On 5/21/2026 at 9:13 PM, Khan said:

I think the same thing happened to The WB's "Grosse Pointe," a blatant parody of 90210 and its' backstage shenanigans, created by none other than Darren Star, lol. IIRC, when The WB cancelled it, they blamed their decision on the fact that it lost its' lead-in audience. Rumors suggested, however, that Aaron Spelling himself killed the show because he felt it painted a picture of his daughter as the ultimate nepo baby, who wouldn't have had the career she had if not for her dad's influence. (Me, to Mr. Spelling: "Where's the lie?")

I loved "Grosse Point." I believe they toned down Marcy Sternfield (the Tori doppleganger) after the pilot episode. I don't think she ever mentioned her wealthy relative (I cannot remember if it was her father or an uncle). I also think they dropped any allusions to the character having an eating disorder. Ironically, Marcy became the more sympathetic character, usurping the female lead (in my opinion) from the show's original entrance point character, Courtney, with her pairing with Dave, who I believe in the original pilot script was actually supposed to be paired with Courtney.

I didn't watch much of the WB after the trifecta cancellation of "Grosse Pointe," "Popular," and "Buffy."

On 5/22/2026 at 3:13 AM, Khan said:

I'm telling ya - aside from "Murder, She Wrote" on CBS, FOX was my Sunday night destination.

I think the same thing happened to The WB's "Grosse Pointe," a blatant parody of 90210 and its' backstage shenanigans, created by none other than Darren Star, lol. IIRC, when The WB cancelled it, they blamed their decision on the fact that it lost its' lead-in audience. Rumors suggested, however, that Aaron Spelling himself killed the show because he felt it painted a picture of his daughter as the ultimate nepo baby, who wouldn't have had the career she had if not for her dad's influence. (Me, to Mr. Spelling: "Where's the lie?")

I was a fan of Grosse Pointe when it aired - unfortunately, it was simply before its time and the ratings just weren't good. WB tried to make a night out of it and Popular, but it didn't work. The whole X got Y cancelled [!@#$%^&*] are usually just excuses. WB wouldn't have ordered it if it was that objectionable.

But also:

Ooki oka shan, tamishun sobeirjo, oh oh!

Promos for The Monroes.

Edited May 28May 28 by DRW50

On 4/20/2026 at 1:07 AM, DRW50 said:

Thank @soapfan770 I'd never heard of that show. A good cast.

To my surprise the whole series is actually on YouTube:

A very rare promo for the short-lived David Jacobs series " Married The First Year" (1979). Starts at the 14:35 mark.

Another promo for "Married The First Year" (1979). If the series had ran longer would they have changed it to " Married The Second Year" ?.....🤣

1984 ABC promo Paper Dolls

COURIER-EXPRESS WEEK OF DEC. 21 to DEC. 27 1980

Jean Simmons joins prime-time soaper

By JERRY BUCK LOS ANGELES (AP)

After 37 years as an actress, Jean Simmons has agreed to star in her first television series. Miss Simmons, star of more than a score of movies here and in her native England, and a nominee for an Academy Award for her performance in The Happy Ending, finally said yes to “Golden Gate.” A two-hour pilot movie has just been completed and will be broadcast early next year by ABC.

MISS SIMMONS stars as the matron of an aristocratic San Francisco publishing family in this proposed primetime soap opera in the mold of “Dallas.” The pilot show tells the story of the Kingsleys, played by Richard Kiley and Miss Simmons, owners of the fictional San Francisco Bulletin, and their two children, Perry King and Mary Crosby, who was Kristin, the woman who shot J.R. on “Dallas.” Miss Simmons said she and executive producer Lin Bolen had a certain unnamed grande dame of publishing in mind as the model for Jane Spencer Kingsley.

“I’VE NEVER DONE a series before so I don’t know what to expect,” Miss Simmons said in an interview in her Santa Monica home. “I would hope that my character would sort of pop in and out.” She said she’s never purposely avoided a TV series. “I’ve never really thought about it. But as I get on in life I find the less I want to work. I’d like to do a lot of traveling.” Her role in the film frequently calls for her to be an intermediary between her husband and son, who are at sword’s point.

“THERE’S A RIFT in the family,” she said, “mainly because of the son’s love for his mother and the way the father treats her.“We did a lot of kidding on the set about how we could get Richard to sing. (Kiley was Broadway’s “Man of La Mancha.”) He only sings in the shower in the movie, and when I don’t hear him I discover that he’s had a stroke.” Miss Simmons formerly was married to writer-director Richard Brooks, and has two daughters, Tracy and Kate, named after Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. She starred with Tracy in The Actress.

“I WAS BORN within the sound of the Bow Bells in London,” she said. “That makes me a real Cockney. I grew up with a Cockney accent. When the Rank Organization put me under contract I had to talk like a lady. We had to take elocution lessons. “Michael Caine broke the rules in Alfie. He was a hero with a Cockney accent. Things became much better after that.”

HER FIRST MOVIE was Give Us the Moon, and her first American movie was Androcles and the Lion, for Howard Hughes. “Howard Hughes bought my contract,” she said. “I woke up one morning and found myself working for Hughes. I’d met him earlier and found him to be very nice.” She said she considers Elmer Gantry to be her favorite movie, but she said she also particularly likes The Actress. While filming Gantry, she and Brooks fell in love and marfried.- they are now divorced.

ANOTHER MAJOR MOVIE was Spartacus, during which she said she learned the art of patience from Sir Laurence Olivier. “I worked in that film with Peter Ustinov,” she said “He was difficult to work with — because he was so brilliant and so funny. He always had some witticism and before each scene I’d have to dig my nails into my hands to keep from laughing.” Simmons’ television projects include the mini-series “Beggarman, Thief” and “The Dane Curse.”

If I were to draw up a list of actors who weren't on DYNASTY or FC but who should've been, Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons would be at or near the top of the list.

12 minutes ago, Khan said:

If I were to draw up a list of actors who weren't on DYNASTY or FC but who should've been, Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons would be at or near the top of the list.

I could have seen her on Falcon Crest. Imagine the back-and-forth with Jane Wyman.

She also might have been interesting on Knots Landing, as the steely mother of some man poor Val married.

Oddly, Simmons finally did enter the realm of primetime soaps.. but both efforts were short-lived (Dark Shadows & Angel Falls) in the 90s. Although she certainly was used to great effect in The Thorn Birds (winning an Emmy) and North & South so she at least dabbled in the soapy realm to great success.

Of the 4 main 80s primetime soaps.. she would have been an execellent fit on FC

@DRW50

@Khan @Paul Raven @kalbir

There’s a few minutes of Golden Gate available on YouTube:

I wonder how this would have fared as a weekly series. The San Francisco newspaper angle would get used by Falcon Crest.

I know Perry King’s movie career had derailed by this point and he had some success with shows like Riptide and being in a plethora of TV movies but as leading man…no. Too stiff and not dynamic.

Thanks.

I don't mind Perry King here, although I thought he was stiff in some of his later primetime soap work (admittedly he was only meant to be a baddie or stiff in those).

Jean is doing the heavy lifting.

There are some good moments here, like the quiet reveal of how broke the family is, but it may have been too morose for where primetime soaps were heading.

That era sure loved the incest undertones...I don't even know if you can call them undertones here. I wonder if Perry and Mary would have been revealed as not being siblings.

Why is Melanie Griffith credited in that video?

17 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

There are some good moments here, like the quiet reveal of how broke the family is, but it may have been too morose for where primetime soaps were heading.

I agree. Even KL would become less middle-class in the next year in order to keep up with DALLAS, DYNASTY and FC.

Thanks, @soapfan770 , for the tag!