engle_james

This is a fascinating film that is difficult to classify: part thriller, part mystery, part reality show, and part sci/fi. It's a very busy movie, but all components I found interesting. Basically, the plot is about these kids who have grown up, literally, on a reality show and were much loved by the country; now, as adults in the year 2030, one of the participants appears to have died, left alone and untreated in an overcrowded and understaffed hospital after being shot. Or was he? Could it have been a simple medical oversight because he was uninsured? Or was he murdered because of something he knew? The best part of this movie is that we are shown in a quite realistic fashion what ANY country could be like in 2030- where the divide between the haves and have-nots has gotten so wide that there are two kinds of hospitals; one for people with money and one for people who don't have money. A great commentary on where our world is heading, disguised as an intriguing mystery.

Flamingo Road was a lot like Peyton Place, in that it took place in a small Florida town and was dependent on a paper mill run by Claude Weldon. This soap had the best names. . . Constance, Eudora, Skipper, Fielding, Lane, Lute Mae, Julio, Elmo, and Titus, for starters. How these great actors kept from going over the top was a miracle, as the material could easily have gone in that direction. The first season focused on the triangle of Lane/Field/Constance, and Sheriff Titus's efforts to get Lane Ballou out of town permanently so she wouldn't affect Field's up and coming political career. However, due to Morgan Fairchild's popularity as the very self-absorbed and spoiled Constance, she became the focus of season two and slept with virtually every man but her father and brother! Throw in the arrival of Michael Tyrone as a man intent on destroying everyone on Flamingo Road through blackmail, murder, voodoo, and black magic, and the series was at it's peak. Unfortunately, the series ended with a few unanswered questions and cliffhangers, but it was still one of the best nighttime soap operas ever. Featuring a very sexy cast, including Woody Brown, John Beck, Fernando Allende, and Mark Harmon, plus the aforementioned Fairchild, Christina Raines, and Stella Stevens for the few straight men in the audience, this series had it all.

Texas as it began was very different from the Texas we all loved when it ended. It started out with a lot of flash and style but little substance and gradually morphed into one of the most family-centered dramas ever. Once Beverlee McKinsey/Iris Wheeler left, the show introduced more and more characters so that by the beginning of year two, most of the original female cast had been replaced! Forgettable characters like Dawn, Terry, Shirley and Anita were replaced by Ashley, Allison, Brett, Lurlene and Ruby. Ah, that dynamic duo Ruby and Lurlene- their friendship seemed so real and genuine, whether they were on the run from a zombiefied ex-husband trying to kill them before they could use a fire compass to open up a mysterious world named Hi-To-Pah, or just sharing their insecurities about their boyfriends to each other, few friendships ever shined like that one. Lots of humor, sexy shirtless men with cowboy hats, beautifully dressed women, and characters who actually worked, whether at a bar or an oil company or a boutique. Besides the Hi-To-Pah storyline, my other favorite included the Reena/Grant/Judith triangle, which took many twists and turns before it finally climaxed with a last episode happy ending. The last few episodes jibed perfectly with the cancellation of Texas, as Victoria Bellman lost her TV station KVIK- a perfect metaphor for the end of Texas. At a party featuring every cast member but Reena and Grant, she gave a truly beautiful toast to everyone for the work they had done and the joy they had given to the viewers. Cast members are seen crying softly as she finishes her speech and then they begin singing Auld Lang Syne, followed by a slow version of what has to be one of the most exciting and dramatic TV show openings ever- if you don't believe me check out youtube for the Texas opening, particularly the Next Generation score after McKinsey left. There's a reason this show is so fondly remembered by the fans.