Jan Spears

I watched the first hour or so of this most recent Facts of Life documentary. On the plus side, there are interviews with actors John Lawlor and Jenny O'Hara, casting director Eve Brandstein, director Asaad Kelada, and writers Jerry Mayer and Margie Peters. Collectively, they give a lot of insight into the first season and how all concerned were trying to figure out what the show was meant to be. If there's a point of agreement amongst them all, it's the same point that's been made repeatedly on this forum: there were too many characters for a 22-24 minute sitcom. On the down side, this documentary is heavy on Season 1 behind-the-scenes drama and then the famous reboot itself. In an 88 minute documentary, Nancy McKeon's name doesn't pop up until the 48 minute mark and discussion of the pivotal Season 2 episode "Double Standard," which launched the Blair/Jo friendship as one of the pillars of the show (if not the pillar), doesn't happen until close to the 60 minute mark. (I suppose it's easier to create a documentary about a show that isn't working compared to one that is.) Another negative is that there are no new interviews with Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon and Lisa Whelchel. The interviews with Felice Schachter, Julie Piekarski and Julie Anne Haddock are OK. But there are no fresh insights from any of them, and it's a bit strange that they still have so much to say about something that happened 40 years ago and only lasted for 13 episodes. If the reboot with McKeon hadn't happened, I doubt that Facts of Life would have made it out of a second season, and it would only be remembered (if at all) as yet another failed show from that dire late-70s/early-80s period in NBC's history when almost nothing worked. In which case, would anyone really care about the cast members' experiences on a failed two-season show?

The UK's success this year in the contest (best showing in 24 years) shows what can happen when (a) a country takes the competition seriously, and (b) puts up a talented performer who is actually enthusiastic about being in the contest. Hopefully, the UK's result will kill all the paranoid Brexit conspiracy theories. I knew Ukraine would win. But there was this little piece of me that hoped the UK would pull out the win if for no other reason than it would have been the 25th anniversary of Katrina & the Waves winning Eurovision for the UK with "Love Shine a Light".

I recently took the train to and from New York. As we passed through Tarrytown, I could see the Lyndhurst mansion a.k.a. Collinwood from the House of Dark Shadows movie looming ominously on a hill above the rail line. Lyndhurst is actually quite small and somewhat unimpressive - certainly in comparison to Seaview Terrace in Newport (Collinwood in the series).

Even after the show wrote out Jenny O'Hara's character, there were still 9 named characters who had to be taken into account before a single line of dialogue was written or guest performers included. The show as structured in the first season was impossible to sustain in a 24-25 minute sitcom.

Between the character of Mr. Bradley and the girls running around in short shorts, it makes you wonder just who NBC thought was the audience for this show in the first season. There's something about all of these interviews surrounding the reboot that I find odd. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's as if Felice Schachter, Julie Piekarski and Julie Anne Haddock are still living -- and struggling -- with the knowledge that stardom was in their grasp and then eluded them. I do think Molly Ringwald did it the right way. She made one token appearance in Season 2, found it humiliating and then never involved herself with Facts again. While revamping the opening theme was yet another smart move concerning the reboot, I confess to liking Charlotte Rae's "singing" in Season 1. It has a "homely" beauty to it.

At first I read this as her hair blowing meaningfully in the desert wind. Then I reread it and understood what you actually wrote!

Dune won six Oscars this week - Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects. Dune lost Best Picture (to CODA), Best Adapted Screenplay (to CODA), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (to The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Best Costume Design (to Cruella). I find the Best Sound win perplexing because I thought the sound was most inconsistent thing in the entire production.

It's interesting to think how The Facts of Life ran for so many years that the Molly Ringwald boom could come and go in the middle of it. Really, Ringwald's "major phase" was fairly short: 2+ years (1984-86) and three movies. By the time Facts of Life was ending in 1988, Ringwald was reverting back to being a regular working actress not that dissimilar from any of the 'Core Four' on Facts.

You Tube has plenty of clips from the more recent reunions. Nancy Barrett is a regular attendee.

Coming late to this question but I would answer: none The revamp was perfect unto itself. NBC kept the 3 strongest performers from the original cast and added Nancy McKeon to create the 'Core Four,' which powered the show to another 9 seasons. Even within that foursome, you had the 'Older Pair' (Blair and Jo) and the 'Younger Pair (Natalie and Tootie). There was no room for a fifth member in the foursome as a whole or in the two subpairings.

I don't know how much Jaclyn ever kept in contact with Shelley and Tanya post-show. I suspect those relationships were professional working ones which didn't last much beyond the show. But Jaclyn managed to maintain her post-show friendships with Kate, Farrah and Cheryl even though there were some strong personalities involved (Kate in particular).

In retrospect, Kate was much harder to replace than Farrah. The character of Sabrina was the tie beam that held the whole thing together. Without her (and her portrayer, Kate Jackson) something went out of the series. I like Shelley Hack's portrayal of Tiffany (when they actually wrote for her) but adding a new Angel didn't solve the problem. Also, once Season 4 got started, the more senior Angels - Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd - were already beginning to check out mentally. The collapse really became apparent in Season 5 and the character of Julie (with her awkward back story) didn't help matters.

I read the news about Mitch Ryan on the 'Celebrity Deaths' forum and came over here. He was perfectly cast as Burke Devlin and the Vicky/Burke relationship was never the same after Ryan's departure from the series. I never warmed to Anthony George as Burke. He had a tendency to bark his lines at Alexandra Moltke. Ryan appeared in episode 1 of Dark Shadows in June 1966 and Burke was the first person Vicky met in Collinsport. (She met him at night [of course!] on the deserted train station platform.) So, another original cast member is gone. That leaves Alexandra Moltke, Nancy Barrett, Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Henesy,

Interesting photo selection People made. It might just be the photo angle but Farrah looks like she's pulling away from Kate and Jaclyn.

Cheryl has spoken about how welcoming and helpful David was during those early days when it was by no means certain that the public would accept a replacement Angel or that the show would even survive past a second season. I think some of the onscreen chemistry viewers see between Cheryl and David is in part a reflection of what was happening behind the scenes. (Shelley has said much the same thing about David and how welcoming he was when she joined the show.)

I rewatched Circus of Terror (from Season 2) this weekend. While this was the 5th episode aired, it was the 1st episode filmed in Season 2. Consequently, Circus of Terror was Cheryl Ladd's debut as Kris Munroe on the series. I didn't realize until I looked it up that the production was still holding out hope that Farrah Fawcett would return to the series. So, Cheryl was working on the series without knowing if she would actually be joining it permanently or not. Regardless, she hits the ground running (literally in several instances) in her first episode. Her best chemistry is with David Doyle, and she and Jaclyn Smith work well together. There's not a lot of interaction with Kate Jackson, which would become something of a fixture for the rest of the season given Kate's reputed coolness toward Cheryl. Ironic that Kate gets her own circus tent in this episode, and Jaclyn and Cheryl share a tent. As for the episode itself, it's still one of my favorites, especially the nighttime scenes at the circus when there's no one around but the circus performers. There's something sinister about nighttime at a circus.

'Yes' to your first question and, except for John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins, probably 'no' to your second question. Dynasty finished at #1 in the ratings for the 1984-85 season at a time when the traditional ratings on the Big Three commercial networks were all-important. (Cable television was in its infancy.) Dynasty also had lucrative licensing deals for all kinds of show-related products. It was making a fortune for ABC and Aaron Spelling.

Gordon Thomson (the original Adam) has said that the true 'Jump the Shark' moment wasn't the cliffhanger but the Season 6 opener. At the time, it felt like a huge cheat. In retrospect, though, there weren't many candidates for elimination. Blake/Krystle/Alexis were the show. ABC was already prepping The Colbys for fall 1985 and they needed Jeff for that. Diahann Carroll was a hit as Dominique so she wasn't going anywhere. I suppose they could have killed off one of Steven/Adam/Amanda but all three were popular in their ways. So, of the core cast, that really only left Claudia as an expendable character. The massacre scene was VERY well done. That final shot (hohoho) of all the characters lying motionless while the bells tolled was great television. If Dynasty had been a different kind of show, they would have done exactly as you've suggested - explore the emotional aftermath for the better part of the season. There was so much story to be had, especially for Amanda ("happiest" day of her life turns into a nightmare) and for Steven (loses his second partner in the span of 4 years). But that was the road not taken. Instead we got the endless Krystle-Rita storyline and the equally endless Alexis-King Galen storyline.

I've been watching Dark Shadows Collection 24 (the 1840 storyline) and there's an interview with Dan Curtis on one of the discs. Curtis talks about the 1991 revival series and about how he was the one who wanted to go back to the original plotlines. The reason he gives for this is that he wanted to film Dark Shadows in a more cinematic way than was possible for a daytime series in the 1960s. The revival series did have a lush look about it but I do think they would have had to have broken free from the original plotlines sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it would have had no independent creative life to it. Like Barnabas himself, it would have been the living dead.

While Betty White will be remembered primarily for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, she was also pitch perfect on The Carol Burnett Show playing Eunice's sister Ellen in the "Family" sketches.

It's been a tough year for fans of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman, Gavin Macleod and Betty White all died in 2021.

I haven't read the book so I can't speak to that. Based on what is shown in the movie, the Emperor's plan was already well in train before Leto made his overtures to the Fremen. What we're left with is Leto's personal charisma and popularity as the motivating forces behind the Emperor's actions. I thought I had missed a lot the first time I saw Dune so I went to see it again this weekend. Since I knew where the plot was headed, I could concentrate on the dialogue and situations. I have to say the movie really does explain everything in the course of 2 1/2 hours. Even things like Paul's visions and the motivations of the Bene Gesserit became much clearer on second viewing. I still had some issues with the sound, particularly during the scene when Jessica is reciting her prayers outside the room where Paul and the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam are confronting one another. The sound effects are too loud and Rebecca Ferguson is speaking too softly to understand what she is saying. On rewatching the movie, I realized this is one of Timothee Chalamet's best scenes. There's a moment during the test where he raises his head and conveys pure hatred toward the Reverend Mother with nothing more than his eyes. Chalamet is also very good in the scene where Paul and Jessica are shielding themselves from the sand and he begins having visions. When Jessica tries to comfort him, he erupts at her with all his might for her role in what he is metamorphosing into. Chalamet really impresses in that scene. One thing that continued to puzzle me, though, was the scene between Jessica and Shadout Mapes. What was the point of Shadout Mapes giving Jessica the blade when the blade isn't used (that I can remember) later in the movie? During the climactic knife fight, Paul uses Chani's blade. One final thought: The movie was even more of a visual marvel on second viewing than it was on the first. I found myself awestruck by some of those frescoes from the Atreides palace on Arrakis -- they were that beautiful.

By directing the Atreides to assume control over Arrakis, the Emperor deprived them of "home field" advantage (their native planet) in the event of an attack. Consigned to a harsh, alien (hohoho) environment, the Atreides were on the back foot from moment one and were easily overwhelmed when the combined Harkonnen/Imperium attack came. The Atreides were dangerous to the Emperor because of the intense loyalty Duke Leto inspired in those around him. The great admiration in which Leto was held made the Atreides powerful far beyond their material and military means. Leto inspired something deeply positive in people and this -- more than anything -- would have threatened the Emperor. I didn't think of the Atreides as being incompetent and unprepared. They inherited a world that had been sabotaged by the Harkonnen and didn't have enough time (a matter of days) before the Emperor launched an all-out attack. Also, the doctor betrayed them, which allowed the Harkonnen/Imperium forces to penetrate the palace.

I thought the characters who comprised House Atreides had heart but it was heart bound by a stoic quality. Leto showed his love for Paul during their conversation on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and for Jessica when he told her he should have married her. Jessica, Duncan and Gurney all show their great love for Paul even if they have to be very hard on him in so doing. Ultimately, though, House Atreides' heart is limited by the adversaries they face on all sides. This was one of Timothee Chalamet's best scenes. Not only did Paul go toe-to-toe with the Reverend Mother but Timothee went toe to toe with Charlotte Rampling and more than held his own. I've been thinking a lot about the set design for this movie. I finally realized that the interiors of the various palaces reminded me of the sets from the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton-Rex Harrison Cleopatra: spartan and luxurious at the same time. I think the movie absolutely nailed a vision of the future where advanced technology (i.e. interstellar space travel) coexists comfortably with actual structures that harken back to ancient times.

I saw it yesterday in a (non-Imax) theater. I've neither read the source novel nor seen the failed big screen adaptation from 1984. But I did read a summary of the novel before I saw it so I would at least have a passing familiarity with the characters and plot. That being said, I enjoyed the movie very much. I didn't feel like the movie dragged at all despite being 2 1/2 hours+ in length. I thought the amount of exposition was just right for the 'lay person' who hadn't read the novel. The script did an excellent job of establishing the various houses and explaining (within reason) why they were at daggers drawn (literally) with one another. (The movie could have profited from offering a little more explanation related to the Bene Gesserit sisterhood and its motivations. But then the not knowing exactly what they were doing and why only added to their mystery.) It is true that there isn't a conventional hero in the movie. But this strikes me as being consistent with Frank Herbert's original novel. The characters in Dune find themselves in a universe where there are no heroic options. Duke Leto probably comes the closest in trying to balance his obligations to the Emperor with his desire to make peace with the Fremen. Ultimately, though, he fails in this impossible endeavor due to all the cross-currents that exist between the various houses. The cast was superb and there really was no weak link. I thought the actors who comprised the House of Atreides were especially fine. Praise must go also to Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, who gave a master class in how to command the screen during her brief appearances. I have saved the best for last: the movie is a visual marvel and looks incredible on a big screen. The detail that went into creating the various worlds of the Atreides, Harkonnen and Fremen is outstanding. There are too many brilliant images to mention but I especially liked the contrast between the technology in play and the spartan, minimalist living quarters in which the characters actually live and work. (And a special mention to the scene where the Bene Gesserit disembark from their ship in the middle of a driving rain storm -- absolutely stunning.)