Monday, September 25, 2006

Remember These Primetime Soaps?

Based on the 1949 movie, starring Joan Crawford and the novel by Robert Wilder, "Flamingo Road" was NBC's first attempt to jump onto the 1980s primetime soap opera bandwagon. The pilot aired on December 29, 1980. The show took place in the fictional town of Truro, Florida. It's residents had ties to the very wealthy Weldon family, who resided on the high-priced Flamingo Road. They included Claude, who gained his fortune through the paper industry, Eudora, his naive wife, Constance, their believed-to-be, adopted daughter, and Skipper, their son. Fielding Carlyle was Constance's husband, while Lane Ballou was his mistress. Lane worked for bar owner, Lute-Mae Sanders, Constance's biological mother (unknown to Constance, Claude was her biological father). At Lute-Mae's, Lane became good friends with Sam Curtis, a construction magnate. Other residents include Titus Semple, the ruthless sheriff, and Elmo Tyson, editor of the Truro Clarion and Eudora's high school sweetheart. NBC cancelled the show in May 1982.

Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Robert and Eileen Pollock, "The Colbys," which was a spin-off of "Dynasty," was introduced at a ball in Denver, for a Denver Carrington and Colby Enterprises business project. The story moved to Los Angeles, where Jeff Colby goes to find his lost wife Fallon Carrington Colby, who had amnesia and was married to his cousin, Miles.

This is the second of two love triangles, that became the center of the show's attention. First triangle consists of the head of the family, Jason Colby, his wife, Sable, and her sister, Jeff's mother, Francesca. The good person in this messy situation is Jason's strong and vital sister, Connie, and the evil person from the Colby's past is Zack Powers. The biggest threat to the family in the end will come from their own flash and blood, Jason's brother Philip, who was alledgedly found dead in Vietnam and who was thought to be Jeff's father. The Colbys ended with a cliffhanger that wasn't resolved but the creators left space for the characters to pass on to Dynasty, which was done in a couple of occasions. The show aired from 1985 to 1987.

"Models, Inc." was another short-lived primetime soap opera spin-off, from the successful hit, "Melrose Place." Produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, the show centered around a modeling agency, Models Inc., in Los Angeles, which was run by Hillary Michaels, played by Linda Gray. She was Amanda Woodard's, played by Heather Locklear, mother on Melrose Place. The show aired from June 1994 to March 1995.

"Bare Essence" was an attempt by the NBC Television Network to cash in on the popularity of the prime-time super soaps such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty," which aired on the CBS and ABC Television Networks. It starred popular daytime soap actress, Genie Francis and it dealt with the intrigues of the perfume industry. Other cast members included Jonathan Frakes, Wendy Fulton, Ian McShane, Michael Nader, and guest-starring for two episodes, Joan Fontaine. "Bare Essence" started as a TV movie in October 1982, with strong supporting performances from veteran prime-time soap actresses, Linda Evans and Donna Mills. It also starred Lee Grant and Bruce Boxleitner. The show aired from 1982 to 1983.

Talk about short-lived, "Paper Dolls," aired on the ABC Television Network for just 14 episodes. The series was set around a modelling agency, which starred Lloyd Bridges, Morgan Fairchild, Mimi Rogers, Nicolette Sheridan, Anne Schedeen, Lauren Hutton, Brenda Vaccaro, Dack Rambo, Terry Farrell, Richard Beymer and Geoffrey Blake. Prior to the TV series, a pilot TV movie was screened in 1982 with Joan Collins, Daryl Hannah and Alexandra Paul. The show aired from September 1984 to December 1984.

1 comment:

kaa said...

thanx for droppin by my site. you have an interesting site. unfortunately i havent the time to read through everything and i'm not much a soap opera fan. But i do remember Model's Inc. Used to watch it. wasn't the photographer from melrose place guest starring in a few episodes. was her name Jo?