Primetime Soaps

[Franko]

Yikes! He didn't hold back at all.

[JamesF]

A poster has uploaded a large chunk of the run of Berrenger's:

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This is one of the few primetime soaps I've never seen so looking forward to binging. I've watched Episode 2 so far and whilst I can see why it didn't last, it's nowhere near as dull as Emerald Point.

[Soaplovers]

I think the problem with berrengers was that it was scheduled on a saturday night...when the target audience wasn't home...plus, too many characters to keep track of.

Though with all the mergers in the department store world...it could have had a long life on tv.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Soaplovers

[All My Shadows]

FINALLY! Thank god this only had 13 episodes. I might be able to watch them all before they vanish. WB is good at wiping their shows out, and I always forget that this was a Lorimar soap, complete with "starring in alphabetical order" against a Jerrold Immel theme. The cast looks great. I feel like I'll be busy comparing this to what Scruples would have been had it made it to series.

[JamesF]

I've just finished watching what's available of Berrenger's and it was far better than I expected it to be, possibly because it was Lorimar as opposed to another Shapiro show. I'll post some random observations.

The main 'issue' I had with it is exactly as mentioned above in that there are just too many characters so it feels like stories disappear for episodes at a time or characters with potential just never really get going. That' definitely the case with Berrenger granddaughter Melody and her husband Todd - there are constant Macbeth hints about them and some interesting stuff where Melody pulls a nasty trick on her mother Babs, but it doesn't lead anywhere. I sensed by the last episode posted that a story was finally brewing for them.

However the upside to the number of characters is that it kept the show highly watchable and there were very few occasions where I was tempted to hit the FF button. The Shane Bradley character did annoy the hell out of me (mainly for being a homewrecker whilst self-righteously whining about everybody else). Thankfully the size of the cast meant that she was used appropriately. If this was Dynasty in the same era, she'd have been front and center constantly.

The production values are great - the department store sets look good, plenty of location shooting in NY and LA and some great party scenes for product launches etc.

The show really felt like it was hitting its stride by the last episode I watched. Babs, Gloria, Todd and Melody were moving into really interesting areas and I'd love to know what was planned.

[DRW50]

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[Paul Raven]

The debut ratings for Gloria Monty's 'The Hampton's' summer replacement soap.

Hamptons ABC 13.8/25

Facts of Life/Buffalo Bill NBC 13.5/24

Ordeal of Dr Mudd CBS 9.0/17

[DRW50]

Awful promo. No wonder it was a flop.

 

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[DRW50]

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[DRW50]

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[Paul Raven]

Not a serial per se,but no doubt with soapy elements was 'Doctor's Private Lives' which aired on ABC,first as a TV movie (March 78) and then with a limited run 4 episode tryout series (April 78) on ABC

Dealing with personal and professional lives of a group of doctors,the cast was loaded with soap people.

John Gavin was the lead in his TV series debut (husband of Constance Towers)

Donna Mills was in the TV movie only.

Ed Nelson (CAP,PP) Randolph Powell (DAL,DOOL) and Phil Levien (DOOL) were series regulars

In the TV movie were :

Bettye Ackerman (PTPP)

Leigh McCloskey (DALL,GH.SB.Y&R)

Robin Mattson (GH,SB,AMC etc)

Elinor Donahue (DOOL)

Fawne Harriman (SOM)

John Lupton (DOOL)

Kim Hamilton (DOOL,GH)

Ross Eliot (GH)

Margarita Cordova(SB)

John Randolph (EON)

Anne Marie Martin (DOOL)

William Smithers (PP, GL.DAL)

Edited November 2, 2015 by Paul Raven

[YRBB]

Wow, I'd never heard of WASTELAND and HYPERION BAY before. And HB almost made it to a full season! lol

[DRW50]

That was probably when the WB was at its most successful so they had room to breathe.

 

They revamped HB about halfway through - being told to sex up the show by bringing in Carmen Electra as a vamp and having sexy romps in hot tubs and so on. It didn't work, clearly. 

 

Wasteland is one of those shows where a fair number of episodes were left unaired. Those had Frank Grillo as a boyfriend to the token gay. 

[slick jones]

Channel with full series of EPNAS.  Just found it, figured I'd share...

[DRW50]

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