least try the existing daytime soaps? You can't lose money if you make it after someone purchases it! Or put the episodes online either for free with ads or via a price. Some money is better than nothing. It's really silly. Like when SOAPnet wanted Santa Barbara, but couldn't negotiate a good price because of the music. How much money did they end up with now? Not a damn dime. Not sure if they'd view it the same way, but they got after him for uploading an episode of the original series, so they'd probably complain. I've been a PP fan since before I was a soap fan. I thought I'd never see the original series and now I have the entire series. I'm hopeful that one day I'll eventually see at least one episode of RTPP. The tide will turn for soaps someday. Connie had a child out of wedlock. They had two choices: punish Connie and turn her into a vixen or quickly marry her off to Alison's father so their heroine isn't illegitimate. You know how it worked back then Eric!

On one hand, it was smart of Shout! to start buying series only partially in case it's a flop, but in the case of Peyton Place it kinda backfired on them because Fox isn't happy with the sales. I think a place like Shout! is the way to go for soaps, but nobody really cares enough about soaps to pursue it. The Manufacture On Demand idea is good too. I was looking at the UCLA archive and they seemed to have years of GH and that was the 60s. I think there are more episodes of all the soaps but since no one cares, how would we know? I'd always hoped Love Is A Many SPlendored Thing, Where the Heart Is and Return to Peyton Place were around in some form. Those are three classic soaps (besides Y&R) that I dream of seeing. The 70s in particular is the most fasinating period for soaps, IMO. I was sort of proved right after watching Ryan's Hope. I figured this would happen. I didn't know dead characters returned, but I figured people like Martin Peyton, Connie & Elliot and Hannah Cord would be brought back with no explanation. And I think they ignored Mike Rossi's new wife and family and pretty much anything going on at the end of the series. The only way they somewhat acknowledged the continuation aspect is by having Alison return to town. I totally agree. Knots and Peyton Place were such a step above the other primetime soaps. Both took their time and focused on the characters. I love that something like Val's babies really was a major focus for almost three seasons. Networks wouldn't have that patience today. The entire story would happen in half a season. I never expected RTPP to be as strong as the primetime series which was a hard act to follow. Just from pictures I could tell they had problems casting Alison. The girl from the 85 movie was pretty spot on though. Dead ringer and even had the same hairstyle. Shocked that she could actually act as well. Now with Connie I do wish the original show did something more with her. I hate how due to ethics standards they instantly dropped the romance with Rossi due to Elliot's arrival. Why not at least play a love triangle? She had good chemistry with Rossi. Interesting what you say about Betty. I knew that would be a hard act to follow. Alison and Betty are such multi-faceted characters and actually very unique as well. Norman and Hannah should be difficult to recast too.

I'm shocked! Reading an article about TNG and it says that they never attempted contacting Mia Farrow or Ryan O'Neal. Michael Filerman said that even if they were interested they would cost too much so they didn't bother. Kinda disappointed in that. I do think it would've been possible to get Ryan O'Neal back which could've helped get a new series up and running. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=191&dat=19850205&id=DLUuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=li4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6673,3244318 Regardless of Alison and Rod, it was a very satisfying reunion. Most of these pictures are missing something. Either a random assortment of characters returning or the wrong tone or simply an awful story. With this I felt it was an update that stayed true to the series and the story was actually interesting as if it were more episodes of the series. The characters were well written and the final act was pretty amazing. I just wish certain actors (Ruth Warrick, Patricia Morrow and Chris Connelly in particular) did more.

So you do have episodes from the daytime series? I didn't know any existed! How were the recasts on the series? How was the show overall? Did it stack up well as a continuation of the original series? So strange that they'd get upset about one episode, as if they give a damn about Peyton Place or any other soap sitting in their vault. They're not even the ones releasing it to DVD, Shout Factory is! And they're being difficult now that Shout wants to license more episodes. I do hope when it comes to the DVD releases, if the series ever was released in it's entirety, I hope they follow up with episodes of the daytime series. Maybe it'll be one of those lucky soaps sitting in a vault complete, or hell I'll settle for one or two episodes as bonus features with the two movies. Would be great to see the first week or month of that show to see how they relaunched it.

Oh I didn't know about that! In addition to the regular Return To Peyton Place, I'm curious about the primetime episode that show did, the first for any soap. I wonder since that show had just went off the air if the original cast mentioned it on Revisited. Patricia Morrow did both so she could've given first hand knowledge.

David Canary was really sexy and full of muscles. I wasn't expecting all that, but dayum. The man still has such charisma and dominates any scene he's in. His story was good so you have something to look forward to. Murder is an absolute nightmare and I can't believe it was written by anyone involved with the original series. The entire film was centered around a very memorable character from the original series, but poorly recast. The actor was so important to the role that it fell flat. Of course you have no Alison or Rod, but Betty and Steven were recast and Rita was MIA and they didn't even mention her name when describing where she was. The only people that came back were Connie, Elliot and Norman. Because Rita wasn't around they brought on a random later years character to marry Norman off to which made no sense. It felt hollow and was your typical mystery movie of the week. Didn't feel like Peyton Place at all. I decided to go ahead and watch TNG and it is really good. Even the things that were re-written don't bother me because it's well executed and I see why they did it now. Barbara Parkins is an absolute goddess. Why didn't another soap pick her up? Watching her she's aged so well and could stand next to Linda Gray (who starred in Murder In PP btw) and Donna Mills and just kill it. I was worried about color, but the show is so beautiful it didn't bother me. Initially it was very bright and they highlighted color in every way possible. Everyone was wearing bright pastels and the sets really popped. Then I guess something changed and the colors became more neutral and things looked more real, but still very nice.

I always thought The Girl From Peyton Place was meant to air after the show was canceled. I don't know if it would've worked having PP on air and a similar spin-off. Might be too much burn out. Now I do wish they had tried to launch another primetime soap in those days. I know in 1969 Lana Turner headlined a soap called The Survivors, but info is limited and episodes are not available at all. Other than Return To Peyton Place, I'd love to know more about the 1979 pilot starring Elain Princi as Betty Anderson and Adam West was cast as well.

From the credits he was the headwriter for most of Peyton Place. I totally agree with this. This is the format that the British soaps picked up. Better production values and a faster pace, but also very character driven and constantly flowing and evolving. Another great wonder of Peyton Place is how they can introduce a new character. No real spoilers, but the show constantly would add one or two new characters and almost center the show around them with the other characters being weaved into their umbrella story. With all these new characters so far I believed that they were truly living in Peyton Place off screen and heaven help those poor outsiders who dare to enter those city limits! One thing you two need to wait for is Ruth Warrick as Hannah Cord. She is a page turner. Every single episode another layer is peeled off and she is just god like. It makes me want to see Warrick on As the World Turns (an oriignal cast member!) and All My Children. Since I never saw much classic AMC, she was new to me and boy did she make an impression. I know AMC let her do the reunion film, The Next Generation, but what would've happened if it was picked up to series? You guys probably don't know, but Michael Filerman (the EP of Knots Landing, Dallas and Falcon Crest) was hired to revamp the show as a new primetime serial. I haven't watch TNG in it's entirety, but from what I saw he updated it well. The writing is what annoys me. Like these modern remakes they completely rewrote history in several cases. Still, I look forward to watching it. Murder In Peyton Place is pure trash (pivitol roles are poorly recast including Betty, story sucks, etc.), but TNG got a ton of cast members back and seemed to be more choherent. I just can't decide if I should watch it now or save it to air after the final episode. Again no spoilers, but I totally agree! People like to say the show went to crap when it went to color, but I totally disagree. The scripts are just as good and there are some of the most powerful stories the show ever had. What I love most is that in many ways this show is more daring than modern soaps, yet they don't actually spell it out for you. Sex was dealt with in such a powerful and graphic way, but only from the emotional aspect. They never say the word sex or rape, but the actors and writers are so vivid that you totally understand. Today I don't think a soap could get around with a young heroine talking about how much she enjoyed sex and not be considering some evil whore or the show being hailed as immoral. It's all about how you choose to deal with issues and PP knew that. They milked human situations for all they were worth which made every episode a page turner. In the books Betty was never a major character and she was meant to be killed off early in the tv series. Honestly, most of the changes worked for me. I liked what they did with the Harrington/Peyton family and making Michael Rossi was perfect. You then got to use Matthew Swain as the newspaper head and a father figure for Allison. I am a little surprised as the series took off that they didn't look back to the book for stories or characters to bring on. As for those poor characters from the wrong side o the track, just wait. I can think of several that come and shake things up in a big way. Class conflict is a major issue very soon. You see some of that with Betty, but it gets bigger until it just explodes around where I am. He's absolutely one of the best characters on the show. I loved just how tragic that Anderson family was. By modern standards they're good people, but back then and especially in this nosey town people could drive you mad. They were all victims of the time. I also loved Julie's relationship with Leslie. I'd love to see a new soap set in the 60s and written like Peyton Place. WOuld just make fabulous viewing.

I haven't seen that sweet lady Sally in a while. I hope she returns soon. My homegirl Charity has gotten herself in a world of trouble. I can't wait to see how things develop for her character. She's the most fabulous schemer in the soap land. She's like the second coming of Jill Foster. My heart is breaking for her, Cain and Debbie. The acting and writing is on point with this story. I love how violent he was with her. It's all very explosive and they're milking it for all it's worth. Love that about a soap. Great build up, great confrontations and it keeps going and going! The Wylde family is becoming more familiar to me. They are straight out of a US soap. In fact, Emmerdale as a whole feels very American. Loving Mark and his bitchy wife Natasha. Maisie and the evil son are great. Can't wait to see more of this family, especially whats coming with Faye and Ryan. Another character I'm enjoying is Moira. She was in the first episodes I watched and continues to delight me. She has a tough quality, but is very sexy as well. Just a no [!@#$%^&*]-taking woman. I wonder if she'll go through with this affair. Now some spoiler questions (not too much detail please!) I just completeled November btw: 1. Does Moira have an affair with the cook? I think his name is Marlon. 2. Do either of the Sharma brothers get love interests? 3. Do Cain and Charity stay in town? Get back together maybe?

This is how I feel about Loving stealing Ryan's Hope's timeslot, thus killing the show. But Bill Bell also did that to Capitol in order to get B&B on the air. Right now I have episodes through October 1997, but I've just finished June 30th. Debbi's character is a total bitch, but the role seems very supporting so far. I wonder how they'll tie the older characters in with the interns. It works because both sides are strong, but I'd like more integration. In the June 30th episode Ellen (Morgan) had a drink with Mark, the paralyzed hunk so I guess they'll be pursuing that. From what I read in this thread and elsewhere, she left because they began softening the role and I know when the recast took over the character was recurring and didn't do much of anything. Well I don't have enough to do that, but right now the Culliton's are writing. Richard and Carolyn, as HWs. I know LML and Scott Hamner came next, then Hamner took over sometime in 1999 and Karen Harris in 2000, then B&E after that. Wendy Riche is the EP right now. One thing I really need to say is how much I love Lucy. I know her only as a vampire slayer, but she is absolutely delightful in these early episodes. She also wasn't as tanned as she was on ATWT, which is a good thing. The character of Scott is another that absolutely works on this new show. It's a shame he left this for GH and they wrote him so poorly.