I think I read either in some fan recount or some newspaper article that Secrets of Midland Heights had been developed for daytime, which is why some of the early episodes were so slow. Though, I may be confusing it with Behind the Scenes which had initially been conceived to be stripped nightly (hence the half hour slot) but a change in presidency at the network ended those plans.

I have a script somewhere for Secrets of where Melora Hardin's character is revealed to be the product of her father's affair with an African American dancer. I don't think the character learned of her maternity, but someone did, maybe her brother who I think was played by Lorenzo Lamas. I think this was one of the show's unaired episodes.

Edited March 2Mar 2 by dc11786

11 minutes ago, dc11786 said:

I think I read either in some fan recount or some newspaper article that Secrets of Midland Heights had been developed for daytime, which is why some of the early episodes were so slow. Though, I may be confusing it with Behind the Scenes which had initially been conceived to be stripped nightly (hence the half hour slot) but a change in presidency at the network ended those plans.

I have a script somewhere for Secrets of where Melora Hardin's character is revealed to be the product of her father's affair with an African American dancer. I don't think the character learned of her maternity, but someone did, maybe her brother who I think was played by Lorenzo Lamas. I think this was one of the show's unaired episodes.

Thanks for the extra info, as always. This show doesn't sound very interesting but I still wish we could see it. (Behind the Scenes too)

Sisters had the benefit of a strong lead in -Golden Girls/Empty Nest which were both Top 10 shows at the time, something Midland Heights/Yellow Rose, Berrengers/Twin Peaks/Dallas/Hotel did not have.

1 hour ago, dc11786 said:

think I read either in some fan recount or some newspaper article that Secrets of Midland Heights had been developed for daytime, which is why some of the early episodes were so slow.

I don't believe Midland Heights was ever meant for daytime -Lorimar wasn't involved with daytime at that point.

SOMH initially was developed as something called Heartland and aimed at 8pm for CBS.

Gannett Westchester/Saturday, December 13, 1980

Midland Heights' dreadful fun by Peter J Boyer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - One of the luxuries enjoyed by TV soap operas is that they're judged apart from other TV entertainment. Viewers tend to indulge soaps their weaknesses in areas of dramatic structure, execution and dialogue. Character is the thing in soaps. What I'm trying to say is, CBS' new prime time Saturday night soap, "Secrets of Midland Heights," could become a hit show in spite of its dreadfulness.

In a very busy premiere debut episode Dec. 6, "Midland Heights" showed itself to be a creature grossly fat with overacting and ludicrous situations. But, in the way soaps are, it was also sort of amusing. It's like this... Midland Heights is a little town out there somewhere in Soapsville County, where every citizen's life is a tangled web of deceit, lust, passion and sorrow, and where all the webs are interconnected. The burg is run by old lady Millington (Martha Scott), a crusty old bird" whose people founded Midland Heights. Running point for Mrs. Millington, and for himself, is Guy Millington (Jordan Christopher), the series' chief misanthrope. Of Guy's many reasons for unpleasantness, the most pressing seems to be that his niece, Ann (Doran Clark), somehow stands between him and the family fortune. Ann's mother is suggested to be insane, and Guy is most willing to assist Ann along a similar path. Ann loves a poor dropout, John. So, Guy has John run out of town. John might be saved, though, by Holly and Teddy, who ... never mind. Let's just say "Secrets of Midland Heights" wasted no time in setting up shop.

Some of the situations were just too goofy to let pass without a snicker. There's a lot of emphasis on adolescents in this soap, so it wasn't surprising to find in the first episode a young virgin seeking to alter her situation. She talked a young man into going to a motel with her. Who do you suppose was in the next room, consummating infidelity? The girl's mother. Who do you suppose the girl's mother was with? The boy's father. (Tee hee. I have to giggle even now.) As I say, soaps are accounted on a separate ledger. This is a really bad show. But bad, in this case, could prove to be good. It doesn't matter to me, in any case. I'm equipped to handle but one soap at a time, and "Dallas" came along first

Thanks @Paul Raven

I have a feeling this is more exciting to read than to watch, but I wish we knew for sure.