The City (1995 TV series)
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| The City | |
|---|---|
James Harmon Brown | |
| Starring | Series cast |
| Theme music composer | Scott Schreer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 352[1] |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jean Dadario Burke |
| Production location | New York City |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Dramatic Creations |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | November 13, 1995 – March 28, 1997 |
| Related | |
| Loving Port Charles All My Children One Life to Live General Hospital | |
The City is an American television
The show was co-created by
Storylines
While it was started by Loving creator Agnes Nixon, The City was different from other soaps of its day, as the city wasn't the main setting of the series: the loft and its surroundings took precedence, and the city was secondary. Also, the show was shot on videotape using the Film look process for its entire run (one of two soap operas ever to do so, All My Children also used the FilmLook processing from 2006 to 2010).
One of the most daring storylines was one involving a
Despite featuring several well-known actors, such as Morgan Fairchild and Debbi Morgan, the series failed to catch on. In an attempt to remind viewers of the well-received "Loving Murders" storyline from Loving, in mid-1996 the show had most of the characters stalked (and some murdered by) a killer known as The Masquerader who left notes saying "Happy Now". The killer was revealed to be Danny's girlfriend Molly Malone, whose sweet, perky behavior belied her true nature.
Several months later, Lorraine, who had dazzled critics and fans in the final months of Loving, joined the show. She had left her long-lost love Charles (Angie's ex-husband) and took up with fellow middle-aged alcoholic Nick Rivers. Rivers shared a past with Sydney Chase and there were plans to team the two up (they had palpable chemistry a decade earlier in ABC's short-lived prime time soap Paper Dolls) but the plans never materialized.
The end
Morgan Fairchild had only signed a one-year contract and left when that contract expired in late 1996. ABC replaced her with Jane Elliot, who was very popular as the witchy Tracy Quartermaine on General Hospital (Elliot had previously helped produce Loving from 1994 to 1995). Four months prior to her arrival, Elliot reprised her role on General Hospital for the summer to cross over on The City in the fall. However, despite Elliot's addition to the show, ratings continued to be the lowest of any daytime soap opera and ABC announced the program's cancellation in February 1997.[3]
Two months after the show's finale, after airing classic episodes of ABC's other soaps (
Cast
The original characters of the show included the survivors of the murder storyline on Loving, including Ally Alden (played by
Angie Hubbard and her son Frankie were characters that originated in the early 1980s on All My Children, and were transplanted to Loving in 1993. Thus, with the premiere of The City in 1995, Angie and Frankie became the first two individuals who have been regular characters on three ABC soap operas.[4][5] Likewise, Angie's portrayer Debbi Morgan became the first actor to portray the same character as a regular on three different soap operas.[6]
Characters from Loving, Cooper Alden (Michael Weatherly) and Deborah Alden (Nancy Addison) made brief appearances at the start of the series. By 1996, several original cast members had already left the series, including Anthony-Rodriguez, Ballard, Chang, Dye, Fairchild, and Heinle. To refresh the cast, and substitute Fairchild's departure, the show welcomed Tracy Quartermaine (a General Hospital character, played by Jane Elliot) to the show. Other new characters included Dillon Quartermaine (also from GH, played by P.J. Aliseo), Jared Chase (Joel Fabiani), Carla Soleito (Amy Van Horne), Gino Soleito (Al Martino, Joseph Sirola) and Lorraine Hawkins (Maggie Rush) who was also on Loving towards the end of the show.
Ratings history
The City fared poorly from the beginning, ranking last out of 11 soaps and averaging a 2.2 rating for the majority of the 1995–96 television season (Loving had left the air averaging a 2.5 rating between the months of September and November 1995). The ratings dropped to 2.0 for the 1996–97 television season, and producers tried to gain viewers by crossing over
Awards
Daytime Emmy Award wins
- 1996 "Outstanding Art Direction/Set Direction/Scenic Design for a Drama Series"
- 1996 "Outstanding Multiple Camera Editing for a Drama Series"
References
- ^ "[1]", NBC. URL last accessed June 16, 2008.
- ^ "Daytime Emmys". IMDb. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ a b c Kershaw, Sarah (February 22, 1997). "12 Characters in Search of a Soap Opera". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ The only other character appearing as a regular on three ABC soap operas is Skye Chandler, portrayed by actress Robin Christopher on All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital.
- ^ In July 2002, Frankie returned to All My Children, portrayed by Jason Olive, and departed in December of that year. In December 2007, Frankie once again returned, this time portrayed by Cornelius Smith, Jr. Angie reappeared on AMC the following month, portrayed once again by Debbi Morgan.
- ^ Alimi Ballard did not portray Frankie on All My Children.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings: Weekly Charts: 1997". Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
External links
- The City at IMDb
