EricMontreal22

Great stuff Paul! Man this sounds liek a wild soap--stories liek that just weren't being done back then. It's intriguing too what the SOD scans said that it actually mixed the over the top campiness with geniune emotion and pathos well--especially under Labine and her partner. Kinda interesting that's hwo they got their start (even winning a writing award) when I always kinda think of them as doing smaller scale, quieter stories thanks to Ryan's Hope, etc. Man I wish an episode or two of this existed...

FrenchFan your resources always amaze me--thanks SO much for posting this! Elsa, it should be on the first page of Discuss the Soaps... You're right it does have a hint of JER about it I almost hate to admit. It does sound like the writers were almost doing a bit of a soap parody--or a super self aware soap--back before that was really done much.

ANd just for another view, Waggett's 1997 Soap Encyclopedia has this entry for HEart--he seemed to overall be less taking by the show as Chris was: Where the Heart Is was scheduled between Love of Live and Search For Tomorrow, but it had little in common with either soap. While the other two followed the exploits of heroines the audience could admire, Heart examined the many sins commited by the less-than-noble inhabitants of the town of Northcross. The show opened in the middle of a complicated love triangle: English professor Julian Hathaway's young wife Mary was fighting an attraction to Julian's son Michael. A couple of years later Julian evened the score by impregnating Michael's wife Liz. Although Days of Our Lives was scoring high ratings with its varied intrafamilial love triangles, many viewers found somethign distateful about this wife-swapping between Julian and his son. Pushing the incest taboo even further, and alienatign more viewers, another character killed her own brother after he rejected her sexual advances. Where The EHart Is ran one of the most vicious scenes many soap fans of the time had witnessed. After Vicky Lucas miscarried Michael Hatthaway's baby, she pushed pregnant Mary Hathaway down a flight of stairs. Realizing there was nothign VIcky could do to top that, and now ay to redeem her sin, the writers shipped her off to a mental hospital. Where the Heart Is boasted one of the finest casts of its time, many of whom would make their mark elsewhere. In addition to James Mitchell, there were Joseph Mascolo, Bernie Barrow, Louise Shaffer, and Diana van der Vlis. The show's lineup of writers was no less impressive, and included Pat Faleken Smith and the team of Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer. Despite the talent in front of and behind the cmaeras, many soap fans simply could not connect with the underlying level of immorality that ran through the show. the one moral character with whom the fans might have identified, Julian's sister Kate (Diana van der Vlis) lost her mind and began acting out bizarre sexual scenes of her own. Sandwiched as it was between two popular, conservative soaps, Where the HEart Is starte dout strong, pulling in the highest ratings of all the soaps that debuted in the 1969-1970 season. Unfortunately the ratings never improved. Tehy levelled out the following season and started to decline. The ratings did start to climb after Labine and Avila Mayer took over as headwriters and wrote it in a sophisticate dhigh camp manner, but CBS had already given up on the show (they did pay attention to the writers though and quickly hired them to Love of Life where they improved that show). The advertisers, put off by the show's sordid themes, were simply not interested in appealing to the small but loyal cult following.

OK I posted about the two other, now completely gone it seems (not even a few scenes seem to have been saved) soaps that I always wish I could see--Lemay's Lovers and Friends and Marland's New Day in Eden--the other "missing" soap that I always read about and sounds fascinating to me is Where the Heart Is. It ran longer than the other two--nearly 5 years, and was created by Margaret DePriest who is a writer I think has always had talent (even if she briefly did two late 80/early 90s eras on my two fave soaps, AMC and OLTL that aren't known as their best) and a style I like in soap operas. Did anyone see/remember this intriguing sounding show? ANything from it exist? Reading the outrageous plot descriptions and that Chris Schemering said the show was great farce makes me think it may have had a touch of what Sunset Beach (and dare I say it my hated Passions) were trying for, but done so maybe better. (in fact how old is Margaret DePriest? I know she wrote for Sunset Beach and I felt she was the best writer for that campy show--is she still alive? She musta been relatively young when she created Heart Is, I wonder how she got the job as I don't think she had had any major runs on other soaps before) Here's the 1987 Soap Opera Encyclopedia entry by Chris Schemering: Where the HEart Is Sep 8 1969 - March 23 1973 Created by Margaret DePriest and Lou Scofield (who died during the run), former writers of The Edge of Night, this was a wonderfully bizarre, and perhaps ahead of its time, daytime serial centering on sexual intrigues in the Hathaway and Prescott families. Everybody in the suburban town of Northcross, Connecticut, seemed to be silmutaneously in love with two or three other individuals; pregnant or working on it; living with each other out of wedlock (risque for soaps of the day especially on conservative CBS); or cheating on their lovers with their spouses! Even the stalwart Kate Hathaway, who was always to be counted in a crisis, took to hearing Joan of Arc voices, falling into schizophrenic fantasies, wearing Frederick's of Hollywood scanties, and dancing lewdly in front of children [sounds liek a marvelous soap creation to me!]! Fans remember the sexual roundelay of the show with hilarious affection chiefly because of the top-notch acting by a strong cast headed by James Mitchell (Palmer on AMC later on, and an ex well known Broadway and Hollywood dancer), the lush direction of Richard Dunlap and Bill Glenn (who later took their formidable talents and much of Heart's look to The Young and the Restless), and the sharp writing firstr of Margaret DePriest and later of such soon to become formidable names as Pat Falken Smith, and Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer. Although the ratings were quite good -- a 6.8 when the cast was informed of the show's cancelation on Feb 12, 1973 -- CBS felt the masses were not cottoning to the revelry, and that the cult audience the show was attracting was scaring away conservative advertisers. Canceled the same day as Love is a Many SPlendored Thing, it was replaced by the similar but often even more avant garde The Young and the Restless. The story was a triumph of well played farce: Julian Hathaway, a widowed English professor, married Mary, who was really in love with Julian's son Michael. Villainess Vicky Lucas exploited the situation by getting pregnant by the unhappy Michael and forcing him into marriage. After Vicky lost her baby, she vindictively pushed Mary, also pregnant, down a flight of stairs. Vicky was then commited to a mental institution, only to make a major surprise comeback some while later. After divorcing the bitch goddess Vicky, Michael married the even more bitchy Liz Rainey. Liz had an affair with Michael's father, Julian and became pregnant. next Liz made Mary think that Julian was carrying on with Loretta Jardin, a recovering alcoholic and student of Robert Browning's. As the cancelation date grew closer, the storylines started to wind up with breathtaking dexterity--a stunning example of the craft of the writers. Liz admitted she got pregnant on purpose and Julian, unimpressed by her audacity, suggested she pack her bags. Michael divorced Liz and remarried his ex wife VIcky, who had been released from the institution. Meanwhile Steve had married Julian's sister Kate. While suffering from amnesia, Steve became involved with Ellie Jardin, who was later murdered. Steve and Kate adoped Ellie's mute son Peter who later died in a fire. Other characters involved in the major stroylines included Alison Jessup, Julian and Kate's sister; Dr Hugh Jessup, Allison's husband; and Christine Cameron who had an illegitimate child by Hugh. In 1972, Despo, the infamous Andy Warhol star had a 2 month running role.

An all time fave soap of mine. Re Trucker and Trisha--Noelle Beck wanted to leave the show. It was smart not to recast... Ava was the central heroine for most of it (an Erica clone) and Lisa played her more and I think is definitive. I thought it was GREAT the last few months. It was also the only ABC show where the ratings were climbing (slowly but...) Really some of th ebest soap I've been able to watch live, so glad I have the last 2 months on tape.

">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344">

Tvtropolis on basic cable in Canada just started airing Melrose Place last week in their old 90210 rerun slot. VERY oddly they started with season 3--I was hoping they'd start with 2...

I just meant it doesn't mean he's actually at the show but that they took some of his cues--maybe even from the GH library...

Are you sur ehe's not just credited for giving them a handful of themes? they did revamp all the music about a year ago though and for the most part i love it (and i also love how you still hear a few themes they've had since the 80s...)

Kylie Minogue - In My Arms. This was one of the leaked demos in the Summer and i s astunning euro dance song--it's not the lead single but will be included on her album coming out in Nov E