Nice to see a review/report on Capitol. It never seemed to garner much press or hype, despite a starry cast and lavish production. But somehow it all never seemed to gell. Was the premise too 'primetime' like for CBS daytime? I don't really know...
THE JOURNAL-NEWS, SUNDAY, JULY, 3, 1983
‘Capitol’s’ espionage storyline capital By LYNDA HIRSCH
After a fairly low period, “Capitol” has now gotten back to some capital storylines. Watching CBS’s baby sudser has been gratifying these days, as opposed to mystifying. First off, the espionage storyline has wrapped up. While such stories might play in a two-hour James Bond flick, they are always confusing in soap opera. We were sorry to see Jeff Chamberlain as Lawrence Barrington exit the show, but his spy character was put up against the wall with no escape.
Now for the good news: the return of Thomas the handicapped surgeon, this time around played by Michael Catlin, who brings a low-key sensitivity to the role. When the character exited last year, we received lots of negative response from viewers who felt the character had been abandoned. Also, Lana Wood and Kimberly Ross are continuing as a mother-daughter team (Fran and AmyBurke), which will create a long-overdue storyline for Matt, the athletic McCandless brother. Wood may be remembered in the nighttime version of “Peyton Place,”
And at last, Paula Denning, the long-talked-aboutbut-never-seen wife of Sen. Mark Denning, comes on the show next week, portrayed by veteran actress Julie Adams. John Conboy, the producer, has managed to get the show in line in a short time. The hiring of Peggy O’Shea as head writer is an added plus, and the addition of Patricia Wenig as supervising producer has given the show polish and pace. Old pros like Constance Towers, Ed Nelson and Richard Egan continue to shine. Deborah Mullowney makes Sloane a many-leveled character.
“Capitol” still has a few weak spots, most notably a few characters without direction; some characters who should be minor have been given too much to do, while some with endless possibilities remain in the background. But that is the nature of most soap operas, and “Capitol” looks and feels better than half of the soaps on the air.
By
Paul Raven ·
