Melroser

Jake and Vicky came to town together as a couple and then he turned to Marley. I enjoyed them from the get-go because I always found Marley annoying as Hell and hated Jake with her. The two had history way before he raped her sister but I do agree that "real people" would never be attracted to their sister's rapist after that. At least, I would hope not. They wouldn't likely fall in love with their rapist either (Luke and Laura) but this is tv so I went with it. To each their own....

I never liked Joe as a character. It was such a disappointing pairing for Paulina after the chemistry she had with Jake. Even though I'm glad that Jake ended up with Vicky in the end, I think he was by far the best pairing for Paulina. If only Ryan had stayed around to end up with Vicky and then Paulina could have ended up with Jake.

I thought Anne Heche had said in interviews about the temp sub for Jensen that the show contacted her agent/mgr and was told no but Anne didn't know anything about it until after the fact when it was too late. She said that if she had known that she would have done the short stint.

Josie is Russ' daughter, yes. Russ was supposed to be a thorn in the side of the John/Sharlene pairing but I never really bought it.

I thought Evan was revealed as Janice's son around the time of the 25th anniversary eps when he was in the boiler room with Gwen and Rachel.

I had a crush on Scott back then too! He was so gorgeous but I hated Scott and Cheryl as a couple. I wish he had been Vicky and Marley's brother then maybe we wouldn't have had Nick (Michael's son). (Mark Mortimer was also a hottie but I never understood the real purpose of Nick.) Scott could have been a pivotal character during Marley's rape/Jake's shooting and become a viable rival of Jake's.

It would have made A LOT more sense to pair up Rachel with Steve after Mac's death than to pair her with Carl whom terrorized them and tried to kill Mac. I could never buy into them as a couple.

I remember watching Pacific Palisades when it originally aired and finding it not very good. It had potential (with Finola Hughes and Michelle Stafford) but it just didn't go anywhere for me. Maybe I'll refresh my memory with some eps but I wasn't surprised when it ended quickly. I did like Central Park West though. Madchen Amick was everything for that show! The retooling into CPW I enjoyed because Raquel Welch was far more entertaining than Muriel Hemingway's character ever was.I wish that show had gone on.

I didn't realize Katie Cassidy has her haters. I'm not an Arrow fan, obviously.

I've only seen bits of the original Dynasty so I don't have an allegiance to it. But considering what the CW did to Melrose Place I don't have much hope for this succeeding. With that said, however, The CW should pull in Katie Cassidy (Ex-Ella, MP 2.0) in as the new Amanda. From what I know of the character, she could play the hell out of it and she IS someone that the CW audience is familiar with from MP, Gossip Girl, and Arrow.

I can't blame Anna Stuart either considering a lot of Donna's contemporaries were gone: Michael, John, Sharlene, and as mentioned, Iris not coming back. All Donna was used for was a sounding board for Vicky/Marley. Donna was too important of a character to just be used that way. I thought the show was coming around at the end as well. I liked having Sandra and Matt back as Amanda and Matt. Lila was great and the rivalry she had with Vicky. The Anne (Frankie)/Cass/Lila triangle was interesting. Marley/Tyrone were a good match and intriguing. I really liked Chris and Toni.

i remember reading the speculation that before AW got the cancellation notice Alice Barrett was going to return as Frankie but I would have been interested in learning how. She didn't die off-screen.We not only watched her death but we watched Cass visit her in the morgue holding her dead, bruised body to say his goodbyes. It would be hard to explain how Cass held her cold, life-less body without noticing. Cecile is one of my favorite daytime characters of all time and I agree that after Frankie was killed she should have been the one to reach out to Cass to comfort him. Of course, everyone in town would assume she was up to something and scheming but would have been nice to show that she genuinely loved him and just trying to bring him out of the darkness. When the show wrote out Michael, John, and Sharlene they should have refocused back on Rachel's family like others have said above. That would have been the time to bring back Iris, Jamie, and Nancy. Some kind of family crisis/scare for Rachel maybe causing them to return.

Watching the old November 24, 1987 episode on youtube (some of the Cass/Rex dual role time) and hanging out in the background of the scenes that are taking place at Mary's Place is Kevin McClatchy who later plays Nick Hudson. Weird seeing him sitting behind Anne Heche's Vicky.

Yeah, I understood the history that they were using and even Sam Groom (Ex-Russ) as the minister for the ceremony but I just can't help wondering if Vicky Wyndham read the last scripts and was thinking: this? We're going out after 35 years like this? A gorilla kidnapping? haha. I did enjoy the cast leaving messages to the audience via the guise of leaving them as well wishes for Cass and Lila. It was a nice touch along with Rachel's last scene. I was never a fan of the Rachel/Carl pairing so showing her walking off hand-in-hand with Carl was disappointing for me...but that's just my opinion. Never bought into Rachel accepting the man whom tried to kill Mac (more than once?) and once held her captive as the new love of her life.

I still miss this show every day. I've always wondered what Vicky Wyndham's thoughts were on the last few eps of the show that she was on for so long. Rachel having to "dance for the gorilla" to help Cass get away, etc., instead of focusing on Rachel and her family. Has she ever said anything publicly? We've all commented on the end of the show and I realize that there wasn't any time to write a proper ending that it deserved but still....the last episode should have focused on Rachel and involved flashbacks including Mac and Ada.

I for one turned into OLTL when AW was ending/ended BECAUSE they had so many former AW actors on there: Kale Browne, Robin Christopher, John Bolger, Tim Gibbs, Linda Dano, and even Kevin McClatchy. I was too young when Robin Strasser was on AW but I also enjoyed her and Catherine Hickland. Because of these people I got hooked and never stopped until cancellation. :-( The story that hooked me was Lindsey being on trial for running down Jessica when it was Dorian that had done it. I never looked back.

I could imagine that trying to premiere a new show (such as Texas) at the time opposite GH and GL would have been a daunting task for anyone. It's too bad about the constant time slot shifts because people don't like change. People are creatures of habit and if they have the habit of watching a show at lunch time then they won't tend to follow it if it gets moved to a later time (say 2 or 3).

Agree with the above. The Cass/Lila wedding would have been okay for a sweeps "stunt" (although it was a bit too over the top for me) but having a show of 35 years go out on that note was very disappointing. I understand that the show barely had any time to wrap so it probably wasn't their fault. It would have been nice for some returns like Jamie and Nancy maybe... at least. If this wedding had already been written before the cancellation notice I wish they would have re-written it and made it more of a "straight" wedding than a comedy farce. They should have taken out the whole Gorilla part. Cass and Felicia could have been stranded still somehow on the way (making them late) while sharing memories of other crazy times together over the years. I would have preferred they extended Paulina going around to the wedding guests letting them talk to the camera that she was using to record memories for Cass and Lila. Would have been a great opportunity for more flashbacks with "remember that time when....". They could have cut out Cindy all around since it didn't really fit that she'd be at Cass and Lila's wedding and I would have left off Grant's reveal at the end.

Overall I didn't mind the sin stalker storyline but it would have helped if a.)the show knew who it was when it started and b.) they didn't drag out multiple attacks on the same victims (i.e. Nancy). Wasn't Donna attacked several times too? (Poor Donna....those serial killers seemed to love going after her. ) I forgot Tony was a suspect. I remember Chad was during the attack on Quinn. Wasn't Peter later shown standing over someone's dead body but then that was dropped like it never happened?

Agreed! I don't know how/why she was ever made President in Amanda's place! Made no sense...but it was Melrose. haha

Oh yeah...thanks!

I'm still p*ssed at ATWT for killing off Jake and Vicky. I always loved them on AW and in my mind they are still in Bay City. Maybe not "happily ever after" but at least there. I'd like Netflix to do a "next generation" type thing with AW. Ali Fowler, Steven Frame, Dante Carlino, Matthew and Lila's child (I forgot the name). They would be the next in line from the Cory's and could be quarreling over at Cory Publishing. Wouldn't have to have a lot of characters or sets if it were kept primarily at Cory Publishing. I'd throw in Steven's brother, Kirkland, as well. There then could be "appearances" by former AW-ers like Sandi Ferguson, Matthew Crane, Judi Evans, Lisa Peluso, etc without them having to commit and as non-regulars could keep costs down.

I forgot to add that I would have it turn out that it was Amanda that had set the fire as she has always had her issues with Carl and after her mother wouldn't listen to her pleas of not marrying the man she wanted to stop the wedding. With the deaths of Joe and Sergi, the injuries to Cass and others, this would put Amanda on the outs with her family, Felicia, Cass as they all turn on her. I'd love to have seen Amanda become a total vixen type character while Cameron stood by her side. It would be a way to mix things up. Just thinking about these characters again makes me so sad. I wish this show was still playing out so badly!

Probably the only realistic natural disaster for Michigan would be a blizzard so I like the idea of a major fire instead. I'd set it a little different though: I'd have Rachel gather her whole family at the Cory Mansion for a surprise event. Everyone would be there: Amanda and Cameron, Matthew, Paulina and Joe, invite Vicky and Jake because of Steven, as well as Felicia and Sergi, Cass and Lila (because of Matthew's son). After they've all arrived and are anticipating what the surprise could be Rachel makes an announcement that she is remarrying/renewing her vows to Carl and out walks Carl. The family is divided on whether to support this or not so there is bickering among each other for a bit. Those gathered separate into other parts of the mansion i.e. Rachel goes upstairs with Amanda, Paulina, Felicia to change into a wedding dress and get ready. Carl and Jake can be arguing about something in another room. Vicky could be in the library or something with Cass and Lila and so on. Then the camera shows someone intentionally setting a fire in the mansion with the intention of stopping the wedding only it gets out of control before anyone realizes there even is a fire. Different groups of people are separated around the mansion and Amanda could be with Joe and have flashbacks of being at Grant's when she was in that fire. Paulina could have flashbacks of the fire she had while passed out on pills and alcohol causing both of them to panic. Jake would be worried about both Vicky and Paulina somewhere else in the house as Rachel worries about Carl, Cass worries about Felicia. They could add in a flashback here and there to show their love/friendships for each other. As word spreads around town through the media others talk about the Cory family and hope everyone is alright. I'd probably kill off Joe doing something heroic to protect Amanda leaving her to feel guilty and cause strife between her and Paulina. I'd have Cass injured in the hospital for a while where they aren't sure if he will make it or not (which he would) but Lila and Vicky would be constantly checking in on him as they had been trapped together. This would cause a mini-truce for the two women for a bit (but not long) .I never liked Sergi either so he could be another casualty which Felicia could feel guilty about bringing him, along with Cass' injury, causes her to relapse and drink again. This could be spread out for an entire sweeps month if done right by the time the fire is stopped, people are pulled from the rubble, and we find out if everyone survives at the hospital.

I wish AW had gone a natural disaster route near the end instead of that dumb "Lumina" plot and Lila's baby being found up in a tree, etc... My opinion, but I think because that storyline was so different than what AW usually did it probably turned people off and the show couldn't have afforded to turn off anymore. A large umbrella story with characters people loved in jeopardy and maybe some odd situations where characters that didn't normally like each other had to band together could have been great! I think it would have at least given AW a fighting chance.