Creator:
Darren Star
Cast:
Thomas Calabro”¦.. Dr. Michael Mancini
Heather Locklear”¦.. Amanda Woodward
Andrew Shue”¦.. Billy Campbell
Josie Bissett”¦.. Jane Mancini
Courtney Thorne-Smith”¦.. Allison Parker
Grant Show”¦.. Jake Hanson
Doug Savant”¦.. Matt Fielding
Daphne Zuniga”¦.. Jo Reynolds
Vanessa Williams”¦.. Rhonda Blair
Amy Locane”¦.. Sandy Harling
The Show:
While some would argue that Beverly Hills 90210 defined television in the 1990s, there is no argument against the idea that Melrose Place revolutionized it.
The sexy spin-off debuted in 1992 and focused on a group of 20-somethings who were finding themselves in California. Most of them had graduated already, and the show’s primary mandate was to focus on what so many graduates ask themselves when they are out of school and away from home for the first time. What’s next?
While the show eventually turned into a great project for students who are studying statistics (by trying to calculate who slept with who and how many times), the reason the show became as popular as it did was because the first season served to really force the audience to care about the characters. Their relationships became our relationships and their struggles allowed us to escape from our own.
Allison (Courtney Thorne-Smith) was the recent graduate who had just secured her first job”¦ as a receptionist in an advertising agency. She was the typical go-getter, believing that working hard would be the best way to move up the corporate ladder. In the Melrose Place pilot, her roommate leaves her in the middle of the night forcing her to find a way to pay the rent or face eviction.
Billy (Andrew Shue) is the series protagonist. He meets Allison after hearing of her roommate’s sudden departure and tries to convince her that a plutonic living arrangement would work. Originally slated to work on another Fox show, Shue impressed series creator Darren Star so much, that he was convinced to become a resident in the building.
Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro) and his wife Jane (Josie Bissett) are the only married couple on the show. Michael serves as the Melrose landlord in addition to his duties as a surgical intern at the hospital and Jane works as a fashion designer. It is Michael’s character where the writers really showcase their skills. Widely regarded as the most evil character in television history, the first season is built primarily on his goodness and it is his heroism that is immediately stunted when he engages in an affair with Dr. Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross).
Jake Hanson is the character that is used to bridge the gap between 90210 and Melrose. He is the classic brooding loner, who has a troubled past and drives a motorcycle. He dates Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) from Beverly Hills in the first few episodes, but this “relationship” serves only to introduce where he lives.
The bit characters in the first season are Matt Fielding (Doug Savant), who is the nice gay neighbor who works at a youth shelter, his best friend Rhonda Blair (Vanessa Williams) who works as a aerobics instructor and her roommate Sandy Harling (Amy Locane).
As the first series draws to an end, Rhonda and Sandy are both written out of the show. They are replaced by Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga), a tough photographer from New York who serves as romantic fodder for Jake.
Toward the end of the first character, Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear) joins the cast as Allison’s boss and this is where the show really picks up. While the entire first season was devoted to developing the Billy and Allison romance, Amanda’s introduction is the payoff for the time the writers dedicated to the Billy/Allison development. The triangle is the main storyline of the first season.
The DVD:
Video:
The DVD is presented in an anamorphic aspect ratio of 1.33:1. There are problems here. There are bad transfers in some of the transitions from commercial to show and some of the colors are not clear. There are also a few glitches from film that was tampered with. Considering that this was a show from the early 90’s, these issues are definitely not serious enough to affect the purchase of the DVD as they are minor (but still noticeable).
Audio:
No complaints. Presented in 2.0 Dolby digital. No major complaints here, except for the lack of subtitles. The closed captioning helps for the absence of this.
Special Features:
Six featurettes are included in the Melrose Place set, and while they are enjoyable”¦ fans who have waited for so many years for the release will be tremendously disappointed. There are no commentaries available and no deleted scenes, but there is a detailed episode guide available.
The first featurette is called “Beginnings.” It includes interviews with the creator Darren Star, and cast members Josie Bissett, Andrew Shue, Doug Savant and Vanessa Williams. The five-minutes basically focus on the motivation for the show and the differences between it and 90210.
The second featurette is called “Friends & Neighbors.” It includes comments from Darren Star, Grant Show, Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett, and Doug Savant. The six minutes concentrate on the relationships between the apartment residents.
The third featurette is called “Neighbors & Friends.” It involves Darren Star, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Andrew Shue and Vanessa Williams. Instead of focusing on the interplay between the characters like its predecessor, this extra revolves around the characters of Billy, Allison, Kimberly and Rhonda primarily.
The fourth featurette is called “Melrose Place: Behind-The-Scenes.” This is the only featurette that seems like it wasn’t spliced together for the DVD set and that’s probably because it wasn’t. It was a promo for the show that Fox ran. It shows highlights of the premiere party coupled with an explanation of what the show was going to be about. Interviews with Aaron Spelling, Darren Star, Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett, Andrew Shue, Doug Savant, Vanessa Williams and Courtney Thorne-Smith are included. It runs for about four minutes.
The fifth featurette is called “Amanda.” It runs for about four minutes and features an interview with Darren Star just about Heather Locklea’s introduction to the show and how it was the catalyst for all of its success. Unfortunately, there are no comments from Locklear herself.
Finally, the sixth featurette is called “Melrose Place: New Style Profile.” It is another promo that was produced by Fox for the show and features more footage of the premiere party as well as how the actors were launched from being relatively obscure to being full-fledged celebrities. Thoughts from Amy Locane, Andrew Shue, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Vanessa Williams, Doug Savant, Thomas Calabro, Grant Show, Josie Bissett, Aaron Spelling and Darren Star are included. It runs for about five minutes.
