The Hamptons

[danfling]

The description of his "looking like a Stephen recast" confused me.   Who is Stephen?

 

[Liberty City]

Likely referring to Steven Carrington from Dynasty.

[te.]

Steven on Dynasty.

[Paul Raven]

San Bernardino Sun 27 July 1983

"The Hamptons," on ABC at 9 p.m. today, sounds like the result of a class theme project at an Eastern boarding school on "What my parents did this summer." This new series is a five-part, prime-time sudser under the steerage of executive producer Gloria Monty, the woman who added zip and zest to daytime soap "General Hospital." It aspires to be an East Coast answer to "Dynasty," but lacks the style and production budget of that hit serial 

Set in East Hampton, Long Island's answer to Palm Beach, the action revolves around the passions and intrigues of a pair of supposedly oldline Eastern Establishment families. In reality, the production gives us what yearround residents of the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard and even the Jersey shore will instantly recognize as summer people. They're the chic, aspiring, self-anointed beautiful people who save courtesy and consideration for their own kind. "The Hamptons" echoes this same self-absorption and unspoken disdain for the common run of prime-time television fare while being much more presumptious and shallow than the average series.

TV soap queen, Monty, is force behind series. She is one of the most important people in television, a source of great financial pleasure for ABC. But many people have never seen or heard of her. This is Gloria Monty, one of ABC's soap-opera bosses. Monty is the producer of "General Hospital," the most-watched show on daytime TV. She's the producer of "The Hamptons," which begins an experimental summer-time run tonight. In 1978, Monty was chosen to revamp "General Hospital," which was doing poorly. She changed its style, throwing in action. She tightened the pace. And she aimed younger. "Our stories became more upbeat. There's a lot of youthful optimism." The result was a No. 1 daytime hit. So Gloria Monty has become an important figure In network TV. She has a fresh three-year contract and a chance to try a summertime experiment.

What we end up with is standard serial fare characters and situations that could be plunked down anywhere, be it the Hamptons or Fire Island, and nobody will notice the difference or care. In fact, both the production and audience might be more comfortable if it did take place on Fire Island. As it stands, "The Hamptons" is a strange hybrid. It is faster paced, somewhat less talky than daytime soaps. It also is not as glossy or smooth as prime-time serials. Ambition, greed and lust which, on this show, may end up all being the same thing are the motivators trotted out for tonight's premiere of the Chadway and the Duncan-Mortimer families, the dynastic owners of a prestigious department store chain. Michael Goodwin plays Peter Chadway, the somewhat egalitarian managing director of the store. Leigh Taylor-Young is his sensuous wife Lee. Bibi Bersch is Adrienne Duncan-Mortimer, sole heir to the Duncan half of the empire. John Riley is her younger, social-climbing husband Jay, who has manuevered himself into presidency of the store. The episode's dramatic catalyst is the hospitalization after a serious stroke of Goodwin's father, co"The Hamptons" has a budget that's not primetime "I'd say it's quite a bit less," Monty says frankly but is above daytime  levels. It has a couple of modestly known stars (Leigh Taylor-Young and Bibi Besch) and was filmed on location, not in a studio. The attraction, Monty says, will be the mood of the Hamptons and the intrigue of business and romance. There also will be sex, of course. Appropriately, Monty says it will be in the newer style. "We have younger people in the cast, so we have a different kind of sex. It's more eager, friskier." 

[te.]

07/27/83 - 13.8/25

08/03/83 - 9.2/17

08/10/83 - 8.9/16

08/17/83 - 10/18

08/24/83 - 9.6/17

It normally didn't even keep it's repeat lead-in of Fall Guy, which was usually around a 13-ish rating.