Out of all the soaps I've never been able to see even one episode of, besides the fascinating sounding M DePriest's soap opera Where the Heart Is and Lemay's Lovers and Friends--I've always been fascinated by Douglas Marland's Showtime cable soap, A New Day in Eden that ran from 1982-1983. I always hear about it from soap books, or actor bios (Marland's fave Jane Eliot, as well as Jack Wagner were on it), but for a soap opera created in the VCR era there seems to be VERY VERY little media out there--nothing online anyway and I've never seen anything in private soap collections.

I've always read it was a good soap (certainlybetter than the later Playboy channel soap Eden) with classic elements and some more "racy" stuff cuz of cable (I think there was at least a flirtation with homosexuality, as well casual nudity). But by 1983 Marland was at Loving... Anyone remember the show? have any pics or videos online from it?

E

Edited June 23, 200817 yr by EricMontreal22

Brothers and Sisters isn't perfect--and I've been worried ever since its brilliant playwright creator, Jon RObin Baitz basically walked out last Fall after ABC was dictating stories (including, sound familiar? wanting more youth and less older characters), but it ended the season back on track and is definetly worth watching David--lotsa great stuff and it does integrate the gay stuff well and for the most part give it equal time.

My prob with Queer as Folk (though it is miles better than Dante's Cove, etc--which I agree are basically just there to have gay softcore porn on with some Buffy eleements--I guess someone realized how popular Buffy was in the gay community) is... Well I thought the British original was brilliant. And the remake just never measured up--but I think they tried for too much--the original creator Russell Davies, who did the Doctor Who remake of course, even said the reason his queer as folk didn't run very long was he had told the story of the group of people and how they all interconnected he wanted to ttell and there was nothing left. The men in charge of the remake (who I believe created Sisters) actually said they wanted to open it up so that all gays and lesbians watching would feel represented :rolls eyes: which I think was the first mistake.

dc--so even when New Day in Eden was running, Doug said it would end with a cliffhangar? I wonder if he later used any of his college ideas when he was at Loving

Yes, there has been a marked shift in the quality of Brothers and Sisters since Baitz left. DavidEvanSmith, check out Season 1 first...that is the amazing one. But B&S is still good...it is just (odd critique to level on this board) now...soapier.

I love Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who (and spinoff universe)...I'm a little worried that RTD has left as EP...but his successor (Steven Moffatt) wrote the BEST eps in each of the last 4 seasons...so we'll see. David Tennant is just a fun, engaging, energetic, quirky, sexy, beautiful doctor.

The British understand, with their shorter seasons and series, not to over-milk the cow. HBO used to understand this too.

Yes, there has been a marked shift in the quality of Brothers and Sisters since Baitz left. DavidEvanSmith, check out Season 1 first...that is the amazing one. But B&S is still good...it is just (odd critique to level on this board) now...soapier.

And it will probably be even soapier - now the show-runners are Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker (ex-Charmed, ex-Alias, ex-Lost). Their two-year seven-figure deal with Touchstone Television is about to expire, I believe, if they haven't yet signed a new one. Both are repped by the famous Endeavor, I know for sure Monica is a graduate of Brown and both were just shy of earning their PhDs before they decided to try things out in Hollywood.

I love Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who (and spinoff universe)...I'm a little worried that RTD has left as EP...but his successor (Steven Moffatt) wrote the BEST eps in each of the last 4 seasons...so we'll see. David Tennant is just a fun, engaging, energetic, quirky, sexy, beautiful doctor.

This whole thing has been discussed in a thread in Primetime Oxides.

And it will probably be even soapier - now the show-runners are Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker (ex-Charmed, ex-Alias, ex-Lost). Their two-year seven-figure deal with Touchstone Television is about to expire, I believe, if they haven't yet signed a new one. Both are repped by the famous Endeavor, I know for sure Monica is a graduate of Brown and both were just shy of earning their PhDs before they decided to try things out in Hollywood.

Were they involved in Season 2? Hrmm I'm a bit concernsed--Season 2 started to lose direction but I thought it found it (mor eor less) by the end again--and I'm glad that some stories I thought would be dropped after reading Baitz' criticism of ABC's writing demands, like Sal's sexuality were not dropped.

RIght, the Who thread is in Primetime oxids. I would be worried abotu Davies leaving but Moffat is such a great replacement (as I wrote in that thread I also found the Library episode, part 1 in particular the best of the year) and has a great feel for the show--even if it was his idea to revive the Doctor's Daughter so she could potentially have a spin off in a very stupid episode this year Davies will still consult like he's done on Torchwood which has always been show run by Chris Chibnell (sp?) who's work there fits the darker tone really well. I also think Davies was burnt out at Who, honestly, and starting to run out of ideas so it was smart of him to end on a high (and making the finale kinda tie into all four years he's done as well as Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures was brilliant).

I do hope Tennant stays on longer than he has promised but it seems we won't see him for long either.

Were they involved in Season 2? Hrmm I'm a bit concernsed--Season 2 started to lose direction but I thought it found it (mor eor less) by the end again--and I'm glad that some stories I thought would be dropped after reading Baitz' criticism of ABC's writing demands, like Sal's sexuality were not dropped.

Yes, of course they were: they wrote a total of seven episodes for the show. And the shaky direction might be because the show transitioned from the original show-runner Greg Berlanti (who is gay and who replaced Marti Noxon, who clashed with Robin Baitz) to Mark B. Perry (One Tree Hill) to Monica and Alison.

Of course Berlanti is gay I kinda have a love/hate thing for his work--ever since the gay cliche movie Broken HEart CLub. MArti Noxon was out before the pilot was revamped I read (I really wish I could see the full original pilot though it looks like every change they made was for the better) and even though I'm a fan of much of her stuff it did sound liek she was a poor fit.

So Mark B Perry was only show runner for a period this year? Like I said I liked the later eps more, so maybe I'll like this new team (as much as I HATE Charmed--but if they were involved in Alias that may be why they joined--with the Ken Olin and other Alias connections). When Baitz left, on his blog he did say he';d love to return to write some episodes if ABC would let him...

Of course Berlanti is gay I kinda have a love/hate thing for his work--ever since the gay cliche movie Broken HEart CLub. MArti Noxon was out before the pilot was revamped I read (I really wish I could see the full original pilot though it looks like every change they made was for the better) and even though I'm a fan of much of her stuff it did sound liek she was a poor fit.

I'm going to wait and see what will she do to Private Practice - her work was very unflattering ever since she left Buffy.

So Mark B Perry was only show runner for a period this year? Like I said I liked the later eps more, so maybe I'll like this new team (as much as I HATE Charmed--but if they were involved in Alias that may be why they joined--with the Ken Olin and other Alias connections). When Baitz left, on his blog he did say he';d love to return to write some episodes if ABC would let him...

Mark B. Perry is to blame for all the soapiness - he took over from Berlanti when Berlanti went on to produce Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money (which was created by Allan Ball's friend and ex-B&S Craig Wright).

Likewise, Berlanti is to blame for steering away from heavy drama and introducing more emotional moments and light-heartedness.

Read the Ausiello Report about Perry's departure.

Yeah I was sad Craig Wright was leaving B&S but I love DSMoney so much I don't mind... I just wish there could be a way for Baitz to return to his show.

You may be right abotu Noxon--I liked her work on Buffy so much (even the year she largely show ran--saeson 6 which many fans don't like--and then when she was away on maternity leave for most of season 7 you really felt her presence missing) but she hasn't had a lot of luck lately--and I think Private Practice is so awful I won't tune in just cuz she's working there (I did see a few of her Grey's eps and thought they seemed better than average--but I'm not a big fan of the show). I did like her horror soap Point Pleasant, although I'm not sure if I can actually call it quality... or if it was just a big guilty pleasure

Yeah I was sad Craig Wright was leaving B&S but I love DSMoney so much I don't mind... I just wish there could be a way for Baitz to return to his show.

I had problems with the way DSM was cast. And with a certain preporsterousness and tendentiousness.

You may be right abotu Noxon--I liked her work on Buffy so much (even the year she largely show ran--saeson 6 which many fans don't like--and then when she was away on maternity leave for most of season 7 you really felt her presence missing) but she hasn't had a lot of luck lately--and I think Private Practice is so awful I won't tune in just cuz she's working there (I did see a few of her Grey's eps and thought they seemed better than average--but I'm not a big fan of the show). I did like her horror soap Point Pleasant, although I'm not sure if I can actually call it quality... or if it was just a big guilty pleasure

I watched Point Pleasant. And I will have to tune in Private Practice even though I loathe Grey's. Mostly because I'm interested in seeing how Marti will do there and because of Addison Montgomery.

Really? I think DSM has a stellar cast--I like nearly everyone in it (then again I'm biased with any show that gives the brilliant Jill C a steady job). As for preposterousness I role my eyes at you THat's the point.

Well if yout ell me Private Practice has become wonderful maybe I'll watch it. It's hard for me not to watch something that stars one of my fave Broadway voices Audra McD (I even watched her on that awful sex class in university series that lasted like 3 episodes)

Well if yout ell me Private Practice has become wonderful maybe I'll watch it. It's hard for me not to watch something that stars one of my fave Broadway voices Audra McD (I even watched her on that awful sex class in university series that lasted like 3 episodes)

I thought you don't trust me anymore! Given that we don't agree on Six Feet Under, Mad Men, The City... I forgot what else was there.

But no matter how good (and it will never be that good), Private Practice will never ever be your type of show.

And I will have to tune in Private Practice even though I loathe Grey's. Mostly because I'm interested in seeing how Marti will do there and because of Addison Montgomery.

Compared to PP Grey's is like a Shakespearean play... Marti Noxon plain sucks, he's so over-shallow.

To watch a series just for one person? Sylph!

I watch(ed) PP for Kate/Addison AND Amy Brenneman.

I agree with you though on the loss of quality (during Brothers&Sisters second season although during the Berlanti penned season finale it seemed to refind it's track and we might get more thought-through longer-lasting plots next season...

Compared to PP Grey's is like a Shakespearean play... Marti Noxon plain sucks, he's so over-shallow.

To watch a series just for one person? Sylph!

I need closure. And Marti is a woman.

I watch(ed) PP for Kate/Addison AND Amy Brenneman.

As I said, it's not one person, it's two: Marti Noxon and Kate Walsh.

I thought you don't trust me anymore! Given that we don't agree on Six Feet Under, Mad Men, The City... I forgot what else was there.

But no matter how good (and it will never be that good), Private Practice will never ever be your type of show.

Hahah I m realizing we dont' seem to often agree but I knew that way back--I'm a Nixon fan and you're a Bell boy after all But I still respect your opinion especially when it comes to writers.

\Sheila--Noxon has done some brilliant tv writing--she was by far the best Buffy writer besides Whedon but, yeah I don't have much faith with her at PP.

Speaking of showrunners--I realized I do like a lot of the episodes the new women working on Bros and Sis did so maybe I shouldn't worry as much. But I *didn't* realize that now Dirty Sexy Money is having showrunner probs! LOL What's with ABC hiring these playwrights (Craig Wright is actually a pulitzer prize winner for his theatre) and then not letting them run their freakin shows. Now that the Ausiello Report is in Ent Weekly I noticed there was a comment about the show in this week's issue, though Ausiello thinks it's in great hands and the new twist being brought for the premier this year--a character death--is a smart one. But I guess Wright was never technically showrunner anyway and IS still involved with the show he created as a writer--unlike Baitz at B&S (where technically he was only co showrunner with Greg Berlanti who taught him how to structure a show, etc) Then again the new creator of DSM was the creator of the hideous Big Shots....

Edited July 15, 200817 yr by EricMontreal22

Here's the People's Magazine article from February 7, 1983:

There's Hardly a Fig Leaf Left in Eden, and It's Paradise for Cable Soap Fans

By Hollis Evans

The scenario sounds as if it were written for a Roman orgy, or perhaps a tale from the Decameron. Most of the principal male characters are having illicit affairs and looking lasciviously over their partners' shoulders at other women. One lady is raped in the course of the story, another is deflowered in a barn, another roughed up in a shower, and yet another takes vengeance on her unfaithful lover by seducing his new love in a lesbian scene. There is, moreover, a madman abroad on the local college campus who is raping, maiming and murdering coeds. If all this makes A New Day in Eden seem racier than any network TV soap opera in history, there is a good reason. The program airs mostly late at night on Showtime, Oak Media and Prism systems, which together have four and a half million subscribers. And as the first long-running soap produced especially for cable, Eden has leeway that makes its broadcast cousins green with envy: Because it doesn't use public airwaves, it isn't regulated by the FCC—so anything goes.

The surprising fact about Eden is that it seems almost prim in a medium that is steamy with X-rated "midnight films" and stag shows familiar to travelers from the closed-circuit fare at many hotels. Eden features nudity, to be sure, but it is discreet nakedness. There are no frontal shots below the waist, and the nude scenes are brief, dimly lit and filmed in profile for the most part. "We don't have a model to turn to," says executive producer Michael Jaffe, 38, "so all you can do is follow some rules for yourself. First, the story has to be good and the actors have to be good. Second, less is more. If the audience wants to see more, we're safe. If you leave everything out in the open, the audience becomes jaded."

Without the odd moment of titillation, cable viewers might not be interested, even though Eden's plot line compares favorably with daytime soaps. Set in a once slumbering Midwestern ghost town named (natch) Eden, the show portrays the changes wrought by the giant electronics empire of Bryan Lewis (played by Jim McMullan). Lewis' enterprises revived Eden's economy and attracted the interest of the arrogant, abrasive Josh Collier (Steve Carlson), a troubleshooter evaluating the village's urban renewal. As this drama unfolds, Bryan Lewis' sons, Greg and Biff, along with a half-dozen other local studs, are attempting to bed every woman in the community. "We wanted to compete at every level with network quality, despite the fact that we operate with 50 to 60 percent of network budgets," says producer Jaffe. On the level of plot, Jaffe certainly has fulfilled his wish.

The creative force behind Eden is Douglas Marland, 48, a two-time Emmy winner who wrote for CBS' Guiding Light and ABC's General Hospital. Most of the cast has also been in network soaps and prime-time shows—but none had any prior experience in the buff. Maggie Sullivan, 34, a General Hospital veteran who plays Eden's top femme fatale, found the first undress rehearsals an ordeal. "In the beginning it took a lot of guts and trust. You don't get that intimacy in a network situation, because you don't get that close."

Producer Jaffe has a track record of serious network TV shows, often about high-minded subjects. (Example: A Woman Called Moses, the story of Harriet Tubman, the former slave who helped run the Underground Railroad.) Just how well his newest venture is doing is hard to assess. He has wrapped 33 episodes, but only 10 have aired, and he is uncertain whether the show will be renewed.

Meanwhile Marland is determined to use every trick in the book to attract and hold an audience, including a Dallas-like season-ender in which the identity of that mad rapist is left undisclosed. By season's end, in fact, only patriarch Bryan Lewis will have kept his clothes on in every episode, a fact that disgruntles the actor who plays him. "I just wish he would get out of the office," grumbles McMullan. "I'm tired of sitting behind that desk and staring at that green carpet. When I finally do get into bed, it'll probably be with my tie on."