They did it. They sucked me in. The makers of the new "Melrose Place," which premiered Tuesday night, got my attention. Yes you heard me right -- "Melrose Place," the show from the 90s, made a comeback on The CW, which has also been showing a new "90210" last season.
I resisted getting reeled into that one again after being a fan of the original show, but the previews for Melrose and at least two main characters coming back intrigued me. I've been skeptical with remakes which seem to be spurring up; even my favorite old television show "Fame" is coming out this month on the big screen.
But the producers of "Melrose Place" had me simultaneously on the edge of my seat and ready to sign off completely when less than 10 minutes into the show they killed off Sydney, played by Laura Leighton. She's one of the original bad girls who brought a spark to the old show and, despite her dark side, somehow made viewers sympathize with her at times. It was a bold move, killing her off even though throughout the show she was in scenes where characters or possible murder suspects were thinking back about their last interactions with her.
But the show kept me wondering, "Who did it?" as I learned about all the new residents of Melrose Place and Dr. Michael Mancini, who was in the show in the 90s and is still played by Thomas Calabro, also a suspect, who back in the old show was married to Sydney's sister and then had a relationship with Sydney herself. Now she was sleeping with him and his son while he was married again. The scenes and sounds were similar, straight down to the screaming tenant finding Sydney's body in the pool surrounded by blood. I recall similar injuries in the pool in the old show.
The old show was known for its action, such as explosions, deaths, betrayal, cheating couples and of course, fighting, including women slapping each other. The new Melrose packed in just as much in the first show -- murder, sex, marriage proposal, cheating movie mogul making out with his daughter's best friend and bribery.
About half way into the show, I decided I was seriously liking it despite my resistance to getting hooked on something else on top of several daytime soaps and prime time shows coming back such as "Grey's Anatomy" premiering Sept. 24 and "Private Practice" premiering Oct. 1 on ABC.
Commercials in between showed actors at the premiere party and gave a glimpse into some others from the old show that will be returning, including Josie Bissett who played Jane, Sydney's sister. We'll see if big names return like Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner, who is on "The Bold and the Beautiful" and who I used to watch on General Hospital and saw live in concert in Orlando in the late 80s. (He also sings.) To me that would bring back skeptical former fans. Another former day time star, Erica Kane's son from All My Children, actor Colin Egglesfield, plays a chef on the show and could possibly be a murder suspect. The cast also includes actress/singer Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.
As the saying goes, you can't get too much of a good thing. We'll see if that holds true for the new Melrose Place. So far, so good. But lets see how long they can keep up the momentum.
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