To French knots FAn

hey man,
I had a question about Melrose Place's run in France. You know how there's only one commercial during each show/movie. In america there's about four during each show/movie. Anyway, during MP's run in season 3 to season 5 at the end of each commercial, there was a slow motion black and white scene of the last scene before the commercial. Since there were three commercials, there were three slow motion black and white scenes. Were these slow motion black and white scenes edited out in France, or only one was shown, the one before the commercial in France. I don't know if I am making sense, if you don't understand, let me know and i'll re-write in french.

[Romain]

Oh, I didn't know about these. In France, they were edited out. After the commercial break, we had a new scene directly and I think it's better, I would have hated those black and white recaps. Unfortunately, TF1, which has no respect whatsoever for its audience keeps editing the episodes of every single show, leaving quite a number of scenes on the cutting-room floor. Each time we get a rerun, we get a different version of each episode, which is really annoying.

"Life and death, energy and peace, if I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes, that I have made and would have unmade if I could.
The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it for having been allowed to walk where I've walked.

Which was to hell on earth, heaven on earth, back again, into, under, far in between, through it, in it and above..."

Gia Marie Carangi 1960-1986

[abbylexis]

it wasn't really after the commercial break, is the last scene before each commercial gets repeated in a slow-motion black and white.

I know they did the same editing with Cote Ouest.

By the Way, speaking of Melrose Place again, how was it ran. I know when I left it was aired on Saturdays at 7 PM. Was it how every episodes got aired, or during the middle of the run, were they seen on a weekly basis?

I know it useless questions, but just out of curiosity.

Jennifer: "It was five months, DAILY for five months, in motels, backs of cars, even in the alley behind the restaurant. If there was a word for the opposite of celibate, that would be us.
Amanda: "There is it’s tramp."
Melrose Place 1997 two hours season finale (Who's Afraid of Amanda Woodward?)

Kimberley before blowing up the complex: It's not what it looks like....IT'S WORSE
Melrose Place 1995 two hours season finale (The Big Bang Theory)

Sydney: Temptation is like Dandruff, you don't always know it's there but it's there.

[Romain]

I like answering your questions, that's really fine, no need to apologize.

Well, actually, from season 1 to season 3, the episodes aired weekly on Saturdays at 7 PM. Then, once they ran out of episodes (in the middle of season 3, before the arrival of Kristin Davis as Brooke), they started rerunning the show from the start. They aired five episodes a week, from Monday to Friday at 5 PM. Once they had rerun the first 80 episodes, the new episodes started airing straight away, on a daily basis, still at the same time, and they aired up to the end of season 4, ending with Jo leaving for Bosnia and Jane and Sydney burying Richard alive.
That was in the spring of 1997. Then, we had to wait until the summer of 1998 before we got season 5. They started by airing the new episodes weekly on Saturdays at 7 PM, then they put the rest of the season daily from Monday to Saturday. At 5 PM from Monday to Friday, and at 7 PM on Saturdays. At the end of season 6, they went back to the weekly schedule, and we saw up to episode 7.08. At the time, we were very close from the original US airing since we saw the beginning of season 7 while it was still airing on FOX. Then, they reran the show from the beginning in the weekly schedule from Monday to Friday at 5 PM and the last episode aired on Friday March 10, 2000. That rerun is when I taped every episode (I have them all except one, which is why I am eagerly anticipating the next rerun). The show was aired again from December 2001 to October 2002, so I guess the next rerun should start around a year from now.

"Life and death, energy and peace, if I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes, that I have made and would have unmade if I could.
The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it for having been allowed to walk where I've walked.

Which was to hell on earth, heaven on earth, back again, into, under, far in between, through it, in it and above..."

Gia Marie Carangi 1960-1986

Are you sure it will get another re-run next year. This is TF1 remember, they don't like to give many re-runs on shows, take a look at Knots Landing.

By the way, how was 90210 aired? I know from march 93 to summer 94 it aired weekly on saturdays, then during the fall of 94 it aired weekdays + saturdays. In early 95 it went back to airing on saturdays up until the fourth season finale. Then it stopped in spring 95, that's when I left France. I remember how 90210 fans I knew were extremely looking forward to the season 5 premiere. So how were the episodes after season 4 aired.

In america, their run was easier. Originally, both shows aired one after the other on wednesday night. By the time I came, each show had their own nights. Mondays were for Melrose and Wednesdays for 90210.

Another question I have is the popularity of the shows. Which Show was more successful 90210 and Melrose Place. I know that 90210 fan base died quickly after Brenda left and it took a while for Melrose Place to become successful.....

Merci de repondre a mes questions.....

[Romain]

Actually, I can't really help with 90210, since I quit watching regularly at the end of season 4. I think it went back into its weekly spot on Saturdays at 7 PM whenever there were new episodes available, but I'm not really sure.
Both shows were quite popular actually, but I think Melrose Place was more successful. THey are currently rerunning 90210 but they did not start the rerun at the beginning, they started at the beginning of season 7. The previous rerun started at the beginning of season 8, so it's been a while since they last reran 90210 from the start. Melrose Place, on the other hand, is always rerun from the first episode. I'm pretty sure they are going to rerun it again next year 'cause it is very successful at each airing. I know quite a lot of people that discovered Melrose during last year's rerun, and who would love to watch it from the start, my guess is they will put it back on air once they have re-aired the end of 90210.

"Life and death, energy and peace, if I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes, that I have made and would have unmade if I could.
The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it for having been allowed to walk where I've walked.

Which was to hell on earth, heaven on earth, back again, into, under, far in between, through it, in it and above..."

Gia Marie Carangi 1960-1986

[abbylexis]

what were your favorite plots? the Kimberley cliffhanger took me by surprise "this isn't what it looks like, it's worse". How was it translated into france, let me guess "ce n'est pas ce que vous pensez, c'est pire", am I on the right track and then the building goes into flames. For me, I really loved the cliffhanger season finales, some seson would be boring but those two hours finale would be action packed. I know you never had the pleasure to sit through 2 hours of Melrose Place one night. In france, I suppose they never aired them on a two hours basis.

Anyway, did you like season 2. Most fans think it was great. For me, Melrose Place did not really start to build up until season 3. Season 2, yes they were great plots but the show was still trying to find its place. What do you think?

Jennifer: "It was five months, DAILY for five months, in motels, backs of cars, even in the alley behind the restaurant. If there was a word for the opposite of celibate, that would be us.
Amanda: "There is it’s tramp."
Melrose Place 1997 two hours season finale (Who's Afraid of Amanda Woodward?)

Kimberley before blowing up the complex: It's not what it looks like....IT'S WORSE
Melrose Place 1995 two hours season finale (The Big Bang Theory)

Sydney: Temptation is like Dandruff, you don't always know it's there but it's there.

also, a lot of people felt that the show ended quickly. i thought it was perfect before it got worse the last two seasons were really not melrose and in a weird way I think it was for the best. Take a look at 90120 the show kept going on and on and declined completely by the end.

[Romain]

As much as I would have loved to see Melrose last as long as Knots Landing, I admit it is probably for the better that they ended it when they did. I mean, when you watch an episode from season 3 and then one from season 7, it looks like 2 completely different shows. I think the show started going downhill from the middle of season 5. Once Kimberly, Sydney and to a lesser extent, Jane, Alison and Jake (though not as loved as the two redheads, they were important characters) were out, the show never really recovered. Season 6 was by far the worst. Season 7 was a small improvement from Season 6, but the "Matt's diary" storyline was completely idiotic and some stories were uninteresting (who cares about Lexi asking Megan to audition men for her ? http://www.soapchat.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif )

Anyway, I loved season 2 ! Well, I think it had the best couples for sure: Jake and Jo belong together for me, as well as Billy and Alison. And the Sydney/Michael/Kimberly triangle was awesome. I also loved Jo's storyline with Reed (guest star James Wilder), Sydney's evolution from prostitution to marrying Michael and back then, I thought Matt was a useful character. His arranged marriage was a good story, really interesting, and he played an essential role in the whole Sydney/Michael/Kimberly story.

You're right about Kimberly's words in the French version. I think the exact sentence was "Non, ce n'est pas ce que vous croyez...C'est encore pire" Then the frame freezes on her demonic eyes and TO BE CONTINUED appears on the screen. Awesome scene.
As far as season finales are concerned, you are right too, we never had the chance to see two hours of Melrose in a row.

"Life and death, energy and peace, if I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes, that I have made and would have unmade if I could.
The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it for having been allowed to walk where I've walked.

Which was to hell on earth, heaven on earth, back again, into, under, far in between, through it, in it and above..."

Gia Marie Carangi 1960-1986

[abbylexis]

so what was your favorite cliffhanger. I know most people say season 3, but I really have a thing for season 4 and season 5. with season 3, nothing really happens until Kimberley starts wiring the building. Whereas the other seasons, there were so many twists. Season 4: I loved the Willow Bridge scenes when Michael, Amanda and Peter are all locked up in a mental institution with Psycho kimberley/Betsy. Kimberley then suffers a fall, Peter ends up going to prison where he marries Amanda. While Jake and Alison hook up, and Sydney and Jane kill richard. Richard's hands coming out of the dirt was very scary.

Season 5: I loved the Fall of Amanda's empire and how she lost everything, had the heart attack. Michael and Taylor plotting against Peter, Peter pushing Michael onto the glass. and Sydney dying on her wedding to Craig, courtesy of Samantha's father. Who's Afraid of Amanda Woodward? was the last great episode of the series.

So, yes, the third cliffhanger may have been over the top but the two episodes were basically plotless. While, year 4 and year 5 had a twist every fifteen minutes.

What do you think?

Jennifer: "It was five months, DAILY for five months, in motels, backs of cars, even in the alley behind the restaurant. If there was a word for the opposite of celibate, that would be us.
Amanda: "There is it’s tramp."
Melrose Place 1997 two hours season finale (Who's Afraid of Amanda Woodward?)

Kimberley before blowing up the complex: It's not what it looks like....IT'S WORSE
Melrose Place 1995 two hours season finale (The Big Bang Theory)

Sydney: Temptation is like Dandruff, you don't always know it's there but it's there.

[abbylexis]

also, is your online friend who runs the webseries website updating "let's talk about.." and the web series of college students (I forgot the name), I know he was away for his finals...

Jennifer: "It was five months, DAILY for five months, in motels, backs of cars, even in the alley behind the restaurant. If there was a word for the opposite of celibate, that would be us.
Amanda: "There is it’s tramp."
Melrose Place 1997 two hours season finale (Who's Afraid of Amanda Woodward?)

Kimberley before blowing up the complex: It's not what it looks like....IT'S WORSE
Melrose Place 1995 two hours season finale (The Big Bang Theory)

Sydney: Temptation is like Dandruff, you don't always know it's there but it's there.