Generations

First of all, "Generations" was an NBC soap, not ABC. Second of all, as a prime time series, the tenure of "The Drew Carey Show" has no bearing on the decisions which determine the life or death of a daytime program. No matter how much a viewer loves a show, the show will die if the ratings aren't high enough, and "Generations" ranked far behind every other daytime drama for its entire run.

The concentration on African-American characters was both what made the show unique and a large part of the problem with it. The creator of the show evidently went out of her way to portray the characters as normal, down-to-earth, middle-class Americans. Unfortunately, it is "abnormal" characters which spice up the drama. The main family on "Generations" were the owners of an ice cream parlor. Much of the day-to-day action was mundane, even banal compared to that on other soaps of the period.

Even if "Generations" had clearly excelled over its competition, it would likely have lived a short life; it was on the lowest-rated network (in daytime ratings anyway), it had an iffy time slot, and it was a cold half-hour launch, in a time when virtually all of the shows were an hour. So it was doomed to end up an admirable but regrettably short-lived effort.

I really miss this show! I used to watch this everyday along with Another World and Days of Our Lives. I would come home from school and watch it with my Grandmother. I do not remember a lot about the story lines now, it has been so long since it was taken off air, and I was in jr high when I started watching it) I do, however have 2 autographed pictures of cast members, Robert Torti (who played Det. Kyle Masters) and Kelly Rutherford (Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore). I think I might still have the last episode on VHS somewhere. Anyhow, I am glad to see that I am not the only one who remembers this show. (and a great one it was too!) Looking forward to see more of both Kelly Rutherford and Robert Torti.

I've grown up with 'generations'. I remember the days that my mother, my sister and especially me anxiously wait for the next episodes of 'generations'. We were usually coming together at one of us' home and watching the hottest chain of events. Even all the people from my family were curious about the new episodes, that had the only one meaning for me: Kyle Masters. My first love, whom all the friends of mine know.. The one that made me feel some kind a 'strange' once in a life time, at my 10. The one that made me feel that I fell in love, for the first time. The one that made me feel that there's something in life that people called 'love', something makes you feel like drunk or makes you feel like you're walking on air. Even though I ever know him or I will hardly ever have a chance to meet him in my life time... Although he is 20 years older than me... He was my precious platonic first love, who made me notice my feelings for the very first time.

I remember when Generation was showing on t.v. My family & friends was very excited about the series. We were very disappointed when the series was cut short. I regret that I could only watch a few episodes because I was working and I did not own a VCR recorder at the time. I wish that all the episodes would run again on "BET" or another channel. I wonder if maybe it could be put out on DVD? Most of the people from the show I still watch on t.v. and at the theater. I was not interested in the past until I watched Generation. This series showed the past and the present. It showed where the families started and how they ended up. Because of Generation I am now a genealogy researcher.

People have talked about 'Generations' and its problems over the years. I just wanted to point out the positives. One of them being that it was a major network's first honest attempt to make a soap opera with black characters in the forefront of the story. They were not maids or chauffeurs or domestic servants, but they were in business. The Marshalls had a successful ice cream business that was made with the sweat and blood of a black man, Henry Marshall, despite having a limited education.

Ruth Marshall, Henry's wife, grew up as the daughter of the maid of Rebecca Whitmore. She had a very difficult experience, but she turned that resentment and became an ambitious person. Ruth brought the Whitmore estate, and the problems she faced in doing it, which I thought was a very good storyline, which represented to her that she finally made it big. Vivian, Ruth's mother, was Rebecca's housekeeper who worked for her for years and remained friends ever since. Rebecca's oldest daughter, Laura, wasn't close to Ruth growing up and the feeling seemed mutual.

For me, I liked the way the writers introduced the viewers with voice-overs. Also I like how the characters' backgrounds were shown through the writing. I guess the problem was that people weren't' that excited about a family who owned an ice cream business That would have been more of a plot for a sitcom on primetime than a daytime soap opera. Plus some it its characters could have been more developed in its short run.

All in all, "Generations" is an example of black success on television, even though its overall aim didn't make an impact.