Shortlived Soaps you WIsh you had Seen

[EricMontreal22]

There are a few shortlived soaps that absolutely no video footage seems to exist from... They've always kinda fascinated me.

The first is Where the HEart Is. Is ANYTHING from this still in existance? It was a minor success I guess, and had a great cast, was created by Margaret DePriest--who I usually really like--and later HW by Claire Labine. Set in a college town all soap books always mention how debaunched it was for its time--more than the usual stories revolving aroudn sex, incest and other kinks...

(Not as importantly but I've always also wanted to see anything from Return to Peyton Place).

The other two are really the same show--Harding Lemay's semi AW spin off Lovers and Friends. I'm a huge Lemay fan and while I knwo this wasn't a hit (one book said it was actually NBC's attempt to do their own Y&R) it seems odd NOTHIGNexists from it not even titles--I'd love to see a soap he created. It was retooled the following year by Tom King as For Richer, For Poorer but again nothing seems to exist... The very long listing of soap operas on wikipedia doesn't even mention either

[TC]

Somerset.

A few years ago I saw the opening at WOST and it brought back an early childhood memory of fascination with the animation of the town sort of being assembled before our eyes. So I must have seen it but can't remember a thing about the show itself.

[EricMontreal22]

I'd love to sound that spooky./campy story it had with the girl dressing up as a clown and nightly poisoning her rival on it...

I'd love to see New Day in Eden. Surely it still exists--Doug Marland created and head wrote it for Showtime in, I think 1983 and it ran a year. Apparantly it was rather good but also added more risque elements (casual nudity, homosexuality, etc) but for an 80s soap next to nothing exists from it--not to be confused wioth Playboy Channel's later Eden

[TC]

There was also somethng called, something like "Perfect Couples" on Canadian cable back in the 80's. Very CINEMAXish, but they managed to snare regular then soap stars like Taylor Miller (I think).

[jonesy]

I've been reading Lemay's book Eight Years in Another World, and I just started reading the part where he talks about Lovers and Friends. According to him, the show was Paul Rauch's idea, and he convinced Lemay that creating a new show would be a way to secure his financial future and allow him to eventually retire from writing soaps. However, Lemay was already working 19 hour days since AW had expanded to 1 hour, so he didn't really have the time or energy to make it into a great show.

I was wondering if any clips were still in existence or if maybe P&G would post some eps on their AOL page, but I guess your post answers that question. Sigh.

[Quent]

Wasn't there a soap called "The Best Of Everything"? Or am I mistaken?

[LoyaltoAMC]

A New Day in Eden was pretty racy for its time. It hinted at lesbianism and had full frontal female nudity. It was cheesy, but very involving. It was paired, as someone mentioned, with a Canadian soap called Loving Friends and Perfect Couples. The only thing I recall from that was that it featured Cali Timmons pre-Ryan's Hope. I would also kill to see some early Somerset when it was more in tone with AW, before it morphed into an Edge of Night-ish crime melodrama. Two others I'd love to see were 2 short-lived nighttime soaps from the early/mid 80s, The Secrets of Midland Heights and The Hamptons. I was probably the only person to watch Secrets LOL. It was a Lorimar soap created by David Jacobs set in a sleepy college town. It had a great cast (Linda Hamilton, Lorenzo Lamas, Mark Pinter, Bibi Besch, among others) and was very atmospheric, but because CBS scheduled it at 10 pm on Saturdays, viewership was low. The Hamptons was created by Gloria Monty. It suffered, I think, from trying to tell too many stories at once. But it was chock full of soap vets and was distinct in that it was the only prime time drama to be videotaped instead of filmed. Oh, and of course, the Secret Storm episodes with Joan Crawford are something else I'd love to view. Surely someone must've saved those. I know the show aired live at the time, but there must be some kinescopes, something from one of the most bizarre moments in daytime history.

[EricMontreal22]

Yep. For SOME reason they actually let James Lipton (of Actors Studio fame) create this show, based on the hit 60s movie and 50s book after he had already nearly destroyed AW (and would go on to destory many other soaps).

Jonesy--that's too bad. I think it also didn't do well cuz as always NBC didn't give it much time--the setup and stories sounded great though, liek Schemering said very much in the 70s Y&R style

[EricMontreal22]

Secrets sounds a lot (well to me) liek Spelling's flop 90s soap Pacific Palisades...

[TC]

Those have to be the most bizarre/most wanted soap moments ever. I'd pay lots to see them.

Now I feel like... I'm as hungry as Joan Crawford herself ... in that Steven Spielberg directed episode of Night Gallery... featuring Miss Joan Crawford.. ..the one when she's super rich, and blind, and demands sight for one night... I WANT THE SUN! AAAAAAAAH! *SPLAT*

Joan Crawford, if only you knew... Now YOU are the SUN we want.

[EricMontreal22]

HAHA to Joan's credit apparantly he was the only one on set who respected Spielberg as all the older crew members underhanded all his moves she whipped them into shape. I love Night Gallery

[TC]

I'm a bit surprised, and quite uplifted, that some of you younger people actually know what I am talking about. Joan Crawford's segment, directed by Spielbreg (his first big time job???) is classic.

There is a lot of "Made for TV" that needs to be seen again. Most of it is well-written even if the *special efffects* are below today's standards.

[EricMontreal22]

Who you calling younger

Yah I believe it was his first full assignment (was it called Eyes?) he did 2 or 3 eps. And the premier of COlumbo too and then of course Duel and another basically never talked about made for tv movie about satanic possession I've been trying to track down.

[TC]

I'll put on my thinking cap (old enough for you?) about that last one. Sounds familiar.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Secrets of Midland Heights was an interesting show in that it was more like a daytime soap than any of the other prime time soaps, as it contained several families of differing socioeconomic status, was very intergenerational, and was set in a fictional midwest town. It had a very catchy theme song from Jerrod Immel, I believe, who created the Dallas and Knots themes. That theme is impossible to find online. What was also interesting about Secrets was that after it initially failed on CBS, ABC picked up the rights to the show and totally revamped it renaming it Kings Crossing, with Mary Frann, Bradford Dillman, and Beatrice Straight as the leads. It had a very gothic element, which Secrets did not. Its sole resemblance to Secrets was in the four talented younger actors who survived the transition and stayed with Kings Crossing. The show only lasted one season. Kings Crossing also had a great theme song, which was on WOST, I believe. Anyone else remember these shows?