Melrose Place

[Khan]

 

I will say that Brooke's departure is one of the few things I love about the show.  One of the VERY few.

[Vee]

I didn't know for a long time that they brought in a KL dude for S7. That makes sense, because the season really did have a unifying story, something I don't remember primetime soaps having past the '80s (I know they did one on Dynasty near the end as well). I've been saying it since I was a teen, but MP should not have been cancelled that year given the atrocious state of 90210 at the time. 90210 should've gotten the hook instead.

 

I will echo the above mostly, though my more substantive thoughts on S4 and 5 are somewhere else in the thread. I think S5 has a lot of interesting experiments as well as a lot of pure failures. 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Vee

[Huntress]

In hindsight, I think the show's creative problems began when the producers started to put more and more focus on Amanda and began sidelining the other characters in the process. In season 1, Amanda was merely an obstacle in Alison and Billy's lives. In seasons 2 and 3, Amanda became entangled in many storylines, but the other characters were just as important (well, except Matt of course). By season 4, Amanda had become the show's figurehead and she and Peter were promoted as the show's supercouple.

 

In turn, at that point the producers seemed to have given up on several other main characters. By season 4, Sydney, Jake and Jo had become directionless, and Alison, who used to be the show's heart, was pushed to the backburner in season 5. Kimberly, while still entertaining to watch, had become some sort of cartoon character. The only original character that received a "boost" was Jane in season 4. Michael was still important, but around the middle of season 5, the writers turned him into a goofball – probably because the role of the "evil doctor" was now filled by Peter.

 

In addition, isolating characters in their own storyline bubbles was the show's downfall in season 5. It was like the writers decided to separate every character combination that had made the show so entertaining in the earlier seasons.

 

Characters that suddenly stopped interacting or only had little overlap included...
- Jane and Michael
- Sydney and Michael
- Sydney and Kimberly
- Amanda and Alison
- Amanda and Kimberly
- Alison and Billy
- Billy and Jake
- Matt and Michael

- Matt and Sydney

- Matt and Kimberly

 

Of course they couldn't repeat the same storylines and conflicts over and over again, but somehow it felt as if these characters didn't know each other anymore despite living in the same building.

[carolineg]

 

I agree.  I actually think the show lost its focus when they moved away from Billy/Alison.  That to me was the heart of the show and I am still mad they never got a HEA even off screen.

[Soaplovers]

I recall one or two episodes in season 5 where Allison rejoined the D&D bubble to consult on an account..and she met David Charvet's character in one scene.  She sized him up and knew he was up to no good..but no follow up.

 

The separating of characters into bubbles started in season 4 and got worse in 5 and 6.  Season 7 corrected that.  

 

The show was a KL...with the apartment building being to MP what the cul de sac was to KL

[Khan]

I'll agree there was more crossover and character interaction during MP's earliest seasons; but, even then, I always had the impression that MP's characters never particularly LIKED each other.  They just tolerated each other, because they all lived in the same apartment building (which is fine in real life, but not fun to watch on a soap).

Edited February 1, 2021 by Khan

[carolineg]

I thought they were all basically friends in the first season.  Even Alison/Jake had some scenes were she helped him get his GED which was I guess foreshadowing their future relationship.  Sandy was always sorta the odd woman out.  No one seemed to like her much.  I can't even recall her and Billy ever having much interaction.  The problem with the first season is everyone is boring.  It's a good little show, but there is no soapy action until Amanda/Kimberly show up.  Sydney is okay, but she definitely doesn't hit her stride until season 2.

[Huntress]

 

I'd say that Alison and Jake were the ones who held the "gang" together. Alison was friends with Jane and Jo; and Jake was friends with Matt, Billy, Alison, Jo, Sydney, Jane (with the women when they weren't dating). Matt and Michael had some sort of love-hate friendship, starting in season 2, but the show didn't really utilize it well enough IMO.
The others weren't really that close, for example Jane and Jo.

I never understood why Jane and Amanda were suddenly good friends in season 7, when they didn't really share much screentime in the earlier seasons – and when they did, Amanda usually treated Jane like an idiot.

 

It was similar on Beverly Hills, 90210. I never understood why Brenda and Kelly, Brenda and Andrea, Kelly and Andrea, or Steve and Dylan were considered close friends. Kelly and Brenda never were on an equal footing, there was jealously between them from the get-go. The ones who held the gang together were only Brandon and Donna.

[Vee]

I don't think Amanda and Jane were super tight in S7, but I haven't seen much of it since first airing. What I remember is Amanda still treating her the same way and Jane being more charitable and graceful about it because she worked for Amanda at that point. Also, in fairness, Amanda had lost a lot of actual friends or what Amanda would consider friends. Beggars couldn't be choosers at that point.

 

I do think the cast was largely friends in the first several years. It wasn't until the latter half of Season 4 that they all began to really drift for me. Any excuse to bring some of them back together, particularly in Season 5, was exciting, like Alison's all too brief return to the corporate world from her Jake bubble.

[carolineg]

 

I don't remember Jane and Amanda being close in season 7 but it's been awhile for me too.  But Jane in S7 was all over the place with Michael then with Kyle it was weird.

 

The worst thing about Season 5 is Alison and Jake moving out of the building and them being completely isolated and backburned.  And they worked so hard to make Alison/Jake a big thing and true love only to break them up in the end.  Poor Alison is probably still drunk in a bar in Atlanta somewhere lol.

 

Were they really a 'gang' though?  Some of them were friends, but others never were like Alison/Sydney.  The friendships were mostly forgotten to make way for all the bed hopping.  I mean, how close can woman be when they have all slept with Jake lol?

[Chris 2]

Every good soap need its heroine, the relatively normal person whose eyes we see the action through. Peyton Place had Mia Farrow. Dallas had Pam. Dark Shadows had Victoria. And Melrose Place had Alison. All of those shows suffered when their heroines left.

 

Alison and Billy were the heart of the show. They kept them apart far too long. By the time they threw Jake and Alison together, it just seemed designed to piss us off. And why tear them apart at the end of season 5 when they were both leaving anyway?

 

The show was about a locale, rather than a family. So the producers should have been gradually bringing in new residents each year, and those new characters could take center stage when others left.. Instead, with seasons 5-7, it was constant turnover. The replacement characters left a lot to be desired.

 

The other mistake they made was gradually focusing on older characters. Melrose was best when it was a soap that was populated by characters just starting out in their adult lives. Later on, everyone was older and more successful - Peter the doctor; Kyle the restauranteur; Coop the surgeon; etc.

[carolineg]

I think Alison's focus as a heroine was done by season 5.  She was still a heroine, she was just no longer THE lead.  

The problem with the mass exodus is there was no root for, endgame couple. Without Jo/Jake or Billy/allison you are left with Amanda and Peter?  Who weren't even really interacting much in any romantic sense until the very, very end of the show.

The show was good about adding cast members until season 5 because the main crew grounded them.  That had a lot of misses after the core group left. I think taylor and Kyle were the only 2 I even liked.

[Chris 2]

Prior to season 5, most of those additions, with a few exceptions, were just short term guest stars. I would have been gradually adding new residents as recurring characters earlier than they did. Then the focus could have turned to those characters when the originals started leaving.

[Vee]

I'll just quote what I said long ago about Season 5:

 

 

A lot of the slow build stories of the season worked for me, but I can imagine they were somnolent for people used to the high madness of late Season 3 and much of Season 4. The Jane wrapup stuff (including her briefly becoming a stalker) was a mess. And the Megan/Michael/Kimberly story didn't work, period. Losing Kimberly and Sydney was a huge mistake, especially when they'd against all odds managed to make Syd's romance with Craig work - Craig was a loser character til they linked them up at the last minute.

 

I always loved Alison, but I don't agree about her being the central heroine. I don't think she was the singular heart of the show at any point past maybe Season 2 (which had many hearts, especially going fwd into Season 3 with Jo's baby drama). I think the show had many heroes and heroines, I don't think Alison held a higher space after the first two seasons or so. I think Amanda was the central protagonist of the show going from about early or mid-Season 3 onward. An antiheroine in some ways, yes, but she became the central axis - and it worked. Alison's role shifted the most because they stupidly paired her up with Jake, something the actors allegedly asked for and which destroyed both their standing on the show. In the brief periods when Alison would go back to work at D&D or interact with Billy or Amanda in S5, the character came to life all over again.

Edited February 3, 2021 by Vee

[carolineg]

I understand what you are saying.  I have trouble thinking there was any room for new characters in those earlier seasons with everything going on and the only character I remember thinking left too early was Brooke.  She still had potential.  I would assume Patrick Muldoon and ASJ would have lasted longer if they better characters and could act, since they both were coming off high profile daytime stints.   Also, neither here nor there, but ASJ was totally miscast as Amanda's ex.  He seemed way too young lol.  I just think so many og characters leaving was slightly unexpected.  I really don't think the producers thought they would lose 5-6 characters in a year or so and should have tried to keep at least Sydney (LL) and tried harder with Alison or Jake.

 

I always considered Alison the central lead until about season 4, but she clearly wasn't.  I think everyone would say that was Amanda.   It's similar to 90210 where Brenda was the lead and then it became an ensemble.  To me Alison was in a slightly higher tier than Jane or Jo even in later seasons, but that was just my perception.  By season 5, it was clear there was little interest in Alison/Jake.  I had no idea CTS/GS asked for that pairing or that they ever dated lol.  I thought GS was dating LL at the time.  And I am never sure when CTS/AS stopped dating, but obviously it's long over by season 5.  That cast got around lol.