Melrose Place Reloaded

I think we can agree that the weather has been lousy this week so what better than to curl up on the sofa with a mug of tea and settle down watching a fun show on the TV. That is the saving grace of the winter; all the cool shows come back and it is like being reunited with a bunch of old friends. Right now I am spending quality time with Gossip Girl, The Hills, 90210, Lipstick Jungle and The Starter Wife and it is fantastic. Like having a ladies night out except it is at home in your living room. It looks like Melrose Place will be joining us this time next year. 90210 has proved so successful that the powers that be at CW Network have decided to spread the spin-off project to the popular 1990s drama. Premiering in 1992, Melrose Place featured the lives of sophisticated twenty-somethings who lived in an apartment complex and we saw them live, work and play together. As we can expect in a typical soap drama we had the usual emotional storylines such as infidelity, homophobia, divorce, prostitution, domestic abuse and many others. The show bowed out in 1999 after a period of low ratings and as well as making a star out of Heather Locklear who went onto Spin City and Scrubs, it will also be remembered for launching the careers of the stars below:

Kristin Davies
She played the scheming Brooke Armstrong and later found fame and many pairs of Jimmy Choos as Charlotte York in Sex and the City.

Marcia Cross
She played Dr Kimberly Shaw, the total nut job and is now famous as house proud Bree Van de Kamp Hodge in Desperate Housewives.

Doug Savant
He played Matt Fielding, the token gay guy and is now best known as Lynette's hubby, Tom Scavo in Desperate Housewives.

Courtney Thorne-Smith
She played the annoying Alison Parker who had a long relationship with Billy and became an alcoholic. She went on to star in Ally McBeal as Georgia Thomas, wife of Billy Thomas who was the ex love of Ally.

Kelly Rutherford
She played Megan Lewis a high class call girl who is hired by Dr Kimberly Shaw to seduce her partner. She is now in Gossip Girl playing the snooty Lily van der Woodsen, mother of lead character Serena van der Woodsen.

Rob Estes
He played restaurateur, Kyle McBride and can be currently seen in the all new 90210 as head of school Harry Wilson and father of Annie and Dixon.

Alyssa Milano
She played spoiled brat Jennifer Mancini and went on to play Phoebe Halliwell in the hit series, Charmed.

Wow what a load of talent that show produced. Roll on the remake.

Person Rob Estes

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The Starter Wife

I remember watching one of those celebrity shows where a journalist described Jennifer Aniston as sporting a crushed look on her face after the duo called Brangelina was created. However, no one carries the crushed look better than Debra Messing who is known as the chipper Grace from the hit comedy Will and Grace. Messing has made a name for herself in rom coms and in the brit romance, The Wedding Date she was screwed over by her sister and boyfriend. She also played the emaciated estranged bride of Ben Stiller in Along Came Polly and now she is back in The Starter Wife, a TV series where she plays an abandoned wife. Debra's character, Molly Kagan is the wife of a top Hollywood studio boss and lives the life of complete luxury, totally sheltered from the real world, her life is spent whirling out of control when she is dumped by her husband for a younger woman. There are starter jobs, starter cars, starter houses and now starter wives. It takes the support of her close friends as well as a dose of strong will that makes Molly take stock and get her life back on track.

The Starter Wife is based on the book by Gigi Levangie Grazer who penned the script for the film, Stepmom which starred Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon. The mini series was aired last year and was nominated for ten Emmy Awards as well as a Golden Globe Award. In fact it was so popular that the show was recommissioned as a proper series and made it's return in the US last Friday. I have not had a chance to catch the second series yet but if it is anything like the mini series then it will be cracking. The show has all the elements; witty script, great lead characters, a few twists and turns and a rites of passage theme. Debra is really convincing here as the down trodden Molly but with just the right spark not to lose the respect of the audience. The supporting cast is stellar along with the black humour. This story is not about revenge but more about a lady who has lost herself setting on a journey to find out who she is and what makes her tick. All sorts of social issues are tackled here such as infidelity, alcoholism, homelessness and suicide but the over riding issue is about the strength of friendship. I spent all of Sunday watching the mini series and did not come up for air and I cannot wait to see the second series.

The Starter Wife is on Fridays.