Melrose Place

[te.]

Here's an interesting thing - the first draft of 4.02 Melrose Is Like a Box of Chocolates (dated June 9th, 1995): https://dailyscript.com/scripts/melrose_place_melrose_is_like_a_box_of_chocolates.pdf

 

My full run down of the script compared to the episode:

 

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TL;DR version: I guess the most interesting thing about the first script relates to Brooke - initially she was meant to reveal she had to take care of her terminally ill mother, hence why she reacted so badly towards having to take care of Alison. She also was supposed to point out to Billy if all she wanted was the money from her mother's will she would've married her ex-fiancé Lowell. Billy was also meant to go home and have sex with Brooke after seeing Alison naked, making her think that Billy had forgiven her. 

They also seemed to soften up Peter a bit - in the original version when Matt attacks Paul in the hospital cafeteria, Michael was supposed to ask for help in pulling them apart, and Peter was meant to comment "he's not my  friend". 

Jack Wagner and Kristin Davis weren't listed among the main cast members, so I assume they hadn't signed contracts at this point as regulars.

[detroitpiston]

So I’ve been watching the early seasons of Knots Landing for the first time (I only ever watched the Mack and Greg Sumner years) and I’m almost gobsmacked by how much Melrose Place clearly took inspiration for their first couple of seasons, right down to the character templates and storylines. Some of this stuff feels literally bar for bar man but Knots definitely did it better

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[Vee]

Season 7 of MP (which was masterminded by peak years Knots showrunner Peter Dunne) has an uncanny similarity to Season 4 of Knots, which is also when Dunne took over there and made the show a hit. You'll know the prime factor when you see it.

Edited August 15, 2024 by Vee

[Forever8]

Looks like you can watch all of Melrose Place on demand on PlutoTV

Melrose Place on Pluto TV | Season 1 | TV-PG

[DRW50]

Thanks for taking the time to compare both and show the differences. This is fascinating.

[te.]

Vanessa Williams was on Still The Place:

 

https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1754955354/still-the-place/vanessa-estelle-williams

[te.]

Interesting... Vanessa says Rhonda's role was first conceived as a Jewish girl aka the Andrea of the show. 

[Chris B]

This was a fantastic interview and I continue to be amazed by how good this podcast is. I compare it to the 90210 podcast with Jennie and Tori and it's like night and day. That show had lots of BTS drama plus the ladies don't like the show so it can be hard to listen to. Here, the women are so invested in the show and analyzing it plus they have wonderful chemistry. The episodes they're watching are not the Melrose we remember and it would be easy to tear them apart, but they're making it interesting and providing good insights.

With Vanessa, she was someone I was really hoping they'd get on. Rhonda was different from Sandy because her character really seemed to work and she had storylines throughout. She also had strong chemistry with the entire cast. I'm happy to hear she enjoyed her time and made the most of it while on the show. She could've been really negative, but she took a bad situation and really turned it into a positive life changing experience. 

I hope she returns when they start to recap the Terrence storyline and if the reboot ever gets off the ground, I wouldn't mind seeing Rhonda thrown in the mix.

[Khan]

At the very least, they should consider it.  Rhonda would be old enough to have had a daughter who stirs up some drama for everyone, lol.

[detroitpiston]

The Vanessa Williams Still The Place episode was fantastic. I’m a big s1 fan and loved Rhonda on the show, I always wished she and Terrance stayed for the soapier years.

They touched on pretty much all of the questions I would want asked and Vanessa has a beautiful energy and spirit. I love how she parlayed her early exit into being used to promote MP’s overseas launch and then snag her own variety program. 

@Chris B agreed about the pod in comparison to the 90210 ladies. I found them super grating to listen to. The Charmed rewatch pod has the same problem and was only good when Shannen Doherty relaunched it and kept the cast on track

[Gray Bunny]

That was probably my favorite interview so far! I was glad to hear she had a positive experience on Melrose, other than the tail end when she got the news she was dropped just after the cast celebrated being picked up for a second season. 

I loved hearing her input for Episode 10, "Burned," and how she felt confident in giving feedback on how her character should be responding to the LA riots. Good stuff. 

Meanwhile, it looks like their next special guest star will be the Special Guest Star herself! 

[Chris B]

It's funny, the people who probably have the most to complain about (Doherty and Williams in this case) are super positive when it comes to their respective shows. 

Still the Place announced they want questions for a Heather Locklear interview. She's been private the past few years so I didn't know whether we could expect her. I'm happy to hear she's doing it and I hope she does it in person like most of the other interviews. I'm very curious to hear from her in 2024 and I hope she is doing well.

[te.]

A shame they're pulling her out already though - I would've waited until they reached that point, but I'm assuming they're just getting more listeners from interviews. 

[Chris B]

I wish they'd do two episodes a week when they have interviews. I can't believe we still haven't even reached Jo's first episode. This is such a long journey.

[Soaplovers]

Rhonda should have survived into season 2 when the show was soapy, but still had that realistic element of the first part of season 1.   

She could have been preparing for her marriage, and maybe her soon to be hubby is hurt in the car crash that Michael/Kimberly is in... and once Rhonda finds out about Michael being the cause.. she could have gone all crazy on his ass.

I don't know if she could have been a fit once the show goes OTT in season 3 or not without becoming the damsal in distress like Jo becomes.. or her character changes drastically in order to fit into the OTT landscape.

I do agree that the podcast needs to share episode recaps weekly in addition to the co star interviews.  The way they're going.. it'll be Valentine's Day before we get to Heather's first episode on the show.