Short Lived 80's Prime Time Soaps

[Swellin]

After the success of Dallas, there were a bunch of other Prime Time soaps that didn't last too long. What ones do you remember watching and were they any good? Some Dallas starts also appeared in them.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I saw so little of the others you mentioned, although I liked the look of YELLOW ROSE. I tried to sit through BERRENGERS, a Lorimar show, but found it too silly (Esther Shapiro competitively complained about its atrocious story-telling and then promptly hired one of the key writer/producers for DYNASTY) although it felt very '84/85 in flavor, for some reason. I saw some of PAPER DOLLS but still only remember the theme song. I remember nothing from FLAMINGO ROAD except that I rather liked the earlier Joan Crawford movie.

Did anybody ever see THE SECRETS OF MIDLAND HEIGHTS?

 

[tommie]

I've watched Flamingo Road, Paper Dolls and The Hamptons (which had a EU VHS release as a two part mini series under the name of Long Island - I've written about it in the soap forum). Glitter has a few episodes up on YouTube, but it's nothing spectacular - it's more Hotel in the sense that it centers around the guest stars of the week rather than a continuing plot.

Paper Dolls was a bit messy - too many characters, but I would've liked to have seen it get a full season to see if it could've ended up gelling. Flamingo Road has some interesting aspects to it - them potentially going all supernatural in season three is at least interesting (I'm surprised no other big soap dabbled in it tbh). The Hamptons was cheap, low budget and low energy unfortunately, which is a shame.

I keep meaning to get the Yellow Rose dvd.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

I really liked Flamingo Road, it had a very unique and special feel about it and it's really a shame, that it's nowhere available to watch on demand and never got a DVD release.

 

[tommie]

I really liked Flamingo Road, it had a very unique and special feel about it and it's really a shame, that it's nowhere available to watch on demand and never got a DVD release.

Out of all mentioned, Flamingo Road is easiest the one where a lot of potential went lost with its cancellation. Then again, Selby wouldn't have been available for Falcon Crest if it had continued, so maybe it all worked out for the best. I'm not sure I would trade Richard Channing for a season three of Flamingo Road.

 

[Pamela_E]

Wasn't there a soap with Morgan Brittany?

 

[tommie]

Wasn't there a soap with Morgan Brittany?

Glitter - but again, I wouldn't exactly call it a soap. It's more Hotel / Love Boat with guest stars of the week, just set at a magazine instead.

There's two episodes on YouTube at least:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ5NXpr_PzNilcDZdvKgfYqSrcLpnv4Ia

 

[Monzo]

Great poll, great memories!

Flamingo Road, Bare Essence and Paper Dolls are the ones I watched. I remember I liked Paper Dolls, I wanted to like Flamingo Road and I didn't care about Bare Essence.

Paper Dolls and Bare Essence proved that viewers don't like superficial subjects like fashion and perfume as main subjects.

Lauren Hutton was supposed to save Paper Dolls, like Joan Collins saved Dynasty, but it was pointless and it was too late, even though I personally enjoyed Paper Dolls' cast and storylines.

I love Genie Francis in daytime, but she's not got that certain something leading a primetime show, as Bare Essence made clear. Nothing was great about Bare Essence, I felt like I'd seen it all before.

Flamingo Road wasn't big enough. Falcon Crest was province too, but San Francisco was nearby and in Truro there was nothing. Also, unlike the other soaps, you didn't really know what the main issue was. What I liked the most about Flamingo Road was the theme song.

Since this topic is in the Dallas forum, I think characters on Flamingo Road were very inspired by Dallas characters.

JR = Titus
Pam = Lane
Bobby = Fielding
Jock = Claude
Miss Ellie = Eudora
Sue Ellen = Constance

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

That's true, but i still would love to have Flamingo Road on DVD. Come on, shout!factrory or whoever, it had just 2 seasons and would make perfectly for a neat little complete series box-set like "The Colbys" has.

 

[Pamela_E]

Glitter - but again, I wouldn't exactly call it a soap. It's more Hotel / Love Boat with guest stars of the week, just set at a magazine instead.

There's two episodes on YouTube at least:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ5NXpr_PzNilcDZdvKgfYqSrcLpnv4Ia

Thanks. I only watched it because Morgan was in it. Forgot about the tacky cheap intro, looks more 1970s.

 

[Willie Oleson]

The continuing storylines of YELLOW ROSE are just as great as DALLAS and DYNASTY but the last 8 or 10 episodes have more stand-alone stories. Still watchable, but less soapy.
FLAMINGO ROAD was good but didn't have many memorable characters, and PAPER DOLLS was often so-bad-it's-good.

I also watched EMERALD POINT N.A.S. on Sky Channel, back in the late 80s or early 90s.
The only other thing I remember from Sky Channel is Pat from Pat & Mick tele-selling CD compilation box sets. (Best Of....Whatever).

 

[James from London]

THE YELLOW ROSE gets my vote. Great soapy plots and themes, only with better dialogue and cinematography than any of the big shows.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Some of these titles are extremely (and I can't emphasize it enough) sought after.
Not because they're great but simply because we need to know. It's infuriating to think that a previously televised prime time soap opera is not available/accessible - ever, anywhere, not for all the money in the world.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

There's also the Aussie super soap Return To Eden which was spun from the original 1983 Return To Eden mini series.

What a great series that was, such a shame it only lasted one full series.

I thoroughly recommend buying the new complete series boxset.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

The continuing storylines of YELLOW ROSE are just as great as DALLAS and DYNASTY but the last 8 or 10 episodes have more stand-alone stories. Still watchable, but less soapy.
FLAMINGO ROAD was good but didn't have many memorable characters, and PAPER DOLLS was often so-bad-it's-good.

I also watched EMERALD POINT N.A.S. on Sky Channel, back in the late 80s or early 90s.
The only other thing I remember from Sky Channel is Pat from Pat & Mick tele-selling CD compilation box sets. (Best Of....Whatever).
View attachment 31201

photo above taken just a couple of years before his epic rivalry with Pete Sampras launched into full gear

The continuing storylines of YELLOW ROSE are just as great as DALLAS and DYNASTY but the last 8 or 10 episodes have more stand-alone stories. Still watchable, but less soapy.
FLAMINGO ROAD was good but didn't have many memorable characters, and PAPER DOLLS was often so-bad-it's-good.

I also watched EMERALD POINT N.A.S. on Sky Channel, back in the late 80s or early 90s.
The only other thing I remember from Sky Channel is Pat from Pat & Mick tele-selling CD compilation box sets. (Best Of....Whatever).
View attachment 31201

this must have been just a couple of years before his rivalry with Pete Sampras really took off

 

[Angela Channing]

I watched Flamingo Road and thought it was a really good show although not quite in the same league as Dallas, Knots and Falcon Crest.

I wanted to watch Secrets of Midlands Heights but in the UK it was screened on Tuesday after News at Ten (so about 10.30pm) so it was too late for me as I had school the next day. It's a shame because it featured Lorenzo Lamas in a pre-Falcon Crest role.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

 

['V']

Some of these titles are extremely (and I can't emphasize it enough) sought after.
Not because they're great but simply because we need to know. It's infuriating to think that a previously televised prime time soap opera is not available/accessible - ever, anywhere, not for all the money in the world.

Agreed!

 

[pete lashmar]

There's also the Aussie super soap Return To Eden which was spun from the original 1983 Return To Eden mini series.

What a great series that was, such a shame it only lasted one full series.

I thoroughly recommend buying the new complete series boxset.


View attachment 31225

View attachment 31224 View attachment 31226

Loved Loved Loved this series - so OTT and so soapy that it's GLORIOUS. Why it never made it to a 2nd series is beyond me, especially with such a great cliffhanger. It really would be ideal for a reboot.

 

[Angela Channing]

Loved Loved Loved this series - so OTT and so soapy that it's GLORIOUS. Why it never made it to a 2nd series is beyond me, especially with such a great cliffhanger. It really would be ideal for a reboot.

Return to Eden was great and ended on one of the best cliffhangers ever, up there with Who Shot JR? and Who Did Julia Shoot?