That's how I would describe it, though I'd say that feeling lasted all season especially since most of it was spent in a snowy setting. I'd say they tried really hard to capture a spirit of nostalgia.
No, there was never such a thing. Beverly Hills 90210 had several of those though (which mostly targeted Donna, for some reason). Towards the end there was a multi episode arc of a student dating a professor though.
ABC nearly axed Homefront due to the weak ratings but a article in TV Guide changed things.
The influence of such polls tend to be very overblown - ABC dramas were doing terribly in the early 90s (very much in contrast with their comedies like Roseanne, Full House and Home Improvement, which were red hot), which led to Homefront and worse-rated The Commish and Life Goes On getting reprieves despite not doing well. In fact - Homefront was literally their highest rated drama the season it premiered! That's the reason they renewed it; the next season Homefront did a bit worse and The Commish started showing a faint pulse, so they booted Homefront (and Life Goes On).
ABC would not have a hit drama until NYPD Blue.
It got so bad that they "stole" Matlock from CBS, despite being an obvious odd fit with ABC's often female demographic. I'm not sure why ABC was so resistant in investing in proper prime time soaps again considering their audience profile, especially once the Fox dramas took off.
Correction, Matlock moved from NBC to ABC in Fall 1992.
To add ref Matlock, after the ABC switch, production switched from California (although the series was set in Atlanta) to North Carolina as it was near Andy Griffith's home, and to ease the travel burden on him.
NYPD Blue - despite the title, it was primilarly filmed in Los Angeles, with some NYC location shoots. By the final season, it was all filmed in LA.
I’m currently rewatching Savannah and the discarded Prilly gets a name check in episode 7. Reese stays out overnight with Tom and when she returns home, tells the girls that they went for pie to “Prilly’s Place”. I’m presuming this is just a nod to the dropped character by using her name as opposed to an indication of what her role on the show would be (cafe owner and purveyor of fine pie). I wonder if that original pilot with the four principals and the Savannah/New York setting out there somewhere?
That’s interesting to read that it improved with the Carmen Electra reboot. I haven’t watched it since it first aired but I was always under the impression that it was just a bad show overall.
The 1990s had lots of great music and films, but zeitgeist-wise it hasn't aged as interestingly as the 1970s and 1980s.
The way I remember it (and perhaps best to keep it that way) I enjoyed the "town-y" feel of the first episodes. There was that lovely blonde actress from Models Inc who was married to a bully - I think he was murdered?
Yes! Her husband was killed when it became more soapy. Her character also made a shift to being more of a vixen.
Carmen Electra I thought fit in well with the cast. I liked that the story shifted from tech problem of the week to your more typical soap tropes with a takeover storyline because it allowed them to focus more on the character development. In the end I do think it was a mistake to promote her like Amanda from Melrose Place because the only person she really clashed with was her father.
The things you mentioned in your spoiler tag were the exact things my mom said at the time... including breaking up the comedic couple that people rooted for.
It’s only taken six years but I’ve managed to watch more of The Monroes. Six of the eight episodes that Soapnet aired in the mid-00’s have surfaced.
