Melrose Place

[FrenchBug82]

It is indeed funny that as well-known as the story of how Heather Locklear's bitchy Amanda arrival "saved" Melrose Place is, few people remark on how this tracks exactly with how Abby's arrival's on Knots Landing marked the shift of the show - first towards more outright soapy storylines and then towards a less self-contained episodic format. I don't think it made the immediate difference in the ratings in KL than it did in MP but, creatively, the parallels between the two shows in that way are very striking. 

[titan1978]

Thanks to the recent life in this thread, I just restarted from the beginning.  I thought about starting when Jo arrives, but I want the whole experience again I think.

 

Do any of us know how involved Aaron Spelling was in his shows?  I have heard that on his classic shows- Mod Squad, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty, 90210 and Melrose that he was really involved in casting, especially the initial casts, tone, and the look of the shows.  And not so much in storytelling, outside of basic recommendations (like adding an antagonist to boost ratings).

Edited February 11, 2021 by titan1978

[FrenchBug82]

When investigating the above question, I found this oral history with tidbits I had never heard before:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/melrose-place-oral-history-marcia-cross-heather-locklear-grant-show-darren-star-look-back-1016500

I didn't know that Laura Leighton was older than Josie B. and that Andrew Shue wasn't the original Billy.

But my favorite wtf-I-have-to-rewatch-the-show-to-spot-this detail:

 

 

[juppiter]

I watched season 5. The first half was pretty bad. The second half I actually thought was pretty good. I'm sad to hear that they apparently don't keep that momentum in season 6.

 

I just hate Jake/Alison as a couple so much, though they got more tolerable as the season went on. I'm glad drunk Alison came back. I really love Alison as a character, though I think CTS acted her butt off sometimes to make up for writing that wasn't all there.

 

The Michael/Kimberly/Megan storyline makes no sense and drags on and on forever. Kimberly really leaves with such a whimper that you don't miss her at all when she's gone.

 

They really wrecked Jane's character, to the point where I was relieved that she left. I definitely see what someone said upthread about them forgetting about the relationships that made the show great. Jane leaves, and Michael doesn't even get to say goodbye? WTF? With the way everyone is in their little storyline bubble, this feels like 3 or 4 disjointed shows.

 

They brought on Donna Mills as Jane's mom for four episodes and gave her absolutely nothing to do. What a waste of Donna Mills.

 

Sam is fine. But she and Billy together just seem like one of those couples that the writers put together because they don't know what else to do with the characters.

 

I love Taylor. She's absolutely insane and Lisa Rinna is so fun in the role. Kyle is also a good addition.

 

Laura Leighton was the MVP of the season. She ties everything together and finally bringing Sydney into the D&D world is magic and she's so good that you wish they'd done it 3 seasons earlier. It's so nice that she finally has a man that really loves her and how DARE they kill her instead of giving her a happy ending? It's so cruel.

 

I might eventually watch season 6, but I've got some other shows I want to watch now, so maybe not for a few weeks.

[FrenchBug82]

This. That mom story (that also wrecked the sister thing with Sydney that I thought was a key relationship) really felt like an afterthought to pad time until Josie B's exit. They knew she had only a handful of episodes to go so they gave her a throwaway story to keep her occupied until she leaves.

 

I am of two minds on this. Her bitterness and crazier antics certainly were out of character but on the other hand, she had been such a doormat until now that I didn't think it was absurd she'd lose her marbles a bit. And since she was a fundamentally good person, she wasn't very good at being bad.
But it was in service of bad stories (and the ill-conceived Allison/Jake couple) so it didn't work.

[titan1978]

It’s funny watching the show now.  I watched the show live as a youngish teen when it was airing, and I was all about Jake.  Broody, moody, hot as hell Jake.  I thought Billy was cute and all, but not like I lusted after Jake.

 

Now I would much rather have Billy!  Or Matt!  Thankfully I have gotten over bad boys!

[j swift]

I read the wiki as a refresher, (I had forgotten that the reboot ever existed), and there was a consistent pattern of actresses who wanted to make as much as Heather Locklear who were quickly killed off.  It is amusing that even after the production was sued, and had their business practices exposed, they continued to be petty when it came to actors wanting fair compensation.  In hindsight, I always feel for actors in those situations because all too often they can be so associated for their first role, with a seven year contract signed under desperation, then the show becomes a success, and they never work again.  Courtney Thorne-Smith was a singular exception to the rule. 

Edited February 15, 2021 by j swift

[FrenchBug82]

I am very confused about this.
The only actresses who could have plausibly expected as much money as HL would be the OGs and of them only Sydney was killed off.

And Laura Leighton was certainly one of the best things to come off of the show but I seriously doubt she would have demanded the same salary as HL expecting it to be granted, especially since she was not used very much in her last season.
Kimberly/Marcia Cross also was killed off but I don't think MC would have been delusional enough to ask HL money.
The only one that could have had a strong case to ask would be CTS since she had been there since the beginning and was a central character but she wasn't killed off. Neither was Josie.
So I am confused about this interpretation of the cast goings.

[te.]

 

The rumour was that Laura Leighton was trying to get parity with Heather Locklear, so I either think that she knowingly made a demand she wasn't going to get anyway or Spelling had his goons plant that story in the rags, lord knows the man could be some old school spiteful when he felt people "betrayed" him. PSM got stories "she's over" stories in the press when she turned down to do the Colby's and of course he pretty much tried everything to destroy Central Park West and pretty much gloated when it failed.

[Huntress]

However, Laura showed up on Beverly Hills, 90210 one year later, so I doubt that she and Spelling were on bad terms when she left Melrose Place. She was also reportedly one of the highest-paid television actors when she did her guest arc on 90210. I think she was just done with Melrose Place because they had stopped using Sydney efficiently. I remember one particular interview she did when season 4 premiered and she just looked so unhappy and tired.

[Forever8]

A BTS Melrose Place Special that aired on Channel 10 in Australia in 1994. 

 

 

 

[FrenchBug82]

Yeah I mean it doesn't know much BTS knowledge to know Sydney was used as a supporting comic relief rather than a full integrated part of the cast in Season 4 so I think this version is a lot more plausible.

And if she did ask for parity, it has to have been a gamble to either get the negotiations to fail or a Hail Mary to justify staying despite her unhappiness if it somehow succeeded

 

Who's PSM?

CPW is another can of beans. Despite not working overall, still had some nuggets of brilliance (Machen Amick's Carrie still on my top three of favorite primetime soap characters) so it was heaps away of "Titans".

[te.]

 

Pamela Sue Martin (Fallon #1).

Honestly, I'd probably do the same thing even if I was determined to leave. Why not really? Worst thing that can happen is that they'll agree to it and you'll end up turning them down anyway. After all, Victoria Principal was actually actively negotiating with the Dallas producers to return for season 11 and allegedly turned down an offer that would make her the highest paid actress on television.

[Chris 2]

Yep. Because whatever they offered her didn’t give her salary parity with Patrick Duffy (which she deserved) and the producers wanted her to sign a two-year deal, and she only wanted to sign for one.

 

Since then, Victoria has “massaged reality” and said that she always told the producers she would leave in two years after she signed a new two year deal in 1985 (she left in 1987). But she was willing to stay for the right deal.

[FrenchBug82]

I was just reading how Gillian Anderson was offered HALF of what producers offered David Duchovny for the revival of X-Files as recently as 2016. It is so insane that misogyny can be SO ingrained in producers still today so I can't be surprised back then either.

I don't doubt HL was the best paid on ML but I wonder how her paycheck stacked up against the best paid men in primetime in the 90s.