Thanks @DRW50 This is one show I'm desperate for any scraps from.

TV OBSERVER. Utica, NY.

'Secrets Of Midland Heights' To Unfold by Charles Whitbeck

Remember the sleazy, amoral "Peyton Place," the pioneering nighttime soap opera featuring the low principled Harrington clan? If that rings a bell you will quickly get the hang of "Secrets of Midland Heights," the new fall CBS Saturday night clambake put out by Lorimar, source of "Dallas"," Knots Landing" and "Flamingo Road". Supposedly for the voung folks, "Midland Heights" is about the sexual mores of a small traditional Indiana college town. It's really "Peyton Place" gussied up for the '80s.

Instead of Harringtons sowing wild cats, the Millingtons are sewing a pattern of conniving and intrigue. Bob New-hart's TV Mom. Martha Scott, who made her Broadway debut in "Our Town"1938. plays Margaret Millington, the communities power broker, a grand dame with iron gloves. Son Guy (Jordan Christopher), the J.R.. Ewing of the series, is the oily looking sneak angling to get at Mom's purse strings.

Guy's sister is locked up in an asylum, and her daughter lives in seclusion. There's a traveling salesman, a college teacher from Boston with two young sons, but that doesn't inhibit the professor from occupying different beds And there's a handsome, blond history/social studies teacher, Calvin Richardson (Mark Pinter), the series nice guy, a confidant of the students, a shade too sensitive.

At the outset, Richardson was heavily involved with a teenager, but that's been held back to give the character a break. Blackmail and kidnapping instead will occupy early episodes as 12 characters have to be introduced, meaning confusion reigns over who does what to whom in the early chapters. But that should be sorted out because of the staff involved. The show was created by David Jacobs, the brain behind "Dallas and "Knots Landing." At one time Jacobs was story editor for "Family." With "Family" finished, Jacobs brings over the talented Sally Robinson who wrote, among others, the "Family" episode on senility starring Henry Fonda. Miss Robinson and an ex -CBS executive Paul Wagner are running "Secrets."

The "Peyton Place" parallel comes from the series nice guy played by Mark Pinter, who was in a pilot titled "Peyton Place '79," one that didn't satisfy network execs. So Pinter went to work as Dr. Tom Crawford in the daytime soaper "Love of Life.' Last winter, "Love" was floundering in the ratings after a 18-year run. CBS decided to drop the old-timer without so much as a murmur, and save producer Cathy Abby three and a half weeks to tie up loose plot lines for a January grand finale. But Miss Abbi refused, and let the old timer drift off into oblivion with unsolved dilemmas. Pinter was then free to make the "Midland Heights" pilot.

Mark Pinter blonde?

I'm not sure how I would feel about him in this type of role...he was such an odd casting choice (I think only AW fit him - maybe ATWT but he was never a standout)

Love the pause to pan Cathy Abbi for not giving Love of Life a proper end.

THE JOURNAL-NEWS. THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1981

Star defends 'Midland Heights' plots

By STACY JENEL SMITH Syndicated Columnist

HOLLYWOOD - CBS new Secrets of Midland Heights' stacks up as a very obvious target for those who complain about "Immoral TV" and its influence on adolescents. Filled with not only the typical sudsy fare — adultery, alcoholism, nasty wealthy people — it also focuses on three teenage couples resorting to subterfuge to hide what they're doing There's another side to the picture, though, and Bibi Besch, who plays the series unhappily married mother Dorothy Wheeler, is only too glad to give it.

"The show presents a lot of problems kids really do have nowadays, problems that some people need to face," said Bibi. "There is a tendency to confuse the naming or the showing of a problem with the creation of one. Just because someone points it out doesn't mean it wasn't there before. People don't like to think that these problems exist, but they do."

Vienna-born, New York-raised, (the daughter of respected Diary of Anne Frank actress Gusti Huber), Bibi is already a hand at the soap scene as a veteran of three years of daytime's The Secret Storm in addition to her numerous stage, film and primetime credits. She s been married to her publisher husband, Patrick, for three years "Between us. we have four kids from our first marriages, from 10 to 15 years old, she said. It's very interesting with three girls and a boy all at different stages. The trust between my daughter and myself is very strong. Bibi added. She once told me how much she appreciated that, because If you didn't trust me, how could I ever learn to trust myself?’’

I see her point. Sensible as that sounds, it’s still an unfortunate reality that the series sinks into exploitation — as opposed to simply exploration — of the trials of teens, not to mention adults. Adults such as miserable Dorothy Wheeler herself, for instance, who’s attempting to find consolation for her bad marriage and relief from guilt over her affair with alcohol and possibly pills. Bibi sees a definite purpose in presenting Dorothy’s struggle for survival, believing that the sympathy and empathy the character can generate might create new understanding among and for real-life Dorothys. "I identify with her. Her situation isn't that far out of the ordinary — a woman feeling trapped in a painful marriage. It's especially hard on a woman who doesn’t realize she has the right to do anything There are still women who think of themselves as chattle."

"She's trying to rise above her problems instead of sinking into them. She feels very guilty about her daughter s anger toward her and is controlled by that guilt. Her daughter hasn't been allowing her to be a human being "It's hard but very important I believe," she adds, “for daughters to realize that their mothers aren’t above reproach. It's hard for mothers, too. I know I don’t like the idea of my daughter not thinking of me as perfect, even though it's best Regarding her daughter's feelings about "Midland Heights. Bibi said. "She thinks it’s terrific I asked her how it felt seeing an actress play my daughter and she said, Why should I care? I play your daughter all the time. My husband is very happy. He says I'm at my best when I’m working and it’s true.”

Bibi realizes that a showcase role such as her Dorothy Wheeler character could make a life-changing difference in her career If so, "I feel ready for it. It's taken me a long time to feel ready for it ."I used to think that if I wasn't successful, 1 was a washout," she added. "I don't feel that way any more If, God forbid, the show doesn't do well, I know I’ll go on anyway.”

The more we get interviews from Bibi about how she hopes the show makes her famous the sadder I get. I wish Jacobs had put her on Knots Landing at some point.

16 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

The more we get interviews from Bibi about how she hopes the show makes her famous the sadder I get. I wish Jacobs had put her on Knots Landing at some point.

She could've played Jane Sumner or Judith Scott.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

The more we get interviews from Bibi about how she hopes the show makes her famous the sadder I get. I wish Jacobs had put her on Knots Landing at some point.

53 minutes ago, Khan said:

She could've played Jane Sumner or Judith Scott.

Bibi would have been excellent as Jane or Judith. She did appear on Knots, but only briefly, as Jill's therapist in Season 10. A mere one-episode role, and oddly enough, she has no scenes with Teri Austin, just with Ted Shackelford.

22 minutes ago, Franko said:

Bibi would have been excellent as Jane or Judith. She did appear on Knots, but only briefly, as Jill's therapist in Season 10. A mere one-episode role, and oddly enough, she has no scenes with Teri Austin, just with Ted Shackelford.

I should have checked. Knots having 500 episodes a season at one point means many bit players I don't remember...

17 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I should have checked. Knots having 500 episodes a season at one point means many bit players I don't remember...

And as much as I love the show, some of those seasons are a wee bit bloated.

ETA: Whoops, I commented about Knots Landing on the wrong thread.

Edited July 20Jul 20 by Franko

A few years later Bibi was talking up The Hamptons, saying SOMH didn't work because viewers wanted to see rich folks living it up and Midland was too ordinary. But Hamptons bombed as well.

She kept getting attached to the wrong soaps.

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.

On 7/15/2026 at 10:42 PM, DRW50 said:

Watching some 1981 Hong Kong ads (which are very entertaining, especially the cigarette ads) and of all things to show up it's 30 seconds of scenes from the premiere! I don't think I've seen these before. It's at about 9 minutes and 50 seconds into the video.

@dc11786 @vetsoapfan @Paul Raven @Vee @soapfan770 @Franko @slick jones @SoapDope78 @j swift @Broderick @Chris 2 @te. @Khan @Soaplovers @EricMontreal22 @GymnastGuy @All My Shadows @Soapsuds @kalbir

TVB Pearl Hong Kong Adverts | 1981

I have got to rummage through my boxes of ancient videotapes to see if I can find my VHS copies of this show. I may not have loved it, but it's certainly a curio at this point.

4 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

I have got to rummage through my boxes of ancient videotapes to see if I can find my VHS copies of this show. I may not have loved it, but it's certainly a curio at this point.

That would be great. If you can't find it at least you've shared your memories with us.

24 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

That would be great. If you can't find it at least you've shared your memories with us.

One of the weird, principle things I remember was that after CBS axed Midland Heights, ABC recycled a slew of its actors for another teen-oriented drama called Kings Crossing, which I liked a lot more.

That whole Midland Heights/Kings Crossing connection was odd. I guess Kings Crossing was closer to what Midland Heights was intended to be, until CBS asked for a 10pm show.

Maybe had there not been shared castmembers these comparisons would not be made.